Simple/Short/Silly History Questions Saturday!

Submitted by AutoModerator t3_yalwt6 in history

Welcome to our Simple/Short/Silly history questions Saturday thread!

This thread is for all those history related questions that are too simple, short or a bit too silly to warrant their own post.

So, do you have a question about history and have always been afraid to ask? Well, today is your lucky day. Ask away!

Of course all our regular rules and guidelines still apply and to be just that bit extra clear:

Questions need to be historical in nature. Silly does not mean that your question should be a joke. r/history also has a discord server where you can discuss history with other enthusiasts and experts

31

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

StrengthoftwoBears t1_itja45o wrote

Could anyone recommend me books about Korean history 9th century to 18th century?

Also very interested in books discussing the Great Leap Forward in China. Particularly from a non western point of view if possible.

Finally, if anyone could recommend something regarding north and south America's first nations/indigenous cultures would be greatly appreciated!

5

Bashstash01 t1_itjmyjo wrote

I don't have any book recommendations, but I noticed u/spinnybingle's comprehensive posts of Korean history have been gaining a lot of traction on this sub. I would try looking at them. Hope that helped!

3

StrengthoftwoBears t1_itjn2w7 wrote

Haha I voraciously consumed those already which is what sparked the question in general!

2

elmonoenano t1_itvkoo2 wrote

For N. American indigenous cultures maybe start with An Indigenous People's History of the United States by Rosa Dunbar Ortiz. It's a rough overview but manageable. Masters of Empire is a good book about the Anishinaabe people of Great Lakes region and there was recently a book called Seeing Red by Michael John Witgen that looks like it would be a good follow up. The Northern Paiutes of the Malheur by Dan Wilson is a good intro to one of the Great Basin groups. Chinookan People of the Lower Columbia, edited by Robert Boyd is a good overview of one of the Columbia groups.

3

LimpingIceberg t1_itclqkl wrote

When it comes to the Holocaust and the discrimination/abuse the Jews faced, Hitler is the first name that is mentioned. Why aren’t Goebbels and Himmler prominent name in the general public when they are practically the architects of it all?

3

Thibaudborny t1_itcnggo wrote

One is the leader-figure, the other the lackeys. People tend to see the people at the top first.

8

Bashstash01 t1_itcp4ws wrote

Because Hitler was the leader. People always see him first as the man who gave them instructions. The others called out his command.

8

Doctor_Impossible_ t1_itdakh6 wrote

>Why aren’t Goebbels and Himmler prominent name in the general public when they are practically the architects of it all?

You're claiming Goebbels was one of two main architects of the Holocaust, when he didn't even attend the Wannsee conference. Why?

The actual architects are the men who planned and implemented it. Himmler, Heydrich, Eichmann, etc.

7

TheRichTurner t1_itnp23z wrote

I found a map online, dated from 1583, which shows the area of Norfolk where I live (Guiltcross) as part of Suffolk. All maps from before and after this date have the area as part of S. Norfolk.

The map was an official document commissioned by Lord Burleigh on behalf of Elizabeth I.

I know that Elizabeth I and Mary Tudor both lived at different times in Kenninghall Place (shown on the map as "Keanygale") which was the seat of the Duke of Norfolk, and I wonder if that might be something to do with it.

Does anyone have an idea why a part of Norfolk would briefly become a part of Suffolk in the late 16th century?

1583 map of South Norfolk

3

jezreelite t1_itnshir wrote

It's probably has something to do with the fact that the title of Duke of Norfolk was revoked after Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, was executed for treason in 1572.

The title would not be restored until 1660 when it was regranted to Thomas Howard, 5th Duke of Norfolk, a descendant of the fourth duke's younger son, Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk.

6

Dark-Darksider t1_itebbcq wrote

After the involuntary surrender in late summer 1945, a process of reappraisal and reorganization began in Japan. A new constitution was enacted in 1946, which regulates the identity of the post-war state.

Today there is still one representative Japanese emperor.

Is the country's official title still "Empire of Japan" or just "Japan"?

2

Doctor_Impossible_ t1_itedbjo wrote

The official name of the country is Nippon-koku, which means 'The State of Japan'.

>Today there is still one representative Japanese emperor.

The post-WWII constitution reduced the emperor to a figurehead. The emperor has no actual power.

8

kojohn11 t1_itgj423 wrote

What periods and places are good to know French as a history student? Clearly, if you were gonna go to graduate school for the classics or the ancient world you would be expected to know Latin. So what periods and places would you be expected to know French?

2

Clio90808 t1_itgznax wrote

I did graduate study in Medieval European history and was expected to be able to read German, French and Latin as a minimum.

3

kojohn11 t1_itirobc wrote

This may sound like a really stupid question, but what made you decide on medieval European history? Were you always interested in it? Right now I’m in undergrad and I know i want to go to graduate school for in particular. I just don’t have a area I want to specialize in though

2

Clio90808 t1_itlrsqf wrote

Well because it gave me chills and I just loved it. Nothing really rational about my decision tbh. I also love ancient history but had enough trouble with Latin, didn't want to tackle Greek. I discovered fairly late that I didn't enjoy teaching that much though. If you don't know Latin well, medieval can be a real challenge. I never mastered it.

3

kojohn11 t1_itm4xmk wrote

What profession are you in now?

2

Clio90808 t1_itoqoid wrote

I turned to the dark side eventually and got an MBA...worked in research on financial markets...I got to do some financial/economic history along the way. Studying history taught me so much: how to do research; how to analyze; how to create an argument and support/defend it; how to write a paper...I used all that in my career. Also if you work internationally, knowing their history can be a big plus.

For a successful career outside of history after majoring in it, it certainly helps to have graduate training in whatever non-history career path you choose. If you like to teach, then history may be a good path on its own. My problem was that I didn't enjoy teaching that much and you need to love it to make it through, to make history your life work.

2

Bentresh t1_ith4dy7 wrote

French and German are required languages for many disciplines in the humanities. I had to pass translation exams in both back when I was a PhD student in Egyptology.

I wrote more about this in Seeing as Egypt was under British patronage for most of the last two centuries, why is the majority of ancient Egyptian research primarily in French?

3

outerworldLV t1_itprk6k wrote

Imo, it would have to do with the French and German archeologists that did a lot of work there.

1

outerworldLV t1_itpr737 wrote

What about the time of the Cathar’s ? And when the Knight Templars were there ?

1

Larielia t1_itmltv0 wrote

What are some of your favourite historical novels set in ancient Egypt or Rome? Any time period.

2

elmonoenano t1_itvg39f wrote

For Rome, I'd check out Pride of Carthage by David Anthony Durham. It's set in the Punic Wars and is a multi-POV of different people in Hannibal's army.

2

rock_mod t1_itxi10q wrote

I’m trying to learn about 1700-early 1800’s Dutch & German history — I know next to nothing… could someone recommend a reference with maps as to how the area evolved into modern Germany?

2

amandak-47 t1_itdu5eo wrote

What is the first recorded instance of an ad (either print, radio, or TV) saying, “But wait! There’s more!”?

1

projectdavepodcaster t1_itwpq4c wrote

Who are some of your guys favorite historical “rebels” (political or cultural) that not many know about?

1

jrhooo t1_iu7f237 wrote

I wouldn't say "not known about" but Martin Luther must have been pretty hardcore.

Not because of any feeling on any religious findings one way or the other, but when you start calling out the church in the peak "burning people alive who call us out" era. I mean... ballsy

3

jezreelite t1_itxxtm8 wrote

The oracle of Nusku, Veleda, Mavia, Alena Arzamasskaia, and Laskarina Bouboulina

2

Successful-Owl6276 t1_iu0ps10 wrote

What were the consequences of not participating in Confucian rites ceremonies during the Chinese Rites Controversy?

1

McGillis_is_a_Char t1_iu1ff3i wrote

What were the structural changes between the High Middle Ages Mediterranean Galleys and Early Modern Galleys/Galleasses?

1

TeaTeamon t1_iu8e15s wrote

Question: What did Israel gain in their deal to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt? during the 7 day war

1

Dizzy_Ad_1735 t1_itd0zy1 wrote

Why is Rome the greatest civilization to have walked the Earth?

−13

Thibaudborny t1_itd67k6 wrote

It isn’t and what you are postulating as has no equivalent in academic circles. Nobody of any credibility ever said this.

9

Bashstash01 t1_itdfggc wrote

It wasn’t. It might’ve been good, sure, but nobody said it was the greatest.

8

Dizzy_Ad_1735 t1_itdjkz0 wrote

Rome is remembered for its supreme power, advanced engineering, military successes, religious customs, entertainment and its brutality. Whatever your view of Rome, you can’t deny that its international rule had wide-scale effects on our development. Beginning in the 8th century BC, ancient Rome grew from a small town on central Italy’s Tiber River into an empire that at its peaked encompassed most of continental Europe, Britain, much of Western Asia, northern Africa and the Mediterranean islands. It lasted for over 2,000 years, it's legacy is felt to this day. The United States of America is the modern Rome, it similarity is uncanny.

−10

Doctor_Impossible_ t1_itdqdgu wrote

>Rome is remembered for its supreme power, advanced engineering, military successes, religious customs, entertainment and its brutality.

You're just describing any empire.

>Whatever your view of Rome, you can’t deny that its international rule had wide-scale effects on our development.

Same as the British empire, Qing empire, Mongol empire, etc.

>The United States of America is the modern Rome, it similarity is uncanny.

O-kay.

4

[deleted] t1_itdsc3i wrote

[removed]

−4

skyblueandblack t1_ite5hyz wrote

Ohhhh! So because it figures heavily into the history of your own worldview, that means it's the greatest, right? Yeah, that's a pretty dated worldview, sorry.

5

Dizzy_Ad_1735 t1_ite8371 wrote

Name any other civilization that has left a huge impact greater than Rome, it's legacy is still seen to this day, like I stated before, USA is the closest to it, it's almost an exact copy.

−4

MeatballDom t1_itebjrx wrote

> you're writing the question using the Latin alphabet

Rome didn't invent the Latin alphabet.

> in a language that is heavily influenced by Latin

Calling English "heavily influenced by Latin is a very big stretch.

>if you speak Spanish, Italian, French, Romanian, or Portugese, you are speaking a language directly related to Latin.

All languages are related to others, this doesn't really tell us much.

>which spread Christianity

But did not create Christianity. Wouldn't this go against your own argument? Their own gods were supplanted by a foreign one.

>If you are Jewish and not living in Israel, it is because the Romans expelled the Jews from Judea, and your ancestors were forced to move elsewhere.

That's a pretty huge stretch, but which empires didn't cause populations to move?

>Geopolitically, a lot of the crimes committed against the Jews over the millennia can be traced to the expulsion of the Jews.

You're really going to have to provide a citation on that one.

>You could argue that the conflict in the Middle East is due to the area being under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire, and then the Ottoman Empire (it's successor empire), for two thousand years

You really couldn't.

> which lead peoples of various cultures, languages, and religions it intermingle in ways that didn't happen in other places

Where are their homogenous societies still existing? Not many. And every empire included mixtures of cultures, languages, and religions intermingling. That's a defining feature, but this is the norm in modern society.

The issues come more from the attempts to divide the intermingled peoples, and trying to force population exchanges and identity borders. See in particular Campos' Ottoman Brothers and the mandate system as a whole.

>and as a result, the nation-state as a political entity has mostly failed there

The notion of Nation States is a modern one entirely, trying to tie Nationalism with Rome is once again a stretch.

>derive from the Roman legal system.

Have some basis in, perhaps, but Rome did not create a unique legal system, they also found inspiration from other places to help create theirs, this is how all systems work throughout history. Rome is not unique in this.

>Trade routes between the various countries of Europe, particularly Western Europe, were affected by Roman occupation

Again, which empires did this not occur with?

>and in many cases, created by the Romans.

Such as?

>Oh, and the whole concept of the Senate, which we use in the U.S. as one of our two houses of Congress, is based on the Roman Senate.

Outside of the name the systems don't really match up that well.

I think you have this very strong view of an idealised Rome that has left you a bit biased. And as mentioned above, that's why no historian would try and list a greatest empire ever, or anything like the sort -- there's no scientific way to come up with such an answer. It's all bias.

5

[deleted] t1_iteeiwp wrote

[removed]

1

MeatballDom t1_itefhc6 wrote

>The Latin alphabet was developed from the Etruscan alphabet at some time before 600 BCE, it can be traced through Etruscan, Greek, and Phoenician scripts to the North Semitic alphabet used in Syria and Palestine about 1100 BCE

That's well written, too well written.

> Developed from the Etruscan alphabet at some time before 600 BC, it can be traced through Etruscan, Greek, and Phoenician scripts to the North Semitic alphabet used in the Middle East about 1100 BC.

http://kurdishacademy.org/?p=2570

If you're going to start off your argument with plagiarism it doesn't really give me much confidence for the rest of the thing.

And here's the rest https://www.wondriumdaily.com/echoes-of-rome-roman-influences-in-everyday-modern-lives/

>One of the most overt ways in which Rome has shaped the modern world is in the area of politics and government. The United States was founded and designed as a deliberate imitation of the Roman Republic. This is why it possesses such features and vocabulary such as a senate, three branches of government, a system of checks and balances, and vetoes, all of which were components of the Roman Republic.

>The emphasis on citizenship and the participatory role of citizens are based on a Roman paradigm, exemplified by the legendary Roman citizen, Cincinnatus. The Founding Fathers were steeped in classical ideas, and self-consciously set out to fashion a new Rome.

>The instigators of the French Revolution were similarly inspired by an idealized notion of the Roman Republic, and both countries adopted much of their symbolism and terminology from Rome.

>In general, Roman history and the Latin language have given rise to a surprising number of terms for absolute rulers, including ‘prince’ from princeps; ‘duke’ from dux; ‘Tsar’ and ‘Kaiser’ from Caesar; and, of course, the word “dictator” itself.

None of this is your own thoughts.

>I can go on and on, but its to much for this subreddit.

But you can't. You've just copied and pasted what others have said and have misconstrued their arguments to try and fit yours.

4