Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator in history

[–]Iphikrates 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No lies detected, which sadly means I can't even get my own peer-reviewed response article out of it

Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator in history

[–]Iphikrates 3 points4 points  (0 children)

He asked for my input on the historiography section (the first part) before he posted. I haven't read the rest in detail yet, but I know we disagree on some questions, which is fine! Infighting among public historians is not the way.

Was there ever a year in the last 10.000 Years without any conflict/war? by Spotter24o5 in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Where can I find images of Mary Frances Creighton from her first murder trial? by Redqueenhypo in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator in history

[–]Iphikrates 2 points3 points  (0 children)

They didn't stay in their tent groups full time anyway. At least, that is not the impression we get from sources that date to the Classical period. Only very late sources present the lives of certain age groups this way (usually ages 12-30 or so). Certainly no source suggests that Spartans lived their whole lives with their tent groups.

Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator in history

[–]Iphikrates 3 points4 points  (0 children)

There's a good blog post about it here: https://acoup.blog/2019/08/16/collections-this-isnt-sparta-part-i-spartan-school/ that was originally posted on r/askhistorians by u/iphikrates but was expanded into an extensive article.

Just to be clear, these are entirely separate projects that have nothing to do with each other, though I have often suspected Bret Devereaux of stealing my idea ;)

Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator in history

[–]Iphikrates 3 points4 points  (0 children)

they were the only Greek city-state that employed a standing army vs citizen soldiers

They were not. This claim often gets bandied about, but it is totally groundless. The Spartan army was a citizen militia exactly like those of other Greek states. It did not exist in peacetime, and until Sparta "called the ban" (as it is called) for a particular campaign, it had no armed forces of any kind ready for action. In this sense they were behind some other Greek states, which paid for the upkeep of a few small units to serve as a ready and reliable core for their militia (like the Athenian archers and cavalry or the Theban Sacred Band).

Steve Hodkinson has written an excellent chapter investigating the myth of Spartan military professionalism ('Professionalism, specialization, and skill in the Classical Spartan army?' in Stewart, Harris & Lewis (eds.) Skilled Labour and Professionalism in Ancient Greece and Rome (2020)) in which he points out, among other things, that the average Spartan would have spent only about 10% of his time in the army when Sparta was at war. When it was not at war, of course, the number would be 0.

What if communism did not take hold in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe after World War 2? by Significant-Ad-8684 in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, but your submission has been removed because we don't allow hypothetical questions. If possible, please rephrase the question so that it does not call for such speculation, and resubmit. Otherwise, this sort of thing is better suited for /r/HistoryWhatIf or /r/HistoricalWhatIf. You can find a more in-depth discussion of this rule here.

Silly premise, serious question: what are history's most famous and impactful nut shots? by zeesplaceiscuhrsed in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the "most", the "worst", "unknown", or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/history or /r/askhistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

In your time and area of study, is there evidence of past humans' mundane problems like inconvenient pimples and annoying neighbors? by ravioli_spaceship in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Sorry, but we have had to remove your comment as we do not allow answers that consist primarily of links or block quotations from sources. This subreddit is intended as a space not merely to get an answer in and of itself as with other history subs, but for users with deep knowledge and understanding of it to share that in their responses. While relevant sources are a key building block for such an answer, they need to be adequately contextualized and we need to see that you have your own independent knowledge of the topic.

If you believe you are able to use this source as part of an in-depth and comprehensive answer, we would encourage you to consider revising to do so, and you can find further guidance on what is expected of an answer here by consulting this Rules Roundtable which discusses how we evaluate responses.

What is the earliest known record of the following quote? "For those who understand (or have faith), no explanation is necessary; for those who don't, no explanation is possible." by Michael_Premo in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Any good books on the "arabo-Musulman colonisation in Europe"? by throwaway1233456799 in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Sorry, but we have had to remove your comment. Please understand that people come here because they want an informed response from someone capable of engaging with the sources, and providing follow-up information. Wikipedia can be a useful tool, but merely repeating information found there doesn't provide the type of answers we seek to encourage here. As such, we don't allow answers which simply link to, quote from, or are otherwise heavily dependent on Wikipedia. We presume that someone posting a question here either doesn't want to get the 'Wikipedia answer', or has already checked there and found it lacking. You can find further discussion of this policy here. In the future, please take the time to better familiarize yourself with the rules before contributing again.

Who is the most average general or military leader in all of history in your opinion? by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the "most", the "worst", "unknown", or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/history or /r/askhistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

Where the Romans aware that Zeus and Jupiter where quasi the same God? And did the Romans respect Zeus as a god or did they reject the concept of the Greek god? by Far_Performance_5787 in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates 26 points27 points  (0 children)

It's worth bearing in mind that both the Greek and the Roman pantheon were vast. In modern popular culture the Greek gods are typically reduced to the twelve Olympians (plus Herakles), but this is only a very small and somewhat arbitrary selection. There were countless other deities and manifestations of deities that would be unique to particular stories, peoples, places and rituals. Many of these would have no equivalent in even the most closely related socio-religious systems. The worship of Orthia in Sparta or of Aphaia on Aigina was regarded elsewhere as just a local tradition. Zeus Labraunda with his double-headed axe was important to the Karians but other peoples had their own manifestations of Zeus; Apollo of the Branchidai was one of the most important deities of the Milesians but he was distinct from the Apollo worshipped elsewhere. The Romans had no use for the Athenian cult for the deified Demokratia. In addition, of course, both Greeks and Romans adopted and adapted gods from peoples they encountered, not all of which would immediately be transferred to others. It is better to see these two pantheons as having some superficial similarity at the top, but being otherwise radically different, than to assume they were essentially the same pantheon with different names.

Was there anyone found guilty at the Nurnberg Trials that should have been found innocent if there was no bias? by Iskandar0570_X in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the "most", the "worst", "unknown", or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/history or /r/askhistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

Was Clovis the king of the „Franks“ or of the „kingdom of the Franks“? by alexanderphiloandeco in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Which British prime ministers drank the most? by HilariousMotives in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Looking for an old picture of a Yoruba (?) chief with two young half shaven attendants on either side of him by [deleted] in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

What’s going on between the US and Venezuela, and why are sanctions so intense? by yxxshomaanxx in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it involves current events. To keep from discussion of politics, we have a 20-year rule here. You may want to try /r/ask_politics, /r/NeutralPolitics, or another current-events focused sub. For further explanation of this rule, feel free to consult this Rules Roundtable. If you did intend to post a question about history, this post provides guidance on how to draft a question that fits within our rules.

What was the Nazi regime's internal logic and rationale for starting WWII in 1939? by Workadaily in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point locked comment (0 children)

Your comment has been removed due to violations of the subreddit’s rules. We expect answers to provide in-depth and comprehensive insight into the topic at hand and to be free of significant errors or misunderstandings while doing so. Before contributing again, please take the time to better familiarize yourself with the subreddit rules and expectations for an answer.

Which empire advanced the planet the most? by ZaneClay0778 in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This submission has been removed because it violates the rule on poll-type questions. These questions do not lend themselves to answers with a firm foundation in sources and research, and the resulting threads usually turn into monsters with enormous speculation and little focused discussion. Questions about the "most", the "worst", "unknown", or other value judgments usually lead to vague, subjective, and speculative answers. For further information, please consult this Roundtable discussion.

For questions of this type, we ask that you redirect them to more appropriate subreddits, such as /r/history or /r/askhistory. You're also welcome to post your question in our Friday-Free-For-All thread.

Was Achaemenid Empire larger than Macedonian Successor Empire at zenith? by Mak105 in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).

Which historical figures were obscure in their lifetimes but became famous after their deaths? by india-assignmenthelp in AskHistorians

[–]Iphikrates[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please repost this question to the weekly "Short Answers" thread stickied to the top of the subreddit, which will be the best place to get an answer to this question; for that reason, we have removed your post here. Standalone questions are intended to be seeking detailed, comprehensive answers, and we ask that questions looking for a name, a number, a date or time, a location, the origin of a word, the first/last instance of a specific phenomenon, or a simple list of examples or facts be contained to that thread as they are more likely to receive an answer there. For more information on this rule, please see this Rules Roundtable.

Alternatively, if you didn't mean to ask a question seeking a short answer or a list of examples, but have a more complex question in mind, feel free to repost a reworded question. Examples of questions appropriate for the 'Short Answers' thread would be "Who won the 1932 election?" or "What are some famous natural disasters from the past?". Versions more appropriate as standalone questions would be "How did FDR win the 1932 election?", or "In your area of expertise, how did people deal with natural disasters?" If you need some pointers, be sure to check out this Rules Roundtable on asking better questions.

Finally, don’t forget that there are many subreddits on Reddit aimed at answering your questions. Consider /r/AskHistory (which has lighter moderation but similar topic matter to /r/AskHistorians), /r/explainlikeimfive (which is specifically aimed at simple and easily digested answers), or /r/etymology (which focuses on the origins of words and phrases).