The History Thread

maniak said:
Any good podcasts about history? Preferably about medieval times or not Europe-centrered.
Click to expand...

  • Revolutions. Not medieval times, and some of the seasons are Europe-entered, but it's all good.
  • The History of Rome. It's... the history of Rome. A little but amateurish at the start, but he grows with it, and either way it's an excellent podcast.
  • History Extra Podcast. Lots of different stuff. BBC thing.
  • In Our Time: History. BBC thing.
  • Scene on Radio. Particularly season 4 is excellent.
  • BackStory. No new episodes being created, but many, many good ones.
  • Fall of Civilizations. It's about the fall of civilizations. Duh.
  • You're Dead To Me. Sort of comedic take.
 
maniak said:
Any good podcasts about history? Preferably about medieval times or not Europe-centrered.
Click to expand...

This is really great - Ottoman History Podcast

It covers a lot more than just Ottoman History, you can find episodes on most aspects of medieval/early modern and even modern Islamic history. It’s on Spotify.
 
It's a difficult situation, we all want the war in Yemen to end and the focus is mainly on Saudi intervention, but if they back out the Houthi's will be left in charge, which isn't the best result as we can see.
 


Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced on Thursday that an Egyptian mission under the supervision of Egyptologist Dr. Zahi Hawass discovered a city – dubbed the Rise of Aten – which had been under the sands for 3,000 years, dating back to the reign of Amenhotep III. The statement, which was shared on the Ministry’s social media pages, adds that “the largest city ever found in Egypt” was founded by one of the greatest rulers of Egypt, namely of the New Kingdom, Amenhotep III. The latter had been the ninth king of Dynasty 18, ruling Egypt from 1391 till 1353 B.C.

“Many foreign missions searched for this city and never found it. We began our work searching for the mortuary temple of Tutankhamun because the temples of both Horemheb and Ay were found in this area,” Hawass said. “The city’s streets are flanked by houses, which some of their walls reach 3 meters high. We can reveal that the city extends to the west, all the way to the famous Deir el-Medina.” Betsy Brian, Professor of Egyptology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore USA, described the discovery as “the second most important archeological discovery since the tomb of Tutankhamun.”

Brian continued to add that it “will not only will give us a rare glimpse into the life of the ancient Egyptians at the time, but will help us shed light on one of history’s greatest mystery: why did Akhenaten and Nefertiti decide to move to Amarna.”

The city is considered a vital clue to the cultural and religious developments of the reign of Amenhotep III whose succession would come at the hands of his son, Akhenaten. The latter’s ambitions had resulted in a move from the capital of Thebes to a newly-built capital near contemporary Minya, Tel-El-Amarna. Due to organic material from which settlements were constructed from, their survival rates into modern day Egypt is rare. As such, along with the famed settlement of Deir-El Medina, the city’s discovery can provide archaeologists with a glimpse of daily life activities in ancient times.

After Hawass’ team began excavating in September 2020, several areas and neighborhoods were uncovered, such as the administrative and industrial center and a bakery. The statement adds that the city is in good condition of preservation, with almost complete walls and rooms filled with tools of daily life. The discovery comes after Egypt’s historic pharaohs’ golden parade, which saw 22 mummies transported from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to their new home, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, in a glittering display. Among the mummies was the body of Amenhotep III.

Earlier in January 2021, Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced new ‘major’ discoveries at Saqqara archaeological site, which included a new trove of treasures and an ancient funerary temple, dating back to the New Kingdom. Announcements of discoveries highlighting Egypt’s ancient history are significant as they provide a natural boost to the country’s tourism sector. The tourism sector represents the main source of foreign currency income in the country in addition to being an important building block to stabilizing Egypt’s economy.
Click to expand...
https://egyptianstreets.com/2021/04...unces-discovery-of-lost-golden-city-in-luxor/
 
The letter of ‘The Convert’: T-S 16.100

“[The letter] describes a woman, who was from a wealthy Christian background, who had converted, and married a certain David of the family of R. Ṭodros in Narbonne. Forced to flee her vengeful family, they had ended up in a new community, where David was killed in an act of violent anti-Semitism perpetrated in the synagogue itself. Two of the couple’s children – Jacob and Justa – were seized by the perpetrators. The letter is an appeal for the widow and her baby, who are now in abject poverty.”

https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collectio...arch-unit/fragment-month/fotm-2020/fragment-6
 
esmufc07 said:
Interesting read

Click to expand...

To be fair they'll fight anyone in Bamber Bridge at closing time, the poor yank military police must have had a bit of a shock.

The article reflects well on Lancashire though, and reminds me the Abolitionist movement was strong here.

One of the twitterers replies 'there's a movie in this surely?' and I have to think how right he is. Dour lancashire working classes meet exotic Americans from another planet etc.
 
adexkola said:
I'm listening to this at the moment. Stuff I know but this is excellent content
Click to expand...

You're really well read then! (Or American) I specifically didn't know the stuff about Blacks fighting for the British being a trigger for independence, how Dunmore provoked that and the tribes, or that Washington for example didn't give a feck about democracy. I knew they'd removed the anti slavery bit from the DoI, but not a lot of the background stuff. Was pretty fascinating tbh!

Well worth a listen to any others wanting something.
 
owlo said:
You're really well read then! (Or American) I specifically didn't know the stuff about Blacks fighting for the British being a trigger for independence, how Dunmore provoked that and the tribes, or that Washington for example didn't give a feck about democracy. I knew they'd removed the anti slavery bit from the DoI, but not a lot of the background stuff. Was pretty fascinating tbh!

Well worth a listen to any others wanting something.
Click to expand...

That
 
What are some of the most interesting stuff about the Roman Empire era ?

Also, how was it able to become such a powerful entity in the world, and why, ultimately, it declined ?

If anyone likes that subject, feel free to share your knowledge and reccomend any article or book that comes to your mind.
 
Luke1995 said:
What are some of the most interesting stuff about the Roman Empire era ?

Also, how was it able to become such a powerful entity in the world, and why, ultimately, it declined ?

If anyone likes that subject, feel free to share your knowledge and reccomend any article or book that comes to your mind.
Click to expand...

In the end it got too big. The initial ideas were genius - I have read a lot of books on it and will send some across. They expanded due to organization that other "barbarian" or unorganized tribes etc. didn't have.
 
NM said:
In the end it got too big. The initial ideas were genius - I have read a lot of books on it and will send some across. They expanded due to organization that other "barbarian" or unorganized tribes etc. didn't have.
Click to expand...
I'd argue the end also had a lot to do with groups from Central and Eastern Europe being pushed west by groups from further east bring pushed into Europe. The Roman Empire didn't do large population movements/migrations and couldn't handle what was coming at them - which set in motion a domino of issues (destruction of the countryside in certain regions, leading to famine and anarchy, etc.) that destabilized and undermined everything.

I should check at home what I used for teaching. I had a really good book at some point - although I don't know how it compares to everything that's on the market. (There is so much.)
 
Luke1995 said:
What are some of the most interesting stuff about the Roman Empire era ?

Also, how was it able to become such a powerful entity in the world, and why, ultimately, it declined ?

If anyone likes that subject, feel free to share your knowledge and reccomend any article or book that comes to your mind.
Click to expand...



179 episodes.
 
Luke1995 said:
What are some of the most interesting stuff about the Roman Empire era ?

Also, how was it able to become such a powerful entity in the world, and why, ultimately, it declined ?

If anyone likes that subject, feel free to share your knowledge and reccomend any article or book that comes to your mind.
Click to expand...
I‘ll try to point out a few things to help. Firstly, as fascinating as Julius Caesar is, don’t get hung up on him and the empire that followed. There were several fascinating people before him in the Republic that shaped what was to come: the Gracchi brothers, Marius, Sulla… The Storm Before The Storm by Duncan focuses on some of this era; you’ll get his podcast History of Rome recommended often for good reason.

You can check out Augustus by Goldsworthy to learn how he consolidated the empire. The same author also has a book on Julius equally worth checking out which you can supplement with Rubicon by Holland, though I don’t recall enough to say which is better.

I am having trouble recalling off the top of my head specific sources for the fall of the empire, which was never as interesting for me. As one historian put it (paraphrasing to the point of butchering the quote): ‘it is not the fall that is fascinating, but how it existed in the first place’. Like was noted above you have to consider the movement of people from the great Eurasian Steppe, just like so many other aspects of history and prehistory. And of course the inherent difficulty of managing such a large and disparate empire separated by mountains and seas, even with all their roads.
 
Organic Potatoes said:
I am having trouble recalling off the top of my head specific sources for the fall of the empire, which was never as interesting for me. As one historian put it (paraphrasing to the point of butchering the quote): ‘it is not the fall that is fascinating, but how it existed in the first place’. Like was noted above you have to consider the movement of people from the great Eurasian Steppe, just like so many other aspects of history and prehistory. And of course the inherent difficulty of managing such a large and disparate empire separated by mountains and seas, even with all their roads.
Click to expand...
The third century is actually absolutely fascinating in that respect; more so than the second, which has the bigger names (like Trajan and Hadrian) but is otherwise kind of a bore historically. But the third century crisis in the way the empire starts cracking, generals fight each other, money devalues, other areas remain untouched etc. both explicitly and implicitly tells much more about how the empire really worked, and along the way provides great insights how past societies (in a very wide sense) worked below the top layer that history often focuses on. You'd need a very recent book that treats this properly though; books from before 2000 are too likely to treat this period just as a poorly documented succession of wannabe emperors.
 
Organic Potatoes said:
I‘ll try to point out a few things to help. Firstly, as fascinating as Julius Caesar is, don’t get hung up on him and the empire that followed. There were several fascinating people before him in the Republic that shaped what was to come: the Gracchi brothers, Marius, Sulla… The Storm Before The Storm by Duncan focuses on some of this era; you’ll get his podcast History of Rome recommended often for good reason.

You can check out Augustus by Goldsworthy to learn how he consolidated the empire. The same author also has a book on Julius equally worth checking out which you can supplement with Rubicon by Holland, though I don’t recall enough to say which is better.

I am having trouble recalling off the top of my head specific sources for the fall of the empire, which was never as interesting for me. As one historian put it (paraphrasing to the point of butchering the quote): ‘it is not the fall that is fascinating, but how it existed in the first place’. Like was noted above you have to consider the movement of people from the great Eurasian Steppe, just like so many other aspects of history and prehistory. And of course the inherent difficulty of managing such a large and disparate empire separated by mountains and seas, even with all their roads.
Click to expand...

Yeah Julius Caesar is often the most mentioned name. But obviously such a massive empire had plenty of other important developments. Thank you for the reccomendations and the insight!
 
Luke1995 said:
Hey @nimic . Thank you man. I am more used to reading books, but perhaps listening is more fun ? Will give it a try!

Also, thank you @NM For the reply! First time looking at the roman empire since school.
Click to expand...

I love books too, but I have podcasts on my phone for whenever I'm doing stuff like driving, doing the dishes, getting ready for bed, whatever. The History of Rome is excellent, though the beginning is a bit rougher than the rest since it was his first attempt at podcasting. He finds his feet just a few episodes in (and as a bonus, if you finish the podcast and want more, he's many seasons into his Revolutions podcast atm!)
 
Luke1995 said:
Yeah Julius Caesar is often the most mentioned name. But obviously such a massive empire had plenty of other important developments. Thank you for the reccomendations and the insight!
Click to expand...
Periods of transition tend to be interesting as a proper book (or whatever) on them will go into the background of the events, and that explains a lot about the underlying mechanisms. In that sense, you might learn more about Republican and early Imperial Rome from a history of Rome of the 1st century BCE (all the internal unrest, leading to Caesar and then August) than an equivalent book on the 3rd or 2nd century BCE.

It depends on what you like though. As you can probably tell, I'm really into the underlying processes, structures, and mechanism of history. But obviously, the Second Punic War (218-201) is massively interesting from the viewpoint of military history, and Attalus III's gift of the Kingdom of Pergamon to Rome after his death is one of the more baffling (and hence fascinating) moments in Roman history.
 
nimic said:
I love books too, but I have podcasts on my phone for whenever I'm doing stuff like driving, doing the dishes, getting ready for bed, whatever. The History of Rome is excellent, though the beginning is a bit rougher than the rest since it was his first attempt at podcasting. He finds his feet just a few episodes in (and as a bonus, if you finish the podcast and want more, he's many seasons into his Revolutions podcast atm!)
Click to expand...

I will try it. I have a little hearing loss from birth actually, but if I pump up the volume, should work just fine.

Just to get my feet wet: Romulus and Remus were tasked with founding Rome in 753 BC. Romulus, apparently, killed Remus. After that, Rome was a monarchy, with a couple other kings.

Then, in 509 BC the Roman Republic started, with a massive conflict between plebeians and patricians. After the Punic wars, came Gracchi, Marius, some civil wars... and then, finally, Julius Caesar and everything else after him.

Of course, to understand what happened with Julius and the Empire itself, I will first look at the transition periods.

And just to answer to @Cheimoon, I like more connecting all the dots, the structures. Understanding how each event gave birth to a new event. But obviously military history and the characters themselves can be interesting.

Actually read Machiavelli a few years ago and it seems to me that most political events in any part of history are guided by that blueprint of search for eternal power. Of course in today's world, empires and kings are less present than in centuries agos and I suppose most countries cut down on that for a good reason.
 
@2cents et al., I'm trying to find a book to give a good overview of the British Empire, any recommendations?
 
SilentWitness said:
@2cents et al., I'm trying to find a book to give a good overview of the British Empire, any recommendations?
Click to expand...

Really tough to come up with one volume for the entire subject, there’s so much to consider. Like I could confidently recommend stuff on South Asia and Middle East specifically, but I suppose a decent effort which tries (maybe not entirely successfully tbh) to avoid the ‘balance-sheet’ approach would be John Darwin’s Unfinished Empire. Another might be the edited volume British Empire: Themes and Perspectives. Neither of these would be a straight forward chronological narrative, but I doubt that’s what you’re looking for anyway.

Darwin probably wouldn’t be favored by the younger generation of Empire historians emerging at the moment, but he’s no Niall Ferguson, and I don’t think the new breed have yet produced a single-volume effort.
 
Saudi Arabia camel carvings dated to prehistoric era
_120570737_gettyimages-923324692.jpg

A series of camel sculptures carved into rock faces in Saudi Arabia are likely to be the oldest large-scale animal reliefs in the world, a study says.

When the carvings were first discovered in 2018, researchers estimated they were created about 2,000 years ago.

This was based on their similarity to reliefs at Jordan's famous ancient city of Petra.

But a fresh study puts the camels at between 7,000-8,000 old.
Click to expand...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-58570259?at_custom4=78EDBDDE-1621-11EC-BB45-981D3A982C1E&at_custom1=[post+type]&at_campaign=64&at_custom3=BBC+News&at_custom2=facebook_page&at_medium=custom7&fbclid=IwAR0pIcJvKkCBmLv0wEglgZP7cH-osI22Cio38OsfmrSZHST0RZma7yq7Hjo

8000 year old art would be incredible. To put it into perspective, these sculptures could have been created in Arabia before the evolution of white skin in human beings. In other words, when every homo sapien on the planet was still black.
 
Dante said:
8000 year old art would be incredible. To put it into perspective, these sculptures could have been created in Arabia before the evolution of white skin in human beings. In other words, when every homo sapien on the planet was still black.
Click to expand...
Almost as old as Gobekli Tepe. I love learning about discoveries like this from history, which I had a lot of time to do the last couple years.

Like we probably confirmed Polynesians discovered South America (unless the reverse happened?), which we suspected because the first European explorers noted that they had potatoes which should have been impossible. Going back further, Homo Erectus somehow made it across a strait to islands that were too far away to swim which might be the biggest mindfeck of them all.
 
Organic Potatoes said:
Like we probably confirmed Polynesians discovered South America (unless the reverse happened?), which we suspected because the first European explorers noted that they had potatoes which should have been impossible. Going back further, Homo Erectus somehow made it across a strait to islands that were too far away to swim which might be the biggest mindfeck of them all.
Click to expand...
For those kinds of things, it's often very helpful to get a good sense of geological developments. The modern map hides a lot of old topography and makes a lot of historical things look much weirder than they really were.

For example, until the second half of the 7th millennium BCE, there was an island between the Netherlands and England, Doggerland. So one wouldn't have to be able to swim across the Channel from Calais to Dover to reach England.

Or another example, if you look at a map of Sumerian settlements in what's now southeastern Iraq, they are oddly clustered a good bit inland. What's so special about the Tigris and the Euphrates there in particular? Well, nothing today - but back in the 4th/3rd millennium BCE, the sea reached much further inland (in fact, the Euphrates and Tigris didn't even merge), and some of those Sumerian towns were sea ports. As this Wikipedia map shows:

1280px-Sumer_satellite_map.jpg


I think geological change is a really underrated consideration for early human history. (At least in popular storytelling about history.) Although of course I don't know what role it might have played in the cases you were thinking of in your post. Maybe I'm just randomly geeking out here. :D
 
Cheimoon said:
For those kinds of things, it's often very helpful to get a good sense of geological developments. The modern map hides a lot of old topography and makes a lot of historical things look much weirder than they really were.

For example, until the second half of the 7th millennium BCE, there was an island between the Netherlands and England, Doggerland. So one wouldn't have to be able to swim across the Channel from Calais to Dover to reach England.

Or another example, if you look at a map of Sumerian settlements in what's now southeastern Iraq, they are oddly clustered a good bit inland. What's so special about the Tigris and the Euphrates there in particular? Well, nothing today - but back in the 4th/3rd millennium BCE, the sea reached much further inland (in fact, the Euphrates and Tigris didn't even merge), and some of those Sumerian towns were sea ports. As this Wikipedia map shows:

1280px-Sumer_satellite_map.jpg


I think geological change is a really underrated consideration for early human history. (At least in popular storytelling about history.) Although of course I don't know what role it might have played in the cases you were thinking of in your post. Maybe I'm just randomly geeking out here. :D
Click to expand...
They don’t apply, so you are just geeking out. :lol: They simulated what sea levels were like when Homo Erectus made this journey. And it wasn’t just a superstar swimmer or one guy floating away on a log after a typhoon; they raised families there. And Doggerland wasn’t just an island. ;)

Edit: I do really like your point though. I have a background in geology so its effect here is something I‘m keenly interested in.
 
Last edited:
Organic Potatoes said:
They don’t apply, so you are just geeking out. :lol: They simulated what sea levels were like when Homo Erectus made this journey. And it wasn’t just a superstar swimmer or one guy floating away on a log after a typhoon; they raised families there. And Doggerland wasn’t just an island. ;)

Edit: I do really like your point though. I have a background in geology so its effect here is something I‘m keenly interested in.
Click to expand...
:lol:

So much for that, then. :) Anyway, I agree that early humans did some really surprising things. And yes, Doggerland wasn't an island, not sure why I wrote that. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.