Questions tagged [ancient-history]
Ancient history was from the beginning of recorded history (c. 4000 B.C.) until the fall of the Roman Empire (c. A.D. 500).
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Can history shed any light on the “secret arts” of the Egyptian magicians who turned their staffs into serpents as claimed by Exodus 7:11-12?
The biblical story of Exodus 7:11-12 talks about the alleged existence of some "secret arts" that the magicians of Egypt made use of to accomplish the feat of turning staffs into serpents:
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8answers
690 views
Were ancient people interested in archaeology?
Before the establishment of the field of archaeology, which is said here to have originated in 15th and 16th century Europe, surely ancient peoples were also curious about those who came before them ...
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What were paper airplanes called before there were real airplanes? (i.e. untethered winged flyers, not kites or balloons)
According to the Google Ngram Viewer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Ngram_Viewer) the English word "airplane" was practically unused before the year 1900. Given that paper is ...
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1answer
333 views
What media did Irenaeus used to write his letters?
Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260/265 – 339/340) in his work Church History (Book V, Chapter 20 "The Writings of Irenaeus against the Schismatics at Rome") said:
Irenaeus wrote several letters ...
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1answer
198 views
Did the Celts come to England from France and Belgium?
I apologize for this ridiculous question. I have little knowledge of European history. The following is a passage from Charles Dickens' A Child's History of England:
"But the Phoenicians, sailing ...
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1answer
191 views
What ancient American Indians used this triangle shape burial ground?
The historians in my area say that's the ancient American Indian burial ground. Which ancient American Indians used triangular-shaped burial grounds?
The area is located in Washington Township, ...
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6answers
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What is the earliest mention of space travel?
What was the earliest mention in recorded history of travel through space? Admittedly, I am not really a history buff, but I am writing a scientific paper related to space travel, so I wanted to give ...
2
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0answers
64 views
Is there evidence that Egyptian culture was originally matriachical? [duplicate]
I am currently reading The Origins and History of Consciousness by Erich Neumann. The book is essentially an application of recapitulation theory to the development of human consciousness, asserting ...
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1answer
193 views
Can a tablet dated to the reign of king Aha be deciphered?
The following is an outline of the tablet showing the string by which it was attached to goods for shipment or storage.
Then comes the main source of information:
The first two glyphs are easy to ...
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0answers
120 views
Does anyone know what day(s) the Dacian calendar year started on? [closed]
The Dacian calendar is supposedly one of the most accurate calendars of ancient times. I've found generalities about the overall composition of the calendar, like it has three seasons, instead of 4. ...
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How true is this observation concerning battle?
I came across a quote:
“One who risks his life in battle has the best chance of saving it; one who flees to save it is most likely to lose it” (Anthologia Lyrica Graeca, ed. E. Diehl2 1936-42.)
The ...
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2answers
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Was there a period in history predating the 15th century where being bald was not looked upon negatively?
I know that ancient Egyptians shaved their heads, but they usually wore wigs. Was there any culture where head shaving was seen in a positive light and hair loss was looked upon in a positive light? I ...
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0answers
57 views
What was the Chola kings ancestry?
Chola King Rajendra Chola's copper plates indicate that the Cholas were descendants of the Solar Dynasty Kings of India. Are there any other evidences available and is there a dynasty tree available?
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1answer
224 views
Why are pre-Harappan strata grouped together with Early Harappan strata? Does this not obfuscate the development of the civilization?
(1) I don't understand why some sites are called early Harappan because these sites are pre-Harappan so why we use wrong name with that. Can any one explain?
From 'India's Ancient Past' by RS Sharma, ...
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1answer
395 views
Why did marriage and multiple children make Hurrem Sultan special?
As far as I have learnt there was a princess named Ayesa (Hatun), daughter of Meñli I Giray of Crimean, who was first married off to Shehzade Mehmed, brother of Sultan Selim 1. After the death of the ...
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1answer
276 views
What is the oldest quote or poem in known history?
What is the oldest quote, poem, words of wisdom ever written in known history?
I'm guessing it's Kemetian or Babylonian.
I've read some on the internet that I know from memory but cannot verify them, ...
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1answer
219 views
What did the Greeks call their gods while under Roman rule? [closed]
I read this question and it made me think. The Romans "inherited" the Greek gods, they just gave them new names, but what happened in actual Greece after the Roman conquest of Greece? Did ...
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0answers
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Was “Via Regia” the original name of the “Via Nova Traiana”?
This is a quote from Wikipedia:
The Via Traiana Nova or Via Nova Traiana (Latin for 'Trajan's New
Road'), previously known as the Via Regia or King's Highway, was an
ancient Roman road built by ...
5
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1answer
222 views
Who were Alexander's historians that wrote about Indian social conditions?
I'm reading Ancient India, and in Chapter 12, it is written that
Alexander's historians also give us important information about social and economic conditions. They tell us about sati system, fine ...
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1answer
185 views
What's the primary theory behind tracks in the stone around the world? [closed]
What's the primary theory behind tracks in the stone around the world?
Even if they are ancient roads, why there are no traces from the horses or other animals that should be in the middle?
Turkey:
...
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0answers
103 views
How were elders addressed in Ancient Egypt?
I’m writing a book and want to know how a child would respectfully address an older male and female person—like Sir or Lord or Madam—in Ancient Egypt?
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1answer
232 views
Is there evidence this weapon existed? [closed]
Recently, I came across different medias depicting the same weapon: what looks like a lance blade with a staff of an approximately equivalent length. The most known example would be the spear of ...
3
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0answers
347 views
What did the Gauls look like during the 1st century BC? [closed]
Right around the time of the Roman conquest of Gaul, contemporaneous accounts describe the Gauls as having looked like beasts or savages, with thick knotted cloaks and unkempt long hair and beards. ...
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1answer
575 views
What kind of missile flew with such speed in 1st century BCE?
Lucretius in De rerum natura, book 6 verses 310 tries to explain the nature of lightning.
Apparently he says that a body moving quickly through the air acquires some heat.
The Latin verse is:
non ...
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0answers
73 views
Are there visualisations of the Kerma state along with other Nile Valley civilizations?
Wikipedia describes the Kerma state as existing contemporaneously with Middle Kingdom Egypt, from approx 2500 BC to 1500 BC. Yet, the article on the Kerma doesn't illustrate the Kermanese (?) sphere ...
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1answer
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Which ancient cults would cut out the hearts of live animals and offer them as sacrifices?
Which ancient cults would cut out the hearts of live animals and offer them as sacrifices? The Mishnah (Avodah Zarah 2:3) mentions a concept called עורות לבובין which Maimonides and other commentators ...
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0answers
57 views
As Rome began to decline is there any contemporary accounts from time as to the cause? [duplicate]
I guess fall of Rome seems amazing to me in that they had things we recognise in modern states
Militia, ability to buy property with paper rather than gold and manufacturing.
As decline began as there ...
0
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1answer
779 views
Did the deity “Horus” pre-date “Horus-Aha”?
Hor-Aha (or Aha or Horus Aha) is considered the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt by some Egyptologists, others consider him the first one and corresponding to Menes. He lived around the ...
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2answers
242 views
What's known about Tullia's son?
Tullia was the daughter of the great Roman politician Cicero. She had a few marriages and according to English Wikipedia she had two sons, the first one of which died the same year it was born. Tullia ...
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0answers
57 views
Where can I find illustrations online depicting Idrisi's coffer in the Queen's chamber in the “Khufu” pyramid
I believe I have found sufficient evidence that points to a block of stone, not necessarily a coffer as stated by Idrisi, being inside the niche in the Queen's Chamber blocking the entrance to the ...
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2answers
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Are there historical texts in England querying where Roman structures came from?
I watched a film recently called King Arthur, showing London post Rome (guessing set in Middle Ages with modern-ish buildings but still with some Roman buildings / walls showing.
It got me thinking: ...
10
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1answer
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When did Cicero Minor die?
Cicero Minor (full name: Marcus Tullius Cicero Minor) was the only son of the great Roman politician Cicero. They both served as consuls, Cicero in 63 BC and Cicero Minor in 30 BC.
The years that ...
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1answer
274 views
What did the Greeks and Romans think of large breasted women? [closed]
From what I know, the Greeks and Romans held men with large penises in contempt as in their eyes; they allegedly couldn't control their sexual urges while men with smaller ones where approved because ...
4
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1answer
246 views
Is Josephus' account for the length of the Jewish War generally accepted as correct?
In Josephus' famous work on the subject, the First Jewish-Roman War is depicted as lasting a full number of years,1 inasmuch as it is presented as starting in the month of Artemisius (II Wars 14:4), ...
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1answer
391 views
What were the political and military constraints on Vercingetorix at Alesia?
I don't fully understand why Vercingetorix accepted a siege at Alesia (a fortified area), where he would be short of food instead of pursuing one or more of the alternatives below. The reason I'm ...
5
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0answers
125 views
Did pagan tribes in the Arab peninsula use bells for superstitious or religious reasons before and with the introduction of Islam?
This is what I have found so far:
"In conclusion, we may note that a leather neck band, also called kilada, on the camel to avert the evil eye, especially if a bell hang from it, is suggested in ...
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0answers
318 views
What was the meaning of Samnite swastika?
I was recently reading about the Samnite Wars and since I wanted to have better image of how soldiers on both sides during the period looked I googled images of Roman and Samnite warriors and one of ...
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1answer
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How many times did the the sacred fire of Vesta die?
The sacred fire of Vesta was a sacred eternal flame in Ancient Rome, tended to by the Vestal Virgins. Except once a year for the kalendae (first day of March), extinguishing the sacred fire resulted ...
13
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1answer
938 views
Were women allowed to study at the Library of Alexandria?
The closest thing I've been able to find on the topic was in relation to Hypatia, the mathematician, who was born centuries after the library was burned. Is there a list of known people who studied at ...
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2answers
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Is there any data that supports or refutes the claim made in this paper about the Harappan/Indus Valley civilization?
I came across an old article recently, about the collapse of the Harappan civilization. Here's the paper it is based on-
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3387054/
I found this to be the ...
4
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2answers
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What are the historical equivalents of cooperative storytelling like modern role-playing games?
I understand the direct history of RPGs mostly coming from Dungeons and Dragons, which had grown out of the combat game Chainmail, but I am wondering if there were any close equivalents in older ...
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2answers
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Are the historical sources from the ancient history trustable?
Are the historical books of Herodot or Polybius or any other historian from ancient history usually correct? Did they add some 'drama' in their books or did they desire to gain favor of those of high ...
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3answers
607 views
Which emperor tried to command the tides?
I remember somewhere a story about an emperor who was so convinced of his awesome powers that he attempted to command the tides to recede. All I can find on the web is the story of King Canute ...
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1answer
580 views
What is the meaning of the quadruple symbols combination on a possibly Roman monumental piece?
During my visit to a village central western part of the Asia Minor I saw monumental pieces. Which were emplaced on some part of the buildings by villagers. I see a sword, sickle (hook), pickaxe, and ...
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1answer
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Is there any research on the (possible) ancient origins of populations in different regions in Cyprus and their movements on the island?
I was looking at a map of the kingdoms of ancient Cyprus where each kingdom was presented to have had either Greek majority , Phoenician majority or was mixed Greek/Eteocypriot so I was wondering if I ...
5
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1answer
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What is the earliest-known list of the Roman Principate?
I’m wondering what the earliest-known surviving list of the Principate (27BC-284AD) is. I’m also interested in what the earliest-known record that uses the term Principate to refer to that group of ...
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0answers
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Why did many Hellenic or Hellenized names in antiquity end in -bazos or -dates?
Ancient names ending with bazos (or bazus), eg megabazos(great-x), Artabazos (again great-x), Pharnabazos.
And Dates (Mithradates, Tiridates).
I know Mithra was a deity, what does the second half of ...
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2answers
215 views
What was the role of the mountain ranges surrounding India in developing India's civilization?
I am reading 'The Wonder That Was India' by A.L.Basham. In chapter 1, Introduction the author says,
India's isolation has never been complete, and the effect of the mountain wall in developing her ...
8
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1answer
227 views
Was Pericles the only famous loss from the plague in Athens?
Reading about the Plague of Athens in The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, I was struck by this question.
The plague killed an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 people in a city full of famous people, but ...
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2answers
364 views
Why were the cities of the Eastern European Plain founded much later than those elsewhere in Europe?
As site on which to found a city, Moscow seems to have a lot going for it. It's surrounded by fertile farmland - Russia produces more grain than the United States - it's located on a watercourse which ...
