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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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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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 ...
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152 views
Who was the high priest that crowned Eannatum as king of Lagash? [closed]
Eannatum
Eannatum
Eannatum (Sumerian: 𒂍𒀭𒈾𒁺 É.AN.NA-tum2) was a Sumerian Ensi (ruler or king) of Lagash circa 2500–2400 BCE. He established one of the first verifiable empires in history: he ...
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754 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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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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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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At what angle to latitude is the row of menhirs at Locmariaquer?
The Grand Menhir Brisé at Locmariaquer is one of a series of menhirs, all aligned in a straight row at the Locmariaquer. Does anyone know at what angle this straight row intersects with the earth’s ...
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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: ...
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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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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 ...
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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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377 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 ...
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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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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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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 ...
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1answer
771 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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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 ...
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2answers
378 views
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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2answers
260 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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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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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 ...
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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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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
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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 ...
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1answer
208 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
337 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 ...
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1answer
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Do (modern) audio recordings exist for the sound of Ancient Egyptian, Ancient Coptic, or other ancient languages?
Here are audio recordings of the Akkadian or other Babylonian languages. They are of modern people reenacting it, but it sounds great. Good intro to the real ancient world.
Do any audio recordings ...
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How did archers judge distance before range finders?
Before electronics, was there a method for judging distance in archery?
What methods were used historically?
How were combat archers trained to judge distances?
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What is the difference between galli and metragyrtai?
I have occasionally heard of the galli, castrated priests of Kybele in Rome.
Now, I noticed that Greek Lexika also refer to another type of said Godess’s priest, namely a metragyrtes (ΜΗΤΡΑΓΥΡΤΗΣ).
...
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Were Roman males ever named after their mothers?
We know that Roman men often named sons after them, and daughters were usually given the feminine form of their father's name. But are there any records or evidence that a Roman man was ever given the ...
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2answers
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Did they use nicknames in ancient Rome?
Praenomens in ancient Rome seemed to have been rather limited, especially by the time of the empire. There must've been cases where close friends or cousins and the like would've had the same ...
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1answer
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Are there any hypotheses on how the Dorset people disappeared?
I read an article about how anthropologists have discovered artifacts from an ancient Arctic culture known as the Dorset that disappeared centuries ago and were the precursors to the Inuit in the ...
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2answers
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Is there a reconstruction for whom and when were the peoples of the ancient Levant just before Israel, Judea and Edom?
Primarily from viewing lectures and interviews about the ancient history of the Levant, I understand that before Israel, Judea and perhaps also Edom states were created, their area included groups ...
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Could women make contracts in ancient Rome? [closed]
I'm writing a story and the main character is a wealthy widow who runs the estate for her rather lazy son. Could women in ancient Rome (specifically the 3rd Century Empire) legally make contracts, or ...
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3answers
356 views
Are there any examples of recurring payments in ancient times?
I'm interested in the history of recurring payments. The farthest I could get to is the feudal system, where peasants paid rent to knights once every so often. Obviously the banking system in the late ...
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Have historians attempted to reconstruct the polytheistic Semitic pantheon, dividing it into sub pantheons?
Historians reconstruct pantheons to better understand their role in society (see below for examples of reconstruction as a historical method). Has there been any attempt to apply this historical ...
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2answers
333 views
Who were the first leaders of the Yahwistic sect?
From reading the Bible and from studying from various lectures I have tried to synthesize who was or who were the first leader/s of the Yahwistic sect (Yahwism) in ancient Israel (the allegedly ...
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Why was being a school teacher something looked down upon in Ancient Greece?
I'm currently doing research on Epicurus for an article and I came across an passage from Timon (a central student of Pyrrho) where he calls Epicurus "Grammadidascalides", as if an epithet, along with ...
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2answers
673 views
Is there a database of ancient/current names of cities?
I am working on map of Ancient Etruscan civilization and I can't identify the exact location of Spica city. Based on minimap from Wikipedia page about Etruscan civilization, the city should lie about ...
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1answer
639 views
Was Yahweh a god in a possible Edomite Pantheon?
I understand from the Bible, from the Wikipedia articles Yahweh and Yahwism and from lectures of various scholars that polytheism was practiced by at least some religious leaders, priests, kings and ...
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334 views
How did Jerusalem function as an ancient city without a major water source? [closed]
Jerusalem seems to be an exception to the rule that all ancient cities must either be on a river or freshwater lake.
First settlement is estimated at 3500 BC.
The nearest major river as far as I can ...
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What actually happened during the elephant duel (Songkram Yutahatti) between King Naresuan of Ayutthaya/Siam and Mingy Swa of Hongsawadee/Burma?
Before we start, I just want to say that I find Thai history and the history of Southeast Asia in general to be extremely fascinating and interesting. I think that it’s just as interesting as Chinese ...
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1answer
345 views
Did migrating people ever maintain contact across the Bering Strait?
The Inuit ranged from Alaska to Greenland. The Yupik were in Alaska and Russia. Would peoples have kept in contact across islands in the Arctic but not across the Bering Strait? This question could be ...
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Why are there so many laws about eye injuries in the Code of Hammurabi?
Why are there so many laws about eye injuries in the Code of Hammurabi? (And so few laws about other body parts injuries.)
I want to concentrate on injuries mentioned as the crimes of physical ...
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1answer
256 views
Are there sources that record ancient women in patriarchal societies' thoughts about patriarchy?
Are there any sources describing what women in ancient patriarchal societies (like Greece, Rome, etc.) thought about the patriarchy? I've heard of feminist movements throughout history; this ...
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What would one call a skilled metal worker in Jerusalem, circa 600 BC?
I'm doing research for a book of fiction in which the main character is a skilled metalworker in ancient Jerusalem, circa 600 BC. I want to be authentic and historically accurate.
This person is ...
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How to you reply to Henry Ford and Otto von Bismarck? [closed]
All history is bunk -- Ford
All history is fairy tales rewritten by the winner of the last war --
Bismarck
There is a LOT of truth to what they say. And with PhD thesis like
the courtmartial of ...
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2answers
226 views
What are the most recommended non-biased books on Egyptian History
I am new to Egyptology, what are the most recommended non-biased books on Egyptian History, Hieroglyphs, mythology, etc... that are not biased and written by experts in the field?
By non biased, I ...
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What is the difference between the Ancient Greek religion and the Ancient Roman religion?
What is the difference between the Ancient Greek religion and the Ancient Roman religion?
My question is about, not cultural differences, but conceptual differences." Wikipedia doesn't compare them. ...
