I do understand that camels were excellent support animals, and that they played a critical role in a number of battles (Such as when the Persians used them against the Lydians during the the early Persian conquests). However, camels always seem to have been on the periphery of mounted warfare, with few groups using them as their principle mounted arm. Despite horses being actively afraid of camels, they remained at the centre of mounted warfare pretty much everywhere, while camels were more... Read more ..read more

I thought this was very interesting. Lady knows her stuff ..read more

One of the many What If's of WW2 is what would happen if Germany had finished the GZ. Many of those arguments end with "not much" as the GZ had many deficiencies, the Germans lacked experience with carriers etc. That made me wonder, why the Germans began with what amounts to a full fleet cariier? Why not begin with something smaller, like escort carrier (essentially converted merchant ships), or lighter carriers, to gain some basic experience - and ships that could be built fast ..read more

Split off from the OT US politics thread to prevent further derail and put this in the proper nerd reservation, the History forum. I took the liberty of quoting everyone who was involved in previous thread: pheonicia said: I've already got all the response you need right here. "You hear what they're doing to Alexander? The Great he's called because he made the West great, just like we're trying to make America Great again! But he's under attack, this great man, under attack by the gay agenda trying... Click to expand... Read more ..read more

As an offshoot of Alexander of the Many Alexandrias discussion: I have always wondered what actually happened when a history book mentions "XYZ founded the City Of Blabla". Cities, even small ones, are organizationally, physically, and structurally complex systems, and they don't spring out of the ground. Assuming you are funding the city in a new spot, you need: 1, Roads, or a river for communication and transport 2, Need to clear the forest/overgrowth within about a days walk or more to... Read more ..read more

So I was poking around in some early mythologies and some other early writings, and wondered to what extent did old civilizations embrace the idea of "destruction". Most (not all) civs - Egyptians, Greeks, Babylonians, Hebrews, Norse, Hindu - have some sort of the story of "Creation", the beginning of the world. Creation stories are not always dependent on a Creator. In some mythologies, Creation is an intelligent act by some creator god yes. But in many cases the World just appears... Read more ..read more

The Barbary corsairs were some of the most feared pirates in history. From their bases in North Africa, they terrorized seafarers and inhabitants of the Mediterranean coast. They robbed valuable goods and abducted thousands of people to sell into slavery. The Barbary corsairs sailed as far as Newfoundland, Canada; played a crucial role in naval battles, such as the Battle of Lepanto in 1571; and fought alongside the Ottomans in amphibious operations such as the siege of Malta. Let’s get to... Read more ..read more

Now i have looked at Amadeus again, and as usual one notices things one did not notice before And what i came to think of, is the child. In the movie he has a son, and i kind of wonder, what happend to that son ? Did he only have a child.. or did he have illegitimate ones as well. And if his line for some reason did not survive, are there Mozarts of this line left today ..read more

In ww1, the Germans decimate the British supply lines with their submarine fleet. Other countries quickly understood the importance of such vessels and how the naval doctrine was forever changed by this new threat under the seas. After investing serious funds into the creation of their own submarine fleet, the French decided to push forward with a daring concept of hybrid vessel which could provide the serious firepower of a cruiser and the ability for surprise attacks... Read more ..read more

The weapon that was most important to allied victory as we know it was not the T-34 tank or B-17 bomber, or even the atomic bomb, but a simple, cheap, mass produced merchant ship. This is the story of the Liberty Ship. Cool video ..read more