/u/ChubbyHistorian's posts

Title	Upvotes	Subreddit
Mehmet Ali and his failed plan for an industrial Egyptian Empire in the early 19th century is, to me, one of the most interesting episodes in history. However, almost everything I’ve read on it is from 40+ years ago. What are the best recent (since ~2000) books on the topic? [English or French]	66	AskHistorians
There’s a stereotype that Japanese literature permits looser plots (e.g., different threads don’t need to interact or have a shared frame to be part of the same story). Is this a part of their traditional canon, a 20th century development, or simply a Western myth?	57	AskHistorians
How do contemporary historians balance the structural vs. the contingent in the Christian conquest of most of Muslim Spain during 800 - 1250 (the early "Reconquista")? It is not obvious to why the poorer, smaller, and previously defeated polities should continuously expand for hundreds of years.	49	AskHistorians
I’m a 17th century French noble capable of raising a few dozen soldiers. How do I make sure that I benefit (economically, politically, and reputationally) from their use, and not just have them thrown in the meat grinder for someone else’s “gloire”?	48	AskHistorians
President Obama was descended from slaves… through his white mother. Were any pre-Obama (AKA white) presidents similarly a documented descendant of American/Atlantic slave(s)?	46	AskHistorians
Crucifixion was considered one of the worst and most humiliating forms of execution, for example to be used on revolting slaves. As the Roman World christianized, did its use and significance change?	45	AskHistorians
Heard claim on a podcast: "More documents have survived[/been transmitted] from the [non-Islamic/Byzantine] European 'Dark Ages' [c. 500 - 800 CE] than from the height of Rome [c. 100 BCE - 200 CE]; they are just in many different languages rather than just Latin and Greek". Is this true?	44	AskHistorians
The capture of Vicksburg (1863) and Sherman’s March to the Sea (1864) each effectively cut off large sections of the Confederacy from each other. In the weeks and months prior, how much men and materiel were actually moving between these areas?	37	AskHistorians
1941-45, the Nazis waged a war of genocide against the USSR justified by anti-communism and racism, even as millions of Germans had at one point supported communism and anti-racism. Did any German soldiers try to defect to the USSR for ideological reasons? How were they received/treated?	37	AskHistorians
'Clinton' is one of the most common place names in the US (29 cities), in addition to being a very common last-name amongst Anglo-settlers. Yet the location it apparently references (Glympton, Eng.) has just 3000 residents. How did become such an outsized name in the US during settlement?	37	AskHistorians

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