History Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread VII

[caketastydelish]

Is there any book on amazon that talks specifically about the Persian/Roman wars during Pax Romana?

 

[Chukchi Husky]

Why were Roman roads made straight?

 

[Flying Pig]

It's quicker - they were built to connect cities, and the easiest way to do that is with a straight line. They weren't intended to join up small villages or allow you to access everywhere.

 

[Domen]

What languages were spoken in present-day Iraq and Syria soon before the Arab conquest?

Which was the most commonly used - was it Persian?

 

[Louis XXIV]

I would imagine Aramaic, but I'll let someone with better info chime in.

 

[Plotinus]

Different semitic languages, including dialects of Aramaic such as Syriac (the language of the eastern Christian churches).

 

[ParkCungHee]

Does anyone know if immediate relatives of Barons, Marquess and Dukes have a title?

 

[Flying Pig]

The younger sons and daughters of dukes and marquesses are traditionally given the title 'Lord', and sons of barons are 'the Honourable'.

 

[H4run]

guys what do you think about Emmanuel Todd and his theory? thanks!

 

[Domen]

Thank you guys! Were there any other known / named Semitic languages, or is Aramaic the only certain answer?

Also how widespread could be (at various points in time) Indo-European languages in that area, such as Persian and Greek?

 

[Arakhor]

Does anyone know if immediate relatives of Barons, Marquess and Dukes have a title?

The eldest son will often enjoy a courtesy title, for instance the eldest son of the Duke of Bedford is known as the Marquess of Tavistock and his eldest son is known as Lord Howland. (In case you're wondering, their family name is Russell.) Said courtesy title is usually a subsidiary title also possessed by the father.

 

[SeekTruthFromFacts]

Greek was the language of government and the army, so presumably it would have been spoken by a large section of society.

 

[Algeroth]

Does anybody knows if there are some demographic data on american cities from around the turn of 19/20 century? Ad if they exist, are they accessible?

 

[Cutlass]

I believe there must be. The US Census was mandated in the Constitution, and has been held every 10 years. So there has been fairly good data collected. But how to access?

https://www.census.gov/history/www/through_the_decades/index_of_questions/1900_1.html

 

[dutchfire]

http://www.sporcle.com/games/Roman/Cities_1920_US
http://www.sporcle.com/games/Roman/cities_us_1910
http://www.sporcle.com/games/Scyphus/Union_Cities
http://www.sporcle.com/games/Dr_I_Dont_Know/Largest_Cities_In_The_Confederacy

 

[sophie]

Does anybody knows if there are some demographic data on american cities from around the turn of 19/20 century? Ad if they exist, are they accessible?

Yes.

https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0027/tab13.txt

You can also find decade-by-decade data either through the US Census website or by looking up the city on Wikipedia and going to the demographics section.

 

[Algeroth]

Thanks guys, do you know if birthrate was calculated that time?

 

[Phrossack]

How did the Confederate States of America attempt to justify the suppression of counties, such as those in eastern Tennessee, that attempted to secede from the CSA?

 

[sophie]

How did the Confederate States of America attempt to justify the suppression of counties, such as those in eastern Tennessee, that attempted to secede from the CSA?

As I recall they made secession illegal.

 

[Flying Pig]

On a moral level they had a lot of problems - hence their leadership was generally quite disjointed, because politicians and soldiers who had just seceded from what they thought to be an overbearing Federal government didn't take kindly to being directed by what they thought to be an overbearing Confederate government.