Any history buffs here?

[lurkercowboy]

I enjoy Egyptian/middle eastern history from about 1600 BC to 1300 BC (Fall of the middle kingdom, rise of the new kingdom) and prehistoric America (back as far as anyone can find anything - the period from about 30,000 BC to 12,000 BC era is increasingly promising though not much to be sure about yet).

I also have a fascination with archeoastronomy of any old time.

That is not my area but I have always been facinated by that period of Egyptian history. The Hyskos in particular, and their new weapons.

 

[notherbob]

That is not my area but I have always been facinated by that period of Egyptian history. The Hyskos in particular, and their new weapons.

Yeah, the Hyksos kicked butt in Egypt for a while until they were overthrown - great stories from that era. Also, I'm a big fan of the Armarna era - Ankhenaton was really weird. Once Ramses took over everything was Ramses.

What makes the whole era difficult to be sure about anything is that there are high, medium and low dating schemes that vary by a few decades as the kings had different names at different times of their lives and that complicates tracking things. For example, Amunhotep IV was Ankheton's original princely name before he changed it, even though he had two other names before that (the one he was given at birth and then the one he chose for himself as a boy - sort of like a confirmation name.)

My real interest these days is archeoastronomy and I have made a few discoveries among the Paint Rock, Texas pictographs that depict astronomical events. I have also made a few other discoveries at other places which I have yet to include in my website, including identifying Kokopelli (my avatar character) as a specific star group that includes the big dipper as the Indians of the SW painted their idea of the things they saw in the patterns the stars make, like the Greek constellations. When Kokopelli, the God of Fertility, was high in the evening sky in the spring, it was time to plant corn, squash and beans. That discovery will be put on my website soon.

If anyone is interested in the archeoastronomical discoveries at Paint Rock, click here: http://gourmetgarlicgardens.com/paintrock.html

 

[lurkercowboy]

Yeah, the Hyksos kicked butt in Egypt for a while until they were overthrown - great stories from that era. Also, I'm a big fan of the Armarna era - Ankhenaton was really weird. Once Ramses took over everything was Ramses.

What makes the whole era difficult to be sure about anything is that there are high, medium and low dating schemes that vary by a few decades as the kings had different names at different times of their lives and that complicates tracking things. For example, Amunhotep IV was Ankheton's original princely name before he changed it, even though he had two other names before that (the one he was given at birth and then the one he chose for himself as a boy - sort of like a confirmation name.)

My real interest these days is archeoastronomy and I have made a few discoveries among the Paint Rock, Texas pictographs that depict astronomical events. I have also made a few other discoveries at other places which I have yet to include in my website, including identifying Kokopelli (my avatar character) as a specific star group that includes the big dipper as the Indians of the SW painted their idea of the things they saw in the patterns the stars make, like the Greek constellations. When Kokopelli, the God of Fertility, was high in the evening sky in the spring, it was time to plant corn, squash and beans. That discovery will be put on my website soon.

If anyone is interested in the archeoastronomical discoveries at Paint Rock, click here: http://gourmetgarlicgardens.com/paintrock.html

That is very impressive. Especially the depictions of the supernovae. Wow!

 

[the kid 05]

i like history, its deffenitly good to learn from others mistakes as my generation has to fix them and then my kids generation will have to fix mine

 

[2much2soon]

I was a huge Civil War fanatic from before I could read. I used to gaze at one of Bruce Catton's books, the one with the detailed battlefield paintings, for hours.
When I learned to read I practically memorized that book. I could recite every major battle and casualty figures by the time I was 8 or 10 years old.
Then I went to college and majored in history. By then I had completely lost interest in the Civil War.
Local history, where I grew up in Eastern Oregon, became my interest and I wrote my thesis on a small town in Eastern Oregon that was so wild the governor sent in marshalls, declared martial law, and closed it down in 1913.

 

[Bizwah]

Yeah, the Hyksos kicked butt in Egypt for a while until they were overthrown - great stories from that era. Also, I'm a big fan of the Armarna era - Ankhenaton was really weird. Once Ramses took over everything was Ramses.

What makes the whole era difficult to be sure about anything is that there are high, medium and low dating schemes that vary by a few decades as the kings had different names at different times of their lives and that complicates tracking things. For example, Amunhotep IV was Ankheton's original princely name before he changed it, even though he had two other names before that (the one he was given at birth and then the one he chose for himself as a boy - sort of like a confirmation name.)

My real interest these days is archeoastronomy and I have made a few discoveries among the Paint Rock, Texas pictographs that depict astronomical events. I have also made a few other discoveries at other places which I have yet to include in my website, including identifying Kokopelli (my avatar character) as a specific star group that includes the big dipper as the Indians of the SW painted their idea of the things they saw in the patterns the stars make, like the Greek constellations. When Kokopelli, the God of Fertility, was high in the evening sky in the spring, it was time to plant corn, squash and beans. That discovery will be put on my website soon.

If anyone is interested in the archeoastronomical discoveries at Paint Rock, click here: http://gourmetgarlicgardens.com/paintrock.html

Ok, now let me ask....Anhkenaton, if I remember correctly changed his name because he worshipped Aton (sun god?). His kid was Tutahnkaton right? Was he the "King Tut" we all know? I remember reading something about Tut changing his name because he changed the Egyptian religion back from Aton worship....but I never could figure out if he was Amenhotep's son.

 

[Bizwah]

Anyone seen 300 yet?

I was wondering how accurate it was to the real battle of Thermopalye (I just know I butchered the spelling). Writers tend to take artistic license with war.

I find Sparta fascinating. Now that's a warrior society. Makes me cringe to think of how "soft" our kids are in comparison to what their kids had to endure. I look at my five year old son sometimes and think, "He'd be gearing up for warrior training in about two years". Of course, I'd never want to see our kids endure the beatings and the infanticide. But, I think we're too soft on our kids sometimes.

I did want someone to clear something up for me. I know that Sparta took the lead at Thermopalye, and commanded a larger group of Greek warriors. But, I was under the impression that they sent all the other Greeks away. A doc I saw a few days ago gave the impression that the other Greeks stayed until the end with the other Spartans. Which is it?

 

[Deputy493]

My degree is in Histroy and I enjoyed taking a wide range of topics.......History of the Vietnam War, History of WWII, History of France, History of Texas, History of the Old South and the Civil War, etc......

It is my goal to at some point visit all major Civil War battle sites........I have been to Shiloh and Vicksburg.......any history buff that has interest in the history of the Civil War I suggest visit Vicksburg if anywhere near Mississippi........it is about a 6 hour drive due east on I-20 from DFW.

If you are in East Texas I suggest visiting Jefferson, Texas which was a major port city for the south in the CIvil War and has a lot of history......it is on Hwy 59 about 10-15 miles north of Marshall.

 

[notherbob]

History is fascinating.

Unfortunately there will be little actual history of pre-historic southwestern North America as many of the cultures believed it was a bad thing to ever say the name of a dead person for fear of being haunted and this precluded them from saying much about who did what and when. You could talk about the deeds of the old chief and you could call him the Chief, but you could not say his name.

Their pictographs and petroglyphs are about all we have to go on in many instances. Once we come to understand their symbology a little more, we have a better chance of understanding them.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

I was a history major before my LL.B. I was mostly a Canadian history major but I also took courses on 20th century and some US/ancient history courses.

I often read a ton of history and my latest reading has me reading on the French Revolution (the seminal event of the 18th century if you ask me) and history of the city I grew up in during WWII.

 

[tomson75]

Anyone seen 300 yet?

I was wondering how accurate it was to the real battle of Thermopalye (I just know I butchered the spelling). Writers tend to take artistic license with war.

I find Sparta fascinating. Now that's a warrior society. Makes me cringe to think of how "soft" our kids are in comparison to what their kids had to endure. I look at my five year old son sometimes and think, "He'd be gearing up for warrior training in about two years". Of course, I'd never want to see our kids endure the beatings and the infanticide. But, I think we're too soft on our kids sometimes.

I did want someone to clear something up for me. I know that Sparta took the lead at Thermopalye, and commanded a larger group of Greek warriors. But, I was under the impression that they sent all the other Greeks away. A doc I saw a few days ago gave the impression that the other Greeks stayed until the end with the other Spartans. Which is it?

I loved 300. I love almost anything Frank Miller for that matter...He's an artist. For that same reason, I wouldn't put any stock into historical accuracies when he's involved.

As far as the battle of Thermopylae...IIRC, there were greeks other than Spartans whom showed up...and many were subsequently dismissed.. It was 300 or so Spartans and number (several hundred) of other greeks a that decided to stay and basically sacrafice themselves so that the greeks could amass an army capable of fighting the persians at a later date.

A very rough impression of what I took from a 200 level college course...definitely not gospel.

I'm with you on the interest of Spartan society though...fascinating.

 

[Hostile]

I have a great story I have to tell you guys. Background first. Several years ago I found out that a guy I was going to church with knew my brother-in-law when they were both students at Arizona. Dan told me he had a book Carroll had loaned him and asked me if I would get it back to him. I said yes.

The book was called Arizona's Dark and Bloody Ground and it was written by Earle R. Forrest. I mentioned earlier in this thread that I wrote some documentaries for a series on Gunfighters. My nephew was working for a production company where he filmed weddings and put them on fancy videos with music, etc.

That company wanted to do a documentary about a gunfight and my nephew told them that I was a writer and an old west history buff. The Director called me to ask if I had heard about this particular gunfight. I grabbed that book and read the story to him. He was hooked.

I did 3 weeks worth of constant research which they paid me nicely for, then wrote a 31 page novella about these events, which became a 65 page script.

BrainPaint transferred the video of this to DVD for me. The documentary aired on the History Channel several years ago now. I think he is probably the only person on here who has seen it. It is a compelling story.

Needless to say I didn't want to give that book back, but it wasn't mine. The book is out of print and any time you look for it in hardback online it usually is over 100 dollars.

Well, last week I was looking at LurkerCowboy's book, which I am going to buy, and decided to look up some of my favorite books I have done research in, and I found a 2nd edition hardbound copy of the book for sale for 25 dollars. I jumped at the chance to buy it.

It arrived yesterday, and this morning I was looking at it. It was autographed by the author on March 12, 1955 in Washington, Pennsylvania. Personalized to Harry Steinman who it says was a "longtime friend with the Washington Reporter."

This book just became even more precious to me right then and there.

Then I was thumbing through the book and Mr. Steinman had clipped out an article he wrote from November 1969 where Earle R. Forrest's family donated his entire library of research to the Arizona Museum. I used a lot of those notes in my research. I now have an article about the donation of those notes.

He also clipped out and put in this book Earle's obituary from August 25, 1969. I assume Mr. Steinman also wrote the obit.

I'm overwhelmed by my good fortune this morning.

 

[lurkercowboy]

I have a great story I have to tell you guys. Background first. Several years ago I found out that a guy I was going to church with knew my brother-in-law when they were both students at Arizona. Dan told me he had a book Carroll had loaned him and asked me if I would get it back to him. I said yes.

The book was called Arizona's Dark and Bloody Ground and it was written by Earle R. Forrest. I mentioned earlier in this thread that I wrote some documentaries for a series on Gunfighters. My nephew was working for a production company where he filmed weddings and put them on fancy videos with music, etc.

That company wanted to do a documentary about a gunfight and my nephew told them that I was a writer and an old west history buff. The Director called me to ask if I had heard about this particular gunfight. I grabbed that book and read the story to him. He was hooked.

I did 3 weeks worth of constant research which they paid me nicely for, then wrote a 31 page novella about these events, which became a 65 page script.

BrainPaint transferred the video of this to DVD for me. The documentary aired on the History Channel several years ago now. I think he is probably the only person on here who has seen it. It is a compelling story.

Needless to say I didn't want to give that book back, but it wasn't mine. The book is out of print and any time you look for it in hardback online it usually is over 100 dollars.

Well, last week I was looking at LurkerCowboy's book, which I am going to buy, and decided to look up some of my favorite books I have done research in, and I found a 2nd edition hardbound copy of the book for sale for 25 dollars. I jumped at the chance to buy it.

It arrived yesterday, and this morning I was looking at it. It was autographed by the author on March 12, 1955 in Washington, Pennsylvania. Personalized to Harry Steinman who it says was a "longtime friend with the Washington Reporter."

This book just became even more precious to me right then and there.

Then I was thumbing through the book and Mr. Steinman had clipped out an article he wrote from November 1969 where Earle R. Forrest's family donated his entire library of research to the Arizona Museum. I used a lot of those notes in my research. I now have an article about the donation of those notes.

He also clipped out and put in this book Earle's obituary from August 25, 1969. I assume Mr. Steinman also wrote the obit.

I'm overwhelmed by my good fortune this morning.

That is a neat story. What luck! I have had that happen a couple of times, once I resold the book for a tidy profit since it was autographed. It was nothing that had as much personal meaning as that one did for you though.

 

[Bizwah]

My degree is in Histroy and I enjoyed taking a wide range of topics.......History of the Vietnam War, History of WWII, History of France, History of Texas, History of the Old South and the Civil War, etc......

It is my goal to at some point visit all major Civil War battle sites........I have been to Shiloh and Vicksburg.......any history buff that has interest in the history of the Civil War I suggest visit Vicksburg if anywhere near Mississippi........it is about a 6 hour drive due east on I-20 from DFW.

If you are in East Texas I suggest visiting Jefferson, Texas which was a major port city for the south in the CIvil War and has a lot of history......it is on Hwy 59 about 10-15 miles north of Marshall.

There's nothing like visiting a Civil War battle site. I live within driving distance of Pea Ridge (In Arkansas) and Wilson's Creek (Springfield, MO). It's a very humbling experience.....I walked up "Bloody Hill" at Wilson's Creek. The courage the soldiers had to charge that hill three times was unbelievable, yet that courage happened so often in that war.

I would love to visit Shiloh. I would love to see the "Orchard", the "Bloody Pond", and the "Hornet's Nest". I wonder how the war out west would've turned out had Albert S. Johnston not been killed there. I'm not sure things would've been that different, but he was known as one of the south's top field generals.

My dream vacation would be to go to Northern Virginia. My wife wouldn't mind that I think.

 

[lurkercowboy]

I was a history major before my LL.B. I was mostly a Canadian history major but I also took courses on 20th century and some US/ancient history courses.

I often read a ton of history and my latest reading has me reading on the French Revolution (the seminal event of the 18th century if you ask me) and history of the city I grew up in during WWII.

The French Revolution still echoes today. It was an enourmously important event, well worthy of study.

 

[Hostile]

That is a neat story. What luck! I have had that happen a couple of times, once I resold the book for a tidy profit since it was autographed. It was nothing that had as much personal meaning as that one did for you though.

I don't think I could sell this book at this point.

 

[Achozen]

I don't consider myself to be a history buff but, it's something that I like.

Malcolm X is probably my favorite historical figure of all time. His autobiography is a very good read. It defiantly changed the way I look at things.

I don't know why but, every time there's a special on **** Germany I can't help but watch.

 

[THUMPER]

I'm a military history guy. Don't know why, have been as long as I can remember. I am very interested in tactics, training, equipment, and society of military cultures in all periods from the ancient world on into today.

Name the war and chances are I know something about it. Who fought it, why, how, and with what.

Needless to say, as an American I take a great amount of interest in all of our conflicts - particularly the Revolution, the Civil War, and WW2 as I believe those are the three conflicts that have done the most to shape our culture (Vietnam could end up in there too. It sure effected how the American public sees its own wars, thats for sure).

You sound a lot like me. I am interested in all facets of military history. At one time or another I have been into pretty much every culture and era. Currently I am reading a lot on pre-classical Mid-East/Mediterranean warfare but my all-time favorite is WWI Naval history and capital ship design prior to the Washington Treaty.

 

[windward]

I was a history major before my LL.B. I was mostly a Canadian history major but I also took courses on 20th century and some US/ancient history courses.

I often read a ton of history and my latest reading has me reading on the French Revolution (the seminal event of the 18th century if you ask me) and history of the city I grew up in during WWII.

French Revolution, yep. Major repercussions in the nineteenth century. What interests me is how the revolution and its subsequent events impacted Jewish society, how Jews perceived their place in European society, the burgeoning ideas of nationalism that later evolved into the Zionist movement. You really begin to see what I think are the two major historiographic themes in modern Jewish History, the conflict between maintaining some sense of "Jewish identity" and assimilation within a particular society/world. This still resonates loudly in the Israeli psyche today.

 

[slotshot]

History buff here as well. Got my first undergrad degree in Archaelology (southwestern prehistory mainly). Turns out this undertaking is totally incapable of feeding/clothing you. Thought better of a MS and went back and got a moneymaker BS.

Also was part of a middle ages reenactment society (SCA) for a long time. Fun stuff with full contact armored sparring. I particularily enjoy Republican Rome and 15th century European history.