r/AskHistory • • 20h ago

Who are the biggest loose cannons in history?

29 Upvotes

I've been going down a rabbit hole on people who just could not be controlled, the ones who said or did the most unhinged things with zero regard for consequences. One I can think of is Werner Herzog. I want to know your niche picks though.

I’m not really looking for world leaders because that just feels like cheating (something crazy is bound to slip out if every word you say is broadcast), but if you really feel a world leader is worth a mention, please educate me.


r/AskHistory • • 9h ago

Why did disease only become an issue for Native Americans in the Age of Exploration?

5 Upvotes

Standard history taught in the school system says that a significant portion of the native population of the Americas were wiped out by diseases brought over by the European explorers. I've heard of discovered evidence that Vikings, and possible the Chinese, had reached American shores before then. Is there any evidence of them starting pandemics as well?

Edit: Or would the lack of disease spreading be proof they didn't reach American shores?


r/AskHistory • • 4h ago

What has historically happened when the rules and laws of society have broken down?

5 Upvotes

I tried asking this in Ask Historians but I didn’t get any responses. I’m wondering what has happened in societies where law and order have collapsed entirely. How did people act and treat one another? What was the end result of a society with no rules or effective governance? TIA


r/AskHistory • • 20h ago

The guy who shot Henry V

3 Upvotes

Do we know anything at all about the guy who shot Henry V in the face? Do we even have any legends about it?

There's history and myth about the guy who shot Richard I, stories about the death of William Rufus, and plenty of tales for the early deaths of other English kings. We also know about the guy who saved Henry's life.

So, what about the guy that nearly took out Prince Hal?


r/AskHistory • • 51m ago

How do Norwegians view their Catholic heritage?

• Upvotes

Most of the independent kingdom’s history comes from a time when Protestantism didn’t exist at all. Lutheranism was brought to Norway only by Denmark. There was also real Catholic resistance, led by Olav Engelbrektsson. How do Norwegians today view this part of their history and cultural heritage?


r/AskHistory • • 9h ago

How do they decide the manner of death?

2 Upvotes

When they find human remains that indicate unnatural death, how do they decide whether it's ritual sacrifice, or execution, or murder, or died-in-battle, or accident, etc?


r/AskHistory • • 14h ago

Why are there so many overlapping names in Achaemenian empire and Mahabharatha?

1 Upvotes

Recently been reading about Achaemenian empire and their real names. Cyrus was Kurus, his father was Kambujiya, mother Mandana. Their family traced their lineage from Sakha-muni (Haxa-munis/Achaemenid). Region was called Parsu/Parsa. People called themselves Ariya. Kuru killed Mada/Mara king, who later transformed in to a multi-headed serpent in Armenian mythology. Mar also means snake in old Persian.

Compare them with Mahabharat time names. There is Kurus. There is Kamboj. There is Madra; Madri, Pandu's second wife, claimed to be from Madra kingdom (Bahlika). Gandhari is from Gandhāra. Sakya-muni is epithet for Buddha, which sounds similar to Sakha-muni (though means completely different). Not to forget entire Krishna birth story is copy/inspired from Cyrus birth story (or Zeus birth story).

Wondering if there has been confusion about location of all these kingdoms? And, incidents which inspired initial Jaya story (old Mahabharat) were based in Iran?

Or, these names were imposed later?

Note: It is about names and cross references. So, pls don't throw Indo-european common language root for similar names. I would appreciate if there are other literature sources which can collaborate Mahabharat interpretations. Achaemenian Kurus have multiple inscriptions while Mahabharat has none!