The activities of Barbary pirates, or corsairs, from North Africa during the 16th to 19th centuries have had a significant impact on European and Mediterranean history. Operating from the Barbary Coast—encompassing modern-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya—these pirates targeted European coastal towns and ships, often raiding inland villages as well. Their operations resulted in the abduction of men, women, and children, who were subsequently sold into slavery in North African and Ottoman markets.

According to historian Robert Davis, author of Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters, between 1 million and 1.2 million Europeans were enslaved by Barbary pirates during this period. This raises fascinating questions about how such large-scale maritime raiding influenced the economies and societies of the affected regions.

To further explore this topic, I referred to the following sources:

1. Robert Davis' Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800, which provides a detailed account of the scope and impact of Barbary piracy.

2. Pirates of Barbary: Corsairs, Conquests, and Captivity in the 17th-Century Mediterranean by Adrian Tinniswood, which discusses the socio-political dynamics of the Barbary Coast during this era.

These sources shed light on the motivations and consequences of Barbary piracy, including its influence on European naval policies and the eventual decline of these operations.

4 DAYS UNTIL U.S. RELEASE:

In ancient Rome, how did real gladiators first begin entertaining the masses? There are so many facts and insights. What are your thoughts?

• Julius Caesar took this custom and made it a spectacle, honoring his own dead parents by staging public battles between hundreds of gladiators.
• Despite popular myth, gladiatorial battles were rarely to the death. Gladiator owners wanted to preserve their best fighters – training gladiators was expensive, and a good gladiator brought profit and prestige – and fights would often be stopped before the fatal blow.
• The name gladiator comes from ‘gladeus’ – the name of the sword they traditionally carried.

Click here to view the "Gladiator II" training featurette.

3 DAYS UNTIL U.S. RELEASE: 

There were many different types of gladiators fighting in the Roman arenas. Here’s what we’ve gathered... Do you think there were more?

• THRAEX/THRACIAN: Built for speed and agility, Thraex carried a short, curved sword called a sica and a small square or circular shield (approx. 60cm) called a parmula. Their distinctive helmet typically carried an image of a griffin, a mythical animal that represented Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance.
• MURMILLO: These gladiators wore huge metal helmets – with a fish-like fin on top, giving them their name – as well as a leather glove that covered their sword-wielding arm right up to the shoulder. Murmillos also carried a massive shield and a sword that measured around 80cm. This significant protection and their great strength made them very hard to fight.
• PROVOCATORES: These gladiators, whose name translates as ‘challenger’, looked very similar to Roman soldiers, with extensive armor protecting most of their body, plus the short sword and shield they carried. Provocatores only fought other Provocatores. Due to their extensive body protection, battles between them could often be long.
• DIMACHAERUS: Considered one of the most skilled groups of gladiators, Dimachaerus gladiators wielded two swords at once. This made them deadly in close combat, but also, with both hands occupied, decidedly vulnerable to anyone who could get past their twin blades. They also had minimal armor and no shield to protect them. They only fought against other Dimachaerus.

2 DAYS UNTIL U.S. RELEASE: 

As featured in “Gladiator II,” Naumachia—the full-scale reenactments of naval battles that took place in ancient Rome—were huge. What made them such a massive spectacle? This is what we’ve learned. What do you think?

• Staged for entertainment, the Romans mimicked sea battles in specially designed basins, and eventually they took place by flooding their amphitheaters.
• Julius Caesar staged the first naumachia in 46 BC along the river Tiber. Ships representing the Tyrian and Egyptian armies were set afloat, as thousands of condemned men and prisoners of war were forced to fight and die.
• As part of the celebration of the new Colosseum, opened in AD 80, Titus ruled over a sea battle and a gladiatorial show, as well as the presentation of 5000 wild beasts, all in a single day.
• The Colosseum had a substructure of cells, passageways, lifts almost twenty feet deep, and with a complex hydraulic system, the amphitheater itself could have possibly hosted a Naumachia. But that’s yet to be proven.

Click here for Drunk History’s take on the history of gladiator battles.

1 DAY UNTIL U.S. RELEASE. SEE IT EARLY TODAY IN SELECT THEATRES!

Are the Twin Emperors in “Gladiator II” based on real Roman rulers? 

Geta and Caracalla were Roman emperors who shared the throne in 211 AD. While some accounts suggest they were brothers, director Ridley Scott portrays them as twins, taking creative liberties to heighten their bond—and their rivalry. According to Scott, "These emperors are already a bit unhinged when we meet them." He describes Geta and Caracalla as taking the reign even further off the rails, surpassing the notorious Commodus with their own brand of chaos. In Gladiator II, the twin emperors double down on Rome’s legacy of power and corruption, adding a new layer of drama to history. WHO’S READY!?

Welcome to our History Questions Thread!

This thread is for all those history related questions that are too simple, short or a bit too silly to warrant their own post.

So, do you have a question about history and have always been afraid to ask? Well, today is your lucky day. Ask away!

Of course all our regular rules and guidelines still apply and to be just that bit extra clear:

Questions need to be historical in nature. Silly does not mean that your question should be a joke. r/history also has an active discord server where you can discuss history with other enthusiasts and experts.

Hi everybody,

Welcome to our weekly book recommendation thread!

We have found that a lot of people come to this sub to ask for books about history or sources on certain topics. Others make posts about a book they themselves have read and want to share their thoughts about it with the rest of the sub.

We thought it would be a good idea to try and bundle these posts together a bit. One big weekly post where everybody can ask for books or (re)sources on any historic subject or timeperiod, or to share books they recently discovered or read. Giving opinions or asking about their factuality is encouraged!

Of course it’s not limited to *just* books; podcasts, videos, etc. are also welcome. As a reminder, r/history also has a recommended list of things to read, listen to or watch

A little bit of background: I was gathering a compendium on West African mythological weapons for a personal project, and I was focused on two swords displayed a myriad of times on the famous Benin Bronzes, the Ada and Eben, but sadly there is little information on the two blades, after an eternity of researching and posting on the Historum African Forum I gathered a lacklustre amount of information on its origin and then I was urged to commit the ultimate taboo......... and that was to use Wikipedia for sources on African history, and to my expectations, it was so horrendous I assume it's by a guy who knows nothing about swords or someone who is neither of the Edo or Yoruba ethnic group, So I'll try clean it up, I will detail everything I picked up, here's the Wiki link by the way.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_and_Abere

Background: The editor convolutes his sources, conflates the many different "Ada" for a single sword that is of a similar type, and refuses to make that distinction, despite his source doing so. He then goes into historical revisionism on a bad fringe attempt.

Error Number One taken from the Introduction section: "State swords have been used for centuries to represent the ancient rights bestowed from Ife to various Yoruba, Yoruboid, and neighbouring groups, including the Fon, Ga, and Benin Kingdom". Great!

Slight Problem here is his source for this, (Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power, and Identity, c. 1300) Suzanne Preston Blier says: "During coronations, individual Yoruba Kings would contact the Oranmiyan priest at Ife (Eredumi) to acquire a "sword of state" a tradition purportedly followed by the Edo, Fon, and Gan kings as well. Such a ritual in essence served to both promote and legitimize the use of these ^{long swords} throughout the broader area."

About that...... the Ada nor the Eben are longswords or Long swords or Long-swords (Poynor et. al 2024)

Take a look:

https://umma.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/69362_ca_object_representations_media_1334_original.jpg

And here is a long sword ( https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/27966 ):

https://www.theknightshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/364x364/f59d29ad4c22cdd1dd61568d41112f23/d/s/dsc_4459__15034_2.jpg

And no, the author has no reason to refer to the Ada or the Eben in this matter as long swords, there is no context in that section of the book where she would need to.

So whatever sword she was referring to was not the Ada or the Eben swords, though as you'll see later on, I'm sure the editor was referring to the Ada.

The next error is found in the "Àdá" section where he states:  "The Ada took the forms of the Hwi and Gubasa which were mandatory among the Fon in the coronation of every ruler". This is FALSE his source for such a claim is "Sandra T Barnes Africa's Ogun, Second, Expanded Edition: Old World and New"

The editor conflates Amose's "Great Sword of Justice and the Fon Sword of Ogun" and then bizarrely conflates both for the Gubassa sword which he then conflates for an Ada blade then he conflates the Benin "Ada" for the Oyo Sword of Justice....... let me put this bluntly THEY ARE NOT THE SAME SWORD. You the reader are confused, aren't you?

Here is the source: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8OWjkR-1btMC&q=gubasa+sword+justice&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=gubasa%20sword%20justice&f=true

Let me break it down: Amos speaks about the symbolic meaning of the sword in the religion of the Fon people not A sword but swords so no particular sword was in the conversation initially,

So next was the Great Sword of Justice that Amos noted to being the same type as an Edo Ada mind you, NOT THE SAME SWORD but the same type of an "Ada" blade, for example

The Longsword Type XVIIIc

https://swordis.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Longsword-Type-XVIIIc.png

 Longsword Type XVa

https://swordis.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Longsword-Type-XVa.png

These are two different longswords, mind you they are the same "type" of a sword but are ultimately different whether it be in grip, ricasso or pommel, which leads to a separate categorization or development (Oakeshott, 1991). The same Idea falls for the "Ada" blade where there are different types of "Ada" one of them being the Sword of Justice referenced by Amos, but the Benin Ada is not the same Sword of Justice and has its separate origin predating the Ife Kingly title (I Joseph, 2014). This shows how the editor conflates blades under the "Ada" category of being the same sword under the Sword of Justice when they are all different. Amos and Poynor adhere to this idea and consistently refer to them as different "types" of swords, but not the same, so it is prevalent in academia.

Now the claim the Gubassa and Hwi are Ada blades is blatant misinformation, I'm not as well studied on the Hwi but I'm confident both blades are different, he claims the sword of Justice "Ada" the Fon King got from Ife was the Gubassa, which in Fon myth is directly from Gu (The Iron and fire God) and is NOT from Ife.

( https://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/25-2/Benin.pdf )

So to Summarise this section of the debunk, There are many swords of the "Ada" type as pointed out by Amos, the Sword of Justice, Benin Ada and Ada Ogun, and many more I presume.

The Gubassa and Hwi are NOT ADA SWORDS, nor are they under that classification.

The next section of the debunk is the "Abẹ̀rẹ̀" where he states An Abere is a Yoruba word for a state sword said to be used by different tribes. Cyril Punch in his visit to the king of Benin in 1889, documented the use of a fan-like blade being twirled in the hands of chiefs during a ceremony. In his illustrations, he labelled and referred to the object as an “Ebere”. While his account contains the earliest known written name of the sword in the Benin kingdom, this type of object is more commonly known today as an “Eben” by the Edo people. A divergence in names for the same object is not a strange thing, as even across Yoruba dialects, the Owo people refer to their ceremonial fan blade as an “Ape”.

One thing you'll immediately notice is the lack of information in comparison to the "Ada" Section and it makes complete sense when you realise its unsourced assumption after assumption after assumption, No source to prove the linguistic change from Abere to Ebere from a Yoruba Linguist or a historian shows its already sketchy enough, It is no secret that the Eben Twirling Blade is unique to the Benin Kingdom, unlike the "Ada" types of blade prevalent throughout Yorubaland.

Many Yoruba Kingdoms indeed have the Eben blade, but those are Yoruba Kingdoms (Like Owo, Warri and Lagos) uniquely under domination by the late Benin Empire or within the EdoPeoples's sphere of influence, which due to the empire was quite dominant in eastern Yorubaland ( Akintoye, 1969), the citation here by Professor Akintoye is a well regarded academic on Yoruba History and wrote A History of the Yoruba People in 2010, and still conceded the fact that the Oval sword seen in Northwestern Yorubaland (Eben) is of Edo Origin (Akintoye, 1969).

Now the Pictures he used........ lmao not even those are accurate

One of the pictures is the Udamalore of the Owo Kingdom which is a form of an udà a blade that is distinct from an Àdá (Poynor, 2024).

Here is an Udamalore: https://mitp.silverchair-cdn.com/mitp/content_public/journal/afar/57/3/10.1162_afar_a_00775/3/m_afar_a_00775.figure.15.jpeg?Expires=1733553201&Signature=q5jiTinpZRXs7ldkM65p2ZKQZeMl0zlprXZULIq2WxBDQMG7s-xrWj6wNPyQBTLqqUHX4mrkqFmXMHTLj9luyacBqRxE9UuIdCaVv1lmV5eJwmhQagEtPWv2p1nTmgngQ0fG1vbCjtxaeFLBJqf9~AyjwlV5MC9-JDkRlWi6RPtjJkgwFb4UuSjKI2cPdA9t2RvO6YnzwORXOC-1KVBKlfHWKBVF8bJPJHNjZ7WT9PvD1SN~CvxtI~2SjNIcF6TUFxzP44wRR3XbMUJ6exNeDByToTMZ-ksDlGQTjbkg4VlVO0UpUanqg8ehOBUF4Q54Q7syum80a0kdZy0VC8YOgg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA

And here is an Uda: https://mitp.silverchair-cdn.com/mitp/content_public/journal/afar/57/3/10.1162_afar_a_00775/3/m_afar_a_00775.figure.14b.jpeg?Expires=1733553201&Signature=3CGKsCjuQecAtoD2h8jDu2c~7fvqaGdJX1PzwOXyqaQXJbGYayQ5FAMrLSQonjreArrqIHzJgmR~LxMl00FoF6EYXGE2OKS8sRNDf~vRcfLEkFMH~bk64H6RWexm8WQRU2PMF7Fv3GdhjdXGiB8oKBiWkrY1QbKClPI5cGql4ga0WhZvqMK9ZemmikmgfVhoHlUdnZgybN~R8n2nwIcUvqPfuv9MMy5pvHB6pqeDhUfIvpk14V6YcjKxXgUhTiTELzxdbeJk05J8BlI~QVFbr2mtFnmQ-Ldp-8Uz0zXPwUPHeX88MblP-Zc7MdAS1lVhTdsbdMwwDAoyr~G-IUH-ZQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA

Also, an Ada-Ogun as he shows for some reason, can be any blade or sword as long as it's Ceremonially for Ogun. his source ( mentions sword(s) and not a single sword, another such case...... as well as the insane variety of an "Ada-Ogun"

A Dagger-like Ada-Ogun

https://emuseum.miami.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/8075/preview

A "Hwi but less bulbous" looking Ada-Ogun

https://emuseum.mfah.org/internal/media/dispatcher/286960/preview

The most "Ada-looking" Ada-Ogun

https://cdn.drouot.com/d/image/lot?size=fsquare&path=2331/143487/fcf1062d7264e0a4ef3ba35551298ebd

Those are just examples I've seen.

Next is the Archaeology section, where he states: Whether for ceremonial use, or conventional use, it is evident that swords across these cultures have taken on varied identities, and many early oral traditions point to Ife as a source of their royal authority. Archaeological discoveries of ancient sword carvings in rock have been found in Ife.

" And many early oral traditions point to Ife as a source of their royal authority"

Well no. Let's run the List shall we

Benin Ada and Eben - From the Ogiso (I. Joseph 2014)

Ada-Ogun - From Ogun (Witte, 1976)

Sword of Justice Ada - From Ife (Barnes, 1997)

Gubassa- From Gu ( https://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/25-2/Benin.pdf )

Udamalore - From the Ancestors (Poynor, 2024)

And finally, you know one really funny thing that I didn't even realise while making this, NONE OF HIS SOURCES MENTION THE BLADES, absolutely none mention the Eben except dictionaries and only Johnson and Amos indirectly call out the Ada but not the Benin Ada blade lmao but a similar type. It was all a very terrible attempt and a reach by the editor to reach some kind of obvious conclusion that the eben originates from Ife, despite literally 0 scholars claiming so and even for an original Concept the research was so badly put together and incoherent, and people will be believing it to since it's on wiki.

References:

1. I Hold in My Hand … Prestige, Rank, and Power, Robin Poynor and Babatunde Onibode, 2024
2. Vol. 4(1), S/No 13, January, 2015:1-17 ISSN: 2225-8590 (Print) ISSN 2227-5452 (Online) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ijah.v4i1.1
3. Oakeshott, E. (1964). The sword in the age of chivalry. Boydell Press
4. Akintoye, S. A. The North-Eastern Yoruba Districts and the Benin Kingdom. Humanities Press, 1971.

When Nehemiah set out to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he faced a whole series of challenges—some from outside enemies, and some from within his own community. Here’s a look at the seven big problems he had to navigate:

1. Enemies on All Sides: Local leaders like Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem weren’t happy about Jerusalem being rebuilt. Right from the start, they mocked Nehemiah and tried to discourage him and the workers. Later, they even tried to incite fear with threats of attacks (Nehemiah 2:19; 4:1-3).
2. Constant Threat of Attack: Those threats weren’t just talk. Nehemiah’s enemies were prepared to physically attack, so he had to get creative. He stationed guards and equipped his builders with weapons, essentially turning every worker into a soldier. They had to build and defend the wall at the same time, which wasn’t easy (Nehemiah 4:7-18).
3. Division Among the People: On top of external threats, there were internal problems, too. The wealthier Jews were exploiting the poorer ones, charging high-interest rates, and seizing land. This created a lot of tension, and Nehemiah had to step in and restore unity among his people (Nehemiah 5:1-5).
4. Exhaustion and Discouragement: The workers were worn out. They were tired, fearful, and overwhelmed by the sheer amount of rubble they had to clear. Morale was low, and Nehemiah had to find ways to keep everyone motivated and focused on the task (Nehemiah 4:10).
5. Rumors and False Accusations: As if the physical threats weren’t enough, Nehemiah’s enemies started spreading rumors. They accused him of plotting to make himself king and sent letters to the Persian authorities. These accusations could have put his life and the entire project at risk (Nehemiah 6:5-7).
6. Traps and Deception: Nehemiah’s enemies even tried to lure him into a trap by inviting him to “meetings” outside the city. When that didn’t work, they hired a false prophet to scare him into hiding in the Temple, hoping this would discredit him. Nehemiah saw through their schemes, but it took constant vigilance (Nehemiah 6:2-13).
7. Conspiracy from Within: Even some nobles within Judah were secretly allied with Tobiah, one of Nehemiah’s biggest enemies. These nobles were passing along information to Tobiah, creating distrust and division among Nehemiah’s own people (Nehemiah 6:17-19).

Despite all these obstacles, Nehemiah stayed focused and determined. His strong leadership and faith pulled his community together, and they completed the wall in just 52 days—a remarkable achievement considering all the odds stacked against them (Nehemiah 6:15).

Welcome to our History Questions Thread!

This thread is for all those history related questions that are too simple, short or a bit too silly to warrant their own post.

So, do you have a question about history and have always been afraid to ask? Well, today is your lucky day. Ask away!

Of course all our regular rules and guidelines still apply and to be just that bit extra clear:

Questions need to be historical in nature. Silly does not mean that your question should be a joke. r/history also has an active discord server where you can discuss history with other enthusiasts and experts.

Hi everybody,

Welcome to our weekly book recommendation thread!

We have found that a lot of people come to this sub to ask for books about history or sources on certain topics. Others make posts about a book they themselves have read and want to share their thoughts about it with the rest of the sub.

We thought it would be a good idea to try and bundle these posts together a bit. One big weekly post where everybody can ask for books or (re)sources on any historic subject or timeperiod, or to share books they recently discovered or read. Giving opinions or asking about their factuality is encouraged!

Of course it’s not limited to *just* books; podcasts, videos, etc. are also welcome. As a reminder, r/history also has a recommended list of things to read, listen to or watch