I would make the argument that Tibet’s strategic utility comes in the form of being a superior defensive position for any empire who originates in an area adjacent to it rather than, as you would suggest, being a staging ground for invasions. Not until quite recently, give or take twenty or...
China’s isolationism, at least the iteration of it which seems to colour the discussion here, was a mixture of xenophobia and proto-nationalism that came as a result of the Mongol domination. Any and all archaeological evidence of foreign goods and coinage in China before the Yuan/Ming/Qing...
Hecatee's recent post has revealed a somewhat subtle detail about the implementation of the examination system in Rome, the empire is slowly shifting into a proper stratocracy. Education, as an abstracted concept, is about enhancing the particular skills of those who pass through its system...
Maybe do this through a PM? Most users here don't see your post as "bumping for reboot" but as "annoying necro raising false hope". Thanks for the interest though.
The contention of the Wikipedia article you linked in your post is that the Song’s failure to fully industrialise was due to the lack of a “middle class” which meant a lack of potential customers for civilian consumer goods rather than inter-state competition.
If Greek is not removed from its position of lingua franca in the eastern portion of the empire, the survival of the Roman empire is suspect. The reunifications of China had much to do with the single dominant culture in the region being so tied to the imperial identity. Having two dominant...
I wanted to express that I found this particular part to be slightly confusing and jarring. You should place some reference to their discussion about water mills in here:
Are you talking about mastic?
Have you heard of Heron's Fountain? It appears to work on the principle of differential air pressure and answers the question regarding whether "air" has mass. Mass has a relationship with pressure and volume so I think that this can be an avenue to discovering...