What Pre-1900 Topic do you specialise in?

I thought it might be a good idea if we had a thread where everyone could mention what they specialise in/enjoy researching/know lots about etc., possibly so people can use the 'a with a circle' feature to alert 'experts' to a discussion or if a TL writer needs some help. So please, post what topic, period or country (in OTL) that you are knowledgeable about.

I would say mine is the early Karling period of Francia (say 750 until 814). Have done a bit of research on the people and times a bit before and after as well, so might be of some help anywhere from maybe 730 until 860.

- BNC
 
In terms of historical subjects, my main areas are as follows:

Abbasid period both in terms of military history, politics, intrigue, culture, science, religion and law codes. Events within that especially interest me within are; Zanj revolt, Saffarid-Abbasid war, Ya'qub ibn Layth al Saffarid, The effects of millennial revoltism in both Shi'i and Khawarij Islam which then can be extrapolated to the overall state of the Abbasid, Turkish-Arab cultural interactions, etc, etc, etc....

Umayyad period especially in terms of military history and development of the 'new Arab.' The wars between the Ummah and Byzantium, Khazareim, etc and then the Berber revolts and the Abbasid revolution and the war with Abu Sayj all are interesting to me.

Shi'i Islam, Khawarijite Islam and other similar movements (Murji'ah) influence on Islamic history and application to contemporary Islamic fiqh and rulings.

Hero worship in the period's of early Islam. Such as the virtual worship of Yahya ibn Umar and of the Imamah of the Shi'i or the later worship of Fatimid rulers. This trend also extends to perhaps its most interesting case, being Is'mail of the Safavids.

Islamic scholars and faqih in history and their influence of statesmanship in the Islamic world.

Mamluk sultanate of Cairo, in most ways. Both in terms of culture and military history.

Iran from the Parthian period to the Safavid. Especially, Iran from the Islamic conquest to the Safavid empire. Including Iranian-Arab cultural transfers.

Saudi history pre 1900.

Many others of course.

Lesser known areas that I know well enough information and ideas on.

France in the 16-1700s and colonial Louisiana and Canada.

Language in modern and near past Louisiana and United States.

Bronze Age Middle East and Bronze Age/Iron Age Arabia.

Neo-Assyrian Empire

Christian religion and development through the ages and its relation to Islam. Such as drawing conclusions of similar ideas and influences.

Manichaeism and it's relation to Islam in the Abbasid period.

Anything European or Byzantine related. From Rome till the Renaissance, not my strongest area however.

Areas that I am especially weak in:

American history
Napoleon and related subjects
Chinese history outside of its relation to Islamic states
Japanese history
Dutch/Germanic history
Europe in the dark ages outside of transfer with Islam.
Southeast Asian history
History of imperialism, such as colonization of Africa or Australia.
 
Medieval Lithuania. Though, Lithuania in general is also acceptable.

Also the Balts before 1240. I've done some research there. If you need to know what was happening over there in, say, 1000 AD, I can provide help.
 
Strong Areas:

Military History of Rome from Republic to the Justinian Conquests.

Portuguese History during the Age of Discovery with more emphasis on the 15th and 16th century period.

Portuguese Naval and Land Warfare and training during the 16th century.

Portuguese Military History during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Politics during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars with emphasis on British and Austrian Politics and its effect on the Conference of Vienna.

Training and Tactics of the Armies of the Great Powers in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Kingdom of the Visigoths during its late period.

Early history on the Kingdom of Asturias.

So-so:

Politics of WW1 and the war plans of the Entente during the War, but I tend to avoid the topic.

Politics of the Spanish Empire during its Golden Age.

Portuguese Politics during the First Republic and on the post Estado Novo during the 1974-75 period.

17th and 18th century land warfare.
 

Deleted member 67076

Strong:

-Byzantium; Preferably around the Middle to Late Periods. Particular focus on the economy and culture.
-Late Western Rome (~360 onwards)
-Atlantic African Warfare (particularly around the Forest societies)
-Western Sahelian African politics, statebuilding and lifestyles
-Dominican Republic History (all periods, economy, settlement patterns, immigration, military, etc)
-Congolese History (Colonial Era)

Medium:

-Sassanid Iran
-Abbasid Caliphate (mostly economics)
-Bourbon Spain Colonial Era
-Venezuelan History
-Congolese History (pre Colonial Era)
-Atlantic Slave Trade
-Ottoman History

Decent but not comfortable doing a timeline due to lack of knowledge:

-Mexican History
-Cuban History
-Central American History
-Medieval Western Europe
-Pre Colonial Nigeria; particular focus on Yorubaland's economy and states
 
I'm not historian by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd say I have a solid grasp of:

-Post-1800 Ottomans
-The Inca
-Colonial Peru
-US history
-The colonial games of the Age of Exploration for all relevant actors
 
The history of the Balkans - medieval (especially from ~1100 onwards), Ottoman-era and the 19th century. The part from around 1100 to the mid-1600s is what I find the most interesting, I think.

I'm also very interested in the history of the Caucasus region, and of eastern and central Europe in general (Hungary, Romania, Poland and Lithuania, the Rus lands, and so on)...again, late medieval through early modern. But here I've got quite a few blurry or blind spots, so I wouldn't recommend myself for those; at least not for anything too detailed. And my other interests have yet more blind spots.
 
American Indian languages (North America, South America, Mesoamerica/Caribbean/Central America), including their pre-contact distribution, linguistic affiliations, linguistic structures, and mutual and external influences - this is my professional research area

Linguistic knowledge more generally, especially European and Middle Eastern languages and languages of the greater Islamic world

United States history, particularly involving American Indians, such as colonial and settler wars, Native education, and Native civil rights

Some of these topics in Latin American history, especially the Andes region

The Bahá'í Faith (I am a Bahá'í)
 
My interests mostly revolve around the Early Middle Ages. My "specialty," such as it is, is Medieval Italy up to around 1200, which I got into by way of an interest in the 12th century Roman Commune. Other interests include the Viking Age Norse (particularly cultural/social stuff), the medieval Byzantines (pre-1204), and in general the development of law and administration in Medieval Europe during this period.
 
Brazilian colonial and post-independence history.

History of Ancient Rome and Byzantium.

Decent knowledge of Latino America and American History.

But not enough for now to make any timelines about it, mayhaps in a few years..
 
Roman History (particularly 100ad-476ad)
European/Napoleonic History (1790-1815)
New Imperialism (1870-1914)
American Politics/History (1600-1900)
 
The politics of the Mongol empire and its successor states.

I'm generally quite well versed in the history of all major East and South East Asian Religions, in particular Buddhism.
 
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