Redditor Emma_Mendoza_ asked:
"Historians, what historical fact does everyone believe in, even though it is not fully proven?"
Textbook Records
"I think many people don't understand that the history taught in schools is sort of a middle ground that historians found during vehement discussions. In particular when it comes to poorly documented events historians tend to present them in a reasonable narrative by biding points that make for a nice story."
"In reality, much of that was very random and didn't make any sense. Later, historians label something e.g. 'renaissance' by inventing the word that is supposed to explain those random events. One thing that struck me... was that the fall of the Western Roman Empire was not a dramatic event for Romans."
"It just happened after decades of unfortunate events. To Romans the day Odeaker removed the emperor was just another political turmoil at the top... much as those that happen daily in your country and go unnoticed."
- TraditionalCherry
Boudica, Who?
"Boudica, the famous Celtic warrior queen who led an uprising to protect Britain from Rome... may not have existed."
"All accounts of her existence come from Roman historians such as Tacitus and Cassius Dio who not only had never stepped foot in Britain but were born after the event took place."
"Tacitus' account came from what he was told by his father-in-law, Agricola, who was stationed in Britain during the time of the event. Cassius Dio's account of the event is far more colorful in its description, but also far more likely to have been fabricated."
"That being said, there is archaeological evidence to suggest some truth to the tale. In both accounts, Boudica and her army are said to have sieged the Roman capital of Camulodunum (now Colchester) and razed it to the ground. There is a burn layer in the city of Colchester that is dated to the year that the revolt took place."
"Also in Tacitus' accounts, the rioters were said to have raided the city's Temple of Claudius and violated the statue of Claudius by beheading it and throwing it into the River Alde. In 1907, the head of a bronze statue depicting Claudius was found in the village of Rendham, downstream from the River Alde."
"So while we lack any material evidence that directly confirms Boudica's existence, we do at least have evidence to suggest that there was a civil disturbance within Roman Britain during the time that her revolt took place."
"Nevertheless, she served an important role in both Tacitus' and Dio's narratives through her alleged speeches to her armies, in which she directly criticized the rule of Emperor Nero (and emasculated him) and the state of Roman society due to its overindulgences. Despite being a female barbarian warrior, she is valorized in the narrative by being given traits that are masculine, heroic, and civilized, embodying the Roman ideal more so than Rome itself under Nero's rule."
"In that sense, there is a likelihood Boudica may have existed to some extent, but the popular narrative around her serves more as a contemporary Roman propaganda piece than an accurate historical narrative."
- LexGonGiveItToYa
Height Is All Perspective
"Napoleon was average height for his time, it's just the average back then is smaller than today which caused us to think he was small for some reason."
- jolankapohanka
"That, and French feet and inches were slightly longer than the English ones. Which the English knew. But it made for good propaganda to not properly translate his measurements and instead claim he was short."
- ElNakedo
Titanic-Sized Truths
"A couple of truths about the Titanic:"
"People saying it was 'unsinkable' was a reflection of shipbuilding at the time. People would have described any modern ocean liner that way, and there was nothing particularly special or unique about the Titanic (in terms of safety)."
"Bruce Ismay being the villain of the story and pressuring Smith to speed up is based on the testimony of only one passenger so it's disputed if such a conversation ever occurred. Ismay denied it (for whatever that might be worth) and there are also many other factors that suggest that it would not have happened, or if it did, Ismay was pleased with the time they had already made as opposed to suggesting they go faster."
- KavyenMoore
The Truth About Archimedes
"Since the new 'Indiana Jones' movie brought it up:"
"No, Archimedes probably did not invent a death ray by using a giant magnifying glass. Although it is attested to in historical sources, the fact that it’s impossible under the known laws of physics suggests it is probably an exaggeration."
- Poorly-Drawn-Beagle
The Rasputin Treatment
"Rasputin was not the lover of the Russian Queen, he simply knew how to treat hemophilia, which Prince Alexei suffered from, and was thus given direct access to the Royal Family. The royal court hated that this strange-looking religious weirdo with no nobility had such massive influence over the Royal Family, so a rumor that he was secretly banging the Tsarina was spread as an attempt to get the Tsar to remove him from the court."
"He couldn’t actually even TREAT hemophilia, he just made everyone stop making it worse."
"The doctors gave the boy aspirin, which made him bleed more, which freaked out his mom who had terrible anxiety and other mental problems, which the boy picked up on and freaked out further. Rasputin didn’t allow him to take aspirin and calmed his mother down, and that’s all it took to keep the boy in good health."
- theoriginaldandan
This Is More Than Sparta
"There were way more Greek warriors than just the 300 Spartans during the battle of Thermopylae."
- ascootertridingataco
Not 'Et Tu Brute'
"Caesar's last words were not, 'Et tu Brute?'"
"That line was created by William Shakespeare."
"Caesar's actual last words are not known but it is speculated they were Why this is violence. After Senator Tullius Cimber grabbed his toga down just as the assassination was beginning."
"Though even those words must be taken with a grain of salt."
- Lizzy_Of_Galtar
The Truth About King Tut
"King Tut is only relevant because his tomb is the only one that was not extensively robbed."
- Peyyton01
"Not robbed until the 1920s anyway."
"I've heard the reason for that was because he was such an insignificant pharaoh that reigned for such a short time that people forgot where his tomb was."
- ST616
"His tomb was placed in the valley of the Kings where rubble was piled on top of and the yearly floods brought more unintentional burying with it. I did see somewhere that his tomb was below the workers' lunch/rest area."
"They now know that whatever he died of was a surprise as his tomb wasn't even finished as there were still brush marks in the plaster on the walls whilst painting. Additionally, they're unsure if his sacrifices used was intended for him, but that's another thing altogether."
- enchantedspoons
"He wasn't a notable Pharaoh, and if anything, one that ancient times would have pitied/loathed."
"It's definitely the uniqueness in the tomb and the preservation rather than him being an important historical figure in Ancient Egypt."
- thetightestchungus
The Fall of the Library of Alexandria
"That the texts in the Library of Alexandria held some sacred knowledge that is lost forever and would change the way we look at the world if we knew what's inside."
"But, we DO know what was inside. 80%-90% of the Library of Alexandria was copied and spread throughout Africa and the Middle East by the time it had burned down."
- ItsADepature
"Saying the Library of Alexandria was lost to a fire itself is also wrong. The Library of Alexandria was actually multiple libraries within the city, and only one of which famously burned and most scrolls were actually saved. The truth is the Library of Alexandria wasn’t lost to a raging fire; it simply fizzled out over the centuries..."
"Interest in the libraries waned, rulers cut funding, buildings fell into disarray and/or were converted for other uses, etc. It’s just far more dramatic to say that a huge chunk of the world’s knowledge was lost to a fire; propaganda that became “truth” over the last 2000 years."
- casual_creator
The Writing of 'The Odyssey'
"People believe that Homer was an actual living person who composed the entire 'Odyssey.'"
"There's no historical proof of his existence. It's entirely possible he's either a composite of many different storytellers or a mythical figure himself (the blind bard)."
- chipdriver
Lost in Translation
"I'm not a historian, per se, although I read a lot about ancient civ/history."
"Just found out today that Virgin Mary might just be the accidental mistranslation of a word hundreds of years after the original writings. And that's if you even take scripture seriously to start."
"Apparently in a translation from one language to another, the word for 'young and nubile' was swapped for a word meaning 'virgin' and the entire Virgin Mary arc started as a result."
"If true, it's wild."
- AVBforPrez
Numerical Translations
"Everyone in the Heian era in Japan (who was not an aristocrat or clergy) was a farmer first and foremost. This belief originates from records labeling all those people farmers (new theories suggest that the term's meaning shifted over time) and taxes being paid in rice."
"Again, recent discoveries indicate common practices like exchanging the goods brought in yearly for their value in rice and then accepting the rice as tax. We are fairly certain that this was done to balance the books and in actuality the farmers submitted their goods and the authorities wrote the complicated exchange process down but never actually carried it out for the sake of efficiency."
"This leaves the issues of rice fields, as the legal framework required everyone to keep and tend a certain area of rice fields. The reality suggests that most profitable businesses paying their tax on other goods had lower farm yields than most. The question here becomes whether they engaged in other means of accumulating value because they only had bad soil or whether they simply neglected the assigned fields."
"If the former is the case we can be somewhat certain that the society was (at least in its own perception) primarily farming-based. If the latter is the case (as is the consensus among many historians right now, but not in school books or among the Japanese general population) it seems Japan was more advanced at that point than previously thought."
"I tend to think that they were initially based around a mostly subsistence economy with a feudal-adjacent system but evolved into a normal feudal society (by relaxed standards) fairly soon. Still, historically almost everyone believes in the subsistence idea, despite evidence slowly accumulating against it."
- RoamingArchitect
The Truth About Calvary
"Obligatory not a historian, but a pre-historic archaeology student who has used this opportunity to research quite a bit of medieval history too."
"That cavalry only ever attacks from the rear or sides, and that frontal-charging infantry with cavalry is almost suicidal for horses."
"This I believe is a myth originating from what amounts to balancing decisions in wargames."
"While it is true that frontal charging with cavalry is tricky, it is still relatively common. During certain periods it was more common than in others. One of the most prominent instances of frontal-charging cavalry was the Latin European culture of the Middle Ages (High Middle Ages in particular). Their mounted knight's frontal-charged infantry for hundreds of years, to generally great effect too."
- ThisOneForAdvice74
Through word of mouth and entertainment, there are certain stories that have been so powerful, they're simply accepted as fact from the beginning.
What's amazing to think about is how they're never contested after being heard for so many years.
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