Kitab al I'tibar by Usama ibn Munqidh. The anecdotes of Christian European-Muslim interactions are hilarious (even if embellished); the Battle accounts illustrates respect of each side's valor and skill.
10 months ago | 10
Not sure if they exist, but letters from Arabic chieftains and leaders discussing the spread of the new faith (Islam) could be fascinating.
10 months ago | 7
Accounts of new foods and cultural differences from travelers are always the most fascinating to me. It’s always refreshing to read the ones that aren’t about war and misery.
10 months ago | 26
The autobiography of Adad-guppi. She was an Assyrian priestess whose city was destroyed by the Babylonians. She became an ascetic on the streets of Babylon but eventually rose to the rank of Queen Mother of Babylon
10 months ago | 7
The Jesuit revelations for the year 1649. It is a first-hand account detailing how the Huron nation - a then major tribe- was attacked and wiped out by the Iroquois over the fur trade. The source talks about in extremely graphic detail two priests captured by the Iroquois and being brutally tortured. The Jesuit Relations are one of the greatest primary sources of the new world.
10 months ago (edited) | 8
The journals of Jesuit missionaries (e.g. Matteo Ricci) during the Ming and early Qing dynasty. Or perhaps the writings of the prolific Chinese essayist Zhang Dai (author of 'Dream Memories of Tao'an) who witnessed the fall of the Ming dynasty.
10 months ago | 12
INQUISITION! would love to dive into the mind and justifications of the people running the horror show
10 months ago | 14
A firsthand account of someone who witnessed Elizabeth Barton (“the Mad Nun of Kent”) “prophesying” publicly against King Henry VIII, or of Thomas More’s meeting with her
10 months ago | 3
The voyage of Hugh O Neil, O Neill Mor, Earl of Tyrone to Rome, the voyage was recorded by his Companion. Hugh fought a nine year war with Elizabeth of England but was eventually defeated. He became aware of a plot to Imprison him and members of his family and so reluctantly fled to Europe with 99 members of the Gaelic Irish aristocracy in what became known as the flight of the Earls in 1607.
10 months ago (edited) | 5
Harmen van den Bogaert had an epic and ultimately tragic life and chronicled some early interactions of Europeans with North American native people. There's way too much to go into here, but it's an interesting tale. A little snippet from Wikipedia: "[Harmen's journal] is the first written description of the Mohawk Valley and among the first ethnographical accounts of the Iroquois people and the Mohawk language. He is also notable for being among the first known people in the Americas to be killed as a result of their homosexuality."
10 months ago (edited) | 3
RAMON MUNTANER, and his chronicles about the catalan company of almogàvers during the XIII century
10 months ago | 23
The Baburnama would be brilliant, the diary of the emperor who founded the Mughal dynasty
10 months ago | 27
Life of King Louis the IXth by Jean de Joinville! Amazing story of an amazing ruler
10 months ago | 2
Something about ibn battuta, i would like sources about Africa. That guy was the king of travel logs
10 months ago | 1
Travel memoirs in Tsarist Russia pre and post Peter I up to the Bolshevik revolution, especially pre, that focuses on folk culture and piety and the famous Russian hospitality and "Russian soul". Everyone already knows that poorer people everywhere have always had it hard. It's more edifying to get a glimpse at and celebrate how those people created beauty in their time. There is a lot of interest in Russia right now so I'm sure it would get a lot of views.
10 months ago | 3
The one soldier who recounts his experiences in the 30 years war. Edit: Peter Hagendorf
10 months ago (edited) | 5
Travels of an Artist Among the Indians of North America and Vancouver Island by Paul Kane
10 months ago | 10
Some crazy anecdotes from the Historia Augusta, on the absolute degeneracy of the late Roman Empire...
10 months ago | 4
Voices of the Past
Suggestions for epic diaries or journals from history that you would like us to produce? Leave ideas in the comments below - the weirder the better! Surprise us.
(New video coming this week!)
10 months ago | [YT] | 573