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From ancient kings to Trump and Xi: when did humans start shaking hands? And why?

The Conversation · · 901 words · By Louise Pryke
Non-verbal Communication Historical Symbolism Political Diplomacy

The article explores the historical and symbolic evolution of the handshake, from ancient Assyrian and Roman customs to modern political interactions. It discusses how the gesture can represent unity, farewells, or power dynamics in contemporary diplomacy.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/from-ancient-kings-to-trump-and-xi-when-did-humans-s…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

14 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 7
schedule Pending 4
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
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“United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping shook hands outside China’s Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, for 14 seconds.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that Donald Trump and Xi Jinping shook hands for 14 seconds outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of international trips made by Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and the president of China. Xi Jinping has made 56 international trips to 71 countries si…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_trips_ma…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — From 13 to 15 May 2026, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, made a state visit to China. This visit was Trump's second state visit to China, and the first to occur during his second pres…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_state_visit_by_Donald_Tru…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — There has been significant academic and political debate about whether Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States, can be considered a fascist according to consensus definitions of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_and_fascism
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The oldest known depiction of a handshake comes from the 9th century BCE”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim discusses the oldest living people in the world (supercentenarians) and does not mention the oldest depiction of a handshake or the 9th century BCE.
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web search NEUTRAL — 1 day ago · All entries on this list are verified by the Gerontology Research Group and Guinness World Records through rigorous documentary evidence — birth certificates, baptism records, census data,…
https://worldunfolds.com/oldest-persons-in-the-world/
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web search NEUTRAL — Due to the life expectancy difference between sexes, nearly all the oldest living people have been women (thus the maximum life span is guided by the female numbers); a sequence of the oldest living m…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_people
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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 17, 2025 · Kane Tanaka celebrated her 118th birthday at the beginning of the year and is currently the oldest living person in the world and one of several Japanese supercentenarians.
https://www.oldest.org/people/living-persons/
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“On a limestone relief found in modern-day Iraq, King Shalmaneser III of Assyria and King Marduk-zakir-shumi I are shown shaking hands”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including a Wikipedia entry on the Black Obelisk and other web results, confirm the limestone relief in Iraq depicts King Shalmaneser III and King Marduk-zakir-shumi I shaking hands.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is a black limestone Neo-Assyrian sculpture with many scenes in bas-relief and inscriptions. It comes from Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), in northern Iraq, and commemorat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Obelisk_of_Shalmaneser_I…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shalmaneser I (𒁹𒀭𒁲𒈠𒉡𒊕 mdsál-ma-nu-SAG Salmanu-ašared; 1273–1244 BC or 1265–1235 BC) was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian Empire. He was the son and successor of Adad-nirari I.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalmaneser_I
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Shalmaneser III (Šulmānu-ašarēdu, "the god Shulmanu is pre-eminent") was king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 859 BC to 824 BC. His long reign was a constant series of campaigns against the eastern tr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalmaneser_III
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“In Classical Greek art, grave reliefs depict the dead clasping hands with the living. This motif is known as dexiosis”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that 'dexiosis' is the motif in Classical Greek grave reliefs depicting the dead clasping hands with the living.
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web search NEUTRAL — Dexiosis reliefs are also known from Roman gravestones, which show the deceased with their spouses.[2] Similarly, dexiosis reliefs are found on ancient coins and are they are intended to show bonds be…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexiosis
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web search NEUTRAL — One of the most moving depictions in ancient Greek funerary art is the dexiosis—the handshake between the deceased and the living. This visual motif became dominant in Attic grave reliefs after 430 BC…
https://www.greecehighdefinition.com/blog/2025/4/9/handshake…
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web search NEUTRAL — This article discusses the significance of the handclasp as depicted in Roman and early Christian artwork. The historical use of the sacred handclasp demonstrates the importance of the marriage covena…
https://scripturecentral.org/archive/periodicals/journal-art…
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“In ancient Rome, the right hand was strongly associated with Fides, the divine force of trust and good faith”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia and other web sources confirm that in ancient Rome, the right hand was associated with Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith.
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web search NEUTRAL — In ancient Rome, the right hand was strongly associated with Fides, the divine force of trust and good faith, so the hand clasping was a sacred bond. The “joining of right hands” (known as the dextrar…
https://theconversation.com/from-ancient-kings-to-trump-and-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The hands' pathos is beautifully expressed through the detail of the veined, flaccid hand which tells you is the hand of the departed.For Romans the right hand was sacred to Fides, the deity of fideli…
https://twitter.com/veracausa9/status/1057390448849928192
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web search NEUTRAL — In ancient Roman religion, Fides (Latin: Fidēs) was the goddess and embodiment of trust, faithfulness, and good faith (Bona Fides). Fides was one of the original Roman virtues to be cultivated as a di…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fides_(deity)
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“The “joining of right hands” (known as the dextrarum iunctio) was a gesture of unity that could be used to symbolise weddings, as well as other social and political bonds.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Wikipedia on Roman marriage, confirm that 'dextrarum iunctio' (joining of right hands) symbolized unity in weddings and other social/political bonds.
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web search NEUTRAL — Roman couple joining hands (dextrarum iunctio); the bride's belt may show the knot symbolizing that the husband was "belted and bound" to her, which he was to untie in their bed (4th century sarcophag…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_in_ancient_Rome
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web search NEUTRAL — The “joining of right hands” (known as the dextrarum iunctio) was a gesture of unity that could be used to symbolise weddings, as well as other social and political bonds. It was also closely linked w…
https://theconversation.com/from-ancient-kings-to-trump-and-…
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web search NEUTRAL — The joining of hands, or dextrarum iunctio, is a gesture seen particularly in ancient Roman reliefs in which a man and women hold their right hands together in union. Marriage during the Renaissance w…
https://www.thecollector.com/arnolfini-portrait-theories-ana…
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“The Roman emperors Caracalla and Geta... After the death of their father, emperor Septimius Severus, in 211 CE, the brothers ruled together.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Wikipedia on the Severan dynasty, confirm that Caracalla and Geta ruled together as co-emperors following the death of Septimius Severus in 211 CE.
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web search NEUTRAL — Their two sons, Caracalla: 211 and Geta: 1350 , ruled briefly after the death of Septimius.Septimius was succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta, whom he had elevated as co-emperors in the years prec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severan_dynasty
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web search NEUTRAL — Then in 209CE he made Caracalla’s younger brother Geta also a co-emperor. The father and sons ruled until Septimius’ death in early 211CE. The brothers then ruled together until Geta’s death in late 2…
https://theconversation.com/who-were-caracalla-and-geta-the-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Bust of Septimius Severus, Roman, c. 193-211 CE. Source: Glypothek Museum, Munich.With these proclamations, Septimius was, therefore, making it clear that his stable “Severan” rule would continue afte…
https://www.thecollector.com/geta-roman-emperor-reign-death/
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“Caracalla was plotting his brother’s murder... Geta was killed – reportedly in the arms of their mother.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Wikipedia, confirm that Caracalla ordered the murder of Geta, who reportedly died in their mother's arms/apartments.
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web search NEUTRAL — Their two sons, Caracalla: 211 and Geta: 1350 , ruled briefly after the death of Septimius.Geta was murdered in their mother's apartments, and died clung to his mother, by order of Caracalla[4]: 16 , …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severan_dynasty
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web search NEUTRAL — After having his brother murdered, Caracalla then ruled alone for another six years and earned a reputation as one of Rome’s more cruel, callous and changeable emperors. The early lives of Caracalla a…
https://www.historyextra.com/period/roman/caracalla-geta-rom…
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web search NEUTRAL — The real historical figures behind Gladiator II. The Gladiator franchise’s characters are a blend of fact and fiction. The four emperors depicted in the films—Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Caracalla and …
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-history-behi…
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“In ancient Greek art, Herakles is depicted shaking hands with the centaur Pholos”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm or deny the depiction of Herakles shaking hands with Pholos.
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“On the eve of the 2004 federal election, the two party leaders, Mark Latham and John Howard, met outside ABC studios.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a meeting between Mark Latham and John Howard outside ABC studios on the eve of the 2004 election.
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“When Trump and French president Emmanuel Macron met in Brussels in 2017, their handshake was widely described as a white-knuckled contest.”
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“Last year, the pair once again clasped hands in front of the cameras, for 26 seconds.”
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“During the 2020 Australian Black Summer bushfires, Prime Minister Scott Morrison tried shaking a firefighter’s hand while visiting the fire-ravaged town of Cobargo, New South Wales.”
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“The fist bump is a type of “dap” greeting associated with Black American soldiers during the Vietnam War.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.