Chess originated in India and was disseminated across Eurasia, changing and adapting as it went. When Europeans started arriving in India in the 16th century, what were the similarities and differences between the different version?

What kinds of food are available for purchase? and where? What kinds of restaurants are there?

I was just reading the great thread on Nazi looting of and resistance efforts to save cultural artifacts/artwork. It left me wondering if we have examples of the same types of efforts in medieval times or antiquity? The first period of interest that came to mind was the fall of Constantinople.

Was there a concerted effort to copy works held at the library in Constantinople before the city fell in 1453? Do we have any sense of how much of the library’s works survived? Was the library already destroyed after the crusade occupation in 1204 or did this Latin occupation help spread the works into Europe? Did medieval kingdoms or catholic monastic orders have interest in preserving the library or its works. Was the library’s loss seen as a blow to contemporaneous scholars?

Any other examples would be interesting as well. Thanks

Was Kazakhstan part of any particular ancient civilization like the Sarmatians or Scythians? I noticed that the latter are usually associated with what is today Russia and th Black Sea region.

What about the Massagatae? Tomyris is revered there but we don’t really know where she was born.

I’ve read about the Kazakh Khanate but I was interested in the ancient history of what is now Kazakhstan. Who lived there before and so on. Does anyone have any book recommendations on this topic?

I'm doing coursework on Russia 1855-1953 and I've just wondered why Japan, who rivalled Imperial Russia and defeated them in 1905, didn't take the internal turmoil of the post revolution period under Lenin to take some land?

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If they did and I somehow haven't come across it in my reading I am terribly sorry.

Edit: I mean mid-18th century since they ended in 1745.

I apologize ahead of time if this is not the right subreddit to ask this question. We cannot seem to find a solid reference that gives us answers.

My SO is doing research on the Zduhac, a Slavic/Serbian historical mythology about people born with supernatural abilities who used those powers to protect their estates when asleep via some form of astral projection (apologies; I am paraphrasing).

However, we are having a hard time finding any resources or anyone who may be an expert on the matter. I'm usually pretty decent at researching, but even I'm stumped on this one (I am also not very proficient with the languages that we do find information on!).

Does anyone have any historical information or even references/resources that would tell us in better detail the origins of the Zduhaci and any other information that would be helpful?

Thank you in advance for any assistance offered.

I read that it took a lot of selective breeding to get horses to the level of strength of being able to carry mounted men, which is why bronze age used chariots exclusively.

Is there any fossils to compare directly how large they were, compared to modern horse breeds?

If the line was blurred or it was a mixture, any details on the subject would be appreciated. Thanks!

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What inspired people to throw coins into wells or fountains?

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I heard somewhere that originally Robert was invited to be the union general but he declined, is that true, and does anyone have a source?

How did 'Wampum', 'Teepee', 'Pow Wow', 'Peace Pipe' 'How' (Greeting), etc., become the to go-to words in popular culture for Native Americans?

Are any of these words nonsense? And those that aren't, what tribe(s) did they come from?