When Russia started conquering and settling to the east of the Ural mountains and out of Europe into Asia all the way to the Pacific ocean, was it a state project accomplished by the tzar's army, or a private company project accomplished with contractors? Were the settlers peasants relocated there, or volunteers working for work/land? Was the area largely empty of permanent cities, or was it full of khanates and sultanates that were defeated and conquered?

Furthermore, did the French people have any problems with protesting against a war hero? Apparently the protests were mainly lead by students, who perhaps might not have been around for WW2. What actions started these protests and what caused his resignation?

I understand that the majority of people were illiterate but surely a few people wrote about it.

I mean we don't have any major christian states in the Middle East anymore and there wasn't much conquering. When you look at a map the amount of land the crusaders ever actually got is miniscular.

There are plenty of famous WWII stories about the American, Japanese, British, and German air forces but did the Soviet Air Force have any major wins or moments in the war? Maybe it's me, but most of the impressive military accomplishments of the Soviets seem to be from land forces. They had to have a good air force to fight as well as they did against the Nazi's... right?

I’ll give an example. I’m living in medieval Europe and my plow decays, or otherwise breaks; what do I do with it? Or let’s say my table collapses and can’t be fixed, what do I do with it?

It seems odd that these countries would abandon currencies called the "Pound" without a major deterioration in relations with the UK. Additionally, they weren't colonised by the USA.

Adding to my confusion, countries which were colonised by the USA, such as Cuba and the Philippines, didn't adopt currencies called the "Dollar".

A few years ago I visited the Jinsha site museum in Chengdu and I was struck by how different and unique the culture of ancient Sichuan seemed to be. So how much do historians know about the Sichuan basin in ancient times and what sources do we have about it?

OK, so there may be a lot to unpack here, but I find information floating around on the web to be sometimes vague, unclear, or nonexistent; which is pretty common in terms of pre-colonial America, my favorite historical topic. I've recently become very fascinated with the history of the Inuit people, and even started learning some Greenlandic for fun. Hopefully someone here can help me clarify a few things. (Also this is my first Reddit post. yay.)

1. Where actually did the Thule culture originate? I know that there were multiple occasions of migration from Siberia to the American Arctic, so were they a relatively recent migration?
2. What aspects of the Thule society allowed them to essentially dominate the entire American Arctic so quickly?
3. Did they see themselves as one cultural unit, or simply multiple groups with linguistic and cultural ties?
4. What would the Thule people actually have called themselves to differentiate their proto-Inuit-speaking selves from say their Algonquian-speaking neighbors to the south?
5. Did the Thule spread across the Arctic violently, or did others simply assimilate into Thule culture. Or perhaps both? I know that they completely replaced the Dorset culture, but did the Dorset just get absorbed or were they killed?
6. Were they good neighbors? How did they interact with the cultures they bordered to the south? Was trade common, or were they mostly hostile? If they traded often, have we found any Thule objects far from their homeland?
7. I understand that some people in the Arctic harvested iron from meteorites to make tools. How did they actually go about doing this, and did this discovery of iron dramatically change their ways of life? Did they ever trade this iron to the south?
8. At their height, what is our best estimate of the total population of Thule people?
9. Why stay in the Arctic? Do you think that they could have potentially gone further inland in some areas?
10. Did their interactions with Norse settlers in Greenland influence their culture in any important way?
11. What events caused the Thule culture to break into the multiple Inuit cultures today? Was there any specific turning point?
12. And one last question that may be a little more speculative: With Greenland being not so far off from Iceland, is it possible that they could have occasionally paid a visit or at the very least heard about it from Norse settlers?

I know that there is a lot to unpack here, but I'd be happy for an answer for any of these questions; and I think they make for an interesting discussion. Thanks!

Did the ancient Greeks genuinely believe that figures like Heracles or Achilles actually existed, as well as creatures like the medusa or hydra? Or was all of what we consider to be "Greek Mythology" considered even back then to be stories that we were supposed to get moral lessons out of and nothing more?

This is mentioned after Pierre’s duel with Dolokhov on page 363, book two, part two, chapter six, of the Pevear Volokhonsky translation. To add onto the question, were attempts ever made to discourage dueling, or even make it illegal?

Were the plays written or transmitted oraly until somebody wrote them down and can we even be sure they are legitimate and not 19'th century fabrications?

I am wondering what made it stand out so much among other navies? It never lost a war or major naval battle, correct?

As the title suggests, I've been recommended SPQR multiple times, it also has overwhelmingly positive reviews on Amazon. Can any of you weigh in on the book? Is it worth the purchase?

Is this book worth the buy? I see a lot of rave reviews for it but I feel slightly iffy about it (for some unknown reason).

Please do not comment if your school in America does not teach the Napoleonic Wars. I do know that this highly important era is ignored usually in classes of modern day. I just want to know how it is teachen, if it is ever teached.

Is the Napoleonic Wars teached in your school/American schools? If so, how is it teached?

I know about the lives of royals and aristocrats who ruled over vast swaths of land, but this was fairly rare. Most nobles could never afford a massive stone castle and wouldn't even dream of engaging in diplomacy with a foreign ruler. What would my day to day life be like if I were a vassal who ruled over about 300 people? What kind of house would I have? What would I wear? Who would I marry? What would my finances be like? I'm particularly interested in the High Middle Ages, but any insight would be highly appreciated.

I am making my way through the History of England podcast (I know, pop-history, boo hiss) and it is currently covering the decline of Mercia and emergence of Wessex. My understanding is that Wessex was a primarily Saxon region, whereas Mercia, Kent, and East Anglia were predominantly Angle. With them coming under the sway of the Danelaw and Wessex carrying on the Anglo-Saxon mantle, why didn't the eventual United country emerge as Wessex, or Saxony, or something along those lines?

Thank you!

I know figures like Hercules and Theseus killed monsters but were there any characters or groups who were known as a monster-slayer? Not just Greek mythology but any you can think of please.

Finland gained independence in 1917 and never came back under the soviet sphere of influence, especially after the Reds lost the civil war in 1918. Were there ever any plans in Soviet Union/Russia to eventually take back Finland under their control or was it simply not considered as a possiblity?

For exemple, Soviets tried to take Poland in 1919/20. I find it hard to believe Soviets never considered this for Finland. To the best of my knowledge, it even remains disputed whether the goal of the 1939 invasion was to actually conquer all Finland or just to force them to make land concessions.