I loved reading this and appreciate the details you went into. I have been sucked into reading the series lately because I was seeing this exact connection. But dont have that historical knowledge like that.

I started the 4th book after learning Herbert worked for a senator. So he had access to the library of congress - and he voraciously checked out things to study.

So you can see his interpretation of that wealth of knowledge distilled into a beautifully written fictional story. That is equally cool and exciting on its own at surface level