A deceased relative's immigration document states that they came from a place called Zarshunow. We know she came from Russia back in 1916 but we can't find a place named Zarshunow. I thought it may have been an error if the name was misunderstood.

Would a restaurant still be open? How would they survive in rationing?

Pollution certainly isn't a new phenomenon. I was struck by descriptions of 13th century Kaifeng where coal fired furnaces filled the air with soot. 19th century industrialization used primitive and inefficient coal technologies that had awful consequences on air quality. Why did it take so long for environmentalism to become a real political force anywhere in the world? There were already conscientious efforts to address work safety, child labor, overwork, etc. in the late 19th century but why didn't this extend to the environment?

I don't understand why the Federalist Party would have died because of one reason, even if that was a big one.

A follow-up question, if that was the only reason, how were they able to die out? Was the Republican Party at the time simply much bigger than the Federalist Party, or did many Federalists just not agree with the stance?

Did they inherit the Jewish tradition of not eating pork? If so, when and how did they start eating pork?

Hello Historians. What good introductory books, textbooks, would you recommend on how humans have modified their environment?

So we always hear about the Roman games having lions and other animals. Is this just a guess or is there proof?

What proof or records exist to show that animals were used in the games?

Does anyone know where to find a source that I can reference with this information?

I've heard of a report by the US war department but I can't actually find somewhere to reference this from.

I'm looking for a reliable academic source.

What are the main historians that have written about the civil war? I doesn't have to be recent, I would actually prefer a few that spread out through time to see the differences in their work. Thanks!

Hello,

Some of my favourite books took place in England (specifically England, not Great Britain in general) between the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, specifically Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's novels. However, I have trouble understanding or visualizing many aspects of those books because I know very little about life in England during those times. For example, what does the custom of an upper class family introducing their daughter to "society" during the beginning of the "London Season" mean (although I first read about this in War and Peace)? How much money was 100,000 pounds in 1889?

What are some books I can read to help me understand these books better?

As far as I know, the Norse are not confirmed to have landed anywhere in North America besides Baffin Island, Labrador, and Newfoundland, which are all islands. Columbus landed in the Caribbean.

Who was the first European to reach the Americas proper?

I remember hearing somewhere that armies in the dark ages were oftentimes as small as a few hundred men compared to the thousands of earlier and later periods. Is this true?

For instance, did the American government(s) have any involvement in the Italian unification or communications with von Bismarck, or did the war cause them to drop everything and focus internally?

I've realized I know a fair amount about slavery in the US in general, but ended up stumped here. Basically, I'm asking about that one person (or group of people) who once found themselves in Africa and went, "Huh. We could put all these people on a ship, take them home and make them our slaves."

Who was it and when exactly (or as close to it as possible) was it? Was the idea initially accepted (everyone jumped on board and approved) or was there opposition in the early days? What did the international community at the time think about it?

I did a quick search and didn't find a question as specific as this one. If I missed it, my apologies.

First time on /r/AskHistorians and I have a question for you. I'm Canadian and from what I understand the legal system in the US is quite similar to Canada, UK, Australia etc. We're all part of the common law system, but our legislative bodies are completely different. Why did the Founding Fathers keep the British legal system but abolished the parliamentary system in favour of the American legislative system: "three branches of government", "checks and balances", president etc.

I'm sure there are some things that could have been changed or is the common law system that good? I get that they were originally British and a lot of the Fathers had legal training; but why change the legislature while leaving the legal system untouched.

I'm currently writing a fantasy, and a central theme is collapse of a great civilization. To be most genuine I would like to understand the issues of various collapses in history to not make my book come off as contrived. Are there any good books or sources on the Rome/Byzantine collapses, or anyone have any specific insight? I don't know where to begin. So far I've looked at wikipedia as a primer, but would like to have much more indepth study. I also understand that there were a lot of political issues during the 4th crusade, but don't know much. Thanks!

Compared to other European cuisine, Italian is (in my experience!) by far the most popular around the world. Italian restaurants far outnumber Greek, French, German, etc. in North America and even in Europe it's easy to find Italian food in various countries.

How did this happen? I remember reading in various historical and fictional period texts in which characters express their disdain for Italian food. What caused the widespread adoption of it as the 'go-to' cuisine?