Portal:History

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History (from Greek ἱστορία, historia, meaning "inquiry; knowledge acquired by investigation") is the study of the past. Events occurring before the invention of writing systems are considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of information about these events. Historians place the past in context using historical sources such as written documents, oral accounts, ecological markers, and material objects including art and artifacts.

History also includes the academic discipline which uses narrative to describe, examine, question, and analyze a sequence of past events, investigate the patterns of cause and effect that are related to them. Historians seek to understand and represent the past through narratives. They often debate which narrative best explains an event, as well as the significance of different causes and effects. Historians also debate the nature of history and its usefulness by discussing the study of the discipline as an end in itself and as a way of providing "perspective" on the problems of the present.

Stories common to a particular culture, but not supported by external sources (such as the tales surrounding King Arthur), are usually classified as cultural heritage or legends. History differs from myth in that it is supported by evidence. However, ancient influences have helped spawn variant interpretations of the nature of history which have evolved over the centuries and continue to change today. The modern study of history is wide-ranging, and includes the study of specific regions and the study of certain topical or thematic elements of historical investigation. History is often taught as part of primary and secondary education, and the academic study of history is a major discipline in university studies.

Herodotus, a 5th-century BC Greek historian is often considered (within the Western tradition) to be the "father of history," or, by some, the "father of lies." Along with his contemporary Thucydides, he helped form the foundations for the modern study of human history. Their works continue to be read today, and the gap between the culture-focused Herodotus and the military-focused Thucydides remains a point of contention or approach in modern historical writing. In East Asia, a state chronicle, the Spring and Autumn Annals, was known to be compiled from as early as 722 BC although only 2nd-century BC texts have survived.

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The 4th-century AD Ezana Stone containing a dual Sabaean-style Ge'ez and Greek inscription recording the victories of King Ezana of Axum over the Kushites of Meroe (in modern Sudan)

Ethiopian historiography includes the ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern disciplines of recording the history of Ethiopia, including both native and foreign sources. The roots of Ethiopian historical writing can be traced back to the ancient Kingdom of Aksum (c. AD 100 – c. 940). These early texts were written in either the Ethiopian Ge'ez script or the Greek alphabet, and included a variety of mediums such as manuscripts and epigraphic inscriptions on monumental stelae and obelisks documenting contemporary events. The writing of history became an established genre in Ethiopian literature during the early Solomonic dynasty (1270–1974). In this period, written histories were usually in the form of royal biographies and dynastic chronicles, supplemented by hagiographic literature and universal histories in the form of annals. Christian mythology became a linchpin of medieval Ethiopian historiography due to works such as the Orthodox Kebra Nagast. This reinforced the genealogical traditions of Ethiopia's Solomonic dynasty rulers, which asserted that they were descendants of Solomon, the legendary King of Israel.

Ethiopian historiographic literature has been traditionally dominated by Christian theology and the chronology of the Bible. There was also considerable influence from Muslim, pagan and foreign elements from within the Horn of Africa and beyond. Diplomatic ties with Christendom were established in the Roman era under Ethiopia's first Christian king, Ezana of Axum, in the 4th century AD, and were renewed in the Late Middle Ages with embassies traveling to and from medieval Europe. Building on the legacy of ancient Greek and Roman historical writings about Ethiopia, medieval European chroniclers made attempts to describe Ethiopia, its people, and religious faith in connection to the mythical Prester John, who was viewed as a potential ally against Islamic powers. Ethiopian history and its peoples were also mentioned in works of medieval Islamic historiography and even Chinese encyclopedias, travel literature, and official histories. Read more...

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Japanese samurai, circa 1860. Followers of the bushido code of conduct and wielding a sharp sword, a katana, samurais were Japan's equivalent of European knights for hundreds of years. Samurai were more or less abolished in favor of a Western-style army in 1873, but their importance in Japanese history persists in the country's culture, even today.

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Did you know...

... that the anti-religious campaign culminating in the Stalinist show trial of the Kraków Curia (pictured) led to the imprisonment of 123 Polish Roman Catholic priests in just one year?
... that Confederate brigadier general Alfred E. Jackson was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson because of his kindness toward Johnson's family during the Civil War?
... that after HMS Porcupine was nearly split in two by a torpedo, the halves were nicknamed HMS Pork and HMS Pine?
... that the Experiment was a boat powered by horses running on a treadmill and propelled by a then-novel type of screw propeller?
... that one of the highest-ranking generals in China was injured in battle nine times?
... that in Mesopotamian mythology, the Apkallu were sent by the god Enki, from Dilmun to teach human beings various aspects of civilization?
... that Karl Marx's theory of historical trajectory attempted to prove the long-term unsustainability of capitalism?
... that in November 1921, the schooner Cymric collided with a tram in Dublin?

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Statue of Giovanni Villani in the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo

Giovanni Villani (Italian pronunciation: [dʒoˈvanni vilˈlaːni]; c. 1276 or 1280 – 1348) was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the Nuova Cronica (New Chronicles) on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman of Florence but later gained an unsavory reputation and served time in prison as a result of the bankruptcy of a trading and banking company he worked for. His interest in and elaboration of economic details, statistical information, and political and psychological insight mark him as a more modern chronicler of late medieval Europe. His Cronica is viewed as the first introduction of statistics as a positive element in history. However, historian Kenneth R. Bartlett notes that, in contrast to his Renaissance-era successors, "his reliance on such elements as divine providence links Villani closely with the medieval vernacular chronicle tradition." In recurring themes made implicit through significant events described in his Cronica, Villani also emphasized three assumptions about the relationship of sin and morality to historical events, these being that excess brings disaster, that forces of right and wrong are in constant struggle, and that events are directly influenced by the will of God.

Villani was inspired to write his Cronica after attending the jubilee celebration in Rome in 1300 and noting the venerable history of that city. He outlined the events in his Cronica year for year, following a strictly linear narrative format. He provided intricate details on many important historical events of the city of Florence and the wider region of Tuscany, such as construction projects, floods, fires, famines, and plagues. Read more...

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On this day

September 30: Orange Shirt Day in Canada

James Dean

737 – Muslim conquest of Transoxiana: Türgesh tribes attacked the Umayyad army's exposed baggage train, which had been sent ahead of the main force, and captured it.
1551 – Sue Takafusa, a retainer of the Ōuchi clan in western Japan, led a coup against the daimyō, Ōuchi Yoshitaka, leading to the latter's forced suicide.
1939 – Second World War: General Władysław Sikorski became the first prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile.
1955 – American film actor James Dean (pictured) suffered fatal injuries in a head-on car accident near Cholame, California.

Thomas Allen (d. 1632)
Decimus Burton (b. 1800)
Sonia Orbuch (d. 2018)

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Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right, nor any preference to claim over another. You are brothers.
— Muhammad, 7th century Islamic prophet

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General images

The following are images from various History-related articles on Wikipedia.

The Persian Achaemenid Empire at its greatest extent, c. 500 BC
Joan of Arc in a 15th-century depiction
The Cross of Mathilde, a crux gemmata made for Mathilde, Abbess of Essen (973–1011), who is shown kneeling before the Virgin and Child in the enamel plaque. The figure of Christ is slightly later. Probably made in Cologne or Essen, the cross demonstrates several medieval techniques: cast figurative sculpture, filigree, enamelling, gem polishing and setting, and the reuse of Classical cameos and engraved gems.
Pharaohs of Nubia
10th-century Ottonian ivory plaque depicting Christ receiving a church from Otto I
China – Erlitou
Gold stag with eagle's head, and ten further heads in the antlers. From a Xiongnu tomb. 4th–3rd century BC
Overview map in the 15th century BC showing the core territory of Assyria with its two major cities Assur and Nineveh wedged between Babylonia downstream and the states of Mitanni and Hatti upstream.
Medieval illustration of the spherical Earth in a 14th-century copy of L'Image du monde
Roman cast terracotta of ram-horned Jupiter Ammon, a form of Zeus 1st century AD. Gods, could sometimes be transferred or adopted by many civilizations, and then adjusted for local conditions.
India – Indus Valley Civilization
John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence, showing the Committee of Five in charge of drafting the Declaration in 1776 as it presents its work to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia
The Iron Age kingdom of Israel (blue) and kingdom of Judah (yellow)
Mesopotamia – Sumer
13th-century illustration of a Jew (in pointed Jewish hat) and the Christian Petrus Alphonsi debating
A medieval scholar making precise measurements in a 14th-century manuscript illustration
Map of the Islamic Gunpowders, the Mughal Empire being the orange one.
Europe and the Mediterranean Sea in 1190
Technical drawing of Roman Ballista mechanism.
The Romanesque Church of Maria Laach, Germany
A mosaic showing Justinian with the bishop of Ravenna (Italy), bodyguards, and courtiers.
Painting of Murong Xianbei archer, in Late Antiquity, nomads across Eurasia, began to use the stirrup. Horse riding warriors could be devastating in combat.
Terracotta Warriors from the time of Qin Shi Huang
Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People (1830). The French Revolution inspired a wave of revolutions across Europe. Liberalism and Nationalism were popular ideas that challenged Absolute Monarchies in the 19th century.
Spices were among the most luxurious products, the most common being black pepper, cinnamon (and the cheaper alternative cassia), cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.
Medieval French manuscript illustration of the three classes of medieval society: those who prayed (the clergy) those who fought (the knights), and those who worked (the peasantry). The relationship between these classes was governed by feudalism and manorialism. (Li Livres dou Sante, 13th century)
Bronze Mirror, from the Yayoi period of Japan
Largest expansion of Kingdom of Armenia under Tigranes the Great
Egyptian soldiers from Hatshepsut's expedition to the Land of Punt as depicted from her temple at Deir el-Bahri.
A possible representation of a "yogi" or "proto-Shiva", 2600–1900 BCE
Engraved world map (including magnetic declination lines) by Leonhard Euler from his school atlas "Geographischer Atlas bestehend in 44 Land-Charten" first published 1753 in Berlin
The Mughal ambassador Khan’Alam in 1618 negotiating with Shah Abbas the Great of Iran.
Clerics studying astronomy and geometry, French, early 15th century
Reconstruction of an early medieval peasant village in Bavaria
The Chinese Han Dynasty dominated the East Asia region at the beginning of the first millennium AD
The Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct in France.
Map showing growth of Frankish power from 481 to 814
A painting depecting the Qing Chinese celebrating a victory over the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan. This work was a collaboration between Chinese and European painters.
The Cantino planisphere (1502), the oldest surviving Portuguese nautical chart showing the results of the explorations of Vasco da Gama to India, Columbus to Central America, Gaspar Corte-Real to Newfoundland and Pedro Álvares Cabral to Brazil. The meridian of Tordesillas, separating the Portuguese and Spanish halves of the world is also depicted
A political map of the Mauryan Empire, including notable cities, such as the capital Pataliputra, and site of the Buddha's enlightenment.
The ruins of Mesoamerican city Teotihuacan
Map of the late Bronze Age collapse, c. 1200 BC
The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, built of marble and limestone between circa 460-406 BC, is a symbol not just of Ancient Greek architecture, but for Antiquity in general
Gutenberg reviewing a press proof (a colored engraving created probably in the 19th century)
Cishou Temple Pagoda, built in 1576: the Chinese believed that building pagodas on certain sites according to geomantic principles brought about auspicious events; merchant-funding for such projects was needed by the late Ming period.
Roman Empire 117 AD. The Senatorial provinces were acquired first under the Roman Republic and were under the Roman Senate's control; the Imperial provinces were controlled directly by the Roman emperor.
Standing Greek-Buddha, Gandhara, 1st century AD.
Gold fueled European exploration of the Americas. Explorers reported Native Americans in Central America, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia were to have had large amounts.
Ottoman Empire 1481–1683
Measoamerica – Olmec
World Colonization of 1492 (Early Modern World), 1550, 1660, 1754 (Age of Enlightenment), 1822 (Industrial revolution), 1885 (European Hegemony), 1914 (World War I era), 1938 (World War II era), 1959 (Cold War era) and 1974, 2008 (Recent history).
A page from the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript created in the British Isles in the late 8th or early 9th century
February scene from the 15th-century illuminated manuscript Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
Andean – Norte Chico
Europe in 814
The Great Wave off Kanagawa, c. 1830 by Hokusai, an example of art flourishing in the Edo Period
The Age of Migrations in Europe was deeply detrimental to the late Roman Empire.
Robert Clive and Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757 by Francis Hayman
Geographical extent of Iranian influence in the 1st century BC. The Parthian Empire (mostly Western Iranian) is shown in red, other areas, dominated by Scythia (mostly Eastern Iranian), in orange.
Battle of Vienna, 12 September 1683
Portrait of Cardinal Hugh of Saint-Cher by Tommaso da Modena, 1352, the first known depiction of spectacles
Ferdinand Pauwels – Martin Luther hammers his 95 theses to the door
A late Roman sculpture depicting the four Tetrarchs, now in Venice, Italy
Francis of Assisi, depicted by Bonaventura Berlinghieri in 1235, founded the Franciscan Order.
The Territory of the Adal Sultanate and its vassal states circa 1500.
Map of the approximate political boundaries in Europe around 450 AD
The early Muslim conquests
  Expansion under Muhammad, 622–632
  Expansion during the Patriarchal Caliphate, 632–661
  Expansion during the Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750
Cossacks became the backbone of the early Russian Army.
The Bayeux Tapestry (detail) showing William the Conqueror (centre), his half-brothers Robert, Count of Mortain (right) and Odo, Bishop of Bayeux in the Duchy of Normandy (left)
The Gothic interior of Laon Cathedral, France
Guy of Boulogne crowning Pope Gregory XI in a 15th-century miniature from Froissart's Chroniques
15th century Hanging Houses in Cuenca, Spain from the Early Renaissance, and the Early modern period.
Agricultural calendar, c. 1470, from a manuscript of Pietro de Crescenzi
A coin of the Ostrogothic leader Theoderic the Great, struck in Milan, Italy, circa AD 491–501
Barbarian kingdoms and tribes after the end of the Western Roman Empire
Byzantine Empire in 1265
Nok sculpture of a sitted person
Sénanque Abbey, Gordes, France
Map of Europe in 1360
An 11th-century illustration of Gregory the Great dictating to a secretary
"If there is something you know, communicate it. If there is something you don't know, search for it." An engraving from the 1772 edition of the Encyclopédie; Truth (center) is surrounded by light and unveiled by the figures to the right, Philosophy and Reason
Model for the Three Superior Planets and Venus from Georg von Peuerbach, Theoricae novae planetarum.
Oracle bone script from the Shang Dynasty.
Waldseemüller map with joint sheets, 1507
Krak des Chevaliers was built during the Crusades for the Knights Hospitallers.
Charlemagne's palace chapel at Aachen, completed in 805
Silver, valued as a precious metal, has been used to make expensive ornaments, fine jewelry, high-value tableware and utensils (silverware), and currency coins.
Khafre's Pyramid (4th dynasty) and Great Sphinx of Giza (c. 2500 BC or perhaps earlier)
The Ezana Stone records negus Ezana's conversion to Christianity and conquests of his neighbors.
Execution of some of the ringleaders of the jacquerie, from a 14th-century manuscript of the Chroniques de France ou de St Denis
The Parthenon, a temple dedicated to Athena, located on the Acropolis in Athens