Universal history
Encyclopedia
Universal history is basic to the Western tradition of historiography
, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.
, the first universal history was written by Ephorus
(fl. 4th century BC). This work has been lost, but its influence can be seen in the ambitions of Polybius
(203–120 BC) and Diodorus (fl. 1st century BC) to give comprehensive accounts of their worlds. In Leipzig
are preserved five fragments dating to the 2nd century AD and coming from a world chronicle. Its author is unknown, but was perhaps a Christian. Later, universal history provided an influential lens on the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire in such works as Eusebius
's Ecclesiastical History
, Augustine
's City of God, and Orosius' History Against the Pagans.
During the Han Dynasty
(202 BCE – 220 CE) of China
, Sima Qian
(145–86 BC) was the first Chinese historian to attempt a universal history—from the earliest mythological origins
of his civilization to his present day
—in his Records of the Grand Historian
. Although his generation was the first in China to discover the existence of kingdoms in Central Asia
and India
, his work did not attempt to cover the history of these regions.
, which posits that the sacrifice of Jesus now affects every person, and every generation since His resurrection, into the limitless future.
(or world chronicle), tracing history from the beginning of the world up to the present, was an especially popular genre of historiography
in medieval Western Europe
. The universal chronicle differs from the ordinary chronicle in its much broader chronological and geographical scope, giving, in principle, a continuous account of the progress of world history from the creation of the world up to the author's own times, but in practice often narrowing down to a more limited geographical range as it approaches those times.
The Chronica
of Eusebius of Caesarea
(c. 275
–339
) is considered to be the starting point of this tradition. The second book of this work consisted of a set of concordance tables (Chronici canones) that for the first time synchronized the several concurrent chronologies in use with different peoples. Eusebius' chronicle became known to the Latin
West through the translation by Jerome
(c. 347
–420
).
Universal chronicles are sometimes organized around a central ideological theme, such as the Augustinian
idea of the tension between the heavenly and the earthly state, which plays a major role in Otto von Freising's Historia de duabus civitatibus. In other cases, any obvious theme may be lacking. Some universal chronicles bear a more or less encyclopedic
character, with many digressions on non-historical subjects, as is the case with the Chronicon of Helinand of Froidmont
.
Other notable universal chroniclers of the Medieval West include Bede
(c. 672 or 673–735), the Christherre-Chronik
, Helinand of Froidmont
(c. 1160—1237?), Isidore of Seville
(c. 560–636), Jans der Enikel
, Matthew Paris
(c. 1200-1259), Ranulf Higdon
(c. 1280-1363), Rudolf von Ems
, Sigebert of Gembloux
(c. 1030–1112), Otto von Freising (c. 1114–1158), and Vincent of Beauvais
(c. 1190-1264?).
The tradition of universal history can even be seen in the works of medieval historians whose purpose may not have been to chronicle the ancient past, but nonetheless included it in a local history of more recent times. One such example is the Decem Libri Historiarum of Gregory of Tours
(d. 594), where only the first of his ten books describes creation and ancient history, while the last six books focus on events in his own lifetime and region. While this reading of Gregory is currently a widely accepted hypothesis in historical circles, the central purpose of Gregory's writing is still a topic of hot debate.
Christian writers as late as Bossuet
(in his Discours sur l'histoire universelle,1679) were still reflecting on and continuing the Medieval tradition of universal history.
, universal history in this vein was taken up by Muslim historians
such as al-Tabari
and Ibn Khaldun
. The 13th century Ta' rīkh-i jahān-gushā (History of the World Conqueror) by Ala'iddin Ata-Malik Juvayni, Jami al-Tawarikh
("Compendium of Chronicles") by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani (now held at the University of Edinburgh
) and the Muqaddimah
by Ibn Khaldun are significant example of this tradition.
(1240) by unknown author, a source of the first magnitude for the social history of the Asian Nomadic civilization based on Mongols
before the establishment of their world's greatest empire in 13 century. It contains main historical events in vast land of Eurasia in 800 years ago.
of George Sale
and others, written in the mid-18th century. In the 19th century, universal histories proliferated. Philosophers such as Kant
, Schiller and Hegel, and political philosophers such as Marx, presented general theories of history that shared essential characteristics with the Biblical account: they conceived of history as a coherent whole, governed by certain basic characteristics or immutable principles. For example, Hegel presented the idea that progress in history is actually the progress not of humankind's material existence, but of humanity's spiritual development. Concomitantly, Hegel presented a developmental theory of how the human spirit progresses: through the dialectic
of synthesis and antithesis. Marx
's theory of dialectic materialism is essential to his general concept of history: that the struggle to dominate the means of production governs all historical development.
s, such ideas continue to predominate as core assumptions. The teleological aspects of universal history remain entrenched. Many people believe that the events of our world, and more specifically, the events within the human community, are directed toward an end or tending toward an end of some sort. 'Linear' pre-suppositions of the theory are no less prevalent. Most people living in Western cultures conceive of time, and therefore of history, as a line or an arrow, that is proceeding from past to future, toward some end. The idea that time may be cyclical, or that there is no fundamental "end" to the human struggle, is unfamiliar.
in the 19th century are bound up with the concept that history written with a strong connection to the primary sources could, somehow, be integrated with "the big picture", i.e. to a general, universal history. For example, Leopold Von Ranke
, probably the pre-eminent historian of the 19th century, founder of "Rankean positivism," the classic mode of historiography that now stands against postmodernism
, attempted to write a Universal History at the close of his career. The work of Oswald Spengler
and Arnold J. Toynbee
are two examples of attempts to integrate primary source -based history and Universal History. Spengler's work is more general; Toynbee created a theory that would allow the study of "civilizations" to proceed with integration of source-based history writing and Universal History writing. Both writers attempted to incorporate teleological theories into general presentations of the history.
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
, especially the Abrahamic wellspring of that tradition. Simply stated, universal history is the presentation of the history of humankind as a whole, as a coherent unit.
Ancient authors
In Greco-Roman antiquityGreco-Roman world
The Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman culture, or the term Greco-Roman , when used as an adjective, as understood by modern scholars and writers, refers to those geographical regions and countries that culturally were directly, protractedly and intimately influenced by the language, culture,...
, the first universal history was written by Ephorus
Ephorus
Ephorus or Ephoros , of Cyme in Aeolia, in Asia Minor, was an ancient Greek historian. Information on his biography is limited; he was the father of Demophilus, who followed in his footsteps as a historian, and to Plutarch's claim that Ephorus declined Alexander the Great's offer to join him on his...
(fl. 4th century BC). This work has been lost, but its influence can be seen in the ambitions of Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
(203–120 BC) and Diodorus (fl. 1st century BC) to give comprehensive accounts of their worlds. In Leipzig
Leipziger Weltchronik
The Leipziger Weltchronik is preserved in five papyrus fragments in the Papyrus Collection in Leipzig. The fragments were bought in 1913, but were only published in 2010. The chronicle dates to the first half of the 2nd century AD. These are the earliest known fragments of a world chronicle...
are preserved five fragments dating to the 2nd century AD and coming from a world chronicle. Its author is unknown, but was perhaps a Christian. Later, universal history provided an influential lens on the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire in such works as Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
's Ecclesiastical History
Church History (Eusebius)
The Church History of Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea was a 4th-century pioneer work giving a chronological account of the development of Early Christianity from the 1st century to the 4th century. It was written in Koine Greek, and survives also in Latin, Syriac and Armenian manuscripts...
, Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
's City of God, and Orosius' History Against the Pagans.
During the Han Dynasty
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...
(202 BCE – 220 CE) of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Sima Qian
Sima Qian
Sima Qian was a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty. He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian , a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to...
(145–86 BC) was the first Chinese historian to attempt a universal history—from the earliest mythological origins
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...
of his civilization to his present day
History of the Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty , founded by the peasant rebel leader Liu Bang ,From the Shang to the Sui dynasties, Chinese rulers were referred to in later records by their posthumous names, while emperors of the Tang to Yuan dynasties were referred to by their temple names, and emperors of the Ming and Qing...
—in his Records of the Grand Historian
Records of the Grand Historian
The Records of the Grand Historian, also known in English by the Chinese name Shiji , written from 109 BC to 91 BC, was the Magnum opus of Sima Qian, in which he recounted Chinese history from the time of the Yellow Emperor until his own time...
. Although his generation was the first in China to discover the existence of kingdoms in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, his work did not attempt to cover the history of these regions.
The Bible as universal history
The first five books of the Bible constitute a primary example of such a history. To the extent that the Pentateuch presents itself as an account of humankind as a whole, from creation to the death of Moses, it is universal history. The story progresses according to a universal principle: the Bible posits that the history of humankind is governed by Yawveh, and that his will is manifest in every event that takes place. The destiny of all humankind, according to this idea, is governed by humans' relationship with God. This idea naturally flows into the story of the Children of Israel, whose patriarchs conversed with God and made various covenants with Him. These covenants governed humankind's destiny. This idea extends into the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, which posits that the sacrifice of Jesus now affects every person, and every generation since His resurrection, into the limitless future.
Europe
The universal chronicleChronicle
Generally a chronicle is a historical account of facts and events ranged in chronological order, as in a time line. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, the purpose being the recording of events that occurred, seen from the perspective of the...
(or world chronicle), tracing history from the beginning of the world up to the present, was an especially popular genre of historiography
Historiography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
in medieval Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
. The universal chronicle differs from the ordinary chronicle in its much broader chronological and geographical scope, giving, in principle, a continuous account of the progress of world history from the creation of the world up to the author's own times, but in practice often narrowing down to a more limited geographical range as it approaches those times.
The Chronica
Chronicon (Eusebius)
The Chronicon or Chronicle was a work in two books by Eusebius of Caesarea. It seems to have been compiled in the early 4th century. It contained a world chronicle from Abraham until the vicennalia of Constantine I in 325 AD...
of Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
(c. 275
275
Year 275 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Marcellinus...
–339
339
Year 339 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Claudius...
) is considered to be the starting point of this tradition. The second book of this work consisted of a set of concordance tables (Chronici canones) that for the first time synchronized the several concurrent chronologies in use with different peoples. Eusebius' chronicle became known to the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
West through the translation by Jerome
Jerome
Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...
(c. 347
347
Year 347 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufinus and Eusebius...
–420
420
Year 420 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Constantius...
).
Universal chronicles are sometimes organized around a central ideological theme, such as the Augustinian
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
idea of the tension between the heavenly and the earthly state, which plays a major role in Otto von Freising's Historia de duabus civitatibus. In other cases, any obvious theme may be lacking. Some universal chronicles bear a more or less encyclopedic
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
character, with many digressions on non-historical subjects, as is the case with the Chronicon of Helinand of Froidmont
Helinand of Froidmont
Helinand of Froidmont was a medieval poet, chronicler, and ecclesiastical writer.-Life:He was born of Flemish parents at Pronleroy in Oise in France c. 1150; his date of death is said to be 3 February 1223, or 1229, or 1237...
.
Other notable universal chroniclers of the Medieval West include Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
(c. 672 or 673–735), the Christherre-Chronik
Christherre-Chronik
The Christherre-Chronik is a 13th-century world chronicle from Thüringen, written in Middle High German rhyming couplets. It was written by a churchman in the service of Henry III, Markgrave of Meissen, and may be seen as attempting a spiritual answer to the courtly world chronicle of Rudolf von...
, Helinand of Froidmont
Helinand of Froidmont
Helinand of Froidmont was a medieval poet, chronicler, and ecclesiastical writer.-Life:He was born of Flemish parents at Pronleroy in Oise in France c. 1150; his date of death is said to be 3 February 1223, or 1229, or 1237...
(c. 1160—1237?), Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville
Saint Isidore of Seville served as Archbishop of Seville for more than three decades and is considered, as the historian Montalembert put it in an oft-quoted phrase, "le dernier savant du monde ancien"...
(c. 560–636), Jans der Enikel
Jans der Enikel
Jans der Enikel, i.e. "Jans the Grandson" was a Viennese poet and historian of the late 13th century. He wrote a Weltchronik and a Fürstenbuch , both in Middle High German verse....
, Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris
Matthew Paris was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire...
(c. 1200-1259), Ranulf Higdon
Ranulf Higdon
Ranulf Higden was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk of the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester....
(c. 1280-1363), Rudolf von Ems
Rudolf von Ems
Rudolf von Ems was a mediaeval Austrian epic poet.-Life:Rudolf von Ems was born in the Vorarlberg in Austria. He took his name from the castle of Hohenems near Bregenz, and was a knight in the service of the Counts of Montfort. His works were written between 1220 and 1254...
, Sigebert of Gembloux
Sigebert of Gembloux
Sigebert of Gembloux was a medieval author, known mainly as a pro-Imperial historian of a universal chronicle, opposed to the expansive papacy of Gregory VII and Pascal II...
(c. 1030–1112), Otto von Freising (c. 1114–1158), and Vincent of Beauvais
Vincent of Beauvais
The Dominican friar Vincent of Beauvais wrote the Speculum Maius, the main encyclopedia that was used in the Middle Ages.-Early life:...
(c. 1190-1264?).
The tradition of universal history can even be seen in the works of medieval historians whose purpose may not have been to chronicle the ancient past, but nonetheless included it in a local history of more recent times. One such example is the Decem Libri Historiarum of Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours
Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather...
(d. 594), where only the first of his ten books describes creation and ancient history, while the last six books focus on events in his own lifetime and region. While this reading of Gregory is currently a widely accepted hypothesis in historical circles, the central purpose of Gregory's writing is still a topic of hot debate.
Christian writers as late as Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
(in his Discours sur l'histoire universelle,1679) were still reflecting on and continuing the Medieval tradition of universal history.
Middle East
In the medieval Islamic worldIslamic Golden Age
During the Islamic Golden Age philosophers, scientists and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology and culture, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations...
, universal history in this vein was taken up by Muslim historians
Historiography of early Islam
The historiography of early Islam refers to the study of the early origins of Islam based on a critical analysis, evaluation, and examination of authentic primary source materials and the organization of these sources into a narative timeline....
such as al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
and Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldun
Ibn Khaldūn or Ibn Khaldoun was an Arab Tunisian historiographer and historian who is often viewed as one of the forerunners of modern historiography, sociology and economics...
. The 13th century Ta' rīkh-i jahān-gushā (History of the World Conqueror) by Ala'iddin Ata-Malik Juvayni, Jami al-Tawarikh
Jami al-Tawarikh
The Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh, , or Universal History is an Iranian work of literature and history written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani at the start of the 14th century.-The author:...
("Compendium of Chronicles") by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani (now held at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
) and the Muqaddimah
Muqaddimah
The Muqaddimah , also known as the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun or the Prolegomena , is a book written by the Maghrebian Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun in 1377 which records an early view of universal history...
by Ibn Khaldun are significant example of this tradition.
Central Asia
The Secret History of the MongolsThe Secret History of the Mongols
The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work...
(1240) by unknown author, a source of the first magnitude for the social history of the Asian Nomadic civilization based on Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
before the establishment of their world's greatest empire in 13 century. It contains main historical events in vast land of Eurasia in 800 years ago.
Modern examples
An early European project was the Universal HistoryUniversal History (Sale et al)
The Universal History was a 65-volume universal history of the world published in London between 1747 and 1768...
of George Sale
George Sale
George Sale was an Orientalist and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Qur'an into English. He was also author of The General Dictionary, in ten volumes, folio....
and others, written in the mid-18th century. In the 19th century, universal histories proliferated. Philosophers such as Kant
KANT
KANT is a computer algebra system for mathematicians interested in algebraic number theory, performing sophisticated computations in algebraic number fields, in global function fields, and in local fields. KASH is the associated command line interface...
, Schiller and Hegel, and political philosophers such as Marx, presented general theories of history that shared essential characteristics with the Biblical account: they conceived of history as a coherent whole, governed by certain basic characteristics or immutable principles. For example, Hegel presented the idea that progress in history is actually the progress not of humankind's material existence, but of humanity's spiritual development. Concomitantly, Hegel presented a developmental theory of how the human spirit progresses: through the dialectic
Dialectic
Dialectic is a method of argument for resolving disagreement that has been central to Indic and European philosophy since antiquity. The word dialectic originated in Ancient Greece, and was made popular by Plato in the Socratic dialogues...
of synthesis and antithesis. Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's theory of dialectic materialism is essential to his general concept of history: that the struggle to dominate the means of production governs all historical development.
Popular conceptions and universal history
Basic ideas of universal history are so prevalent that they are difficult to separate from basic Western assumptions of how the world is or should be. Outside some intellectualIntellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
s, such ideas continue to predominate as core assumptions. The teleological aspects of universal history remain entrenched. Many people believe that the events of our world, and more specifically, the events within the human community, are directed toward an end or tending toward an end of some sort. 'Linear' pre-suppositions of the theory are no less prevalent. Most people living in Western cultures conceive of time, and therefore of history, as a line or an arrow, that is proceeding from past to future, toward some end. The idea that time may be cyclical, or that there is no fundamental "end" to the human struggle, is unfamiliar.
Historiography
The roots of historiographyHistoriography
Historiography refers either to the study of the history and methodology of history as a discipline, or to a body of historical work on a specialized topic...
in the 19th century are bound up with the concept that history written with a strong connection to the primary sources could, somehow, be integrated with "the big picture", i.e. to a general, universal history. For example, Leopold Von Ranke
Leopold von Ranke
Leopold von Ranke was a German historian, considered one of the founders of modern source-based history. Ranke set the standards for much of later historical writing, introducing such ideas as reliance on primary sources , an emphasis on narrative history and especially international politics .-...
, probably the pre-eminent historian of the 19th century, founder of "Rankean positivism," the classic mode of historiography that now stands against postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
, attempted to write a Universal History at the close of his career. The work of Oswald Spengler
Oswald Spengler
Oswald Manuel Arnold Gottfried Spengler was a German historian and philosopher whose interests also included mathematics, science, and art. He is best known for his book The Decline of the West , published in 1918, which puts forth a cyclical theory of the rise and decline of civilizations...
and Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold J. Toynbee
Arnold Joseph Toynbee CH was a British historian whose twelve-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, 1934–1961, was a synthesis of world history, a metahistory based on universal rhythms of rise, flowering and decline, which examined history from a global...
are two examples of attempts to integrate primary source -based history and Universal History. Spengler's work is more general; Toynbee created a theory that would allow the study of "civilizations" to proceed with integration of source-based history writing and Universal History writing. Both writers attempted to incorporate teleological theories into general presentations of the history.
External articles and further reading
- Visual tour of the historical works of universal history: "http://www.antarcticaedu.com/uexhibition.htm].
- Bonnaud, RobertRobert BonnaudRobert Bonnaud is an anti-colonialist historian and professor of history at the Paris VII Jussieu University....
, The System of History, Fayard 1989, 334 pages (not yet translated). - Guha, RanajitRanajit GuhaRanajit Guha is a historian of South Asia who was greatly influential in the Subaltern Studies group, and was the editor of several of the group's early anthologies. He migrated from India to the UK in the 1960s, and currently lives in Vienna, Austria.His Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency...
, "History at the Limit of World-History" (Italian Academy Lectures), Columbia University Press 2002. - Sale, George, Archibald Bower, and George Psalmanazar, "An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time". Millar, 1747.
- Wilson, Horace Hayman, "A manual of universal history and chronology". 1835.
- Jones, Lynds Eugene, George Palmer Putnam, and Simeon Strunsky, "Tabular Views of Universal History". G. P. Putnam's sons, 1907. 313 pages.
- Fisher, George Park, "Outlines of Universal History". Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor, and company, 1885. 674 pages.
- Georg Weber, "Outlines of Universal History: From the Creation of the World to the Present Time". Hickling, Swan and Brewer, 1859. 559 pages. (ed. Translated by M. Behr).
- Ollier, Edmund, "Cassell's illustrated universal history" Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., 1885.
- Clare, Israel Smith, "Library of Universal History". R. S. Peale, J. A. Hill, 1897., Chart for Teaching Universal History, Nov 1, 1920.
- Hegel, GWF. Philosophy of Right. TM Knox, tr. Oxford UP: New York, 1967. para. 341-360 (pp. 216–223). As a point of clarification, Hegel writes of World History, although this is somewhat identical to Universal History.
- Mink, Louis O. “Narrative Form as a Cognitive Instrument.” In Historical Understanding. Brian Fay, et al., eds. Cornell UP: Ithaca, 1987. pp. 182–203.
- Kant, Immanuel. “Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View.” In Philosophical Writings. Ernest Behler, ed. Lewis W Beck, tr. Continuum: New York, 1986. pp. 249–262.
- White, Hayden. Metahistory: The Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Europe. Johns Hopkins UP, 1975.