Facts or fiction? Post-truth in the Roman historians. Introduction This essay examines the way in which ancient historiography makes use of rhetorical and even fictional devices (dramatic poetry as well as the novel) to dramatize in writing down events which the historians obviously consider as being important for their judgement, ideologically or otherwise biased, of[…]
An approach to Greek historiography that establishes a new angle by tackling the relationship between historiography and time. Introduction One of the most important trends in recent scholarship on ancient historiography is to explore how historical meaning is constructed through the form of narrative. This essay argues that the narratives of ancient historians can and[…]
The Moselle River owes its name to the Romans, who called it Mosella or ‘little Meuse’. Introduction The Moselle Valley is Germany’s oldest winegrowing region. The Romans brought viticulture to this area and planted vines along the Moselle River 2000 years ago. After settling the region c. 50 BCE and establishing the city of Trier (Augusta Treverorum) in[…]
The Romans enjoyed serious endeavors and so the writing of historiography became very popular for upper class citizens. Introduction Roman historiography is indebted to the Greeks, who invented the form. The Romans had great models to base their works upon, such as Herodotus (c. 484 – 425 BC) and Thucydides (c. 460 – c. 395[…]
Cassius Dio is best known for his 80-volume Roman History. Introduction Cassius Dio (c. 164 – c. 229/235 CE) was a Roman politician and historian. Although he held a number of political offices with distinction, he is best known for his 80-volume Roman History. The work took 22 years to complete, was written in Attic Greek, and follows Roman history[…]
History is a thing that comprises a variety of events from different aspects of life as well as different angles. History may well relate to politics, social life, art, economics, et cetera. Assuming that history as a subject tends to advance one’s critical thinking, students are snowed under with written discourses so that they try[…]
Cambridge University Digital History Seminar graphic A survey indicates the answer is yes. By Dr. Robert B. Townsend / 04.29.2018 Director American Academy of Arts and Sciences As earlier reports on historians’ use of technology demonstrated, most historians are gathering materials, analyzing their findings, and writing their scholarship in digital form. Curiously, however, a national survey in fall[…]
Being armed with facts isn’t always enough – bureaucracy and red tape often stand in the way. By Will Soper / 10.23.2018 Independent Scholar When my article about the US Navy’s 1854 razing of the Central American port of Greytown was published in a peer-reviewed journal last year, the editor added the title “Independent Scholar” under my[…]
The Procession of the Trojan Horse in Troy, by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1773) / National Gallery, Wikimedia Commons Oral traditions provide valuable information, and proper historiography can discern as much likely truth as possible in combination with other sources. By Dr. Stephen E. Nash / 09.21.2018 Archaeologist and Historian of Science Denver Museum of Nature & Science It[…]
Byzantine Constantinople (modern Istanbul), c.1000 CE / Wikimedia Commons Surveying the many written sources for Byzantine history. By Dr. Dimitris Krallis Associate Professor of Byzantine History Simon Fraser University The role of historiography in Byzantium In Byzantium, historiography (the writing of history) was mainly a pastime for highly educated civil servants, some active in administration, the[…]
Teeming with secrets… edella/Shutterstock European scientists had pioneered a technique for reading papyrus scrolls from Herculaneum without unrolling them. By Dr. Joanna Paul / 01.29.2015 Lecturer in Classical Studies The Open University The [2014] announcement that European scientists had pioneered a technique for reading papyrus scrolls from Herculaneum without unrolling them attracted widespread attention. At first glance, this[…]
Jerash is famous for its well-preserved Greco-Roman columns, seen here on the ancient Jordanian city’s main street. / Nasser Nasser, AP Scientists beamed down lasers on the ancient city of Jerash in Jordan. By Merrit Kennedy / 05.29.2018 Scientists beamed down lasers on the ancient city of Jerash in Jordan, mapping the site and then[…]
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Creative Commons By Dr. Klaus Kiran Patel / 12.03.2010 Professor and Chair of European and Global History Maastricht University Abstract This article delineates the subject and approach of transnational history and relates it to European history. It shows that transnational history was neither developed specifically for European history nor had its origins in[…]
By Dr. Thomas Welskopp / 12.03.2010 Professor of Philosophy and Theology Universität Bielefeld Abstract This article traces the fate of historical comparison in the discipline of history and discusses its function, capacities, and theoretical and methodological foundations. So long as the discipline of history was informed by historicism and thus emphasized individuality, it was profoundly[…]
Location of geographical mesoregion of Mezőföld (red) and macroregion of Alföld (gray) within subdivisions of Hungary. / By Miaow Miaow, Wikimedia Commons By Dr. Stefan Troebst / 03.06.2012 Professor of Cultural History and Eastern Europe University of Leipzig Introduction The research design of “historical meso-regions” (Geschichtsregionen) is a transnational comparative method that has been developed in the historical subdiscipline of[…]
Many new web-based tools are available for provenance research—digitized archival resources as well as queryable databases from individual collecting institutions 70 years after World War II and 20 years after an international accord to identify Nazi-looted art, more resources are becoming available to trace artworks’ stories and find their owners. By Kelly Davis / 02.27.2018[…]
Migrants are escorted through fields by police as they are walked from the village of Rigonce to Brezice refugee camp on October 23, 2015 in Rigonce, Slovenia. Thousands of migrants marched across the border between Croatia into Slovenia as authorities intensify their efforts to attempt to cope with Europe’s largest migration of people since World[…]
Photo by Henry Mühlpfordt / Wikimedia Commons By Dr. Mark Boonshoft / 08.26.2017 Assistant Professor of History Norwich University 1966 was a transformative year in popular music. The Beatles released Revolver; Dylan put out Blonde on Blonde; and the Beach Boys dropped Pet Sounds. Even fifty years later, those three albums sit atop many respectable lists of the best all time albums.[…]