What is History? It is a humanistic science which studies and records the political, social, and military events of the past that have taken place up to the present time. These human occurrences are written in a chronological linear order, so that historians can ascertain the causes, influence and consequences of political and social upheavals on the future course of mankind. It is also an anthropological science because the main object of study is Homo sapiens as the main player of these events.
History begins with the development of writing, about 5,000 years ago, in Sumer (Ur and Lagash). When somebody discovers a major site of a new civilization, it is the task of philologists and historians to decipher, translate and interpret their writing. If no written system is found, then it is the work of archaeologists for them to excavate and infer and hypothesize about their lifestyle, way of thinking, and religious beliefs, according to the type of dwellings, artifacts, tools, and weapons they find at the site.
Division of History
The science of history if often divided into four periods: 1) Ancient History, which is the time span that begins around 5,000 BC and extends to 476 AD (the year of the fall of the Roman Empire); 2) the Middle Ages, from 476 AD to 1453, ending with the fall of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire; 3) Modern History, from 1453 to the Second Industrial Revolution in the second half of the 19th century; and 4) Contemporary History, from the late 19th century to present day.
Below, the ruins of Agrigentum, an ancient city on Sicily during the Roman Republic. It was one of the several sites of military engagement during the Punic Wars. It was attacked and looted during the Second Punic War. A very symbolic image of Ancient History.
