A universal history is a work aiming at the presentation of a

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

of all of humankind as a whole. Universal historians try to identify connections and patterns among individual historical events and phenomena, making them part of a general narrative. A universal

chronicle A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...

or world chronicle typically traces history from the beginning of written information about the past up to the present. Therefore, any work classed as such purportedly attempts to embrace the events of all times and nations in so far as scientific treatment of them is possible. Siegfried of Ballhausen was the first to use the title ''Historia universalis'' (universal history) in 1304.

Examples

Ancient examples

Hebrew Bible

A project of Universal history may be seen in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' creation to the

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

, and from there a history of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

down to the present. The Seder Olam is a 2nd-century CE rabbinic interpretation of this chronology.

Greco-Roman historiography

In Greco-Roman antiquity, the first universal history was written by Ephorus (405–330 BCE). This work has been lost, but its influence can be seen in the ambitions of

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

(203–120 BC) and

Diodorus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental universal history '' Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which survive intact, b ...

(

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1st century BC) to give comprehensive accounts of their worlds.

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

' ''History'' is the earliest surviving member of the Greco-Roman world-historical tradition, although under some definitions of universal history it does not qualify as universal because it reflects no attempt to describe an overall direction of history or a principle or set of principles governing or underlying it. Polybius was the first to attempt a universal history in this stricter sense of the term: ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

'' by

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

has been considered as a universal history because of its comprehensive chronology—from the creation of humankind to the death of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

a year before the poet's birth. In

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

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 (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

's ''

Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

'',

Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

's '' City of God'', and

Orosius Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...

' ''History Against the Pagans''.

Chinese historiography

During the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(202 BCE – 220 CE) of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

(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 The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

''. Although his generation was the first in China to discover the existence of kingdoms in

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, his work did not attempt to cover the history of these regions.

Medieval examples

Asia

The 11th-century ''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'' of

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the ''Zizhi Tongjian'', a monumental work of history. B ...

is sometimes considered the first of the chronologically arranged universal histories produced in China. The 15th-century Indo-Persian ''Ma'athir-i-Mahmud Shahi'', written by 'Abd al-Husayn Tuni (died 1489), is sometimes considered a fragment of a universal history.

Christian medieval Europe

Graeme Dunphy Graeme Dunphy (born 1961) is a British professor of translation. Biography Dunphy was born in Glasgow in 1961. He studied German at the University of Stirling between 1979 and 1984, and Hebrew and the Old Testament at the University of St A ...

(2010) described medieval European Christian universal histories as follows: The medieval universal chronicle thus traces history from the beginning of the world up to the present and was an especially popular genre of historiography in medieval Europe. The universal chronicle differs from the ordinary chronicle in its much broader chronological and geographical scope, giving, in principle, a continuous linear 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. They usually have a theological component and are often structured around the ideas of the six ages of the world or the

four empires The four kingdoms of Daniel are four kingdoms which, according to the Book of Daniel, precede the "Eschatology, end-times" and the "Kingdom of God". The four kingdoms Historical background The Book of Daniel originated from a collection o ...

from the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th-century BC setting. It is ostensibly a narrative detailing the experiences and Prophecy, prophetic visions of Daniel, a Jewish Babylonian captivity, exile in Babylon ...

. According to Kathleen Biddick (2013), universal histories in Christian medieval Europe are 'those medieval histories which take as their subject the theme of salvation history from creation up to the incarnation of Christ (and usually beyond to contemporary events).' She also identified "six or seven ages" into which universal histories were divided. Less commonly they may use the Augustinian idea of the tension between the heavenly and the earthly state, as depicted in the City of God, which plays a major role in

Otto von Freising Otto of Freising (; – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carry valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was the bishop of Freising from 1138. Ot ...

's ''Historia de duabus civitatibus''. Augustine's thesis depicts the history of the world as universal warfare between God and the Devil. A related idea is the division of history into popes and emperors, which became popular with the success of Martin of Troppau. In other cases, any obvious theme may be lacking. Some universal chronicles bear a more or less

encyclopedic An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...

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 the ''

Chronicon universale usque ad annum 741 The ''Chronicon universale usque ad annum 741'' () is an anonymous Latin chronicle from the creation of the world to AD 741. It was written in Francia, probably in Burgundy, between 741 and 775. It survives wholly or partially in at least six ma ...

'', ''

Christherre-Chronik The ''Christherre-Chronik'' (named after its opening words, "Christ the Lord") 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, Margrave ...

'', Helinand of Froidmont (c. 1160—after 1229),

Jans der Enikel Jans der Enikel (), or Jans der Jansen Enikel (), was a Viennese chronicler and narrative poet of the late 13th century. He wrote a ''Weltchronik'' () and a ''Fürstenbuch'' (, a history of Vienna), both in Middle High German verse. Name and ...

Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (; 1200 – 1259), was an English people, English Benedictine monk, English historians in the Middle Ages, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St A ...

(c. 1200–1259),

Ranulf Higdon Ranulf Higden or Higdon (–1363 or 1364) was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk who wrote the ''Polychronicon'', a Late Medieval magnum opus. Higden resided at the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester after taking his monastic vow a ...

(c. 1280–1363),

Rudolf von Ems Rudolf von Ems ( – 1254) was a Middle High German narrative 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 Montfor ...

Sigebert of Gembloux Sigebert or Sigibert of Gembloux ( or ; – 5 October 1112) 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. Early in his life he became a ...

(c. 1030–1112),

(c. 1114–1158), and

Vincent of Beauvais Vincent of Beauvais ( or ; ; c. 1264) was a Dominican friar at the Cistercian monastery of Royaumont Abbey, France. He is known mostly for his '' Speculum Maius'' (''Great mirror''), a major work of compilation that was widely read in the Middl ...

(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 ''History'' of

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

(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. Nuremberg chronicles - Nuremberga

The first Christian world chronicle was written in Greek around 221CE by

Julius Africanus Sextus Julius Africanus ( 160 – c. 240; ) was a Christian traveler and historian of the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. He influenced fellow historian Eusebius, later writers of Church history among the Church Fathers, and the Greek sch ...

, who has been called "the undisputed father of the tradition". The ''Chronica'' of

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

(–339) contained in its second book an innovative 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 ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

West through the translation by

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

(–420). Jerome also wrote a chronicle of his own, and the early chronicles of

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...

(–636) and

Bede Bede (; ; 672/326 May 735), also known as Saint Bede, Bede of Jarrow, the Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable (), was an English monk, author and scholar. He was one of the most known writers during the Early Middle Ages, and his most f ...

were highly influential, especially Bede's work on chronology. Together, these laid the foundation for the Western universal chronicle tradition. From around 1100, universal histories increased in graphical complexity, usually adding a ''mappa mundi'' ("world map") in which the holy city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

was presented as the centre of the world, tying together genealogies and timelines. The '' Fasciculus temporum'' ("Little bundles of time") by

Werner Rolevinck Werner Rolevinck (1425–1502) was a Carthusian monk and historian who wrote about 50 titles. He was born near Laer, Westphalia, the son of a wealthy farmer. In 1447 he entered Cologne Charterhouse, where he later died. His most famous work was hi ...

was the first printed universal history, published in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

in 1474. The ''

Nuremberg Chronicle The ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' is an illustrated encyclopedia consisting of world historical accounts, as well as accounts told through biblical paraphrase. Subjects include human history in relation to the Bible, illustrated mythological creatures, ...

'' (1493) was another early printed universal history. By the mid-1480s, when Venetian printers controlled almost half of Europe's

incunable An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the ...

production, they heavily promoted the inclusion of illustrations – the majority being city views – in universal chronicles. According to scholars, 32 out of the 52 city views in the ''Nuremberg Chronicle'' were "realistic" (depicting towns which really existed, and usually had their own printing presses before 1475), while the remaining 20 city views were "imaginary", and were often reused in later universal chronicles to illustrate different cities. Around this time, the depictions of cities in universal chronicles also shifted away from the earlier focus on Jerusalem (sometimes even illustrated with "imaginary" city views) towards the European cities in which they were produced, thus displacing the centrality of Jerusalem in Christian universal histories.

Historiography of early Islam

In the

medieval Islamic world In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

(13th century), universal history in this vein was taken up by

Muslim historians The following is a list of Muslim historians writing in the Islamic historiographical tradition, which developed from hadith literature in the time of the first caliphs. Chronological list Historians of the Formative Period The First Century ...

such as

Tarikh-i Jahangushay-i Juvaini ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy'' ( "The History of The World Conqueror") or ''Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy-i Juwaynī'' () is a detailed historical account written by the Persian people, Persian Ata-Malik Juvayni describing the Mongol, Hulegu Khan, and I ...

("The History of The World Conqueror") by

Ala'iddin Ata-Malik Juvayni Ata-Malik Juvayni ; 1226 – 5 March 1283) was a bureaucrat and historian from the Juvayni family who served under the Mongol Empire. He is known for composing the ''Tarikh-i Jahangushay'' ("History of the World Conqueror"), an important account o ...

, ''

Jami' al-tawarikh ''Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh'' () is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work has caused it to be call ...

'' ("Compendium of Chronicles") by

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

) and the ''

Muqaddimah The ''Muqaddimah'' ( "Introduction"), also known as the ''Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun'' () or ''Ibn Khaldun's Introduction (writing), Prolegomena'' (), is a book written by the historian Ibn Khaldun in 1377 which presents a view of Universal histo ...

'' by Ibn Khaldun. Universal histories included two forms: the ''ta'rikh 'ala al-sinin'' was organised by annual entries and thus annalistic, while the ''ta'rikh 'ala al-khulafa'' was organised by the reigns of

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

s. The ''

History of the Prophets and Kings The ''History of the Prophets and Kings'' ( ''Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk''), more commonly known as ''Tarikh al-Tabari'' () or ''Tarikh-i Tabari'' or ''The History of al-Tabari '' () is an Arabic-language historical chronicle completed by the ...

'' (''Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk'') of

al-Tabari Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī (; 839–923 CE / 224–310 AH), commonly known as al-Ṭabarī (), was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present- ...

is a prime example of the latter, in which a major role was played for the last time by ''

isnads In the Islamic study of hadith, an isnād (chain of transmitters, or literally "supporting"; ) refers to a list of people who passed on a tradition, from the original authority to whom the tradition is attributed to, to the present person reciting ...

''. An ''isnad'' was, ideally, an unbroken chain of transmitters of a ''

hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

'' (tradition, saying) from the book's compiler back to a witness of the event.

Early modern examples

According to Hughes-Warrington (2005),

John Knox John Knox ( – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

's 1558 ''

The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women ''The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women'' is a polemical work by the Scottish reformer John Knox, published in 1558. It attacks female monarchs, arguing that rule by women is contrary to the Bible. Title The ...

'' represented 'a universal history of female monarchs'. Knox wrote it in order to argue that

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

should never be allowed to reign, because that is 'repugnant to nature, contumelious to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, a thing most contrary to his revealed will and approved ordinance, and... the subversion of good order, or all equity and justice.' He was thus writing a history about a particular topic in order to express his view of what the "world order" should be: what the world Knox lived in ought to be like. An early European project was the ''

Universal History Universal history may refer to: * Universal history (genre), a literary genre **''Jami' al-tawarikh'', 14th-century work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia ** Universal History (Sale et al), ''Universal History'' ...

'' of

George Sale George Sale (1697–1736) was a British Orientalist scholar and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Quran into English. In 1748, after having read Sale's translation, Voltaire wrote his own essay "De l'Alcoran et ...

and others, written in the mid-18th century. Christian writers as late as

Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and theology, theologian. Re ...

in his ''Discours sur l'histoire universelle'' ''(

Discourse on Universal History ''Discourse on Universal History'' ( French: ''Discours sur l'histoire universelle'') is a 1681 work of theology and philosophy by Roman Catholic bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 Apr ...

)'' were still reflecting on and continuing the medieval tradition of universal history.

Modern examples

In the 19th century, universal histories proliferated. Philosophers such as

Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, et ...

Herder A herder is a pastoralism, pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on extensive management, open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic pastoralism, nomadic or transhuma ...

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

and

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

,''The Philosophy of History'', (tr. Robert S. Hartman, Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co, 1956). and political philosophers such as

Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in '' ...

, 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. Kant who was one of the earliest thinkers to use the term ''Universal History'' described its meaning in " Idea for a Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose": In the 20th century Austrian academic Ernst Gombrich wrote '' Eine kurze Weltgeschichte für junge Leser'' ("''A short history of the world for young readers''")(1935, pub.1936) in German shortly before fleeing Vienna and settling in Britain. This aimed to be a universal history written using only words and concepts that children could understand. It spans from prehistoric people to World War I. Although it is shaped by its author's European perspective - for example with emphasis on European colonialism - it attempts to cover global human history, taking one region and era at a time, and includes descriptions of the beliefs of many major world religions. Gombrich was convinced that an intelligent child could understand even seemingly complicated ideas in history, if they were put into intelligible terms. After a long delay it was translated into English by Gombrich and his assistant as ''A Little History of the World'', updated slightly. ''″With the mingling of peoples on our tiny planet, it becomes more and more necessary for us to respect and tolerate each other, not least because technological advances are bringing us closer and closer together.″''

References

Literature cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Universal History (genre) Historiography Literary genres