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Historiography is a term with multiple meanings that has changed with time, place and observer, and is thus resistant to a single encompassing meaning. Broadly speaking, historiography is related to the study of the writing of History , examining factors such as how the style of historical writing, methods of interpretation, and tools of investigation have changed over time, but it can also refer to a body of historical work. Historiography is often broken down topically, such as "Historiography of Islam" or "Historiography of China". There are many approaches or genres of history, such as is a summary of the article contents. It should reflect what is written below, in summary format. --> DEFINING HISTORIOGRAPHY There are two basic issues involved in historiography. (Breisach, 1994) First, the study of the development of history as an academic discipline over time, as well as its development in different cultures and epochs. Second, the study of the academic tools, methods and approaches that have been and are being used, including the Historical Method . The term "historiography" can also be used to refer to a specific body of historical writing that was written during a specific time concerning a specific issue. For instance, "medieval historiography during the 1960s" would be taken to mean the methodological approaches and ideas about medieval history that were developed during that decade. Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris define historiography as "the study of the way history has been and is written — the history of historical writing... When you study 'historiography' you do not study the events of the past directly, but the changing interpretations of those events in the works of individual historians." (''The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical Guide'', 1988, p. 223, ISBN 0-88295-982-4) QUESTIONS STUDIED Some of the common questions of historiography are: # Reliability of the sources used, in terms of authorship, credibility of the author, and the authenticity or corruption of the text. #Historiographical tradition or framework. Every historian uses one (or more) historiographical traditions, some of which are Marxist, or Annales School , ("total history"), Political History , etc. #Moral issues, guilt assignment, and praise assignment #Revisionism versus orthodox interpretations Issues engaged by Critical Historiography includes topics such as:
THE HISTORY OF WRITTEN HISTORY Understanding the past appears to be a universal human need and the telling of history has emerged independently in civilisations around the world. What constitutes History Is A Philosophical question. For the purposes of this survey it is written history recorded in a narrative format for the purpose of informing future generations about events. The earliest critical historical thought emerged in Greece, a development which would be an important influence on the writing of history elsewhere in the world. Hellenic world Written history appeared first with the ancient Greeks, whose historians greatly contributed to the development of historical methodology. The very first historical works were '' The Histories '' composed by Herodotus Of Halicarnassus ( 484 BC –ca. 425 BC ), who became later known as the 'father of history' (Cicero). Herodotus attempted to distinguish between more and less reliable accounts, and personally conducted research by travelling extensively, giving written accounts of various Mediterranean cultures. Although Herodotus' overall emphasis lay on the actions and characters of men, he also attributed an important role to divinity in the determination of historical events. Thucydides , on the other hand, largely eliminated divine causality in his account of the war between Athens and Sparta, establishing a rationalistic element which became defining of subsequent Western historical writings. He was also the first to distinguish between cause and immediate origins of an event, while his successor Xenophon (ca. 431–355 BC) introduced autobiographical elements and character studies in his Anabasis . The proverbial Philippic attacks of the Athenian orator Demosthenes (384-322 BC) on Philip II Of Macedon marked the height of ancient political agitation. The now lost history of Alexander's campaigns by the Diadoch Ptolemy I (367-283 BC) may represent the first historical work composed by a ruler. Polybius (ca. 203–120 BC) wrote on the rise of Rome to world prominence, trying to harmonize the Greek and Roman point of views. The Chaldean priest Berossus (fl. 3rd century) composed a Greek-language ''History of Babylonia '' for the Seleucid king Antiochus I , combining Hellenistic methods of historiography and Mesopotamia n accounts to form a unique composite. Reports exist of other near-eastern histories, such as that composed by the Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon ; but his very existence is considered semi-fabled and writings attributed to him are fragmentary, known only through the later historians Philo Of Byblos and Eusebius , who asserted that he wrote before even the Trojan War . Roman world The Romans adopted the Greek tradition, becoming the first people to write history in a non-Greek language. While early Roman works were still written in Greek, the Latin ''Origines'', composed by the Roman statesman Cato The Elder (234–149 BC) in a conscious effort to counteract the Greek cultural influence, marked the beginning of Latin historical writings. Hailed for its lucid style, Julius Caesar 's (100 BC–44 BC) '' Bellum Gallicum '' may represent the earliest autobiographical war coverage. The politician and orator Cicero (106–43 BC) introduced rhetorical elements in his political writings. Strabo (63 BC–ca. AD 24) was a main exponent of the Greco-Roman tradition of combining geography with history, presenting a descriptive history of peoples and places known to his era. Livy (59 BC–AD 17) records the rise of Rome from city-state to world dominion. His inquiry into the question of what would have happened if Alexander The Great had marched against Rome represents the first known instance of Alternate History . Livy's History of Rome: Book 9 Biography, although popular throughout antiquity, was introduced as a branch of history by the works of Plutarch (c. 46 - 127) and Suetonius (c. 69-after 130) who described the deeds and characters of ancient personalities, stressing their human side. Tacitus (c. 56–c. 117) denounces Roman immorality by praising German virtues, elaborating on the topos of the Noble Savage . Writing history was popular among Christian monks in the Middle Ages . They wrote about the history of Jesus Christ, the Church and of their patrons, the dynastic history of the local rulers. History was written about states or nations during the Renaissance . The study of history changed during the Enlightenment and Romanticism . Voltaire described the history of certain ages that were important according to him, instead of describing events in a chronological order. History became an independent discipline. It was not called ''philosophia historiae'' anymore, but merely history (''historia''). China See Also: Chinese historiography In China , Sima Qian (around 100 BC) was the first to lay the groundwork for professional historical writing. His written work was the Shiji ( Records Of The Grand Historian ), a monumental lifelong achievement in literature. Its scope extends as far back as the 16th century BC, including many treatises on specific subjects, along with individual biographies for prominent people, as well as exploring the lives and deeds of commoners found in his own time or in previous eras. His work influenced every subsequent author of history in China, including the prestigious Ban family of the Eastern Han Dynasty era. Traditionalist Chinese historiography describes history in terms of dynastic cycles. In this view, each new dynasty is founded by a morally righteous founder. Over time, the dynasty becomes morally corrupt and dissolute. Eventually, the dynasty becomes so weak as to allow its replacement by a new dynasty. Islamic world See Also: Historiography of early Islam The first detailed studies on the subject of historiography itself and the first critiques on Historical Method s appeared in the works of the Arab Muslim historian and historiographer Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), who is regarded as the father of historiography, Cultural History ,Mohamad Abdalla (Summer 2007). "Ibn Khaldun on the Fate of Islamic Science after the 11th Century", ''Islam & Science'' 5 (1), p. 61-70. and the Philosophy Of History , especially for his historiographical writings in the '' Muqaddimah '' ( Latin ized as ''Prolegomena'') and ''Kitab al-I'bar'' (''Book of Advice'').S. Ahmed (1999). ''A Dictionary of Muslim Names''. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 1850653569. Among many other things, his ''Muqaddimah'' laid the groundwork for the observation of the role of State , Communication , Propaganda and Systematic Bias in history,H. Mowlana (2001). "Information in the Arab World", ''Cooperation South Journal'' '''1'''. and he discussed the rise and fall of Civilization s. Muslim historical writings first began developing earlier from the 7th century with the reconstruction of Muhammad 's life in the centuries following his death. Due to numerous conflicting narratives regarding Muhammad and his Companions from various sources, it was necessary to verify which sources were more reliable. In order to evaluate these sources, various methodologies were developed, such as the " Science Of Biography ", " Science Of Hadith " and " Isnad " (chain of transmission). These methodologies were later applied to other historical figures in the Islamic Civilization . Egyptology began in Arab Egypt from the 9th century, with the first known attempts at deciphering Egyptian Hieroglyphs made by Dhul-Nun Al-Misri and Ibn Wahshiyya . Muhammad Ibn Jarir Al-Tabari (838-923) is known for writing a detailed and comprehensive chronicle of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern history in his '' History Of The Prophets And Kings '' in 915. Until the 10th century, history most often meant political and military history, but this was not so with (d. 712), Wahb Ibn Munabbih (d. 728), Ibn Ishaq (d. 761), Al-Waqidi (745-822), Ibn Hisham (d. 834), and Ibn Hajar (1372-1449), among others. Franz Rosenthal wrote in the ''History of Muslim Historiography'': Modern era Modern historiography began with Ranke in the 19th century, who was very critical on the sources used in history. He was opposed to analyses and rationalizations. His adagium was writing history the way it was. He wanted Eyewitness accounts and wanted an emphasis on the point of view of the eyewitness. Hegel and Marx introduced the change of society in history. Former historians had focused on cyclical events of the rise and decline of rulers and nations. A new discipline emerged in the late nineteenth century that analyzed and compared these perspectives on a larger scale and that discipline was Sociology . The French Annales School radically changed history during the 20th century. Fernand Braudel wanted history to become more scientific by demanding more mathematical evidence in history, in order to make the history discipline less subjective. Furthermore, he added a social-economic and geographic framework to answer historical questions. Other French historians, like Philippe Ariès and Michel Foucault described history of daily life topics such as death and sexuality. They wanted history to be written about all topics and that all questions should be asked. Foundation of important historical journals The idea of the historical journal, a forum where academic historians could exchange ideas, came into being in the nineteenth century. The early journals were similar to those used in the physical sciences, and were seen as a means by which history could be professionalised. Journals also helped historians to establish various historiographical approaches, the most notable example of which was ''Annales. Économies. Sociétés. Civilisations.'' a publication instrumental in establishing the Annales School .
APPROACHES TO HISTORY The question of how a historian approaches historical events is one of the most important questions within historiography. It is commonly recognised by historians that, in themselves, individual historical facts are not particularly meaningful. Such facts will only become useful when assembled with other historical evidence, and the process of assembling this evidence is understood as a particular historiographical approach. Some of the more common historigraphical approaches are:
REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY Theory and philosophy
Histories of historical writing
Feminist historiography
Thematic and regional
Journals
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