Editing Historiography (section)

====Europe====
=====Greece=====
{{main|Greek historiography}}
{{further|Ancient Greek literature}}
[[File:Thucydides Manuscript.jpg|thumb|upright|Reproduction of part of a tenth-century copy of [[Thucydides]]'s ''[[History of the Peloponnesian War]]'']]

The earliest known systematic historical thought and methodologies emerged in [[ancient Greece]] and the [[Greek colonisation|wider Greek world]], a development which would be an important influence on the writing of history elsewhere around [[History of the Mediterranean region|the Mediterranean]] region. The [[Logographer (history)|tradition of logography]] in [[Archaic Greece]] preceded the full narrative form of historiography, in which logographers such as [[Hecataeus of Miletus]] provided [[prose]] compilations about places [[Ancient Greek geography|in geography]] and peoples in an early form of [[cultural anthropology]], as well as speeches used in [[Ancient Greek law|courts of law]].<ref name="Vann-2023">Vann, Richard T. "Historiography". ''[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]'', 31 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/historiography. Accessed 31 January 2024.</ref> The earliest known fully narrative critical historical works were ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'', composed by [[Herodotus]] of [[Halicarnassus]] (484–425&nbsp;BC) who became known as the "father of history".<ref>John L. Myres, (1953), ''Herodotus, Father of History'' {{ISBN|978-1362949077}}</ref> Herodotus attempted to distinguish between more and less reliable accounts, and personally conducted research by travelling extensively, giving written accounts of various Mediterranean cultures.<ref name="Vann-2023"/> 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.

[[File:Thucydides-bust-cutout ROM.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Bust of [[Thucydides]], Hellenistic copy of a 4th-century BC work]]

The generation following Herodotus witnessed a spate of local histories of the individual [[city-state]]s (''[[polis|poleis]]''), written by the first of the [[Local history|local historians]] who employed the written archives of city and sanctuary. [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] characterized these historians as the forerunners of Thucydides,<ref>Dionysius, ''On Thucydides'', 5.</ref> and these local histories continued to be written into [[Late Antiquity]], as long as the city-states survived. Two early figures stand out: [[Hippias of Elis]], who produced the lists of winners in the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]] that provided the basic chronological framework as long as the pagan classical tradition lasted, and [[Hellanicus of Lesbos]], who compiled more than two dozen histories from civic records, all of them now lost.

[[Thucydides]] largely eliminated divine causality in his account of the war between Athens and Sparta, establishing a rationalistic element which set a precedent for subsequent Western historical writings.<ref name="Vann-2023"/> He was also the first to distinguish between cause and immediate origins of an event, while his successor [[Xenophon]] ({{c.|lk=no|431}}&nbsp;– 355&nbsp;BC) introduced autobiographical elements and biographical character studies in his ''[[Anabasis (Xenophon)|Anabasis]]''.<ref name="Vann-2023"/>

The proverbial [[Philippic]] attacks of the [[Athens|Athenian]] orator [[Demosthenes]] (384–322&nbsp;BC) on [[Philip&nbsp;II of Macedon]] marked the height of ancient political agitation. The now lost history of [[Alexander the Great|Alexander's]] campaigns by the [[diadoch]] [[Ptolemy&nbsp;I]] (367–283&nbsp;BC) may represent the first historical work composed by a ruler. [[Polybius]] ({{c.|lk=no|203}}&nbsp;– 120&nbsp;BC) wrote on the rise of the [[Roman Republic]] to world prominence, and attempted to harmonize the Greek and Roman points of view.<ref name="Vann-2023"/> [[Diodorus Siculus]] composed a [[universal history (genre)|universal history]], the ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'', that sought to explain various known civilizations from their origins up until his own day in the 1st century BC.<ref name="Vann-2023"/>

The [[Chaldea]]n priest [[Berossus]] ({{floruit|3rd century}}&nbsp;BC) composed a Greek-language ''History of [[Babylonia]]'' for the [[Seleucid]] king [[Antiochus&nbsp;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 of the [[Phoenicia]]n historian [[Sanchuniathon]]; but he is considered semi-legendary 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]]. The native Egyptian priest and historian [[Manetho]] composed a [[history of Egypt]] in Greek for the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic royal court]] during the 3rd century BC.

=====Rome=====
{{Main|Roman historiography}}
{{further|Latin literature}}
[[File:Ritratto maschile detto il vecchio di otricoli, 50 ac ca. (busto moderno), da otricoli (visconti), MT533, 05.jpg|thumb|upright|The Roman [[Patrician Torlonia|bust]] traditionally identified as [[Cato the Elder]]]]

[[Ancient Romans|The Romans]] adopted the Greek tradition, writing at first in Greek, but eventually chronicling their history in a freshly non-Greek language. Early [[Roman literature|Roman works]] were still written in Greek, such as the annals of [[Quintus Fabius Pictor]]. However, the ''[[Origines]]'', composed by the Roman statesman [[Cato the Elder]] (234–149&nbsp;BC), was written in [[Latin]], in a conscious effort to counteract Greek cultural influence. It marked the beginning of [[Roman historiography|Latin historical writings]]. Hailed for its lucid style, [[Julius Caesar]]'s (103–44&nbsp;BC) ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|de Bello Gallico]]'' exemplifies autobiographical war coverage. The politician and orator [[Cicero]] (106–43&nbsp;BC) introduced rhetorical elements in his political writings.

[[Strabo]] (63&nbsp;BC&nbsp;– {{c.|lk=no|24}}&nbsp;AD) was an important exponent of the [[Greco-Roman]] tradition of combining geography with history, presenting a descriptive history of peoples and places known to his era. The Roman historian [[Sallust]] (86–35&nbsp;BC) sought to analyze and document what he viewed as the decline of the [[Constitution of the Roman Republic|Republican Roman state]] and its virtues, highlighted in his respective narrative accounts of the [[Catilinarian conspiracy]] and the [[Jugurthine War]].<ref name="Vann-2023"/> [[Livy]] (59&nbsp;BC&nbsp;– 17&nbsp;AD) records the rise of [[Roman Empire|Rome]] from [[city-state]] to [[empire]].<ref name="Vann-2023"/> His speculation about what would have happened if [[Alexander the Great]] had marched against Rome represents the first known instance of [[alternate history]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy09.html |title=Livy's History of Rome: Book 9 |publisher=Mcadams.posc.mu.edu |access-date=2010-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228233052/http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy09.html |archive-date=2007-02-28 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Biography, although popular throughout antiquity, was introduced as a branch of history by the works of [[Plutarch]] ({{c.|lk=no|45}}&nbsp;– 125&nbsp;AD) and [[Suetonius]] ({{c.|lk=no|69}}&nbsp;– after 130&nbsp;AD) who described the deeds and characters of ancient personalities, stressing their human side.<ref name="Vann-2023"/> [[Tacitus]] ({{c.|lk=no|56|117}}&nbsp;AD) denounces Roman immorality by praising [[Germanic peoples|German]] virtues, elaborating on the [[Literary topos|topos]] of the [[Noble savage]]. Tacitus' focus on personal character can also be viewed as pioneering work in [[psychohistory]].<ref name="Vann-2023"/> Although rooted in Greek historiography, in some ways Roman historiography shared traits with [[Chinese literature|Chinese historiography]], lacking [[Historical sociology|speculative theories]] and instead relying on annalistic forms, [[Ancestor worship|revering ancestors]], and imparting [[moral]] lessons for their audiences, laying the groundwork for [[Medieval historiography|medieval Christian historiography]].<ref name="Vann-2023"/>