Early written traditions
Already more than two thousand years ago, there were quite a number of scholars - some of whom we may duly call “historians" - who paid much attention to cultural experiences outside their own societies and traditions.
In European antiquity, one of the most prominent examples is Herodotus of Halicarnassus who lived between c. 484 and 425 bce and has often been labeled as the “Father of History.”[25] His masterpiece, the Histories, an account of the Greco-Persian War, is often praised for trying to depict different conditions and traditions from a neutral perspective. This might be an exaggeration since the work's narrative is structured around a somewhat problematic juxtaposition of the Greek polis as the harbor of freedom and the Persian Empire as a stronghold of tyranny.[26] In many regards, the Histories display a great cultural and political self-confidence against which other civilizations are measured.Similar statements could be made about the massive, 130-chapter-long work Historical Records (Shiji) by the Chinese historian Sima Qian (d. 86 bce). While the great Han-scholar also included China's neighboring peoples in his historical portraits, his depictions were nevertheless based on the idea of China's elevated civilizational and political status.11 While Sima's work covers topics ranging from music to politics,[27] [28] his main narrative strings moved chiefly through the Middle Kingdom and adjacent areas. Even though at his time some information on places such as India or the Central Asian kingdoms was available, Sima's work did not seek to cover their history. Still, in his work Sima Qian professed to be as accurate as possible: analogous to the (albeit unproven) claims of Herodotus to have traveled through much of his world, he undertook extensive journeys while working on his Historical Records.
The works of scholars like Herodotus or Sima Qian were certainly exceptional in scope and depth but one should avoid portraying them as the sole representatives of “world historical” thought within their respective cultures and epochs. For instance, in ancient Greece also scholars like Ephoros (d. 330 bce), Polybius (d. c. 118 bce) and Diodorus (d. 21 bce) were making efforts to consider at least some outside experiences when writing about history. Similar statements could be made about quite a number of Chinese historians during the Han period such as Ban Gu (d. 92 ce).[29] The same is the case with the subsequent dynasties - an important scholar to be mentioned in this context is Cheng Hao (d. 1085), one of the most important thinkers during the Song period who famously emphasized that the histories of different countries follow specific timelines.[30]
A particular combination of “universal” historical scopes, geographic depictions and ethnographic accounts was flourishing in parts of the Islamic World. Already starting from the seventh and eighth centuries, many learned travelers published accounts of the world that they had either seen themselves or had been informed of, for example by trusted couriers.[31] Such texts could contain quite a lot of historical information, as in the case of the Baghdad-born traveler Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Masudi (d. 956), who in one of his works dealt with both pre-Islamic or non-Islamic world regions.[32] Other writings were based more on ethnographic descriptions but also contained important historical references - an example is the Spanish Muslim Ibn Jubayar's (d. 1217) account of his pilgrimage to Mecca.1[33]
Among a wealth of learned Islamic accounts of other world regions, it is particularly the work of Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) that deserves special mention.[34] Unsurpassed during its own time and long after, the work of the Tunisian-born thinker offered historical interpretations of areas ranging from Sub-Saharan Africa to Persia.
He went far beyond mere descriptive accounts, for example by developing some cyclical theories of the rise and fall of great powers. He furthermore reflected on patterns of society and trade, and did so in ways that today are often interpreted as precursors to modern sociological and economist traditions. While Ibn Khaldun developed theories of general historical patterns, his work was still based on the idea that the Muslim World was exemplary and unique.Compared to such Islamic accounts of the world, the Christian genre of universal histories was typically framed around even more immediate religious worldviews. Christian universal histories were repeatedly written in a spirit that sought to divide divine truth from heretical viewpoints. They had their origins in the later Roman Empire where they were famously represented by such scholars as Eusebius (d. 340) or Orosius (d. 417). However, they also blossomed during the European Middle Ages when they had such renowned representatives as Otto the Bishop of Freising (d. 1158).[35] They remained important until the eighteenth century and even after. Like many ancient Greek texts, Christian universal histories often contained ethnographical descriptions of distant peoples. Yet they typically followed biblical timelines with events such as the creation, the deluge or the incarnation of Christ as the main modes of periodization.