How is History Written?

How is History Written?History is aboutTimeMore than just the hands on a clock

EvidenceIs it for real? Prove it.

How Do We Measure History?Time in HistoryThe Concept of TimeWhat is time?How do we measure time?Why is time important in History?Why is the calendar useful? Why was it invented?4ChronologyWhen we study History, we measure time not distanceWe get the sequence of events in the correct orderIf events are in the wrong order, their meaning can change enormously5

What do you think happened?6

What do you think the story would be if the order of events was changed?7Re-arrange this comic strip

History and PrehistoryOldest part of history and does not have any written record is prehistoryWe use artefacts to study prehistoric periodsIt is divided into ages named after what the people at that time made their tools from.9History and PrehistoryStone Age when man created tools from stoneBronze Age when humans began with the first widespread use of copper and bronze toolsIron Age Iron was used extensively and there was some evidence of written records

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11Periods in HistoryHistorians also break up time into other ages like Golden Age, Elizabethan Age etc.History is split into dynasties e.g Shang Dynasty. Gupta Dynasty etc.Dynasty period of rule by people from the same family group12Periods in HistoryPeriods - DynastiesShang dynasty1523-1027 BCZhou dynasty1027-221 BCQin dynasty221-206 BCHan dynasty202 BC-AD 220Counting the yearsHow do Historians decide where to start counting from?AD Anno Domini (In the year of our Lord)Indicate anything that happened after Christ was bornCounted forward beginning with 1Written AD1945 but we dont normally write like thisThis year was One thousand nine hundred and forty-five years after the birth of Christ14Origins of A.D and B.CAbout 1,500 years ago, there was a dispute within the Christian Church over how to date important events in church history.

The Pope asked a monk to develop a standard method. The monk decided to start with what he believed was the year Jesus Christs birth. This became year 1.

The years before Christs birth later became known as Before Christ, abbreviated B.C. The monk called the years after Christs birth anno Domini. These Latin words mean in the year of the Lord and are abbreviated A.D.TimeBC - before ChristAD - Anno DominiCentury - a period of 100 years The 2nd century AD lastedfrom AD 101 to AD 200Specific pointsCounting the yearsBC Before ChristWe write the letter BC after the number e.g. 242 BCCounted back from the birth of Christ e.g. Shang ruled China from 1500 BC to 1027 BCHigher the date; earlier it had happened

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There is no Year 018Counting the yearsHan ruled China from 206 BC to AD 220How long did they rule China?206 years before Christ was born220 years after426 years altogether

19Counting the yearsAD and BC are divided into smaller unitsBiggest 1000 years MillenniumSo AD 1000 is 1000 years after Christ was bornEach millennium is divided into centuries100 years centuryEach century is divided into decades10 years 1 decade1945 is year 5 of the 4th decade of the 9th century of the 2nd millennium20BC 16001000 800 600 400 200 AD 1 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 ADA jagged line means an interval is not representedDates before AD 1 refer to the years before the birth of Jesus ChristDates after AD 1 refer to the years after the birth of Jesus ChristAD 1 The year Jesus Christ was bornTimelineThe notation c, is short for circa which means around. We dont know the exact year the event happened but we think it was probably around that timeGupta Dynasty(c. AD320 540)21CE & BCESome countries have changed AD and BC to CE Common Era and BCE Before Common EraTo avoid the linkage to Christ but keeping the same datesAssuming that our starting point is the YEAR ONE (there is no YEAR ZERO), then BCE, meaning "before common era" is the abbreviation used for years that occurred before the YEAR ONE. CE means "common era" and is used on all dates starting with YEAR ONE. WritingSometimes, we omit the abbreviation CE if we are only talking about modern history--no one would say that Barack Obama was elected in the year 2008 CE, although they could if they wanted toMuslim SystemMuslim year has 12 months all of 28 daysSignificant event was when Prophet Mohammed was driven out of Mecca to MedinaThis move was called hijrah and happened in the year AD 62224Muslim SystemAD 622 is 1 AH (After Hijrah)Dates before Ad 622 is labelled BH (Before Hijrah)

25Other dating systemsOther calendars are of the Chinese, Jewish and Indian originsSome are used for religious purposes not for historical recordings26Other dating systemsImagine the confusion if everyone worked in a different system of time datingHow would this affect: business arrangements, school holidays, writing history textbooks etc.27

YearsCentury5th century BC2nd century BC11th century AD15th century AD21st century ADAD 1001 - 1100200 - 101 BC500 - 401 BCAD 1401 - 1500AD 2001 - 2100Activity Time28ChronologyDatesEventsA1500 B.CThe Indus Valley Civilisation ended abruptlyBA.D 300The Gupta Dynasty was establishedC3000 B.C.The original people settled in the Indus ValleyD185 B.C.The Mauryan Dynasty collapsedEA.D. 376 to 415King Chandragupta II ruled IndiaArrange these events in chronological order