Thinking, recording, and writing history in the ancient world / edited by Kurt A. Raaflaub.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Raaflaub, Kurt A.

Series:

Ancient world--comparative histories.

The Ancient World: Comparative Histories

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History, Ancient--Historiography.

History, Ancient.

History, Ancient--Methodology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (441 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chichester, West Sussex ; Malden, Massachusetts : Wiley Blackwell, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World presents a cross-cultural comparison of the ways in which ancient civilizations thought about the past and recorded their own histories. Written by an international group of scholars working in many disciplinesTruly cross-cultural, covering historical thinking and writing in ancient or early cultures across in East, South, and West Asia, the Mediterranean, and the AmericasIncludes historiography shaped by religious perspectives, including Judaism, early Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism<

Contents:

Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in the Ancient World; Copyright; Contents; Series Editor's Preface; Notes on Contributors; Introduction; Suggested Readings; 1 On Being Historical; References; 2 The Task and Ritual of Historical Writing in Early China; Prologue: The Historical Context; Four Early, Influential Texts; From Scribal Records to History; Constructing an "Orderly" History; The Subtleties of Revealing and Concealing; Final Considerations; Notes; References; 3 History and Primordium in Ancient Indian Historical Writing: Itihasa and Puranạ in the Mahabhaata and Beyond

IntroductionHistory-writing in Ancient India; The Genre Itihasa; The Genre Purana; Concluding Reflections; Notes; References; 4 Historical Consciousness and Historical Traditions in Early North India; Notes; References; 5 Thinking, Recording, and Writing History in Ancient Japan: The Nihon shoki as a Text of Transition; Introduction; The International Context of Writing History in Ancient Japan; The Role of the Scribes; Rulers and Scribes: Creating History for Multiple Audiences; Notes in the Nihon Shoki; The Readings of the Nihon Shoki; The Yoro readings of the Nihon shoki

The later readingsNihon Shoki and Kojiki; Unbroken continuity; Political and Official Function; The Development of Nonofficial and Literary Genres; Summary and Conclusion; References; 6 As the Dharmacakra Turns: Buddhist and Jain Macrohistorical Narratives of the Past, Present, and Future; Introduction: Didactic Purposes and Institutional Value of Macrohistorical Narratives; Genres of Buddhist and Jain History; Jain genres of history; Buddhist genres of hagiography and history; Paradigms of Buddhist Rulership; Aśoka's legacy as Dharmaraja; Menander, an Indo-Greek emulator of Aśoka?

Śaka intermediaries for Buddhist transmissionParadigms of patronage under the Kusanas; Bad reputation of the barbarous Huns vs. Buddhist historical realities; Conclusions: Relevance of Buddhist and Jain Stories of the Past; Notes; References; 7 History as Festival? A Reassessment of the Use of the Past and the Place of Historiography in Ancient Egyptian Thought; The Elusiveness of Historiography; History as Festival; History as History: A Look at Horemheb; Singular history: an unprecedented kingship; Formative history: reflecting on the past; Distinct history: the past as argument

Successive history: counting the pastThe Two Bodies of the King; Stories about the Past: The Place of Historiography; Abbreviations; Notes; References; 8 The Presence of the Past in Early Mesopotamian Writings; Chronological Table: Periods and Main Rulers Mentioned in the Text1; Introduction; Early Dynastic Writings (2750-2350); Third-millennium Historical Narratives; The Sargonic "Empire" (2334-2154); The Third Dynasty of Ur (2112-2004); The Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595); The Poetics of History; 1 The Sumerian King List (SKL); 2 The Curse of Agade (CA); 3 The Death of Ur-Namma (DU)

4 The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur (CKU)

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed December 12, 2013).

ISBN:

9781118413135

111841313X

9781118413111

1118413113

9781118412541

1118412540

9781118413128

1118413121

OCLC:

863078364