Category: History Essay Examples
See our collection of history essay examples. These example essays are to help you understanding how to write a history essay. History is a fascinating puzzle with both personal and cultural significance. The past informs our lives, ideas, and expectations. Historians study the past to figure out what happened and how specific events and cultural developments affected individuals and societies. Also, see our list of history essay topics to find the one that interests you.
Mencius is the Latinized form for Mengzi (Meng Tzu), which means “Master Meng” in Chinese. He is revered as China’s Second Sage, surpassed only by Confucius. His personal name was Ke (K’o), and like Confucius he came from a lower aristocratic family. Mencius’s mother was widowed, but she …
Meng Tian was the most powerful general of the Qin (Ch’in) dynasty. He participated in the Qin state’s final drive to unify China that resulted in the creation of the Qin dynasty in 221 b.c.e. His greatest feat was the building of the Great Wall of China, called …
Evidence of civilization in Meroë, now part of Sudan and then called Nubia, has existed from about the eighth millennium b.c.e. The culture was fated to live in the shadow of Egypt of the pharaohs to the north on the Nile. Over the centuries the pharaohs raided Nubia …
The geographical region and culture zone called Mesoamerica (literally, “Middle America”) extends from present-day central and southern Mexico as far south as northern Nicaragua (approximately 21 to 13 degrees north latitude). The Archaic Period (8000–2000 b.c.e.) in this vast and variegated region was characterized by the first emergence …
The Classic Period in Mesoamerican history is divided into the Early (250–600 c.e.), Late (600–800), and Terminal Classic (800–900/1100). Four major culture areas reached florescence during this period: the central highlands, dominated by Teotihuacán until its fall in 650; the Oaxaca Valley, dominated by Monte Albán until its …
Broadly speaking, messianism refers to any expectation of the appearance of a messiah or messiahs in the end time. Messianism appears in four bodies of literature: Hebrew scripture, extrabiblical works written in the Second Temple period, the New Testament (NT), and the writings of rabbinic Judaism. From the …
Ancient Egyptian language begins with Middle Egyptian, accepted by later Egyptians as the classical period of language, literature, and culture. The Middle Kingdom dated from approximately 2055 to 1650 b.c.e. It comprised the second half of the Eleventh Dynasty, the Twelfth Dynasty that spanned 212 years (1985–1773 b.c.e.), …
Native Americans inhabited every region of the Western Hemisphere, from arctic North America to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America. There are more than 500 distinct Native American tribal groups or nations in North America alone. Native people showed a remarkable ability to adapt …
Emperor Diocletian pursued a comprehensive program against Christianity from 302 c.e. until his retirement in 305 c.e. His successors continued hostilities toward the church, especially in the eastern empire for several years, until it became clear that such programs were futile. Sometime around 311 Galerius, one of the …
The Minoan civilization has its roots on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea during the Neolithic Period (7000–3000 b.c.e.). The original inhabitants most likely emigrated from Asia Minor, which had already developed cities and conducted trade by 2000 b.c.e. The Greek poet Homer refers to the …
When Palestinian society emerged from the turbulence of the two Jewish revolts against the Romans at the end of the second century c.e., rabbis united to promote a religious document called the Mishnah. The Mishnah and its subsidiary books, commonly called the Tosefta and the Talmud, serve Judaism …
The kingdom of Mittani was an impressive IndoEuropean empire that ruled over northern Mesopotamia, or the Fertile Crescent, during the 15th and 14th century’s b.c.e. At its height the geographical region of Mittani stretched from the ancient city of Nuzi and the Tigris River in the east to …
Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa are two ancient cities located on the banks of the Indus and its tributary the Ravi River in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. They represent the earliest civilization in the region, called the Indus, or Harappan, civilization, dating to approximately 2500–1500 b.c.e. Excavation …
The English word monasticism derives from the Greek word monos, meaning “alone.” Those who rejected the world to embrace the worship of God and obedience to his commandments without compromise were soon grouped into a communal residence, called in Greek monasterion, and later in English monastery; the inhabitant …
If Abraham symbolizes the beginning of Israel through a covenant between the God of the Bible and Abraham’s descendants, then Moses symbolizes a second beginning for Israel through another covenant, more comprehensive and constitutional, between God and a coalition of Hebrew tribes. Moses is quite different from the …
Mozi, which means “Master Mo,” began a Chinese school of philosophy called Moism. His personal name was Di (Ti). After studying under disciples of Confucius, he broke away and founded his own school of philosophy. During the era of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy Moism was a significant …
Mycenae is an ancient city-state located in Greece on the Peloponnese Peninsula, upon a hilltop on the lower slopes of the Euboea Mountains, between two of its peaks, on the road leading from the Argolic Gulf. This site has been inhabited since around 4000 b.c.e. in the Neolithic …
In the Greek and Roman worlds dissatisfaction with civic and public religion often gave rise to experimentation with foreign and secretive religions that promised better benefits to its devotees. The reason for the popularity is a matter of scholarly speculation. Perhaps the population displacements, the exposure to foreign …
The merchandise and produce that traversed the great deserts separating the Mediterranean from the Orient often were traded and carried by the Nabataeans. This lucrative commerce meant that their capital city, Petra, became an exotic and prosperous center of ancient civilization. The Nabataeans migrated as Arab wanderers from …
Native North American tribes had sets of beliefs describing the origin of Earth and the universe, the laws of that universe, how humans interacted with the rest of that universe, and the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world. Prior to the incursion of Europeans, Natives …
