As historical research developed, a field that itself has a long history, humanity gradually moved away from mythical explanations of the past and began a long, complex journey toward factual understanding.
History exists only through human awareness: as memories, traditions, material evidence, artistic depictions, and written accounts that interpret past events, what we call historiography.
The science of history focuses on studying humanity’s development from its beginnings up to the present. Through written historiography, the findings of this research are documented and shared.
Historical science is based on the analysis of surviving evidence and records from the past, known as historical sources. Its main goal is to reconstruct past events as accurately as possible, identify patterns and relationships, and understand the distinctive features of human development. Over time, the field has become increasingly diverse, leading to a wide range of sub-disciplines and areas of specialization:
| Structural Focus | Geographic Focus | Chronological Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Economic, social, political, cultural, and legal history | Global and regional history | Prehistory and early civilizations |
| Church and party history | National and local history | Ancient history |
| Labor and industrial history | Medieval and modern history | |
| History of technology, associations, and families | Contemporary history |
When historians interpret or assess past events, their work is also influenced by philosophy of history, that is, by how they understand the purpose and meaning of history. A major issue in this field is the question of objectivity: while complete neutrality may be impossible, the pursuit of objectivity remains a key aim of historical research.
To approach objectivity, historians analyze events through multiple causes (multicausality) and from different perspectives (multiperspectivity), comparing and evaluating the accounts of various historical figures and sources.