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UNIT-II : HISTORY
chapter 6 INTROdUcTION TO HISTORY

History is the study of past events, specially the political, social and economic development
of a country or a nation. The word ‘History’ comes from the ancient Greek word ‘Histo’
meaning ‘Know this’. It is a continuous and systematic record of past events, which is
based on facts and not on imagination. History transacts every significant event that led to
an advancement or new ideas in human civilization. A person who studies History subject
as a profession is called a ‘Historian’.
Importance of HIstory

Man has been constantly evolving from his primitive state into the modern form, from the
caves to the modern high rise buildings. As we see people and things around us, we notice
the changes have been taking place, often gradually and often through revolutions. Thus,
life is an unbroken chain of past, present and future and it is History only that provides us
never-ending sources for the study of our past, as it contains all that men have ever done,
or as much as we can find out about it.
tIme frame In HIstory

The historian arranges past events in order of time that is; events that happened first
followed by events that happened later. This order is called ‘Chronology’.
In History, the years before the birth of Jesus Christ are written as BC, that is ‘Before
Christ’. BC is always counted backwards, for example-100 BC comes before 99 BC. The
years after the birth of Jesus Christ are written as AD. This stands for two Latin words
“Anno Domini” meaning “In the year of our Lord”. These years are counted forward. For
example, 2013 AD will come after 2012 AD.
Historians have divided history into two parts— Prehistory and History.

At present, the term CE is used in place of AD and BCE in place of BC. CE means Common Era and
BCE means Before Common Era. Common Era is a measured time beginning with year until the
present, year zero is not used. This term is now used everywhere. So, if a child is born in 2008, his
year of birth is 2008 CE.

Birth of Jesus
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