Time-Periods in Periodization in History

What is Periodization in History?

The history of any country or region or the world is generally divided into periods and sub-periods. periodization is done based on some specific criteria. One criterion common in traditional historical writings is to divide the history of a country in terms of the dynasties that ruled over it. In this sense, we refer to, for example, the Mauryan, the Gupta, and the Mughal periods in Indian history, the Han and the Manchu periods in Chinese history, and the Tudor and Stuart periods in the history of England.

This kind of division is still cc .nmon as the period of rule of a dynasty provides a convenient chronology for the study of history. The division of history into periods is also based on other criteria. For example, we have divisions like the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution, which denote broad chronological periods in the history of some countries.

Time-Periods in History

The division criteria in these cases are developments in certain aspects of cultural and economic life. Such divisions (unlike the divisions based on dynasties) indicate broad periods and not any specific date or year, as developments in culture and economy cannot be traced back to any particular date. For example, the period of the rise of Indian nationalism cannot be ascribed to any specific event taking place on a certain date. Sometimes, division into periods is done based on centuries.

We have, for example, the history of England, let us say, in the fifteenth century, the sixteenth century, the seventeenth century, and so on. Another, more critical, division of history into periods, or simply periodization, is done based on the boundary of stages in the development of society. In this kind of periodization, each period denotes not only a broad chronology but a distinct form of society, economy, political system, and culture, which has a well-defined character of its own, distinguishable from other periods.

The broadest and most commonly accepted periodization of the history of most countries and the world as a whole is the division into ancient, medieval, and modern periods. In terms of chronology, these periods vary from country to country as societies in different countries and regions moved from one stage to another at other times. For example, in the history of Western Europe, the ancient period came to a close by the early centuries of the Christian era, and the medieval period began when a new form of a social system characterized by feudalism began to take shape.

Similarly, the medieval period in the history of Western Europe ended in the fifteenth-seventeenth centuries, and the modern period began with the decline of feudalism and the emergence of a new kind of social system called capitalism. Comparable developments denoting the passing of one type of social system and the emergence of a new one in other countries or regions say in Asia and Africa, took place at different times. Therefore, the chronology of the ancient, medieval, and modern periods differs from country to country and region to region.

It should also be remembered that the ancient or medieval periods in the history of all countries do not have the same characteristic features. There are variations in many essential social and economic life, political system, and cultural features. Thus, medieval China or medieval India do not necessarily denote the same kind of society, economy, political system, etc., as medieval Europe.

However, while periodizing the history of the world as a whole, the variations in different regions of the world are ignored for the sake of convenience and new forms of society and economy, even though they might have emerged only in one area of the world, are taken to mark the beginning of a new period. For example, the period between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, which marks the start of the modern period in Western Europe, is also taken to mark the beginning of the contemporary period in the history of the world as a whole.

This is done because some of the new trends that first emerged in Western Europe during these centuries also became significant features of the history of many other countries and regions of the world or exercised a powerful influence on the history of other countries in the subsequent period.

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