The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to history: History – discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented (the beginning of recorded history).

Nature of history

History can be described as all of the following:

Essence of history

Historical disciplines

Auxiliary sciences of history

Auxiliary sciences of history – scholarly disciplines which help evaluate and use historical sources and are seen as auxiliary for historical research. Auxiliary sciences of history include, but are not limited to:

History by period

History by period

History by chronology

Ages of history

Prehistoric Ages

Historic Ages

Other Ages

Regional histories

Regional history

History by continent and country

Economic history by region

Military history by region

Eras by region

Era

History by field

History of art

History of culture

History of mathematics

History of philosophy

History of religions

History of science

History of social sciences

History of technology

History of interdisciplinary fields

Methods and tools

General concepts

Historians

Lists