LibGuides: HIS 101: World Civilization through 1600: Research Resources

Research Resources

The best place to start when searching for research resources is right here, at your

Gateway Library!

Databases from Our Collection

Our databases contain about 10 thousand scholarly journals, most of which are also peer-reviewed. Here is an annotated list of several of the databases that you might find useful!

Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window
A general database covering a vast range of topics sourced from historical through current resources. Be sure to select “full-text” for immediately accessible content!
Academic Search Complete (Ebsco) This link opens in a new window
A general database covering a vast range of topics sourced from historical through current resources. Be sure to select “full-text” for immediately accessible content!
Credo Reference (Infobase) This link opens in a new window
Credo is a vast reference database with general and specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, etc. with faceted searching cross-referenced with other library databases.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million journal articles, books, images, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
World History (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window
Extensive coverage of world historical events; includes powerful primary sources, periodicals and newspapers, biographies, images, audio, and video multimedia sources.
World History (Gale OneFile) This link opens in a new window
Extensive coverage of world historical events; includes powerful primary sources, periodicals and newspapers, biographies, images, audio, and video multimedia sources.

Primary Sources

Primary Sources can be found in some of the library databases listed above.

However, many can be found across the internet for free. Below are some links to suggested sites to get you started.

Also try your topic keywords with the term "primary sources" as an internet search and see what you can find from archives and museums from around the world.

Depending on your topic, you may also find success in contacting a local public or historical library in the area of your topic for assistance wth their archived materials or access what has been digitized.

Websites for getting started with primary sources research

Avalon Project (Yale)
Documents in Law, History, and Diplomacy
HathiTrust Digital Collection
HathiTrust was founded in 2008 as a not-for-profit collaborative of academic and research libraries now preserving 18+ million digitized items in the HathiTrust Digital Library. We offer reading access to the fullest extent allowable by U.S. and international copyright law, text and data mining tools for the entire corpus, and other emerging services based on the combined collection.
JSTOR Primary Sources
Primary source collections currently available on JSTOR are multidisciplinary and discipline-specific and include select monographs, pamphlets, manuscripts, letters, oral histories, government documents, images, 3D models, spatial data, type specimens, drawings, paintings, and more
Library of Congress: Primary Souces Guide
National Archives
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is an online library of free eBooks.
Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related content today.
Spartacus Educational

eBooks from Our Collection

Ancient Egypt 2615-332 B.C.E.; World Eras, Vol. 5 by Edward Bleiberg (Editor)
ISBN: 0787645052
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of ancient Egypt, 2615-332 B.C.E.
Ancient Mesopotamia, 3300-331 B.C.E.; World Eras, Volume 8 by Ronald Wallenfels
ISBN: 0787645028
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of ancient Mesopotamia, 3300-331 B.C.E.
The Ancient Near East by Ronald Wallenfels (Editor); Jack M. Sasson (Editor)
ISBN: 9780684805979
Publication Date: 2000-10-03
Provides an overview of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Iran/Persia, and the Arabian Peninsula, covering more than 4,000 years, from the Early Bronze Age to 325 B.C.E.
Classical Greek Civilization, 800-323 B.C.E.; World Eras, Vol. 6 by John T. Kirby (Editor)
ISBN: 0787617075
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of classical Greek civilization, 800-323 B.C.E.
Daily Life of Women: An Encyclopedia from Ancient Times to the Present by Colleen Boyett (Editor); H. Micheal Tarver (Editor); Mildred Diane Gleason (Editor)
ISBN: 9781440846922
This reference book provides an overview of the daily life of women through history, and a timeline highlights key events in women's history. It draws upon a wide array of cultural settings and time periods in which women displayed agency by carrying out their daily economic, familial, artistic, and religious obligations.
The Encyclopedia of World History by Peter N. Stearns (Editor); William L. Langer
ISBN: 9780395652374
In addition to showcasing traditional facts of national leadership and state power, the Encyclopedia embraces social and cultural developments, non-European history, women's history, religion, health, economics, technology, and other vital but less often reported aspects of the human drama. Here is a chronicle not only of major political events but of ordinary people, covering shifts in the relationships between men and women, developments in leisure, and demographic currents. And for all periods there are summaries of global developments that cannot be captured in national or regional frameworks.
The European Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1600; World Eras, Vol. 1 by Norman J. Wilson (Editor)
ISBN: 0787617067
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of the European Renaissance and Reformation, 1350-1600.
Imperial China, 617-1644; World Eras, Vol. 7 by Guangqiu Xu (Editor)
ISBN: 0787617083
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of imperial China, 617-1644.
Medieval Europe, 814-1350; World Eras, Vol. 4 by Jeremiah Hackett (Editor)
ISBN: 0787617091
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of medieval Europe, 814-1350
Places of Encounter, Volume 1 by Aran MacKinnon; Elaine McClarnand MacKinnon
ISBN: 9780813347370
Places of Encounter provides a place-based approach to world history, focusing on specific locations at critical moments when human history was transformed as a result of encounters-physical, political, cultural, intellectual, and religious.
The Rise and Spread of Islam, 622-1500; World Eras, Vol. 2 by Susan L. Douglass (Editor)
ISBN: 0787645036
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of the rise and spread of Islam, 622-1500.
Roman Republic and Empire, 264 B.C.E. -476 C.E.; World Eras, Vol. 3 by John T. Kirby (Contribution by)
ISBN: 0787645044
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of the Roman Republic and Empire, 264 B.C.E.-476 C.E.
The Thirteenth Century by Richard Bressler
ISBN: 9781476671857
The 13th Century was a fascinating era in world history. Genghis Khan established the largest contiguous land empire in history. The Magna Carta was drafted. Marco Polo travelled through Asia and trade expanded across the Indian Ocean and Baltic Sea, setting the stage for greater expansion in the 15th century. The Native Americans of Cahokia, Mesoamerica and the Chimor State flourished while Mali, Ethiopia and Great Zimbabwe throve in Sub-Saharan Africa. This world history chronicles the important events in this pivotal century, while exploring many of the relevant figures of the era, including King John of England, St. Francis of Assisi, Balban of India and many others.
West African Kingdoms, 500–1590; World Eras, Vol. 10 by Pierre-Damien Mvuyekure (Editor)
ISBN: 0787660477
Examines major civilizations that have flourished from antiquity to modern times, with a global perspective and a strong emphasis on daily life and social history. This volume provides in-depth coverage of West African kingdoms, 500-1590.

Literature

The Iliad by Barry B. Powell; Ian Morris (Foreword by)
ISBN: 9780199326105
Publication Date: 2013-10-25
The Iliad is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma, for which Barry Powell, one of the twenty-first century's leading Homeric scholars, has given us a magnificent new translation. Graceful, lucid, and energetic, Powell's translation renders the Homeric Greek with a simplicity and dignity reminiscent of the original. The text immediately engrosses students with its tight and balanced rhythms, while the incantatory repetitions evoke a continuous'stream of sound'that offers as good an impression of Homer's Greek as one could hope to attain without learning the language. Accessible, poetic, and accurate, Powell's translation is an excellent fit for today's students. With swift, transparent language that rings both ancient and modern, it exposes them to all of the rage, pleasure, pathos, and humor that are Homer's Iliad. Both the translation and the introduction are informed by the best recent scholarship.
The Odyssey by Homer; Peter Green (Translator)
ISBN: 9780520293632
Publication Date: 2018-03-28
The Odyssey is vividly captured and beautifully paced in this swift and lucid new translation by acclaimed scholar and translator Peter Green. Accompanied by an illuminating introduction, maps, chapter summaries, a glossary, and explanatory notes, this is the ideal translation for both general readers and students to experience The Odyssey in all its glory. Green's version, with its lyrical mastery and superb command of Greek, offers readers the opportunity to enjoy Homer's epic tale of survival, temptation, betrayal, and vengeance with all of the verve and pathos of the original oral tradition.

Relevant Websites

Internet Ancient History Sourcebook
Massive compendium of internet sources of documents on the Ancient World from human origins to the emergence of Christianity.
Internet Medieval History Sourcebook
Massive compendium of internet sources of documents on the Medieval World from the Fall of Rome to the Age of Exploration
Legal Documents by Date
Yale Law School Library's translated legal documents dated from 4000 bce to the 21st Century, organized by date.
Legal Documents by Subject
Yale Law School Library's translated legal documents dated from 4000 bce to the 21st Century, organized by subject categories.
Portal for Ancient and Classical Texts
This is an index for English translations of books or other texts from Ancient or Classical times. The original languages of many or most such texts would be classical Hebrew, Sanskrit, Greek, Latin.
Portal for Medieval Texts
This is an index of books or other texts from the Middle Ages in English. Medieval Texts covers all works originally written during the Middle Ages and early Renaissance; we can roughly define the period covered by this category to be about 600-1500 A.D. Texts written before that belong in Portal: Ancient and Classical texts.
Portal for Renaissance Texts
This is an index of books or other texts from the Renaissance in English. Renaissance Texts covers works originally written during the period from about 1420-1630. Texts written before that belong in Portal: Medieval texts, and those written later belong in Portal: Early modern texts.
Primary Sources from the World History Commons
Filter material by time or topic to find contextualized primary sources from all periods of history!
Renaissance Materials from the Perseus Collection
Primary and secondary sources in early modern English literature.