Department of History

Overview

The Department of History was established in 1957-1958 and went through various stages in accordance with the university statutes. Attendance was waived at the early stages. However, when the credit-hour system was adopted in 1394-1395H, part-time studies were introduced. Female full-time students were admitted at Elisha University Center. Initially, the Archaeology section formed part of the Department of History and Archaeology, but in 1395H it became an autonomous department. One of the main aims of the Department’s curriculum is to achieve the time-place equilibrium of historical knowledge of various subjects so that students may be familiar with the main factors that influenced human history in general and Islamic and Arab history in particular.

The curriculum includes the following:

• The Ancient History of the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East
• Roman, Greek and Mesopotamian Ancient History
• Medieval History
• Islamic History
• Modern History and the New World

 The Department awards the BA, MA and PhD degrees. The first MA degree was awarded in 1398H, and the first PhD was awarded in 1413H. The Department hosts the International Forum for the Studies in the History of the Arabian Peninsula, and is the seat of the Saudi Historical Society.