A Study of History
A 12-volume universal history tracing the rise and fall of civilizations.
A Study of History is a 12-volume universal history by the British historian Arnold J. It received enormous popular attention but, according to historian Richard J. Evans, 'enjoyed only a brief vogue before disappearing into the obscurity in which it has languished.' Toynbee's goal was to trace the development and decay of 19 or 21 world civilizations in the historical record, applying his model to each of these civilizations, detailing the stages through which they all pass: genesis, growth, time of troubles, universal state, and disintegration.
- title
- A Study of History
- author
- Arnold J. Toynbee
- volumes
- 12
- total_words
- more than 3 million
- total_pages
- about 7,000
- subject
- universal history, civilizations
Lore & Background
Toynbee argues that civilizations are born out of more primitive societies, not as the result of racial or environmental factors, but as a response to challenges, such as hard country, new ground, blows and pressures from other civilizations, and penalization. He argues that for civilizations to be born, the challenge must be a golden mean; that excessive challenge will crush the civilization, and too little challenge will cause it to stagnate. He argues that civilizations continue to grow only when they meet one challenge only to be met by another, in a continuous cycle of 'Challenge and Response.' Growth is driven by 'Creative Minorities' who find solutions to challenges and inspire others through the 'faculty of mimesis.'
Reader's Guide
Toynbee does not see the breakdown of civilizations as caused by loss of control over the physical environment, by loss of control over the human environment, or by attacks from outside. Rather, it comes from the deterioration of the 'Creative Minority,' which eventually ceases to be creative and degenerates into merely a 'Dominant Minority.' He argues that creative minorities deteriorate due to a worship of their 'former self,' by which they become prideful and fail adequately to address the next challenge they face. The final breakdown results in 'positive acts of creation;' the dominant minority seeks to create a Universal state to preserve its power and influence, and the internal proletariat seeks to create a Universal church to preserve its spiritual values and cultural norms. Toynbee argues that as civilizations decay, there is a 'schism' within the society, leading to archaism, futurism, detachment, and transcendence. The work remains a monumental but controversial attempt at a comprehensive philosophy of history.
Did You Know?
- Toynbee identifies 19 or 21 major civilizations, plus three 'abortive' and five 'arrested' civilizations, for a total of 27 or 29.
- In 1939, Toynbee wrote that 'the challenge of being called upon to create a political world-order, the framework for an economic world-order ... now confronts our Modern Western society.'
Frequently Asked Questions
What is A Study of History and who wrote it?
It is a 12-volume work of universal history authored by the British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, running to roughly 7,000 pages and more than three million words. Its central ambition is to chart how civilizations rise, mature, and ultimately collapse.
How many civilizations does A Study of History actually cover?
Toynbee applies his analytical framework to somewhere between 19 and 21 distinct civilizations drawn from the historical record. He treats each one as moving through the same broad sequence of developmental phases.
What are the stages a civilization passes through in Toynbee's model?
Each civilization proceeds through genesis, growth, a time of troubles, the emergence of a universal state, and final disintegration. Toynbee regarded this sequence as a recurring pattern rather than a unique, one-off progression.
Why did A Study of History fade from public view after its initial success?
Despite enormous popular attention at publication, historian Richard J. Evans noted that the work enjoyed only a brief vogue before sinking into relative obscurity. Its sheer volume and density likely made sustained engagement difficult for both general readers and specialists.
Why does A Study of History still matter to students of historiography?
It remains one of the most sweeping attempts to build a single comparative framework capable of explaining the trajectories of many unrelated civilizations. Even scholars who rejected Toynbee's specifics acknowledged the extraordinary scale of his synthetic project.
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