S.Frederick Starr

The baptism of Christ, from The Chronology of Ancient Nations, 1307. (Edinburgh University Library/Bridgeman Images)

The Invention of World History

For most of history, different peoples, cultures and religious groups have lived according to their own calendars. Then, in the 11th century, a Persian scholar attempted to create a single, universal timeline for all humanity. 

A map of the world illutrating a 14th-century manuscript of al-Biruni's 'Elements of Astrology'

So, Who Did Discover America?

Abu Raihan al-Biruni, an Islamic scholar from Central Asia, may have discovered the New World centuries before Columbus – without leaving his study.