Library Guides: History: Reference sources

Reference sources

Oxford Reference
Oxford Reference is the home of Oxford’s quality reference publishing. The collection provides quality, up-to-date reference content at the click of a button. The University of Melbourne subscribes to selected titles from this large collection of materials.
Cambridge Histories Online
This unique historical reference compendium allows instant access to the renowned texts of the Cambridge Histories series. With access to the most up to date and authoritative scholarly content, Cambridge Histories Online is an invaluable resource, for undergraduates, graduates, lecturers and researchers alike. All the available volumes are grouped into topics, making it quick and easy to search and browse through an array of historical subject areas. The extensive bibliographic referencing and other leading functionality, enhances usability and makes this resource ideal for any type of historical research. From September 2016 titles are available via the Cambridge Core platform alongside Cambridge Books, Companions and Journals.
World History in Video
This database contains a global survey of human history from 8000 BCE to the late 1980s—online in streaming video.

Ancient History

Encyclopedia of Ancient History
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History is one of the most comprehensive collection of twenty-first century scholarship available on the entire ancient Mediterranean world, with over 5,700 original entries published since November 2012.
Brill's New Pauly Online
An extensive encyclopedia that includes material on the ancient world including Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome.
Historical Atlas of the Ancient World
A sub-collection of Brill's New Pauly Online, the Historical Atlas is a valuable source of maps of the ancient world- Greece, Rome, Mesopotamia, Egypt and other civilizations.
Chronologies of the Ancient World- Names, Dates, and Dynasties
Another subset of Brill's New Pauly Online. "From the Mesopotamian kings in around 3000 BC to the Bishops and Patriarchs of Late Antiquity, Chronologies of the Ancient World lists all rulers and dynasties that made their mark on ancient history."

Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern History

The new Cambridge medieval history
7 volumes. Available in print and online. Search for the title in the catalogue to find additional online volumes,
The Oxford dictionary of the Middle Ages
The Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages is an essential reference work covering all key aspects of European history, society, and culture from 500 to 1500 A.D., as well as the Byzantine Empire, Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples of the era. It is designed both for medievalists, who need a detailed and reliable reference tool, and for students and general readers seeking an accessible guide to the period.
Encyclopedia of Women in the Renaissance: Italy, France, and England
Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades

Modern / Twentieth Century

International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Oxford Bibliographies Online
Contains short reference articles with links to key sources, both in print and online, on a wide range of topics in history.
World History in Video
This database contains a global survey of human history from 8000 BCE to the late 1980s—online in streaming video.

Encyclopedia of Human Rights

American History

American National Biography
American National Biography discovers biographies of more than 19,000 people — from all eras and walks of life — whose lives have shaped American history and culture.
Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history : the Black experience in the Americas
A five-volume set and supplement covering all aspects of the African-American experience from 1619 to the present day. Using biographies, historical essays, and thematic pieces, many written by foremost scholars, it addresses a wide array of subjects in over 2,300 articles to define in one source the cultural roots, participation in American life, and current condition of the African-American community.
Encyclopedia of women in American history
Examines the unique influence and contributions of women in every era of American history, from the colonial period to the present.

Asian History

Oxford Reference Encyclopedia of Asian History
Peer-reviewed and regularly updated.
Encyclopedia of modern Asia
A six-volume survey of modern Asia, defined as extending from Japan in the east to Turkey in the west, and from Kazakhstan in the north to Indonesia in the south. Presents entries covering such subjects as countries, cities, regions, natural features, religions, social issues, languages, people, events, customs, politics, and economics.
Brill's encyclopedia of China

Southeast Asia by Keat Gin Ooi (Editor)
ISBN: 9781576077702
Publication Date: 2004-10-13
An in-depth, historical encyclopedia of Southeast Asia, with coverage from prehistoric times to the end of the 20th century for each country in the region. Southeast Asia: A Historical Encyclopedia, From Angkor Wat to East Timor is the premier and authoritative reference work covering the history of the region, which consists of Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, and East Timor. Organized in a user-friendly, A-Z format, with entries ranging from brief descriptions to expansive essays, this comprehensive, pioneering three-volume work covers archaeology and prehistory, politics and culture, socioeconomics, ethno-history, language, institutions and organizations, wars and conflicts, personalities, geography, religions and folklore, and environment. A list of the book's 130 contributors reads like a "who's who" of renowned Southeast Asianists, including Barbara Watson Andaya, David Chandler, John Gullick, V. T. King, Milton Osborne, Anthony Reid, Nicholas Tarling, Robert H. Taylor, Anthony Milner, Wang Gungwu, and many others. Writing for a nonspecialist audience, their work presents impeccable scholarship and incisive analysis in a style that is both informative and captivating. Over 800 A-Z entries covering a wide range of diverse historical topics from the Bataan Death March to the Ramayana Contributions from an international panel of over 130 scholars Illustrations, maps, and photographs that are informative, critical, and up to date A chronology, bibliography, and index complete the coverage

Gu jin tu shu ji cheng
This database is the electronic version of the famous Chinese encyclopedia "Gu jin tu shu ji cheng," edited by Chen Mong Lei, a renowned scholar of the Qing Dynasty. The present digital edition of The Complete Classics includes the most seminal classics of Chinese literature and culture, from ancient China through the Qing Dynasty. The collection includes works on astronomy, geography, history, philosophy, literature, politics, economics, art, education, agriculture, medicine, and more.

Australian History

AIATSIS - Indigenous Studies Bibliography (Informit)
Indigenous Studies Bibliography covers published and unpublished material on Australian Indigenous studies and is produced by Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Library. It covers the period 1990 to present.

eMelbourne: The Encyclopedia of Melbourne Online
Online version of the Encyclopedia of Melbourne edited by Andrew Brown-May and Shurlee Swain with extra text and images.
Encyclopedia of women & leadership
Australian Women's Archives Project

Middle Eastern History

Oxford Islamic Studies Online
Oxford Islamic Studies Online features reference content and commentary by renowned scholars in areas such as global Islamic history, concepts, people, practices, politics, and culture, and is regularly updated as new content is commissioned. Encompassing over 5,000 A-Z reference entries, chapters from scholarly and introductory works, Qur'anic materials, primary sources, images, maps, and timelines, Oxford Islamic Studies Online offers a multi-layered reference experience designed to provide a first stop for anyone needing information and context on Islam.

Medieval Islamic Civilization : An Encyclopedia
Medieval Islamic Civilization examines the socio-cultural history of the regions where Islam took hold between the 7th and 16th centuries. This important two-volume work contains over 700 alphabetically arranged entries, contributed and signed by international scholars and experts in fields such as Arabic languages, Arabic literature, architecture, history of science, Islamic arts, Islamic studies, Middle Eastern studies, Near Eastern studies, politics, religion, Semitic studies, theology, and more. Entries also explore the importance of interfaith relations and the permeation of persons, ideas, and objects across geographical and intellectual boundaries between Europe and the Islamic world.
Encyclopedia of the modern Middle East and North Africa
The set covers the modern history of the Middle East and North Africa, with major sections on Colonialism and Imperialism, the World Wars, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the United Nations involvement in the region. Each country in the region is reviewed, detailing its population, economy and government.
Encyclopaedia of Islam