What is History?

The theory of history that I agree with the most is the cyclic theory. I think that this theory not only makes the most sense, but also explains the most; as much as it is possible for us as humans to understand. Cyclic history states that history is a series of births and deaths and births, i.e. events and dark ages and events, so there is no real way to tell when the true beginning of history started. It is based upon the Hindu belief of reincarnation.
So where did the true beginning of history start? There is no way to be exactly sure. There are plenty of beginnings to different parts of history, such as the beginning of the Roman Empire, the beginning of Jesus Christ, and the beginning of the Renaissance. These are all different beginnings, and that is why we cannot sort them into a specific order; there is no way to organize them. It is like trying to sort apples, bananas, and oranges according to which one is the most important: it cannot be done. Oranges provide Vitamin C, Bananas provide potassium, and apples provide a good source of dietary fiber. (http://www.allaboutapples.com/health/label.htm ).  Each of these things provided are important to our bodies, and therefore it is impossible to say which is the most important. Together, these three fruits all provide our bodies with nutrition, and history and its events are just like this. Together, all the different happenings of history come together to create history as a whole. But there is no way to know the true beginning of history; just different beginnings of different occurrences.
Some people may claim that the beginning of history is obviously when the world was created. These people are wrong, I believe, because what was the time before the earth called, if it was not history? What about the history of the other planets? The sun? Other people may argue that the beginning of history was when the first people began. Well, these people are incorrect as well, I think, because what about the history of the animals before humans? The existence of dinosaurs, and ancient plants, do they not count?
History is such a broad topic to discuss, and so many people interpret it in so many different ways. This is one of the aspects of history that make it so difficult to understand in one unified way. History could have begun long, long ago, or it could have begun recently. History could have never even had a beginning; it could be one of those things that have always existed. It is because of this confusion about history that I believe the cyclic theory is the most accurate. There really is no true beginning of history, and if there was, the confusion and arguments between all people over exactly when the true beginning was would be so great that it might create chaos. Cyclic history solves this problem easily. There is no true beginning, just a lot of different beginnings. And these beginnings go on and on, over and over again. New beginnings are established, and old beginnings come to a close. New beginnings may even start before old beginnings are finished; that is just the way of the world. As you can see, cyclic history gives, at least,an answer that makes sense to many problems and questions about history that cannot be solved fully. (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:Cyclic+history&ei=BVJrS8eqHpGb8AbOjdmHBg&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAcQkAE). 
Cyclic history is more efficient than, say, linear history because of the exact layouts of both theories. Linear history says close to if not the exact opposite of what cyclic history promotes. Linear history states that there is a specific beginning to history, and this disagrees with the theory of cyclic history. Linear history claims that there is, in fact, a true beginning to history, and from the beginning point on, history has just flowed out as a ray. Many people choose this theory because it is the most simple and concrete theory of history, at first glance. But if one takes a closer look into the theory of linear history, one will notice the many flaws that this theory promotes. Such as the problem of where, exactly, did history really start? With this problem, we come back to the dilemmas of different people’s very different interpretations on where the beginning really began.
Cyclic history is also more efficient in explaining history than the vortextual theory. Though neither of these theories runs into the problem of where history started, exactly, vortextual history can be very flawed. Vortextual history states that events start out big, and then get small, such as the Roman Empire to the Dark Ages. What Vortextual history neglects to mention is that the Dark Ages was just as large an event in history as the Roman Empire. Vortextual history attempts to sort the events of history, and this is an improbable feat. You cannot sort the events of history in a way stating one was bigger and more important than the other. The Dark Ages may have been a time when the Arts and many other things were not at their best, but this does not make the Dark Ages any less important than the Roman Empire, or the Renaissance. The Dark Ages were a time when people were struggling, and history was not documented. Who knows what monumental things may have happened during the Dark Ages? Maybe different things happened then what happened during the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, but this is not any way to make the Dark Ages any less monumental and legendary than any other event in history.
Overall, I think that the theory of cyclic history is the best way to describe the mystery that is history. It has its flaws, just like the other theories, but as an overall, it makes the most sense without trying to answer questions that cannot truly be answered, or problems that cannot truly be solved. Cyclic history seems complex when you first look at it from a glance, but once one delves deeper into the theory, comparing and contrasting it to other theories, it is easy to see which theory is the winner.
Works Cited:
1."All About Apples | Apple Nurition Labels." All About Apples -- Your online resource for Apple Varieties, Orchards, and Health. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .
 2. En.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_history. "Definitions of Cyclic History on the Web." Google. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. .
3. Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sumida_Hatiman_Mirror.JPG