The first history textbook of Moscow University

The article provides the first detailed examination of the contents of a textbook on world history published by Philipp Heinrich Dilthey, professor of law and history at the Imperial Moscow University. This textbook, The First Foundations of Universal History with an Abridged Chronology for the Benefit of the Educated Russian Nobility, was published by the university in 1762, 1763, and 1768 in three volumes with parallel texts in French and Russian. Its content is analyzed in the context of the historiography and educational practices of the mid-eighteenth century, both in Russia and in Western Europe. Particular attention is paid to the book’s author, his methodological recommendations, the order of presentation of world history events, the presentation of the history of the Slavs, and the book’s target audience. Despite a number of its innovations, Dilthey’s textbook did not become a landmark event either in Russian historiography or in the history of Russian education. However, a study of its content and the circumstances under which it was written and published helps to obtain a vivid example of disseminating historical knowledge in Russia in the third quarter of the XVIII century.