A 196 BCE temple decree in Egypt, later called the Rosetta Stone, was issued by priests and honors Ptolemy V in three scripts. Whose interests does it most directly serve?

A clay cylinder placed in Babylon after Cyrus conquered the city in 539 BCE presents his rule as approved by Marduk. Knowing who ordered it, how should it be read?

A 1793 edict by the Qianlong emperor answered Lord Macartney’s request for wider British trade and a permanent mission at Beijing. Whose interests does it serve?

A 1793 British royal letter carried by Macartney asked China for better Canton conditions, new ports, and a British representative at court. Whose interests shaped it?

The Codex Quetzalecatzin, made in Mexico in 1593, maps genealogy and lands for the Nahuatl de Leon family under Spanish rule. Whose interests does it serve?

An 1816 House of Commons inquiry examined Lord Elgin’s acquisition of Parthenon sculptures before Parliament bought them for the British Museum. Whose interests did it most directly serve?

A Gutenberg Bible printed in Mainz in 1454-1455 was in Latin, costly, and often finished with hand illumination by buyers. Who was its likely audience?

Martin Luther’s 1517 Ninety-Five Theses were written in Latin for disputation at Wittenberg and then quickly printed in Germany. Who was the first intended audience?

Olympe de Gouges printed The Rights of Woman in Paris in 1791, dedicating it to Marie-Antoinette and modeling it on the 1789 rights declaration. Who was it made for?

Haiti’s Act of Independence was proclaimed at Gonaïves on January 1, 1804 by Dessalines and other army leaders after war with France. Who was it made for?

King John’s sealed Magna Carta of June 1215 followed a rebellion by barons and was sent to royal officials after Runnymede. What was it made to do?

Columbus’s 1493 letter to Luis de Santangel reported his first Atlantic voyage soon after Spanish backing made it possible. What was it made to do?

The French National Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen on August 26, 1789 while building a new constitution. What was it made to do?

A 1914 London poster by Alfred Leete showed Lord Kitchener pointing at viewers and was printed during Britain’s first months in World War I. What was it made to do?

Marx and Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto for the Communist League in 1847, and it was first published in February 1848. What was it made to do?

Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a soldier with Cortés, wrote True History of the Conquest of New Spain from the Spanish conquistador side. What will it least report fully?

Las Casas, a Dominican friar, published A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in 1552 to plead with the Spanish Crown for Indigenous protection. What will it least report fully?

A Nazi propaganda poster from about 1942 blamed Jews for Allied enemies while Germany was fighting World War II. What will that point of view leave out?

Domesday Book was compiled after William I ordered a land survey in 1085 to record holdings and values in England. What will it least report fully?

The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea was a first-century Greek merchant’s guide to Red Sea and Indian Ocean ports and goods. What will it least report fully?

A Domesday entry gives a manor’s value in 1086 in a royal survey meant to help William I raise taxes and organize control. Before using that figure, what should a historian do?

Ibn Battuta dictated the Rihla in Fez after nearly 30 years of travel, at the order of Morocco’s sultan. Before using one detailed claim about a distant court, what should a historian do?

A first-century Periplus reports which goods merchants could buy at an Indian Ocean port. Before treating that as the whole trade pattern, what should a historian do?

A Nazi newsreel shows the Nuremberg Laws being enacted in September 1935 and claims broad German approval. Before using that approval claim, what should a historian do?

The Treaty of Versailles, signed June 28, 1919, was written by victorious Allied and Associated powers after Germany’s defeat in World War I. How should it be read?