History was what we consider Classics today: Herodotus, Homer, Thucydides, Livy, Plutarch. Up until well into the 20th century, the works of Plutarch were probably the most read history in the West. They're essentially mini-bios of famous leaders and generals of antiquity, with an emphasis on their moral character.

These bios were instructive to Western elites, who were encouraged to champion the values demonstrated by Plutarch's nobler subjects - courage, loyalty, civic-mindedness. If you were an educated man in the 19th and early 20th century, you were expected to be able to talk about Pericles, Alcibiades, Caesar, etc.