Despite a long and varied history, classes on the subject are blinkered when taught in Lebanon, as the BBC's Natalia Antelava found out when she visited a school in the capital, Beirut.
Kristina and Ali sit side by side in their history class and together they learn about the Phoenicians and the Romans, the Greeks and the Ottomans.
But when it comes to Lebanon's more recent, turbulent past - their school teaches them nothing.
Modern history is not part of the curriculum in Lebanon, and just like thousands of other children Kristina and Ali, who are both 14, turn to their families for answers their history teacher cannot provide.
"When I want to know something, I ask my dad," Ali says.
Kristina, who comes from a different religious background, says she does the same.
Their history teacher does not like the arrangement, but in a country split along sectarian lines, she prefers to stick to it.
"Sometimes students ask about more recent events," she says, "but it's difficult to explain things to them without getting into sectarian divisions."
Thorny issue
In Lebanon children are not taught modern history because adults cannot agree on it.
Even the ancient history is a thorny issue here.
There are dozens of the government-approved history textbooks that offer different takes on the past.
While Christian schools tend to focus more heavily on the Phoenician past, which the Christian community here identifies with, the Muslim schools teach more about Lebanon under the Arabs.
But when it comes to contemporary times, in schools across Lebanon history simply comes to a halt.
"It's a real problem," says Ohaness Goktchian, professor of political science at the American University in Beirut.
"We are raising another generation of children who identify themselves with their communities and not their nation.
"History is what unites people, without history we can't have unity."
Back in the 1970s, that lack of national unity combined with the complex geopolitics of the Middle East to erupt in a lengthy civil war.
For 15 years blood was shed across Lebanon in the name of politics and religion.
The war forced millions out of the country, killed almost 200,000 people and left Beirut in ruins.
'One narrative'
Today, much of Beirut has been rebuilt and memories of the violence have faded.
But the legacy of the war - the bitterness and the deep divisions - continue to live on and opinions are as divided as they were in the 1970s.
Lebanese historian Antoine Messarra believes the war will haunt Lebanon until its people agree on one, unified, version of history.
"We are the people without collective memory," he says.
"But for the sake of the future, we need to create one narrative that all of us will be able to believe in."
While Christian schools tend to focus more heavily on the Phoenician past, which the Christian community here identifies with, the Muslim schools teach more about Lebanon under the Arabs.
But when it comes to contemporary times, in schools across Lebanon history simply comes to a halt.
"It's a real problem," says Ohaness Goktchian, professor of political science at the American University in Beirut.
"We are raising another generation of children who identify themselves with their communities and not their nation.
"History is what unites people, without history we can't have unity."
Back in the 1970s, that lack of national unity combined with the complex geopolitics of the Middle East to erupt in a lengthy civil war.
For 15 years blood was shed across Lebanon in the name of politics and religion.
The war forced millions out of the country, killed almost 200,000 people and left Beirut in ruins.
'One narrative'
Today, much of Beirut has been rebuilt and memories of the violence have faded.
But the legacy of the war - the bitterness and the deep divisions - continue to live on and opinions are as divided as they were in the 1970.
Lebanese historian Antoine Messarra believes the war will haunt Lebanon until its people agree on one, unified, version of history.
"We are the people without collective memory," he says.
"But for the sake of the future, we need to create one narrative that all of us will be able to believe in."
