A woman in a Cholita dress poses for photos, at the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia on March 26, 2022. (Photo by Claudia Morales/Reuters)

Iceland foals stand together at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, July 15, 2022. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

The moon rises on the behind the “Torchbearer” statue in Hannover, Germany, Wednesday, November 5, 2025. (Photo by Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP Photo)

Do you think that history is a science? Well, not exactly. First, and foremost, history is the state's “legend of wars”, it’s official regalia. Of course, public historians are not interested in scientific truth – quite the opposite. In this respect, any attempt to present a state’s history as altruistic and benevolent as possible is welcomed and encouraged – as opposed to any revisionism attempts that may be more accurate. In this matter, Chinese have surpassed us all – they revised in highly creative manner (but rather shamelessly) the technology already invented by Europeans, a process that resulted in oldest state on the planet. Here is an interesting paradox: ask any sinologist about the Middle Kingdom during second century B.C., and he will describe it to you in such a vivid manner as if he has been living there all his life – but as soon as you will ask him to describe Chinese history in the 19-20th centuries… let's say, his eagerness will be greatly diminished. However, we will discuss China in a different article, and in the meantime we will try to understand how exactly historic “legend of wars” is formed and functions – based on a specific and well-known example. A great example is Ferdinand Magellan's first voyage around the world.

Participants take part in the so-called “Bearded Men” parade in the streets of Slawatycze village, eastern Poland, 29 December 2023. “Bearded Men” is an old local tradition, passed from generation to generation. In last three days of December, costumed citizens of Slawatycze say goodbye to the old year and make wishes for the New Year. (Photo by Wojtek Jargilo/EPA/EFE)

This close-up image – of a Holi Festival celebrant in Vrindivan, India, coated in neon-colored powder – was submitted to National Geographic’s Your Shot in the last week of March. On April 1 we published it on our Daily News site, along with seven other bright scenes captured during the Hindu spring Festival of Colors. (Photo by Tinto Alencherry/National Geographic)

Kea are the only true alpine parrots in the world and thrive as cunning opportunists in the freezing conditions of the Southern Alps. Kea are thought to have developed their wide array of food-finding strategies during the last great ice age, where they learned to adapt using their unusual powers of curiosity. (Photo by Tom Walker/BBC Pictures/The Guardian)

A woman stands on the footbridge over the river Garry near Pitlochry, Scotland, Britain on October 10, 2018. (Photo by Russell Cheyne/Reuters)