A girl sits on a pile of rubbish at landfill site on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen November 16, 2016. (Photo by Mohamed al-Sayaghi/Reuters)

A kid from Sichuan provice smokes at an assistance center February 23, 2005 in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. The kids, ranging in age from 7 to 16, are temporary residents of the center, one of the institutions established by China's departments of civil affairs to help and administer beggars, vagrants and juvenile delinquents, after rescission of China's compulsory detainment and relocation system. (Photo by Cancan Chu/Getty Images)

An initiate sprays out his fan as he enjoys the view from atop his father's shoulders during the ceremony in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, April 2016. (Photo by Claudio Sieber/Barcroft Images)

Masked men ride in a morning procession as part of the “Cavalhadas” festival in Pirenopolis, Brazil, Sunday, May 19, 2013. The popular festival is a tradition that was introduced in the 1800's by a Portuguese priest to mark the the ascension of Christ. The 3-day festival reenacts the Christian knights' medieval defeat of the Moors. (Photo by Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)

A visitor holds up her toy bunny to the aquarium glass in front of Aurora the Russian polar bear at the Sao Paulo Aquarium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, April 16, 2015. (Photo by Andre Penner/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.

Iraqi teenagers swim in waste water from the nearby Tuweitha nuclear facility near Baghdad, Iraq on May 28, 2003. Iraqis are consuming contaminated water unaware of the dangerous pollutants that can cause severe ill health. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

A street vendor warms his foot around a fire during cold weather in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan town in Idlib province, Syria, January 4, 2016. (Photo by Khalil Ashawi/Reuters)