A woman walks in front of an art installation made of artificial fruits and vegetables during the “Moscow Autumn” festival in central Moscow, September 14, 2015. (Photo by Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters)

An empty beer bottle stands in front of the buildings of the banking district in Frankfurt, Germany, Friday, May 21, 2021. All people gathering on the square for drinks and food left when the police started checking if they are abiding by the coronavirus restrictions. (Photo by Michael Probst/AP Photo)

Puppet corgis created by Coventry based events production company Imagineer sit patiently on May 5, 2022 as the company prepares its contribution to The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Pageant next month. The corgis are part of the company's show “The Queen's Favourites”. (Photo by Peter Lopeman/Alamy Live News)

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.

Fatima Rezai, 21, a female officer from the Afghan National Army (ANA) practices with a punch bag during an exercise session at at the Kabul Military Training Centre (KMTC) in Kabul, Afghanistan October 23, 2016. (Photo by Mohammad Ismail/Reuters)

Devotees wear costumes made of banana leaves as they head to church to attend mass as part of a religious festival, in honor of St. John the Baptist, also known locally as the “mud people” festival, in Aliaga town, Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila, on June 24, 2017. Farmers coated in mud paraded in Philippine villages on June 24 to mark one of the Catholic nation's most colourful religious festivals. (Photo by Noel Celis/AFP Photo)

Participants take part in a high-heel race at a Gay Pride party in the central neighborhood of Chueca in Madrid on July 3, 2014. (Photo by Gerard Julien/AFP Photo)

A model wears a face mask to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, designed by Iraqi designer Ziad Tariq at his workshop in Basra, Iraq, Monday, July 20, 2020. (Photo by Nabil al-Jurani/AP Photo)