Competitors gather backstage as they prepare to take part in the All Ireland Irish Dancing Championships on November 2, 2016 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The championships take place at the Waterfront Hall over the course of six days with winners qualifying for the World Irish Dancing Finals which will take place in Dublin next year. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

British fashion model Twiggy plays around on the bumper cars at the Bertram Mills Circus in London, England on January 10, 1967. (Photo by AP Photo)

A woman crosses a road outside the EU Parliament ahead of the EU elections in Brussels, Belgium, May 22, 2019. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

A cosplayer dressed as Batman wearing the Hellbat suit crosses the road during Day 1 of New York Comic Con at Javits Center on October 07, 2021 in New York City. Comic Con has returned this year after being cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

A girl, standing before her tea shop, which is completely ruined by sea water in Frazerganj, Sundarbans, India on August 18, 2020. After Cyclone Aila struck the Sundarbans in 2009, it became clear that frequent cyclonic events will turn the residents of Sundarbans into climate refugees. Within May 5, 2019 – May 25, 2021, Sundarbans faced cyclones- Fani, Bulbul, Amphan & Yaas – each devastating enough to justify the fear of mass displacement. (Photo by Supratim Bhattacharjee/Mangrove Photography Awards)

A woman and her child wade through flood waters in Feni on August 22, 2024. Floods triggered by torrential rains have swamped a swath of low-lying Bangladesh, disaster officials said on August 22, adding to the new government's challenges after weeks of political turmoil. (Photo by Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/AFP 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.

Winner – Animal Portraits: The pose by Mogens Trolle, Denmark. A young male proboscis monkey cocks his head slightly and closes his eyes. Unexpected pale blue eyelids now complement his immaculately groomed auburn hair. He poses for a few seconds as if in meditation. He is a wild visitor to the feeding station at Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary in Sabah, Borneo – “the most laid-back character”, says Trolle, “quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen on another monkey” – connects us, he hopes, with a fellow primate. (Photo by Mogens Trolle/Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2020)