“Shortly after he arrived, Van Agtmael witnessed the aftermath of this suicide bombing at a cafe that soldiers frequented in Mosul. Nine people died and 23 were wounded”. (Photo and caption by Van Agtmael/Harrison Jacobs/Magnum Photos)

“Life in War” (FotoEvidence Press) by Iranian photographer Majid Saeedi is probably the only book about Afghanistan that doesn’t show images of war. For ten years his camera photographed daily life in the context of war. His photographs reveal the humanity of a people living through decades of war. Here: Afghan men escape increasing summer temperatures by wading in the Qarga reservoir on July 9, 2010 in a suburb of Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Cristine Angelie Garcia (C), 24, rides a jeepney on her way to work at a call centre for the midnight shift in Taguig city, Metro Manila, Philippines October 3, 2016. “Maybe there is another way where people do not need to die”, she said, adding she felt safer walking the streets at night. “I'm on Duterte's side. Maybe he's just misunderstood because he grew up on the streets”. (Photo by Ezra Acayan/Reuters)

A Free Syrian Army fighter walks past a flag of al-Furqan brigade as a rifle hangs from a branch in the orchards of Kafar Zita in Hama countryside January 22, 2015. (Photo by Mohamad Bayoush/Reuters)

A clothing shop displays its merchandise in the rebel-controlled city of Idlib, Syria November 7, 2015. (Photo by Ammar Abdullah/Reuters)

Star Wars fan Mike Deguzman practices with a toy lightsaber after purchasing some new toys that went on sale at midnight in advance of the film “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in Times Square in the Manhattan borough of New York, September 4, 2015. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

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.

An Afghan child practices walking with his new prosthesis at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), orthopedic center on September 10, 2011 in Kabul, Afghanistan. After more than 30 years of war and a decade since the 9/11 attacks in the United States, thousands of Afghans, both military and civilian, continue to pay a heavy price from the conflict. The ICRC center makes prosthetics for amputees and helps them, as well as Afghans with spinal injuries and children with congenital birth defects, to learn to walk. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)