College students wearing traditional Punjabi attires celebrate the “Teej” festival in Amritsar on August 4, 2023. (Photo by Narinder Nanu/AFP Photo)

A person stands on a car while looking at Auroras, caused by a coronal mass ejection on the Sun, that illuminate the skies in the southwestern Siberian Omsk region, Russia on November 6, 2023. (Photo by Alexey Malgavko/Reuters)

New exhibition of sustainable fashion explores the role of tartan in Scottish traditional dance, opening on April 23, 2024 as part of the Pomegranates festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Vengefully Changed Allegiance is asolo exhibition by fashion designer Alison Harm, founder of Edinburgh Psychomoda clothing brand, who uses industry scraps, vintage clot and broken jewellery. (Photo by Sally Anderson/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.

Stadium security stop a pitch invader during the UEFA EURO 2020 Group B football match between Finland and Belgium at Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 21, 2021. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via AFP Photo)

A woman performs a dance during a demonstration for climate justice and against the war in Rome, Friday, March 25, 2022. Climate activists have staged a 10th series of worldwide protests to demand that leaders take stronger action against global warming. (Photo by Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP Photo)

Wildlife officials carry away the carcass of a turtle that was washed ashore at the beach of Angulana, south of Sri Lanka's capital Colombo on June 24, 2021. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)

A woman passes Members of historical clubs dressed in the uniform of French soldiers during ceremony of repatriation of the remains of French General Charles-Etienne Gudin de la Sablonniere, participant in the French Revolutionary wars and Napoleonic wars, to France in Moscow airport Vnukovo-3, Russia, 13 July 2021. (Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA/EFE)