History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late

Average customer rating:

If this is the answer, we are doomed.
If there is a more important and powerful book out there, I haven't found it.
Everyone should READ THIS
A wake up call
Good read.

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late
Thom Hartmann
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400051576
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Book Description

While everything appears to be collapsing around us -- ecodamage, genetic engineering, virulent diseases, the end of cheap oil, water shortages, global famine, wars -- we can still do something about it and create a world that will work for us and for our children’s children. The inspiration for Leonardo DiCaprio’s web movie Global Warning, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight details what is happening to our planet, the reasons for our culture’s blind behavior, and how we can fix the problem. Thom Hartmann’s comprehensive book, originally published in 1998, has become one of the fundamental handbooks of the environmental activist movement. Now, with fresh, updated material and a focus on political activism and its effect on corporate behavior, The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight helps us understand--and heal--our relationship to the world, to each other, and to our natural resources.

Customer Reviews:

If this is the answer, we are doomed. .......2007-09-23

As a biology teacher, I bought this book because I thought it would be a scholarly analysis of the current environmental crisis. Instead, it is largely a diatribe against all the "evils" of Western civilization, followed by plenty of New Age mumbo.

Here are a few gems of the author's "analysis":

--All human civilizations throughout history can be divided into just two groups: Old Cultures and Young Cultures. Old Cultures universally loved each other, lived in peace, respected the earth, helped old ladies cross the street and lived sustainably. Young Cultures (Europe, USA) rape and pillage, are resource-extracting, and practice despicable acts like ownership of property and buying and selling things in an economy, rather than communally sharing all the resources.

--To get back to Old Culture, you should leave your job, home and 401k and join with small bands of like-minded individuals to buy enough rural land to build basic shelters, grow crops, and grab your own solar energy. This will re-create the small, sustainable, "tribes" of the past.

--The author proposes walking outside with the book and attempting to talk to plants and animals, waiting until they talk back. At one point, he caresses a tree and apologizes to it.

--Just by thinking good thoughts you can effect planetary change. Since the entire planet is interconnected by a "morphic energy field" any good thoughts dumped into it will improve the whole "cosmic soup."

--If you get to the end of the book, the afterword tells you that you are an exceptional person (literally, a "Chosen One") and that you should run out and buy 10 more copies of the author's other books to distribute to friends.

If this is the "strategy" of the new environmental movement, we are doomed. The author is clearly passionate about the issue and is attempting to drive deep cultural change to solve the problem, but his prescriptions are hopelessly utopian. I don't see how aboriginal mysticism is going to scrub the carbon dioxide out of our air or invent a better fuel cell.

Instead of buying 10 copies of this book, try Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs and Steel" or "Collapse."

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

If there is a more important and powerful book out there, I haven't found it........2007-09-02

Better than anyone I've ever read or heard, Hartmann explains the cultural and environmental crises we have wrought, how we got there, and what we can do to overcome them. It is full of factual evidence and well-thought-out insights.
Hartmann is a brilliant and prolific writer as well as an Air America radio host. If everyone would read it, there would be a lot more hope for our future.

Everyone should READ THIS.......2007-08-01

A brilliant book, very well researched and taking us thru the times in a very easy to read style. It is not fiction but feels like a good thriller at times with a cannot put down flavour to it. It is educational and informative and moves thru the subjects systematically with a deep spiritual element towards the end and finalising with an action plan and on a positive note that all is not lost. I initially borrowed this from my library but decided I want to add this to my collection of books - it is so good ! Happy reading and please share what you have read with others so that there is a world movement to improve our environment for this earth belongs not only to humans but to all other living creatures and plants as well.

A wake up call.......2007-07-23

This is a great book that addresses a number of critical issues, and it provides a good springboard to look at our future and how we must change to survive. Disappointing to some is that he doesn't reach any conclusions, however the purpose of the book is not to be "A idiots guide to survival" rather to force the reader to draw his own conclusions.

I feel that he either missed some research or simply left it out. Two cases in point are tribalism and democracy. What he said about ancient tribes is mostly correct, however there are strong indications that some ancient tribes that pre-dated modern civilization were exceedingly warlike and did kill their neighbors, just because they were not of the same tribe. I admit that they were the exception, but they did exist and perhaps they are the root of the modern civilization of dominance.

The other issue that could have been explored is the difference in democracies between republics and confederations. Republics always consolidate power and historically have failed as he points out. However he doesn't take a look at confederations which by his definitions are more tribal in outlook. I lived in Switzerland for many years and they are the oldest surviving democracy in the world at more than 700 years. The government was influenced by the Allemanes (sic) a German tribe that had a very grass roots form of democracy. I have lived all over the world in many different countries and the only place I have lived that had a genuine democracy that represented the individual was Switzerland. Interesting to note is that they are also the "greenest" country that I have ever lived in, recycling and environmental consciousness is a part of the culture with few exceptions.

Good read........2007-07-14

I found Thom's book a very interesting read. His science was a bit basic but he is trying to get through to the average couch potato who is more interested in American Idol than what is really happening to the world around them. Thom's out look on the world is a bit melancholy but he has good reason to be. For the average person who feeds their mind with junk T.V and their body with junk food then they might learn something by having a read of Thom's books. Although I don't agree with everything Thom is saying I think his heart is in the right place and he really wants to see a better world for all of us. This is a good read and a good wake up call!!

Average customer rating:

How Rome lost its Republic
Lengthy reading on Rome
Lacks method.
'THERE IS ALWAYS AN OLIGARCHY SOMEWHERE'
Syme's Controversial Masterwork

The Roman Revolution
Ronald Syme
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192803204

Book Description

The Roman Revolution is a profound and unconventional treatment of a great theme - the fall of the Republic and the decline of freedom in Rome between 60 BC and AD 14, and the rise to power of the greatest of the Roman Emperors, Augustus. The transformation of state and society, the violent transference of power and property, and the establishment of Augustus' rule are presented in an unconventional narrative, which quotes from ancient evidence, refers seldomly to modern authorities, and states controversial opinions quite openly. The result is a book which is both fresh and compelling.

Customer Reviews:

How Rome lost its Republic.......2007-10-10

This was required reading for a graduate course in Roman history.

Ronald Syme's book The Roman Revolution was originally printed in 1939. My report is on the book's fourth printing of 1960, which incorporated minor revisions. Syme was an Oxford professor of ancient history for most of his adult life. He is primarily remembered for this book, which was hailed as a groundbreaking analysis of Roman political life after the assassination of Julius Caesar. Syme also wrote an excellent analysis of the works of the Roman historians Tacitus and Sallust. When this book was published, many historians detected that current events of the time; such as, the rise of Fascism in Europe, had an enormous influence on Syme's book. Specifically, he ominously observed the cult hero worship of Mussolini and Hitler in Italy and Germany where he had traveled on numerous occasions in the 1930's. The excuse Caesar Augustus used to seize power was that the political structure of the Republic and the Senate became inadequate to rule Rome; thus, he was only doing what was necessary to restore public order. Syme found that the Dictators in Italy and Germany were eerily repeating this excuse some two thousand years later. In the introduction to his book, Syme stated that the new government which Caesar Augustus instituted "was the work of fraud and bloodshed, based upon the seizure of power and redistribution of property by a revolutionary leader."

The book covers the political and social structure of the Roman state between 60 BCE and 14 CE; essentially the domination of Pompeius Magnus through the Principate of Augustus. Syme correctly theorized that leading up to this turbulent period of Roman history the government was really an oligarchy, which was conveniently masked behind the façade of a republic. Syme wrote in his chapter on "The Roman Oligarchy:"

"The political life of the Roman Republic was stamped and swayed,not by parties and programmes of a modern and parliamentary character, not by the ostensible opposition between Senate and People, Optimates and Populares, nobiles and novi homines, but by the strife for power, wealth, and glory. The contestants were the nobiles among themselves, as individuals or in groups, open in the elections and courts of law, or marked by secret intrigue. As in the beginning, so in its last generation, the Roman Commonwealth,`res publica populi Romani', was a name; a feudal order of society still in a city-state and governed an empire."

Noble families determined the history of the Republic. Thus, Syme wrote that the true history of Rome could not be understood without knowledge of the noble families and clans, who provided the men that comprised the oligarchy. Men from the noble families comprised the different competing political factions in Rome. The machinations of Rome's political factions, coupled with the inefficiency of the oligarchy to rule a large empire and the rise of a professional army, all contributed to the fall of the Republic. Through Syme's investigation of the oligarchy he revealed the shifting alliances among the noble elites, and the rise and fall of various noble houses, which culminated with the great change that took place during the revolution and afterwards with the Prinicpate of Augustus.

In an orderly fashion, Syme used thirty-three short and succinct chapters to present the progression of events leading up and through the Principate of Augustus. Syme's description of Julius Caesar's victory over Pompey the Great and his allies, as well as the intrigue leading up to The Ides of March, are most illuminating. Syme wrote that "Caesar's Dictatorship meant the curbing of the oligarchy, promotion for merit." Thus, Syme believed that the assassination of Caesar by Brutus and Cassius was not the work of patriots defending Rome's republican form of government, but was the work of men protecting the vested interests of the ruling elites. Syme's assessment of Caesar's dictatorship and the actions of the assassins certainly provides food for thought. "The tragedies of history do not arise from the conflict of conventional right and wrong. They are more august and complex. Caesar and Brutus each had right on his side." Syme followed The Ides of March with an excellent analysis of the Caesarian party, the rise to power of Caesar's heir Octavianus known later as Augustus, and the political machinations of both Octavianus and Antonius, commonly known as Mark Anthony during their Triumverate with Lepidus. The Triumvirate not only began a political revolution, but a social revolution with their proscription on their political enemies of between 100 to 300 senators and thousands of knights. The Triumvirate's revenge through proscription culminated in a vast redistribution of wealth through the confiscation of property and a harsh imposition of taxes.

Syme showed an unusual bias in favor of Mark Anthony. He described him as a great soldier and chivalrous, but politically outwitted and trapped. Syme believed his character was maliciously maligned in life and after death. What I found most surprising and the assessment I disagreed with, was Syme's description of Mark Anthony's relationship with Cleopatra. Syme called Mark Anthony's marriage to Cleopatra a mere "ritual marriage" even though she gave birth to his twin children. Syme's claimed that, "there is no sign of infatuation here," and that their marriage "left no political consequences" and that "Mark Anthony was compelled to stand by Cleopatra to the end by honour and by principle as well as by the necessities of war." I found this claim to be naïve of human affairs. When one considers Mark Anthony's actions in Egypt which led up to the battle of Actium, he was either in love with Cleopatra or she truly was a "siren" as Roman propaganda described her; which meant he was duped by her. In either case, the Roman Empire could not suffer having one of its leaders under the spell of a foreign queen.

An important aspect of Syme's book is his description of Augustus. Unlike earlier nineteenth century historians of Roman history such as Theodor Mommsen, who portrayed Augustus as a visionary and paternal ruler, Syme's description was harsher and frankly realistic when he wrote, "his sense for realities was unerring, his ambition implacable he was resolute. He had a cause to champion, the avenging of Caesar and was ready to exploit every advantage." The chapters that follow Syme's narrative of Rome's transition from the Dux of Octavianus and Antonius to Princeps of Caesar Augustus are replete with facts about the composition and inner workings of the party of Augustus. Syme's delved into the machinery of the new government, including Augutus' use of patronage as well as his many thwarted attempts at planning for his own succession. What Syme's found was a man that grew very adept politically; from the boy of eighteen when he was named as the heir to Julius Caesar in his will, into the greatest of the Roman princeps, spanning fifty-six years until his death. Augustus became the "leader of a large and well organized political party as the source and fount of patronage and advancement." Augustus knew that to retain power he had to maintain the general consent of the governed, which he did, not by following the constitution or past precedent, but by using the tremendous resources at his disposal. Augustus kept the plebeians in check; making sure they were fed, kept them amused with games, and constantly reminded them that he was protecting them from the oppression of the nobiles. Augustus controlled all of the armies of the Roman Empire by providing their retirement severance pay out of his own pocket. In addition, as his legionaries conquered new territory, he gave them large tracts of land when they retired; thus, founding several new towns in Italy and the provinces. His patronage to the army insured that he controlled a network of armed and devoted garrisons throughout the Empire. Augustus could do all this because he had become the richest man in the Empire. He ruled Egypt, which was the breadbasket of the Empire, and as its king he did not have to give account to any person or governing body. Thus, Syme's described Augustus as "A citizen and magistrate to the senators, he was imperator to the legions, a king and god to the subject populations." In essence, Augustus dealt the mortal blow to the Republic and set himself up to be the savior of Rome and the founder of the Pax Augusta, which "saved and regenerated the Roman People."

In conclusion, I highly recommend Syme's book to any serious student of Roman history. I found that his theories for the fall of the Roman Republic were a correct interpretation of the history. Although I found The Roman Revolution to be a very well written book, I do have a few complaints. Most of the footnotes referring to ancient historians' commentaries were printed in Latin and Greek. For those who are not proficient in both of those languages, it detracts from the added information or historical points that Syme's wanted to make. In addition, the index was confusing at times to use since its scope was prosopographical in nature.

Lengthy reading on Rome.......2007-02-21

I would have titled this book differently because a revolution is rather abrupt and his discrpition is rather long. The writing is very detailed and he is one of the leading voices for Roman history. I would only read this book if you are interested in becoming better educated on the demise of the senate, not for pleasure reading.

Lacks method........2006-02-10

I will not develop a critique of Sir. Syme's views (that Late Republican Roman politics was centered on intra-families aristocratic feuding and steered away from substantive issues) which has no appeal to me, but I think he has developed his point in the most throughly and consciencious manner - excessively so, I think. Classical scholars are a very conservative tribe, and tend to disregard questions of historical method, favoring instead a simple description of avaliable facts piled atop each other. That what makes this book one of the most dry historical works I've read so far. If you want to argue the point that Republican dynasts made politics on the basis of family alliances and that the Empire put an end to that,well and good; but it's not necessary to develop this point by describing tens of stemmas and tracking down who was the last consulate held by each aristocratic family - even the most unimportant ones! This book could be fascinating, but instead finishes by producing sheer boredom.

'THERE IS ALWAYS AN OLIGARCHY SOMEWHERE'.......2005-05-10

This great work of scholarly history was first published in June 1939. In his brief foreword Sir Ronald Syme speaks cryptically about its publication being a matter of some urgency. From that we have to infer that he saw it as having contemporary relevance. From a slow and careful reading I would add that we ought to be very careful and circumspect in how we draw parallels and apply lessons. I don't dispute for a moment that a thorough and precise examination of what was done over the turbulent transition from the later Roman republic to the principate gives deep insight into human motivations and political processes. However if one particular lesson comes over loud and clear to me it is how terminology can be distorted for political ends, deliberate or even unperceived. Those prone to assert that `reading history' will in some inevitable way support some cherished preconception of their own will, if intelligent and attentive, gain a salutary insight into what history really consists of, and with that a perception of the pitfalls of dealing in glib generalisations and citing as convenient parallels things that are no parallels at all.

The first job of the historian is to clarify what really, or probably, happened and to interpret accurately or at least rationally what the sources for the period tell us. This is rarely a matter of simple fact in the sense that multiplication tables are simple fact. Syme's reasoning is bold and forthright, and while he has no claim to be taken as gospel he never seems to me perverse or unreasonable. I personally doubt that Antony was the straightforward and honest type portrayed by Syme - Syme himself can't get away from the part Antony played in the proscriptions. On the other hand he has every reason to ridicule Octavian's propaganda concerning the nonexistent threat posed to Rome from Antony's Egyptian queen and Octavian's official party line that elevated the naval skirmish at Actium into some mighty turning-point of history.

The story I read from Syme is as follows. The Roman republic was always part-sham. Its official mode of governance was by the senate and people, with the consuls as chief officers of government chosen at stated intervals by the people. Real power was exercised by shifting coalitions of nobles together with the unseen influence of the moneyed equestrian class. The values that weighed with both nobles and plebs were tradition and `authority', there being no written constitution. There was certainly some flexibility, but it was rare for the plebs to choose as consuls anyone lacking aristocratic status. There was no concept of progress whatsoever, and democracy on the Athenian model was despised. `Liberty' was largely theoretical, except in the sense that free speech was untrammelled to a degree we would never tolerate now. There was no pressure from any class for reform let alone revolution, but the knights and bankers were provoked at the peril of any who did so (as Catiline found to his cost), and the plebs were prone to periodic revolt, offering a power base successively to Marius and to Caesar. Blatant inversion of the meaning of the laws was the stock-in-trade of anyone with a mission, invoking some higher interpretation as suited. Indeed what Cicero tried to do in opposition to Antony was much what he boasted of having repressed as consul in relation to Catiline. Gradually a single figure came to be dominant in the power-struggles. Sulla brutally put down the adherents of Marius in the name of restoring the right-and-proper dominance of his fellow aristocrats. However when Sulla thought his work done he simply resigned. Not so Pompey or Caesar. They sought personal dominance in a way Sulla had not done. Pompey was a brute, Caesar to some extent genuinely liberal (although I see no reason to believe that any Roman republican leader had any opinion except contempt for the plebs). However on attaining power Caesar went back basically to the status quo ante, but took the unprecedented step of accepting dictatorship for life and appointing a successor, something not even Sulla had contemplated.

From there on fate favoured Octavian. His luck was phenomenal, his ruthlessness total, his skill in balancing interests and oligarchies unprecedented, and his mendacity instinctive and brilliant. He was the butcher of Perusia and the co-tyrant of the proscriptions, and he never really changed. He was by no means all-powerful, but he eviscerated the old aristocratic oligarchies and established his own. Unrest had suited him during his rise, stability after he reached the top. He had a genuine Roman respect for tradition, but he had a populist sense that the plebs would be kept on-side with a better water-supply. He knew a good idea when he saw it, and he first supported Egnatius Rufus and his private-enterprise fire-brigade until he realised Egnatius was a danger, at which point he executed Egnatius and nationalised the fire-brigade. He removed occasions of unrest by paying off retired soldiers with money rather than letting them loose to seize land in Italy, and he paid provincial governors a salary to reduce problems to himself from their practice of extortion. Throughout, he adopted the old names and titles while systematically inverting what was done in their name.

Syme has had to interpret the sources, and I have had to interpret Syme. That's history for you. It is a matter of using our brains, and it won't just prove what we prefer it to prove. In the last resort this history gives no comfort whatsoever to my own enthusiasm for democracy. In the first place Romans disliked that idea, and in the second they traded their once-cherished `libertas' (such as it ever was) for stability, such as it turned out to be. Augustus established a monarchy, leaving a successor of last choice who, as a Roman noble (unlike Augustus), wanted supremacy but hated the form of supremacy he inherited. It all lasted for 400 or 500 effective years. The thousand-year Reich of 1939 lasted all of 12, the British Empire roughly 150, the Soviet empire some 40 or 70 depending on when we start counting, and the New American Century looks dead in the water already. It was the creation of one city and of one man, through oligarchies of course. Go figure.

Syme's Controversial Masterwork.......2002-05-16

This is without doubt Syme's masterwork. The praise has been lavish. A.J.P. Taylor said it was a "work of brilliant scholarship which can be enjoyed by the expert and the layman alike". Sir Maurice Bowra said "his work is extraordinarily persuasive and interesting, it is the best book on Roman History that has appeared for many years." The Classical Review wrote that is the "one of the most important books on Roman history since Mommsen.

Need more reasons to read it? Well, I'll try. I'll start by saying that this is one of the top 25 books I have read - though I by no means agree with everything Syme believes.

What Ronald Syme has done is to lay bare the workings of the late Republic and early Empire. To do this required an effort of scholarship and synthesis on a gargantuan scale. And yet Syme manages to render the story in a lucid, straightforward, compelling manner. His arguments are often ineluctable. You find yourself drawn along, at times unwillingly, to conclusions you thought far-fetched.

The period under scrutiny is 60 BC to AD 14. Thus he covers the last generation of the Republic and the first two or three of the Empire. In a nutshell his hypothesis is that the Republic simply was not equipped to manage what had become an empire. He believes that Rome was inevitably drawn to the rule of one.

He writes of Caesar: "The rule of the nobiles, he [Caesar] could see, was an anachronism in a world-empire; and so was the power of the Roam plebs when all Italy enjoyed the franchise. Caesar in truth was more conservative and Roman that many have fancied; no Roman conceived of government save through an oligarchy."

Augustus, however, was a different matter. And it was Augustus, believes Syme, who wrought the revolution that forever changed the Roman way of life. To suggest, as has some have done, that there was no true revolution, almost defies sense and logic. And Syme ably makes the case.

But aspects of the Syme's theory remain controversial. He writes: "The nobiles by their ambition and their feuds, had not merely destroyed their spurious republic: they had ruined the Roman People. There is something more important than political liberty; and political rights are a means, not an end in themselves. That end is security of life and property: it could not be guaranteed by the constitution of Republican Rome. Worn and broken by civil war and disorder, The Roman people was ready to surrender the ruinous privilege of freedom and submit to strict government as the beginning of time....So order came to Rome. "Acriora ex eo vincula", as Tacitus observes."

Wow. This is breath taking and highly controversial. He might as well have been writing about pre-Nazi Germany (and note that Syme wrote "The Roman Revolution" in 1939). And, frankly, I must tell you I do not agree with his condemnation of the nobiles. Nor do others.

Book Description

What terrible secret was buried in Shi Huangdi's tomb? Did nomads like lizard stew? What happened to Anansi the Spider in the Village of the Plantains? And how did a six-year-old become the last emperor of Rome?

Told in a straightforward, engaging style that has become Susan Wise Bauer's trademark, The Story of the World covers the sweep of human history from ancient times until the present. Africa, China, Europe, the Americas- find out what happened all around the world in long-ago times. This first volume begins with the earliest nomads and ends with the last Roman emperor.

This read-aloud series is designed for parents to share with elementary-school children. Enjoy it together and introduce your child to the marvelous story of the world's civilizations.

Customer Reviews:

Not for younger children.......2007-09-27

Now, keep in mind that I have not read the book and have no idea how good it is for older children. This is specifically for younger children. I bought this book to read aloud to my 5 year old thinking it would be a fun way to introduce her to ancient cultures in our homeschool. Boy, was I surprised when it arrived and it was just a normal sized paperback with no pictures! It is not something that any but the most cerebral 5 year old would sit through. So it will sit on my shelf collecting dust until she is ready for it. Also, considering that it is just a paperback with no pictures it is really not worth the price even for older kids. Maybe grab it from your local library, but don't buy it.

One of the best children's narratives on the market.......2007-08-17

In my mind, S. Wise Bauer has attempted and succeeded: She has made history fun again. The children reading (or listening to) the books will not be writing a dissertation based upon what she has written-- but they will be inclined to pick up another history book, and another... Her writing will get them thinking and talking about history beyond dates.

That's why I like this series. I believe some of the negative reviewers have lost site of the purpose: To engage readers on an elementary level. If readers are following the classical model, they will see more detailed information about the events again (probably twice). This first go round just provides a point of reference for later study.

Examining historical events does not begin and end with one book or source. A true historian will pull together many resources in order to form a composite.

In defense of Bauer's writing, I think that some reviewers are expecting a grammar stage history "holy grail" of some sort. I have yet to find one. Every history book has it's pros and cons. In my mind, this one has more pros than cons.

Bauer does not claim to be the final resource or authority for grammar stage world history. As a matter of fact, she provides extensive lists of additional resources in her other books, like the Well Trained Mind and in the companion workbook. This is the main reason I give this book 4 stars. I wish I could give 4.5. Perhaps an abbreviated version of the resource lists should be included in each volume as an appendix if it is going to stand alone.

Overall, I think it's great for what it aims to do: spark discussion and develop life long learners.

Liked the format and presentation - not the facts.......2007-06-27

I was looking for a history book as I homeschool my daughter. I was very happy with the workbook format and projects as well as history presented in chronological order. As I am not a history scholar, I was enjoying learning the history along with my daughter up until I was reading her chapter on Christianity. Being a Christian who has studied much of the bible, I am familiar with a good amount of these facts. Some of the facts she presents are so wrong that now I question many of the facts she presents from other cultures. If you are looking for an easy read and presentation of different cultures this book is good. I will continue thru the series as I do like certain things about it, however, I am now aware of its weakness and will use other books to supplement the fact presented so the information will be more accurate.

It's OK, but I'm wishing for more.......2007-03-22

My expectations for this book were too high, based on some reviews, although I was worried about comments about inaccuracies. I found it disappointing.

I think what I react against is that this book is just one of many which seem to say the only ancient history that's at all important is what happened in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean. There is a chapter on India and a chapter on China, but they are hat-tipping kinds of chapters that don't give the awesome breadth of those amazing cultures. And I was super disappointed with the chapter on the Americas. Mexico, according to this book's geography, is part of Central America. North Americans are all termed nomads, as if they were wandering around aimlessly instead of in the amazing variety of communities that they really lived in - some villages, some awesome cities, and others who didn't settle in permanent villages still had definite territories they exploited.

There is actually more material given on characters of the Bible, which are not labelled as from the Bible but treated as actual historical characters, than there is on the ancient Americas, or ancient China for that matter.

This really doesn't seem to be the story of the world, but the story of western civilization, with a smattering of other cultures thrown in as an afterthought.

Excellent Book.......2007-03-15

This is a great book for kids and I also loved it! The activity book is excellent too.

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A Definitive Tome

Roman Empire
Nigel Rodgers
Manufacturer: Lorenz Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0754816028

Book Description

A complete history of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, chronicling the story of the most influential civilization the world has ever known.

Customer Reviews:

A Definitive Tome.......2006-09-30

First of all, be warned that this IS a very good book, make NO mistake about it. Actually, it's a compilation (with additional material) of the first 2 smaller volumes by the same author.
Yet, it is SO much more.

I would have to classify this right up there alongside Gibbons Rise & Fall of the Roman Empire...only this book includes beautiful illustrations and artwork from the history of one of the greatest periods of mankind.

There are way too many pluses to go into detail about here, but if you take a few minutes to thumb through this book when you see it, you will most certainly want to add this to your library.

My wife teaches Latin, and finds this an invaluable source for teaching, discussion, and the culture that was Rome.

This is a POWERFUL work, and as we all know:
"Scientia est potentia"
(knowledge is power)

The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 3, Part 1: The Prehistory of the Balkans, the Middle East and the Aegean World, Tenth to Eighth Centuries BC

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The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 3, Part 1: The Prehistory of the Balkans, the Middle East and the Aegean World, Tenth to Eighth Centuries BC

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0521224969

Book Description

Volume III of The Cambridge Ancient History was first published in 1925 in one volume. The new edition has expanded to such an extent, owing to the immense amount of new information now available, that it has had to be divided into three parts. Volume III Part 1 opens with a survey of the Balkans north of Greece in the Prehistoric period. This is the first time such a survey has been published of this area which besides its intrinsic interest is important for its influence on the cultures of the Aegean and Anatolia. The rest of the book is devoted to the tenth to the eigth centuries B. C. In Greece and the Aegean the main theme is the gradual regeneration from the Dark Age and the emergence of a society in which can be seen the beginnings of the city-state. During the same period in Western Asia and the Middle East the Kingdoms of Assyria and Babylonia rise to power, the Urartians appear, and in Palestine the kingdoms of Israel and Judah flourish. In Egypt the countryâ€™s fortunes revive briefly under Shoshenq I. The final chapter in this part deals with the languages of Greece and the Balkans and with the invention and spread of alphabetic writing.

A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture

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As Far as Greek Texts go this one is greart!

A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture
Sarah B. Pomeroy , Stanley M. Burstein , Walter Donlan , and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195156811

Book Description

The story of the ancient Greeks is one of the most improbable success stories in world history. A small people inhabiting a country poor in resources and divided into hundreds of quarreling states created one of the most remarkable civilizations. Comprehensive and balanced, A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society, and Culture is a new and shorter version of the authors' highly successful Ancient Greece: A Political, Social, and Cultural History (OUP, 1998). Four leading authorities on the classical world offer a lively and up-to-date account of Greek civilization and history in all its complexity and variety, covering the entire period from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Era, and integrating the most recent research in archaeology, comparative anthropology, and social history. They show how the early Greeks borrowed from their neighbors but eventually developed a distinctive culture all their own, one that was marked by astonishing creativity, versatility, and resilience. The authors go on to trace the complex and surprising evolution of Greek civilization to its eventual dissolution as it merged with a variety of other cultures. Using physical evidence from archaeology, the written testimony of literary texts and inscriptions, and anthropological models based on comparative studies, this compact volume provides an account of the Greek world that is thoughtful and sophisticated yet accessible to students and general readers with little or no knowledge of Greece. Ideal for courses in Greek Civilization and Ancient Greece, A Brief History of Ancient Greece offers: BL A more streamlined treatment of political and military history than Ancient Greece BL Emphasis on social and domestic life, art and architecture, literature, and philosophy BL Expanded coverage of women and family life, religion, and athletics BL A new section on male homosexuality in ancient Greece BL A revised art program featuring more than 100 illustrations and 17 original maps BL Numerous "document boxes" that include primary source material

Customer Reviews:

As Far as Greek Texts go this one is greart!.......2005-09-12

Ok I love this text. I used this and its sister text on Romans for my ancient history classes. I find that the only down fall of this particular text is that Pomeroy tends to push her agenda in the beginning. However as far as texts on Greek History go, this is the best.

New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies

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Sensational Premise; Unresolved
your journey to paranoia starts here
Fascinating, Frightening, and Factual !!
Interesting Book
Worst Scholarship Possible!

New World Order: The Ancient Plan of Secret Societies
William T. Still
Manufacturer: Huntington House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0910311641

Customer Reviews:

Sensational Premise; Unresolved.......2005-09-03

William Still starts his interesting work with the sensational premise that, during the latter days of the Nixon administration, there was a move afoot to carry off a military coup d'etat of the government of the United States. He follows this startling premise with a really worthwhile, though not comprehensive, rendition of conspiratorial history. This part of well written, but is missing much that is extremely relevant to the overall issue. Still then concludes, returning the original sensational premise, and relating, inexplicably, that it may or may not have been true. Despite this serious flaw, the book is generally well written and useful.

your journey to paranoia starts here.......2004-12-21

This book is wickedly entertaining, and seems to make a lot of sense, although, giving a few months of time to think about the material made me realize that it was little more than good entertainment. Conspiracy theories are good fun and can make you snap out of boredom and skirt the boundary of paranoia, which is a testament to how dull our lives can be. This book may have you looking at everyone you see in a funny way for a while, but in the end it should be viewed as mere entertainment. Some of this junk may be true, and there are abundant cross references to the material, but this guy's whole mission of sending an alarm seems to be just a vice for his own self-aggrandizement. Good fun, but there is better material on this subject out there.

Fascinating, Frightening, and Factual !!.......2004-11-27

Still's New World Order: The ancient plan of secret societies will make a great reading for the curious and brave mind that's willing to explore and learn the facts about the evolution of the elitist societies. Many of these secret societies have gone through a major metamorphosis that has led them to become legitimate entities and organizations. These organizations have been ruling every aspect of our lives for many years. Just like in organized crime, these powerful families even tend to intermarry among each other to strengthen the bond of power and wealth among themselves. They are the invisible rulers of the world that make the policies which in return bring them more money and power. You will learn in this book how it all started and why it will never end. This is not a book about evil, or about a doomsday scenario, but it is a book about man's desperate quest, obsession, and addiction to power, control, and aspiration to become god. The one world order (globalization is another benign name for it) has already happened and no one can stop it. The elites have facilitated the wedding of the global corporations to the political world, thereby creating a conquering hybrid machine which has tremendously succeeded in subjugating every corner of the globe economically and militarily if needed. This book will provide the reader with enlightening concepts that might be so shocking to believe. Still's research is disturbing and unsettling but very well documented and mostly accurate.

Interesting Book.......2004-10-14

The author of this book has a definite perspective regarding religion and while I don't agree with his view 100%, I still found his writing to be very interesting and enjoyable. I learned things I definately didn't know prior to reading this book. It opened my eyes on a number of world issues and specific US occurences. This is a book worth reading. Great overview of the subject (NWO, CFR, TC, Bilderbergers, etc.).

Worst Scholarship Possible!.......2004-08-23

The author writes this book from a fundamentalist biblical perspective, which makes it like trying to argue the bible with someone who continuously quotes it out of context. The antique references show the author's bias. On reading the second chapter descriptions of "secret societies" a person who knows Egyptian history and religion cannot help but feel a twinge of pain at the outright falsity of almost everything he writes there. The same goes for the brief blurb on Gnosticism as well as most of the rest of it. Find a book that has a more balanced view of history and religious ideas and skip this one. If you consider your time of any value at all then reading this book definitely wastes it.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe

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War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe
Victoria Tin-bor Hui
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521525764

Book Description

There is a common belief that the system of sovereign territorial states and the roots of liberal democracy are unique to European civilization and alien to non-Western cultures. The view has generated popular cynicism about democracy promotion in general and China's prospect for democratization in particular. This book demonstrates that China in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (656-221 BC) consisted of a system of sovereign territorial states similar to Europe in the early modern period. It examines why China and Europe shared similar processes but experienced opposite outcomes.

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