Alternate historical chronology
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Revision as of 18:11, 22 May 2009
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| Popular pseudosciences |
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An alternate historical chronology is one that discards or rearranges part of the commonly accepted history of human civilizations and favors a different narrative. Alternate historical chronologies can be used to prop up ideological or political claims, to reap profits from book sales, or simply to attack an established branch of knowledge as non-inclusive. These chronologies frequently present themselves as self-sufficient systems that derive their authority from the creator's personal charisma. Dissenting views within the academic discipline should not be included within this category, provided that they are based upon logical arguments, established data, and are formed by individuals conversant in accepted historical knowledge.
Alternate histories, though false, can be particularly compelling because of their broad scope and their ability to pick and choose evidence used. While most "real" historians are aghast at this silliness, sometimes the proponents of these theories make inroads into popular media.
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"Theorists" and Their "Theories"
Please note that none of these "theorists" are trained historians. (They also tend to have rather silly names.)
Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko
Fomenko's "New Chronology" asserts that most of recorded history consists of "echoes", or events described many times over, with differences due to copying errors, translations, etc. [1] Fomenko is a mathematician, not an historian.
His "theories" have been endorsed by several prominent people in Russia, including opposition politician and former chess champion Garry Kasparov.[2]
Heribert Illig
Illig's "Phantom Time Theory" consists of the idea that several pre-1000 CE centuries, specifically the period 614-911 CE, were fabricated and "inserted" into the historical record[3][4]. Supposedly, this took place at the command of Holy Roman Emperor Otto III who wished to be on the throne come the "millennium".
This theory would eliminate or displace, among other things, a fair number of the Merovingian ruling dynasty and most of the Carolingians (including Charlemagne), the Battle of Tours in 732, the Viking raids of the 8th and 9th centuries, and the establishment of both the Duchy of Normandy and the Kingdom of East Francia, which later became the Holy Roman Empire.
Illig's theory is geographically limited to France and Germany, so it is unclear how he intends to account for the events that are supposed to have happened elsewhere in the world during the period in question.
Immanuel Velikovsky
Velikovsky's so-called Revised Chronology was an attempt to reconcile the history of the ancient Near East, particularly that of Egypt, with the historical accounts found in the Bible. A central concept for Velikovsky is that of alter egos: historical characters who are named by different names in different sources, but actually refer to the same person. In this way, Queen Hatshepsut is identified with the Queen of Sheba, and Thutmose III with King Shishak of 1 Kings 11:40. On average, the Revised Chronology requires that the commonly accepted chronology of Egypt be changed by about 500 years.