The lost millennium
Subtitle: history's timetables under siege
By: Florin Diacu
Edition: 2nd ed.
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Baltimore
Language: eng
Number of pages: 237
ISBN-13: 9781421402871; 9781421402888
Subjects: Calendar; Historical Chronology; History
Description: "We measure history -- its defining moments, landmark documents, and great figures -- by dates. The French Revolution began in 1789, the Magna Carta was originally issued in 1215, and Julius Caesar died in the year 44 BC. What makes these dates correct, though? Is it possible that there is a massive gap in the historical record and that the calendar we use today is off by about 1,000 years? Sparked by a chance meeting at a conference in Mexico more than fifteen years ago, Florin Diacu sets off on a journey into the field of historical chronology to answer these fascinating questions. This book reads like a detective story, describing in vivid detail Diacu's adventure back in time as he explores the shocking theory of a lost millennium. He meets a colorful cast of characters along the way. Chief among them is Anatoli Fomenko, a Russian mathematician who supports drastically revising historical chronology based on his extensive research in ancient astronomy, linguistics, cartography, and a crucial manuscript by Ptolemy. Fomenko, however, is not the only one to puzzle over time. Isaac Newton, Voltaire, and Edmund Halley, among others, also enter into this captivating quest. The Lost Millennium highlights the controversy surrounding the dating of ancient events, a fascinating tale full of mystery, debate, and excitement. Join the author as he pushes further and further in search of the truth. Praise for the first edition"Diacu gives both sides of the argument fairly but the mere idea that the calendar may be out by as much as 1,000 years is staggering." -- The London Free Press"Intriguing... [Diacu's] account is at its best when he wrestles with the many contradictions of both the accepted and revisionist chronologies... He wades into celestial mechanics with a dizzying discussion of eclipses, astronomical calculations, and algebraic formulas." -- The Globe and Mail"Diacu, a polyglot and erudite mathematician, lays out old and recent debates with great clarity and offers the first detailed account for nonspecialists of the radical revisionist theories of Anatoli Fomenko and his colleagues. His book -- like most of those he describes -- will certainly become a flash point in its own right. For the general reader, it offers a fascinating look at an unknown world." -- Anthony Grafton, Princeton University"--

"A group of Soviet mathematicians claim that there is a massive gap in the historical record--that the timetable for European history is off by over a thousand years. Newton also wondered whether our dating of ancient civilizations was correct. A fascinating look at the real problem of trying to date events that happened in the past"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction. Where did the time go?; title: Part one. The challenges of historical chronology. Catastrophes and chaos ; A new science ; Swan song; title: Part Two. Fomenko's battle against tradition. Historical eclipses ; The moon and the Almagest ; Ancient kingdoms ; Overlapping dynasties ; Secrets and lies; title: Part Three. Science fights back. Scientific dating ; Finding a consensus.