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.

Performing the Visual: The Practice of Buddhist Wall Painting in China and Central Asia, 618-960

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Performing the Visual: The Practice of Buddhist Wall Painting in China and Central Asia, 618-960
Sarah Fraser
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0804745331
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Book Description

Performing the Visual explores the practice of wall painting in China from a new perspective. Relying on rare, virtually unpublished drawings on Buddhist themes from a long-hidden medieval library in western China, the author analyzes the painters’ pictorial strategies. She also examines the financial accounting of Buddhist temples, providing practical information that ninth- and tenth-century critics ignored: how artists were paid and when, the temple's role as mediator between patrons and artists, and the way painters functioned outside the monastic system, working in guilds and secular academies affiliated with local government.

Based on the careful study of hundreds of inaccessible wall paintings at Dunhuang, arguably Asia's largest and most important Buddhist site, the author shows that although critics celebrated spontaneous feats with brush and ink, artists at Dunhuang were heavily dependent on concrete tools such as sketches in the preparation of wall painting.

French Painting in the Time of Jean De Berry: The Limbourgs and Their Contemporaries (The Franklin Jasper Walls Lectures)

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French Painting in the Time of Jean De Berry: The Limbourgs and Their Contemporaries (The Franklin Jasper Walls Lectures)
Millard Meiss
Manufacturer: George Braziller
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Binding: Hardcover

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Monastic Visions: Wall Paintings in the Monastery of St. Antony at the Red Sea

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Monastic Visions in St. Antony Mural Paintings
Informative and Entertaining

Monastic Visions: Wall Paintings in the Monastery of St. Antony at the Red Sea

Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300092245

Book Description

An ancient church in the Coptic Monastery of St. Antony at the Red Sea contains a unique cycle of thirteenth-century wall paintings. They constitute by far the most complete and best-preserved iconographic program of Christian paintings to come from medieval Egypt. Ignored for centuries because they were covered with soot and overpainting, these compelling images have recently undergone conservation. This beautiful book reproduces the cleaned paintings for the first time. It also describes and analyzes their amalgam of Coptic (Egyptian Christian), Byzantine, and Arab styles and motifs as well as the religious culture to which they belong. In 1996, funded by the United States Agency for International Development and at the request of the Monastery of St. Antony, the Antiquities Development Project of the American Research Center in Egypt began the conservation of the paintings in the church. The paintings revealed by the conservators are of extremely high quality, both stylistically and conceptually. While rooted in the Christian tradition of Egypt, they also reveal explicit connections with Byzantine and Islamic art of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Some newly discovered paintings can even be dated back to the sixth or seventh century. The authors of this book-who include art historians, conservators, historians, an archaeologist, and an anthropologist-discuss the significance of these revelations and place the church and the paintings within the artistic and historical traditions of both Coptic Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean region in the Middle Ages.

Customer Reviews:

Monastic Visions in St. Antony Mural Paintings.......2005-12-25

"Bolman makes the arcane accessible and the spiritual meaningful. This is how art history, usually seen as an elitist activity, should be written up ..." Anthony Cutler, Penn State University

Monastic Father:
Saint Anthony is often called 'Father of the Monastics,' being credited with the founding of Christian monasticism, many of his ideals still survive to this day. Most of what we know about St. Anthony comes from a biography by his close friend Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria. Anthony was born about AD 251 for a rich Christian family of Coma, in mid upper Egypt. Hearing Christ address to the rich young man, he left everything to start monastic desert dwelling.

St. Anthony's Monastery:
Hidden deep within the Red Sea Mountains and depending on local springs for their water needs, St. Anthony's Monastery and its neighboring St. Paul, are the oldest inhabited monasteries in eastern Egypt. Monks in both communities still observe ancient monastic schema that have been established by Anthony's disciple Macarius for more than fourteen centuries. During the sixth and seventh centuries many monks from the Skete, in today's Wadi El Natroun desert, migrated to St. Antony's dwellings and established this monastery, to avoid the frequent attacks by Bedouins. St. Anthony monastery was plundered many times, and even destroyed in part during the 11th century. This remotely located cenobitic community flourished during the 12th to 14th centuries, but was plundered again in the mid 15th by Sinaitic Bedouins, after which attacks it acquired its fortress style walls. Like many ancient antiquity Egyptian monasteries, over many years of its existence it was ecumenical, hosting monks of different ethnicity, especially Henophysite orthodox from the fertile crescent.

A fine team work:
At the request of the Ancient Monastery of St. Anthony, the conservation of the paintings in the church began in 1996. The American Research Center in Egypt could allocate funds through the US AID, for its Antiquities Development Project. Some newly discovered paintings can be dated back to the sixth or seventh century, but the main bulk is traced to the 12/13 century. These high quality revealed mural paintings demonstrate a stylistic and conceptual iconic tradition established by the early Christians of Egypt, but reveal an influence of Byzantine and even Islamic art of the era.

Iconic Theology:
Since an icon is said to be written, it should be properly read, by looking through it into eternity as iconphiles always claimed. One icon is more impressive than many books on theology, and more edifying than a sermon, it offers a link with the victorious Church. Thus was the original reason in Alexandria, its founder, to utilize icons in teaching the faith to those who knew not reading, young and old. The Miaphysite Copts and Syrians, whose theology dominated the mid Orient before the advent of Islam, were still concerned with the unity of the person of Christ, that even the transfiguration icon failed to demonstrate how Christ's Divine nature could be revealed. Praying with icons became a Byzantine doctrine, that the feast of Orthodoxy is the commemoration of its restoration.

Coptic Mural Paintings:
Dr. George Bebawi, Nottingham's Patrologist, exhorts that the central office of Coptic Icons was educational. He takes the ancient Coptic murals exemplified by the pre icon era of Deir Bawit murals, to explain that the Coptic Church, first to introduce Icons, meant them as teaching aids, posting them on the ceiling, or as a later tradition, high on the iconstatis.
As for the saints, Fr. Matthew the poor, abbot of St. Macarius, explains the Coptic conception of icons as, "mystical mediation through saint's icons could be explained by Copts behavior, when praying for virtual benediction, in front of a saint's icon, an exercise of remote fellowship, a confession of a spiritual gap yet to be crossed in their eternal fellowship."

Team beyond a Book:
The authorship of this book is the result of a team work of an art historians, conservators, an archaeologist, and an anthropologist, that gives an elaborate account on the medieval church and an informed discussion of the meaning beyond these revelations. The authors attempt to place those wonderful paintings within the artistic and historical icon traditions of both Coptic Egypt and evaluate the influence of the mediaeval eastern Mediterranean.
Fr. Maximus Anthonite, helped the author, Dr. Elizabeth Bolman, professor of medieval art history at Temple University. Some of the contributors are Luigi De Cesaris, Mark Easton, Gawdat Gabra, Patrick Godeau, Michael Jones, Adriano Luzi, William Lyster, Robert Vincent., Jr., and Elizabeth E. Oram. Patristic Scholarship of Fr. Sidney Griffith, Dr. Birger Pearson, and Fr. Tim Vivian added a special flovor to the project's outcome and evaluation.

Informative and Entertaining.......2002-06-25

This is a well-written book with excellent photographs. This book presents the results of conservation efforts for medieval age Christian Egyptian, Coptic, wall paintings at Saint Anthony monastery, Egypt. The monastery is believed to be the first Christian monastery in the world. In the preface, the writers outlined the genesis of this conservation effort. They also provided progress photographs for some of the early and limited test cleaning work that showed the promising and extraordinary work of art that was underneath centuries of grime and over painting. The preservation and restoration efforts were funded by a grant from the United States Agency for International Aid (USAID).
As an American from Coptic ancestry, I would like to express thanks and appreciation to the American people, government and the USAID for their support for the conservation work of the Coptic cultural heritage and art.
The book outlines the history and life of Saint Anthony the great (251-356 AD). Saint Anthony is considered to be the father of or originator of monasticism. However, there is evidence that the ancient Egyptians temples included devotees, who led lives of prayer, learning and pursuit of wisdom, celibacy, and poverty, e.g. the story of Ptolemaios and Harmais the Serapeum temple devotees circa 164-158BC. It could be argued that, the Egyptian converts to Christianity continued to use of their past artistic and cultural heritage in new or modified ways compatible with Christian teaching. For example the Copts continued to use the ancient Egyptian ankh symbol in conjunction with the cross. Artifacts from the early centuries AD show the use of both the ankh and the cross. Contemporary Copts continue to use the ankh and the cross together as jewelry pieces. Similar arguments could be made about the artist rendering of Isis and baby Horus, which may have been used by early Coptic artists as a model to portray the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus. Saint Anthony the great led a solitary life in the desert. Accordingly the Coptic/Greek term monachos or monk in English was used. Saint Athanasius the Apostolic of Alexandria (296-373 AD) introduced monasticism to the west through his famous book the Life of Anthony. Contrary to the image painted for Anthony as an unlettered person, the book comments on letters of Anthony, of which seven are extant. The letters show Anthony to be well versed in platonic philosophy and Alexandrian theological traditions. Furthermore his letters emphasize gnosis or knowledge, and echoes the Greek philosophical tradition," Know thyself".
The book is written by several authors from different disciplines art history, history, archaeology, anthropology, and art conservation. The contributors to the book are mostly Americans and Copts from Egypt. The conservation team was led by Adriano Luzi and Luigi De Cesaris from Italy. Luzi and De Cesaris participated prior to this effort in the conservation of the paintings in the tomb of Nefertari. The main wall paintings in the monastery were originally the work of a team Coptic artists led by a master artist, Theodore Zographos, the painter, or the writer of life in Greek, circa 1232-1233 AD. The book indicates that the Coptic Church did not enjoy any royal patronage that could have helped funding churches or monasteries. The temporal rulers of Egypt from about 640AD were Muslims, and far from donating funds for churches, they actually taxed monks and forbade them from building churches without permission. The high-quality paintings in the Church of Saint Anthony were painted on dry plaster, in a technique called secco. Neither the pigments nor the plaster were of more than modest cost. About 33-40 Copts are believed to have been the patrons of the 13th century artwork. In addition to paying for the project, one or more of these 13th century Coptic patrons are likely the designers of the painting program. The style of Theodore is thoroughly Coptic, however the 13th century art is different from the first centuries of Christian art in Egypt. It is possible to discern the influence of Islamic, Byzantine and even Romanesque arts on the Coptic art of that era. The conservation work shows 6 layers of paintings, some of which date back the 5th-7th century. The results of the conservation work further indicate that the newly visible early 13th century paintings are so greatly at odds with art historical expectations that they mandate a near total reevaluation of the Coptic art after the Arabs conquest of Egypt.
This is a book that provides both entertainment and information. It would be a good addition for art, art history, and conservation aficionados.

Bulgaria: Medieval Wall Paintings. 32 full page color plates,

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Bulgaria: Medieval Wall Paintings. 32 full page color plates,
Andre and MIJATEV,Krsto. GRABAR
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MXDTKS

English Medieval Wall Painting: The Twelfth Century

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A World of Difference on the Walls

English Medieval Wall Painting: The Twelfth Century
Ernest W. Tristram
Manufacturer: Hacker Art Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0878173145

Customer Reviews:

A World of Difference on the Walls.......2000-09-02

To visit an early Norman English cathedral or church is an opportunity to step back in time. But, the cool simpicity of the still massive stone walls belies the reality of the early Medieval worshipper's world. Dr. Tristram expands our understanding of the dynamic visual world that "played" on the walls, window facings, columns and architectural features of these buildings. Many, if not most, of the early churches of Medieval England were more like the iconographic surfaces of Eastern European churches and mosaics of Byzantium than the stony void walls we see today. During the eras of reformation, reconstruction, renovation and changes in taste, most of the painted wall surfaces in England were distroyed. The stylistic link to Byzantium and the Anglo-Saxon traditions are still evident in a few places. English Medieval Wall Painting gives us a taste of the true original splendor of these buildings. The text is clear and comprehensible even to a novice. Unfortunately, the many plates and detailed drawings are in black and white. However, Tristram gives us careful descriptions of the original coloring as revealed by modern scientific analysis.

Frescoes of St Demetrius' Cathedral: Superlative Medieval Wall Paintings in Vladimir

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Frescoes of St Demetrius' Cathedral: Superlative Medieval Wall Paintings in Vladimir
V. (text) Plugin
Manufacturer: Aurora Art Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000PBPACW

Guild Chapel Wall Paintings at Stratford-Upon-Avon (Ams Studies in the Renaissance)

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Guild Chapel Wall Paintings at Stratford-Upon-Avon (Ams Studies in the Renaissance)
Clifford Davidson
Manufacturer: AMS Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0404622925

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Medieval Wall Paintings

Manufacturer: Shire Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches

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Medieval Wall Paintings in English and Welsh Churches
Roger Rosewell
Manufacturer: Boydell Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1843833689

Book Description

Wall paintings are a unique art form, complementing, and yet distinctly separate from, other religious imagery in churches. Unlike carvings, or stained glass windows, their support was the structure itself, with the artist's `canvas' the very stone and plaster of the church. They were also monumental, often larger than life-size images for public audiences. Notwithstanding their dissimilarity from other religious art, wall paintings were also an integral part of church interiors, enhancing devotional imagery and inspiring faith and commitment in their own right, and providing an artistic setting for the church's sacred rituals and public ceremonies. This book brings together, often for the first time, many of the very best surviving examples of medieval church wall paintings. Using new technologies and many previously untried techniques, it allows us to visualize these images as the artists originally intended. The plates are accompanied by an authoritative and scholarly text, bringing the imagery and iconography of the medieval church vividly to life. ROGER ROSEWELL was educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University. A former journalist, he is a Director of a private European art foundation and the news editor of the online stained glass magazine, VIDIMUS.

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