Did the entire history of ancient civilization actually occur during the Middle Ages?

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Mathematician Anatoly Fomenko claims that recorded history is a massive fabrication, compressing thousands of years of events into a single millennium. By his account, the Roman Empire and ancient Egypt are merely medieval inventions, and a vast Russian-led global empire once ruled the world before being erased from memory.

The New Chronology is a pseudohistorical theory that asserts events traditionally placed in antiquity—such as those of Greece, Rome, and Egypt—actually took place between 1000 and 1500 AD. Central to this framework is the existence of a 'Russian Horde' or Great Tartaria, a massive empire that allegedly dominated Eurasia until the 17th century. Fomenko argues that written history only began around 800 AD, and that mainstream historical timelines were intentionally falsified by conspirators, including the Vatican and the House of Romanov, to obscure this true past.

Fomenko, a mathematician, developed his ideas by applying statistical methods to historical texts and astronomical records. He claims that ancient horoscopes, such as those found on the Dendera Zodiacs, correspond to medieval dates rather than antiquity. He also reinterprets historical figures; for instance, he posits that Jesus was a composite figure based on Byzantine Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos, born in Crimea in 1152 AD. Critics, however, argue that Fomenko ignores fundamental principles of scholarship, selectively choosing data that fits his patterns while discarding contradictory evidence. Archaeologists and historians universally reject these claims, noting that they are entirely inconsistent with established dating techniques like dendrochronology, which provides a verified record extending back over 12,000 years.

The theory gained significant traction in the 1990s, partly due to promotion by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov. While academics view the work as a form of 'respectable illiteracy'—even awarding it an anti-prize for the worst book published in Russia in 2004—it remains a potent symbol for some. Critics suggest its popularity reflects a desire for a new, consolidating ideology in post-Soviet Russia, with some politicians even proposing it as a basis for modern national identity. Despite its resonance with laypeople, the scientific community maintains that Fomenko’s work relies on the 'sleight of hand trickery' of forced pattern matching rather than rigorous historical inquiry.

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