Phantom time hypothesis
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The '''Phantom time hypothesis''' is a theory developed by '''Heribert Illig''' (born [[1947]] in [[Vohenstrauß]]) in 1991. It proposes that there has been a systematic effort to make it appear that periods of history, specifically that of Europe during [[Early Middle Ages]] (AD 614–911) exist, when they do not. Illig believed that this was achieved through the alteration, misrepresentation and forgery of documentary and physical evidence. <ref name="fomenko1">{{cite book
| last = Fomenko | first = Anatoly
| year = 2007 | publisher = Mithec | isbn = 2913621074
| title = History: Chronology 1: Second Edition
}}</ref>
The theory also stems from the fact that the by the time the [[Gregorian calendar]] was introduced in AD 1582, the old [[Julian calendar]], introduced by Julius Caesar, should have produced a discrepancy of thirteen days between it and the real (or sidereal) calendar. In fact, the astronomers and mathematicians working for Pope Gregory found that the civil calendar needed to be adjusted by only ten days, and it thus appears that the calendar counted roughly three centuries which never existed.<ref name="Illig">{{cite book
| first = Heribert | last = Illig
| title = Wer hat an der Uhr gedreht?
| publisher = Econ Verlag | year = 2000
}}</ref> The normal explanation for this discrepancy is that the Julian calendar must have been "updated" and two days removed at the [[Council of Nicea]] in AD 325, when the date for Easter was set. Yet there is no evidence in documents dealing with the Council that this occurred. {{Fact|date=June 2008}}
In addition to Illig's hypotheses, there exist several variations. Notable examples include those of [[Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko]], who hypothesized that history - as is generally accepted - consists of a series of events that have been recorded multiple times from different perspectives, with each iteration being assigned to a different time period, thus making a few events over a short period appear to be many events over a long time period. <ref name="shiko1">{{cite web
| last = Sheiko | last = Konstantin
| year = 2004
| url = http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/uploads/approved/adt-NWU20050120.113353/public/02Whole.pdf
| title = Lomonosov's Bastards: Anatolii Fomenko, Pseudo-History, and Russia's Search for a Post-Communist Identity, Ph.D. Dissertation
| publisher = [[University of Wollongong]] | location = NSW, Australia
}}</ref><ref name="sidorov1">{{cite book
| last = Sidorov | first = Dmitrii | year = 2006
| title = Post-Imperial Third Romes: Resurrections of a Russian Orthodox Geopolitical Metaphor
| publisher = Geopolitics 11 | pages = 317–347
}}</ref> [[Uwe Topper]] hypothesized that most of the world's history was written after the 16th century, and that much of that which occurred prior to AD 1400 should not be considered factual. Other notable proponents include Hans-Ulrich Niemitz, Christoph Marx, Angelika Müller, and Manfred Zeller.
==Variations==
Various scholars and authors have proposed their own alternative time lines and phantom time hypothesis, some varying only slightly from the accepted time line, and others rewriting or reordering it significantly. Phantom time hypotheses are typically disputed, and rejected, by historians. A common criticism is that they serve as vehicles for the promotion of alternative agendas favoring one or more groups/causes with which the writer is associated. <ref name=shiko1/><ref name=sidorov1/><ref name=billington1>Billington James H. (2004) "Russia in Search of Itself", Johns Hopkins University Press</ref>
===Illig===
The basis of Illig's hypothesis is the paucity of [[Archaeology|archaeological]] evidence that can be reliably dated to the period AD 614–911, perceived inadequacies of radiometric and [[Dendrochronology|dendrochronological]] methods of dating this period, and the over-reliance of medieval historians on written sources.
For Western Europe, Illig claims the presence of [[Romanesque architecture]] in the tenth century as evidence that less than half a millennium could have passed since the fall of the Roman Empire, and concludes that the entire [[Carolingian]] period, including the person of [[Charlemagne]], is a forgery of medieval chroniclers, more precisely a [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy]] instigated by [[Otto III]] and [[Gerbert d'Aurillac]].
===Hunnivári===
According to the [[Hungarian Calendar]] hypothesis, developed by Zoltán Hunnivári, an additional 198 years have been added to the western calendar. <ref name=Hunnivari1>Hunnivári Zoltán (2002) "Hungár Naptár (Translation: The Hungarian Calendar)", ISBN 9632021037
http://www.hungariancaledar.com and http://www.hungariancalendar.eu</ref>
===Fomenko===
According to the [[New Chronology (Fomenko)|New Chronology]] set out by Russian mathematician [[Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko]], approximately 1000 years of history as recorded by modern historians can be explained away as single events from other time periods that have been recorded multiple times from different perspectives, and thus mistaken for different events occurring at different times.
According to Russian history expert [[James Billington]], Fomenko's variation on the phantom history hypothesis was an attempt to rewrite history in a way that was more favorable to Russia. Specifically, so as to make it appear that Russia and Turkey were part of a single greater entity, and to pass off the conflicts between Russia and its neighbors as being fabrications/misrepresentations by western historians. <ref name=billington1/> Similarly, Sheiko held that Fomenko's belief in phantom history was not academically sound, instead labeling it as part of a Russian's search for a distinct identity during the post-communist period. <ref name=shiko1/>
===Rohl===
Using [[Archaeoastronomy]] as a means of dating events, Egyptologist [[David Rohl]] proposed that dates in the history of ancient Egypt, Israel and Mesopotamia have been incorrectly recorded. Rohl's system modifies the chronologies of the 21st and 22nd dynasties, and moves the time of the 19th dynasty forward 350 years in order to match events in Egyptology up with events in other branches of archeology. <ref name=rohl1>Rohl, David M. (1997) Pharaohs and Kings: A Biblical Quest". Three Rivers Press, ISBN 0609801309</ref>
According to J.G. van der Land, editor of the Dutch language publication "Bijbel, Geschiedenis en Archeologie" (Bible, History and Archaeology), Rohl's time line would resolve some archaeological anomalies surrounding ancient Egypt, but creates conflicts with other areas that make it untenable. <ref name=vanderland>van der Land, J.G. (2000) "[http://www.bga.nl/en/discussion/echroroh.html Pharaohs and the Bible: David Rohl's chronology untenable]"</ref>
===Jehovah's Witnesses===
[[Jehovah's Witnesses]] assert that the destruction of Jerusalem occurred in 607 BC<ref>''What Does the Bible Really Teach?'', page 216, Watchtower Bible & Tract Society</ref>, whereas historians date the event to within a year of 587 BC. Their chronology produces a 20-year gap somewhere between the reigns of [[Neo-Babylonian]] Kings [[Amel-Marduk]] (rule ended 560BC) and [[Nabonidus]] (rule began 555BC) in addition to the intervening reigns of [[Neriglissar]] and [[Labashi-Marduk]], despite the availability of contiguous cuneiform records<ref>''Let Your Kingdom Come"'', Appendix, page 187: "Business tablets: Thousands of contemporary Neo-Babylonian cuneiform tablets have been found that record simple business transactions, stating the year of the Babylonian king when the transaction occurred. Tablets of this sort have been found for all the years of reign for the known Neo-Babylonian kings in the accepted chronology of the period.", Watchtower Bible & Tract Society</ref>.
==References==
===Debate on the issue===
* Illig, Heribert: ''Enthält das frühe Mittelalter erfundene Zeit?'' and subsequent discussion, in: Ethik und Sozialwissenschaften 8 (1997), pp. 481-520.
* Schieffer, Rudolf: ''Ein Mittelalter ohne Karl den Großen, oder: Die Antworten sind jetzt einfach'', in: Geschichte in Wissenschaft und Unterricht 48 (1997, pp. 611-617.
* Matthiesen, Stephan: [http://xweb.geos.ed.ac.uk/~stephan/text_Illig.de.html ''Erfundenes Mittelalter - fruchtlose These!''], in: Skeptiker 2 (2002).
===By Illig===
*''[[Egon Friedell]] und [[Immanuel Velikovsky]]. Vom Weltbild zweier Außenseiter'', Basel 1985.
*''Die veraltete Vorzeit'', Heribert Illig, Eichborn, 1988
*with Gunnar Heinsohn: ''Wann lebten die Pharaonen?'', Mantis, 1990, revised 2003 ISBN 3-928852-26-4
*''Karl der Fiktive, genannt Karl der Große'', 1992
*''Hat Karl der Große je gelebt? Bauten, Funde und Schriften im Widerstreit'', 1994
*''Hat Karl der Große je gelebt?'', Heribert Illig, Mantis, 1996
*''Das erfundene Mittelalter. Die größte Zeitfälschung der Geschichte'', Heribert Illig, Econ 1996, ISBN 3-430-14953-3 (revised ed. 1998)
*''Das Friedell-Lesebuch'', Heribert Illig, C.H. Beck 1998, ISBN 3-406-32415-0
*Heribert Illig, with Franz Löhner: ''Der Bau der Cheopspyramide'', Mantis 1998, ISBN 3-928852-17-5
*''Wer hat an der Uhr gedreht?'', Heribert Illig, Ullstein 2003, ISBN 3-548-36476-4
*Heribert Illig, with Gerhard Anwander: ''Bayern in der Phantomzeit. Archäologie widerlegt Urkunden des frühen Mittelalters.'', Mantis 2002, ISBN 3-928852-21-3
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.korthweb.de/PhZT/FAQ_E.html Illig's Hypothesis on Phantom Times - FAQ]
*[http://lelarge.de/wamse.html "Forget about the year 2000, we still live in 1703"]
*[http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/volatile/Niemitz-1997.pdf Explanation of the "phantom time hypothesis" in English] (pdf)
*[http://www.philjohn.com/papers/pjkd_h04.html Critique of Illig's hypothesis in English]
*[http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=164 A condensed description of the "phantom time hypothesis"]
{{Chronology}}
[[Category:Pseudoarchaeology]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]
[[Category:Chronology]]
[[Category:Hypotheses]]
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