Ancient historians were right

General Theory of History

Broke: socio economic factors

Bespoke: personal injuries and slights

What does Musk vs Trump affair teach us about the general patterns of human history?

Well, first of all it shows that the ancient historians were right

Ancient authors such as Herodotus, Sima Qian and others were correct, and much closer to truth than modern scholars. They grasped something about the nature of reality and, specifically, about the nature of politics that our contemporaries simply can’t.

Let me give you an example. The Arab conquest of Spain, as described by the medieval historian Ibn Abd al-Hakam¹.

According to al-Hakam’s story it happened in the following manner. So, you have a Visigoth kingdom in Spain ruled by the King Roderic. King Roderic has a vassal and ally Julian, count of Ceuta. They sort of get along together, until King Roderic sees Julian’s beautiful daughter Florinda taking a bath. His lust aroused, he takes advantage of her. Disgruntled, humiliated Julian allies himself with the Arabs and opens them the gates of Spain.

See Roderic watching from behind the trees? So that’s where all the trouble began

Elizabethan interpretation of Roderic’s story. Again, based on the al-Hakam’s account

So, basically, the Visigoth Kingdom in Spain was lost because the king could not keep his hands off his critical vassal’s daughter. And, as this vassal controlled the entrance to Spain from the south, Roderic soon found himself in a mortal danger, all because of the personal injury he caused to someone important.

Sounds dumb? Unscientific?

From the modern perspective yes.

Now let me give you another story, now relating to a Soviet apparatchik Semyon Ignatyev, told by one of his secretaries

On the left - Nikita Khruschev. On the right - Semyon Ignatyev. Ignatyev was the last head of state security under Joseph Stalin, and also headed his personal guard at the moment of his death. Which means that the version of events you have seen in the “Death of Stalin” is a bit incomplete².