Sir Isaac Newton vs. consensual chronology

The doubts regarding the correctness of consensual chronology are by no means a recent phenomenon. The Jesuit historian and archaeologist Jean Hardouin (1646-1724) claimed that the entire bulk of the so-called Classical literature was written by monks in the XVI century. In 1902-1903, the German Privatdozent Robert Baldauf proved that both ancient and early mediaeval history as we know them were based on a number of very dubious works published during the Renaissance.

The eminent English scientist Edwin Johnson (1842-1901), the author of several remarkable critical studies of ancient and mediaeval history, was a vehement critic of the consensual chronology. His main conclusion was as follows: “We are a lot closer to the Greeks and the Romans chronologically than the chronological tables claim” Edwin Johnson called for a complete revision of the ancient and mediaeval chronology. His principal works were published in the late XIX – early XX
century.

But the most famous critic of consensual chronology was none other but Sir Isaac Newton. He was the author of several fundamental works dealing with chronological issues where he related his conclusions about the existence of grave errors in the consensual Scaligerian version of chronology. This research of Sir Isaac remains rather obscure insofar as the contemporary reader is concerned, in spite of its being one of the most controversial works of his epoch (A Short Chronicle from the First Memory of Kings in Europe to the Conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great and The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended). Sir Isaac has revised ancient chronology radically, and his approach was based on the concepts of natural science.

Sir Isaac's version of chronology is a lot shorter than the consensual Scaligerian version. Newton moved most of the events dated to epochs preceding Alexander the Great, forward in time. Newton’s main conclusions may be encapsulated as follows: He moves a part of the history of Ancient Greece about 300 years forward in time. The history of Ancient Egypt, covering a span of several millennia starting with 3000 B. C. and on according to the consensual version is moved forward and compressed into a time period as short as 330 years, namely, 946 B. C. – 617 B. C. Sir Isaac Newton only managed to revise the dates preceding 200 B. C. His observations were of a rather eclectic nature, and he could not find any system in these apparently chaotic re-datings. As we know, Sir Isaac died in 1727, and his historical research was left unfinished, and the next prominent critics of the consensual chronology only emerged in the XX century.