Sarmatism (pseudohistory)

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In Lithuanian history, Sarmatism is a term used to refer to various nationalist pseudohistorical theories which seek to refute traditional understanding of the history of Lithuania and propose that the medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania is a continuation of states and ethnic groups in Eastern Europe attested before the first mention of the name of Lithuania recorded in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 1009. [1] The name comes from Sarmatia, a term used in Greco-Roman cartography, notably the Geography of Ptolemy, to label all of Eastern Europe, and which is generally believed by Sarmatist historians to refer to the extent of Antiquity-era Lithuania.

Contents

These theories lack support in the Lithuanian historical community, and are criticized for amateurish linguistics, selective use of historical data, and extreme nationalism. [2]

Background

Sarmatist interpretation of Lithuanian history was started by diplomat, translator, polyglot and historian Česlovas Gedgaudas, detailed in the book Mūsų praeities beieškant (Searching for Our Past). It was published in Mexico City in 1972. The writing and publication of the book was instigated by the publication of the History of the Lithuanian SSR, edited by Juozas Žiugžda  [ lt ] in 1957 - Gedgaudas perceived it as having misrepresented the past of the Lithuanian peoples and wrote his work as a supposed authentic representation of ancient Lithuanian history. [3]

Mūsų praeities beieškant was published in Lithuania after the fall of the Soviet Union and became a seminal work among the community. Jurate Rosales refers to Gedgaudas in her works, and is herself referenced in Mūsų praeities beieškant for her systematic comparison of Baltic languages and the Spanish language to prove the Baltic origins of the Visigoths. [4]

Interest in Sarmatist theory was renewed by the one thousand year anniversary of the first mention of the name of Lithuania in the Annals of Quedlinburg in 2009. This anniversary was criticised by Aivaras Lileika for dismissing the history of Lithuania prior to 1009 as well as the refusal to accept the connection between Lithuania and Antiquity-era Sarmatia. [5] Lileika also proposed renaming the country of Lithuania to Sarmatia. [6]

Sarmatist-influenced works were published during the following decade, such as a study of the use of "European Sarmatia" as a name for Eastern Europe in Greco-Roman cartography by Romualdas Girkus and Viktoras Lukoševičius and the works of Lithuanian-born Venezuelan journalist Jurate Rosales. [7]

Sarmatas (The Sarmatian) was founded as a news site in 2010 and continues to exist today. [8] It presents itself as an alternative media site and has been criticized for spreading anti-vaccine, [9] anti-LGBT rhetoric. [10]

Key traits

The primary goal of Sarmatist historians is to find connections between the Lithuanian peoples and ethnic groups attested in Early Medieval and ancient texts and establish continuity between the medieval Grand Duchy of Lithuania and previous eras, and generally state:

Reconstructed chronology

In Mūsų praeities beieškant, Gedgaudas reconstructs the chronology of ancient Lithuanian history and states that Lithuania was originally founded in 1490 BC, or 3462 years before the time of the book's publication. [15] In the preamble of the book, after invoking ancient Lithuanian gods reconstructed later in the book for strength, Gedgaudas refers to this date in place of the traditional Gregorian calendar date:

In the 3462nd Year of Tauroja, in the New World. [16]

The reconstructed chronology from this foundation date to the beginning of traditionally attested history is detailed in four charts. [17]

I. State of Gemariai

Chart I "State of Gemariai" [18]
1490 BCE - The first King of the Gudai, Varingis.
1324 BCE - Five generations pass until Valemiras, son of Gaudarikis (Gadareiks).
1290 BCE - King Undenaužis defeats the Pharaoh of Egypt, Sesostris.
1190 BCE - Three generations of Gema-Mačionys Queens, controlling the three trade routes across Europe - the Elbe Route, the Danube Route, and the Amber Road.
1189 BCE - Toleivis, King of Mysia, son of Gaurikulis and Auge, defeats the Greek king Thersander. His son Var-Upuolis aids the Trojans in the Trojan War.
559 BCE - 630 years of peace in the Gema-Mačionys kingdoms between the Trojan War and the attacks of the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great.
529 BCE - Queen of the Gudai, Tamira, defeats and kills Cyrus.
486 BCE - Darius the Great attacks King of the Gudai, Vanduorius, with 700 thousand soldiers and retreats unable to defeat him.
465 BCE - Xerxes attacks the alliance of the Gudai and Greeks with 1 million soldiers and loses![ sic ]

II. Šermačia

Chart II "Šermačia" [19]
Ruler or periodAttested reign
Philip II of Macedonia marries Medupė, daughter of the Gudish king Gudila.359-336 BCE
Their son Alexander the Great leaves the empire of Macedon to the Gudish commander and his blood-brother Pereidikis. He rules for two years and is killed in Egypt.336-321 BCE
Burų-Eistis (Burvista), Gudish Emperor, conquers Central Europe88 BCE
Gemožis (Comosis)56-23 BCE
Karalius (Coryllus)23 BCE-16 AD
Galupis (Gapt)51-83 AD
Augis118-150 AD
Amal 151-183 AD
Ostrogotas 218-250 AD
Gyneiva defeats Emperor of the Roman Empire, Dydžius, also of Gutish birth251-238 AD
Aukštuolis (Athal)284-317 AD
Rausimantas, or Arijų Rikis (Ruler of the Aryans), fights Emperor Constantine the Great 321-326 AD
Geba-Rikis 318-350 AD
Varumonių Rikis - Emperor of Vyčiai-Gudai, Vanduoliai, Ostrogoths, Slavs, Gepids, Eisčiai and all Rasa 351-376 AD

III. March of Giants

Chart III details the ruling dynasties of the main conquering armies during the Migration Period. [20] According to Gedgaudas, no large scale migrations took place during the Migration Period, and the attested barbarian kingdoms were fiefs established by commanders of the armies of the Sarmatian-Gudish-Lithuanian empire during their conquest of the Roman Empire. The conquering armies left a Baltic language influence upon the Latin language, forming the modern Romance languages.

IV. Empire of Gardarikė

Chart IV details the period between the Migration Period and 1200 AD. [21] The Amali dynasty is attested by Gedgaudas to have been the ruling dynasty of the empire of Gardarikė in Central and Eastern Europe until its extinction, at which point Rurik (written by Gedgaudas as Varių Rikis) is invited to rule the empire, now named Rasa (Kievan Rus). The empire splits and collapses after the conversion of Vladimir the Great to Christianity, which broke apart the empire of Rasa and began the Slavicization of modern day Belarus, Ukraine and Western Russia. [22] Mindaugas, the first traditionally attested ruler of Lithuania, eventually inherits the crown in 1253.

According to Gedgaudas, the expansion of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th and 14th centuries was motivated by the House of Gediminas seeking to reunite this ancient empire.

Adherents

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References

  1. ↑ Karpavičienė, Dalia (2010). "Apie Lietuvą, kuriai daugiau nei tūkstantis metų (About Lithuania, which is more than a millennium old)". Šiaulių kraštas.
  2. ↑ Butkus, Alvydas; Lanza, Stefano M. (2012). "Kaip baltai tampa gotais (How Balts become Goths)". alkas.lt.
  3. ↑ Krušinskas, Leopoldas (2018). "Pristatyta papildyto ir pataisyto leidimo knyga "Mūsų praeities beieškant" (Updated and edited version of "Mūsų praeities beieškant" presented)". ekspertai.eu.
  4. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 68. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  5. ↑ Samoškaitė, Edita (2010). "Istorikas: gėda Lietuvai, kuri savo karalius nužemintai vadina kunigaikščiais (Historian: Shame for Lithuania, which refuses to call its Grand Dukes "Kings")". Delfi.
  6. ↑ Šeibak, Loreta (2008). ""Sarmata", kad Lietuva nesivadina Sarmatija (Shame, that Lithuania does not call itself Sarmatia)". Klaipėdos diena.
  7. ↑ Girkus, Romualdas; Lukoševičius, Viktoras (2010). "Reflection of "European Sarmatia" in Early Cartography". Geodesy and Cartography. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. doi:10.3846/gc.2010.20. S2CID   129855390.
  8. ↑ "Sarmatai". www.sarmatas.lt (in Lithuanian). 27 January 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Sarmatas.lt publikacijoje – ir vėl apstu melagingos informacijos: fantazuoja, kad pandemijos nėra, o PGR testai meluoja (Sarmatas.lt is again full of fake news: fantasizes that COVID does not exist, claims that PGR tests are lying)". Delfi.
  10. ↑ "Sarmatas.lt publikacijoje gausu klaidinančios informacijos apie translyčius (Sarmatas.lt is full of misleading information about transgender people)". Gayline.lt. 2021.
  11. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. pp. 36–38. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  12. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 18. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  13. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 327. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  14. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. pp. 3–13. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  15. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 161. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  16. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 2. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  17. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. pp. 161–211. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  18. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 163. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  19. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 164. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  20. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 165. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  21. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. p. 166. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  22. ↑ Gedgaudas, Česlovas (1994). Mūsų praeities beieškant. Kaunas: Aušra. pp. 36–38. ISBN   978-9986407119.
  23. ↑ Zinkevičius, Zigmas (2011). "Jūratė Statkutė de Rosales ir gotų istorija". Lituanistica (in Lithuanian). 4 (86): 474. ISSN   2424-4716.
  24. ↑ Girkus, Romualdas; Lukoševičius, Viktoras (2010). "Reflection of "European Sarmatia" in Early Cartography". Geodesy and Cartography. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. doi:10.3846/gc.2010.20. S2CID   129855390.
  25. ↑ Zinkevičius, Zigmas (2011). Jūratė Statkutė de Rosales ir gotų istorija. Vol. no. 4. Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. pp. 472–475.
  26. ↑ Matulis, Rimantas (2016). "Ptolemėjo geografija ir baltų tautos (Ptolemy's geography and the Baltic nations)". alkas.lt.
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