Dates That Made History
Historian Patrick Boucheron revisits the most important dates in history through the prisms of memory and collective imagination.
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Ep 133 AD: The Crucifixion of Jesus
Christians believe Jesus is a man who preached and performed miracles and died on the cross but was resurrected. But for historians, the crucifixion is the least unreliable indicator of the Jesus' existence.
Ep 224 September 622: The Hegira
Muhammed’s first year in Medina, in year 622 of the Christian era, marks the beginning of the Muslim era and the birth of a new religion, civilisation, empire and calendar. The Hegira, Muhammed’s visit to the Mecca in Medina, also marks a major change : from then on, believers will pray in the direction of this new sacred place and no longer in the direction of Jerusalem.
Ep 3323 BC: Death of Alexander the Great
Alexander’s death marks the loss of the greatest conquerors in History, the only man who managed to extend the Empire to Eurasia, the Mediterranean and India. Different versions of The Romance of Alexander were found in the Persian, Arabian and Latin regions of the world, but also in Mali.
Ep 41492: The New World
1492 was officially the year the Americas were 'discovered', marking the end of the Middle Ages. Yet it's possible that Christopher Columbus setting foot on a West Indian beach in October obscures a far more complex story.
Ep 520 June 1789: The Tennis Court Oath
Because of its abstract nature, one tends to forget that the Tennis Court Oath was the key tipping point of the French Revolution, both from a symbolic and legal standpoint. On June 20, 1789, the deputies of the Third Estate, gathered in the hall of the Jeu de Paume at Versailles, swore together not to separate before having written a constitution to France. What happened that day at Versailles? Who are these men who made the people the sovereign of the French nation?
Ep 611 February 1990: Liberation of Nelson Mandela
“I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people” : those are the first words pronounced by Nelson Mandela after his release from prison, after 27 years of incarceration. The event struck a chord worldwide, reminding us that South Africa, historically, was not only the first country to be colonised but also the last country to be decolonised.
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