[watwut]

The history as field starts with Roman historians who literally felt free to make things up or guess them where it suited them.

If anything, history as field is getting more accurate and more complete. Especially with digitalization and when writing about eras that left tons of written material after them.

[memling]

where would you put Herodotus or Thucydides or xenophon? the first historians weren't Roman really. there are other works less self consciously historical that predate them too, right?