Josephus Justus Scaliger (August 5, 1540 - January 21, 1609) was a French scholar. In his edition of Manilius (1579), and his De emendatione temporum (1583), he revolutionized perceived ideas of ancient chronology by showing through his writings that ancient history is not confined to that of the Greeks and Romans, but also comprises that of the Persians, the Babylonians and the Egyptians, and that of the Jews. That the historical narratives and fragments of each of these, and their several systems of chronology, must be critically compared. It was this innovation that distinguished him from contemporary scholars. He also reconstructed the lost Chronicle of Eusebius, one of the most valuable ancient documents, especially valuable for ancient chronology. In 1593 he accepted a post at the University of Leiden, where he would pass the remaining thirteen years of his life, never returning to France. He died in 1609 at the age of 68.