Отношение Константинопольского патриарха Николая I Мистика к вопросу сбора чрезвычайных налогов с Церкви в пользу государства

Author(s): Mirosław J. Leszka / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2015

The article discusses the attitude of Nikolaos Mystikos towards the exaction by the state of extraordinary fiscal duties from the Church. The Author of the study concludes that the patriarch, despite his experience in civil service, in this respect tended to display views which were expected of the head of the Church, i.e. he defended the interest of the ecclesiastic structure and chose the way of tax evasion to avoid losses in the Churches’ financial resources. However, he was also well aware of the fact that in some instances the Church has the obligation of supporting the state with ecclesiastic funds. Such a situation was a threat posed by an external enemy. That is why during his reign the Church’s resources were tapped in the face of the danger caused by Bulgaria under the rule of Simeon. Neither can one exclude the conclusion that the above-mentioned reluctance of Nikolaos Mystikos to support the practices of the state resulted not only from his defence of ecclesiastic resources but it also was caused by the anti-Bulgarian policy pursued by the authorities in Constantinople. The Patriarch simply did not see a reason why the Church should be obliged to pay for mistakes made by rulers of the Empire.

Modes of narrativity in the Short history of Nikephoros of Constantinople

Author(s): Dragoljub Marjanović / Language(s): English Issue: 52/2015

Modes of narrativity applied in the Short history by Nikephoros of Constantinople are investigated on the basis of several key accounts which form a specific message of the author on the level of his entire work. This specific manner of literary presentation is particularly manifested in Nikephoros‘ original approach in portrayal of the Byzantine emperors and the patriarchs of Constantinople of the 7th and 8th centuries, thus embedding a specific idea of both imperial governance personalized in the reign of emperor Herakleios, and mutual relations between the Empire and the patriarchs of the Church of Constantinople, as presented in the accounts of patriarchs Sergios and Pyrrhos.

О српско-бугарској граници у IX и X веку

Author(s): Predrag Komatina / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

The paper analyzes the information concerning the border between the Serbs and the Bulgarians in the 9th and the 10th centuries found in the work De administrando imperio by the emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. It is made clear that there were no clearly established borderlines between the political entities in the Early Middle Ages, and that those political entities during that period functioned not on the basis of territorialy organized states, but of ethnic communities, whose authority rested upon the people, not the territory. The functioning of the early medieval Bulgarian Khanate is one of the best examples for that. Therefore, it is necessary that the information on the Serbian-Bulgarian border in the Porphyrogenitus‘ work be analyzed in a new and different light.

Порфирогенитови међаши на Истру и старомађарски археолошки налази у Војводини

Author(s): Perica Špehar,Dejan Radičević / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

Data from De administrando imperiо covers Hungarian conquest, right after their arrival to the Carpathian plain and to the territories they settled. In order to describe the area of their inhabitance, author used well known facts and clear geographical marks. Territory defined in that manner encompassed modern Vojvodina, so an opinion was brought out in scientific literature that it was also included in the area of early Hungarian inhabitance. However, it appeares that in those speculations the archaeological data were not adequatelly used, so it is important to give more precise insight into the available archaeological material that can be tied to the earliest presence of Hungarian population in Vojvodina.

Жанр у функцији ироније: литерарна освета Михаила Псела

Author(s): Milena Repajić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

The paper deals with the problem of genres and methodological digressions in the sixth book of Michael Psellos’ Chronographia, in the context of contemporary genre theories. Conventional opinions about author’s motives for composing digressions about genre and about the complex argument he leaves for interpretation of his own text will be questioned. The main thesis is that the genre–play within history – primarily the use of drama and encomium – has a role in depicting the ironic portrait of the emperor Constantine IX Monomachos.

О Теофилактовој Одбрани евнуштва

Author(s): Bojana Krsmanović,Darko Todorović / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

The first part of this paper analyzes a text by Theophylact of Ohrid known as In Defense of Eunuchs. In terms of its genre and topic, this work stands alone in Byzantine literature. Through a dialogue between the two interlocutors – a monk and a eunuch, Theophylact challenges the traditional representation of eunuchs. He particularly focuses on the condemnation of castration in Ecclesiastical Canons and secular legislation (of the late Roman Empire and Byzantium). Theophylact highlights the ambivalence of the views on eunuchs in Byzantine society, demonstrating that castration as such did not necessarily lead to the marginalization of the castrated individual. The most important part of Theophylact’s Defense offers a comparison between “the bearded” and eunuchs in monastic orders. Also, the affirmation of freedom of choice between good and evil and insisting that an individual should be judged according to his own deeds is the guiding idea of Theophylact’s Defense. The second part of the paper contains a Serbian translation of Theophylact’s text with a commentary. Besides the French translation by the editor of the critical edition P. Gautier, this is the second complete translation of the Greek original. It deviates from Gautier’s version in several places, offering alternative readings of ambiguous places.

Српски владари у Алексијади – хронолошки оквири деловања

Author(s): Ivana Komatina / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

The author analyzes the information of Anna Comnene about the actions of the Serbian rulers and the Serbs (Dalmats) with the intention to establish their precise chronology as much as possible and thus provide a clearer and more complete picture of the Serbian leaders, but also of narrative techniques and composition of the work of the learned princess.

Deconstructing the narrative, constructing a meaning: Why was the Alexiad written?

Author(s): Larisa Vilimonović / Language(s): English Issue: 52/2015

In the present article I offer a narratological approach to Byzantine historiography and an aim to elucidate the key elements of narrative theory that would be useful for investigating medieval Byzantine histories and their complex narrative structures. The focus is put on the key narratological aspects – genre, author, text and the audience – as those elements represent the core of literary criticism and contemporary studies of Byzantine literature. Through useful examples from the Alexiad, I intend to show how this theoretical vehicle functions and I hope to open a new field of scholarly communication on the matter of approach towards Byzantine historiography.

Сава, Стефан Радослав и Димитрије Хоматин

Author(s): Bojan Miljković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

The paper analyses once again, based on written sources, the relationship between the uncle – the first Serbian archbishop, and his nephew – the second Serbian king of the Nemanjić dynasty. It also explores their relations with the Ohrid Archbishopric, i.e. its then archpastor Demetrios Chomatenos. Chronologically, the paper spans two decades between the foiled attempt at marrying Nemanja’s heirs with the Angeloi of Epiros by the middle of the second decade of the 13th century and Radoslav’s withdrawal from the historical stage by the middle of the fourth decade of the same century.

„Измишљање“ Вавилона – географија и хагиографија у блискоисточном итинерару Светог Саве Српског

Author(s): Aleksandar Z. Savić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 52/2015

Of all the places St Sava of Serbia had allegedly visited during his second voyage to the East, the attention of scholars was particularly drawn to those which the author of his first vita, Domentijan, designated as ‘Great Babylon’ and ‘Great Egypt’. The article presents a new hypothesis on how this segment of Sava’s itinerary was (re)constructed on the literary plane, i. e. how the perspective of his hagiographer, a hieromonk of the Hilandar monastery, was influenced and shaped by geographical knowledge, personal experience, and finally, by the general conventions of the vita genre.

Bulgaren und deutsche im Zeitalter der Ottonen (919–1024)

Author(s): Vassil Gjuzelev / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2003

The article analyzed testifies of Bulgarian-German relations during the specified period. The Bulgarian-German relations are discussed in light of the relations of the two countries with the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary.

За Самуил след Самуил (Представата за цар Самуил и приемниците му във византийските извори от XI-XII в.)

Author(s): Srdžan Pirivatrič / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2003

The article analyses the conception of the Bulgarian kings, i.e. Samuil and his successors, in two sigilla of the Byzantine Emperor Basil II (976 - 1025) dated to 1019 and 1020, in the Chronicle of John Skylitzes of the 11th c., in the works of the eminent writers of the same epoch, Michael Psellus and Michael Ataliates, of the 12th с. authors Nicephorus Bryennius, Anna Comnena, Michael of Devol and John Zonaras. The author examines the variety of conceptions the different Byzantine circles had of the Bulgarians, their rulers and their state during different times. First they were conceived as rulers of a rebellious people, and after the subjection of the Bulgarian state their names were deliberately mentioned without a title. In the 12th с. the Bulgarian kings began to be mentioned more favourably as royal relatives and as belonging to a royal family.

Pogányok között

Author(s): László Balogh / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2015

Berend Nóra: A kereszténység kapujában. Zsidók, muszlimok és „pogányok” a középkori Magyar Királyságban. 1000 k – 1300 k. Attraktor, Máriabesnyő, 2012. 372 oldal

Наблюдения върху цикъла старобългарски историко-апокалиптични творби от Х–XI в.

Author(s): Angel Nikolov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/1997

The article examines the Old Bulgarian translations and redactions of two Byzantine apocalyptic texts – the Vision of Methodius of Pathara and the Vision of Daniel, as well as the cycle of original Old Bulgarian compilative works that have sprung under their influence – Interpretation of Daniel, Bulgarian Apocryphal Chronicle and Skazanie of the Prophet Isaiah. The author offers a new dating of some of the texts and attempts at partially identifying their sources. He links the interest of the Old Bulgarian writers in this sort of texts with the tendency to present the tragic for Bulgaria events of the period from the second half of the 10th с. to the second half of the 11th с. as a fulfilment of the ancient prophecies of the „last times“. The cycle of texts in question received certain fresh topicality during the invasion of the Ottoman Turks in 14th с.

A Volga és az Al-Duna között élő nomád kun törzsszövetség története, eredete és kapcsolatai 1055-től a mongol hódításig

Author(s): Sándor Szmutkó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2016

Kovács Szilvia: A kunok története a mongol hódításig. (Magyar Őstörténeti Könyvtár 29.) Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 2014. 329 oldal

Un amnar din sec. al VI-lea e.n. descoperit la Dervent (jud. Constanța)

Author(s): Petre Diaconu / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/1974

In this paper the author presents three objects: an iron rod, an iron lighter and a piece of flint. The lighter, of the type of those with link, was known to the Roman world. The paper presented dates from the 6th century

Половецкое погребение в кургане 2 могильника Кисляковский 13 (Краснодарский край)

Author(s): Boris A. Raev,Maxim Belov,Anna Zhadaeva / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2017

The Kislyakovskiy 13 kurgan cemetery was excavated in 2008 by an expedition of the Southern Scientific Center, RAS. Kurgan 2 contained two graves – one dated to the first centuries AD, the other to the Middle Ages, when the North Black Sea steppes were inhabited by the nomadic Polovеts tribes. This article discusses grave 2.The burial was made in a chamber in the form of a niche. Robbers destroyed one of the grave’s walls but the burial remained undisturbed.The buried woman of 35-40 years old was laying extended on back, head to west. Decayed wood from the funerary stretchers preserved under the skeleton. The rich grave goods included a bronze cauldron, an iron knife, two silver torques, hair rings, and a mirror. Fragments of the wooden frame, felt, textile, and gilded silver foil from a headdress preserved in area of the woman’s chest.The kurgan was encircled by a ditch; its northern part had two ledged niches made in the outer wall. Animal bones and ceramic shards with remains of the funerary feast were unearthed on the ditch bottom.The ditch was thoroughly made and has unique construction features. Judging by its lower layers, the dug-out soil was stacked not only on the kurgan’s surface but also round the ditch’s outer perimeter. The ditch remained opened for a long time and was gradually filled with flooded soil.Grave goods are typical for the Cuman graves of the 12th - early 13th centuries. The assemblage suggests a high social status of the buried woman. It is possible that for some time the area surrounded by the ditch was used as a sanctuary; afterwards the burial of a noble woman was performed, the kurgan was covered with a layer of soil.

Új bizánci forrásgyűjtemény a középkori magyar történelemről

Author(s): Sándor László Tóth / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2017

Bizánci források az Árpád-kori magyar történelemhez. Kiegészítés Moravcsik Gyula „Az Árpád-kori magyar történet bizánci forrásai című” forrásgyűjteményéhez. Collected, translated and introduced by Terézia Olajos. Acta Universitatis Szegediensis Opuscula Byzantina XII. Lectum Kiadó, Szeged, 2014

Az Árpádok trónöröklési rendje a 10–12. században

Author(s): Péter Juhász / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2017

This paper aims to examine the Árpád dynasty’s order of succession between the 10th and 12th centuries, which has been a topic of debates for a long time. There are clear signs of an order of succession in the 10th century in which different branches descendant from the sons of Árpád followed one another in the position of supreme authority. Our sources are not sufficient for the examination of the stability of this system and Géza’s rise to power, who followed Taksony as his son. Stephen I’s desire to introduce primogeniture is clearly demonstrable, as it constituted an integral part of his new state structure. With Andrew I’s ascension to the throne, the old order of succession, in which the heir was the brother of the former ruler or came from another branch of the family, seems to have returned. It is unclear whether the division of the country between Vazul’s sons had any links to the duchies during the reign of Géza, or the Gyula’s regnum in Transylvania. It is possible that these conventions could become parts of the feudal state structure due to the contemporary Czech and Polish examples. Coloman was the first after Andrew to name his son as his heir. The background of this decision is uncertain, it is possible that its only reason was the impatience and rebelling of Álmos, who was originally considered to be his heir. The Álmos branch kings’ strong intention to introduce Christian primogeniture was most likely motivated by their irresolvable emotional opposition to the Coloman branch, which resulted in their abandonment of the ancient custom. However, respect for the previous order also survived in the Álmos branch. Seniority or successio gradualis, which appeared as an ancient law as opposed to primogeniture, which was the common order of succession in Christian monarchies, can be traced back to the succession customs of the 10th century Árpáds.

Orgyilkosok, kémek, rajtaütés (A hadviselés alternatív módszerei az izlandi sagákban)

Author(s): Csete Katona / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2017