Крепостные сооружения средневековой Алушты

Author(s): Vladimir P. Kirilko / Language(s): Russian Issue: 6/2014

Crimea; Aluston; Justinian I; medieval fortification; Alushta towersHistory of Alushta, which developed from a small Byzantine outpost to a small urban center — i. e. Genoese commercial trading post with a powerful fortress — distinguishes five main construction horizons connected with erection of specific fortification structures:1 — early Byzantine (560s — second half - late 7th c.),2 — Khazar (8th c. — first half of 10th c.),3 — Byzantine (950s — late 13th c.),4 — Golden Horde (late 13th — 1380s),5 — Genoese (1380s — 1470s).The fort was founded by Justinian I (527—565) and first represented a trilateral court fenced by powerful walls, erected atop a small hill at the seaside. In the 9th — 10th cc., the area of the fortress extends towards the field side owing to a smal trading quarter fenced by a defensive wall from the outside. The wall was destroyed in 10th c. and was not restored ever after. For a number of centuries, the initial fort served as the only protection for the urban dwellers. The second line of defense reemerged in 1420s. The most important changes in fortifications happened in 1460s, and hence the fort acquired its accomplished form. It included capital reconstruction of the external wall, then out-of-date and worn. The obsolete curtains were replaced by a new, more powerful wall, which was erected outside, in the immediate vicinity with the old curtains, and which was fortified by three towers at the field side.

The legal context of death in the time of the Mojmírs and the Árpáds

Author(s): Miroslav Lysý / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

The death of a person is a complex issue fact that older law looked at in two ways. First and foremost, death represented a consequence; the application of a legal sanction. The oldest law considered execution more as a means of healing, as a ritual, and only in the late Middle Ages was execution thought of as a deterrent or a means of retaliation towards a criminal. In the second approach, death could be a prerequisite for a range of legal consequences. For example, a marriage ends with a death, and after the canonical form of marriage was instituted, death was the only legal method of ending a marriage. Naturally, death was key in inheritance law, as it is a prerequisite for obtaining family assets. Legal holdovers from the Árpád period regulated in particular the protection of widows and the interests of the presently forming nobility among the population.

Keď ariánski vandali ovládli starší rím... reflexie byzantských autorov k otázke jednoty cirkvi po roku 1054

Author(s): Martin Hurbanič / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 1/2024

One of the consequences of the so-called Great Schism of 1054 was the establishment of a permanent religious controversy between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. The contemporaries of this event (Michael Keroullarios and Peter of Antioch) had marginalised its effects on the relations of both churches. Yet, they formulated their views on the issue of religious unity by pushing the origin of the schism deep into the past. Accordingly, we can find later statements in anti-Latin polemics influenced by the events of 1054. Among others, the motif of the religious apostasy of Rome and the alleged corruption of the Latin faith by the Arian Vandals appears here. In so doing, the Byzantine authors wanted to emphasise that it was Rome and its popes who were responsible for the religious purity in their patriarchate, that means, in the administrative area of the Latin West. According to the Byzantine ethnography, various barbarians represented the same entity, regardless of their respective name. Subsequently, the non-distinction between the ethnonyms Goths, Vandals, and Franks by the Byzantine authors made it possible to introduce a further motif, that of another Vandal/German/Frankish capture of Rome. However, the Byzantine authors did not have in mind any specific military occupation, but rather the rise to power of the Ottonians from the middle of the 10th century, as well as their influence on both the policies and beliefs of the Roman popes. Building on the aforementioned, the analysed texts indicate how Byzantine church officials perceived the relations between the two churches after the critical year 1054.

Нотирани паметници от Югозападните български земи до XV век

Author(s): Svetlana Kujumdzieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The notated manuscripts from the South-Western Bulgarian lands up to the fifteenth century are discussed. The sources are an evidence for the adoption of the musical systems that were in use at that time in the Balkan Orthodox countries – ekphonetic, palaeo-, middle- and late-byzantine. The systems were adopted on a high professional level. Numerous Triodia manuscripts testify to the work started in the Ohrid school at the time of St. Clement of Ohrid on the preparation of the repertory in Old Bulgarian language that was necessary for the worship in the newly founded Bulgarian Church: for Great Lent, Easter and post-Easter time, as it was pointed out in the Vita of St. Clement. The adoption of the musical systems on a high professional level suggests the maintenance of the church music by a strong liturgical and educational center, such as the Bulgarian Archbishopric in Ohrid.

Веселин Бешевлиев и дейността му в Института по балканистика

Author(s): Bojan Beshevliev,Snezhana Rakova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The article presents the activity of corresponding member of BAS V. Beševliev for the period from 1964 to 1975, in particular, when he headed a group on “Historical Geography” at the Institute of Balkan Studies. Some of his publications on the mentioned issues are commented, as well as his activity in publishing thematic collections on the ancient and medieval historical geography of the Balkans. For this purpose, documents from the personal archive of Prof. Tapkova-Zaimova, the personal archive of B. Beševliev and some publications on the pages of “Etudes Balkaniques” were attracted. The contributions of Prof. Tapkova-Zaimova herself, who succeeded V. Beševliev as head of the department (until 1989), are also presented. The second generation of young (then) scientists who took on the path of research in historical geography was represented by B. Beševliev and E. Todorova.

Thracica et protobulgarica: Кръгла маса по повод 120 години от- рождението на проф. Веселин Бешевлиев

Author(s): Yoanna Bencheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The conference „Thracica et protobulgarica. Round table on the occasion of 120 years since the birth of Professor Veselin Beševliev“ was held on 6th November 2020. The papers presented and the following discussion confirmed and clarified some of Professor Beševliev’s ideas on the reading of the first Bulgarian inscriptions, the origin of the first Bulgarians and their role in the cultural life of the First Bulgarian Empire, the rule of Khan Krum and others. The contribution of the famous Bulgarian scholar to the development of historical geography in Bulgaria was also noted. It became apparent that Professor Beševliev’s research continues to be a solid basis for the study of our past, epigraphy, onomastics and historical geography.

Общностите на духа в Българското средновековие. Контури на един възможен тип изследователски обекти

Author(s): Dmitry Polyvyannnyy / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2019

The article represents full written version of inaugural speech in occasion of conferring on the author the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa of Sofia University "St. Clement of Ochrid" delivered in the Aula on Мау, 28th, 2018. It goes to substantiate the notion of spiritual communities ( communities of Spirit) as а research object in medieval Bulgarian culture drawing together contemporary academic approach and medieval understanding of specific type communities, both imagined and really existing. The author reveals specific features of such communities against the background of the intellectual networking communities theory bу British sociologist Randall Collins, the research project "Complexities and Networks in the Medieval Mediterranean and the Near East- СОMMED" bу Austrian Academy of Science and the results of recent studies of Byzantine intellectual life.

Полезен инструмент за изследвания на историята и културата на Византия

Author(s): Ivan Bilyarski,Anna Lazarova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2024

Review of the book: Αλέξιος Γ. Κ. Σαββίδης, Για ένα νέο βιογραφικό λεξικό του Βυζαντίου. Εισαγωγική συμβολή, τόμος Α’, Αθήνα, Εκδόσεις Παπαζήση, 2024, σ. 420, ISBN (τόμ. Α’) 978-960-02-4238-6; Αλέξιος Γ. Κ. Σαββίδης (επιμ.), Νέο βιογραφικό λεξικό του Βυζαντίου, τόμος Β’ & Γ’, Αθήνα, Εκδόσεις Παπαζήση, 2024

Стопанският облик на балканския град според географския труд на ал-Идриси (ХII век)

Author(s): Stoyanka Kenderova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2025

The work of the Arab geographer Abu Abd Allah ibn Muhammad al-Idrisi (d. 1165), titled “Entertainment of the Longing to Traverse the Countries” (Nuzhat al-Mushtaq), was created under the patronage of the Norman King Roger II (1130–1154) and completed in 1153 in Palermo. The text reflects or mentions a total of 184 Balkan settlements, described with varying levels of detail. The information was gathered from sailors, merchants, travelers, Arabs in Roger II’s army operating in the Balkans, Crusaders returning from the Holy Land via Sicily, and other sources. In describing these settlements, Al-Idrisi follows a structured approach: the settlements are situated along main trade and military routes or their branches, with details on their size and the distances between them. The descriptions provide a vivid depiction of cultivated fields, vineyards, orchards, and bustling markets, presenting a comprehensive view of the economic and social life in the region.

В сезонния ритъм: представата за годишните времена у средновековния българин в контекста на селскостопанската дейност

Author(s): Teodora Georgieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2025

Weather conditions directly influenced human activities, and it is no surprise that even in the Middle Ages, climate variability led people to seek explanations for various weather phenomena. During this pre-industrial period, agrarian societies were highly dependent on natural resources. The geographical environment, along with natural and climatic conditions, shaped the primary occupation of medieval people: agriculture. Meteorological descriptions were often influenced by sociocultural factors, incorporating both theological interpretations and observations of the natural world. Weather forecasting relied on interpreting signs, such as unusual natural phenomena, which required explanation. The interest in climate and environmental changes was closely linked to agricultural activity and the need for sustenance. Evidence of this is found in Byzantine narratives, hagiographies, hexameters, oratorical prose, and even apocryphal literature. These texts reflect the daily life of medieval people, their fears for the harvest, and their perceptions of climatic conditions. The medieval period reveals a climate perception with minimal abstraction, where daily life was governed by the rhythm of the seasons, natural conditions, beliefs, and the drive to understand the surrounding environment.

Сведения за стопанството в средновековните български приписки

Author(s): Denitsa Petrova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2025

Various texts have been used as sources of information about the economy in medieval Bulgaria, yet marginal notes in manuscripts have largely been overlooked by researchers. The main reason is the scarcity of economic data contained in these annotations. Only a few marginal notes, dating from the 12th to the 15th centuries, offer insights into economic matters. These notes confirm the essential role of bread and grain in the sustenance of medieval society. They also provide rare evidence of rabbit and poultry farming in the Bulgarian lands, a topic scarcely mentioned in other sources. When compared with other materials, such as charters issued by Bulgarian rulers, works by Western authors, and later Ottoman documents regarding market and port fees, these brief annotations contribute valuable details that enrich our understanding of the medieval Bulgarian economy.

Дипломация и търговия: хрисовулите на византийските императори за Венеция от ХІІ до ХV век (включително и от времето на Латинската империя)

Author(s): Snezhana Rakova,Galina Galabova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2025

The Republic of Venice received numerous privileges from the Byzantine emperors through chrysobulls issued to them. These official documents were signed by nearly every ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire from the tenth to the fifteenth century. This model of diplomacy and trade regulation was maintained despite significant changes during the Latin Empire and later in Palaeologan Byzantium. The practice was subsequently adopted by the rulers of the Slavic states in the Balkans and later by the Ottomans, who inherited Byzantine traditions. This research examines the commercial clauses within the chrysobulls, supplemented by information from other narrative and documentary sources, to outline the trade relations between Venice and Byzantium. The study traces changes in trade regulations and the types of goods exchanged during three main periods: Komnenian Byzantium, the Latin Empire, and Palaeologan Byzantium, concluding with the fall of the Empire in 1453.

Българското политическо и етническо присъствие в гр. Облучица–Исакча от края на ХІІ до края на ХVІІ в.

Author(s): Tervel Popov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 2/2024

During the 13th–15th centuries Obluchitsa-Isakcha was ruled by various states. It finaly fell under Ottoman rule in 1419/1420. A number of autors claim that the Danubian town was located on Bulgarian lands. The name “Obluchitsa” also testifies to his Bulgarian affiliation. It was preserved and used alongside the name “Isakcha” for a long time, wich is evident in many historical sources. In 1462 Bulgarians were the predominant Christian population inhabiting Obluchitsa-Isakcha. Although foreign invasions had a negative impact on the town's population, the Bulgarian ethnical presence remained strong among its diverse population in the 16th–17th centuries.

Osvjetljavanje Bosanskog ejaleta

Author(s): Romeo Knežević / Language(s): Bosnian,Croatian,Serbian Issue: 1/2004

Srećko Matko Džaja, doktor povijesti, političke filozofije i slavenske filologije, izvanredno je značajan autor s područja historiografije a da bih se smio upustiti u kritičku raspravu i ocjenu ovog njegovog djela s izrazito stručnog stajališta. Ali ono što je osim ovoga također moguće to je politologijska procjena implikacija historiografskih stavova ovoga autora izraženih u ovome djelu. S takvim pristupom, doduše, njegov autor sigurno ne bi bio oduševljen ali, uvjeren sam, ne bi bio suviše niti protiv, pogotovu, ako bi to bilo korektno i minuciozno izvedeno s obzirom na utvrđene činjenice i njihove značenjske implikacije.

Международна научна конференция „ 1010 години от смъртта на българския цар Самуил. Самуилова България – история и култура“

Author(s): Georgi N. Nikolov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2024

Jana Peroutková, „Chrám Matky Boží před Týnem v období středověku”, NLN, s.r.o., Praha 2020 (Opera Facultatis theologiae catholicae Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis. Historia et historia artium, 36), ss. 272, fot. i rys. kolor. i cz.-b. nlb.; ...

Author(s): Bogusław Czechowicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 20/2024

An extensive and polemical review concerns two books devoted to the main parish church of the Old Town in Prague. One of their features is Bohemocentrism. It is expressed in the perception of this church and its furnishings almost exclusively in the context of political and artistic phenomena taking place in the Bohemian Kingdom, and not in the context of the entire Crown of the Kingdom of Bohemia. This is all the more striking because this building actively participated in the political life of the capital of the state and as such came into coincidence with phenomena taking place in the second largest city of the Bohemian Crown – in Wrocław. The scholarly nature of both studies is also undermined by the peculiar patriotic tone stigmatized in the review, taken from the nineteenth- and twentieth-century publications, now anachronistic and certainly completely unnecessary.

Trpimir Vedriš, Gábor Klaniczay, Dorottya Uhrin, ur., The Saints of Rome. Diffusion and Reception from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern Period

Author(s): Maja Hučić / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 67/2024

Review of: Trpimir Vedriš, Gábor Klaniczay, Dorottya Uhrin, ur., The Saints of Rome. Diffusion and Reception from Late Antiquity to the Early Modern Period, Zagreb: Hagiotheca; Leykam, 2022, 234 stranice

DEVTASHLAR, GROUP 26 IN THE FIELD OF PLISKA

Author(s): Мariela Inkova / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2025

Although the early medieval Bulgarian commemorative monuments, now known by the Turkish word “devtashlar” (pl.), have been studied for more than a century, few of them are systematically excavated. They represent groups of large stone blocks with an irregular parallelepiped shape, in most cases standing in rows along the cardinal directions. They are concentrated in the Pliska field, but mostly by the road sleading from Pliska to the two large earthen fortifications at Kabiyuk and the Stan village. The devtashlar of Group 26 are located east of Zlatna Niva village, Shumen region. The context of all the 27 preserved megaliths has been studied. They are set in 7 by 7 rows, facing northeast. In front of most of them, a small area of levelled stone was cleared, with animal bones and early medieval pottery from the 8th – first half of the 9th centuries, evidence of ritual practices. The quarries in the Pliska area were established and the mass of the stones, exceeding 6 tons. This suggests that the formation of the separate groups of devtashlar was the result of organised and long-term centralised activity connected with official practice in the pagan Bulgarian state on the Lower Danube.

THE SECRET UNDERGROUND PASSAGEWAYS IN PLISKA. PROBLEMS OF CHRONOLOGY

Author(s): Andrey Aladzhov,Stanislav Stanilov,Yanko Dimitrov / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2025

This article is focused on some unique structures that are an integral part of the earliest stratigraphic horizon of the first Bulgarian capital, Pliska. Some have been thoroughly investigated, while others have been studied only partially. They are one of the most challenging structures to excavate in Pliska because of their depth (sometimes up to 3.5 m) and length (the longest are over 270 m long). Secret passages are divided into two groups depending on their original purpose. The first includes the tunnels used as emergency exits, and the second includes underground passageways that provide invisible movement between residential, representative and cult buildings. The secret passageways in Pliska are unparalleled in the early medieval town planning in the First Bulgarian Kingdom. Tunnels have not been found during the study of other early medieval urban centres on the territory of Bulgaria. They remain one of the main features of what we define today as the “Pliska Phenomenon”. Their use coincides in general with the pagan capital period (the end of the 7th century until 864 CE) of Pliska.

Нова книга върху историята и културата на Волжка България

Author(s): Hristo Matanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2025

Review of: Georgi Vladimirov. The Bulgars of the Volga. Sofia: Bulgarian History, 2024