НИКИТА ХОНИАТ СРЕЩУ МАНУИЛ I КОМНИН: ПОЛЕМИКА, СВЪРЗАНА С ИСЛЯМА, В КОНТЕКСТА НА ВИЗАНТИЙСКАТА ТРАДИЦИЯ

Author(s): Dimitar Yordanov Dimitrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2016

Byzantine society had very complex relations with the Islamic Eastern neighbors. Islam, to be sure, started and continued to be menace for Byzantium for the all long eighth centuries they used to coexist. However, Byzantine society needed a certain period of time to accept Islam as another religion, standing against Christianity in the East. After the first Byzantine revenge acts against Judaism a long tradition was formed with two main streams. The first of them envisaged Islam as a demoniac pseudo-religion (or anti-religion), the second being milder and ready to accept the Islamic neighbors not as a whole, but rather as different states, culturally not so different from Byzantium, with diplomacy playing role for keeping balance in the East. Thus, the Byzantine Real politik appeared as a phenomenon, what provoked crusaders to accuse Byzantium as being traitor to the Christian cause in the East. In that context should we pose the interesting incident at the end of Manuel I Komnenos’ reign (1143 – 1180). Both Church and society were provoked by the decision of the Emperor to lift up the anathemas against Allah from the trivial ritual of denouncing Islam. This formula was used generally by Muslims who converted to Christianity for whatever reason. Manuel sent twice tomoi for approval, provoking no less than an angry reaction in the Church and society. Thus, two main concepts made a stand against each other, a more traditional one and another, more practical, political, if not to say tolerant. For Manuel and his followers, who were not missing, as we know from Choniates, the doctrine of Muhammadwas just a deviation, untrue enough, of the unified Biblical tradition implying, anyhow, the existence of one and only God, Creator of the world. His opponents, Choniates being definitely among them, refused even to listen to such an interpretation. This radically harsh view on Islam corresponded with the anathemas against Islam in Choniates’ Treasure of Orthodoxy. Although in that particular case Choniates took side with the traditional opposition against the Emperor, in his History he used to be more delicate observer of Muslims, especially when comparing them with the Latins who became “champions” of his wrath.

Църковният закон на патриарх Василий в Архивския номоканон (ЦИАИ 1160)

Author(s): Ancho Kaloyanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2015

The Arhivski Nomocanon (Church History and Archives Institute 1160) is end of the 14th century copy of the Penitential Nomocanon of the Bulgarian church. Its initial composition originated in 913 from translated and domestic legal documents and later new texts were added, among which we identify Patriarch Vasilii’s Ecclesiastical law. In the Law the total number of rules is 117, united thematically in 9 groups, of which the first two are meaningful: the first is about the hierarchy in the autocephalous Church headed by a Patriarch, the second establishes the priority of the ecclesiastical court over the tsar’s court, sign of the uniat with Rome (1204–1232) at the time of Patriarch Vasilii’s rule.

Византийските свещени войни: проблеми и дискусии

Author(s): Iliyan Mihov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2015

The article discusses various aspects of Byzantine Empire’s history in the 6th – 7th c., called by some historiographers the “Holy Wars of Early Byzantium”. In the 6th c. the Byzantines built up the most enduring medieval doctrine – the doctrine of the Holy Empire: it is the idea of the Sacred Byzantine Empire understood as a union of State and Church. An important aspect in the Medieval worldview is the unity of religion and politics. The idea of the inextricable link between the Byzantine Empire and the Christian faith turns on the traditional ancient view of the world, which is divided into Roman and barbarian and now began to be divided into Christian and non-Christian. Between the 3rd and 7th c., Byzantium’s main rival in public attitude is the Sasanian Empire. The culmination of these relations are the so-called Heraclius’ Wars with the Sasanian Empire and the restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem. The emergence of a new religious-political doctrine – the Islam and Byzantium’s attitude to the new historical realities during Nicephorus II Phocas (963 – 969) and John I Tzimiskes (969 – 976) are also discussed. In parallel, the Crusades occurred in Western Europe that creates a new dimension to the concept of Holy War, which even today builds up the image of the so-called Holy wars.

Ценен принос в изследването на книгата "Лествица" от св. Йоан Синайски

Author(s): Vladimir Donev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2014

Славянската златоустова еклога. „Слово за пришествие Христово” по ръкопис № 11 от Свято -Троицката Сергиева лавра издание. Идентификация на източниците

Author(s): Sergey Kim / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2013

The Slavonic text of „Oration about the advent of Christ”, on which is dedicated this article is found in manuscript №11, in the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, dating back to the end of ХІV. The name of the manuscript is „Златая цепь / Zlataya tsepj”. Two Greek sources were found, which were considered in the offered edition of the oration. The oration is accepted as a work created on Slavonic ground.

The Bulgarians from the Sibiu Region. Documents and Testimonials on the Communities from Bungard and Rusciori

Author(s): Nicoleta Annemarie Munteanu,Eugen Străuţiu / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2021

The Bulgarian presence in southern Transylvania, limited to four communities, was investigated accidentally, predominating the repertoire of facts – and is almost completely devoid of causal and comparative explanations. On the other hand, the two Bulgarian communities in the vicinity of Sibiu, Bungard and Rusciori, were never explained in relation to the historical era in which they were founded, neither concerning the guardian factor from Sibiu (political-administrative and religious), nor in their mutual relation. In these conditions, our research proposes: to identify and systematize, chronologically and logically, the relevant facts (from an ethnic, religious, administrative, linguistic point of view); to explain in a causal and comparative way the similar and divergent evolutions of the two communities; to discover and evaluate the external influences, which have determined decisive options regarding the adoption of the Lutheran or Orthodox confessions, as well as that of the Romanian or German languages; to explain the causes of the disappearance of the two Bulgarian communities, in terms of relations between external factors and internal decisions – adopted according to the group and individual interests. Specifically, we analyse the processes by which the Bulgarians from Bungard went from Orthodoxy to Lutheranism and then returned to Orthodoxy, while preserving the Romanian language. On the other hand, we point to a unique case in Transylvania, in which a community (Bulgarians from Rusciori), without acquiring the German language – and therefore without access to the founding cultural values of this nation – became a most active contributor to Nazi inspired German nationalism. The destiny of the Bulgarians from there merged (only after the compulsory education during the communist regime made the young Bulgarian-speaking Germans) with the fate of the German community in Romania, who emigrated en masse to “Vaterland”, where they are building their own futures.

Антон К. Салмин. Савиры, булгары и тюрко-монголы в истории чувашей. Санкт-Петербург, ‘Нестор-История’, 2019. 296 с.

Author(s): Tsvetelin Stepanov / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2021

Book Review

The Baptism of Relics of Oleg and Yaropolk: Ethical, Theological and Political Aspects

Author(s): Roman Dodonov,Vira Dodonova,Oleksandr Konotopenko / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

A stereoscopic view on a particular historical event, in which contemporary assessments are combined with mental stereotypes of a medieval man, allows a slightly different assessment of the chronicle plot about the posthumous “baptism of bones” of Oleg and Yaropolk, Princes of Kyivan Rus, in 1044. While from theological positions it is perceived as an absurdity and a direct violation of the rules of the church, in the Middle Ages this act did not contradict the mass religious beliefs. From an ethical point of view, the action of Yaroslav the Wise was regarded as concern for the souls of the ancestors who died pagans and therefore did not claim for the salvation. The soteriological optimism that prevailed in the eleventh century in countries of the late Christianization, including Kyivan Rus, gave hope that living people were able to influence the fate of the souls of the dead. From a political point of view, the baptism of the ashes of the ancestors and their reburial in the family tomb of the Princes of Kyiv in the Church of the Tithes was aimed at expanding the circle of heavenly patrons and protectors of the princely dynasty, expanding the period of the Christian history of Kyivan Rus, and, as a result, legitimizing the power of Yaroslav the Wise.

BELLS AND BELL RINGING IN MEDIEVAL SERBIA AND BULGARIA

Author(s): Alex Rodriguez Suarez / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

This study looks at bells and bell ringing in the medieval Balkans byfocusing on historical Serbia and Bulgaria. It provides a comprehensive view of the use of bells for religious purposes from the thirteenth century until the early Ottoman period. The evidence examined is organised in two parts; the first one deals with written sources while the second is a catalogue of church bells preserved in the region under study. Dated to the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth century, some of these instruments are recent discoveries while others are not well known among scholars. This is the first time that most extant bells from the region are analysed together, offering the opportunity to trace the development of these artefacts in the Balkans. In a third section the information from written sources and actual bells is discussed in conjunction.

POVIJEST REDOVNIŠTVA U SENJU I OKOLICI

Author(s): Mile Bogović,Josip Frković / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 1/2021

Monasticism appeared in the Church as an organised community after 313, i.e. after Christianity gained freedom. In Croatia, monasticism was also influenced by the West and the East, the Western and Eastern Churches, i.e. the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Monasticism in Senj and the surroundings remained faithful to the West, however, it inherited the Glagolitic script and Old Slavic (Old Croatian) worship from the Eastern heritage, due to which it played an important role of local, national and even global proportions. The Benedictines came to the Senj area in the 12th century and had their abbeys in Sveti Juraj, Senjska Draga and Senj. The Templars also came to Senj in the 12th century, the Franciscans a century later, and the Dominicans in the 14th century. The Pauline monasteries in Ljubotina (today Spasovac) and Vlaška Draga (today Sveta Jelena) date from the 14th century, and their presence in Senj itself was recorded in 1634. Around 1622, the Augustinians operated in Senj for a short time. When it came to material support for the monks, the Frankopans stood out in particular, and after them were King Matthias Corvinus and his successors on the throne. Of the women’s religious communities that appeared later, the activities of the Sisters of Charity (in the 19th and 20th centuries), the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (in the 20th century), the Sisters of the Immaculata (in the 20th century) and the Franciscans (also in the 20th century) were noted in Senj. The religious communities in this area made a great contribution in a religious sense, as well as in education, the spread of literacy and culture, and the development of the economy and construction. With the departure of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from Senj in 1997, the thousand-year continuity of monastic life and work in Senj and its immediate surroundings was interrupted.

Между греха и наказанието: Образът на чумата в църковното изкуство и във фолклора

Author(s): Kristiyan Kovachev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2021

The periods of crisis that certain societies go through change the already established order. They provoke a rethinking of existence and the need to seek protection from above against what cannot be driven away by any means known to man. The late medieval post-Byzantine Balkan churches fully illustrate this. Some of them, especially those in the places directly affected by a certain epidemic, appear after such critical moments, and in their collection of images, the disease itself finds its own place, acquiring at the same time a set of anthropomorphic features. The protection of God or some of His saints is sought after when it comes to acting against the plague. The article tries in an interdisciplinary way (combining history, culturology and theory of art) to emphasize on the image of the plague in the Orthodox Christian image system. The motif of the Dance of Death (Danse Macabre), in which rulers,clergy and peasants are involved, was influenced by the “procession” of the infection throughout Europe and has been repeatedly discussed in the scientific literature.Within the Balkan Orthodox Christian folklore, the plague appears as a strange girl who is constantly scratching herself, or as an old crone - in most cases presented as a witch. People turn to St. Charalambos to be their intercessor before God and to relieve them from the trouble that befell them. The vernacular idea of St. Charalambos as a victor over the plague, which he captured and chained, is reflected in the church’s visual tradition.

Hay b. Yakzan ve Robinson Crusoe Adlı Eserlerin Tarihsel Fenomenolojik Açıdan İncelenmesi

Author(s): İlknur Söylemez / Language(s): Turkish Issue: 56/2021

To understand a religious tradition, it is very important to know the socio-cultural accumulation of the community, which has that religious tradition, such as folklore, mythology, literature, and art. This is because ethnological data are used to understand and interpret the actions, mutual relations, belief systems, religious societies and institutions, rituals and customs of religious people or people with a religious tradition. In the light of these data, literary works that mirror the society in particular reflect the human understanding and worldview of their civilizations in a sense by revealing the quality of their relations with their individuals, society, culture and Creator. In this study, it is aimed to make a historical phenomenological comparison of two different worlds, namely the worldviews and cultures hidden behind these two literary texts by evaluating the perspectives of eastern and western cultures on human, society and socio-cultural life, which are revealed within the framework of Ḥayy and Robinson models.

ПРИНОСЪТ НА ЛИТУРГИЯТА КЪМ КОНЦЕПЦИЯТА НА САКРАЛНОТО ПРОСТРАНСТВО НА ВИЗАНТИЙСКИ ПАМЕТНИК С ГРОБНИЧНО ЗНАЧЕНИЕ: СЛУЧАЯТ С БАЧКОВСКАТА КОСТНИЦА

Author(s): Yoanna Planchette / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 19/2021

The funerary chapel of the Bachkovo monastery stands out among other Byzantine sanctuaries especially for the specific symbolic meaning of its iconographical programme. Conceived in accordance with the liturgical use of the building, its frescoes served as visual support to the celebration of commemorative and funerary services for salvation of the souls of departed monks of the monastery. By introducing a selection of rare representations from the Bachkovo ossuary, I will exemplify the interaction between performed rituals and painted iconography, based on written liturgical sources. Furthermore I will discuss the role of figurative liturgical objects in the definition of sacred space in Byzantine culture.

Етнокултурен модел на историческото съзнание през българското средновековие

Author(s): Valeri Katzounov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 7/1991

The problem of the historical consciousness of the peoples is too wide and not yet well enough researched area in the sphere of the social sciences. In a sense it is a part of a much wider problem of the ethnical consciousness and self-consciousness. The article makes a detailed and critical review of accessible home and foreign publications. On the basis of their review, the author reveals his own understanding upon the raised questions in the specialized literature. A detailed analysis is made on the relations: national consciousness and self-consciousness and historical consciousness and self-consciousness. An original model is built of the historical consciousness considered with the peculiarities of the social development in the different periods of the Bulgarian history for the time from the 7th to the first half of the 18th century. An original principal scheme is presented of composition of ethnical self-consciousness as individual human reflection of a concrete socioimportant ideas. According to the author, this is a complex of complicated, interweaved and mutually connected ideas from which basic are: the idea of community of the origin (from the idea of ethnical identity); the idea of the community of the historical fate (from the idea of a political organization, the idea of state system in society); the idea of cultural peculiarities (from the idea of cultural identity, for cultural community of the society).The first two most precisely reveal the sense of the concepts “historical consciousness” and “historical self-consciousness”.

Към корените на тюркско-иранския синтез: сведенията на османския историк Шюкруллах за произхода на българите

Author(s): Delyan Rusev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2023

The origin and ethnogenesis of the (Proto-)Bulgarian tribes in the Early Middle Ages is a complex topic that has captured the imagination of many historians, medieval and modern alike. The present paper analyzes one relevant account from Bahjat al-tavârikh, a universal history in Persian composed in 1458 by the Ottoman scholar and diplomat Shukrullâh. This highly idiosyncratic but hitherto neglected account presents the Balkan Bulgarians (burjān, bulgatān) as descendants of the Sasanian shah Hormozd IV (r. 579 – 590) who allegedly spent some time in Byzantium (Rûm) while he was a prince. As Hormozd himself is said to have been born from the marriage of Khosrow I Anushirvan (r. 531 – 79) with the daughter of the khagan of the Turks, this legendary evidence seems to imply the mixed Turco-Iranian origin of the Bulgarians – a view shared by some modern researchers. The genesis of the account remains obscure, but contextual and historical analysis has shown that it was not invented by Shukrullâh, who only reproduced it from an unknown source probably dateable to the 8th – 11th centuries.

Ново изследване за българо-византийските отношения през ранносредновековната епоха

Author(s): Yanko Hristov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2023

Църхо и Страхота. Прабългарските имена на св. св. Кирил и Методий

Author(s): Anna Parzymies / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 1/2018

ბიბლიური მეფე დავითი და ქართველი მწერლები (V – XVIII საუკუნეები)

Author(s): Murad Mtvarelidze / Language(s): Georgian Issue: 2/2021

Biblical King Davit is especially popular in ancient Georgian literature. On the one hand, Georgian writers paraphrase his works, which is important, but even more interesting is the fact that in relation to this biblical king, important issues are reflected in the works of Georgian writers, such as the idea of the biblical origin of Georgian kings, symbolic consideration of Davit as Christ the Father, scrambling of Davit and Giant, as well as the metaphors "Davit’s Harp", "Davit's Precepts", "Davit's City", "Davit's Garden". For Georgian writers, Biblical Davit remains an exemplary hero, so when they talk about this or that character, they try to explain their actions with the examples of Davit's life or the aims of his thought, and thus determine the peculiarities of the character or action of this or that character. Strengthening of the royal dynasty of the Bagrationi made the legend of their biblical origin even more actual. Later, with the strengthening and prosperity of the country, this idea acquired more popularity, which was manifested in almost all the ascending stages of the development of Georgian literature. The article shows that the myth has traveled successfully from century to century and on the one hand gave the Georgian kings a sense of specialness, and on the other hand, Georgian writers from this ancestral dynasty used this moment along with their positive aspects to describe this or that historical figure. After the conquest of Georgia by Russia (1801) when the monarchy was abolished in Georgia and the country lost its national independence, this myth was gradually forgotten. Davit Knar, along with his sling, immediately gained popularity in Georgian heraldry. Since the Georgian kings considered themselves the descendants of the biblical Davit, this important element was reflected on the coat of arms of the Bagrationis as a symbol of devotion to the Bible and a kind of permanent and uninterrupted union with it. The metaphor "Davit's harp" in some cases refers to the harp of Davit Psalm-chanter in the literal sense, and is sometimes understood as a psalm chant, as well as the use of this metaphor as a measure to determine the fictional level of this or that work. As for the "Davit’s Precepts", it is a kind of allegorical collocation and primarily considers the views of the prophet Davit on this or that issue. From this point of view, the attitude to Davit’s precepts established by a remarkable Georgian poet of the 18th century, Davit Guramishvili is worth considering. When talking about the origin of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ with Georgian authors or translated monuments, primarily attention is drawn to the term that Davit eulogizes Christ in advance; he prophesies the birth of the Messiah and sings hymns to him. The quotation of Davit's hymns traces the whole of the old Georgian secular or historical writing. For Georgian writers, the important episodes of the life of the biblical King Davit are exemplary, which they refer to when necessary, and his thoughts - a guide, which occupies an important part in the life and work of this or that literary or historical hero.

ჩინეთის ისტორია

Author(s): Emzar Makaradze / Language(s): English,Georgian Issue: 1/2023

Review of the monograph created by a group of authors (Otar Chigladze, Davit Andghuladze, Nana Gelashvili, Shalva Chikhladze, Archil Kalandia, Marine Jibladze) - "History of China". Chief editor and compiler Marine Jibladze, publishing house, "Golden Fleece", Tbilisi, 2022.

The Popular Preachers and Storytellers (Quṣṣāṣ) – The Earliest Historians, Exegetes, and Legal Specialists in Islam

Author(s): Pavel Pavlovich / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2023

Popular preachers and storytellers (quṣṣāṣ; sg. qāṣṣ) appeared towards the middle of the first/seventh century and quickly became the earliest informal historians and exegetes in Islam. Before long, the Umayyad caliphs recognized the political impact of their sermons and institutionalized preaching and storytelling (qaṣaṣ) as a state office. Notwithstanding this fact, informal qaṣaṣ did not vanish altogether, sometimes giving voice to pious discontent with the ruling dynasty. In the present study, I demonstrate that during the Marwānid period qaṣaṣ was combined with judgeship and other official positions. A comparison with documentary sources suggests that during the same period the term qāḍī (judge) was not yet used, and it may have been retroactively grafted onto the Umayyad past by early ʿAbbāsid historical literature. Literary sources also imply the existence of regional hierarchies of quṣṣāṣ. During the second/eighth century, qaṣaṣ lost its significance to the professional collection and transmission of traditions (ḥadīth) for the needs of Islamic jurisprudence and exegesis. Ḥadīth transmitters and critics eventually came to dismiss the quṣṣāṣ with contempt and derision.