A comparison between two migrations in the Byzantine Empire: the Goths and the Pechenegs

Author(s): Alexandru Madgearu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2015

The study compares from several points of view two migratory movements across the Lower Danube: the Tervingi Goths in 376 and the Pechenegs in 1045-1047. In both cases the imperial authorities hoped they would gain supplementary military forces, but the events turned both migratory groups into internal enemies. There are some similarities in the causes of the aforementioned migrations, in the way the Danube was crossed, and as concerns the places granted for settlement, and the integration in the Roman /Byzantine army. In other respects, the movements differed, especially because of the nomadic type of life of the Pechenegs, the Goths being sedentary people who moved from a homeland to another. Both migrations had disastrous effects for the empire, because the emperors were not able to foresee or to prevent the rebellions of these warrior people received as refugees. Instead of more economic and military resources, both the Goths and the Pechenegs caused much trouble in the South-East European provinces.

A destiny across the continents. Interview with Professor Nikolaus G.O. Boroffka (German Archaeological Institute)

Author(s): Vasile Diaconu / Language(s): English Issue: XXXVII/2021

An Interview With Professor Nikolaus G.O. Boroffka from German Archaeological Institute.

A desztalinizáció kísérlete Jugoszláviában

Author(s): József Juhász / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

A fly in amber? Nordic-Balkan citizen diplomacy and cultural connections then and now

Author(s): Dorijan Hajdu,Sabira Ståhlberg / Language(s): English,Romanian Issue: 2/2020

Active citizen diplomacy and cultural connections between the Nordic countries and the Balkans date their beginnings to the eighteenth century. The contacts between ordinary people in Finland and Bulgaria, Sweden and Serbia are a little researched but important aspect of the common history of Europe, created not by states or officials, but by individuals and associations. In the first period until World War II, cultural actors such as writers and artists contributed to the dialogue, but after the change of regimes in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, cultural friendship associations maintained non-formal connections beside the official diplomatic relations. Individual contacts were scarce and exchange mainly channeled through these structures. Today, the politics have changed, but where does citizen diplomacy stand? The role of associations has been significantly reduced in comparison with the Communist era and the friendship model appears antiquated in the time of Internet, increasing individual tourism and growing possibilities for cultural exchange within the European Union framework. This historical overview and conceptual article argues that both a fresh approach and a critical review about citizen diplomacy are needed. Looking in the rear-mirror of the past and into the present and future, it becomes clear that earlier relations and today’s contacts must be mapped out to a larger extent than has ever been done before.

A Habsburg Birodalom és a „korszerűtlenség”

Author(s): Imre Tarafás / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2018

The article presents major historiographical perceptions of the Habsburg Empire: the so-called „classical” thesis, according to which the Empire was an anachronistic, artificial construct condemned to destruction, and the more recent approach by such scholars as Pieter M. Judson, who re-evaluate the role that national identity played in the empire’s life and argue that the empire was in fact more viable than historians had thought before. Furthermore, the article compares the major concepts of the new trend with those of Moritz Csáky, whose immense work concentrates on culture, a field that the major scholars of the new trend tend to ignore. The article argues that with his impressive theoretical knowledge, Csáky manages to offer a concept of culture that surpasses the traditional essentialist interpretation of the notion, providing new framework for interpreting cultural frontiers, transfers and adaptation in the empire. Finally, the author offers a case study which demonstrates the merits of Csáky’s approach. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the importance of examining cultural interactions and transfers for a better understanding of the empire and of the lessons that its history can provide for us.

A Közel-Kelet a hidegháború éveiben. Az Egyesült Államok és a Szovjetunió versenye a Közel-Kelet arab államaiért

Author(s): Máté Percze / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2018

In this study, I examine the geopolitical competition between the Uni-ted States and the Soviet Union in the Middle East. I present the main goals of the superpowers and how they tried to strengthen their influence in the Arab countries. As a result of the American-Soviet rivalry, Arab nationalism, which proclaimed Arab unity, emerged as a serious political force in the Middle East. In my essay, I examine how the idea of Arab nationalism and the United Arab Republic which relied on it, have tried to resist of the significant pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union.

A közigazgatási térfelosztás és a kisebbségi kérdés kapcsolata az 1968. évi román megyereform tükrében

Author(s): László Gulyás / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

A kulturális és nemzeti identitás megfogalmazása Japánban és Közép-Európában a 18-19. században

Author(s): Mária Ildikó Farkas / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2016

Kokugaku of the Edo period can be seen as a key factor in defining cultural (and national) identity based on Japanese cultural heritage in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Kokugaku focused on Japanese classics, on exploring, studying and reviving (or even inventing) ancient Japanese language, literature, myths, history and also political ideology. ‘Japanese culture’ as such was distinguished from Chinese (and all other) cultures, and thus ‘Japanese identity’ was defined. Meiji scholars used kokugaku conceptions of Japan to construct a modern nationalism that was not simply derived from Western models and was not purely instrumental, but made good use of pre-modern and culturalist conceptions of community. The role of pre-modern cultural identity in the formation of modern Japanese (national) identity – following mainly Miroslav Hroch’s comparative and interdisciplinary theory of national development – can be examined in comparison with the ‘national awakening’ movements of the peoples of EastCentral Europe. Before modernity, in the shadow of a cultural and/or political ‘monolith’ (China for Japan, and Germany for Central Europe), ethnic groups or communities started to evolve their own identities with cultural movements focusing on their own language and culture, thus creating a new type of community, the nation. A comparative examination of texts (discourses) illustrates that similar modes of argumentation (narratives) can be identified in these movements: ‘language’ as the primary bearer of collective identity, the role of language in culture and ‘culture’ as the main common attribute of the community; as well as similar aspirations to explore, search and develop the native language, ‘genuine’ culture, and ‘original’ traditions. This comparative research offering ‘development patterns’ for interpretation can help us understand how ‘cultural identity’ played an important role in the formation of national identity, with its effect (‘cultural nationalism’) present even today in Japan and in Central Europe, too.

A magyar nemzeti érdekek első világháború alatti érvényesítésének lehetőségei és vaskos korlátai

Author(s): Pál Pritz / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

István Tisza, along with most of the Hungarian political elite was well aware that the country would inevitably suffer damage in the war. In case of a victory, it would have to put up with even more foreign nationals, and upon defeat the empire would fall apart.After a lost war, Saint Stephen’s Hungary was inevitably doomed. However, fate could have been somewhat less tragic. For the subsequent events, the state of the civil democratic revolution of 1918 can partly be held accountable. But the main responsibility lies with István Tisza’s Hungary, and the government in power from August 1919.

A magyar-román konfliktus megítélése a szocialista országokban az 1980-as évek végén

Author(s): Veronika Kaszás / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

A Monarchia: örökség és emlékezet

Author(s): András Gerő / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

A nagy háború gondolata a dualizmus kori utópisztikus és sci-fi irodalomban

Author(s): Miklós Veres / Language(s): Hungarian Publication Year: 0

The modern Hungarian science-fiction and utopian literature was born and attained its majority after the Compromise of 1867. The novel of Mór Jókai, A jövő század regénye [The Novel of the Next Century] (1872-1874) was the first of Hungarian utopian novels to present a modern technicised war, which transforms both Hungary and the world. The followers of Jókai (Pál Privigyey, Gyula Farkas) share the same views; the great wars of the future are fought with the help of technical and scientific discoveries. After the turn of the century, in the shade of the forming federal systems, the writers placed the break out of the war in tangible proximity instead of the distant future. (Maritimus: Nagy Háború, [Great War] 1909; Ábel Barabás: A jövő évtized regénye, [The Novel of the Next Decade] 1910). In my study besides the analytical introduction of the war-time future depiction of the texts I show how they fit into the international „invasion” literature, which became popular with the novel of George Tomkyns Chesney entitled Battle of Dorking (1871) and which was fulfilled with The War of the Worlds by (1898) H. G. Wells.

A nemzetközi történeti összehasonlítások változásai az 1970-es évek óta

Author(s): Hartmut Kaelble / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 3/2014

A NEMZETRŐL VALÓ GONDOLKODÁS TÖRTÉNETE A 18. SZÁZADTÓL NAPJAINKIG

Author(s): Noémi Gyantár / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2020

According to the present paradigm of nationalism, the nation has a very high concept of abstraction, and is – due to its abstract meaning content – difficult to define. The birth of a (state)nation in today's sense is in the 18-19th century, but its development path shows a rather diverse pattern in Europe and around the world. Yet, in the discourse of the primordialist and partly perennial national views established at the beginning of the 20th century, the nation appeared as a substantively existing, realistic dimension. The primary goal was to formulate a universal definition along the more general aspects. The paradigm change in the 1960s gave new dynamic to the research of the nation: although it continued to appear as a real existing group, but was also seen as a social construct of the modernism. The dominant aspects of its constructed existence led to the formation of a very persistent political nation – a cultural nation dichotomous approach, which appeared in a slightly different color, but essentially identical in almost all contemporary typologies. How these typologies have helped to better understand the essence of the nation is now highly controversial. The new paradigm shift in the eighties and nineties brought about a hundred and eighty degree change and at the same time meant shifting the meaning of the concept of nation to a higher abstraction level: the nation now appears as a group with physical extension, not in real dimensions, but as a practical classification category, form. The focus of his scientific inquiry is not on the nation's meaning, but on its practical functioning. The political nature of the nation is becoming more and more clear – as its practical relevance always stands out in political situations! – and its understanding is based on practical status analysis, such as the national identity of a given state (is whether it intends to extend its political power to a nationally or culturally defined community), how it functions as a classification class or as a mobilization force, and which current challenges question the legitimacy of thinking in terms of nation.

A NEW INTERACTIVE PARADIGM FOR THE STUDY OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS

Author(s): Li Yongbin,Li Rong / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

The study of the interaction among ancient civilizations with a special focus on the Archaic period has developed three paradigms, including a comparative approach, a regional approach that regards the Mediterranean as a Koine, and a historical approach based on the Networks theory. This article addresses the theoretical superiorities of the “Mediterranean Koine”. Although it has been demonstrated differently in various historians’ works, the pattern of “Mediterranean Koine” can be categorized into four common features: the cultural exchanges based on commercial activities, the integrated “region” formed through communication, the balanced relationship between individuality and commonality, and the high level of economic and cultural connections determined by the unique ecological environment. The cultural exchanges based on commercial activities are the fundamental character of the “Mediterranean Koine” from the eighth to sixth century BC. Thanks to modern archaeology, these commercial activities and the cultural exchanges have been largely reconstructed. Al Mina is a perfect example of getting a fundamental understanding of the “Mediterranean Koine”. For better utilizing the “Mediterranean Koine” in research we should also direct attention into the differences among civilizations, such as their various scopes of time and space, different social structures, and the uniqueness of particular ecologies.

A nyugati imperializmus hatásai az indiai és kínai történet-írásra: Rajendralal Mitra és Wei Yuan esete

Author(s): Ádám Róma / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 2/2018

The 19th century saw the expansion of the West – and most notably that of the British Empire – in Asia. The growing British presence in the Indian subcontinent through the East India Company culminated in the „Company Rule” from the eighteenth century onward, until the Crown took over its place in 1858. While the Indian subcontinent became the subject of direct colonial administration, the Qing Empire avoided the same fate. Nevertheless, the threat of colonization, especially after the First Opium War (1839–1842) and the „unequal treaties” left a profound impact on the Qing court and the Chinese literati. While the experience of the two regions was markedly different, the Western presence not only altered the history of these two civilizational behemoths, but also the contemporary notions of „history” in both cases. My aim is to compare the effect of this „Western presence” on the historiography of the two regions, through the life and scholarship of two historians, Rajendralal Mitra and Wei Yuan.

A palócokról

Gondolatok, megjegyzések

Author(s): István Majoros / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2016

The author writes a monograph (Palóc Land) about a strange people, the Palóc, living in the northern part of Hungary and in southern Slovakia. Material poverty and spiritual riches are the main characteristics of the Palóc. They speak a special and interesting dialect. This study is a part of the mentioned monograph. In this study the author presents the meaning of the Palóc and he presents the regions where they live. And he presents also different opinions of these questions.

A Port and a Railway: The History of a Maritime County as a Study of Balkan Colonialism 1912–1913

Author(s): Čedomir Antić / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

This article deals with a period of Serbian rule over the Northern Albanian districts (from November 1912 to April 1913). As Kingdom of Serbia was the only European country, beside Switzerland, with no territorial access to the open sea, one of its main war aims was the annexation of an outlet to the Southern Adriatic. Thus after the First Balkan War victory, Serbian army occupied some territories in Northern Albania which were not populated by ethnic Serbs, but were of utmost importance for the commercial and strategic reasons. In this article the colonial and imperial aspects of short-lived Serbian rule are examined and compared with the experience of colonial powers.

A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside an Enigma: Deception, Truth and Modernism

Author(s): Roland Boer / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2016

This article deals with the widespread assumption that a significant collection of texts known as the Bible is inherently ‘deceptive’. That is, the Bible does not – it is assumed – say what was ‘really’ going on in the ancient world. The truth, therefore, must be found by going behind or beneath the text (the spatial metaphors should be noted). Here the real story may found, through archaeology or reading the text against itself. This approach may be described as a modernist ‘depth model’, in which the surface attempts to conceal the truth, while the truth itself must be found by going around the surface text. This remains a dominant approach in biblical criticism. However, it cannot be understood without earlier and indeed, in some quarters, current assumptions concerning the realist nature of the text. In this case, the text reflects in a reasonably trustworthy fashion the context of the text, if not the ideological assumptions and positions of the putative authors. Modernist ‘depth models’ may then be seen as attempts to respond to realist assumptions. A third moment is what could be called postmodern: in this case, the distance between surface and depth is challenged, so that the various possibilities become equal contestants for the dominant position. This entails a shift away from the assumption of a singular truth of the text, characteristic of both realist and modernist assumptions, to the understanding of multiple truth claims – not as relative but as absolutes that permit other absolutes. The argument emphasises that these approaches should be seen as dialectically related to one another, rather that mutually exclusive approaches.

A successful woman in the field of Archaeology. Interview with Professor Eszter Bánffy (German Archaeological Institute, Frankfurt am Main)

Author(s): Vasile Diaconu / Language(s): English Issue: XXXVII/2021

Interview with Professor Eszter Bánffy, German Archaeological Institute, Frankfurt am Main.