In the article with the albove title the author discusses the contents of a summary census defter from the Sandžak of Aladža Hisar in Serbia from 1516. This is the earliest complete defter preserved for this Sandžak. It contains the following items: a) the property of the Sultan (hasha-i padisah), b) the property of the Sandžak-beg (hasha-i mirliva-i Alaca Hisar), e) Ziamets and the Spahis timars (timarha-i sipahiyan), d) the timars of the garrison of the fortress of Koznik (timarha-i mustahfizan-i kala-i Koznik), e) the timars of the garrison of the fortress of Resava (timarha-i mustahfizan-i kala-i Resava), f) džebeli of the vojnuks (voynugan-i cebeluyan), g) a list of the vojnuk reserves (zevaid-i voynugan) for the Sandžak of Aladža Hisar. In the article are given the basic data about the property of the Sultan and the Sandžak-beg, while the census data about the ziamets and timars, which take up the bulk of the defter, are given m summary form.
More...Keywords: ISC (NDH); Serbs; forced conversion, Ustaše; legislation; propaganda
Except for sporadic and mild rapprochements, the Catholic Church did not contest the right of the Ustaša regime to announce, propagandize and politically manipulate in her name with conversion which is an act of eminent spiritual character, but the Church obediently executed the political will of the regime as if it had been her own, in the spirit of the archbishop’s instructions “on the sublime work for the protection and advancement of Independent State of Croatia (ISC)”. Pavelić issued a Legislative decree on conversion from one faith to another on 3rd of May 1941 whose aim was to stop the conversion from one faith to the other without government control: “For the conversion to be valid it is necessary that the individual that is changing his/her faith submit a written application to the governing body (…) and obtain a confirmation of the application”. The decree repealed all the existing laws on conversion from one faith to another including the religious regulations, which was made additionally clear by a classified letter the Ministry of Religion and Education sent to Catholic Bishop ordinatori on 14th May 1941192 and by the Instructions sent by the same Ministry on 27th May.193 Although the Archbishops’ Advisory Board in Zagreb reacted on 8th of May to this attempt of the state to instrumentalize the Church and the Church expressed disagreement with the letters sent by the Ministry of Religion and Education that stated that the Orthodox should not be allowed to convert to Greek-Catholic denomination because “the Greek-Catholic rite is considered equal to the Roman rite” and that Orthodox priests, teachers, intelligentsia, merchants and craftsmen should not be accepted into the Roman Catholic faith because that would be “contrary to the spirit and aims of the Catholic Church”,194 however the practice of mass forced conversion of Serbs that followed showed that the expressed reservations of the church were only of declarative nature. Together with extermination and enforced expulsion, one of the modules for “the solution of the Serbian question” was forced conversion of Serbs from the Orthodox faith into Roman Catholic or Greek Catholic faith. The aim of this forceful conversion was to assimilate the Orthodox population, that is, as the Ustaše used to say, “to return them to the faith of their fathers”. The forced conversions were most massive in the second half of 1941 and first part of 1942. Until the beginning of 1942, in just six months, about 100,000 Serbs were forcefully converted into the Roman Catholic faith.195 When the Croatian Orthodox Church was formed in 1942 the number of conversions suddenly decreased. The motives of the Serbs to accept forced conversion were fear in the face of a physical extermination or forced emigration. Thus, conversion was not based on voluntary and self-consciousness change from one Christian faith to another but was primarily motivated by a will to save one’s life and property. However, even this did
More...Keywords: Greece ; Government of Vlora ; Council of Elders of Central; Albania; Albanian History;
For Greece the implementation of Megali Idea was a primary issue of its foreign policy. Based on such concept it constructed its relations with the Albanian government after the declaration of the independence of Albania. Immediately after the objection of Ismail Qemali, the head of the government of Vlora, made to the Greek claims in London 1913, the Greek government aimed to the overthrow its government with the final aim to turn Albania into an inexistent state. As a first phase was the seduction of the nobility of Albania, opponents of Ismail Qemali, unhappy with the government of Vlora and their declaration against the government that he represented. Later the public support in favour of the annexation aims of Greece. The collaboration was successful with Esat Toptani the political opponent of Ismail Qemali whom was aiming to become ruler of Albania. In order to obtain the support of the neighbouring countries he was willing to sacrifice lands in the North and South of Albania. The contacts between this member of Toptani family and Greece were held prior and during the period of the Council of the Elders of Central Albania. They were made possible with the mediation of the Archbishop of Durrës, Jakov and doctor Voilla, a Vlach from Tirana, described as a functionary of the Greek government attached to Esat Toptani. Greece was asked for diplomatic support once the Pasha (general) would have been declared ruler of Albania as well as financial and military aid to overthrow the Vlora government. Looking for good relations in order to achieve later on the desired rectification of the borders in September 1913 Greece accepted to give diplomatic and financial support. On the other hand did not accept to help in overthrowing of the government of Vlora with which pretended to discus about the creation of an Albanian-Greek dualist state. The frequent contacts between Esat Toptani and the Greek government should have been finalised with an agreement in December 1913. The evidences for its existence are yielded from indirect sources, mainly of French origin. The first part of the agreement concerned the Albanian-Greek collaboration to overthrow the government of Vlora. Conditioned by the decisions of the Conference the Greek government insisted on having included the less possible Greeks in the Albanian state and to secure rights for the pretended Greek population which by now was clear that was going to be part of the Albanian state. This policy finds application on the second part of the agreement. In it the parties would collaborate for the retreat of the Greek army from the territories of south and to give over this areas to the Council of the Elders of Central Albania as well as to recognise “to the orthodox population of the Albanian Epirus some special privileges”, what implies in other words the autonomy. Through this agreement, the collaboration between the parties was considered as fruitful.
More...Keywords: Çiftliks; Hired Workers; Farmhand Payment; Inheritance Inventories; Central Balkans in the 17th – mid-18th Centuries;
The study aims at adding some features to the portrait of the people hired to work at çiftliks. We do this with the help of the inheritance inventories of several men and one woman who passed away while working at çiftliks in the Sofia, Rousse and Vidin districts which were recorded in the kadi sicills of Sofia, Rousse and Vidin during the 17th – mid-18th centuries.In the first place we shall analyze the ways in which the çiftlik lands were cultivated as well as the people involved in this. Attention is paid to the main components of the contract relations between the çiftlik holders and the farmhands, ortakçis and kesimcis, to their labour obligations and the structure of the payment, to the difficulties encountered by the various institutions in the sphere of the taxation when the interests of the state and of the çiftlik-holders did not meet.At a second level, using the inheritance estates of several workers at the çiftliks – farmhands and ortakçis (peasants and citizens, men and one woman, Christians and Muslims), we explore the main features of their portrait. The sources at hand reveal that they were not necessarily only poor people without any property. We reach the conclusion that although the majority of the farmhands were primarily poor and landless people, the çiftlik economy attracted people of different property status. For some of them, and these were probably the majority of the hired workers, labour at the çiftliks may have been the major source of livelihood but for others it was an opportunity for additional income for the family.
More...Keywords: Childir Province; Ahiska Region; Foundation; Cami-i Sharif (Grand Mosque);
Childir known as also Ahiska was the bordering state of Ottoman Empire in the XVI Century. Ahiska which was the center of the state was situated in the first line of military action against the Caucasus. The foundations that was established there were providing services in terms of religious economic educational and social area. In this article I researched the foundations of Ahiska region dated back 1595 (1003) years.
More...Keywords: Greek; Armenian; Kamame; Church; Jerusalem; Ottoman;
Jerusalem is a city which is essential and cannot be neglected in terms of its religious and historical structures. The region where Masjid Al-Aqsa is located is in the middle of a conflict of belonging and ownership due to Kubbetüssahra, Temple of Solomon and memories of Christ's last three days. Kamame Church, common historical and religious heritage of Christianity is also the center of ancient debate and conflict. For the solution of the matter of Kamame Church various firmans which reiterated one another were given by Hz. Ömer, Mehmed the Conqueror, Sultan Selim I, Suleiman the magnificent, Sultan Murad IV, Sultan Mehmed IV, Sultan Ibrahim, Sultan Suleiman II, Sultan Osman III and Sultan Mustafa III. On the last firman given in 1740 regarding the Greek and Armenian dispute previous firmans were summarized. In this study the document dating 1740 will be analyzed and the transcription of it will be presented.
More...Keywords: sacral geography; migration of pilgrimage; religious tourism; Orthodox Christianity;
Introductory part of the paper briefly presents the case study of sacred geography. This scientific discipline, as a branch of cultural geography, deserves more attention due to the development of cultural tourism and the protection of cultural heritage in globalization. Aim is to systematize and display characteristics of sacred objects and places of pilgrimage in the traditional orthodox Christianity. The author hopes that this work will attract the attention of geographers and intellectual circles, and stimulate researchers to devote greater attention to this important and current issue.
More...Keywords: Macedonia; Turks; population; education; religion;
Balkans has enjoyed a strategic significance from political, religious and economic aspects since the earliest times of history. For centuries, countless races inhabited these lands, many languages were spoken, different religions and sects thrived, and different civilizations rose to power. Turks, one of the people dominating the Balkans established a political, social, economic, and religious sphere of influence in the region. This influence still manifests itself in the Balkan countries where there are citizens with a Turkish identity. This study is about the Turkish minority group in Macedonia which declared its independence in the last quarter of the 20th century. The problems encountered by the Turks in Macedonia are classified under the following headings; education, culture, beliefs, and political representation. The study attempts to reveal to what extent the Turks were able to preserve their language, faith and culture in times of political instability experienced in the Balkans throughout history. Additionally, the study discusses, in light of statistical data and comparatively through years, the means and ways by which Macedonian Turks have access to Turkish education, organize social and cultural activities, live their faith, and gain political representation and rights.
More...Keywords: Phokas; St. Phokas; Martyr; Sinope; Herakleia Pontike;
Sainthood, which is accepted as consecrated and relic in Christianity, used to have an important value in Byzantine belief culture. In this culture that varied by region, some common attributions and name similarities draw the attention time to time. It can be clearly seen that Hagios Phokas, accepted sacred in the Black sea region, has an idiosyncratic cult similar with Hagios Nikholaus in the Mediterranean. Moreover, Hagios Phokas is argued for having similar features with Hagios Andreas and Diogenes of Sinope. Hagios Phokas’s canonisation is as interesting as his birth, life and death which constitutes the subject of the study. Phoka, who is thought to be born in Herakleia Pontike (Karadeniz Ereglisi) or Sinope (Sinop), is accepted as died in the era of Emperor Traianus (98-117) or in the era of Diocletianus (284-305). Among all this intricacy, one thing is so clear that Phokas is known as helpful, trustful and character-wise. It is also known that he was assassinated in Sinope and many churches were constructed in both Sinope and nearby cities on behalf of his name. In the study, Phokas, Hagios Phokas, Martyr Phokas, Hieromartyr Phokas and Bishop Phokas of Sinope, their identities, misstatements, churches that were constructed for their names and the removal of relics of Phokas into Amaseia (Amasya) after the consecration of him by Asterius, the bishop of Amaseia are discussed. Furthermore it is also aimed to clarify the culture of Helesa that is considered to be related with Phokas and is applied after the 15th day of Ramadan in Sinope.
More...Keywords: Ministri; kapituli; tabula; fra Andrija Šipračić Margaritić Dubočanin;Bosna Srebrena;
U proslovu svoga djela „Tabula od ministara i kapitula…“ njegov se autor predstavlja svojim redovničkim imenom, po ocu i majci, rodnoj župi i franjevačkom samostanu kojem je ta župa pripadala. Redovničko mu je ime bilo fra Andrija, dok mu ono koje je dobio prilikom krštenja nije znano. Po ocu je bio Šipračić a po majci Margaritić. Bio je rodom iz župe Dubočac kod Dervente u sjevernoj Bosni, koja je bila sastavni dio distrikta Franjevačkog samostana sv. Ivana Krstitelja u Sutisci (Kraljeva Sutjeska kod Kaknja u srednjoj Bosni). S natpisa urezanog na nadgrobnom spomeniku (biligu), kojeg je 1684. g. dao podići svojoj majci u groblju Danica (sada Banice) u katoličkoj župi Bijelo Brdo kod Dervente (sl. 1 i 2), čita se da je bio sin Ilije Šipračića i njegove zakonite žene nepoznatog imena koja je bila kćer Stipana Margaritića. Osim u proslovu autor je u ovom djelu registriran još sedam puta i to isključivo kao fra Andrija Dubočanin – prema rodnoj župi iz koje je potjecao. Sukladno navedenom puno ime autora ovog djela je fra Andrija Šipračić Margaritić Dubočanin. […]
More...Keywords: liturgical life; typikons; hesychasm; manuscript legacy; print culture in the Church;
The history of Serbian liturgical practice is a relatively young theological discipline within the realm of liturgics. The paper includes both earlier and current findings in this field. It will show how other disciplines of Medievistics contribute to a better understanding of theological phenomena in history. The eight-century long history of liturgical life in the Serbian Orthodox church abounds in sacral dynamism. The natural and spiritual position of Serbs among other Orthodox nations of the East and the West contributed to the continuous exchange of liturgical forms, which then gained a specific character within the Serbian culture. Apart from prominent individuals, there were also monks, bishops, professors and others who were the emissaries of liturgical tendencies. Many key issues relevant for an accurate view of liturgical development have been discussed and resolved in this paper, such as: the emergence of Hesychasm, the spread of the printing press and the culture of copying manuscripts in monasteries, etc. There is a special emphasis on the development of liturgical practice in the last century with an overview of the current situation in the scientific sphere.
More...Keywords: Balkans; Debar; Hunkar Mosque; Macedonia;Ottoman;
The city of Debar, a part of the province of Manastir during the Ottoman period, remained under the Ottoman rule until the beginning of the 20th century. The city has played an important role in the conquests of the Ottoman Empire in Eastern Europe and Balkans. For this reason, as in all other Balkan settlements, the Ottoman Empire prioritized the construction and development activities in the city of Debar and directed the bazaars around the mosques for the physical growth of the city. This building, also known as the Hunkar Mosque, was built in 1467 by Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan. The mosque is located in the city centre of Debar. Hunkar Mosque is the only still standing monumental building from the thirteen mosques built in the Ottoman period. It is located in a great hazire that is burial area reserved for special people especially inside mosques or Sufi lodges. There is also a tomb building in the hazire. Nowadays, the building which is still functioning as a mosque is registered as a historical monument by the Macedonian Board of Monuments. There is no monographic research on the architectural structure of the building up to now. In this research, the architectural characteristics of the Fatih Sultan Mehmed Mosque are examined in detail. It is thought that the findings of the research will contribute to the restoration phase of the building.
More...The article seeks, first and foremost, to identify and present the motifs coming mainly from the Islamic art developed within the Ottoman Empire, which occur in the decorative metalwork of church objects such as the metal overlay of communion-table gospels and crosses, ciboria, communion cups and censers, made in cultural hubs within what is now Bulgaria. The reason is in that there is a lack of clarity as to the definitions and provenance of these motifs in Bulgarian scholarly literature. The first part of the paper deals with the characteristics of two groups of silver church plate: hemispherical chalices and cruets decorated with a combination of Christological iconographic elements and motifs of the earliest stylistic royal trend of the Ottoman decorative style. Used in a Christian and a Islamic contexts, these testify to the mutual exchange of goldsmith practices in the Balkans and have probably brought about the spread of Ottoman motifs in the decoration of church objects. A centre of the manufacture of hemispherical chalices was Chiprovtsi. The second part of the text describes the characteristics of the three main groups of motifs (Rumi-Khatai patterns, palmettes and saz leaves, floral patterns), illustrating by examples of their occurrence on Bulgarian monuments. Using a comparative analysis, an attempt is made to compare this phenomenon with the production of other Orthodox ethnic communities, mostly Serbs and Greeks. At the end, attention is drawn to cloisonné enamelwork technique, a singularity of a group of monuments associated with a workshop in the region of Plovdiv and the Monastery of Bachkovo. In conclusion, Ottoman motifs are found in the ornamental repertoire of the metal church objects of the seventeenth through the mid-eighteenth centuries, reflecting a trend typical of all forms of Christian art of the age.
More...Following the latest restoration works of the nineteenth-century murals at the Church of St Michael the Archangel in the town of Rila, we can now to a great extent reconstruct the conceptual approach taken by the commissioners and icon-painters to the decoration of the southwest area of the naos, formed by three arches and the party wall on the west. Michael the Archangel is depicted on the vault, surrounded by four scenes from the Archangelic Cycle in the four lunettes, to which three more are added on the extrados. Some of the scenes have apparently been inspired by an earlier icon of the archangelic miracles from the same church. Most of them show ingenious interpretations. In the representations of the prophets, of special interest are the inscriptions on their scrolls, two of which are mirror-reversed. Some of them relate to the Most Holy Mother of God, whose frescoed icon has been painted on the west side of the arch which is to the east of the newly built narthex; above it is Gabriel the Archangel from the Annunciation, and St Nicholas is depicted in the niche. We could hypothetically reconstruct the earliest decoration of the southwest area of the naos that collapsed after an earthquake in 1928: Christ Pantocrator, Theotokos from the Annunciation; John the Baptist was in the niche. The entire decoration has been adapted to the funerary character of the west areas of the cemetery church, testifying to the high theological literacy of the commissioners. Stylistically, parallels of this painting are found in two opposite directions. A similar type of stylisation and painting techniques are discernible in the mural monuments in the precinct of Rila Monastery, dated to the 1790s, as well as in works by Samokovian painter Kostadin Petrovich Valiov of the 1830s. The name of icon-painter Fillip can also be associated with this church: his is the Christ the Great Hierarch icon on the cathedra, now in the Parish Church of St Nicholas in the town of Rila. He possibly painted also parts of the iconostasis. His manner of the period shows, very much like that of Kostadin Valiov, the same influences of icons and murals by the Athonite monks who, in the late eighteenth century, worked at the Rila Monastery churches and chapels. Highly debatable is the participation of proto-master builder Alexi Rilets in the repairs and the refurbishing of the Church of St Michael the Archangel. On a metal nameplate attached onto the backrest of the cathedra he has defined himself as a ‘donor and applied artist’. In all likelihood he was the one who paid for making the iconostasis and his nameplate has initially been attached to the iconostasis and moved to the surviving cathedra in the wake of the earthquake.
More...Keywords: Conversion into Islam; north-east Bosnia and Herzegovina; 15th and 16th century;
Conversion into Islam in general is anyway an important historical question, sufficiently illuminated so far. From the studies that had been published by now, and which dealt only with Bosnia and Hercegovina, one could notice several view points. These have to do with the begining, intensity, motives and circumstances under which this process developed, as well as ethnical and confesional structure of the population, that was converted to Islam. To illuminate the question in its entirety it was necessary in our oppinion to do some research into the individual narrow areas, which are also limited terms of time. Therefore, this study deals only with this problem in the region of the North - East Bosnia and a part of the Bosnian Posavina, including the period till the end of 16ct. Examining turkish inventory defters which are the most important source and have not been utilized so far in the papers at all, one can say that from our view point the Moslems of Bosnia and Hercegovina accepted Islam from the Bogumils, as well as some stand points after which mainly Catholics accepted Islam, should be corrected.
More...Keywords: History of Religions; Japanese; Religion; Shintoism; God; Kami;
In Shintoism, the indigenous religion of Japan, the term kami, is simply used for anything possessing supernatural power or force. However, the term is more complex than that, which is identified with belief in God. In this regard, “Shinto gods” are broadly called kami. For this reason, many researchers defined this belief as polytheist, pantheist, animist, shamanist so forth. Basically, the reason behind this kind of characterizations for the belief in God in Shintoism is originated from the concept of kami, which has different meanings such as the good and bad spirits that are believed to exist in the sky, the spirits of ancestors, and evils. In addition, the spirits of dead people are also regarded as kami and are blessed by their families. However, the meaning of this concept cannot fairly be understood without knowing its context and how it is used in a sentence. It is believed that kami can provide benefits and cause negative impacts to individuals in all aspects of their lives. Regarding this belief, kami has noticeable effects on Japanese social life. For instance, it is noteworthy that the crime rates in Japanese society are low compared to other developed countries. In addition, it is possible to see the reflections of this belief in every field of life from literature to cinema and architecture to art. In this sense, scenarists and writers in Japan engaged in the kami belief with the themes of their works. For instance, in Japanese comic book “Manga”, which is identified with Japan and in the cartoon movie industry has employed kamis for different purposes; such as instilling religious knowledge and morality, giving various messages, scaring and warning. Apparently, the role of kami in Japanese people’s moral behaviors also takes an important place by virtue of practicing worships and conducting ceremonies. Depending on these eminent aspects of kami effects on Japanese people’s ethical life, it can be interpreted that kami implements psychological well-being. It can be said that these faith-based worship and behaviors make a great contribution to believers. In Shintoism, the manifestation of God in the form of both human and other beings, and the understanding that people become deified if they die by doing good deeds in their lives, are quite different from religions such as Islam and Judaism that separate God and other beings ontologically with sharper lines. This transitivity between beings has helped people who adopt this religion to avoid hurting all beings.In this study, we aimed to analyze the effects of the notion of God in Shintoism on Japanese social life with the phenomenological and descriptive method that is frequently used in the history of religions. Therefore, in our study, the nature of the term kami has been respectively discussed in the context of its essence with the belief in God, as well as the function of this belief in worship and religious festivals, which is observed to be practiced frequently. Lastly, the effects of kami on the social lives of those who believe in Shintoism has been emphasized.
More...Keywords: History of Religions; Stigmata; Wounds of Jesus Christ; Paul; Francis of Assisi; Cross;
With a crown of thorns on his head, nails on his hands and feet, and a spear wound on his chest, “Jesus Christ of Nazareth Crucified” has occupied Christians for hundreds of years and continues to do so. All Christian faith revolves around this symbolized event, or "Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself on the cross for the salvation of sinful mankind." According to Christianity, Jesus Christ suffered while sacrificing himself for humanity on the cross, and as a result, some wounds occurred on his body. Christians, especially Catholics, are of the opinion that these wounds of Christ can occur spontaneously on chosen people or through spiritual devotion or meditation that a person establishes with Jesus. In this context, in our article; the subject of "Christian stigmata", which is used in the history to stigmatize different groups such as criminals, prisoners, slaves and sinners, but is associated with the wounds of Jesus Christ on the cross and the emergence of these wounds on the body of chosen people as a grace of God, will be discussed. The aforementioned wounds of Christ have been interpreted by Christians in different ways, such as eliminating the existence of sin, God's divine love and saving action towards man, alleviating the suffering of the poor, and a source of food for believers. In addition to these interpretations, Christ's whole life, especially his suffering on the cross and the wounds on his body, was considered an event to be emulated or imitated. Because from this aspect, Christ was seen as a "model savior" and since the first centuries, Christians tried to feel his suffering on the cross and to create his wounds on their bodies by taking his wounds as an example. In this context, Paul's statement in Galatians 6:17, which took Jesus Christ as an example, "... because I carry the wounds of Jesus on my body" has been influential in the emergence and spread of the concept of stigmata in Christianity. The mentioned expression of Paul has been interpreted by some Bible commentators such as Marius Victorinus and Jerome as sometimes physical wounds similar to those on the body of Jesus, sometimes the distress and persecution of his opponents while spreading the message of Christ, and sometimes both. Although his words have been interpreted in different ways, Paul was accepted as the first person to bear the stigmata of Christ by Christians, and he was followed centuries later by Francis of Assisi in 1224 and others. Three types of stigmata in Christianity are mentioned as follows: "Dominical stigmata", which refers to the physical wounds of Christ on his body when he was on the cross, and "Pauline stigmata" which corresponds to the material and spiritual troubles Paul experienced while serving to Christ, and the troubles and difficulties which individual experienced while serving to Christ is “personal stigmata”. However, there are other types of stigmata, which we can call the interpretation of these stigmata types and their adaptation to religious life. As a matter of fact, in the Middle Ages, the stigmata of Christ was identified with the "pallium" worn by the Popes and "tonsure", a form of shaving, by the Papacy, and this was used as a tool of authority. This stigmata, symbolizing papal authority, has been important in the appointment of archbishops and bishops. Besides, in the 11th and 12th centuries, the concept of stigmata also emerged in monastic communities and the idea of "personal stigmata" was associated with monastic life, especially by Peter Damian. In this context, the ideal priest and nun were seen as bearers of the stigmata of Christ. In addition, in the Middle Ages, the "eschatological stigmata" was also on the agenda with the effect of the discourse of the Pope Urban II in the context of encouraging the First Crusade. In this sense, the cross marks in the form of tattoos, especially on the corpses of the soldiers who participating in the First Crusade, were accepted as the proof of salvation, and the cross marks on the corpses of some deceased clergymen were accepted as stigmata, an indicator of their sainthood status. As a result, the understanding of stigmata in Christianity, arising from Paul's discourse, has become an agenda in the Christian world, mostly in the Middle Ages and partly in the 20th century and later. In addition, it has been determined that the stigmata of Jesus Christ can arise spontaneously on the bodies of the chosen people as a sign of divine grace, or it can be experienced neurologically or psychosomatically, corresponding to the conscious-unconscious learning and beliefs of the person. However, in the Middle Ages, it was understood that the Papacy interpreted the stigmata of Christ in line with its own religious understanding and purposes and used it as a tool of authority.
More...Keywords: Ottoman period; Ottoman-Turkish documents; translators; researchers.
In 1943 the Democratic Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed. In 1945 it was renamed as the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, in 1963 as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The new republic Macedonia became one of the six republics of the Yugoslav federation. In 1943 it was Democratic Federal Republic of Macedonia then in 1945 it was renamed as the Federal People’s Republic of Macedonia and in 1963 as the Socialist Federal Republic of Macedonia. Republic of North Macedonia gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. There was little knowledge about the Ottoman period in Macedonia in the newly formed educational and scientific institutions (Department of History at the Faculty of Philosophy in 1946, Institute of National History in 1948, State Archives of the Peoples of Macedonia in 1951). Archivist and researchers in these institutions begin with intensive translations of Ottoman-Turkish documents from the Ottoman period in Macedonia. The translated documents from the Ottoman period provide the scholars with a good basic for scientific research about the Ottoman period in Macedonia.
More...Keywords: Trebinje region; Medieval district; territory;
On the broad parts of Travunia, or the Trebinje region, the Trebinje District was duly formed in time between the districts Popovo on the Western, Žmovice and Konavli on the Southern, Vrm (Korjenici) on the Eastern and Rudine and Ljubomir on the Northern side of the area. In the ancient past there had been different districts on its territory - Šuma (with the settlements; Bjelač, Taleža, Svinjar evo, Klikovići, Gola Glavica, Sparožići, Orah, Zasjek, Začula, Planik, Obrće, Vlaštica, Uskoplje and Ledenice); Površ (with the settlements: Ljubovo, Biograd, Orašje, Mrnjići, Ljekovo, Slivnica, Zagradinje, Bijela, Grebeni, Sopoštica, Drijen, Bobovište, Bobova Ljut, Glavska, Poljice and Kremeni Do); Vrsinje (Zupci) - (with the settlements: Dubrava, Sutjeska, Konjsko, Orašje, Turmenti and Rapti); Trebinjsko polje (with the settlements: Police, Trebinje, ćičevo, Mokro, Zgonjevo, Priđvorci and Gomiljani); Pobrđe (with the settlements: Necvijeće, Mičevac, Jasen, Goica, Pođgljiva, Zasad, Zagora); and Lug (with the settlements: Hum and Cicina); which could be seen today as smaller but clearly recognizable places. A large number of funeral mounds, the stećak necropolis, chapels and church sites, old houses and mansions, as well as the abandoned settlements testify about a population density of this region in the Middle Ages.
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