Sťahovanie národov (454 - 568). Ostrogóti, Gepidi, Longobardi a Slovania

Author(s): Peter Bystrický / Language(s): Slovak

The author describes the history of tribes residing in the Carpathian basin after expelling Huns. No one of them remained in Central Europe and all of them, victorious and defeated too, completely or partially, left for Italy. He follows the fates of the kings who came after Attila, but most of them remained in his shade, and tribes that defeated Huns or founded their empires in the territory bounded by the Carpathians, the Alps and the Sava river, but except for one they perished before Avars came to the Danube. East Roman Empire´s interest in Central Europe did not fall even after it ceased to be its part and fought for it with Ostrogoths and Franks. However, it was weakened by its wars against Ostrogoths and Persians and Slavic and Bulgarian incursions. The Migration of peoples was a period, in which the Antiquity perished, and the grounds of Middle Ages were laid. Central Europe, including Slovakia did not remain out of these events, it was more than only its part. The events that took place here after Attila´s Empire break-up, affected development in a large part of Europe. It was instable as not only interests of local kingdoms, but also of the Byzantine Empire, Ostrogoths and later also Franks collided here. Only a year after Attila´s death, seven kingdoms arose here, but 20 years later only four of them remained and after next 15 years there were only two of them, the Kingdom of Herules and the Kingdom of Gepids. Later after next 20 years, Heruls were replaced by Langobards who 60 years later destroyed even the last one. Such a turbulent development was not recorded anywhere in Europe. Although all German tribes that in the followed period resided in the Carpathian Basin, at last as a whole or partially left for Italy, a story of each of them is unique. They were led by nobles, commanders and kings, whose names are not unknown even today. Although the period of the Migration of peoples is perceived particularly as the history of kings and tribes, the retinues of kings and tribal leaders were more important than ever before. It was just the retinues transcending a framework of tribes and families that allowed forming mighty tribe unions since the end of the 2nd century. They were an integrating and stabilizing factor, however, in this period the tribes were eroded by them. Later the retinues, formation and spread of the heavy cavalry allowed arising and developing of vassal relations and together with hardening of a hereditary function of the King, an adoption of Christianity and new social relations opened a way to Middle Ages and feudalism.

Rzym antyczny. Polityka i pieniądz / The Ancient Rome. Politics and Money. T. 6

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Polish

The publication is addressed to historians, archaeologists, numismatists and lovers of the ancient world.

The origin and mass extinctions of Species. Against the Entropy

Author(s): Konstantinos Maritsas / Language(s): English

How the species became extinct is easy to explain; how they appeared, however, is difficult. Were they created only once? Personally I cannot imagine the mechanism for creating new species, except in terms of the primary creation of the Meccano set, as understood by François Jacob, as a result of zero probability:The living world is, rather, like a sort of Meccano set. Equally, I cannot imagine the creation of inanimate matter except the primary creation of the Big Bang, again because of zero probability (the principle of the conservation of matter). And species that have managed to slip out of natural selection (man), they exist and will exist! Will today’s ten million animal and plant species have the same fate?The ordinary questions of the scientists interested in this field are lying in the search for common causes and patterns that may lead to a general theory of extinction. The most frequent arguments are related either to bad genes or to bad luck. Whatever were the causes, it is logic to give an idea on each of the five major mass extinctions in the fossil record. That is the purpose of the book – to identify and explain life and death, origin and extinction. But the main purpose is to explain the mass extinctions with one hypothesis and one common pattern, one common impact.

Kulturno – historijski spomenici Banije s pregledom povijesti Banije od prapovijesti do 1881.

Author(s): Filip Škiljan / Language(s): Croatian

Područje Banije određeno je rijekama Savom, Unom i Kupom na sjeveru, istoku i jugu te granicom prema Bosni i Hercegovini na jugozapadu, dok je zapadna granica prema Kordunu sve do današnjih dana neodređena. Baniju na sjeveru rijeka Kupa dijeli od Pokuplja, na istoku je rijeka Sava dijeli od Posavine, a na jugu rijeka Una od Bosanske krajine. Granica Banije prema Kordunu mijenjala se tijekom stoljeća. Na jednoj karti iz 1806. godine granica Banije i Korduna bila je označena kao granica slunjske i glinske regimente, a ta je međa išla od Banske Selnice na rijeci Kupi, zapadno od Sjeničaka i Slavskog Polja, preko vrha Petrove gore do granice s Osmanlijskim Carstvom. Ista međa je ucrtana i na geološkoj karti I. banske regimente. Prema takvoj podjeli, koju i neki političari i znanstvenici smatraju i danas pravilnom, i područje nekadašanje općine Vrginmost, a danas općina Lasinja, Gvozd i Topusko, pripadalo bi području Banije. Osim toga, i istočni dio današnjeg područja grada Karlovca (Sjeničak) smatrao bi se Banijom. Ipak, prema podjelama koje su ustaljene nakon Drugog svjetskog rata, a prema kojima kotar Vrginmost pripada karlovačkom području, Kordun je proširio svoje granice na račun Banije sve do desetak kilometara zapadno od Gline, pa je banijskom kraju preostalo područje današnje Gline, Petrinje, Dvora, Sunje, Kostajnice, Dubice, Kukuruzara, Majura, južnog dijela gradskog područja Siska (Komarevo) i zapadnog dijela općine Jasenovac (sela Uštica, Višnjica i Tanac koja se nalaze između Une i Save u takozvanom "Trokutu").

Kulturno – historijski spomenici zapadne Slavonije s pregledom povijesti zapadne Slavonije od prapovijesti do 20. stoljeća

Author(s): Filip Škiljan / Language(s): Croatian

Nakon pisanja o kulurno-historijskim spomenicima Korduna i Banije odlučio sam se za rad na obimnijoj temi, koja obuhvaća znatno veće područje. Knjiga koja je pred vama govori o kulturno- historijskim spomenicima zapadne Slavonije, kraja koji sam počeo istraživati još 2004. godine obilazeći spomenike oko Grubišnog Polja. U vrijeme svojeg rada u Spomen-području Jasenovac između 2003. i 2006. godine obišao sam spomenike u okolici Novske i Okučana, a nakon odluke da pišem o ovom području ciljano sam obilazio kulturno-historijske spomenike virovitičkog, pakračkog, slatinskog, daruvarskog i novogradiškog područja. Iznenađujuće je velik broj spomenika u ovom kraju. U katalogu, koji je glavni sadržaj ove knjige, nalazi se čak 536 lokaliteta. Obuhvaćeni su, kao i u prethodne dvije knjige, arheološki lokaliteti, srednjovjekovne utvrde, dvorci te pravoslavne i katoličke crkve. Kao ni u prethodnim dvjema knjigama nisam obrađivao antifašističke spomenike, koji bi svakako zaslužili posebnu publikaciju. Svjestan nedorečenosti i nekompletnosti prethodnih dviju knjiga, odlučio sam se potražiti pomoć prilikom pisanja ove nove knjige u lokalnim muzejima, konzervatorskim odjelima Ministarstva kulture i kod samih stanovnika zapadne Slavonije. Ovom prilikom se stoga posebno zahvaljujem na pomoći gospođi Kristini Zloušić iz Konzervatorskog odjela Ministarstva kulture u Zagrebu, gospodinu Žarku Španičeku u Konzervatorskom odjelu u Požegi, gospodinu Milanu Pezelju iz Konzervatorskog odjela u Bjelovaru, gospodinu Krešimiru Karlu iz Konzervatorskog odjela u Bjelovaru, gospođi Ivani Miletić iz Konzervatorskog odjela u Sisku, gospođi Željki Peroković iz Konzervatorskog odjela u Slavonskom Brodu, gospođi Dragici Šuvak iz Gradskog muzeja u Slatini, gospođi Silviji Salajić iz Gradskog muzeja u Virovitici, gospodinu Radi Bosancu iz Poljana, parohu gospodinu Luki Bosancu iz Daruvara, gospodinu Gojku Bosancu iz Brusnika, gospodinu Mladenu Kuliću iz Slatine, gospodinu Darku Derenju iz Lipika, gospođi Jeleni Hihlik iz muzeja u Pakracu, gospodinu Đorđu Mihoviloviću iz Nove Gradiške, gospodinu Slavku Čiči iz Slavonskog Broda, gospodinu dr. Đuri Zatezalu iz Karlovca, gospodinu Miroslavu Markovu iz Slavonskog Broda i brojnim drugim poznatim i nepoznatim Slavoncima koji su mi na mojim putovanjima pomagali da pronađem pojedine spomenike i da o njima doznam podatke.

Петербургский апокриф. Послание от Марка

Author(s): / Language(s): Russian

Brytowie

Author(s): Christopher A. Snyder / Language(s): Polish

A cross-sectional look at the history of the Britons. Based on the analysis of written and archaeological sources, the author systematizes the knowledge on the history of the Britons in pre-Roman, Roman and Medieval periods, and presents the characteristics of social strata, literature, historiography, language, but also religion and the formation mechanism of Church structures.

Kościół w świecie późnego antyku

Author(s): Ewa Wipszycka / Language(s): Polish

A synthesis of the information on the most important events, figures, dogmatic tendencies in the Church of late antiquity. It reveals the backstage of historical research, indicating examples of scholarly disputes and debates concerning sensitive topics from the history of the ancient Church. It helps to understand elements of Christian reflection on its own past.

Milk and Dairy Products in the Medicine and Culinary Art of Antiquity and Early Byzantium (1st–7th Centuries AD)

Author(s): Zofia Rzeźnicka,Maciej Kokoszko / Language(s): English

The following publication constitutes a continuation of a longstanding research conducted by both authors on nourishment, dietetics, pharmacology and gastronomy in the Late Antiquity and early Byzantium. The book was created based primarily on Greek medical treatises composed from the 1st to 7th century, but it takes into account data that originates outside of this collection.The goal of the authors was to present the knowledge of the people in antiquity and Byzantium on milk and dairy products. To achieve that they attempted to translate into contemporary language the way of thinking of then doctors, and to present main points of the theory propagated by them. In particular, the authors have shown ways of utilizing aforementioned alimentary products as food and medicine. Thus, they consciously encroach the area of history of pharmacology and gastronomy. Even though the nature of their research led the authors to focus on conclusions in the field of the history of food and medicine, they also take up the issues related to society and economy of this period.

The Materiality of the Horse

Author(s): / Language(s): English

Inspired by our age-old fascination with equids, Materiality of the Horse brings the latest academic research in equine history to a wider readership. Themes examined within the book by specialist contributors include explorations of material culture relating to horses and what this discloses about the horse-human relationship; fresh observations on significant medieval horse-related texts from Europe and the Islamic world; and revealing insights into the effect of the introduction of horses into indigenous cultures in South America. Thought-provoking and original, Materiality of the Horse is the second volume in Trivent Publishing’s innovative “Rewriting Equestrian History” series.

The Religious World of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus

Author(s): Jill Mitchell / Language(s): English

“The Religious World of Quintus Aurelius Symmachus” examines the religious life of one of the last pagan senators of Rome, dates c. 340-402, who lived in a tumultuous time during the Late Antique period of the Roman Empire, dying just a few years before the Western Empire began to break up. Symmachus could not have imagined the political reality developing so soon after his death, so he is important as a late example of the old Roman Western aristocracy, as well as one of the last pagans of Rome. He was regarded as the foremost orator of his time and was a prolific letter-writer who had correspondents in high places and throughout the Empire. He also filled the posts of Urban Prefect of Rome and Consul - and was the opponent of Bishop Ambrose of Milan during the so-called 384 CE “Altar of Victory Dispute,” which was one episode of many leading to the “ triumph” of Christianity over traditional Roman polytheism. Symmachus’ cache of 900 private letters and his official despatches while Urban Prefect have provided the raw material for this book.

Szkice o antyku. T. 6: Człowiek w relacji z naturą

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Polish,Italian

The post-conference volume presents works in the field of ancient hunting. The texts published in it contain information on hunting ethics and references to animal studies. The majority of chapters deal with hunting in antiquity. The texts of Plato, Nemezjan, Arrian or Luxorious were used for the analysis. There are also references to the literature of later centuries: ”Dziady” written by Adam Mickiewicz or translations of Latin hunting treatises prepared by Bruno Kiciński. Preserved time chronology allows to follow the scope of changes which took place in hunting methods and an overall assessment of hunting over the centuries.

Ex nummis historia. Szkice o obrazach numizmatycznych w badaniach nad dziejami starożytnego Rzymu

Author(s): Agata A. Kluczek / Language(s): Polish

Ex nummis historia… is a study which, while recognising the communicative and ideological importance of coins and medallions in the socio-political life of the Roman Empire, presents the potential of numismatic sources for uncovering the history of ancient Rome. Above all, numismatic artefacts have the unique characteristic of their inherent element of actuality. They are both a part of the ancient world and its “witness.” They document the life of specific communities that used them, as well as the authorities and elites that produced them. Therefore, they provide knowledge about the reality in which they functioned and which they reported in their own way. After all, the images and inscriptions placed on numismats were connected with the state, the authorities, and more broadly with society and its elites. They are unencumbered by any interpretation other than that resulting from the actions of the issuers, who transformed a perceived and important for them piece of ancient reality into these images and slogans. Such documentary freshness is preserved even in those numismats which bear images or inscriptions already used earlier and elsewhere. This wandering of motifs in time or space suggests an appreciation of a given theme, which changed its value and acquired a new meaning, being reborn either in a different period, place or environment. The significant role of coins and medallions — as tools of socio-political communication, carriers of ideological content and documents preserving information about the Roman Empire and its inhabitants encoded in a specific way — results from the great value of numismatic sources in modern historical analyses of Roman history. The publication focuses on the nummographic field of coins and medallions, i.e. that relating to information given in inscriptions and iconography placed on numismats. It omits their unquestionable value in the study of Roman economics and the nummometric plane concerning various measurements of monetary issues and specific numismats. The book discusses, primo, the way in which Roman coin and medallion issuers transmitted into numismatic imagery elements of the reality around them and the tradition they recognized, and the formulas, especially the iconographic ones, to which they resorted when characterizing values, events and figures important to them. Secundo, methods are presented which may help to read the ideological content of numismats and use them to deepen the knowledge of Roman political, social, and cultural history.

Předkřesťanská náboženství severních Indoevropanů: Tradice Keltů, Germánů a Baltů v kritické perspektivě humanitních věd

Author(s): Jan Reichstäter / Language(s): Czech

The book aims to offer insights into research on the pre-Christian religions of the northern Indo-Europeans – namely the traditions of the Celtic, Germanic, and Baltic peoples. It presents the results of current research in the spheres of the pantheons, rituals and mythologies of these ethnic groups gained by those branches of the humanities that are usually involved in scientific reconstruction of archaic religions (e.g. archaeology, philology, ethnology). Significant attention is paid to the interpretational problems that have been solved by specialists in the study of these extinct religions for a long time. The book also introduces a brief history of the research in these fields, whose beginnings are mostly connected with the Romantic era, but in some regions they can be traced back as far as the period of Renaissance humanism. In this context the ideological motivations and aims which shaped – or still shape – the images of these religions, both in science and popular culture, are emphasised.

Mroczna Selene

Author(s): Paweł Janiszewski / Language(s): Polish

The book is devoted to a magic ritual known from ancient Greek and Latin sources and performed to bring the moon down from the sky to the earth. On the basis of numerous accounts of the phenomenon from the middle of the 5 th century B.C.E. until the middle of the 6 th century C.E., the author describes the astronomical occurrences of the moon eclipse and its total eclipse during so called interlunium, which was perceived by some contemporaries as the result of magi’s and witches’ acts.

Rzym antyczny. Polityka i pieniądz / The Ancient Rome. Politics and Money. T. 5: Azja Mniejsza w czasach rzymskich / Asia Minor in Roman Times

Author(s): / Language(s): English,French,Russian

Opracowanie jest zbiorem artykułów dotyczących szeroko rozumianej historii w czasach rzymskich. W publikacji poruszono rozmaite kwestie historii politycznej, religijnej, zagadnień propagandy, a także numizmatyki owego okresu.Praca skierowana jest do historyków, archeologów, numizmatyków, filologów klasycznych, religioznawców, historyków sztuki, orientalistów.

Badacze świata starożytnego. Biogramy uczonych z archiwum profesora Ryszarda Gansińca

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

The books contains an edition of 29 profiles of Polish and foreign scholars of broadly understood antiquity studies: classical philology, ancient history and classical archaeology. The documents come from the personal archive of Ryszard Gansiniec (1888-1958), one of the most versatile Polish scholars. The profiles, written mostly in the interwar period, with some coming from World War Two days and the postwar years, provide valuable information on both prominent researchers and those who due to various circumstances have not registered in our collective memory.

Oblicza Wojny, t. 9, Narzędzia wojny

Author(s): / Language(s): Polish

Oblicza Wojny is a series published by the Lodz University Press since 2020, dedicated to military conflicts throughout the centuries. The ninth volume of this series is titled Tools of War. When thinking about tools used during wars, various types of weaponry and armament come to mind, and this is precisely the subject matter of the texts published in this volume. The discussions include fortifications in the Battle of Dyrrachium in 48 BCE, the armament of knights from the royal retinues of Polish kings in the second half of the 15th century, and the weaponry amassed in the arsenals of Krakow in the 17th century. Subsequent articles concern the 20th century, highlighting the use of armored trains in the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1919-1921, the fate of the Polish 1st Tank Regiment at the end of World War I, Irish guerrilla warfare in the years 1919-1921, armament production in Poland before 1939, and aircraft used during World War II. The volume also includes an article on a rarely discussed topic by historians, which is the equipment of the Polish military from 1945 to 1989. The volume concludes with an article dedicated to attempts to create an army of the League of Arab States in 21st century. The authors are professional historians, and their texts are based on thorough analysis of sources.

Oblicza Wojny, t. 10, Narzędzia wojny

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Russian

This tenth volume of the Oblicza Wojny (Faces of War) series, contains 12 papers written by archaeologists and historians from Czechia, Greece, Canada, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Italy. Such a team of researchers not only ensures an interdisciplinary approach to the issue at hand but also guarantees a multifaceted approach.All papers address the problem named in the title of this volume: the Tools of War. We can distinguish several levels of research undertaken by the Authors: themes related to the armaments of particular armies and fortification systems; references to military formations and the impact of their development on the battlefield; diplomacy as a tool during war, and less obvious issues: money, bicycle, and even a lekythos.New approaches to well-known research problems, reinterpretation of old analyses and views, and taking up hitherto unexplored issues are features that unite all the texts, at the same time making them a reading material recommended for both specialists and students.

Ślad Rzeczy. Dhammapada

Author(s): Joanna Jurewicz / Language(s): Polish

An original translation of Dhammapada, one of the most well-known Buddhist texts, believed by the followers to be words of Buddha himself. It contains teachings on good and noble life. The text is supplemented with the translator’s philological and cultural commentary.