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The significant part of Shida Kartli – Georgia`s historical region has been occupied since the Russo-Georgian August War of 2008. The territory, which was inhabited by the Georgian population from the ancient times and was an integral part of the Georgian area, was turned into South Ossetian Republic by the efforts of the so-called Ossetian separatists and Russian support. The current occupied territories of Didi Liakhvi Gorge were part of Samachablo in the Middle Ages. Samachablo was the feudal land of the representatives of one of the ancient Georgian noble family – the Machabeli. The present work shows the life of Georgians throughout centuries in Samachablo. Traces of population in the Big Liakhvi Gorge can be seen from ancient times, however, there is a lack of statistical data on the exact number of population until the XVIII century. Thus, a comparative analysis of the census ledgers and other documentary material reveal that both, in Tskhinvali and in the villages of the Big Liakhvi Gorge, where the peasants of the Georgian royal family, various noble families and, for the most part, the Machabel feudal house lived, were predominantly Georgians. The Ossetians settled from the North Caucasus in the XVII-XVIII centuries lived only in the mountainous area of Shida Kartli (including the upper part of the Big Liakhvi Gorge). was facilitated by the royal government and various feudal houses (including the Machabels) in order to re-assimilate the deserted villages and increase the number of taxpayers. The migration of the Ossetians living in the mountainous villages to the lowland villages started more on that later.
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Einführende Bemerkungen zum nachfolgenden Beitrag von Niall Brady “Current research and future directions in medieval rural settlement in Ireland”.
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Die Erforschung der mittelalterlichen ländlichen Siedlung ist in Irland eine junge, aber dynamische Disziplin. Die Dynamik der interkulturellen Entwicklung zwischen den Kolonisten und den altansässigen Iren stellt ein Hauptthema der gegenwärtigen Forschung dar. Es gibt ein aktives Studium von Landschaften, bei dem Archäologen, Historiker, historische Geographen und Umwelthistoriker zunehmend zusammenarbeiten, indem sie einen festen Rahmen für interdisziplinäre Studien schaffen. Aus einem solchen methodologischen Paradigma heraus beginnen die Forscher, sich der „Gesamtwirtschaft“ (total economy) anzunähern. Das wird im Laufe der Zeit zu komplexeren und letztendlich lohnenden Beobachtungen der menschlichen Dynamik quer durch Irlands mittelalterlichen ländlichen Bereich und seine sich entwickelnden Stadtlandschaften führen. Irlands reiche archäologische Hinterlassenschaft, kombiniert mit der Anwendung komplexer Datenanalysen bietet ein Modell für andere Gebiete, die nur über eine relativ bescheidene Anzahl zeitgenössischer Schriftquellen verfügen.
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Referring to the topics of Christianization and building of churches in the Germania Slavica, there are a lot of prejudices and misjudgements, which need to be clarified. The so-called “barbarian” pagans between the rivers of Elbe and Oder possessed temples whose virtuosity was praised by the contemporary chroniclers. Not least inspired by the example of their Slavic neighbours in Bohemia, Poland and Russia, which had converted to Christianity at the turn to the second millennium, the Wend chieftains showed a willingness to assure the access to the West European cultural area by a process of acculturation. To the east of the Roman cultural border – defined by the Rhine and Danube rivers – cement jointed stone structures were unknown to Germans and Slavs alike before the introduction of Christianity. Therefore the earliest churches arose as timber structures. Even following widespread implementation of the technique of stone structures, the churches in newly founded villages were initially constructed in timber for reasons of cost. The building material of fieldstone was not available without difficulty, being found only in clay soil. In the old settlement areas, construction with fieldstone was known only sporadically, in coastal regions. For that reason the building of village churches exclusively in fieldstone developed primarily among the conditions of late medieval land consolidation (“hochmittelalterlicher Landesausbau”), as well as the implementation of brick buildings. In addition, it was not until the eastward development of settlements that a parish structure evolved and with it, the pretension of each village to have its own church. Nevertheless the building of stone churches was in no way self-evident. For example, in the region of Barnim one third of the villages during the Middle Ages only had churches of timber or of timber frame construction, because there is a significant, verifiable correlation between the revenues from crop yields (caused by the largeness of bounds and the quality of soil) and the costliness of village churches. The building of the typical steeples, cross oblong and broad as the nave, nearly doubled the costs of construction. The desire for these steeples was not only a question of prestigious symbolism of power or the glorification of God, but needed a sufficiently good economic basis, too. By that reason it normally took at least a generation before a surplus of corn production made the building of stone churches possible. Thus the creation of robust fieldstone churches was neither area-wide nor represented a governed program of military buildings (fortified churches to secure some kind of continuous advancing “Eastern front”). The involvement of Cistercians in the building of village churches is also overestimated.
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The authors deal with the issues of the beginnings of the parish system in the Czech lands, which formed the prerequisites for a deeper Christianisation of the rural milieu. Based on the distinctive transformations in burials observable in a large part of Bohemia and Moravia, they place the beginnings in the period around 1100 A. D. The evidence of the archaeological sources is confronted with the testimony of the written evidence and critically also with the conception of art historians, who do not suppose a boom of sacral architecture in the rural milieu until the second half of the 12th century and later. The shift of the beginnings of parish organisation further into the past opens a number of historical and methodological questions.
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In the Middle Ages, the towns that are on Poland’s current territory, have developed in different culture zones. Archaeological research of material remains confirm the differences in spatial structure and urban culture. The towns of Pomerania, Silesia, Greater Poland, Lesser Poland and Mazovia differ from each other a lot. All of them, however, show signs of similarity to the towns of post-Carolingian zones. The problem, that is impeding the interpretation, is the fact, that the availability of archaeological data on a lot of polish towns is still insuffizient.
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Until now, the beginnings of small towns in Lower Silesia have not been a subject of broader interest the effect of which would be a comprehensive study of this topic. This probably results from unbalanced archaeological recognition of individual areas. Out of several dozen of these types of organisms, few are recognised to a degree allowing the formation of more supported hypotheses with respect to their beginnings. In the context discussed, the example of Środa Śląskia, a small town located approximately 30 km to the west of Wrocław – the biggest city in Lower Silesia – is very characteristic. It was the subject of research by historians mainly from the 19th century, however they did not dedicate too much space to its beginnings. In the sixties of the 20th century, based on opinion poll research conducted in the area of a no longer extant medieval castle, a view of the very early beginnings of Środa Śląska appeared which supposed them to take place in the 10th or at the turn of the 10th/11th century. At that time, this opinion was not supported by much archaeological research. Besides, as it seems, it appeared during the period of planned celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of the Polish state which took place in 1966. The communist authorities of Poland at that time clearly put pressure on the necessity of proving everlasting belonging to the Polish state of territories recovered after the second world war (Silesia and Pomerania). This view survived for several dozen years. The situation began to change with development of archaeological research which happened at the end of the eighties of the 20th century. Since that time, this research has been carried out without interruption and each year new sources are added to get to know the medieval beginnings of Środa Śląska. All archaeological research completed so far indicates that beginnings of Środa Śląska can be related to the activities of Henry I the Bearded in the first half of the 13th century or at the earliest with his father – Boleslaw the Tall at the end of the 12th century. At the current understanding, there is no premise which would indicate establishment of the town by the 10th century. Furthermore, reanalysis of fragments of ceramic vessels obtained in the sixties of the 20th century during archaeological research in the area of the nonexistent castle showed that these monuments should be dated from the beginning of the 13th century at the earliest. In addition, historical sources indicate that the earliest written record concerning Środa Śląska come from 1223. The same sources confirm that development of the settlement network around the town took place also only from the beginning of the 13th century. Therefore, if Środa Śląska had existed earlier, the settlements around also would have been functioning at that time. Archaeological research carried out in the recent years also confirms a very thin settlement network in the Środa Śląska area before the 13th century. All these data show that Środa Śląska was established at the beginning of the 13th century on virgin land. However, this opinion should be verified further in the course of subsequent archaeological research.
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In this article an overview of Middle Age ground cultivation equipment in Holland and North West Germany will be provided. In the following, traditional aspects, as well as the inherent potential of innovation of these agricultural tools, will be discussed. In addition to the published spade, hook, ploughshare and coulter findings, dating back to the time between the 5th and the 15th century AD, hook and plough traces also will be described and evaluated. Despite having to rely on a small source basis for interpretation (there are just 57 findings of artifacts and 25 archeological features that could be analysed), the materials nevertheless open themselves up for interesting enquiries and interpretations. This can be seen very clearly in the case of the spade findings. In each single one of the 18 findings of spades, function- related and thus longlasting traditional form as well as remodelling and innovation of design are of equal importance. The optimal traditional shape of spades will be (innovatively?) modified. Also the 34 hook and ploughshares, combined with the discovered features presented here, show elements of not only tradition but also of innovation. In symmetrical shares both, traditional regional and supraregional forms appear to have originated. But since these cannot be linked to any specific ground or sowing techniques, it is not possible to associate them to intentionally expanded purposes of usage. The innovative idea of turning the clods of earth with ploughs with asymmetrical ploughshares is well known. However the large breakthrough only happened in the High Middle Ages when the working process was combined with horses as drought animals to pull the ploughs, using breastplates and collars.
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Using several examples, the authors elucidate the principle of so-called “starting points” as the basic means for grasping the issue of early transportation routes. The dating of their relicts in the form of abandoned hollowed-out farm tracks is one of the serious archaeological problems. The results amend the existing ideas of the course and development of long-distance transportation routes in selected regions.
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Die Gliederung des Sammelbandes Tradition – Umgestaltung – Innovation in fünf Themenkreise entspricht den üblichen Forschungsschwerpunkten der Archäologie des Mittelalters. Diese reichen von der Landschaft als Einheit über Dörfer, Burgen und Städte bis zu jenen wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Aktivitäten, die ein relevantes archäologisches Zeugnis hinterlassen haben. Die konkrete Ausfüllung der einzelnen Themenkreise ergibt sich aus dem Angebot, das den Herausgebern zur Verfügung stand. Das Ergebnis entspricht somit auch der aktuellen Orientierung der Universitätsinstitute, die am vorliegenden Sammelband teilgenommen haben. Auch in diesem Sinne schließt das Werk frei an die seit 2006 jährlich veranstalteten Treffen von Doktoranden der Archäologie des Mittelalters aus Deutschland, Polen und der Tschechischen Republik an.
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Azerbaijan and Iran as neighbouring countries have a very ancient history and rich culture. It is completely wrong approach to equate Azerbaijan and Iran or to consider Azerbaijan an integral part of Iran. Sometimes historians and researchers talk about these two countries separately, and sometimes they consider Azerbaijan as an integral part of Iranian geography. However, if we pay attention to the early days of history, we can see that Azerbaijan and Iran were completely different countries that were not connected. Azerbaijan was formed as geography inhabited by Turks in the early Middle Ages and was not connected to Iran. On the other hand, Iran has a more federal structure and is formed as a multinational geography. If we pay attention to the etymology of the name of Azerbaijan, the history of statehood and the existing historical approaches to its identity, we can see that this country initially has not been a part of Iran and was formed as an independent state.
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The paper examines Pāñcarātra prescriptions pertaining to a hunting procession/festival (mṛgayātrā/mṛgayotsava), chiefly as held on two main occasions: on the 8th day of mahotsava and on the vīralakṣmyutsava, the latter corresponding with vijayadaśamī which concludes mahānavamī/ navarātri. Through equating the god with a hunter, a ritual hunt displays strong associations with royal power. However, these two occasions of sending the deity for hunting seem to deal with different models of a ruler and his relation to his realm: a ruler who enjoys it (as in terms of a hunting game in a garden) and a ruler who subjugates it (as in terms of new territories traversed while hunting in a forest). As I argue, a key issue in discerning those models appears to be an event of crossing the border of a domesticated space, which also makes the presence of Viṣṇu’s wives on his side impossible.
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Mathematics education is also a social phenomenon because it is influenced both by the needs of the labour market and by the basic knowledge of mathematics necessary for every person to be able to face some operations indispensable in the social and economic daily life. Therefore the way in which mathematics education is framed changes according to modifications of the social environment and know–how. For example, until the end of the 20th century, in the Italian faculties of engineering the teaching of mathematical analysis was profound: there were two complex examinations in which the theory was as important as the ability in solving exercises. Now the situation is different. In some universities there is only a proof of mathematical analysis; in others there are two proves, but they are sixth–month and not annual proves. The theoretical requirements have been drastically reduced and the exercises themselves are often far easier than those proposed in the recent past. With some modifications, the situation is similar for the teaching of other modern mathematical disciplines: many operations needing of calculations and mathematical reasoning are developed by the computers or other intelligent machines and hence an engineer needs less theoretical mathematics than in the past. The problem has historical roots. In this research an analysis of the phenomenon of “scientific education” (teaching geometry, arithmetic, mathematics only) with respect the methods used from the late Middle Ages by “maestri d’abaco” to the Renaissance humanists, and with respect to mathematics education nowadays is discussed. Particularly the ways through which mathematical knowledge was spread in Italy between late Middle ages and early Modern age is shown. At that time, the term “scientific education” corresponded to “teaching of mathematics, physics”; hence something different from what nowadays is called science education, NoS, etc. Moreover, the relationships between mathematics education and civilization in Italy between the 12th and the 16th century is also popularized within the Abacus schools and Niccolò Tartaglia. These are significant cases because the events connected to them are strictly interrelated. The knowledge of such significant relationships between society, mathematics education, advanced mathematics and scientific knowledge can be useful for the scholars who are nowadays engaged in mathematics education research.
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By the end of 10th and the beginning of the 11th century the fortresses of Vereya and Servia were important posts in the defensive system of the Bulgarian Tsardom and “shields” against the intrusion of the Byzantine army in the Tsardom’s inner regions. The fortresses’ occupation by the Byzantines in 1001 represented a severe blow on Bulgaria which reduced its war ability. The fall of the fortresses of Vereya and Servia and other Bulgarian strong holds in the beginning of the 11th century was a turning point in the great fight between Bulgaria and Byzantium: the Byzantines took on the offensive, while the Bulgarian swere on defensive.
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Review of: Budak, Neven. Hrvatska povijest od 550. do 1100. — Zagreb: Leykam international, 2018. — 352 s. (Biblioteka Hrvatska povijest; Povijest hrvatskih zemalja u srednjem vijeku; sv. 1). — ISBN 978-953-340-061-7
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The text that follows shows that with the work and diligence of many Russian scientists of the XIX century, such as M. Bobrovsky, Prince M. Obolensky and many others, it becomes clear where, in the X and XI centuries, in Kievan Rus were the first books from Bulgaria that laid the foundations of Russian writing. The text shows the appearance, names and content of three samples of them: “Book of the First Genesis”, X century; the oldest text of “For the letters” by Chernorizets Hrabar; and finally - “Suprasalsky manuscript”, because it is the first at the time of discovery and proof that it is of Bulgarian origin.
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The implementation of some infrastructure projects on the territory of Doljești commune (Neamț County) imposed a non-intrusive archeological research, which had as objective a complete repertoire of the existing sites within the perimeter of the mentioned administrative subunit. Following the field research, 21 archaeological sites were identified, two them being already reported in the archaeological literature. The investigated areas were outside the currently inhabited perimeters, which gives us a slightly distorted image of the spread of ancient human settlements. However, the settlements discovered cover, almost completely, the chronological interval between the Early Neolithic to the Middle Ages. Most of the sites are located on the middle and lower terraces of the secondary watercourses, mainly left affluents of the Siret River, but settlements have also been identified on the upper terraces.
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In this paper the author problematized the question of the nature of heresy in medieval Bosnia, and analyzed possible mutual influences with the heretical movements formed in the area of Western Europe. A deep review of the previous similar attempts in historiography has been offered, as well its evaluation, with the specific focus on the discussion regarding the relation Dalmatia – Sclauonia – Bosnia. The second part of the paper is dedicated to the possible connections between Bosnian krstjani with Italian heretics, cathars, or hussites. The main conclusion is that the Bosnian Church, which by the author’s opinion follows dualistic doctrine, did not used its influence and teachings, but it settled with the ethical aspirations linked with its ideal in the original apostolic faith.
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