Chrześcijańska arabskojęzyczna literatura apologetyczna Bliskiego i Środkowego Wschodu w okresie Abbasydów (750–1050)

Author(s): Michał Sadowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: _/2012

The new socio-political context of the conquered nations of the Middle and Near East caused an unexpected and profound changes on the map of the religions in the area. As soon as in a decade after the death of Muhammad (632AD) the rise of Islam and the spread of the Qur‘anic message became a fact in the Eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire. In consequence, Christian communities living in the territories controlled by the new political power, had to answer these challenges. First hundred years after the Muslim conquest of the Middle and Near East were characterized by a separated development of both religious communities. Therefore, by the end of the Umayyad Caliphate (749 AD) we do not find any Christian document written in Arabic. The turning point happened under the Abbasid rule (750–1258). The appearance of the oldest-known Christian text in Arabic (Fi tathlith Allah al-wah?id), dated to the 755–770 AD, was undoubtedly coincidental, but significant. However, we must keep in mind that the openness of the Abbasid rulers supported both the cultural and religious exchange. The encounter between the believers of these two religions forced them to explore their differences and to face new and unexpected challenges. The faith in the one God in the Trinity of Persons and the Incarnation confronted with the Islamic approach to monotheism is one of the challenges that the Christians of the Middle and Near East had to deal with. They had to meet this challenge for at least two reasons: (1) To preserve their own communities from conversion to Islam; and (2) To expose Christian doctrine and defend the faith against the accusations of polytheism. The defense of the faith was at the heart of Arab Christian apologetic literature, which usually dealt with the following topics: (1) God, the Holy Trinity; (2) Jesus Christ: Divine filiation, Incarnation, Redemption; and (3) The authenticity of Christianity.

L'islam dans première grandeur (VIIIe-IXe siècle) o reeditare binevenită

Author(s): Dragoş Dragoman / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1-2/2015

The study of early Islam made by Maurice Lombard is a glimpse into a particular setting of historical development of large territories, from the fall of the RomanEmpire to the modern ages. Those territories encompass old and new nations and religions, stretching from the Sahara desert to Spain and Sicily, and from the Atlantic shores of Africa to Western India and China. Its astonishing economic and urban development, accompanied by innovations in agriculture, various industries and transportation, made this huge space a land of knowledge and civilization, working as a bridge between East and West, past and future. Its heritage for modern Europe is still visible in science and culture, especially by the transmission of ancient writings of Greek and Latin scholars. This perspective could somehow change the way ordinary Europeans currently consider Islam and its cultural values and work against established prejudices.

Рукописи славянских миней ХІ–ХІV вв. и принципы их классификации

Author(s): Natalya Nechunajeva,Aleksey Nechunajev / Language(s): Russian Issue: 4/2014

In the present paper we analyze nine Menaia manuscripts (Old-Slavic hymnographic texts) from the 11th–14th c. using a vector space model. The analysis and classification of the manuscripts in previous studies were rather subjective and based on linguo-texto-logical properties of the texts. Our approach uses contemporary information retrieval methods and represents the manuscripts as vectors in a common vector space. A vector space model allows to look at similarities and differences between the manuscripts from a different angle. This approach is more data driven and less subjective than the standard approach. The vector analysis allows to distinguish the Putyatina Menaion and the Me-naion Q.п.I.25 from the set of analyzed texts. These manuscripts share both textological and lexical similarities. Similar findings are reached in the existing studies. The manu-scripts ÁÀН16.14.13 and Ò.112 are shown to be rather similar to the set of analyzed texts. This result is new. Most important are lexical differences between the set of texts analyzed while differences in grammar are less pronounced. This is important as the first feature shows dynamics of the texts from the archaic to the Jerusalem type while the latter feature shows the dynamics of the language system.

В дебрите на Хемус

Author(s): Kiril Marinov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2013

After an analysis of the extant sources (coming mainly from the period of the 8th–9th centuries), the author of the article maintains that still in the time of the inception of the khanate on the lower Danube, the Bulgarians made the Haemus Mountains (Stara Pianina and Sredna Gora) a permanent protective barrier, from behind which they would launch their attacks against the territory of Byzantine Thrace. The mountains played the role of an attack outpost (680/681, 763 and 792) and a convenient observation post, which was used to monitor the Byzantine military stationed both at the northern as well as southern foot of the range (708, 763, 811). The mountains were also used as a shelter to which the defeated Bulgarian troops would retreat (763, 811).

Héritagesde Byzance en Europe du Sud-Est à l’époque moderne et contemporaine, eds. Olivier Delouis, Anne Couderc & Petre Guran. Athens: École française d’Athènes, 2013, 522 p.

Author(s): / Language(s): English Issue: 46/2015

Die Typologie der rautenförmigen Beschläge aus Friedhöfen des 10. Jahrhunderts

Author(s): Aurel Dragotă / Language(s): German Issue: 58/2015

Rhombic appliqués are decorative elements arranged in U or V form on the collar of the clothing, which was used especially by middle and upper class of the ancient Hungarian environment. Compared to other clothing items, their usage has been documented and evidenced only for the first six decades of the 10th century. Made of cast bronze and silver, sometimes with traces of gilding, these were evidenced especially in women’s graves and more rarely in those belonging to men. Their origin should be sought in the ancient Hungarian tombs in the environment of the Eastern area, where they were usually used as ornaments for hair banderols. From a typological point of view, we have identified the types 83a-83h, which show certain differences regarding the clothing edges and the central decorative element. Type 83b is combined with bone combs (Eperjes/M. 5), bracelet 4 (Jázova/M. 6; Hajdúböszörmény-Bodaszőlő-Büdöskút/M.7), twisted bracelets with hooks (Hajdúböszörmény-Bodaszőlő-Büdöskút/M.7) and twisted bracelets with hook and eye fastening terminals (Sárrétudvari-Hízóföld/M. 118). Another correlation can be noticed in the case of types 83b and 83c2, which appear in funerary inventories with sickles (reaping hooks) (Karos II/M. 70; Červenik/M. 4) and pottery (Červenik/M. 4). Lamellar bracelets with rounded or hook shaped terminals (2 Giesler) appear exclusively with types 83b, 83c1- 83c3, 83e2 and 83e4. Harness items and pieces (stirrups, bridles, trapezoidal buckles) are combined with types 83c2 (Bashalom/M. f, h, j), 83b (Eperjes/M. 5; Karos II/M. 47; Şiclău/M. 11), 83c1 (Hódmezővásárhely-Kopáncs/M. 8), 83e2 (Sered. M2/53) and 83e4 (Madaras/M. 6). The only weapon pieces (sabres, axes) appear in association with types 83c2 (Kenézlő/M. 21), 83g (Biharkerestzes-Bethlen Gábor utca 25/M. 1) and 83c2. An interesting combination is evidenced in Kecel/M. 1, where type 83b is associated with a pair of crescent-shaped granulated earrings, bearing a rosette with four petals in the center of the lower arch. The pair of earrings from Kecel/M. 1 is assigned and attributed to the first generation of the conquering Hungarians, therefore its provenance as a war spoil of the year 934 can be excluded. The oldest type forms of rhombic appliqués seem to be 83b, 83e2, 83e3 and 83g in terms of association with Saltovo earrings (Karos II/M. 4, Karos II/M. 47, Vörs/M. 406; Pétervására-Laktanya/M. 1-55; Visonta-Fel¬sőrét/M. 22), clawed ring/ring with “claws” (Pétervására-Laktanya/M. 1-55), sabre and coin belonging to Hugo de Provence/Lotar II (Biharkerestzes-Bethlen Gábor utca 25/M. 1). Rhombic ornaments are also associated with other pieces in funerary inventories: rings 13, pressed discs, shoe appliqués, beads, cowrie shells and globular shaped buttons. Harness pieces were also evidenced in some tombs with appliqués of type 83b and 83c2, along with horse offerings (Eperjes /M. 5; Karos II/M. 47; Bashalom/ M. 21; Kenézlő/M. 21).

Münzen aus der Arpadenzeit in siebenbürgischen Kirchenfriedhöfen

Author(s): Maria-Emilia Țiplic,Silviu Istrate Purece / Language(s): German Issue: 58/2015

The goal of the paper is to provide an inventory and an analysis of the coins discovered during the archaeological excavations on medieval churchyards located in Transylvania. So, at this research stage, a differentiation between churchyards from north central Transylvania and those from southern Transylvania stands out, an exception being emphasized by the region of Haţeg Land. The the first case brought to light arpadian coins from the 11th century, the second case revealed that the oldest coins are from the time of Geza II. In our analysis, we observe that in the 11th and the 12th centuries’ cemeteries, most of the coins are placed on the mouth, rarely, put in the hand. There are no concrete cases in which the coin had been layed on the sternum. Another feature of those churchyards is the dominance of the graves without inventory, also the rarity of the burials with coins. We have observed that the anonymous denars dominate the monetary horizon of the 12th century. We should also note the case of Geoagiu de Jos, where a big number of coins issued by Coloman have been found. The coin presence in graves as Obolus is more rarely beginning with the mid-13th century. The coins from the second half of the 13th century are almost missing. It is also noted that some coins from graves were cut or torn; it is possible that these have been prepared as such to be part of the funeral ritual, which is highly to be understood as a symbolic destruction of the object.

Honfoglalás kori temetőrészletek a kolozsvári Kalevala utcából

Author(s): Balázs Gergely,Erwin Gáll / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: II/2007

I. About the circumstances of the research: In spring 2004 some more new finds from 10-11th centuries were found in the stocks/collection of the Historical Museum in Kolozsvár. According to the inventory book from 10th of October, 1944 the finds referring to the 10th century were brought to the Museum from the Kalevala Street. In April, 1949, Gyula László led an excavation in the neighbourhood, but only a few data have remained about it. The 5th grave stocks weren't included in the inventory.II. The topographical description of necropolis part in the Kalevela Street The site is situated in on the Northern edge of the Szamos terrace, called Kövespad. The small valley is easy to notice on the Military map dividing the edge into two. The Kövespad Street leads through this valley. On the upper edge of the terrace, the Kalevala street forks to East. The graves in the Zápolya and Kalevela Street were positioned on both sides of the valley (formerly presumably a road), situation which can be well seen from map nr. 1.III. Conclusions: The finds from the age of the Hungarian Conquest found in Kolozsvár unambiguously show that in 10th century on the territory of present-day Kolozsvár a settled down a not specially rich "armed to the teeth" military rank. The status symbol of the community was the sable. Comparing the number of the graves with the number of the sables the results are unique in the Carpathian Basin. In about 40 graves excavated till now in ten were found sables, (Kalevala Street - 2 sables, Plugarilor Street - 3 sables, Zápolya Street - 5 sables) which mean 25%. As for comparison, there are the cemeteries in Upper-Tisza region: in 3 cemeteries in Karos from 167 graves only 11 sables are known (6,58%), in 50 graves of 2 cemeteries in Kenézlő only 5 sables were found (10%), in Tiszabezdéd in 17 graves 3 sables (17,64 %) and in 13 graves in Tiszaeszlár II. 3 sables are known. (23,07%). From other cemeteries one or two sables are known in average. This high occurrence of the above mentioned weapon can only be explained with the presence of a regular military social strata. Besides, the cemeteries - as we have shown in the topographical description - are situated on strategically important places. One may suppose that the presence of the military group was connected with the control of the commercial (salt) roads leading through and under the terrace. These kind of military centres are well known from that age and later. For example, military centres were created in the vicinity of commercial roads on territories controlled by the Vikings (e. g. Birka) or in Muntenia, Romanian cnezates. On the basis of dating possibilities it cannot be excluded that the Kövespad cemeteries from the age of the Hungarian Conquest were in use till the end of 10th century - begin of 11th century when the Kolozsmonostor fortress was built.

A csíkszentkirályi plébániatemplom kutatása (2002)

Author(s): Boglárka Tóth,István Botár,Miklós Rácz / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: II/2007

The presented data were collected on the occasion of the outer refurbishment of the church of Sâncrăieni. We did not have the opportunity to do archaeological research elsewhere, nevertheless we could form a comprehensive history of the main building periods. Sâncrăieni is situated int he eastern part of Transylvania, in the former Szekler seat Csík. The name refers to Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary as „Saint King" (Szentkirály), this village name and its church had therefore been created before 1192, the canonization of the second saint king of Hungary, László I. The Hungarian-speaking population of the Szeklers was settled in the region int he late 12th and early 13th centuries. Sâncrăieni and its church were probably founded by the new settlers, but they can as well be of an earlier origin. The walls of the nave preserve the remains of two medieval phases. The western gate and one fragment of a window can be identified as parts of a Romanic period Later the nave was elongated towards the east, on this part of the southern wall an early gothic window was discovered. None of the medieval periods of the chancel is known, as the present chancel was built to the nave in 1759. Like the most village churches of the region, the medieval church had no spire, nevertheless a bell from 1562 testifies to the existence of a wooden tower. Based on dendrochronological dating of the timbers, the present tower in the west was built in the early 18th century. The roof forms of the two medieval phases of the nave were reconstructed on the basis of the western gable remains.The presented data were collected on the occasion of the outer refurbishment of the church of Sâncrăieni. We did not have the opportunity to do archaeological research elsewhere, nevertheless we could form a comprehensive history of the main building periods. Sâncrăieni is situated in the Eastern part of Transylvania, in the former Szekler seat Csík. The name refers to Saint Stephen I, the first king of Hungary as „Saint King" (Szentkirály), this village name and its church had therefore been created before 1192, the canonization of the second saint king of Hungary, László I. The Hungarian-speaking population of the Szeklers was settled in the region in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Sâncrăieni and its church were probably founded by the new settlers, but they can as well be of an earlier origin. The walls of the nave preserve the remains of two medieval phases. The western gate and one fragment of a window can be identified as parts of a Romanic period Later the nave was elongated towards the east, on this part of the southern wall an early gothic window was discovered. None of the medieval periods of the chancel is known, as the present chancel was built to the nave in 1759. Like the most village churches of the region, the medieval church had no spire, nevertheless a bell from 1562 testifies to the existence of a wooden tower. Based on dendrochronological dating of the timbers, the present tower in the west was built in the early 18th century. The roof forms of the two medieval phases of the nave were reconstructed on the basis of the western gable remains.

Sedam stoljeća otoka Mrkana u naslovu trebinjskih biskupa

Author(s): Ivica Puljić / Language(s): Croatian Issue: 1/2015

The diocese of Trebinje was first mentioned in 1022 in the papal bull of Pope Benedict VIII (1012-1024) from which it could be concluded that the diocese was established at the end of the tenth century. Until the second half of the 12th century it enjoyed freedom whereas with Nemanja's conquest of the coast it was brought to a subordinate position comparing to the Raska (Serbian) orthodoxy. In the mid 13th century, its first bishop was expelled but some time after 1286 the diocese was restored again. The beginning of the 13th century brought the news on the violent persecution of Catholics in the Serbian kingdom. The bishop of Trebinje, who lived in the former Benedictine monastery on the bestowed island of Mrkan, was exiled by King Milutin, at the latest in the war with Dubrovnik from 1217 to 1218. Since then the name Mrkan has been preserved in the title of the Bishop of Trebinje.

John Carr: The Komnene Dynasty: Byzantium’s Struggle for Survival 1057–1185, Barnsley 2018

Author(s): Paweł Lachowicz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2019

Marcellinus comes Krónikájának sztyeppei népekkel kapcsolatos szöveghelyei

Author(s): Márk Sólyom / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2024

Count Marcellinus, a Catholic Christian statesman from Illyricum was the cancellarius of Emperor Iustinian (527–565 AD) and one of the most important historians of the early VIth century. As a court official, he wrote a Latin chronicle (Chronicon), which is the continuation of Hieronymus’ (St. Jerome’s) historical opus and covers the period from 379 to 534 AD. Additionally, Marcellinus’ summary was later extended until 548 AD by an unknown author. The work is also an important, unavoidable source of the history of the Late Antique steppe tribes. In my paper, I translate and comment the passages of Count Marcellinus in connection with the Alans, Huns, Bulgars and Sabirs.

Založení nejstarších benediktinských klášterů v Čechách ve světle písemných pramenů (od šede

Author(s): Marie Bláhová / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2024

The article is devoted to the establishment of the oldest monastic institutions in the Czechlands in the 10th and 11th century and the scriptural sources dealing with the circumstancesof their establishment. It deals with the founding of the female monastery of St. George atPrague Castle and the male monasteries of Břevnov, Ostrov, and Sázava

Kobieta i monety – przyczynek do mennictwa księżnej morawskiej Eufemii

Author(s): Marzena Matla / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2024

Euphemia (d. 1111) was the wife of Otto I the Fair, prince of Moravia. After her husbands’death, she ruled as a regent for her minor sons. Together with her offspring, she issued twotypes of denarii. The present article aims to distinguish the iconography of these coins andof the models they were likely to be based on, to establish th context of their creation anddetermine the propaganda message they conveyed.

O Gallowym kleryku i królu Bolesławie Szczodrym raz jeszcze

Author(s): Krzysztof Skwierczyński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2024

The article concerns a compelling anecdote related by Gallus Anonymous. The story seemsto show King Bolesław II the Bold in a good light. However, a detailed analysis of the workshows that, despite the seemingly positive overtones of the story, the historian pointed tothe king’s extravagance as one of the reasons for his loss of power, being toppled from histhrone, expulsion from the country and death in exile.

Recently discovered early medieval grave from Serbin

Author(s): Pavel Sokolov,Bence Gulyás / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

An early medieval burial was found in Serbin (Krasnodar Krai, Slaviansk-na-Kubani District, Russia) in 2023. The grave contained a battle knife, analogies to which are known not only from Eastern Europe but also Inner Asia and Southern Siberia, emphasizing the vivid connections maintained throughout the Eurasian steppe in the second half of the first millennium AD. Grave 2023/3 of Serbin could be dated to the second half or last third of the 7th century AD.

Tiszakürt-Zsilke-tanya: An interdisciplinary analysis of an Early Avar Period cemetery

Author(s): Bence Gulyás,Eszter Pásztor,Kristóf Fehér,Csilla Libor,Tamás Szeniczey,László Előd Aradi,Réka Fülöp,Kyra Lyublyanovics / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

A cemetery section comprising 35 burials was excavated at the site of Tiszakürt-Zsilke-tanya. The burial rites suggest that the community who interred their dead here was of East European steppe origin, settled primarily east of the Tisza River. The graves were poorly furnished; the main chronological indicators are melon seed-shaped beads and two pairs of earrings with big bead pendants. Based on these, the cemetery section can be dated between the 640s and the 680s. The archaeological analysis is complemented by an anthropological, archaeozoological, and pottery analysis, as well as a study of metal and glass composition.

Chronological problems of the 7th–10th-century AD Carpathian Basin in light of radiocarbon data

Author(s): Gergely Szenthe,Norbert Faragó,Erwin Gáll / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

The study presents the evaluation of a radiocarbon series, currently unparalleled in the research of the early medieval Carpathian Basin, which comprises data from the 7th to the 10th century AD. We provide a data set that, when combined with the radiocarbon data available in the related literature, covers the period in focus. The results of its analysis can be considered novel in several respects: 1) the radiocarbon data sequence and the relative chronological framework established for the Late Avar Period concord, 2) based on the radiocarbon sequence, the Middle Avar Period in certain large cemeteries (i.e., Tiszafüred-Majoros) started considerably earlier than it was assumed previously, based on ‘Middle Avar Period’ elite graves—and, interestingly, earlier even than the coin-dated ‘Middle Avar’ elite grave horizon, and 3) the data of the latest grave horizon in Avar cemeteries suggests a similar asynchronism between the related sites. The data set allows one to draw preliminary conclusions about the trends of the early medieval cultural and social transformations in the Carpathian Basin and outline ‘innovative’ groups which, by maintaining contacts with diverse regions outside the Carpathian Basin, played a central role in these processes.

Early Medieval Serbs in the Balkans: Reconsideration of the Evidence

Author(s): Danijel Džino / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This paper discusses the problem of the appearance of the Serb ethnonym in the Balkans, as evidenced in the ninth-century Frankish Royal Annals and the mid-tenth-century Byzantine treaty De Administrando Imperio. Written evidence is analysed together with available archaeological information in order to criticize currently dominating ideas concerning the Serb migration in the seventh century, as well as to offer different perspectives on the origins of the early medieval Serb ethnonym in the Balkans.

Образование первых румских эмиратов XI ст.

Author(s): German Lytvynov,Yaroslav V. Pylypchuk,Ivan Iv. Drobot / Language(s): Russian Issue: 5/2024

Byzantium often waged wars with military associations of nomads and Muslim states. In the 11th century, the empire faced a new type of political entity, which was a supra-tribal nomadic confederation and a sultanate at the same time. The Seljuk supra-tribal confederation included autonomous Turkmen groups that, for a century, constantly invaded Byzantine Anatolia (Rum) and were able to establish emirates of Kutlumysh, Danishmend, Çaka, and Baladukiya. The novelty of the work lies in the fact that the formation of the Rum emirates is considered from the standpoint of the theory of nomadism.