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In this paper we propose to further examine the possibilities that the late migrations of the 11th – 13thcenturies induced periods of growth and decline of agrarian settlements, but also the intensifications of trade and communications in the Eastern Carpathian area. The rhythm and intensity of the invasions are indicative of the reinforcement of the tribal confederation in southern Moldavia and in Wallachia, as a result of the gradual migration of Turkic peoples from North Pontic area to the west.It is possible that extra-Carpathian territories played the role of buffer zones between the nomads and the Christian states. The function of buffer zones was to reduce the likelihood of conflict, but these regions also feature an opportunity for peaceful exchange, and so they may develop into centers of trade.During the 11th – 13th centuries, the local communities of Moldavia had the characteristics of a sedentary and rural society, bonded to its traditional occupations, agriculture, and stock breeding, completed by artisan occupations. Given the favorable environment, this economic profile was sufficient for subsistence and could occasionally produce a surplus for exchange.This reexamination of the nomads’ way of life and of their influence on agrarian communities suggests that there was much more than a just interaction between the civilizations of East and West. Extreme climatic and geographical conditions repeatedly made Central Asian peoples develop modes of subsistence and institutional structures that had huge consequences for world history.New sources continue to appear and so we hope to be able to rule out some explanations and find support for others. In order to test the explanations for the relation between sedentary/farmer and nomad / warrior / conqueror we need quantitative data with good temporal resolution over the relevant time period and in the relevant regions for settlement, climate change, epidemic diseases, migrations, trade, and warfare.
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W kwietniu 2016 r. uczestnicy międzynarodowej konferencji w Rzymie, zorganizowanej m.in. przez Papieską Radę „Iustitia et Pax”, wezwali Kościół i papieża Franciszka do porzucenia teorii wojny sprawiedliwej i zaproponowali, by Kościół intensywnie zaangażował się w tworzenie i promowanie pojęcia „sprawiedliwego pokoju” 1. Czy jednak koncepcja, która znajduje swoje odzwierciedlenie w Katechizmie Kościoła Katolickiego, a przez wieki była podejmowana przez najwybitniejszych teologów i Ojców Kościoła, może być teraz rzeczywiście odrzucona? Na czym miałaby polegać zmiana strategii Watykanu?
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Przemoc jest złem. To zdanie wygląda tak banalnie, że raczej u nikogo nie wzbudzi sprzeciwu — także, a może i zwłaszcza u katolików. Diabeł, również „diabeł od przemocy”, siedzi jednak w szczegółach. Przemoc słusznie została uznana na przełomie XX/XXI wieku za jeden z najpoważniejszych problemów społecznych. Wciąż jednak nie ma powszechnej zgody nawet co do przejawów zjawiska i jego przyczyn. Wbrew pozorom niezbyt jasny jest także stosunek Kościoła do przemocy.
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This text is part of a bigger research, which examines the irrational principles within the origins of human thought and the world of literature.The object of this part of the research is Gorgon Medusa, more specifically the signs of irrational principles present in her mythology, the purpose being a new attempt at exploring the messages within, which shed light on forgotten aspects of existence.There are many interpretations and presentations of Medusa, but the special emphasis is placed on archaeological finds in Bulgaria. The figure of Medusa can be further interpreted as the embodiment of the irrational itself, connected with the secret knowledge of life and death as well as the human nature – the basic problems in literature.This text is part of a bigger research, which examines the irrational principles within the origins of human thought and the world of literature. The object of this part of the research is Gorgon Medusa, more specifically the signs of irrational principles present in her mythology, the purpose being a new attempt at exploring the messages within, which shed light on forgotten aspects of existence. There are many interpretations and presentations of Medusa, but the special emphasis is placed on archaeological finds in Bulgaria. The figure of Medusa can be further interpreted as the embodiment of the irrational itself, connected with the secret knowledge of life and death as well as the human nature – the basic problems in literature.This text is part of a bigger research, which examines the irrational principles within the origins of human thought and the world of literature. The object of this part of the research is Gorgon Medusa, more specifically the signs of irrational principles present in her mythology, the purpose being a new attempt at exploring the messages within, which shed light on forgotten aspects of existence. There are many interpretations and presentations of Medusa, but the special emphasis is placed on archaeological finds in Bulgaria. The figure of Medusa can be further interpreted as the embodiment of the irrational itself, connected with the secret knowledge of life and death as well as the human nature – the basic problems in literature.
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The paper presents stylistic figures and contact synonyms in three hagiographic texts about St. Katherine, written in Croatian vernacular. With contact synonyms every single example of the excerpted material is commented separately, by its own, with a view to its phonetic peculiarities, with which it participates in a rhythmic isosyllabic structure. On the ground of the excerpted material, the author tries to make general conclusions about regularities in the choice of lexis, which to be put in contact synonym phrase, for every single text.
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In the Angevin era, the magister tavarnicorum was first of all the highest office-bearer of financial administration, but he also had other functions. Firstly the magister tavarnicorum’s function as ‘ordinary judge’ actually meant that he was at this time regarded as the main court of appeal for cases heard in towns, or the judge of towns. This function began to accrue to the magister tavarnicorum in the second half of the thirteenth century but only became fully formed in the Angevin era. The magister tavarnicorum’s judicial powers were manifested in diverse matters and can be traced through charters of privilege granted to towns and documents recording his actions in specific cases.
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This paper touches the phenomenon of "burned generation " in Iran that due to return to the path of Islam after 2005 during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lost hope for pro-democratic changes in the daily lives of citizens, loosening the shackles of the regime of the church, the improvement of economic situation in the country and Iran's economic walking out of isolation zone in the international arena in contrary to the years of perspectives and hopes of Rafsanjani's and Khatami's governance
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In the article the attention is paid to one of the scientific fields which contributed to the mature discipline of urban planning in the Polish territories. Theoreticians (and practitioners as well) of public hygiene were much aware of the urban problems, which were conspicuous especially in the cities of the so called Russian Poland, misruled in many respects by the Tsarist authorities. More and more detailed proposals and instructions how to improve the sanitary condition in e.g. Warsaw, Lviv, Cracow and Poznan, cities belonging to Russian, Austria-Hungary and Germany at that time, made by physicians and sanitary engineers, paved the way to a new scientific field in its own right. Some conclusions made in these public debates were later adopted by other professionals who dealt with the urban spatial development (like urban planners), what helped to establish the Polish school of urban planning after 1916.
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In a recent article, Gh. A. Niculescu raises the question of the relation between culture-historical archaeology and the so-called “production of knowledge” on ethnic phenomena. He targets the works of Volker Bierbrauer, Sebastian Brather, and Florin Curta. At a closer examination, however, Niculescu’s paper is based on a distorted understanding of what culture history actually is, and on wrong assumptions about such fundamental concepts as ethnicity or (material culture) style. Besides flaws in this line of thinking, his paper reveals Niculescu’s dishonest citation practices, his efforts to create a straw man, and his weak credentials for assuming any critical position in terms of the “production” of archaeological literature in the culture-historical mode. Beyond rhetorical tricks and smearing tactics, Niculescu does not in fact advance any solution to the problem, and remains ambiguous, if not altogether confused about the role of “social sciences” in the archaeology of (medieval) ethnicity.
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The paper examines the large building in the northeastern corner of Seuthopolis in the citadel, which was connected to the city’s fortification system and was defined as the royal district (basileia). Its location emphasises the need of special defence of the ensemble and hence its prime importance for the unified urban planning. Criticism is addressed to some authors who express unjustified doubts that the building was a royal palace. It has all principal elements of a Hellenistic royal palace: throne hall, sanctuary of the Great Samothrachian Gods, which was also mentioned in the big Seuthopolis inscription found there, and a residential sector. The closest parallels are with the Macedonian palaces in Pella and Demetrias. The finds from the palace and the basileia are presented: the base of a bronze statue – probably of the city’s founder, Seuthes III, coins, ceramics, etc. Being comprehensively studied together with the basileia and with the city, and with precise dating to the late 4th – first half of the 3rd century BC, with its original plan the palace in Seuthopolis enriches today’s notions on the Hellenistic palace architecture and its manifestations in ancient Thrace. The paper examines the large building in the northeastern corner of Seuthopolis in the citadel, which was connected to the city’s fortification system and was defined as the royal district (basileia). Its location emphasises the need of special defence of the ensemble and hence its prime importance for the unified urban planning. Criticism is addressed to some authors who express unjustified doubts that the building was a royal palace. It has all principal elements of a Hellenistic royal palace: throne hall, sanctuary of the Great Samothrachian Gods, which was also mentioned in the big Seuthopolis inscription found there, and a residential sector. The closest parallels are with the Macedonian palaces in Pella and Demetrias. The finds from the palace and the basileia are presented: the base of a bronze statue – probably of the city’s founder, Seuthes III, coins, ceramics, etc. Being comprehensively studied together with the basileia and with the city, and with precise dating to the late 4th – first half of the 3rd century BC, with its original plan the palace in Seuthopolis enriches today’s notions on the Hellenistic palace architecture and its manifestations in ancient Thrace.
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The present work is based on materials from archaeological surveys, rescue and drilling excavations, as well as on accidental finds kept in the depository of the Regional Historical Museum of Pernik. To date, there is no comprehensively and methodologically investigated archaeological site dated to the Early Iron Age. The finds can be used for mapping the places inhabited during that period, and for identifying their topography. According to the duration of the habitation, the sites can be divided into three groups: – multi-layer sites inhabited prior to and after that time; – sites that emerged during the Early Iron Age, whose habitation (usually intermittent) continued during subsequent periods as well; – places inhabited only during the Early Iron Age. The latter type of sites is rare and life in them did not continue due to deterioration of the environment. There are no known sites whose habitation started earlier and ended during the Early Iron Age. Most of the finds originate from regions with prolonged topographic continuity, but none of the studies has revealed a culture layer or ruins of massive buildings. Most of the ceramic material is of poor quality, fired at low temperature – of the type maintained in a hearth. The number of sites known so far is 91. Most of them spread over a large area, but without evidence of a culture layer. One possible explanation could be sought in the absence of sedentary life due to economic reasons.
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The tumulus is 40 m in diameter and 2 m high. The grave pit (4.10/4.20 m × 2.10/2.30 m) is located approximately in the central part of the embankment, at a depth of about 1.90/2.00 m from the ancient terrain. The construction is panelled and covered with oak beams. When the earth was removed from the grave pit, a spindle whorl, a fragmented jug, several bones and fragments of clay vessels were found. The burial rite was inhumation. The skeleton with north – south orientation and with head to the north is 1.57 m long. The legs are straight and slightly closer to one another at the feet. The arms are bent at the elbows, the left arm is lying on the abdomen, and the right one – on the pelvis. Traces of timber are preserved below the skeleton and to the east of it (probably wooden planks placed below the body). The anthropological analysis demonstrates that the skeleton was of a woman aged 35-40 years. The grave goods are relatively rich. A small iron tube and two silver omega-shaped pendants were found next to the skull. A bronze Thracian-type fibula was unearthed on the left part of the ribs and a small iron knife – to the southeast of the skeleton. Four iron pellets with apertures and an iron spearhead were also found to the east of the buried woman. After the grave pit was piled with earth, one or two pits were dug and filled in its north-eastern part. Their filler is brown earth with numerous small pieces of clay turned into brick, ash and coals, several uncharacteristic ceramic fragments and animal bones. Other commemoration acts have been performed predominantly in the northern part of the tumulus, where two “platforms” have been documented. Based on the finds, the actual burial in the tumulus can be dated to the late 5th – early 4th century BC.
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Constructing identities inevitably generates otherness. In ancient Greek and in Old-Attic culture, otherness is usually deliberately inscribed in formal ethnic-geographic frameworks by opposing the Greek-speaking population (i.е., those with Hellenic culture-behaviour = paideia) to the barbarians who did not know Greek, i.e., the logos not familiar with democracy. That model is usually reduced to identifying the problems connected with the image of the Other (in ethnic or religious terms) in the effort of gaining further self-awareness through better knowledge of the neighbours. However, the otherness culture is also a process with which a community/culture excludes certain people(s) on account of their difference. The paper examines the issues of the type of model of the relation-interpretation of the ancient Thracian world and the Thracians applied by classical Old-Attic culture, and accordingly by the Old-Attic theatre in constructing the polis identity of the Athenian citizens, and whether that model fits the general opposition Hellenism – barbarianism. The analysis of the dramaturgical material is focused on the artistic, dramaturgical and literary efforts to construct Otherness through Ancient Thrace and the ancient Thracian elements in Old-Attic culture. A conclusion is proposed that Ancient Thrace, transformed and reduced to dramaturgical and cultural topos, was interpolated in the Old-Attic theatre so as to materialise the system of otherness and to be modelled as a paradigm of otherness, but also as an effort to overcome it by constructing models of increasing closeness.
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The study of Thracian toponymy with a view to chronology has different aspects. The history of each source gives a more precise picture of the chronology of the attesting of the data. Tracing the chronology of emergence is of greater significance both in linguistic and in historical plan. Owing to the areal positioning of toponymic isoglosses or isoglosses of toponymic elements, the conclusion reached in the study concerns the chronology of the emergence of groups of toponyms united by common characteristics. Tracing their propagation leads to the conclusion that the oldest layer of Thracian toponymy has lexical and word-forming parallels with the pre-Greek toponymy in the southern and western parts of the Balkan Peninsula and in Asia Minor. There is a newer layer that demonstrates lexical parallels only within the Thracian linguistic space. It comprises the settlement names with two roots and with second components recurring repeatedly, whose dissemination occurred successively throughout the first millennium BC. On the whole, the models for the formation of the Thracian toponymy were completed by the end of the first millennium BC.
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