In the 15th and 16th centuries in Muscovy and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the purpose of the Gospel went beyond the presentation of the text of the Holy Scripture. Depending on the region, the extent of Orthodoxy, and the development of various genres of books, altar Gospels took on additional functions, besides the liturgical ones. In the Moscow state, the altar Gospels were often richly illustrated: they had miniatures and colorful screensavers painted in gold. This made the Gospel one of the most valuable contributions to the monastery sacristy that a believer could make to commemorate his soul. The gospels from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were rarely decorated with expensive miniatures, although they often had the painted bindings, so they could replace an icon. The Gospel was a liturgical book, so it certainly included a menologium. However, the Ruthenian Gospels often preserved a short text of the menologium with references to selected saints revered in the Byzantine tradition. On the contrary, new memories of Russian and locally venerated saints were included in the Gospels in the Moscow state, which made the Gospel a «book about saints» that preserved the veneration of a host of ascetics and provided prayerful appeal to them throughout the year. In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, the Gospel was entrusted with the function of a book of remembrance of land contributions, which required careful recording of ownership rights and eternal storage. The altar Gospel, which was supposed to be in the church all the time, was the best place to record donations, given that there was no tradition in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to use contribution books.
In a historical and demographic study of the resettlement of Bulgarians to Russia and the USSR in the late 19th and early decades of the 20th century, the author analyzes official statistics conducted in Bulgaria, Russia and the USSR from the late 1890s to the mid-1930s. The sources used made it possible to characterize the features of the migration process from Bulgaria to Russia in the least studied period in historiography. The article highlights the differences in the calculations carried out at various stages of the period under study and in the aforementioned countries, the specifics of the legal regulation of the status of immigrants at different times, the impact of the socio-political and economic situation on migration processes both in the region of origin and in the reception areas of Bulgarian immigrants. The paper outlines the main trends related to the movement of Bulgarian agricultural, educational and political migration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as demonstrates the change of priorities in the occupations of migrants associated with the process of urbanization and the development of the extractive industry in the receiving region in the 1920s and 1930s. The censuses revealed the main centers of Bulgarian settlement in the Russian Empire and the USSR, where their national diasporas were formed: Odessa, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Mariupol, Mykolaiv, Dnepropetrovsk districts. It is noteworthy that, despite various economic and political transformations, geographically the migration trajectories remained unchanged during the study period, which was explained by the already established tradition. The data from Bulgarian and Russian/Soviet official statistics complement each other in many ways and allow us to recreate a more complete picture of migration from Bulgaria to Russia since the end of the 19th century till the 1930s, to determine the demographic profile of migrant groups, including the composition by gender and occupation, starting points in the sending country and its destinations in the receiving country, as well as the dynamics of the migration process over time an d space.
The article analyzes the interpretation of the concepts of «schism» and «union» in the treatise «Wiara prawosławna» by the Jesuit Jan Alojzy Kulesza in the context of the controversy over the church union between Catholics, Uniates and Orthodox in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th–18th centuries. It is noted that for Kulesza the concepts of «schism» and «union» were not only purely ecclesiastical terms, but, more broadly, religious and political concepts. In this case, the Jesuit directly and eloquently expressed what previous Catholic and Uniate authors had written. Thus, for them, «schism», i.e. Orthodoxy, was the embodiment of «disloyalty», «contrariness» and «rebellion» against God himself, his church and the order he had established on earth. Catholics and Uniates considered themselves as the personification of «loyalty» and «unity», i.e. «union». Having addressed the meanings that the representatives of the Orthodox Church attached to the concepts of «schism» and «union», which occupied one of the most important places in the religious life of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the author of the article comes to the conclusion that Catholics and Uniates often had more «exclusivist» interpretations of various religious and political categories than the Orthodox. This was directly related to the ideas about the structure of the Christian community and church, typical of the representatives of these opposing confessions. In fact, the representatives of the Catholic and Uniate churches, unlike the Orthodox, who advocated the «conciliarity» of the church, were inclined toward «elitism» in matters of church governance, advocating for a centralized church hierarchy. The author of the article also connects this with the fact that Orthodox authors, unlike Catholics and Uniates, were much more zealous in advocating for the preservation of confessional boundaries and barriers, seeking to protect themselves from what they considered to be the corrupting «Latin» influence and absorption by Rome.
The present article examines the circumstances of how a verification of the Lithuanian Statute’s Russian translation published by the Senate’s Printing House in 1811 had being carried out. After senator Seweryn Potocki during the court hearings brought attention to inconsistencies between the Polish text of the Lithuanian Statute and its Russian translation, the State Council in 1821 asked the Commission for the Compilation of Laws to verify the text of translation. The Commission invited to this task a group of professors at Vilna University some of whom specialised in a history of Polish and Lithuanian law. It is suggested that a membership of both — the key St. Petersburg officials and Vilna experts to Respublica Literaria made possible to delegate a substatntial part of work to Vilna and to elaborate a project of new edition in three languages. The author thinks that Polish experts advocated to include in a critical edition the original language of the Lithuanian Statute having in mind not only a preservation of its source text. They aimed to revitalise cultural and historic memory as well as to strengthen Polish-Lithuanian legal traditions in those provinces of Russia which formerely belonged to Rzecz Pospolita. In late 1823 because of unforseen external factors the work on verification in Vilna came to a standstill. As a result the Commission for the Compilation of Laws in St. Petersburg suspended completing the task of the State Council.
A current lacuna exists between the extant written and archaeological sources concerning the economy of the Kola North and White Sea region during the 16th–19th centuries. It is evident that the Pomor fishery on the Murmansk coast, a subject that has been extensively documented, was characterised by the pervasive utilisation of currency. This currency was employed for the acquisition of ships, equipment, salt, the remuneration of labourers, the payment of dues and tariffs etc. However, coins of this time are almost absent in the archaeological materials from the Murmansk region. In light of this evidence, three complexes of Russian silver wire coins discovered in the lower reaches of the Varzuga River between 1958 and 1972 are of particular significance. The structure of the first complex is represented by 12 kopecks, of which one belongs to the emission of Mikhail Fedorovich, one was minted during the joint reign of Ivan Alekseevich and Peter Alekseevich, and the remaining ten belong to the time of the sole reign of Peter Alekseevich. The second complex consists of nine coins. Two of these coins were minted during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich, three others were issued during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, and one (a rare denga) was minted during the joint reign of Ivan Alekseevich and Peter Alekseevich. The remaining three coins were issued during the reign of Peter Alekseevich. The third complex is represented by a denga of Ivan Vasilievich IV, a kopeck of Aleksei Mikhailovich and a kopeck of Fedor Alekseevich. The particular characteristics of monetary circulation in the Russian North indicate that the coins were in circulation during the latter half of the 17th century and the early 18th century.
This article examines the trade of the Russian-American Company in Kyakhta during the 1840s, studies its impact on Russian America and Sino-Russian trade, and analyzes the significance of this activity for Eurasian economic linkages. With the development of the European Industrial Revolution and the expansion of colonial endeavors, the global economic system underwent profound transformations. In these processes, Kyakhta trade played a significant role and was widely regarded as a key channel for the exchange of goods between Russia and China. The Russian-American Company, founded in 1799, became involved in the Kyakhta trade almost immediately. Its primary focus was the exchange of furs for tea. Throughout the first half of the 19th century, despite fluctuations in fur procurement, the volume of the tea trade grew steadily. The article provides a detailed analysis of the commercial circumstances faced by the Company in Kyakhta during the 1840s and investigates the resulting trade turnover. As the regional fur industry declined, the Company leveraged its monopoly on fur procurement in Russian America. It imported large quantities of sealskins, beaver pelts, and otter furs into Kyakhta, exchanging them for tea. During this period, its trade volume with China reached its peak. This activity yielded several significant consequences. Firstly, it secured the supply chain for Russian America, enabling the sustenance of settlements and commercial operations in remote territories. Secondly, it contributed to balancing Sino-Russian trade relations: China obtained valuable furs, while Russia gained access to much-desired tea and other Chinese goods. Kyakhta played a particularly important role in the distribution of Chinese tea. Through it, tea reached the markets of Central and Western Russia. From there, it was further distributed, reaching cities in both Western and Eastern Europe. Caravans and trade routes connected Kyakhta to major commercial centers, thereby making Chinese tea accessible to a broad range of consumers. Consequently, Kyakhta evolved into a crucial transit hub linking China with vast territories across Eurasia. This not only strengthened economic interconnections between regions but also significantly diversified the assortment of goods available on European markets. Having passed through Kyakhta, Chinese tea became an integral part of daily life in Russia and Europe, fostering new consumer habits and commercial traditions.
The article is devoted to the study of the influence of the First Kamchatka and Second Kamchatka expeditions on the formation of Russia's colonial ambitions in the Pacific Ocean in the 18th century. The article shows the goals, preparation process and results of the expeditions. The preparation and implementation of the expeditions were a complex and multifaceted process in which various government agencies took part, which became the basis for further merchant expeditions of the second half of the 18th century. Based on archival documents, it is shown how Peter the Great's plans were implemented. The expeditions of the famous Dane in the Russian service demonstrated the effective possibility of connecting the land and sea sections of the route. These voyages led to the discovery of the strait between the continents, and the actual mapping of the northwest of North America, which acquired special strategic significance. The importance of the Russian Orthodox Church in the realization of the expeditions is noted. The article shows the role that Bering's voyages played in interaction with foreign powers, primarily with Spain, a country that laid claim to all territories in the northwest of America up to Kamchatka. It is noted that the discovery of sea routes from the East to America and Russia's new opportunities for colonization potentially contributed to the aggravation of relations with the Spanish Crown. It is concluded that Russia's geopolitical goals were based on the ideas of Peter the Great. The vector of transforming Russia into a great maritime power that he laid down was continued by subsequent Russian rulers of the 18th century. The article is based on a wide range of sources from domestic and foreign archives.
The article examines the issue of designating representatives of the Mongol elite in Rus’ sources in the first decades after Batu’s invasion. In the tale of the Ipatiev Chronicle about the capture of Kiev in 1240, both, members of the khan’s family, Batu’s relatives, and military leaders who did not belong to the Chinggisid dynasty are called «voevoda». At the same time, Batu’s «brothers» are defined as «strong commanders», the best Mongol commander Subedei is defined as Batu’s «first governor», the rest of the military leaders are defined as «other commanders». A comparison of the terminology used in relation to the Mongolian and then Horde nobility in sources of the 13th century, on the one hand, and later times, on the other, made it possible to establish that the hierarchy of Russian terms known from the sources of the 14th–15th centuries: khan, supreme ruler — «Caesar /tsar», members of the khan’s family (Genghisids, Juchids) — «princes», emirs (beks) — «princes», had not yet taken shape in the 13th century. The Chinggisid members, as a rule, were mentioned without a title. During this period, the term ryadtsa could be used for people around the khan. Representatives of the Khan’s administration could be determined by position (baskaks). When the context of the sources’ messages was related to military operations, the term «voevoda» was preferred. Moreover, both members of the khan’s family and commanders who did not belong to the ruling dynasty could be called «voevoda». Thus, in the absence of developed Russian terminology to designate the nobility of the conquerors in the first decades after the subjugation of Rus’ to the power of the Mongol khans, the term «voevoda» was used as a universal definition.
The subject of research in this article is the Middle German expression in doder Narwe. The author translates it as «German (Teutonic) Narva», rejecting the translation «dead Narva/Narova», proposed by A. Suvalep in 1936 and currently supported by P. V. Lukin. As arguments, firstly, there is a reference to a number of lexical features of the Middle Low German dialect, formed under interaction of different dialects with its characteristic diversity of way of writing words. Secondly, the author submits to set the meaning of the expression under discussing, based on the event context, that could be restored through the use of Hanseatic correspondence. The expression in doder Narwe is used in documents with regard to robbery case of Novgorod and Reval merchants committed on the Narva /Narova River in 1407 by the Swedish trade agents of the Vyborg’s bailiff Thorn Bunde initiated by Berndt von dem Wrede, whose goods were place in arrest at the Hanseatic mission in Novgorod. In this regard, it became necessary to clarify the jurisdictions boundaries of the German or Russian sides, and that was difficult to do due to the fact that the riverbed was not delimited at that time. The translation of «dead Narva/Narova» and its identification with the Luga river tributary called Mertvitsa river don’t fit into this situation in any way, whereas the expression «in the German (Teutonic or Order) Narova» seems quite appropriate, since it is used in connection with the German (Teutonic) Order jurisdiction in Livonia.
The object of the article is the typology of the miracle of self-crushing of idols in the 79 chapter of the Chronicle of John of Nikiu, connected with the fall of statues of Apollo and Artemis at the entrance of small Theophilus, the future patriarch of Alexandria (+412) in the pagan temple in Memphis. Child Theophil has features both of Christ and those of Moses, because from one side idols fall and break at his visit of the temple, just as at the entrance of Christ into Egypt, from the other side Theophilus, like Moses has to escape from fury of Egyptian pagans. This story about self-crushing of statues of pagan gods has a number of parallels in Martyr Lives of St. Cornelius, the Centurion, St. George, St. Niceta the Goth. The scheme of falling of idols in these lives is rather similar: a martyr pretends, that he is ready to sacrifice before statues of pagan gods, then he is introduced to a temple, he prays and then idols fall. These stories may be based on real cases of destruction of idols by martyrs themselves or those of destruction during earthquakes. But these Martyr Lives lack some important details for narration in the 79 chapter of the Chronicle of John of Nikiu. The Gospel of Childhood of Christ, concretely — the story about the arrival of the Holy Family in Egypt and fall of idols, has an immediate link with the plot from the Chronicle of John of Nikiu, which also is connected with so called Tale of Aphrodysianus. This tale says, that voices from statues of pagan gods in the Persian kingdom were speaking about Nativity of Christ during His birth and after the after the appearance of a star all the idols fall, but one statue, called “The Source”, which becomes a prototype of Virgin Mary. This tradition, maybe dated back to the II-III century, is reflected in the kondakion “About the massacre of Bethlehem children” and also in the Acathist Hymn. Considering the context of the 79 chapter of the Chronicle of John of Nikiu and events of 391 in Alexandria — crushing of Serapium and massacre of Christians are similar to the flight of baby Christ in Egypt, crushing the idols there and massacre of Bethlehem babies. The real base for the story about Theophilus was so called miracle of St. Spyridon of Trimithuntos — the fall of statues in the result of earthquake, which happened in 320 A.D., in the year of the Anti-Arian Council in Alexandria, which can be visited by this glorified Cyprian bishop. The later tradition connected this event with the destruction of Serapeum. This miracle could be referred to small Theophilus, perhaps because 320 A.D. could be a year of his birth. The motive of self-destruction of idols presents also in the original Ethiopian literature, particularly in Kebra Nagast (Glory of Kings) in the story about coming of Menelik, a legendary son of Solomon in Egypt. As a whole this miracle symbolizes victory of Christianity over paganism and self-destruction of idolatry. Maybe this motive connected with vision of Daniel (destruction of a great idol by a wonderful stone — Daniel. 2.14).
Veneration of St. George and St. Demetrius was widely popular both in Byzantium and among the southern Slavs. As a rule, in numerous scientific studies dedicated to monuments associated with these saints, the main attention is paid to iconographic and stylistic features, while this paper considers the issue of influence on the spread of their cult, first of all, of the key aspects of the ideology of the Serbian rulers Nemanjići, examining the monuments of the Serbian medieval art located in Macedonia. Closer attention to individual iconographic subjects, from our point of view, can shed light on the complex and very diverse picture of the development of Serbian painting in the 14th century and identify both its specifics and common points of contact with the Byzantine art. From this point of view, the appeal to the images of holy warriors can serve as one example of interaction between the Byzantine themes and local specifics, due to the general idea of preserving national self-identity within the framework of the general «byzantinization». It is no less interesting to trace and identify the reasons for the emphasis on national ideas and individual local characteristics during the reign of King Milutin, when the state ideology gradually became imperial, and their gradual smoothing out from about the 1340s, due to the specific political ambitions of King Stefan Dušan, who sought not as much towards integration into the Byzantine paradigm as practically towards its appropriation. In this historical and political context, it is interesting to trace how these events are reflected in the further spread of the cults of Sts. George and Demetrius, since, on the one hand, St. George is one of the most revered Byzantine saints, on the other hand, his veneration is closely connected with Stefan Nemanja (the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty and one of the main national Serbian saints). Iconography of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica had a close relationship with the main center of veneration of this saint — Thessalonica, where many iconographic variants arose, as well as with the surrounding Greek and Slavic lands. In addition, this saint was closely associated with the Palaiologan dynasty, and the city, whose patron he was, became important during the reign of King Milutin, for the Serbian rulers also.
The dynamics of rural churches thrones' dedications reflects the local features of the formation of parish structure, both in Western and in Eastern Christian space. There is significant historiography on the theme of medieval and early modern church throne dedications; often one could find in the spreading of such dedications a reflection if saints' cults spreading. For Muscovite Rus', studying dynamics could be possible since the appearance of a correct description of rural space in late 15th century. Transformations of social structure of the former (medieval) Novgorod land after its incorporation into the Moscow state led to dynamic changes in the dedications of churches' thrones and great change in the parish structure. The most important (and almost the only one) source for studying geography and nomenclature of rural church throne is the data of land cadastre that was hold by Muscovite administration immediately after conquering Novgorod the Great. Today there are no any reasons for fixing any << pagan traditions >> (there were such ideas in historiography of 20th century) neither any traces of << republican features >> in the parish dedications of Novgorod Land; local particularities in church dedications were more connected with pre-Muscovite landowners; some specifics could be found in church dedications in former archbishop estates. Searching for some regularities in throne dedications dynamics in comparative synchronic and diachronic perspectives allows to reveal, from one hand, regional particularities of Novgorod Land (in the context of its integrating in unified confeccional space by representatives of Muscovite monkhood in 16th century) and, from the other hand - the development of local practices of dedications (in the context of infiltration into Novgorod land the carriers of parish practices from other parts of Muscovite Reign in 16th century).
The argument advanced here is that the global conquest strategy of the Mongols had taken shape already before the planning of the Great Western Campaign in 1235. Evidence from geographically, linguistically, and chronologically diverging sources all re-echo the claim that a goal of world conquest had been formulated, expressed, and - most importantly - pursued in practical terms already during the reign of Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1227). The Mongols' claims to world domination had a solid basis in the religious worldview of the Mongol elite and were supported by their faith in the divine chosen-ness of their supreme leader, and his legitimate successors, who had been granted the Mandate of Heaven to rule the world. We suggest that a range of evidence points to the religious ideal of a universal empire being conceived in its full sense and put into practice by Genghis Khan during the brilliant First Western Campaign of 1219-1221 which resulted in the subjugation of the Khw & amacr;razmian Empire. Since, we find evidence of this from matching descriptions and implications laid out in Eastern and Western Eurasian sources (including contemporary diplomatic reports) that likely could have not mutually informed each other, it is difficult to explain it away as something based on a widespread, identical misunderstanding among the Mongols' adversary states and peoples. Moreover, the claims often can be traced to Genghis Khan, his successors, and military and diplomatic representatives, implying that the goal of world conquest was one sanctioned at the highest decision-making levels of the Mongol imperial court.
In his Life of Saint Helen, Queen of Serbia (?-1314), Archbishop Danilo II, her contemporary, speaks of three sessions of the Sabor surrounding her death. The first was summoned by Helen herself when she felt her end approaching: Danilo describes himself and the others summoned rushing to her like the Apostles did at the time of the Assumption of the Mother of God. Modern scholarship believes this assembly to have been a local one, composed of the nobility and church dignitaries only of the lands that Helen held as queen dowager. The second, likely the entire Sabor of the Serbian state, was assembled after her death, for her funeral, headed by her son, King Stefan Uro & scaron; Milutin. The third, likely local again, took place three years later for the transfer of her relics, likely initialising (but not yet completing) her canonisation. This paper aims to analyse Danilo's depiction of these assemblies and their significance both for Saint Helen's cult-in-the-making and for the medieval Serbian state.
The article investigates the literary tradition that transmitted the memory of the late antique martyrs from Sirmium, as well as the methodological problems that researchers face when trying to uncover historical links between the cults of martyrs that arose after the Great persecution of Christians (303-310) and the first narrative descriptions of their suffering, preserved in the manuscript tradition of Greek and Latin hagiographic literature (from the 8(th) century). We may conclude that the after-life of the texts on Sirmian martyrs began even before the life of Roman city ended, as this was the time when a need appeared to transpose the relics of local martyrs to safer places, for which we have clear evidence in cases of Demetrius and Anastasia. Many important changes entered the text during this phase of their transmission. Through gradual evolution of the universal church calendar these texts moved from being single local liturgical commemorative texts to parts of great liturgical hagiographical collections both in the Eastern Church and Western Church, i. e. Greek and Latin tradition. Being shorter than average late antique codices hagiographical texts were often copied together into a single codex as a matter of convenience with no consistent structure from copy to copy. Therefore, hundreds of anonymous old martyr narratives from liturgical use were simply copied into Greek or Latin liturgical hagiographical collection in early Middle Ages. Till the end of the 8th century a new liturgical hagiographical collections appeared which constitute most of the manuscripts containing early Greek hagiography and listed the text in liturgical order. The commemoration dates of Sirmian martyrs varied depending on the calendar in which they were incorporated, especially in reference to unification of calendars under Roman and Byzantine church authorities. Based mostly on onomastic evidence, the theory arouse on seniority of Greek hagiographical tradition because of the Greek origins of the earliest Pannonian Christians. However, the oldest calendars of martyrs list more Christian martyrs with Latin names than Greek, and the language of Sirmian inscriptions was more often Latin than Greek in the period before the beginning of the 5th century. The story of the sufferings of these martyrs entered the cultural memory through the veneration of their cults and narrative tradition, thus influencing the construction of the Christian identity of this locus sanctorum, regardless of the ethnicity of its bearers. The article presents an overview of previous studies and hypothetical solutions that provide a methodological basis for further research. The article is methodologically based on a comparative-critical analysis of all available sources on recorded cases of martyrdom associated with the ancient city of Sirmium. The provenance, authenticity and historical value of these historical sources are discussed as well as the discourse in which they were created.
How did the sacred space of Orthodox dioceses develop in the 15(th)-17(th) centuries? Is it possible to identify patterns in the dedication of Orthodox churches to certain saints? The participants in the discussion analyze these issues based on their own research in different territories of Muscovite Rus' - the European part and Siberia. Research shows that the construction of churches and their dedication to Orthodox saints and Orthodox holidays is a kind of indicator of the spiritual development of the territory and its habitation. The dynamics of dedications of altars of city and monastery cathedrals, city and rural parish churches reflects the peculiarities of the formation of the parish structure and shows the relationship between national and local processes. The study of churches in Muscovite Rus' becomes representative after the appearance of detailed descriptions of the rural space at the end of the 15th century. Transformations of the social structure of the state, changes in internal and external borders lead to dynamic changes in the dedications of church altars and changes in the parish structure.
The veneration of Theotokos was a crucial importance in Orthodox tradition, especially in Medieval Russian culture. In this regard the representations of female saints draw an attention due to they were quite frequently represented with Theotokos in the selected saints composition or in the double-sided icons on the reverse. However, this topic isn't studied enough. This article is dedicated to the interpretation of female saints representation function in the Theotokos icons with selected saints. The female saints in the icons of this type are the key figures emphasizing some aspects of Theotokos cult such as guidance, protection and illuminance. This article provides the new interpretation of female saints representation with Theotokos on the various Medieval Russian icons examples. On the one hand, this new interpretation isn't opposite to the traditional approach, on the other hand one shed a light to some aspect of female saints cult in the Medieval Russian culture.
The middle of the thirteenth century was a pivotal moment in the historiography of the Mongol Empire. Having seized the throne in 1251, M & ouml;ngke Khan also took control of its past, commissioning a number of new court histories. It is now widely believed that M & ouml;ngke initiated the compilation of the history of Chinggis Khan (r. 1206-1227) and his successor & Ouml;g & ouml;dei (r. 1229-1241), known as The Secret History of the Mongols. Drawing on earlier genealogies, proclamations, and correspondence, the Secret History has been treated as the first authoritative account of the creation of the Mongol State. Yet this view may not be accurate as there is strong evidence that the first Persian histories of the Mongol Empire were informed by even earlier narrative histories from the Mongol court. The content of these accounts suggest that they were shaped heavily by the information of Qara Khitai officials who either fled, or were appointed to the early Mongol administration of Iran. These Persian authors provide anecdotal evidence of how the Mongols remembered their past before the new version promoted by M & ouml;ngke took hold. The present study will analyse one of the earliest Persian histories, the Account of the Accursed Tatars and the Beginning of their Rule by Shih & amacr;b al-Din Nasawi (d. 1250), to determine the possible provenance of these Mongol histories and their contribution to the historiography of the empire.
Veneration of St. George and St. Demetrius was widely popular both in Byzantium and among the southern Slavs. As a rule, in numerous scientific studies dedicated to monuments associated with these saints, the main attention is paid to iconographic and stylistic features, while this paper considers the issue of influence on the spread of their cult, first of all, of the key aspects of the ideology of the Serbian rulers Nemanji & cacute;i, examining the monuments of the Serbian medieval art located in Macedonia. Closer attention to individual iconographic subjects, from our point of view, can shed light on the complex and very diverse picture of the development of Serbian painting in the 14(th) century and identify both its specifics and common points of contact with the Byzantine art. From this point of view, the appeal to the images of holy warriors can serve as one example of interaction between the Byzantine themes and local specifics, due to the general idea of preserving national self-identity within the framework of the general << byzantinization >>. It is no less interesting to trace and identify the reasons for the emphasis on national ideas and individual local characteristics during the reign of King Milutin, when the state ideology gradually became imperial, and their gradual smoothing out from about the 1340s, due to the specific political ambitions of King Stefan Du & scaron;an, who sought not as much towards integration into the Byzantine paradigm as practically towards its appropriation. In this historical and political context, it is interesting to trace how these events are reflected in the further spread of the cults of Sts. George and Demetrius, since, on the one hand, St. George is one of the most revered Byzantine saints, on the other hand, his veneration is closely connected with Stefan Nemanja (the founder of the Nemanji & cacute; dynasty and one of the main national Serbian saints). Iconography of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica had a close relationship with the main center of veneration of this saint - Thessalonica, where many iconographic variants arose, as well as with the surrounding Greek and Slavic lands. In addition, this saint was closely associated with the Palaiologan dynasty, and the city, whose patron he was, became important during the reign of King Milutin, for the Serbian rulers also.
The subject of research in this article is the Middle German expression in doder Narwe. The author translates it as << German (Teutonic) Narva >>, rejecting the translation << dead Narva/Narova >>, proposed by A. Suvalep in 1936 and currently supported by P. V. Lukin. As arguments, firstly, there is a reference to a number of lexical features of the Middle Low German dialect, formed under interaction of different dialects with its characteristic diversity of way of writing words. Secondly, the author submits to set the meaning of the expression under discussing, based on the event context, that could be restored through the use of Hanseatic correspondence. The expression in doder Narwe is used in documents with regard to robbery case of Novgorod and Reval merchants committed on the Narva /Narova River in 1407 by the Swedish trade agents of the Vyborg's bailiff Thorn Bunde initiated by Berndt von dem Wrede, whose goods were place in arrest at the Hanseatic mission in Novgorod. In this regard, it became necessary to clarify the jurisdictions boundaries of the German or Russian sides, and that was difficult to do due to the fact that the riverbed was not delimited at that time. The translation of << dead Narva/Narova >> and its identification with the Luga river tributary called Mertvitsa river don't fit into this situation in any way, whereas the expression << in the German (Teutonic or Order) Narova >> seems quite appropriate, since it is used in connection with the German (Teutonic) Order jurisdiction in Livonia.
