scholarly journals Fra Mauro's map of the world from the 15th century - toponomastics of the Balkans

2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-140
Author(s):  
Mirko Grcic
Keyword(s):  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Original Form ◽  
Scientific Thought ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Text Document ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
Great Progress ◽  
Surrounding Areas

Fra Mauro's world map was created in the middle of the 15th century and at that time it represented a great progress in relation to Ptolemy's geographical and cosmographic representations, which until then had been the starting point for every geographical discourse. This map is one of those epochal works from the era of Humanism and the Renaissance, which illuminated the world with new light and thus moved scientific thought forwards. Fra Mauro's map represented the affirmation of geography and cartography, which at that time had not yet been constituted as sciences, and directed at new geographical discoveries and research. The aim of this paper is to analyse the geographical representations of the Balkan Peninsula on Fra Mauro's map. This paper provides the toponym list of the Balkan Peninsula and some surrounding areas and countries, systematised in its original form and identified in its current meaning. Special attention is given to the identification of the map as a text document, as well as to the explanation of the context, symbolism and contemporary meaning of certain geographical names.

scholarly journals The Balkans on the geographical maps of Claudius Ptolemy

2018 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-117
Author(s):  
Mirko Grcic
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
Scientific Thought ◽  
Geographical Analysis ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Geographical Maps

The paper deals with the historical-geographical analysis of Ptolemy's maps known as Table V and Table IX. The maps were found in the "Urbinas Manuscript" of Ptolemy's work "Geography", which originated in the first half of the 2nd century AD, so it is accepted that the maps are from that period also. On the Fifth Map the western part of the Balkan Peninsula was presented, and on the Ninth Map the area of the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, in the pre-Roman and early Roman era. On maps and in the text, which serves as an explanation of the maps, there are plenty of data from topography and ethnography, and astronomical positions for more places. The data on the maps are not always consistent with the information in the text. Although there are also false geographical representations, these maps were ahead of their time in terms of cartographic methodology, geographical precision and toponomy. For over a millennium, this Ptolemy's work was lost and unknown in Europe, and when it was found in the 15th century, it significantly affected the Renaissance of geography and cartography, and the Renaissance of scientific thought in general. In this paper, the author deals with features and content analysis and identification of toponyms that have been presented on these maps, which have been aged more than two thousand years.

Coin Circulation in the Balkans in Late Antiquity

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. GUEST
Keyword(s):  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Careful Analysis ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Notable Feature ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
Two Phases ◽  
Archaeological Excavations ◽  
Early Byzantine

The archaeological excavations carried out on late Roman and early Byzantine sites in the Balkans has revolutionized our knowledge of this part of the world in Late Antiquity. How these sites are dated is obviously important as, without accurate and reliable dating, it is difficult to understand how they fit into the wider historical narrative. This chapter takes the coins excavated at Dichin as its starting point and, by careful analysis, proposes a general dating scheme for the two phases of occupation at the settlement. The lack of coins struck during the years 474–518 is a notable feature of the assemblage from Dichin, a pattern that is repeated at most sites in the region where coins of the emperor Zeno are particularly rare. By looking at both site finds and hoards from the region, however, these explanations need to be revised as they are based on a numismatic mirage rather than archaeological fact.

scholarly journals Board Games Reconsidered: Mancala in the Balkans

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Bikić ◽  
Jasna Vuković
Keyword(s):  
Near East ◽  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Board Games ◽  
Neolithic Age ◽  
The World ◽  
The Neolithic Age ◽  
Traditional Communities

Two mancala (one of the oldest games in the world) boards, which were found in the Lower Town of the Belgrade Fortress in 2006, present so far unique archaeological proof that this game was played in the region of the Balkan peninsula. Considering the fact that the knowledge regarding mancala is still quite modest, in this paper, we have also examined the different aspects of this game: the question of its origin, which is linked to the beginning of the Neolithic Age on the territories of Africa and the Near East; the link with the methods of geomantic divination; the anthropological knowledge regarding playing mancala in traditional communities; the distribution and the directions of its diffusion, as well as the archaeological finds in the area Mediterranean.

scholarly journals ISLAM IN THE JAVANESE CULTURAL PLURALISM AND THE KERATON PERFORMING ARTS

Al-Albab ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K.R.T. Sunaryadi Maharsiworo
Keyword(s):  
Performing Arts ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Cultural Pluralism ◽  
Original Form ◽  
Social Rules ◽  
Cultural Contact ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Cultural Field ◽  
The World ◽  
New Religion

The religion of Islam as new religion in the 15th century managed to internalize in the religious and cultural field of Javanese society peacefully. The religion was easily accepted because all its teachings are based on a search of “sangkan paraning dumadi” and promote “Manunggaling kawula lan Gusti” as in principles of the Javanese human life. The concept of kewalian, the mysticism and the concept of perfection of life could be applied in the formulation of the Keraton (Javanese Sultan’s Palace) which became a model of the traditional conception of a variety of social rules and rituals, so that there is mutual interdependence between the Islamic teachings and the community who are still bound by tradition and customary norms. Then various rituals that have been Islamized emerged. Islam was conceived and developed with the Javanese view, absorbed and processed into different forms of Kejawen (Javanese) culture different from the original form, and acceptable to society. In the world of performing arts, needless to say, it has been affected by subculture of Javanese Islam. At least such impressions can be seen in the wayang (Javanese traditional puppetry) performance and ritual dances such as bedaya, wayang wong,or Golek Menak in the Keraton of Yogyakarta. Keywords: Islam, cultural contact, Javanese Philosophy, Dance

scholarly journals Роль и функционирование традиционной женской одежды арбрешей Италии в современном социокультурном пространстве

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-63
Author(s):  
Марина Александровна Сулоева
Keyword(s):  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
World Community ◽  
Women's Clothing ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
The World

Статья посвящена традиционной женской одежде арбрешей Сицилии, в частности этнической группы, проживающей в Пьяна-дельи-Альбанези. Арбреши – это выходцы с территории Балканского полуострова, мигрировавшие в итальянские земли в XV–XVIII вв. Традиционная одежда Пьяна-дельи-Альбанези рассмотрена как целостное этнокультурное явление, веками создаваемое и продолжающее жить в современном социокультурном пространстве. Автор прослеживает изменение женского костюма и выявляет специфику функционирования его отдельных элементов. Проведенное исследование позволяет заключить, что для традиционной одежды арбрешей характерны относительная устойчивость основных моделей женского платья, вариативность отдельных элементов внутри комплексов, заимствование предметов одежды в результате длительного межкультурного взаимодействия с представителями доминантной культуры, а также сильное влияние европейской моды на окончательное формирование внешнего облика костюма. Арбреши считают себя хранителями и продолжателями собственных традиций, поэтому стараются создать и законсервировать определенный тип костюма, который, несмотря на включённость заимствованных элементов, воспринимается носителями и транслируется в мировое культурное сообщество как национальный. Исследовательскую базу работы составили искусствоведческие и этнографические исследования, а также собственные полевые материалы автора, собранные в ходе полевых работ, проводившихся на Сицилии в Пьяна-дельи-Альбанези и Палермо (2016–2017 гг.), в Косово (2015 г.) и южной Албании (2014–2015 гг.). The article is devoted to the traditional women's clothing of the Arbresh diaspora in Piana degli Albanesi in Sicilia. The Arbresh are immigrants from the Balkan Peninsula who migrated to Italian lands in the 15th century. The traditional clothes of Piana degli Albanesei are considered as an integral ethnocultural phenomenon that has been being created for centuries and continues to exist in the modern sociocultural space. The author traces the change in women's costume and reveals the specifics of its individual elements functioning. The Arbresh consider themselves to be keepers and successors of their own traditions, so they try to create and preserve a certain type of costume, which, despite the borrowed elements, is perceived and transmitted to the world community as an ethnic one. The research base of the work was made up of ethnographic and art studies, as well as the author's own field materials collected during fieldwork in Sicily in Piana degli Albanesi and Palermo (2016-2017), in Kosovo (2015) and southern Albania (2014–2015).

Understanding Suicide Terrorism

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (04) ◽  
pp. 245-250
Author(s):  
A. Speckhard
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Suicide Terrorism ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Global Migration ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Single Region ◽  
Extensive Field ◽  
The World ◽  
Terrorist Groups

SummaryAs a terror tactic, suicide terrorism is one of the most lethal as it relies on a human being to deliver and detonate the device. Suicide terrorism is not confined to a single region or religion. On the contrary, it has a global appeal, and in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan it has come to represent an almost daily reality as it has become the weapon of choice for some of the most dreaded terrorist organizations in the world, such as ISIS and al-Qaeda. Drawing on over two decades of extensive field research in five distinct world regions, specifically the Middle East, Western Europe, North America, Russia, and the Balkans, the author discusses the origins of modern day suicide terrorism, motivational factors behind suicide terrorism, its global migration, and its appeal to modern-day terrorist groups to embrace it as a tactic.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E. Dutton
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
The World ◽  
Catholic Mission ◽  
Historical Moment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Main Figure

This chapter introduces the book’s main figure and situates him within the historical moment from which he emerges. It shows the degree to which global geographies shaped the European Catholic mission project. It describes the impact of the Padroado system that divided the world for evangelism between the Spanish and Portuguese crowns in the 15th century. It also argues that European clerics were drawing lines on Asian lands even before colonial regimes were established in the nineteenth century, suggesting that these earlier mapping projects were also extremely significant in shaping the lives of people in Asia. I argue for the value of telling this story from the vantage point of a Vietnamese Catholic, and thus restoring agency to a population often obscured by the lives of European missionaries.

Dreams Give Birth to Reality”. Engraving Austroseraphicum Coelum as an Attempt to Create a New Reality by the Spanish Habsburgs Dynastic Propaganda / Sny rodzą rzeczywistość…”. Grafika Austroseraphicum Coelum jako próba kreowania nowej rzeczywistości za pomocą propagandy dynastycznej Habsburgów hiszpańskich

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Kurowiak
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
General Condition ◽  
Symbolic System ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Mission Of God ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
The Church

AbstractAs a work of propaganda, graphics Austroseraphicum Coelum Paulus Pontius should create a new reality, make appearances. The main impression while seeing the graphics is the admiration for the power of Habsburgs, which interacts with the power of the Mother of God. She, in turn, refers the viewer to God, as well as Franciscans placed on the graphic, they become a symbol of the Church. This is a starting point for further interpretation of the drawing. By the presence of certain characters, allegories, symbols, we can see references to a particular political situation in the Netherlands - the war with the northern provinces of Spain. The message of the graphic is: the Spanish Habsburgs, commissioned by the mission of God, they are able to fight all of the enemies, especially Protestants, with the help of Immaculate and the Franciscans. The main aim of the graphic is to convince the viewer that this will happen and to create in his mind a vision of the new reality. But Spain was in the seventeenth century nothing but a shadow of former itself (in the time of Philip IV the general condition of Spain get worse). That was the reason why they wanted to hold the belief that the empire continues unwavering. The form of this work (graphics), also allowed to export them around the world, and the ambiguity of the symbolic system, its contents relate to different contexts, and as a result, the Habsburgs, not only Spanish, they could promote their strength everywhere. Therefore it was used very well as a single work of propaganda, as well as a part of a broader campaign

Roads and Railway Lines in Serbia after the Balkan Wars

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Miloš Jagodić
Keyword(s):  
Balkan Peninsula ◽  
World War ◽  
World War One ◽  
Balkan Wars ◽  
The World

This paper deals with Kingdom of Serbia’s plans on roads and railways construction in the regions annexed 1913, after the Balkan Wars. Plans are presented in detail, as well as achievements until 1915, when the country was occupied by enemy forces in the World War One. It is shown that plans for future roads and railways network were made according to the changed geopolitical conditions in the Balkan Peninsula, created as the consequence of the Balkan Wars 1912-1913. The paper draws mainly on unpublished archival sources of Serbian origin.

The Influence of Islam on Albanian Culture

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 389-408
Author(s):  
Fatmir Shehu
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Islamic Culture ◽  
Cultural System ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
15Th Century ◽  
Of Greece

This paper examines the influence of Islam on Albanian culture. The Islamization process of the Albanian culture was very crucial for the Albanians themselves as it gave them a new identity, which they lacked since their settlement on the Adriatic shores. According to history, Albanians, the biggest Muslim nation dwelling in the Balkans, South-East of Europe, are believed to be the descendents of the ancient Illyrians, who settled in Europe around 2500 years ago. They lived a social life based on tribalism, where every tribe had established its own cultural system and way of life. Thus, their cultural differences disallowed them to unite. Such situation did not change, even when Christianity was introduced to them. Because, Christianity came to Albania through two great dominations: Christian Catholics of Vatican (the Northern part of Albanian) and Christian Orthodox of Greece (the Southern part of Albania). The continuous religious and political suppression faced by the Albanians from their Byzantine and Latin masters enabled them to be the first people of the Balkans, who welcomed openheartedly the Ottoman Muslims and embraced Islam as their new way of life in the 15th century. The study focuses on the following issues: (1) Historical background of Albania and Albanians; (2) The genesis of Albanian culture; and (3) The process of integration between Islamic culture and Albanian culture. This research attempts to provide important findings, which will be very helpful to the Muslims and others.

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