Population of Chernigov in the 10th–13th Centuries According to Paleodemographic Data

The work is devoted to the 10th–13th-century paleodemographic data regarding the city of Chernigov and its districts, and to their introduction into the scientific domain. The study is based on the data on the anthropological series of Chernigov in the 10th–13th centuries, divided into three samples according to the topographic principle. This series is characterized by a low average life expectancy in comparison to other southern Old Rus cities. The feature of the necropolises of Chernigov indicating the predominance of female burials over male ones, revealed in the 1980s, has been confirmed at a new level. A study of the demographic parameters of the Chernigov population groups in the 10th–13th centuries, united on a territorial basis, has shown differences in their structure, probably reflecting the peculiarities of the life quality, social status, and professional specialization of the population of different parts of the city. Further research into the remains of the city’s population with methods of paleopathology, osteometry, osteoscopy, radiology, etc., as well as the analysis of aspects of the political history of the region, would help shed light on the possible causes of the identified features of the demographic structure of the population in the pre-Mongolian period.

Demographic and Religious Changes in Nahiya Kara Lom in the 17th–18th Centuries

The report presents the changes that took place in nahiya Kara Lom between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It is based on published and unpublished Ottoman documents – detailed cizye and avariz defters, stored in the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul and at the Oriental Department in Sofia. They were composed in the late 17th – first half of the 18th centuries. At the turn of the 18th century, very significant transformations took place in this region, which changed its appearance and state fundamentally. The main focus of the study is on the demographic and religious changes and processes in the region. They were expressed in the sharp decline of the population. This process was specific to the whole region, and its causes can be traced to many factors that have had a detrimental effect. These included climate change, plague epidemics, population migrations, economic problems in the Ottoman Empire, and the process of Islamization. They led to a decline in the population of Kara Lom, which can be described as a demographic crisis. In the vortex of this crisis, there was a “change” of the confessional image of the nahiya, i.e. a radical change in the religious model of the district, which had disastrous consequences for many settlements in the region. The report provides possible explanations for the demographic and religious transformations in nahiya Kara Lom, which shaped the area in the next century as we know it today.

Production of and Supply of the Army with Small Arms on the Eve of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). A Brief Overview of the Russian Military Industry

In the wake of the Crimean War, the upper military circles in Russia changed their thinking with regard to firearms. General Milyutin became Minister of War. It was the time when Alexander II reigned over Russia. In 1856, the calibre of Russian firearms was reduced to 6 inches, or 15.24 mm. The process of re-equipping the Russian army with M1856 rifles using expanding Minié bullets was launched. These rifles demonstrated that the percussion systems had reached the limit of their capacity for improvement. Nothing else could be improved in terms of their firing speed. Despite the resistance of the conservative military circles, Milyutin encouraged new inventions, and the 1860s became a period of experimentation with firearms. Some new cartridge systems were introduced. The high-quality M1856 percussion rifle was not destined to take part in war times, but the Russian army had been fully equipped with it for a short period of time. Almost all systems of the 1860s were based on this rifle. Over 10 systems of firearms with an internal needle fuse were proposed to the weapons commission. In 1866, the Englishman Karle proposed his own system with an internal needle fuse. Krnka, Berdan I, and Berdan II came next. After 1866, the Terry-Norman, Karle, and Krnka rifles entered the Russian army. These systems were developed on the basis of the 6-line M1856/58 rifle. The latter was converted into a rear-loading rifle. In 1869, the Krnka rifle was chosen as the main system, which became the main weapon of the Russian army in the following years. At the beginning of 1877, there were 613,297 Krnka rifles, 150,868 Karle rifles, 17,810 Berdan I and 325,254 Berdan II rifles in the Russian army.

Anastas Benderev's 1890 Ethnographic Maps

This article deals with a pair of old ethnographic maps made by a Bulgarian officer (bearing the rank of Captain at the time) named Anastas Benderev (1859–1946). The maps were first published as folding attachments in Benderev’s book Military Geography and Statistics of Macedonia and Its Adjacent Territories on the Balkan Peninsula (Voennaia geografiia i statistika Makedonii i sosednikh s neiu oblastei Balkanskago poluostrova), which itself was published in Russian in Saint Petersburg in 1890. The stated purpose of the maps was to elucidate certain passages from the book, particularly those pertaining to the population’s ethnic composition. One of the maps (Etnograficheskaya karta Balkanskogo poluostrova) depicts the ethnicities across the entire Balkan Peninsula, while the other (Etnograficheskaya karta Makedonii) focuses on those within the confines of the historical and geographical territory of Macedonia. Due to a confluence of events, the maps in question are barely known and hardly ever used nowadays, even though they represent valuable relics from the era. This article aims to reintroduce them into the scientific discourse as historical documents of note.

Machiel Kiel and his View of the Bulgarian Empire on the Eve of the Ottoman Invasion

Machiel Kiel’s attitude towards the culture of the Second Bulgarian Empire was extremely negative. In this regard, he blatantly manipulated and falsified the results of historical and archaeological studies. In his opinion, the Bulgarian cities of the 13th–14th centuries were small and unsightly, the churches were rough and impersonal, and the palaces of the kings were poky and ugly. Kiel told outright lies about the conquest of Bulgaria by the Ottoman Turks in the late 14th century. A careful examination of the available data shows quite a different picture. According to demographic studies of world-renowned academicians, such as P. Bairoch, J. Batou and P. Chèvre, medieval Bulgarian cities ranked among the best developed cities on the Old Continent. Moreover, according to the latest study, the capital of Tarnovgrad was on par with Rouen, the second largest city in France, and the southern capital of Toulouse, and had almost as many inhabitants as Cologne, the capital in the Holy Roman Empire. In Tarnovgrad, a total of 64 Christian churches have been uncovered so far, almost all of which were icon-painted and had marble and ceramic artistic decoration. In comparison, in the early 15th century, there were 53 churches and 19 monasteries in Thessaloniki, the second largest city of the Byzantine Empire.

A Perspective on the First Source Regarding the Use of Firearms in the Bulgarian Lands by the Fleet of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy

The earliest information about the use of firearms in the Bulgarian lands comes from the chronicles of Cabaret and Servion. According to them, the fleet of Amadeus VI of Savoy shelled Nesebar on 21 October 1366, after which the city was stormed. Considering the information on the use of firearms in Europe and in the Western Balkans, as well as some expenses from the account book of Antonio Barberi, the author speculates that the information from both chronicles could be considered true.

The Work of Prof. Dr. Habil. Atanas Dermendzhiev – Roads, Paths and Insights Related to Geography

The article presents the scholarly work of Prof. Dr. Habil Atanas Dermendzhiev. Monographs, textbooks, teaching aids, studies, articles, reports, communications online editions with lectures, citations, reviews of monographs and textbooks, standpoints, opinions of his as a member of a scientific jury, interviews, speeches, etc. have been studied, systematized and presented. The life and professional path of the geographer – Prof. Dr. Habil Atanas Dermendzhiev have been revealed.

Demographic Development of the Bulgarian Lands in Prehistory and Antiquity

Clarifying the demographic state of humankind during all periods of its historical development is an issue that has long been of interest to the scientific community. This paper traces the specifics and trends in the dynamics of the main demographic processes and structures of the population that has inhabited the Bulgarian lands in prehistory and antiquity. Their analysis allows us to establish that, according to the parameters of the studied indicators, the studied area can be related to the Mediterranean area, whose development was ahead of the rest of the world at that time.