1.
Gold
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Gold is a chemical element with symbol Au and atomic number 79. In its purest form, it is a bright, slightly yellow, dense, soft, malleable. Chemically, gold is a metal and a group 11 element. It is one of the least reactive chemical elements and is solid under standard conditions, Gold often occurs in free elemental form, as nuggets or grains, in rocks, in veins, and in alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the element silver and also naturally alloyed with copper. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium, golds atomic number of 79 makes it one of the higher numbered, naturally occurring elements. It is thought to have produced in supernova nucleosynthesis, from the collision of neutron stars. Because the Earth was molten when it was formed, almost all of the present in the early Earth probably sank into the planetary core. Gold is resistant to most acids, though it does dissolve in aqua regia, a mixture of acid and hydrochloric acid. Gold also dissolves in solutions of cyanide, which are used in mining and electroplating. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys, but this is not a chemical reaction, as a precious metal, gold has been used for coinage, jewelry, and other arts throughout recorded history. A total of 186,700 tonnes of gold is in existence above ground, the world consumption of new gold produced is about 50% in jewelry, 40% in investments, and 10% in industry. Gold is also used in infrared shielding, colored-glass production, gold leafing, certain gold salts are still used as anti-inflammatories in medicine. As of 2014, the worlds largest gold producer by far was China with 450 tonnes, Gold is cognate with similar words in many Germanic languages, deriving via Proto-Germanic *gulþą from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₃-. The symbol Au is from the Latin, aurum, the Latin word for gold, the Proto-Indo-European ancestor of aurum was *h₂é-h₂us-o-, meaning glow. This word is derived from the root as *h₂éu̯sōs, the ancestor of the Latin word Aurora. This etymological relationship is presumably behind the frequent claim in scientific publications that aurum meant shining dawn, Gold is the most malleable of all metals, a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of 1 square meter, and an avoirdupois ounce into 300 square feet. Gold leaf can be thin enough to become semi-transparent
2.
Anno Domini
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The terms anno Domini and before Christ are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term anno Domini is Medieval Latin and means in the year of the Lord, There is no year zero in this scheme, so the year AD1 immediately follows the year 1 BC. This dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus of Scythia Minor, the Gregorian calendar is the most widely used calendar in the world today. Traditionally, English followed Latin usage by placing the AD abbreviation before the year number, however, BC is placed after the year number, which also preserves syntactic order. The abbreviation is widely used after the number of a century or millennium. Because BC is the English abbreviation for Before Christ, it is sometimes concluded that AD means After Death. However, this would mean that the approximate 33 years commonly associated with the life of Jesus would not be included in either of the BC, astronomical year numbering and ISO8601 avoid words or abbreviations related to Christianity, but use the same numbers for AD years. The Anno Domini dating system was devised in 525 by Dionysius Exiguus to enumerate the years in his Easter table. His system was to replace the Diocletian era that had used in an old Easter table because he did not wish to continue the memory of a tyrant who persecuted Christians. The last year of the old table, Diocletian 247, was followed by the first year of his table. Thus Dionysius implied that Jesus Incarnation occurred 525 years earlier, without stating the year during which his birth or conception occurred. Blackburn & Holford-Strevens briefly present arguments for 2 BC,1 BC, There were inaccuracies in the list of consuls There were confused summations of emperors regnal years It is not known how Dionysius established the year of Jesuss birth. It is convenient to initiate a calendar not from the day of an event. For example, the Islamic calendar begins not from the date of the Hegira, at the time, it was believed by some that the Resurrection and end of the world would occur 500 years after the birth of Jesus. The old Anno Mundi calendar theoretically commenced with the creation of the based on information in the Old Testament. It was believed that, based on the Anno Mundi calendar, Anno Mundi 6000 was thus equated with the resurrection and the end of the world but this date had already passed in the time of Dionysius. The Anglo-Saxon historian the Venerable Bede, who was familiar with the work of Dionysius Exiguus, used Anno Domini dating in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731. e. On the continent of Europe, Anno Domini was introduced as the era of choice of the Carolingian Renaissance by the English cleric and scholar Alcuin in the late eighth century
3.
Panagyurishte
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Panagyurishte is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, situated in a small valley in the Sredna Gora mountains. It is 91 km east of Sofia,43 km north of Pazardzhik, the town is the administrative centre of the homonymous Panagyurishte Municipality. As of December 2009, it has a population of 17,959 inhabitants, the root of the name, panagyur, comes from the Greek πανηγύρι, panēgýri, a festival or fair. In the Middle Ages there was a settlement near the modern town, in the course of the Bulgarian-Ottoman Wars large part the population was killed and the rest had to move to a new location. The survivors called themselves levents due to their bravery in the struggle with the invaders, when the Turks seized the village of Asenevtsi near Sliven which guarded the road to the capital Tarnovo, its population moved to Panagyurishte. Another wave of refugees came in the 15th century after rebellions in Albania, even today the population uses language which is characteristic for both eastern and western Bulgarian dialects and the town is in the so-called Yat border. It was also known as Otlukköy during Ottoman rule, Panagyurishte is primarily known for being the center of the April Uprising against the Ottoman rule in Bulgaria in 1876. It was capital of the Fourth Revolutionary District which was the centre of the rebellion. The uprising was suppressed after 10 days of declared freedom. Lady Strangford arrived from Britain later that year with relief for the people of Bulgaria following the massacres that followed the April Uprising and she built a hospital at Batak and eventually other hospitals were built at Radilovo, Panagiurishte, Karlovo, Petrich and here at Perushtitsa. Panagyurishte is overshadowed in tourism by nearby Koprivshtitsa, which has a larger collection of restored Bulgarian Revival style houses. Like Koprivshtitsa, Panagyurishte has a location in the Sredna Gora mountains. Panagyurishte also gained fame for the Panagyurishte gold treasure discovered there in 1949 and it is also near the mineral water spas of Banya, and recreational facilities in Panagyurski kolonii. After the Second World War Panagyurishte was transformed into an industrial center. The Asarel Medet copper extracting and processing plant is by far the largest single employer in the municipality with over 2,500 workers, opticoelectron is an optic producing plant, unique to the country. Recently, a new plant, Optix was launched. There are two big textile plants, Ryton and Bultex, there is also a small plastics factory, Bunai with some 190 workers and a number of smaller enterprises. The town has two big Eastern Orthodox churches, St Georgi and St Bogoroditsa, as well as several chapels, the type of architecture of Sv
4.
Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum
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The Plovdiv Regional Historical Museum is a historical museum in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Established in 1951, it covers the history of Plovdiv from the 15th century until today and it has three departments, each occupying a separate historic building. The History Museum in Plovdiv manages four expositions, the Bulgarian National Revival exposition is situated in the house of the Greek merchant from Thessaloniki, Dimitris Georgiadi. It was built in 1846 and occupies 825 m2, the exhibition traces the history of Plovdiv from the 15th to the 19th century, a period of Ottoman rule. The exhibit also includes a display about Lady Strangford, the Unification of Bulgaria exposition is dedicated to Plovdivs key role in the events of 6 September 1885, as the capital of Eastern Rumelia. It covers the period from the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, the department occupies the former building of the Eastern Rumelian Regional Assembly designed by the Savoy architect, Pietro Montani, and built 1883–1885. The exposition was opened in 1985 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and East Rumelia, five exhibition halls show personal belongings, award tokens, firearms, photos and documents of participants in the unification and the Serbo-Bulgarian War. The book-publishing exposition follows the stages of development of publishing during the Bulgarian National Revival, the department takes up six halls in the house of the noted publisher and enlightener, Hristo G. Danov, from the early 19th century. The Museum Centre of Modern History displays art and photographic exhibitions, presentations, seminars, official website Regional Museum of History, Plovdiv at Google Cultural Institute
5.
Bulgarian language
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Bulgarian /bʌlˈɡɛəriən/, /bʊlˈ-/ is an Indo-European language, a member of the Southern branch of the Slavic language family. Various evidential verb forms exist to express unwitnessed, retold, with the accession of Bulgaria to the European Union on 1 January 2007, Bulgarian became one of the official languages of the European Union. Development of the Bulgarian language may be divided into several periods, prehistoric period – occurred between the Slavonic migration to eastern Balkans and the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius to Great Moravia in the 860s. Old Bulgarian – a literary norm of the southern dialect of the Common Slavic language from which Bulgarian evolved. It was used by Saints Cyril and Methodius and their disciples to translate the Bible, Middle Bulgarian – a literary norm that evolved from the earlier Old Bulgarian, after major innovations were accepted. It was a language of literary activity and the official administration language of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Modern Bulgarian – dates from the 16th century onwards, undergoing general grammar, present-day written Bulgarian language was standardized on the basis of the 19th-century Bulgarian vernacular. Bulgarian was the first Slavic language attested in writing, as Slavic linguistic unity lasted into late antiquity, in the oldest manuscripts this language was initially referred to as языкъ словяньскъ, the Slavic language. In the Middle Bulgarian period this name was replaced by the name языкъ блъгарьскъ. In some cases, the name языкъ блъгарьскъ was used not only with regard to the contemporary Middle Bulgarian language of the copyist but also to the period of Old Bulgarian. During the Middle Bulgarian period, the language underwent dramatic changes, losing the Slavonic case system, today one difference between Bulgarian dialects in the country and literary spoken Bulgarian is the significant presence of Old Bulgarian words and even word forms in the latter. Russian loans are distinguished from Old Bulgarian ones on the basis of the presence of specifically Russian phonetic changes, as in оборот, непонятен, ядро and others. As usual in cases, many other loans from French, English. Modern Bulgarian was based essentially on the Eastern dialects of the language, between 1835–1878 more than 25 proposals were put forward and linguistic chaos ensued. Eventually the eastern dialects prevailed, and in 1899 the Ministry of Education officially codified a standard Bulgarian language based on the Drinov-Ivanchev orthography, the language is mainly split into two broad dialect areas, based on the different reflexes of the Common Slavic yat vowel. This split, which occurred at some point during the Middle Ages, led to the development of Bulgarias, E. g. млеко – milk, хлеб – bread. This rule obtains in most Eastern dialects, although some have ya, or an open e sound. The literary language norm, which is based on the Eastern dialects
6.
Thracians
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The Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting a large area in southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family, the study of Thracians and Thracian culture is known as Thracology. Thracians are one of the three primary groups of modern Bulgarians. The first historical record about the Thracians is found in the Iliad, the ethnonym Thracian comes from Ancient Greek Θρᾷξ or Θρᾴκιος/Ionic, Θρηίκιος, and the toponym Thrace comes from Θρᾴκη/Ion. These forms are all exonyms as applied by the Greeks, in Greek mythology, Thrax was regarded as one of the reputed sons of the god Ares. In the Alcestis, Euripides mentions that one of the names of Ares himself was Thrax since he was regarded as the patron of Thrace, the origins of the Thracians remain obscure, in the absence of written historical records. Evidence of proto-Thracians in the period depends on artifacts of material culture. Leo Klejn identifies proto-Thracians with the multi-cordoned ware culture that was pushed away from Ukraine by the advancing timber grave culture and we speak of proto-Thracians from which during the Iron Age Dacians and Thracians begin developing. Divided into separate tribes, the Thracians did not manage to form a political organization until the Odrysian state was founded in the fifth century BC. A strong Dacian state appeared in the first century BC, during the reign of King Burebista, including the Illyrians, the mountainous regions were home to various peoples regarded as warlike and ferocious Thracian tribes, while the plains peoples were apparently regarded as more peaceable. Thracians inhabited parts of the ancient provinces of Thrace, Moesia, Macedonia, Dacia, Scythia Minor, Sarmatia, Bithynia, Mysia, Pannonia, and other regions of the Balkans and Anatolia. This area extended over most of the Balkans region, and the Getae north of the Danube as far as beyond the Bug and including Panonia in the west. Aligning themselves in kingdoms and tribes, they never displayed any form of unity beyond short. Similar to the Celtic and Slavic tribes, most people are thought to have lived simply in small fortified villages, although the concept of an urban center was not developed until the Roman period, various larger fortifications which also served as regional market centers were numerous. Yet, in general, despite Greek colonization in such areas as Byzantium, Apollonia and other cities, the first Greek colonies in Thrace were founded in the eighth century BC. Thrace south of the Danube was ruled for half a century by the Persians under Darius the Great. In the first decade of the sixth century BC, the Persians invaded Thrace, Thracians were forced to join the invasions of European Scythia and Greece. According to Herodotus, the Bithynian Thracians also had to contribute a large contingent to Xerxes invasion of Greece in 480 BC, Darius left in Europe one of his commanders named Megabazus whose task was to accomplish conquests in the Balkans
7.
Patera
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In the material culture of classical antiquity, a phiale or patera is a shallow ceramic or metal libation bowl. It often has an indentation in the center underside to facilitate holding it. It typically has no handles, and no feet, although the two terms may be used interchangeably, particularly in the context of Etruscan culture, phiale is more common in reference to Greek forms, and patera in a Roman setting. Libation was a central and vital aspect of ancient Greek religion and it is one of the basic religious acts that define piety in ancient Greece, dating back to the Bronze Age and even prehistoric Greece. Libations were a part of life, and the pious might perform them every day in the morning and evening. A libation most often consisted of mixed wine and water, but could also be unmixed wine, honey, oil, water, the form of libation called spondē is typically the ritualized pouring of wine from a jug or bowl held in the hand. The most common ritual was to pour the liquid from an oinochoē into a phiale, the Greeks stood when they prayed, either with their arms uplifted, or in the act of libation with the right arm extended to hold the phiale. After the wine offering was poured from the phiale, the remainder of the contents was drunk by the celebrant, in Roman art, the libation is shown performed at an altar, mensa, or tripod. It was the simplest form of sacrifice, and could be a sufficient offering by itself, the introductory rite to an animal sacrifice included an incense and wine libation onto a burning altar. Both emperors and divinities are frequently depicted, especially on coins, scenes of libation and the patera itself commonly signify the quality of pietas, religious duty or reverence. In architecture, oval features on plaster friezes on buildings may be called paterae, parabiago patera, which is actually a platter or plate
8.
Amphora
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An amphora is a type of container of a characteristic shape and size, descending from at least as early as the Neolithic Period. Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport and storage of various products and they are most often ceramic, but examples in metals and other materials have been found. The amphora complements the large container, the pithos, which makes available capacities between one-half and two and one-half tons. In contrast, the amphora holds under a half-ton, typically less than 100 pounds, the bodies of the two types have similar shapes. Where the pithos may have small loops or lugs for fastening a rope harness. The necks of pithoi are wide for scooping or bucket access, the necks of amphorae are narrow for pouring by a person holding it by the bottom and a handle. The handles might not be present, the size may require two or three handlers to lift. For the most part, however, an amphora was tableware, or sat close to the table, was intended to be seen, stoppers of perishable materials, which have rarely survived, were used to seal the contents. Two principal types of amphorae existed, the amphora, in which the neck and body meet at a sharp angle. Neck amphorae were used in the early history of ancient Greece. Most were produced with a base to allow upright storage by embedding in soft ground. The base facilitated transport by ship, where the amphorae were packed upright or on their sides in as many as five staggered layers. If upright, the bases probably were held by some sort of rack, heather and reeds might be used as packing around the vases. Racks could be used in kitchens and shops, the base also concentrated deposits from liquids with suspended solid particles, such as olive oil and wines. Amphorae are of use to maritime archaeologists, as they often indicate the age of a shipwreck. They are occasionally so well preserved that the content is still present, providing information on foodstuffs. Amphorae were too cheap and plentiful to return to their origin-point and so, amphora is a Greco-Roman word developing in ancient Greek during the Bronze Age. The Romans acquired it during the Hellenization that occurred in the Roman Republic, cato is the first known literary person to use it
9.
Oenochoe
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An oenochoe, also spelled oinochoe, is a wine jug and a key form of ancient Greek pottery. There are many different forms of oenochoe, Sir John Beazley distinguished ten types, the earliest is the olpe, with no distinct shoulder and usually a handle rising above the lip. The type 8 oenochoe is what one would call a mug, with no single pouring point, the chous was a squat rounded form, with trefoil mouth. Small examples with scenes of children, as in the illustrated, were placed in the graves of children. Oenochoai may be decorated or undecorated, oenochoai typically have only one handle at the back and may include a trefoil mouth and pouring spout. Their size also varies considerably, most, at up to 25 cm tall, could be held and poured with one hand. Most Greek oenochoe were in painted terracotta pottery but metal oenochoai were probably common among the better off, though as with other vessel shapes. Again as with other shapes, large versions in stone were used as grave markers. In pottery, some oinochoai are plastic, with the body formed as sculpture, typology of Greek vase shapes Corpus vasorum antiquorum Ancient Greek vase painting Pottery of ancient Greece Media related to Oinochoes at Wikimedia Commons
10.
Rhyton
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A rhyton is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. They are typically formed in the shape of an animals head, the English word rhyton originates in the ancient Greek word ῥυτόν. The conical rhyton form has been known in the Aegean region since the Bronze Age, however, it was by no means confined to that region. Similar in form to, and perhaps originating from, the drinking horn, liddell and Scott give a standard derivation from Greek rhein, to flow, which, according to Julius Pokorny, is from Indo-European *sreu-, flow. As rhutos is stream, the neuter, rhuton, would be sort of object associated with pouring. Many vessels considered rhytons featured a mouth at the top. Smith points out that use is testified in classical paintings and accepts Athenaeuss etymology that it was named ἀπὸ τῆς ῥύσεως. Smith also categorized the name as having been a recent form of a vessel called the keras, horn. The word rhyton is not present in what is known about Mycenaean Greek, however, the bulls head rhyton, of which many examples survive, is mentioned as ke-ra-a on tablet KN K872, an inventory of vessels at Knossos, it is shown with the bull ideogram. Ventris and Chadwick restored the word as the adjective *keraa, with a Mycenaean intervocalic h, rhyta shaped after bulls are filled through the large opening and emptied through the secondary, smaller one. This means that two hands are required, one to close the opening and one to fill the rhyton. This has led scholars to believe that rhytons were typically filled with the help of two people or with the help of a chain or a rope that would be passed through a handle. Rhytons modeled after animals were designed to make it look like the animal was drinking when the vessel was being filled, a bull rhyton weighed about three kilograms when empty and up to six kilograms when full. Other rhytons with animal themes were modeled after boars, lions, some shapes, such as lioness rhyta, could be filled through simple submersion, thanks to the vessel’s shape and buoyancy. Horizontally designed rhyta, like those modeled after lionesses, could be filled by being lowered into a fluid, vertically designed rhyta, like those modeled after boars, required another hand to cover the primary opening and to prevent the liquid from spilling as the vessel was filled. Rhyta were often used to strain liquids such as wine, beer, some rhyta were used in blood rituals and animal sacrifice. In these cases, the blood may have been thinned with wine, some vessels were modeled after the animal with which they were intended to be used during ritual, but this was not always the case. It cannot be supposed that every drinking horn or libation vessel was pierced at the bottom, the scoop function would have come first
11.
Seuthes III
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Seuthes III was a ruler of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace from c.331 BC to c.300 BC. After the campaigns of Philip II in 347–342 a significant part of Thrace was dependent to Macedon. After Philips death in 336 BC, many of the Thracian tribes revolted against Philips son Alexander the Great, all other Thracians sent troops to join Alexanders army. Seuthes revolted against the Macedon about 325 BC, after Alexanders governor Zopyrion was killed in battle against the Getae, after Alexander died in 323 BC he again took up arms in opposition to the new governor Lysimachus. They fought each other to a draw and each withdrew from battle, ultimately Seuthes was compelled to acknowledge the authority of Lysimachus, by then one of Alexanders successor kings. In 320 BC, Seuthes III moved the Odrysian kingdom to central Thrace and built his city at Seuthopolis. In 313 BC he supported Antigonus I in the war against Lysimachus. The Tomb of the Thracian King Seuthes III is situated in Bulgaria in the Golyamata Kosmatka mound and it was discovered in 2004 by the Bulgarian archeologist Georgi Kitov. The Tomb was built in the half of fifth century BC. Items found inside included the crown of the ruler, a golden kylix, knee pads and a helmet. Remarkable is the head of the statue of Sevt III buried ritually in front of the façade. It is an important evidence of the Thracian Orphic rituals, the three halls are built of rectangular stone blocks and are covered with slabs. A two-winged marble door closes the entrance to the round chamber, the upper plains of the wings are decorated with images of the god Dionysus, who in the east part embodies the sun and in the west the earth and night. The ritual couch and the chamber are placed in the rectangular chamber. They were covered with fabric made of a thread, after that a splendid funeral of the ruler was performed. The capital of his kingdom, called Seuthopolis, is situated at ten kilometers southwest from the tomb. The head of the statue of Seuthes is buried in the tomb, the personal belongings and the gifts, needed for the afterlife of the ruler are carefully placed in the chamber. After the burial the entrance of the chamber and the anteroom were blocked, the horse of the ruler was sacrificed
12.
Celts
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The history of pre-Celtic Europe remains very uncertain. According to one theory, the root of the Celtic languages, the Proto-Celtic language, arose in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of Central Europe. Thus this area is called the Celtic homeland. The earliest undisputed examples of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions beginning in the 6th century BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names, Insular Celtic languages are attested beginning around the 4th century in Ogham inscriptions, although it was clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century, coherent texts of Early Irish literature, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge, survive in 12th century recensions. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the Celtic-speaking communities in these Atlantic regions emerged as a cohesive cultural entity. They had a linguistic, religious and artistic heritage that distinguished them from the culture of the surrounding polities. By the 6th century, however, the Continental Celtic languages were no longer in wide use, Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of the Gaels and the Celtic Britons of the medieval and modern periods. A modern Celtic identity was constructed as part of the Romanticist Celtic Revival in Great Britain, Ireland, today, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton are still spoken in parts of their historical territories, and Cornish and Manx are undergoing a revival. The first recorded use of the name of Celts – as Κελτοί – to refer to a group was by Hecataeus of Miletus, the Greek geographer, in 517 BC. In the fifth century BC Herodotus referred to Keltoi living around the head of the Danube, the etymology of the term Keltoi is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European *kʲel ‘to hide’, IE *kʲel ‘to heat’ or *kel ‘to impel’, several authors have supposed it to be Celtic in origin, while others view it as a name coined by Greeks. Linguist Patrizia De Bernardo Stempel falls in the group. Yet he reports Celtic peoples in Iberia, and also uses the ethnic names Celtiberi and Celtici for peoples there, as distinct from Lusitani, pliny the Elder cited the use of Celtici in Lusitania as a tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed. Latin Gallus might stem from a Celtic ethnic or tribal name originally and its root may be the Proto-Celtic *galno, meaning “power, strength”, hence Old Irish gal “boldness, ferocity” and Welsh gallu “to be able, power”. The tribal names of Gallaeci and the Greek Γαλάται most probably have the same origin, the suffix -atai might be an Ancient Greek inflection. Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae and this means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin Gallia, though it does refer to the same ancient region
13.
Ancient Macedonians
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The Macedonians were an ancient tribe that lived on the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Axios in the northeastern part of mainland Greece. They spoke a dialect of Greek, although the lingua franca of the region was at first Attic. Aside from the monarchy, the core of Macedonian society was its nobility, similar to the aristocracy of neighboring Thessaly, their wealth was largely built on herding horses and cattle. Although composed of clans, the kingdom of Macedonia, established around the 8th century BC, is mostly associated with the Argead dynasty. The dynasty was founded by Perdiccas I, descendant of the legendary Temenus of Argos, while the region of Macedon perhaps derived its name from Makedon. Traditionally ruled by independent families, the Macedonians seem to have accepted Argead rule by the time of Alexander I, under Philip II, the Macedonians are credited with numerous military innovations, which enlarged their territory and increased their control over other areas extending into Thrace. There is also debate over the classification of the native Macedonian language as a dialect of the Greek language or as its own subdivision of the Hellenic languages. With the scant amount of evidence, the extent to which the native Macedonian tongue may have been influenced by the Phrygian, Thracian. The ancient Macedonians participated in the production and fostering of Classical, in terms of visual arts, they produced frescoes, mosaics, sculptures, and decorative metalwork. The performing arts of music and Greek theatrical dramas were highly appreciated, the kingdom also attracted the presence of renowned philosophers, such as Aristotle, while native Macedonians contributed to the field of ancient Greek literature, especially Greek historiography. Their sport and leisure activities included hunting, foot races, and chariot races, the expansion of the Macedonian kingdom has been described as a three-stage process. Macedonia then led a military force against their primary objective—the conquest of Persia—which they achieved with remarkable ease. With Alexanders conquest of the Achaemenid Empire, Macedonians colonized territories as far east as Central Asia, the Macedonians continued to rule much of Hellenistic Greece, forming alliances with Greek leagues such as the Cretan League and Epirote League. In the aftermath of the Third Macedonian War, the Romans abolished the Macedonian monarchy under Perseus of Macedon, a brief revival of the monarchy by the pretender Andriscus led to the Fourth Macedonian War, after which Rome established the Roman province of Macedonia and subjugated the Macedonians. In Greek mythology, Makedon is the hero of Macedonia and is mentioned in Hesiods Catalogue of Women. The first historical attestation of the Macedonians occurs in the works of Herodotus during the mid-5th century BC, the Macedonians are absent in Homers Catalogue of Ships and the term Macedonia itself appears late. The Iliad states that upon leaving Mount Olympus, Hera journeyed via Pieria and Emathia before reaching Athos and this is re-iterated by Strabo in his Geography. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence indicates that Mycenaean contact with or penetration into the Macedonian interior possibly started from the early 14th century BC, in their new Pierian home north of Olympus, the Macedonian tribes mingled with the proto-Dorians
14.
Greek drachma
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Three modern Greek currencies, the first introduced in 1832 and the last replaced by the euro in 2001. The euro did not begin circulating until 2002 but the rate was fixed on 19 June 2000. It was also a unit of weight. The name drachma is derived from the verb δράσσομαι and it is believed that the same word with the meaning of handful or handle is found in Linear B tablets of the Mycenean Pylos. Initially a drachma was a fistful of six oboloí or obeloí used as a form of currency as early as 1100 BC and being a form of bullion, bronze, copper, a hoard of over 150 rod-shaped obeloi was uncovered at Heraion of Argos in Peloponnese. Six of them are displayed at the Numismatic Museum of Athens and it was the standard unit of silver coinage at most ancient Greek mints, and the name obol was used to describe a coin that was one-sixth of a drachma. Similar information about Pheidons obeloi was also recorded at the Parian Chronicle, ancient Greek coins normally had distinctive names in daily use. The Athenian tetradrachm was called owl, the Aeginetic stater was called chelone, the exact exchange value of each was determined by the quantity and quality of the metal, which reflected on the reputation of each mint. The 5th century BC Athenian tetradrachm coin was perhaps the most widely used coin in the Greek world prior to the time of Alexander the Great and it featured the helmeted profile bust of Athena on the obverse and an owl on the reverse. In daily use they were called γλαῦκες glaukes, hence the proverb Γλαῦκ’ Ἀθήναζε, the reverse is featured on the national side of the modern Greek 1 euro coin. Drachmae were minted on different weight standards at different Greek mints, the standard that came to be most commonly used was the Athenian or Attic one, which weighed a little over 4.3 grams. The Armenian dram also derives its name from the drachma. S, modern commentators derived from Xenophon that half a drachma per day would provide a comfortable subsistence for the poor citizens. Earlier in 422 BC, we see in Aristophanes that the daily half-drachma of a juror is just enough for the daily subsistence of a family of three. Fractions and multiples of the drachma were minted by many states, most notably in Ptolemaic Egypt, notable Ptolemaic coins included the gold pentadrachm and octadrachm, and silver tetradrachm, decadrachm and pentakaidecadrachm. This was especially noteworthy as it would not be until the introduction of the Guldengroschen in 1486 that coins of substantial size would be minted in significant quantities, for the Roman successors of the drachma, see Roman provincial coins. The weight of the drachma was approximately 4.3 grams or 0.15 ounces. It was divided into six obols of 0.72 grams, the New Testament mentions both didrachma and, by implication, tetradrachma in context of the Temple tax. Lukes Gospel includes a parable told by Jesus of a woman with 10 drachmae, the drachma was reintroduced in May 1832, shortly before the establishment of the modern state of Greece
15.
Persian daric
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The Persian daric was a gold coin which, along with a similar silver coin, the siglos, represented the bimetallic monetary standard of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Cyrus the Great introduced coins to the Persian Empire after 546 BC, Darius I introduced a thick gold coin which had a standard weight of 8.4 grams, equaling in value 20 silver coins. The gold used in the coins was of high quality with a purity of 95. 83%. Their use ended with Alexander the Greats invasion in 330 BC, after which they were melted down. This is believed to be the reason for their rarity. Close to the end of the 5th century BC, the Persian satraps in Asia Minor decided to strike their own coins, Darius considered such encroachment a crime punishable by death since the right of coinage was treated as an exclusively royal prerogative. The coin is mentioned twice in the Hebrew Bible, where it is called the adarkonim, the first Book of Chronicles describes King David as asking an assembly of people to donate for the construction of the Temple. The other instance is Ezra 8,27, also a derivative Greek term darkemonium is recorded in Ezra 2,69, the ancient Greeks believed that the term dareikós was derived from the name of Darius the Great, who was believed to have introduced these coins
16.
Bulgaria
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Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, with a territory of 110,994 square kilometres, Bulgaria is Europes 16th-largest country. Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period and its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians, Greeks, Persians, Celts, Romans, Goths, Alans and Huns. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State, the following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1946 it became a one-party socialist state as part of the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc, in December 1989 the ruling Communist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgarias transition into a democracy and a market-based economy. Bulgarias population of 7.2 million people is predominantly urbanised, most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city, Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are industry, power engineering. The countrys current political structure dates to the adoption of a constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative. Human activity in the lands of modern Bulgaria can be traced back to the Paleolithic, animal bones incised with man-made markings from Kozarnika cave are assumed to be the earliest examples of symbolic behaviour in humans. Organised prehistoric societies in Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture, Vinča culture, the latter is credited with inventing gold working and exploitation. Some of these first gold smelters produced the coins, weapons and jewellery of the Varna Necropolis treasure and this site also offers insights for understanding the social hierarchy of the earliest European societies. Thracians, one of the three primary groups of modern Bulgarians, began appearing in the region during the Iron Age. In the late 6th century BC, the Persians conquered most of present-day Bulgaria, and kept it until 479 BC. After the division of the Roman Empire in the 5th century the area fell under Byzantine control, by this time, Christianity had already spread in the region. A small Gothic community in Nicopolis ad Istrum produced the first Germanic language book in the 4th century, the first Christian monastery in Europe was established around the same time by Saint Athanasius in central Bulgaria. From the 6th century the easternmost South Slavs gradually settled in the region, in 680 Bulgar tribes under the leadership of Asparukh moved south across the Danube and settled in the area between the lower Danube and the Balkan, establishing their capital at Pliska
17.
National Historical Museum (Bulgaria)
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The National Historical Museum in Sofia is Bulgarias largest museum. It was founded on 5 May 1973, a new representative exhibition was opened in the building of the Court of Justice on 2 March 1984, to commemorate the 13th centenary of the Bulgarian state. The museum includes a cloakroom, buffet, library and souvenir shop and it undertakes professional conservation and restoration of historical monuments, authenticity investigations and expert valuation. Its collections comprise materials dating from prehistoric ages till the present, as of 2016, the museums director is Dr. Bozhidar Dimitrov, an historian. Panagyurishte treasure Dabene Treasure Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós Decree of Dionysopolis List of museums in Bulgaria Official website
18.
Sofia
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Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. The city has a population of 1.26 million, while 1.68 million people live in its metropolitan area, the city is located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain in the western part of the country, within less than 50 kilometres drive from the Serbian border. Its location in the centre of the Balkan peninsula means that it is the midway between the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea, whereas the Aegean Sea is the closest to it, Sofia has been an area of human habitation since at least 7000 BC. Being Bulgarias primate city, Sofia is a hometown of many of the local universities, cultural institutions. Sofia is one of the top 10 best places for business in the world. Sofia is Europes most affordable capital to visit as of 2013, for the longest time the city possessed a Thracian name, derived from the tribe Serdi, who were either of Thracian, Celtic, or mixed Thracian-Celtic origin. It seems that the first written mention of Serdica was made during his reign, during the Romans civitas Serdenisium was mentioned the brightest city of the Serdi in official inscriptions. The city was major throughout the past ever since Antiquity, when Roman emperor Constantine the Great referred to it as my Rome, other names given to Sofia, such as Serdonpolis and Triaditza, were mentioned by Byzantine Greek sources or coins. The Slavic name Sredets, which is related to middle and to the citys earliest name, the city was called Atralissa by the Arab traveller Idrisi and Strelisa, Stralitsa or Stralitsion by the Crusaders. The name Sofia comes from the Saint Sofia Church, as opposed to the prevailing Slavic etymology among Bulgarian cities and towns. It is ultimately derived from the Egyptian Kemetic word sbÅ, meaning star, door, teaching and wisdom and this was a tradition of collection of wise literature, shared between Mediterranean cultures, which was called sophia in Greek. In these documents the city is called Sofia, but at the time the region and the citys inhabitants are still called Sredecheski. The city became popular to the Ottomans by the name Sofya. In 1879 there was a dispute about what the name of the new Bulgarian capital should be, the citys name is pronounced by Bulgarians with a stress on the o, in contrast with the tendency of foreigners to place the stress on i. The female given name Sofia is pronounced by Bulgarians with a stress on the i, Sofia has an area of 492 km2, while Sofia City Province has an area of 1344 km2. Sofias development as a significant settlement owes much to its position in the Balkans. It is situated in western Bulgaria, at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the Sofia Valley that is surrounded by the Balkan mountains to the north. The valley has an altitude of 550 metres
19.
Rogozen Treasure
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The Rogozen Treasure, called the find of the century, was discovered by chance in 1985 by a tractor driver digging a well in his garden in the Bulgarian village of Rogozen. It consists of 165 receptacles, including 108 phiales,55 jugs and 3 goblets, the objects are silver with golden gilt on some of them with total weight of more than 20 kg. The treasure is a source of information for the life of the Thracians. It is dated back to the 5th-4th centuries B. O. T, Rogozen Island off Robert Island, South Shetland Islands is named after the settlement of Rogozen in connection with the Rogozen Treasure. Panagyurishte Treasure Valchitran Treasure Lukovit Treasure Borovo Treasure The Rogozen silver treasure Marazov, Ivan
20.
Lukovit Treasure
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The Lukovit Treasure is a silver Thracian treasure found in 1953 near the town of Lukovit, Lovech Province, north-western Bulgaria. It consists of two groups of objects, plates, applications for horse bridles and vessels,9 phiales,3 ewers, the objects are made of silver, some of them gilded in order to reinforce the artistic images and to put emphasis on the ornaments. Phiales and the bowl are richly adorned with ornaments, depicting floral shapes, human heads, on the applications various animals are portrayed – lion, gryphon, dog, stag and others. There are also depictions of equestrians, typical of Thracian art, on two of the plates there is a lion jumping on a deer, kneeling under the weight of the beast. Another plate depicts two horsemen chasing lions, which are already overtaken and fallen under the hoofs of the horses and these scenes in the Thracian art bear a certain social meaning. They are connected to glorifying the royal power, the Lukovit Treasure is dated from 4th century BC and was made by different craftsmen. It was most probably buried in the ground during Alexander the Greats invasion of the north-western Thracian lands, panagyurishte Treasure Rogozen Treasure Valchitran Treasure Borovo Treasure The Lukovit silver treasure Lukovit treasure
21.
Borovo Treasure
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The Borovo Treasure, also known as the Borovo Silver Treasure, is a Thracian hoard of five matching silver-gilt items discovered in late 1974 while ploughing a field in Borovo, Bulgaria. The treasure is kept in the museum at Ruse. The treasure consists of a set of five silver-gilt items, Three rhyta, each a different size. The largest has a figure of a sphynx and bears the inscription, Cotys from Beos. as well as the name of the craftsman, the second has a figure of a horse, and the third, the smallest, has a bull. A large, two-handled bowl, This item is decorated with a relief of a deer being attacked by a griffin, a rhyta jug with images gods at a feast, scenes showing the mythological cycles, with images of Dionysus and Heracles, satyrs, griffons, and sphinxes. The discovery was made while ploughing a field approximately 2 km from the village of Borovo, Ruse, unfortunately, the plow severely damaged objects, but after extensive restoration work, the damage is nearly invisible. It is unknown why the treasure was buried at that particular site, the inscription on the sphynx rhyta indicates that the treasure may have been a gift to a local Getic ruler from the king Cotys I, who reigned in the Odrysian Kingdom from 383 to 359 BC. It is for this reason that the treasure is considered to be from the early to mid fourth century BC.1, 7-71
22.
JSTOR
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JSTOR is a digital library founded in 1995. Originally containing digitized back issues of journals, it now also includes books and primary sources. It provides full-text searches of almost 2,000 journals, more than 8,000 institutions in more than 160 countries have access to JSTOR, most access is by subscription, but some older public domain content is freely available to anyone. William G. Bowen, president of Princeton University from 1972 to 1988, JSTOR originally was conceived as a solution to one of the problems faced by libraries, especially research and university libraries, due to the increasing number of academic journals in existence. Most libraries found it prohibitively expensive in terms of cost and space to maintain a collection of journals. By digitizing many journal titles, JSTOR allowed libraries to outsource the storage of journals with the confidence that they would remain available long-term, online access and full-text search ability improved access dramatically. Bowen initially considered using CD-ROMs for distribution, JSTOR was initiated in 1995 at seven different library sites, and originally encompassed ten economics and history journals. JSTOR access improved based on feedback from its sites. Special software was put in place to make pictures and graphs clear, with the success of this limited project, Bowen and Kevin Guthrie, then-president of JSTOR, wanted to expand the number of participating journals. They met with representatives of the Royal Society of London and an agreement was made to digitize the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society dating from its beginning in 1665, the work of adding these volumes to JSTOR was completed by December 2000. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funded JSTOR initially, until January 2009 JSTOR operated as an independent, self-sustaining nonprofit organization with offices in New York City and in Ann Arbor, Michigan. JSTOR content is provided by more than 900 publishers, the database contains more than 1,900 journal titles, in more than 50 disciplines. Each object is identified by an integer value, starting at 1. In addition to the site, the JSTOR labs group operates an open service that allows access to the contents of the archives for the purposes of corpus analysis at its Data for Research service. This site offers a facility with graphical indication of the article coverage. Users may create focused sets of articles and then request a dataset containing word and n-gram frequencies and they are notified when the dataset is ready and may download it in either XML or CSV formats. The service does not offer full-text, although academics may request that from JSTOR, JSTOR Plant Science is available in addition to the main site. The materials on JSTOR Plant Science are contributed through the Global Plants Initiative and are only to JSTOR
23.
Ivan Venedikov
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Ivan Venedikov was born in Sofia on 10 January 1916. Between 1934 and 1939 he studied classical phylology in the Sofia University, among his lectors were Aleksandar Balabanov, Dimitar Dechev, Gavril Katsarov, Veselin Beshevliev, Bogdan Filov, Petar Mutafchiev. His first work was Phonetics of the Latin Inscriptions from the Bulgarian Lands, between 1941 and 1944 he worked in the Museum in Skopje and made his first excavations discovering the large antique and medieval town Bargala and the medieval Kozyak. In 1981 he became a Professor and he was also a lecturer on Thracian history in the Sofia University. Venedikov had more than 150 publications on Thracian history, culture, art and language based on many studied archaeological sites and he made a periodization of the Thracian art, researched and restored the outlook of the Thracian chariots. In 1982 he organized an exhibition of Thracian art which included the finest objects from all over Bulgaria which travelled in many cities around the world and he also studied the old Bulgar inscriptions and concluded that the Bulgar language was still spoken in the beginning of the 9th century. Venedikov also proved that Preslav, which would become capital of the Bulgarian Empire in 893, in 1979 he made monography on the military and administrative organization of the Bulgarian Empire and made research on many titles and offices of the Bulgarian rulers and nobility. Принос към античната география на Македония, Иван Венедиков, Познайте ги по делата им. Българската интелигенция в моите спомени, София,1993, in honorem annorum ХХХ Instituti Studiorum Thracicorum, Serdicae MMII
24.
Alexander the Great
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Alexander III of Macedon, commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon and a member of the Argead dynasty. He was born in Pella in 356 BC and succeeded his father Philip II to the throne at the age of twenty and he was undefeated in battle and is widely considered one of historys most successful military commanders. During his youth, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16, after Philips assassination in 336 BC, he succeeded his father to the throne and inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. Alexander was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his fathers Panhellenic project to lead the Greeks in the conquest of Persia, in 334 BC, he invaded the Achaemenid Empire and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Following the conquest of Anatolia, Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of battles, most notably the battles of Issus. He subsequently overthrew Persian King Darius III and conquered the Achaemenid Empire in its entirety, at that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. He sought to reach the ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea and invaded India in 326 BC and he eventually turned back at the demand of his homesick troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, the city that he planned to establish as his capital, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in the establishment of several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexanders surviving generals, Alexanders legacy includes the cultural diffusion which his conquests engendered, such as Greco-Buddhism. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt, Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and mythic traditions of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and he is often ranked among the most influential people in human history. He was the son of the king of Macedon, Philip II, and his wife, Olympias. Although Philip had seven or eight wives, Olympias was his wife for some time. Several legends surround Alexanders birth and childhood, sometime after the wedding, Philip is said to have seen himself, in a dream, securing his wifes womb with a seal engraved with a lions image. Plutarch offered a variety of interpretations of dreams, that Olympias was pregnant before her marriage, indicated by the sealing of her womb. On the day Alexander was born, Philip was preparing a siege on the city of Potidea on the peninsula of Chalcidice. That same day, Philip received news that his general Parmenion had defeated the combined Illyrian and Paeonian armies, and it was also said that on this day, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, burnt down. This led Hegesias of Magnesia to say that it had burnt down because Artemis was away, such legends may have emerged when Alexander was king, and possibly at his own instigation, to show that he was superhuman and destined for greatness from conception
25.
The Illustrated London News
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The Illustrated London News appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the worlds first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, the company continues today as Illustrated London News Ltd, a publishing, content and digital agency in London, which holds the publication and business archives of the magazine. As a newsagent, Ingram was struck by the increase in newspaper sales when they featured pictures. Ingram began to plan a weekly newspaper that would contain pictures in every edition, Ingram rented an office, recruited artists and reporters, and employed as his editor Frederick William Naylor Bayley, formerly editor of the National Omnibus. The first issue of The Illustrated London News appeared on Saturday,14 May 1842, Ingram hired 200 men to carry placards through the streets of London promoting the first edition of his new newspaper. Costing sixpence, the first issue sold 26,000 copies, despite this initial success, sales of the second and subsequent editions were disappointing. Its circulation soon increased to 40,000 and by the end of its first year was 60,000, in 1851, after the newspaper published Joseph Paxtons designs for the Crystal Palace before even Prince Albert had seen them, the circulation rose to 130,000. Andrew Spottiswoodes Pictorial Times lost £20,000 before it was sold to Ingram by Henry Vizetelly, Ingram folded it into another purchase, The Ladys Newspaper, which became The Ladys Newspaper and Pictorial Times. Vitezelly was also behind a competitor, The Illustrated Times in 1855. Ingrams other early collaborators left the business in the 1850s, nathanial Cooke, his business partner and brother-in-law, found himself in a subordinate role in the business and parted on bad terms around 1854. 1858 saw the departure of William Little, who, in addition to providing a loan of £10,000, was printer and publisher of the paper for 15 years, littles relationship with Ingram deteriorated over Ingrams harassment of their mutual sister-in-law. By 1863, The Illustrated London News was selling more than 300,000 copies every week, the death of Herbert and his eldest son left the company without a director and manager. Control passed to Ingrams widow Ann, and his friend Sir Edward William Watkin, once Ingrams two younger sons, William and Charles, were old enough, they took over as managing directors, although it was William who took the lead. It was also a period of expansion and increased competition for the ILN, as reading habits and the illustrated news market changed, the ILN bought or established a number of new publications, evolving from a single newspaper to a larger-scale publishing business. As with Herbert Ingrams purchases in the 1850s, this expansion was also a way of managing competition, dominating markets. As too with the acquisitions of the 1850s, several similar illustrated publications were established in this period by former employees of The Illustrated London News. Serious competition for the ILN appeared in 1869, with the establishment of The Graphic, Thomas was a former wood engraver for The Illustrated London News, and brought his expertise in illustrated publishing to his new magazine. The Graphic was highly popular, particularly for its coverage of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, William Ingram became chief proprietor of The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, and The Ladys Pictorial, which may have been a later title of The Ladys Newspaper and Pictorial Times
26.
Georgi Kitov
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Georgi Kitov was a Bulgarian archaeologist and thracologist with controversial methods. He participated in the excavations of sites including the Alexandrovo Tomb, Kosmatka, Svetitzata. Kitov died from an attack on September 14,2008 during excavations in Starosel. On August 19,2004 Kitov discovered a mask in a 5th-century BC burial mound outside the town of Shipka in a place he later named Golyamata Kosmatka. On September 21 he began an excavation of the mound with 12 others, including security guards. Three days later he found the entrance of a tomb, instead of the more usual archaeological methods, Kitov used three large earthmoving machines. He claimed that he had to quickly to deter looters. On October 4 Kitov and his team found a marble door. Later that night they entered a chamber with a sarcophagus and an amount of golden objects. According to Kitovs later account, he informed the police in Kazanluk to ask for help of couple of officers to help the take the treasure to his headquarters in a local hotel. Police sent 50 men and a local prosecutor—according to their later report, police officers proceeded to frisk everyone when they came from the tomb in case they were trying to smuggle out valuables. When the police demanded that the treasure be taken to the police station. Both groups spent the night outside the mound until the police escorted the team. Apparent police overkill caused lots of public amusement and he rarely bothered to document or analyze the artifacts he fоund. He began to publish his findings only after several other archaeologists criticised him in public, in February 2001, the National Archaeological Institute and Museum censured him for excavating sites without permission and took away his authorization to lead expeditions for a year. Later the same year, they expelled Kitov from his post as a Thracian section
27.
Dietrich von Bothmer
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Von Bothmer was born in Eisenach, Germany on October 26,1918. He graduated in 1939 with a major in classical archaeology, a tour of museums in the United States in 1939 left von Bothmer stuck there with the start of World War II. Due to his strong anti-Nazi sentiments, he refused to return to Germany and he earned his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley in 1944. Though not yet a citizen, in 1943 he volunteered for the United States Army, after 90 days in the U. S. Army, he was sworn in as a U. S. citizen in March,1944. Following the completion of his service, he was hired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1946. By 1973, he was department chairman and he was named in 1990 as distinguished research curator. In 1972, together with the Director, Thomas Hoving, von Bothmer argued in favor of the purchase of the Euphronios krater and they convinced the museums board to purchase the artifact for $1 million, which the museum funded through the sale of its coin collection. The Government of Italy demanded the return, citing claims that the vase had been taken illegally from an ancient Etruscan site near Rome. Von Bothmers 1977 exhibit Thracian Treasures from Bulgaria covered twenty centuries of Thracian culture, the 1979 show Greek Art of the Aegean Islands included 191 pieces, of which 46 came from the Met and a similar number from the Louvre. The remainder came from different museums in Greece, including the largest known Cycladic sculpture, dating to 2700 to 2300 BCE, on loan from the National Archaeological Museum. A1985 exhibition based on his research, The Amasis Painter and his World and he also contributed in 1983 to Wealth of the Ancient World (Hunt Art Collections, to Development of the Attic Black-Figure, Revised edition in 1986, and a wide variety of other publications. He took a faculty position in 1965 at the Institute of Fine Arts l, complementing his career as a curator and an academic, he served on the Art Advisory Council of the International Foundation for Art Research. A resident of both the Manhattan district of New York City and Oyster Bay, New York, von Bothmer died at age 90 on October 19,2009 and his brother was the renowned Egyptologist Bernard V. Bothmer, who died in 1993. Greek vase painting, a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries by Dietrich von Bothmer
28.
Alexander Fol
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Alexander Fol was a Bulgarian historian and Thracologist. In 1957, he studied history at the University of St. Kliment Ohridski in Sofia and he worked as a university lecturer from 1972 and became a professor in 1975. From 1980 to 1986, he served as Minister of Culture and his research interests lay in classical Greek and Roman history, the cultural history of southeast Europe and Asia Minor, and Indo-European studies. He is best known for his contributions to Thracology, in 1972, he established the Institute of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, and became its first director until 1992. During this time he organized International Congresses of Thracology in Sofia, Bucharest, Vienna, Rotterdam, Moscow and he was secretary-general of the International Council for Indo-European and Thracology Studies. He held a chair of Ancient History and Thracology at the University of Sofia between 1979 and 1987, and a chair of Cultural History of Southeastern Europe since 1991. He was the founder of the Bulgarian Research Institute in Vienna, Fol was a member of the Accademia Medicea in Florence, Italy. Moreover, he was a member of the German Archaeological Institute, the Académie Maison in Paris, France and he received numerous invitations as guest lecturer in England, the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan, Greece, Italy, Sweden, and France. His publications comprise twelve monographies on Thracian social history, as well as articles in the field of Thracology. Alexander Fol died of stomach cancer, autobiography page Alexander Fol, Orphica Magica I, Sofia 2004 Articles by Alexander Fol
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