Magnificent edition with 15 color maps and 103 black and white photographs, drawings and diagrams; Thirteen of the maps represent the time of the Bulgarian Middle Ages - from the settlement of the "Slavs on the Balkan Peninsula" to "Bulgaria under the last Shishmanovs", and two - the Bulgarian lands in prehistoric times, and in the text of the second the fate of our lands during Antiquity is hinted at; Heavy soiling and erosion of the cover paper, which is completely separated from the body of the book.
"Historical Atlas of Medieval Bulgaria". Bulgarian book, Sofia: 1943
V[asil] Mikov, Iv[an] Ormandzhiev "Historical Atlas of Medieval Bulgaria". Bulgarian Book, Sofia: 1943 // 32 p.
Magnificent edition with 15 color maps and 103 black and white photographs, drawings and diagrams; Thirteen of the maps represent the time of the Bulgarian Middle Ages - from the settlement of the "Slavs on the Balkan Peninsula" to "Bulgaria under the last Shishmanovs", and two - the Bulgarian lands in prehistoric times, and in the text of the second the fate of our lands during Antiquity is hinted at; Heavy soiling and erosion of the cover paper, which is completely separated from the body of the book; The main part of the atlas is preserved in very good condition.
Although it was printed exactly 80 years ago, "Historical Atlas of Medieval Bulgaria" continues to be, for the most part, relatively historically accurate. The exceptions are the first two maps - "Prehistory of the Bulgarian lands - Stone Age" (p. 3-4) and "Prehistory of the Bulgarian lands - Metal Age" (p. 5-6). Especially in the second half of the XNUMXth century, and at the beginning of our millennium, Bulgarian prehistoric archeology accumulated a huge amount of new data, which significantly changed the ideas about that time. It is evident, however, that the authors have inserted the first two maps more for the sake of completeness of exposition than in the hope of being comprehensive and excessively accurate.
In the actual part of the atlas, which refers to Medieval Bulgaria, the differences with the modern state of historical science are not so many. "The Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula" (p. 7) needs more clarification, and this is not strange, because clarifying the issue of their settlement on the Balkan Peninsula requires the use of more archaeological data; and they collect long and painfully for decades. There is an annoying typographical error in the text to the map - "in the first half of the 587th century the Slavs established a permanent residence in the entire Balkan Peninsula" is noted in the text below the map, but apparently the authors meant the first half of the 805th (and not the 807th ) c. Today we know that this happened a little earlier - the data on the first Slavic settlements are from the last quarter of the 1th century Doge, perhaps a little earlier. On the map, the settlement of the peninsula of Morea (today's Peloponnese) by Slavic tribes requires a special comment. In fact, the undisputed Slavic hegemony in the Morea lasted for more than two centuries - from the fall of 2 to 963/969. Outside of it, only the eastern third of the peninsula and the fortress of Patras in its northernmost part remained (see e.g. {3} and {4}). Completeness of the sources cannot be attempted here, but let us also note that "only the eastern part of the Morea, from Corinth to [the peninsula of] Malea [at the most south-eastern end of the Morea peninsula], was - due to its rocky nature and difficult access - free from Slavs", according to the Manemvasian Chronicle of XNUMX/XNUMX (see {XNUMX}). It is strange that the authors of the atlas did not note the Slavic presence of Fr. Crete - the data about this at the time of the printing of the book were already known (see {XNUMX}.
A more detailed examination of the maps in the atlas is not possible here, but a few more very brief notes are possible. Today we know - again thanks to new archaeological data - that "Bulgaria in the 10th-11th centuries" (p. 14) probably looks more extensive, especially in the east. "Bulgaria under Kruma and Omurtaga" (p. 852) was obviously greatly reduced, at that time the Bulgarian lands reached far to the west. "Bulgaria under Malamira and Presiyana" (p. 889) was also reduced to the west, and the trans-Danubian Slavinia, as well as the Seven Slavic Tribes, hardly continued to exist after the centralization of state power under Omurtag. For "Bulgaria under Boris (15-893)" (p. 893), it should be noted that the Bulgarian outlet to the Blue Sea was probably considerably wider. And recently it became clear that Boris continued to rule, at least nominally, until 927. "Bulgaria under Tsar Simeon the Great (XNUMX-XNUMX)" and "Bulgaria under Tsar Samuel" also present the Bulgarian lands as significantly reduced. The maps that refer to the Second Bulgarian Kingdom are more in line with today's level of historical science, although there some places need clarification. Quite expectedly, some explanations and dating of the photographs, drawings and diagrams undoubtedly also need further clarification, but this in no way changes our initial impression of this truly magnificent book.
The authors of "Historical Atlas of Medieval Bulgaria" are well-known names in Bulgarian science. Vasil Mikov (1891-1970) is among the most distinguished Bulgarian archaeologists-prehistorians, and Ivan Ormandzhiev (1891-1963) deals mainly with the history of the national liberation struggles of the Bulgarians in Odrinska Thrace. The atlas they compiled is undoubtedly in tune with the patriotic upsurge that massively conquered Bulgarian society during and after the Second World War. In times of severe trials, the Bulgarian people always turn for support to the glorious pages of medieval Bulgarian history - the memory of the power of the rulers Asparukh, Tervel, Krum and Omurtag, of the kings Simeon the Great, Samuil and Ivan Asen II, of the great work of the students of Cyril and Methodius, for the Cyrillic alphabet created in Veliki Preslav gives strength in our struggle for survival.
"Historical Atlas of Medieval Bulgaria", as understood from the handwritten inscription on the title page, was presented by one of its authors, the historian Ivan Ormandzhiev, to Nevenka Nikolova "for a good memory". As it also becomes clear, Ivan Ormandzhiev was a "classmate" of the girl's father at the Bulgarian Boys' High School "Dr. Petar Beron" in Edirne, and the meeting between the two took place on August 8, 1944 in the village of Kurilo (today the district of Novi Iskar in Sofia Municipality). At that time, a large number of residents of Sofia were evacuated to the surroundings of Sofia, including Kurilo, due to the Anglo-American bombing of the city. The atlas remained part of the family library of Nevenka Nikolova and her heirs until recently, when her son Andrey Mezan, a long-time donor to the National History Museum, gave the atlas as a gift to the specialized scientific library of the Museum.
––––––––––––––––––––––– {1} Vasilka Tapkova-Zaimova "Invasions and ethnic changes in the Balkans in the VI-VII centuries". BAS Publishing House, Sofia: 1966 {2} Yordan Zaimov "The Settlement of the Bulgarian Slavs on the Balkan Peninsula. Study of resident names in Bulgarian toponymy". BAS Publishing House, Sofia: 1967 {3} Ivan Dujčev "Cronaca di Monemvasia". Introd., testo crit. is note a cura di ... Palermo: 1976, XLVII // 36 p. (1st. Sic. di studi bizant. e neoellen. Testi e monumenti. Testi 12 ){4} Ivan Shishmanov "Slavic settlements in Crete and other islands". In: Bulgarian review, vol. III: 1897
