The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in cooperation with the French Institute in Sofia organize an international conference Impact et réception de la culture française dans les Balkans (XIXe – XXe siècles) / French culture in the Balkans (19th - 20th centuries) - interrelations and reception. The event will be held on October 6 and 7, 2022 in Slaveykov Hall, French Institute in Bulgaria (Slaveykov Square No. 3, Sofia 1000) and at the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology (Moskovska Street No. 45, Sofia 1000).

The programme is organized aroung the following main topics:

• Ottoman Reforms and French Diplomacy in the Balkans: World War I and the establishment of the French Institute in Sofia (1922)
• Selected pages of diplomatic and cultural history
• Diplomatic missions and francophone education
• Memoirs, memories
• The adventures of French literature in Bulgaria

PROGRAMME

The Institute for Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Wunderkammer Publishers are pleased to invite you to the presentation of the new book by Kalin Yordanov, PhD "The Prince of Philippopolis: The Unknown Despotes Alexios Slav in the Light of New Sources and Discoveries". The event will be held on October 4, 2022 (Tuesday) at 17.30 at the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology, Moskovska Street No. 45.

Kalin Yordanov's second monograph sheds new light on the origins, the pedigree, the personality and the demise of the famous independent Bulgarian ruler Despotes Alexios Slav, and illuminates the unknown aspects of the history of his relations with the Latin Empire of Constantinople, the Neo-Byzantine state of Epirus and the Second Bulgarian Empire. The book reveals hitherto unknown facts about the genealogy, the lineage the descent, and the knightly initiation and the coat of arms of the distinguished Bulgarian nobleman of the Assenid family and vassal of the Latin Emperor Henri of Flanders. The book sheds new light on the genesis, the boundaries and the demise of his vast autonomous territorial principality, encompassing the lands of the Rhodope Mountains, the region of Philippopolis and Eastern Macedonia.

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On September 28-30, 2022, an international conference "Croats and Bulgarians. Diplomacy, Politics, Culture and Science" will be held. The scholarly forum is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of scientific cooperation between the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Croatia. Eight scholars affiliated with the IBSCT-BAS from a total of 28 participants will attend the event. Among the other participants will be representatives of the two academies and related scholarly institutions, e. g. Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, University of Zagreb, museums, etc. Organizers of the conference are the Department of Historical Sciences at HAZU, the Scientific Council for the Study of Relations between Croatia and Southeast Europe in a Historical Perspective, the Bulgarian Embassy in the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian-Bulgarian Society in Zagreb together with the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

A congratulatory speech will be given to the participants by the chairman of HANI, Academician Velimir Naidhard, Academician Josip Bratulich, Prof. Damir Karbich, PhD, Prof. Svetlozar Eldarov, Dr. habil. and Assoc. Prof. Antoaneta Balcheva, PhD (IBSCT-BAS). The conference will be opened with plenary papers of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Republic of Croatia Genka Georgieva and the Director of the Department of Historical Sciences at the HAZU Prof. Damir Karbich, PhD.

Following a long established tradition of bilateral cooperation, scholars affiliated with the Department of Historical Sciences at HAZU and their Bulgarian partners included in two academic projects of the IBSCT-BAS "Society, state and church of Bulgarians and Croats over the centuries" and "Bulgarian and Croatian cultural routes in Southeast Europe. Intersections and interactions" and Interactions" are expected to prepare conference proceedings.

PROGRAMME

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and DA Poetry Publishing House with the support of the literary network "Traduki" are pleased to invite you to the CROATIAN POETRY MATINEE on September 24, 2022 at 10.30 at the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology (Moskovska Street No. 45).
Poets Ivan Herceg, Zvezdana Yembrich, Kristina Shpiranec and translators Simona Kruchmarova and Antonina Mitkova will take part in the event. Hosts: Silvia Choleva and Lyudmila Mindova.

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

The Sofia Library, DA Poetry Publishing House, the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and "Conversations on Literature and the Peninsula" with the support of the "Traduki" Foundation are pleased to invite you on September 21, 2022 at 18.30 at the Sofia Library Club. Anthology of contemporary Bulgarian poetry "ON THE LAST FLOOR OF HEAVEN" (Zagreb, 2022) in memory of Marin Bodakov will be presented. Host: Petar Chuhov, with the participation of Ivan Herceg, Zornitsa Hristova, Stefan Ivanov, Silvia Choleva, Lyudmila Mindova.

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is pleased to invite you to the presentation of the project LABedia: encyclopedia of Late Antiquity in the Balkans. A series of events will be held from September 9 to 14, 2022 in the city of Sofia. Information about the events can be found in the program presented below.

PROGRAMME

From September 5 to 7, 2022, the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Tracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences presented the LABedia project: an encyclopedia of Late Antiquity in the Balkans. A series of events were organized in cooperation with the Regional History Museum - Silistra and the Regional History Museum in Dobrich, and were held in the cities of Silistra, Dobrich and Shoumen. Residents and guests of the cities were shown different methods of using medieval swords and battle bows. The participants of the events had the opportunity not only to observe, but also to participate in the "combat" with swords and archery. In the city of Shumen, experiments were made to prove or disprove the methods of transmitting commands in the heat of battle described by medieval authors.

In all cities, the practical part was followed by a scholarly one. After the presentation of the LABedia project by its Project Manager, Assoc. Prof. Zlatomira Gerdzhikova, PhD the participants in the wokshop "Military Affairs and Armament in Antiquity and the Middle Ages" gave short lectures presenting their scholarly interests. Assist. Prof. Mario Filipov, PhD delivered the lecture "The sword in the European fencing tradition in the 12th - 15th centuries", Nikolay Zhelev, PhD Student presented the topic "The Byzantine cavalry between Preslav and Druster", and Borislav Pavlov gave lecture "The horseman and the treasure. A comparative analysis of the realia from the Madara rock relief and the treasure from Malaya Pereshtepina".

Presentation of the project will continue in the city of Sofia from September 9 to 14, 2022.

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On July 24, 2022, Todor Chobanov, PhD affiliated with the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and lecturer at the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies was a guest in the program "Operation History" on the Bulgaria ON AIR Television. The topic was "The Ancient Bulgarians - Christians or pagans?"

A full recording of the show is available here.

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology and the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences organize a conference with international participation The Cult of the Ruler in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The scholarly event is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the Madara Horseman forscholarship by Felix Kanitz in 1872.

The conference will be held in the town of Pliska and the village of Madara on June 30 and July 1, 2022.

The event will include the exhibition BULGARIAN MONUMENTS UNDER THE PROTECTION OF UNESCO with the cooperation of the State Institute for Culture at the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria. The exhibition is dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Bulgarian membership of UNESCO and the 75th anniversary of the founding of UNESCO.

Link for online participation: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82584178769

PROGRAMME

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is pleased to invite you to the lecture of Prof. Achim Rabus (Universität Freiburg i. Br., Deutschland) "Introduction to Computer-supported Handwritten Text Recognition".

The event is organised under the initiative Every Second Tuesday and will be held on June 28, 2022 (Tuesday) at 17h00 at the IBSCT-BAS (45, Moskovska Street) and online in Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89489470402

We are looking forward to welcoming you!

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On June 10, 2022 in the city of Montana a scholarly conference "Bulgarian Northwest: Past and Present" was held. It aroused great interest among the local community. The event was organized by the branch of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology (IBSCT) and the Regional Academic Centre at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in the city of Montana in cooperation with the Municipality of Montana, the Regional History Museum and the State Archives - Montana. The important regional forum was held under the leadership of Prof. Alexandre Kostov, Sc.D., Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences who is Director of the branch of IBSCT in the city of Montana.

The participants in the conference were greeted by Mr. Zlatko Zhivkov - Mayor of Montana and by Assoc. Prof. Borislav Velikov, PhD - Chairman of the 39th National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria and member of the Board of Trustees of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Greetings were given by Prof. Mitko Dimitrov, PhD - Chief Coordinator of the National Academic Network at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Mr. Valeri Georgiev - Coordinator of the Regional Academic Centre in the city of Montana. Acad. Yachko Ivanov gave a presentation at the opening of the event.

27 researchers presented papers during the conference. The participants are affiliated with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, archives, museums and other institutions from Northwestern Bulgaria - Montana, Vidin, Vratsa and Lom. The scientific forum was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Institute of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. An exhibition was opened in the city of Montana and was presented by Assoc. Prof. Ivo Topalilov, PhD, Acting Head of the Centre of Thracology.

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences presented its latest editions on June 8, 2022 at the Mission Gallery. These are the album "101 Paintings from Bulgaria" in Bulgarian and in English, the collective volumes "Cities in the Balkans: Spaces, Faces, Memories" in Bulgarian and in English, and "Cinnabar - The Royal Colour in Thracian and Roman Cultures in the Bulgarian Lands”, as well as the jubilee edition ofStudia Tracica, prepared on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

During the event the director of IBSCT-BAS Prof. Roumiana Il. Preshlenova, PhD and the Director of the State Cultural Institute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria Mrs. Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova signed a memorandum of cooperation.