Konstantin Josef Jireček (24 July 1854 10 January 1918) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

historian, politician, diplomat, and

Slavist Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...

. He was the founder of Bohemian Balkanology (or Balkan Studies) and

Byzantine studies Byzantine studies is an interdisciplinary branch of the humanities that addresses the history, culture, demography, dress, religion/theology, art, literature/epigraphy, music, science, economy, coinage and politics of the Eastern Roman Empire. ...

, and wrote extensively on Bulgarian and Serbian history. Jireček was also a minister in the government of the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...

for a couple of years.

Life

Jireček was the son of Czech historian Josef Jireček (1825–1888) and Božena, a daughter of Slovak philologist Pavel Jozef Šafárik (1795–1861). His family was deeply involved in

Slavistics Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was ...

. Jireček was raised in Vienna and enrolled in the 1864–1872 period at Theresianum, a prestigious preparatory school in Vienna. During his education, he became very interested in and studied several foreign languages (French, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Italian, Russian, English, Hungarian, Turkish and Greek). In 1872, he became a student at the Philological Faculty at the University of Prague, where he studied history and modern philology. At this time, his nearest friends included French historian Ernest Denis (1849–1921) and the sons of Bulgarian theatre director and actor Krastyo Pishurka. In 1874, he took a study trip to Croatia-Slavonia and

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, after which he published several essays on the history and traditions of the South Slavic countries. In 1876, he had his first book published, the ''History of the Bulgarians'', a historiographical work spanning the medieval Bulgarian state foundation to the Ottoman conquest, which attracted great attention to the 22-year-old historian. This was due to the European public's interest in the April Uprising of the Bulgarian people, a people little known in Europe at the time. For his dissertation on the history of the Bulgarians, Jireček was awarded the title of doctor in philosophy in 1876. In 1877, his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

work was divided between

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

and

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(Serbia). After the end of the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...

, which saw the re-establishment of the Bulgarian state, he helped construct the administration, school system and economy in the newly founded

. In 1879, he was employed by the Bulgarian government, and from May to July 1881 he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, then until 1882 as Minister of Science. In 1884, he was appointed director of the National Library in Sofia. During his stay, he devoted himself to research in Balkanology and Byzantine Studies. He published his results in numerous studies and monographs. Overall Konstantin Jireček made significant contributions to the establishment of a modern educational system and overall social change in Bulgaria in the first years after the creation of the modern state in 1878. From 1884 to 1893, he taught universal history as a full professor at the

Charles University in Prague Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the oldest universities in the world in continuous operation, the oldest university north of the ...

. After that, he was a professor of Slavic philology at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

until his death in 1918. Carl Patsch succeeded the office at Vienna.

Work

The bulk of Jireček's writings deal with the history of the

South Slavs South Slavs are Slavic people who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...

and their literature. They notably include a ''History of the

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

'' (Czech and German, 1876), ''History of

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

s'', ''The Principality of Bulgaria'' (1891), ''Travels in Bulgaria'' (Czech, 1888), etc. He mostly wrote in German. *''History of the Bulgarians'' (; ), published in Prague in 1876 *''Die altböhmischen Gedichte der Grünberger und Königinhofer. Handschrift im Urtexte und in deutscher Uebersetzung''. Prag: Rivnac, 1879. *''Die Handelsstrassen und Bergwerke von Serbien und Bosnien während des Mittelalters: historisch-geographische Studien''. Prag: Verlag der Königlich Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 1879 *''Einige Bemerkungen über die Überreste der Petschenegen und Kumanen sowie über die Völkerschaften der sogenannten Gagauzi und Surguči im heutigen Bulgarien''. Prag: Verlag der Königlich Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, 1889. *''Die Heerstrasse von Belgrad nach Constantinopel und die Balkanpässe''. Prag: Tempsky, 1877. * *''Poselství republiky Dubrovnické k císařovně Kateřině v roce 1771''. Prag, 1893. *''Das christliche Element in der topographischen Nomenclatur der Balkanländer''. Wien: Gerold, 1897 *''Staat und Gesellschaft im mittelalterlichen Serbien. Studien zur Kulturgeschichte des 13.-15. Jahrhunderts''. Wien 1912 (Fotomechanischer Nachdruck Leipzig: Zentralantiquariat der DDR, 1974) * (Nachdruck Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1967) * (Nachdruck Amsterdam: Hakkert, 1967) * *

Honours

Jireček Point on Smith Island in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after Jireček. In

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, Mount Jireček, the third highest peak of the

Rila Rila (, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an e ...

mountain range, as well as two villages, also bear his name. A journal of the

Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (; , SANU) is a national academy and the most prominent academic institution in Serbia, founded in 1841 as Society of Serbian Letters (, DSS). The Academy's membership has included Nobel Prize, Nobel la ...

bears his name ( sr-Cyrl, Зборник Константина Јиречека). Also, streets in Novi Sad and Belgrade are named ''Jirečekova'' after him.

In fiction

Jireček appears as a minor character in one of Aleko Konstantinov's satirical feuilletons centred on the fictional character of Bay Ganyo where the protagonist visits him in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, looking for shelter and discussing politics.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * Nachev, Ivaylo. Konstantin Jireček and the Outset of Modern Institutions in Bulgaria, 1879–84. In: Transforming Southeast Europe During the Long 19th Century Persons and Personalities.

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jirecek, Konstantin 1854 births 1918 deaths 19th-century Czech historians Historians from Austria-Hungary 19th-century politicians 19th-century linguists Czech Byzantinists Austrian Byzantinists 20th-century Austrian historians Diplomats from Austria-Hungary Austrian politicians Conservative Party (Bulgaria) politicians Linguists of Slavic languages Linguists from Austria Austrian people of Czech descent Austrian people of Slovak descent Expatriates in Bulgaria Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Academic staff of Charles University Academic staff of the University of Vienna Writers from Vienna Historians of Serbia Balkan studies Historians of Bulgaria Scholars of Byzantine history Foreign members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts