Thracology ( bg, Тракология, Trakologiya; ro, Tracologie) is the scientific study of
Ancient Thrace and
Thracian
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
antiquities and is a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of
ancient history
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
and
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. A practitioner of the discipline is a Thracologist. Thracology investigates the range of ancient Thracian culture (language, literature, history, religion, art, economics and ethics) from 1000 BC up to the end of
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
rule in the 4th–7th centuries AD. Modern Thracology (as opposed to an
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
interest in the land of Thrace) started with the work of
Wilhelm Tomaschek
Wilhelm Tomaschek, or Vilém Tomášek (May 26, 1841, Olomouc – September 9, 1901, Vienna) was a Czech-Austrian geographer and orientalist. He is known for his work in the fields of historical topography and historical ethnography. in the late 19th century.
Thracology in Bulgaria
In the second part of the 20th century, Bulgarian historian
Alexander Fol
Alexander Fol ( bg, Александър Фол) (born in Sofia, Bulgaria on July 3, 1933; died in Sofia on March 1, 2006) was a Bulgarian historian and Thracologist. In 1957, he studied history at the University of St. Kliment Ohridski in Sofia ...
founded the Institute of Thracology in the
Bulgarian Academy of Science. With subsequently ever-increasing Thracian tombs unearthing, the study of the Ancient Thracian civilization was able to proceed with greater academic rigor.
Thracology in Romania
Since
Dacians
The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...
are considered a branch of the
Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...
by most mainstream research and historical sources,
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
historians and archaeologists have also been heavily involved in Thracology since at least the 19th century. The related term Thraco-Dacology also exists, alluding to
Thraco-Dacian
The linguistic classification of the ancient Thracian language has long been a matter of contention and uncertainty, and there are widely varying hypotheses regarding its position among other Paleo-Balkan languages. It is not contested, however, t ...
, and one of the first uses is from around 1980, in the Romanian government archive.
But since other theories sustain that Daco-Thracian relation is not as strong as originally thought,
Dacology
Dacology ( ro, Dacologie) is a branch of Thracology which focuses on the scientific study of Dacia and Dacian antiquities and is a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of ancient history and archaeology. A practitioner of the ...
may evolve as an independent discipline from Thracology.
Unfortunately, the terms ''Dacology/Dacologist'' have been negatively affected by the association with
protochronism and risk to be severely compromised, prompting some reputable Romanian researchers to call themselves Thracologists instead of Dacologists, even in the context of their research being focused more on Dacians than on Thracians, and even without necessarily promoting a strong connection between the two peoples.
The ''Romanian Thracology Institute I.G Bibicescu'', part of
Romanian Academy and based in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
, was founded in 1976, after the 2nd ''International Congress of Thracology'' held in September of same year in Bucharest. One of his first directors was the thracologist
Dumitru Berciu (1907–1998).
Thracologists
Researchers who have been noted in the field of Thracology include:
*
Gavril Katsarov
Gavril Iliev Katsarov ( bg, Гаврил Илиев Кацаров) was a Bulgarian historian, classical philologist and archeologist. Rector of Sofia University. Director of the National Archaeological Museum and the Bulgarian Archeological Inst ...
– Bulgarian historian, classical philologist and archeologist
*
Vladimir I. Georgiev
Vladimir Ivanov Georgiev (Bulgarian: Владимир Иванов Георгиев) (1908–1986) was a prominent Bulgarian linguist, philologist, and educational administrator.
Biography
Vladimir Georgiev was born in the Bulgarian village of Ga ...
– Bulgarian linguist
*
Georgi Kitov – Bulgarian archaeologist
*
Alexander Fol
Alexander Fol ( bg, Александър Фол) (born in Sofia, Bulgaria on July 3, 1933; died in Sofia on March 1, 2006) was a Bulgarian historian and Thracologist. In 1957, he studied history at the University of St. Kliment Ohridski in Sofia ...
– Bulgarian Thracologist
*
Ion Niculiţă
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
– Moldavian archaeologist
*
Sorin Olteanu Sorin may refer to any one of the following:
People
*Sorin (given name), a Romanian masculine name
*Edward Sorin (1814–1893), American priest, founder of the University of Notre Dame and St. Edwards University
* Herbert I. Sorin (1900–1994), Ne ...
– Romanian Thracologist, focused on Thraco-Daco-Moesian languages
*
Engin Beksac
Engin is a given name and a surname. In Turkish Engin means profound, broad, extensive, depth. Notable persons with that name include:
Persons with the given name
* Engin Akyürek (born 1981), Turkish actor
* Engin Alan (born 1945), Turkish gener ...
– Turkish archaeologist and art historian
*
Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu – Romanian Daco-Thracologist and historian
*
Ion I. Russu
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conven ...
- Romanian Daco-Thracologist and historian
*
Dumitru Berciu – Director of the Romanian Thracology Institute
*
Margarita Tacheva
Margarita Tacheva ( bg, Маргарита Тачева; June 4, 1936 – December 18, 2008) was an eminent Bulgarian historian, a full professor in ancient history
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and record ...
– Bulgarian Thracologist
International Congress of Thracology
The ''International Congress of Thracology'' was organised by the Institute of Thracology at the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869.
The Academy ...
. It has been held regularly since 1972 when it was founded by Alexander Fol. Fol himself became the chairman of the congress, and emphasized an international approach to the study of Thracology.
Thracians and Myceneans
On September 21–26, 1984, the Fourth International Congress of Thracology was held in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, Netherlands. The Congress was organized by the Henri Frankfort Foundation, which is a private institution whose main purpose is to augment the study of Mediterranean pre-history and proto-history. The opening of the symposium began on September 24 and was addressed by the Minister of Education and Science Dr. W. J. Deetman. "Thracians and Mycenaeans" was the theme name for the symposium, which held discussions pertaining to the potential ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic interrelations between proto-Thracians and proto-Greeks (i.e.
Myceneans). It was believed that such interrelations had to exist since both groups have lived in the same geographic area in the past. According to
Alexander Fol
Alexander Fol ( bg, Александър Фол) (born in Sofia, Bulgaria on July 3, 1933; died in Sofia on March 1, 2006) was a Bulgarian historian and Thracologist. In 1957, he studied history at the University of St. Kliment Ohridski in Sofia ...
, the concept of "Mycenean Thrace" was first developed in 1973 in order to explain the relative cultural unity between the Thracians and the Myceneans.
[.]
See also
*
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869.
The Academy ...
*
Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...
*
Thracian language
The Thracian language () is an extinct and poorly attested language, spoken in ancient times in Southeast Europe by the Thracians. The linguistic affinities of the Thracian language are poorly understood, but it is generally agreed that it was ...
*
Thracian mythology
The Thracian religion refers to the mythology, ritual practices and beliefs of the Thracians, a collection of closely related ancient Indo-European peoples who inhabited eastern and southeastern Europe and northwestern Anatolia throughout antiquit ...
*
Thracian kings
*
Thracian tribes
*
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
*
Dacology
Dacology ( ro, Dacologie) is a branch of Thracology which focuses on the scientific study of Dacia and Dacian antiquities and is a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of ancient history and archaeology. A practitioner of the ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
{{commons, Ancient Thrace and Ancient Thracians
Institute of Thracology – Bulgarian Academy of Science – Institute of Thracology Official Site
– Sonya Ilieva's Web Page About Ancient Thrace and Thracology
Thracology.org– A site dedicated to the enigmatic ancient Thracian civilization
Thracology Scientific Lab of State University of Moldova* http://www.imadrugpat.org/krovatova.pdf
Area studies by ancient history
Archaeology of Bulgaria
Archaeology of Romania