Božidar Ferjančić ( sr-cyr, Божидар Ферјанчић; 17 February 1929 – 28 June 1998) was a

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 ...

n historian, a specialist in medieval Serbian history and the later

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

empire. He was member 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 ...

Biography

Ferjančić was born in Belgrade, at the time part of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

. Ferjančić graduated with distinction from the Faculty of Philosophy at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

in History in 1953 and after additional study at the same university, he received his doctorate in 1960 with a dissertation entitled ''Despots in Byzantium and the Lands of the South Slavs''. He then taught at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Philosophy. He advanced rapidly and in 1965 was made associate professor and in 1970 professor. In 1973 he assumed the chairmanship of the Institute for Byzantine Studies after

George Ostrogorsky George Alexandrovich Ostrogorsky (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Георгије Александрович Острогорски, Georgije Aleksandrovič Ostrogorski; 19 January 1902 – 24 October 1976) was a Russian-born Yugoslavian historian and Byzantin ...

's retirement, a post Ferjančić occupied until his death in 1998. In 1977 he became the director of the institute, a post held by Ostrogorsky before he died in 1976. Ferjančić was made corresponding member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1978 and a regular member in 1988. He died on 28 June (''

Vidovdan Vidovdan (, ) is a Serbian national and religious holiday, a ''slava'' (feast day) celebrated on 28 June (Gregorian calendar), or 15 June according to the Julian calendar. The Serbian Church designates it as the memorial day to ''Saint Prince ...

'') in Belgrade.

Work

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References

20th-century Serbian historians Serbian Byzantinists University of Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy alumni 1929 births 1998 deaths Members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts Balkan studies Serbian medievalists Yugoslav historians {{Serbia-historian-stub Scholars of Byzantine history