Frane Bulić (October 4, 1846 - July 29, 1934) was a Croatian priest, archaeologist, and historian.

Biography

Bulić was born in Vranjic (now part of

Solin Solin is a town and a suburb of Split, in Split-Dalmatia county, Croatia. It is situated right northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the river Jadro. Solin developed on the location of ancient city of ''Salona'', which was the capital o ...

), and studied theology in

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

and then classical

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and archeology in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He became the curator of the Split Archaeological Museum, and was entrusted with the conservation of cultural and historical antiquities over all of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. He was also active politically. He was elected the representative of the county of Split in the Dalmatian parliament and as representative of Dalmatia in the Imperial Council in Vienna. He withdrew from politics during the time 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 ...

, after the Sixth of January dictatorship proclaimed by Aleksandar Karađorđević in 1929. His archeological discoveries provided great contributions to the understanding of early

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and Croatian history in Dalmatia. Bulić led archaeological expeditions in many locations, but especially in

. He discovered a basilica within the local monastery which contained the buried martyrs Dujam and Venancije from the time of the Roman Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

. In 1891, he discovered a piece of stone which contained an inscription of the early Croatian ruler, knez Trpimir. In 1898 he found the sarcophagus of queen Jelena dating back to 976. Together with his associates, he succeeded in putting the writing on the damaged piece together to figure out the complete inscription. Historians consider this one of the most important documents of Croatian history in the Middle Ages because it provided information about the genealogy of Croatian kings. Also near Solin, Bulić discovered the foundations of the Church of Saint Mary and the Church of Saint Stephen, in which members of the Croatian ruling houses were buried, including king Mihajlo Krešimir II and his wife

Jelena of Zadar Helen of Zadar () (died 8 October 976), also known as Helen the Glorious (), was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Croatia, as the wife of King Michael Krešimir II, from 946 to 969, a period which was marked by "peace, order and expeditious ...

who was a benefactress of the churches. In 1894 Bulić founded the Bihać organization for the preservation of history from the age of Croatian national rulers. His reputation helped Split and Solin host the first International Congress of Christian Archaeology in 1894. He was also a member of many local and international archeological organizations. Bulić published many articles and books, the most notable of which are: ''Hrvatski spomenici u kninskoj okolici uz ostale suvremene dalmatinske iz doba narodne hrvatske dinastije'' (Croatian monuments in the Knin area and Dalmatia from the age of Croatian national dynasties), ''Palača cara Dioklecijana u Splitu'' (Palace of Emperor Diocletian in Split), ''Stopama hrvatskih narodnih vladara'' (The steps of the Croatian national rulers). Bulić died in 1934 in Zagreb. His funeral was conducted by bishops Kvirin Klement Bonefačić and Aloysius Stepinac.

Honours

Bulic was a Papal Chamberlain and he was awarded several orders and decorations, including Commander 2nd Class of the Royal Saxon Albrecht Order 23.03.1908

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulic, Frane 1846 births 1934 deaths People from Solin People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia Croatian Roman Catholic priests Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911) Croatian archaeologists 19th-century Croatian Roman Catholic priests 19th-century Croatian historians 20th-century Croatian historians Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts