Nicolae P. Bănescu (December 16, 1878 – September 11, 1971) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n historian, elected a titular member of the

Romanian Academy The Romanian Academy ( ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life. According to its bylaws, the academy's ma ...

in 1936. He was born in

Călărași Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest. It is one of six Romanian county se ...

, the third of 14 children of Petre Bănescu, a lawyer, and his wife Ecaterina, née Drăgulănescu. After spending his childhood in Găești, he attended from 1889 to 1996 the Saint Sava High School in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

. He pursued his studies at the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, graduating in 1901, after which he taught at the Carol I High School in

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

and the I.C. Brătianu High School in

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

. In 1907, he was appointed by Spiru Haret, the Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Instruction, school inspector in

Argeș County Argeș County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Muntenia, with the county seat at Pitești. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2021 census, the county had a population of 569,932 and the population density was . At the 2011 Ro ...

and then in Bucharest and, at the same time, director and teacher at Dimitrie Cantemir High School and teacher at

Matei Basarab Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was the voivode (prince) of Wallachia from 1632 to 1654. Reign Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1 ...

, Gheorghe Lazăr, and Saint Sava high schools. From 1910 to 1912 Bănescu attended the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, where he obtained his Ph.D. degree in

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. ...

in July 1914, with thesis ''Die Entwicklung des griechischen Futurums von der frühbyzantinischen Zeit bis zur Gegenwart'' written under the direction of August Heisenberg. From 1912 to 1914 he was director of the in

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște'') is a Municipiu, city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița (river), Ialomița River. Târgoviște was ...

and in the summer of 1913 he participated in the

Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...

as officer in the reserves. When Romania entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1916 on the side of the Allies, he joined the

Romanian Land Forces The Romanian Land Forces () is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. Since 2007, full professionalization and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Land Forces. The Romanian Land Force ...

as a lieutenant. From 1917 to 1918 he was the director of studies at the military academy in Dorohoi. In 1919 he was named professor of Byzantine studies at the University of Cluj; from 1924 to 1926, he was rector of the university and in 1928, he served as director of the Cluj National Theatre. In 1938, he joined the Byzantine studies department at the

, which he headed until his retirement in 1946. After the assassination of Nicolae Iorga in 1940, he headed the Institute of Byzantine Studies and the until 1948. Bănescu was elected corresponding member of the Romania Academy in 1920, and titular member in 1936; from 1946 to 1948 he served as vice-president of the Academy. Along with more than 100 other members, he was purged from the Academy in 1948 by the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

, but he was restored to the academy in 1990, after he died in

in 1971, at age 92. A street in Craiova is named after him.

Works

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banescu, Nicolae 1878 births 1971 deaths People from Călărași Saint Sava National College alumni University of Bucharest alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni Romanian schoolteachers Heads of schools in Romania Romanian military personnel of the Second Balkan War Romanian military personnel of World War I 20th-century Romanian historians Romanian Byzantinists Academic staff of Babeș-Bolyai University Rectors of Babeș-Bolyai University Academic staff of the University of Bucharest Titular members of the Romanian Academy