This is a paper presented at the meeting organized at Paris in 2012 to commemorate the 50 years of activity of the Center of Polish Culture at Sorbonne. The Center was organized by Bronislaw Geremek, an eminent Polish historian who played an important political role in the anti-communist movement many years later, and who became the Minister of Foreign Aff airs after the communism. Both Universities established the Center to facilitate contacts of Polish and French social scientists, difficult at the time of communism. The Polish communist government encouraged this endeavour to smooth the contacts with France, which seemed more independent from the United States than other Western countries. Polish social scientists used this political conjuncture to built contacts with their French colleagues, especially from the “Annales” school. Fernand Braudel wanted to know the Marxist historians
from the East and he appreciated the Polish historical school. The Poles seemed him more reasonable than Marxists from most other communist countries. Quai d’Orsay looked with relative optimism to changes in Poland after 1956, so they facilitated the implementation of Braudel’s ideas. Most probably, Warsaw University was the unique University in the Eastern bloc to have such a center in Paris already in 1962.
After the fall of communism the Polish-French contacts are not as important for Polish social scientists as they were before—for the simple reason that the contacts with most other countries are easy today. Let’s hope nevertheless that the Polish French common programs will continue....
Sarnowski, Tadeusz; Kovalevskaja, Ludmiła(Instytut Archeologii, Uniwersytet Warszawski, 2013)
During the fieldwork of 2012 carried out by the joint Ukrainian-Polish Protection Expedition we proceeded further with archaeological investigations on the ancient settlement activity in the Yukharine Ravine, situated in the Heraclean Peninsula within the agricultural territory (chora) of Crimean Chersonesos, divided into plots by Greek colonists in the Late Classical Period. This summer investigations took place only at two sites – 341 and 343 – containing the remains of countryside farmhouses.... Badania prowadzone w 2012 r. nad osadnictwem starożytnym w mikroregionie Wąwozu Jucharina, to jest w południowej części wiejskiego terytorium Chersonezu Taurydzkiego na Półwyspie Heraklejskim, były ograniczone do farm 341 i 343. Po oczyszczeniu stanowiska z pozostałościami zabudowy farmy 341 na północno-wschodnim stoku wąwozu z roślinności i śmieci, wykonano ukośne i pionowe zdjęcia lotnicze z latawca. Pozwoliły one ustalić przybliżone rozmiary powierzchni zajętej przez zabudowę prostokątnego obejścia (48×35 m). Na obszarze badanej w poprzednich latach farmy 343 pracami objęto przede wszystkim wieżę, w obrębie której odsłonięto pozostałości trzeciego okresu jej funkcjonowania. Materiał ceramiczny pochodzi głownie z II–III w. n.e. Na uwagę zasługuje znalezisko fragmentu kamiennej płytki (wotywnej?) z czterema literami imienia [’Aπο]λλοδ[ορος lub οτος], prawdopodobnie właściciela gospodarstwa....
Kołodziejczyk, Dariusz(Oficyna Wydawnicza Związku Karaimów Polskich, 2014)
Autor wspomina swoje kontakty z Zygmuntem Abrahamowiczem, nieżyjącym już znanym polskim turkologiem pochodzenia karaimskiego. Oprócz katalogu osmańskich dokumentów znajdujących się w polskich archiwach, Abrahamowicz wydał kilka osmańskich i krymskich tekstów historycznych, opatrując je bogatymi przypisami. Był on nie tylko znakomitym językoznawcą, lecz także historykiem. Wysunął, na przykład, nader przekonującą tezę, iż w 1683 r. Wielki Wezyr kara Mustafa nie zamierzał wziąć Wiednia szturmem, lecz miał nadzieję na poddanie miasta przez jego obrońców. Taka kapitulacja spowodowałaby, że łupy ze zdobytego miasta trafiłyby do sułtańskiego skarbca, podczas gdy w wypadku zdobycia miasta szturmem zostałyby przechwycone przez żołnierzy.... The author recalls his contacts with Zygmunt Abrahamowicz, the late,eminent Polish Turkologist of Karaite origin. In addition to the catalogue of Ottoman documents held in the Polish archives, Abrahamowicz edited several Ottoman and Crimean historical texts, providing them with rich annotations. He was not only a distinguished linguist, but also a historian. For instance, he formulated the highly persuasive hypothesis that, in 1683, Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa had not intended to take Vienna by general assault, as he was hoping instead for the capitulation of the besieged garrison there. Such a capitulation would have ensured that the spoils to be found in Vienna would have been guaranteed for the Ottoman treasury whereas in a general assault they would have been captured by the soldiers....
Synteza historii Danii w XX i początku XXI w. W rozdziale I skrót dziejów Danii w XVIII i XIX w. Synteza uwzględnia najważniejsze wydarzenia historii Danii w XX wieku, z naciskiem na historię społeczną i rozwój duńskiego modelu państwa dobrobytu....
Social studies and anthropology, based on ethnographical research, take for granted the role of large populous groups in defining ethnicity. Self-definitions of the group, as well as definition by others, are interpreted as the central issues regarding large groups. The paper aims to argue for the key-role of elite groups in self-identification and ethnic creation. Small groups of elite, by defining their own “ethnicity” decided it for larger groups. This hypothesis will be tested and illustrated by test cases of ethnogenesis in Iron Age Palestine....
The biblical passage concerning the siege of Jerusalem by David (2 Sam. 5:6-10), has drawn scholarly attention numerous times over the years. The formula of exclusion of the blind and lame from the Hebrew cult, which became popular in biblical literature, made this story particularly attractive. Despite the volumes of commentaries devoted to this passage there still remain alternative explanations and interpretations of the phrase that have not been sufficiently explored. To whit, it is possible that the passage contains words the original meaning of which have been forgotten. This article aims to explore the possibility of re-interpreting the saying about blind and lame in Jerusalem and its role, anew....