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Following the Office for National Statistics' revision of GDP figures by 1.7% today, we thought it would be important to illustrate this precedent through satirical historical examples and the damage such sloppiness could cause.1. Edward Gibbon revised his figures to find that the Roman Empire did not in fact collapse, but instead expanded its border size by 2%, in the year that it was alleged to have fallen.2. It has been found that Vladimir Lenin celebrated prematurely at the fall of the Tzar and the rise of the Soviet Union by around 2 years, according to new revisions by historians.3. The great Khan, Genghis, has been found to have saved 100,000,000 lives, rather than prematurely ending them, as statisticians had confused the + and - signs in their calculations.4. New research by Historic England has found that Henry VIII had more wives than previously thought, which could result in a serious change in the way the Church of England functions.5. Abraham Wald's Bullet Hole Problem, according to new estimates, has been found to be misplaced. Armour was incorrectly applied to airplanes, leading an increase of 2% of casualties.6. The number of Popes has been revised by the Vatican. The Great Western Schism has been corrected to the Somewhat Discord, reducing the number of overall number of pontiffs.7. Protestants are in shock, as Martin Luther's 99 Theses has been revised to 97, fundamentally shaking the Western Order and theology as clerics and theologians know it. Indulgences are back on the table for the Church of England, plugging their fiscal gaps.8. Famous rapper Jay-Z has miscalculated how many problems he has, sending shockwaves through the charts.9. After new documents came to light, the 1922 Committee has discovered that it was founded in 1925, undermining a great deal of its power.10. The number of Disciples has reduced by 1, following a late night meeting of the ONS (the Office of Nazarene Studies). The revisions by the (actual) ONS are, of course, welcome news for all of us. However, this is a severe blow in confidence in the machinery of government - hopefully the ONS can take more accountability for its statistics, given how much they influence day-to-day government decision making.

The German position has played a central role in the European integration process from the earliest stages – both in the sense of strengthening and deepening integration and, especially after the adoption of the single currency, in that of imposing a particularly rigid economic and financial paradigm, while being accused by some member states of pursuing a hegemonic design that could even lead to a serious crisis in the Union. A heated debate has developed on this interpretation, not lacking in political polemics, which calls for a more in-depth assessment of the determinants of Bonn's and then Berlin's European policy, of the relationship between the choices considering integration and general lines of the German foreign policy as they develop. In addition, the theme of Reunification and, in parallel, of national identity, that have decisively conditioned the life of post‑1945 Germany, is crucial. In particular, it is interesting to note how Bonn made Western anchorage, both in the transatlantic and EU spheres, some of the cornerstones of its system, while at the same time, skilfully exploiting these choices to regain a place on the international scene. With reunification of 1990, Germany regained full sovereignty and tenaciously worked to assert its role as the continent's Zentralmacht (central power) – a role that has been characteristic of the Germanic world since the Holy Roman Empire. This determination, albeit in different tones and colours, has seen substantial continuity between the CDU/CSU, the Social Democrats and Greens, and then with the "Gro.e Koalitionen" led by Angela Merkel. "Extraordinary responsibility", "pivot", "engine", "vanguard", "centre of gravity" are the different definitions that chancellors and foreign ministers have used in the last 30 years to define Berlin's role within the European Union. Different expressions, but always intended to emphasise a special position and declined in such a way as to be useful to Germany's "Vitalinteressen", whether it was a question of the enlargement of the Union, its legal structure, the principle of subsidiarity or the creation of monetary union. It resulted, though not without contradictions, in a shift from the idea of "europaisches Deutschland" (European Germany) to that of "europaisches Deutschland in einem deutschen Europa" (European Germany in a German Europe). This contribution is devoted to the historical and political dynamics of this development.

Introduction. In the basilicas discovered on the Mangup plateau (fig. 3), in the Karalez valley (fig. 1) that begins at its foot and on Eski-Kermen (fig. 2, 1), inscriptions were found, the interpretation and dating of which caused many years of discussion. Some scientists considered them as evidence of the activities of the Eastern Roman Empire in the region in the 6th century, while other specialists doubted both such an interpretation of the inscriptions and their dating. Methods. To substantiate the chronology of the mentioned inscriptions, it is important to consider the formulas and linguistic features contained in them, as well as the stratigraphy recorded during the excavation of temples and the revealed dated closed ceramics complexes. Analysis. The text of the inscription with the name of Justinian I is correlated with the information of Procopius about the construction of the "Long Walls" in the Dory region at the behest of the emperor. Most likely, the inscription reported the construction of one of the "Long Walls" in the Karalez valley at the foot of Doros. It is possible that the stone (fig. 1) with the typical Byzantine graffiti with the formulas ΦΩС ΖΩΗ and κ(ύρι)ε βοήθ(ει...) was inserted into a wall of an apse of the basilica right after its construction in the Karalez valley in the second half of the 6th century. On a stone over the graffiti ΦΩС ΖΩΗ letters of the second graffiti "Ἰς νικᾷ" are cut out which means Ἰ(ησοῦ)ς (Χριστὸς) νικᾷ – "Jesus Christ wins". In Byzantium the images of a cross with the formula IC XC NI ΚΑ (Ἰ(ησοῦ)C Χ(ριστὸ)C Ν(ικ)Α) appeared at the iconoclast emperor Leo III (717–741) and were distributed in later time. Results. Undisputed evidence of Byzantium's activity in the region in the 6th century is only the fragment of a plate with a building inscription that means the emperor Justinian I found in a late slab grave at the basilica on Mangup. According to the stratigraphy, revealed in 1938 during the excavations of the Baptistry on Mangup, the graffiti (fig. 3) that caused a long discussion was carved on the back of the cornice in the second construction period not earlier than in the 9th century.

Introduction. The article is a critical essay about an attempt to translate the Constantine's treatise "De Administrando Imperio" into an artificially archaic "Pseudo-Slavic" language, made by R.A. Gimadeev. It is shown that his commentaries accompanying this translation are extremely primitive, the author does not follow scientific methods and he is not familiar with modern scientific literature. This is especially clearly seen, since this publication takes place against the backdrop of a fundamental rethinking in modern Byzantine studies of political history and the system of power organization in the "Eastern Roman Empire" of the 10th century. This rethinking of basic Byzantine issues is vastly based on the re-interpretations and new commenting of the classic text of "De Administrando Imperio".

Discussion. In recent years several special articles and monographs have been published, in which the questions about authorship, text structure, stylistics and ideology of the text of "De Administrando Imperio" and related subjects were re-posed.

Analysis. For a number of parameters, the text of the introduction and commentaries on the text of the treatise in this new edition made by R.A. Gimadeev is far from the standards of academic writing. His attempts to reason about the paleography of the manuscript and the text's structure are devoid of formal arguments and arbitrary rhetorical in their nature. The translation of the text into some artificial archaic "Slavic Russian Language" does not convey the pragmatics and stylistics of the original, but leads to a distortion of its perception. The uniformity of the principles of translating special vocabulary is not maintained: in some cases, the translator refuses the usual transliterations, in others – he introduces new ones. The publication practically does not take into account modern historiography, partly, apparently, intentionally, but often, out of unfamiliarity with the necessary studies. Perhaps, some ideas of R.A. Gimadeev will be confirmed and find application in the future, but all his observations require the most careful verification.

Conclusions. The considered attempt of a new reconstruction of the Greek text of the treatise and its translation by R.A. Gimadeev are not fully scientific and qualified. As a result, the new edition turned out to be a kind of historiographical deviation, especially evident against the background of modern studies of this masterpiece of Byzantine literature.

Spain is more commonly known as Andalusia, the Andalusia comes from the word Vandalusia, which means the country of the Vandals, because the southern part of the Peninsula was once ruled by the Vandals before they were defeated by Western Gothia in the fifth century. This area was ruled by Islam after the rulers of The Umayyah seized the peninsula's land from the West Gothies during the time of the Caliph Al-Walid ibn Abdul Malik. Islam entered Spain (Cordoba) in 93 AH (711 AD) through the North African route under the leadership of Tariq bin Ziyad who led the Islamic army to conquer Andalusia. Before the conquest of Spain, Muslims had taken control of North Africa and made it one of the provinces from the Umayyad Dynasty. Full control of North Africa took place in the days of Caliph Abdul Malik (685-705 AD). Conquest of the North African region first defeated until becoming one of the provinces of the Umayyad Caliph spent 53 years, starting from 30 H (Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan's reign) to 83 H (al-Walid's period). Before being defeated and then ruled by Islam, in this region there were sacs which became the basis of the power of the Roman Empire, namely the Gothic Kingdom. In the process of conquering Spain there were three Islamic heroes who could be said to be the most effective in leading units of troops there. They are Tharif ibn Malik, Tariq ibn Ziyad, and Musa ibn Nushair. Subsequent territorial expansion emerged during the reign of Caliph Umar ibn Abdil Aziz in the year 99 AH/717 AD, with the aim of controlling the area around the Pyrenian mountains and South France. The second largest invasion of the Muslims, whose movement began at the beginning of the 8th century AD, has reached all of Spain and reached far to Central France and important parts of Italy. The victories achieved by Muslims appear so easy. It cannot be separated from the existence of external and internal factors. During the conquest of Spain by Muslims, the social, political and economic conditions of this country were in a sad state. ...

In the early 4th century the Roman Empire suffered a number of important socio-political changes. TheEdict of Milan (313), having recognised in full the existence of the Church and its rights for worship, declaredreligions toleration, and put the end to the era of persecutions, but at the same time actualised and reinforced thestruggle of ideas between Christians and pagans. This controversy between Christians and pagans contributedimmensely to process of the becoming of Christian intellectual culture. In order to answer the most burningquestions and challenges of the time, the fathers of the Church deepened understanding and interpretation ofthe message of the Bible, created a large moral and ascetic literature, designed the dogmatic system. The mainpurpose of the present study is to specify the origins and main directions of patristic thought. In order to dothis I examine how fathers of the Church solve complex philosophical and theological issues, focusing on theepistemic aspect of the issue.According to the patristic tradition, the first step to acquire the true knowledge is to cleanse the self fromevery impurity of sin and passions. It is attained through keeping God's commandments and maintaining asceticefforts. The sign of correct spiritual growth is a specific ability to penetrate into nature of things, which thefathers call "διάκρισις". The fathers of the Church and Christian writers of the epoch recognise this ability asa religio-intuitive. One who receives this gift of divine grace becomes able of self-knowledge, distinguishingbetween good and evil, and understanding of the will of God. A Christian who possesses it becomes fully awareof personal spiritual condition, and as a result becomes capable to make the right choice of the way of salvation.There are two sources of the knowledge of God: natural (from the experience of being into the world) andsupernatural (divine revelation). The cognitive process therefore has two major aspects: sensual and speculative.The senses allow knowing God from his creation, as the mind or intellect enables man to contemplating ofincorporeal. The latter aspect enables one to self-knowledge or introspection and contemplation of the mind orsoul, which has been created in the image and likeness of God.The clarification of the Hellenophonic patristic discourse in 4th–6th centuries, on a large scale, allowsreconstructing another important phenomenon of this period, known as the "Golden Age" of Patristics.

This dissertation tracks the development of German political philosophy over the course of the first half of the seventeenth century, with an emphasis on the disciplinary, methodological, and pedagogical concerns of Politica writers. These figures produced large-scale technical textbooks on politics, which attempted to make sense of the chaotic civil sphere through the application of disciplinary structures. The main influences on their thought came from the sixteenth century: Aristotelianism, reason of state, natural law, and neostoicism were the competing traditions that they attempted to fit into comprehensive treatments of their subject. Generally, these thinkers have been organized by historians into schools divided by their political and confessional commitments. I argue that, while these factors were important, their disciplinary and methodological choices also decisively shaped their vision of politics, and indeed their positions on the critical questions of their day. I do this by focusing on four specific writers, one from each of the four faculties of the early modern university: Bartholomäus Keckermann from the arts faculty, Henning Arnisaeus from Medicine, Christoph Besold from Law, and Adam Contzen from Theology. I show how each Politica author's disciplinary background inflected their construction of politics as an academic discipline, and how this in turn shaped their opinions on the confessional and constitutional debates which were then fracturing the Holy Roman Empire. While the dissertation does focus on the differences among these figures, it also tracks a trajectory which they all participated in. I argue that their attempts to discipline politics as a subject resulted in the centering of the state as a disciplinary and administrative institution. Their motivation was to prevent political upheaval through the application of technical expertise, which meant that they were able to find ever more aspects of human life which required treatment under the rubric of political philosophy, because almost anything could be conceived of as either a threat or a source of strength for the political order. This in turn suggested a vastly expanded conception of the regulatory and disciplinary powers of the state. I thus contend that, although the Politica writers are mostly forgotten today, they represent a critical phase in the intellectual development of the idea of the state.

Ponencia recogida en las actas de los Cursos de Derecho Internacional y Relaciones Internacionales de Vitoria-Gasteiz organizados por la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad del País Vasco. ; Curso impartido por un profesor no jurista. El tema del Derecho tiene, por consiguiente, una dimensión secundaria. Los enfoques que se destacan son el histórico, el político y el cultural. El histórico es de largo alcance pues comenzamos con el Imperio romano en donde se produjo una discusión profunda entre la forma de gobernar unitaria o pluralista. La cuestión estuvo ligada a la religión hasta el siglo XIX. En el siglo XX, la Sociedad de las Naciones manifestó un interés por lo colectivo luego abandonado por las Naciones Unidas. El Consejo de Europa pretendió elaborar un proyecto de Protocolo al Convenio de los Derechos Humanos que no llegó a término. El nuevo planteamiento fue político: el del Decálogo de Helsinki. Tras la caída del telón de acero se llegó al perfeccionamiento en el Documento de Copenhague, llevado al plano jurídico en el Acuerdo-marco de Protección a las Minorías Nacionales y enriquecido por la faceta cultural en la Carta de las Lenguas Regionales o Minoritarias factor principal de identidad, en nuestros días, de las Minorías Nacionales. ; The trainer of this course is not a jurist; it means that law, in this perspective, is of a secondary importance. The approach in these lectures is historic, political and cultural. The historical approach covers a long spam of time coming from the Roman Empire when a lively discussion started between different ways of government, the Unitarian one and the Pluralistic. The case was link to religion up to the XIX century. In the XX century, The Society of Nations was interested in the collective approach, but this concept was abandoned very soon by the United Nations. The Council of Europe tried to elaborate a Protocol to the Agreement of the Human Rights but was not successful. The new approach was a Political one in the Helsinki Decalogue. After the fall of the so called Iron Curtain an understanding was achieved in the Document of Copenhagen that was given a juridical status in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and enriched by the cultural approach in The Chart of Regional / Minority Languages principal factor of identity, nowadays, for the National Minorities.

В статье приводится историческая справка о возникновении и распространении понятия «предпринимательство» со времен Римской империи и до нашего времени, а также позиции в этом вопросе французских, английских, русских экономистов XVI-XX веков. Более подробно оцениваются определения предпринимательства А. Маршалла, Й. Шумпетера, Г.К. Гинса. Авторы критически относятся к определению, приводимому в Гражданском кодексе РФ (ст. 2.1.), где лично-групповой целью предпринимательства является систематическое получение прибыли, в то время как цель этого вида деятельности развитие общественного производства отсутствует. В статье описывается опыт российских предпринимателей, которые, сочетая личные интересы с общественными, в короткий исторический период по ряду показателей привели Россию в начале XX в. в число самых передовых стран мира. В статье приводятся определения различных авторов, а также свое, более широкое понимание термина «предпринимательская деятельность». Авторами предлагается собственная классификация различных видов предпринимательской деятельности, их значимость. Обращается внимание на качества, которыми должны обладать предприниматели, и необходимость повышения социально-экономической результативности предпринимательской деятельности. ; The article includes the background of appearance and diffusion of the concept "entrepreneurship" from the times of Roman Empire to our times, as well as standpoints on this matter of French, English, and Russian economists of XVI-XX centuries. Moreover, definitions of entrepreneurship by A. Marshall, J. Schumpeter, G. C. Guins are analyzed in detail. The authors are critical about the definition included in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (article 2.1.), which states systemic receiving of profit as the personal and/or group purpose of the entrepreneurship, while the purpose of this kind of activity the development of public production is not included. The article outlines the experience of Russian entrepreneurs of the beginning of the XX century, who, having combined personal and public interests, in a short historic period brought Russia to the number of the most developed countries according to a number of indices. The article provides definitions of different scientists, as well the authors' own broader understanding of the term "entrepreneurial activity". The authors suggest their own classification of different kinds of entrepreneurial activity and their significance. The article draws attention to the qualities that the entrepreneurs must have and the necessity of increasing social-economic efficiency of the entrepreneurial activity.

В статье показано, что кризис Римской империи III в., обычно расцениваемый как прежде всего политический и экономический, не в меньшей степени выразился в упадке философских школ и обеднении христианства. По-видимому, из шести крупнейших философских школ, сложившихся еще в IV-III вв. до н.э., продолжали существование только три Академия, Ликей и Стоя. При этом деятельность их представителей почти полностью свелась к комментированию древнейшего философского наследия и написанию текстов, не имеющих прямого отношения к философии. Наблюдаются признаки сближения позиций академиков и перипатетиков, что завершится фактическим объединением этих школ к концу IV в. В христианстве перестают возникать новые церкви, а старые, нередко предлагавшие очень необычные варианты веры, теряют привлекательность в глазах новообращенных. Поскольку в дальнейшем возрождения философии в прежнем виде не произошло, можно говорить о том, что именно третье столетие более чем какое-либо другое может считаться границей, разделяющей Античность и Средние века. Тем не менее немногочисленные яркие представители философии и христианства этого времени (Плотин, Порфирий, Мани, Ориген, Савеллий) оказали большое влияние на последующую философскую мысль. ; The article illustrates that the Roman Empire crisis in the third century A.D. usually considered as political and economic was to no lesser extent expressed in the decline of philosophy and impoverishment of Christianity. Apparently, only three philosophical schools out of the six largest ones established in the IV-III centuries B.C. survived Academy, Lyceum and Stoa. At the same time, the activity of their representatives was almost completely reduced to commenting on ancient philosophical heritage and on writing texts that had no direct relationship to philosophy. There were signs of some rapprochement between academic and peripatetic philosophers, which resulted in the actual merge of these schools by the end of the IV century. In Christianity, new churches no longer arose, and the old ones, which often offered very unusual kinds of faith, ceased to be attractive for proselytes. There was no subsequent philosophic revival; therefore, one could conclude that indeed the third century could be regarded as the boundary between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Nonetheless, the few brilliant thinkers of this period (Plotinus, Porphyry, Mani, Origen, Sabellius) had a big influence on subsequent philosophy and Christianity.

Статья посвящена вопросу исторических корняей современного международного терроризма. Автор анализирует эволюцию политического, преимущественно международного, насилия в Древнем мире. Показано, что насильственные методы политического воздействия активно использовались в то время. Терроризм, как способ управления обществом, был известен государствам Древнего Египта, античным полисам, Римской империи; террор носил государственный, легальный характер. Именно тогда складывались предпосылки и формировались элементы терроризма как социально-политического явления. ; The article is devoted to the historical roots of modern international terrorism. The author analyzes the evolution of the political, mostly international, violence in the ancient world. The article shows that the violent methods of political influence were widely used in ancient times. Terrorism, as a way of managing society, was known states of ancient Egypt, ancient city, the Roman Empire. It is shown that the terror mostly worn state, the legal character at a time. It is proved that the premises and the elements of terrorism as a socio-political phenomenon evolved in ancient times, but do not have to talk about the independent nature of terrorism in that period of history. Some people find it in the violent activities of the ancient signs of terrorist activity. This view is not undisputed. Political violence existed in ancient times as a rather amorphous, devoid of internal structure, targeted nature of the phenomenon. There is no doubt that the old political struggle was accompanied by violent actions, but to talk about the independent nature of terrorism in that time is artificially isolate him, to give him an inflated political and legal assessment. The ancients were familiar with the state revolts, coups overbearing, liberation performances criminal murders, other violent acts that attended some signs of terrorist acts. However, they were deprived of core trait of terrorism – they were not aimed at the implementation of a major terrorist targets: the impact of political power through the creation of a climate of fear in the community. Society was not ready to accept a terrorist sending information. Prerequisites out: large social groups are not formed, social and ethnic identity was not generated, social ties were formed. Thus, it appears that in the ancient world, it is logical to speak only about the elements of terrorism in political and legal practice, the process of formation of terrorism as an independent phenomenon.

AbstractContemporary problems are often complicated by values intruding into the arena of material systems. But there have always been values in biology and social science because they are required to assess how biosocial structures have models embodying purpose as an issue separate from the models of the scientists. Values are addressed seriously in economic discourses, and other discussions will benefit from paying attention to how the dismal science does that. Economic notions of profit have values embedded in them in a way that generally does not occur in ecology and the other natural sciences. Here we generalize profit as gain in settings beyond strict economics in a way that encourages placing values properly in biological and historical social systems. Complications of elaborate control quickly enter the scene at this point and in this paper we invoke hierarchy theory to keep levels of analysis straight. Hierarchy theory often invokes dualities and a mix of process and structure that is fluid under changes in level of analysis. Beyond this, the things the hierarchy represents changes over time, so we must extend discourse of level of analysis to include how time forces the use of new levels of analysis as hierarchies change over time. Notions of gain and profit are recursive as the system uses resources and must change strategies to deal with scarcity. This in turn forces increases in efficiency in yet a new round of change. The transition from abundant resources used carelessly to scarce resources used efficiently changes controls in biosocial systems. Such changes over time amount to hierarchical restructuring, which in turn requires of the observer meticulous application of new levels of analysis as the system is redefined. The system bounded at a new hierarchical level encounters dualities embedded in the hierarchical concept of the holon. The holon offers a precision of definition of the new system as it exists as an autonomous whole while still being part of some larger system. We introduce these shifts and dualities using examples from nuclear energy, colonial insects and changes in complex societies such as the Roman Empire and the EU. In the end both ideas of profit and hierarchy theory are clarified in a two‐way exchange that moves forward our understanding of biosocial systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Статья посвящена проблеме соответствия возможностей использования мифа о блаженном прошлом политической пропагандой в различные периоды античной истории. В качестве примеров выбраны сюжеты, которые, по мнению автора, наиболее выделяются из общей традиции сравнение тирании Писистрата с "жизнью при Кроносе" и "золотой век", объявленный Коммодом. Проанализировав оба источника, сообщающих о сравнении времени Писистрата с "жизнью при Кроносе", автор приходит у выводу о более позднем происхождении этой традиции, что исключает возможность говорить об использовании самим Писистратом мифа о "жизни при Кроносе" в пропагандистских целях. "Золотой век Коммода", наоборот, явился плодом использования популярного мифа со стороны императора. Причем Коммод пытался отождествить свое правление именно с фольклорным вариантом мифа о "золотом веке". Различие пропаганды двух рассмотренных эпох автор связывает как с особенностями трактовки мифа о блаженном прошлом в эти эпохи, так и с различными историческими условиями. Одно из таких важнейших различий, по мнению автора, отсутствие в архаической Греции представления о верховном правителе как о "подателе благ", в то время как в Римской империи наступление нового "золотого века" было связано с именем императора. ; The article is devoted to the problem of conformity of possibilities to use the myth of the blessed past in political propaganda during different periods of antiquity. As patterns two most outstanding subjects was chosen comparison Peisistratos' tyranny with the "life under Kronos" and the golden age proclaimed by Commodus. Analyzing both sources, which say about comparison Peisistratos' time with the "life under Kronos", the author makes a conclusion of latest origin of this tradition. It excludes the possibility to say that Peisistratos himself used the myth of the "life under Kronos" in his propaganda. "Golden age" of Commodus, on the contrary, was a result of using the popular myth by the emperor. More than that, Commodus tried to identify his reign with the folk variant of the myth. The author links the differences between both epochs with peculiarities of the interpretations of the myth in these epochs and with the different historical conditions. One of them is the absence of the notion of the supreme ruler as a "goods-giver", when in Roman Empire the coming of the new "golden age" was associated with the emperor.

Preliminary Material -- Introduction /Krzysztof Ulanowski -- War in Mesopotamian Culture /Pietro Mander -- Some Remarks Concerning the Development of the Theology of War in Ancient Mesopotamia /Vladimir Sazonov -- Battle-Descriptions in Mesopotamian Sources i: Presargonic and Sargonic Period /Sebastian Fink -- A Comparison of the Role of Bāru and Mantis in Ancient Warfare /Krzysztof Ulanowski -- Eclipses and the Precipitation of Conflict: Deciphering the Signal to Attack /Micah Ross -- War and Religion in Ancient Greece /Robert Parker -- The Terrified Face of Alcyoneus: The Religious Character of Greek Warfare, or What about the Vanquished? /Bogdan Burliga -- The Burning of Greek Temples by the Persians and Greek War-Propaganda /Eduard Rung -- Weather, Luck and the Divine in Thucydides /Rachel Bruzzone -- Xenophon's Piety within the Hipparchikos /Simone Agrimonti -- The Mounted Torch-Race at the Athenian Bendideia /Nicholas Sekunda -- Like Gods among Men. The Use of Religion and Mythical Issues during Alexander's Campaign /Borja Antela-Bernárdez -- Defence and Offence in the Egyptian Royal Titles of Alexander the Great /Ivan Ladynin -- Egyptian Warriors: Machimoi, in Coroplastic Art—Selected Examples /Sławomir Jędraszek -- Clenar larans etnam svalce: Myth, Religion, and Warfare in Etruria /Joshua R. Hall -- The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Campus Martius: Peace and War, Antinomic or Complementary Realities in the Roman World /Dan-Tudor Ionescu -- The Religious Legitimation of War in the Reign of Antoninus Pius /André Heller -- Roman Soldiers in Official Cult Ceremonies: Performance, Participation and Religious Experience /Tomasz Dziurdzik -- Religious Aspects of the Bar Kokhba Revolt: The Founding of Aelia Capitolina on the Ruins of Jerusalem /Boaz Zissu and Hanan Eshel -- Index of Authors.

The article describes the image of nomads in the writings of the early medieval Roman and Byzantine authors. It focuses on the Huns and Avars, who attacked the provinces of the empire as well as the Turks, who had established diplomatic relations with the Byzantine Empire in the 5thcentury. The Roman reception of the alien and little-known nomadic civilization has been analyzed. It is stated that the Byzantines were almost unfamiliar with the way of life, religious beliefs and exterior appearance of the eastern barbarians. That is why most of the early data was based on the legendary sources. After the diplomatic relations had been established the information flow increased sufficiently. However the attitude to the alien cultures remained hostile. This disrespect is visible in the works of almost all the early Byzantine authors. It reflects the state of public opinion which was based on the entirely different mindset and the way of life than that of the nomadic peoples. It should be noted that the barbarians themselves actively encouraged their negative image in the Roman eyes by carrying out their marauding raids on the imperial provinces, their violation of treaties, absence of loyalty etc. In conclusion it is stated that the problem of nomadic and sedentary societies' interaction stretches back to the ancient times. The territory of the present day Ukraine for a long period of time was the place where the cultural interaction between the nomadic and sedentary peoples took place. In this vein, this problem remains very important and relevant for our understanding of the ethnic, political and cultural history of the Eastern Europe. ; У статті висвітлено образ варварів-кочовиків періоду раннього середньовіччя у грекомовних творах римських та візантійських авторів. Йдеться про гунів та аварів, які становили безпосередню загрозу для імперії, а також алтайських тюрків, котрі мали дипломатичні відносини з Візантією у VI ст. Аналізується сприйняття ромеями чужої, маловідомої кочової цивілізації. Про спосіб життя, релігійні вірування, зовнішність східних варварів візантійці майже нічого не знали. Саме тому більшість ранніх свідчень про них базувалась на легендах і переказах. Після налагодження дипломатичних стосунків інформації стало більше, але залишилось неприязне, зверхнє ставлення до чужорідної культури. Ця зневажливість простежується в працях майже всіх ранньовізантійських авторів і відображає ставлення суспільства, яке базувалося на зовсім інших принципах світосприйняття, ніж у кочових народів з північного сходу. Слід зауважити, що самі варвари активно підтримували свій негативний імідж в очах ромеїв порушенням договорів, періодичними набігами на візантійські провінції, обманом, підступністю тощо. Проблема взаємодії кочової та осілої цивілізацій не є новою, а тягнеться ще з античних часів. І усталений образ варварів в очах римлян-ромеїв, сформований ще в давнину, дуже міцно утвердився в західній ментальності осілих народів Європи та активно використовувався і в подальші століття. Українські території здавна були плацдармом для міжцивілізаційної взаємодії кочового та осілого світу, тож ця проблема є дуже важливою й актуальною для кращого розуміння етнополітичних, культурних та державотворчих процесів на наших землях.