Ivo Topalilov | Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (original) (raw)

Papers by Ivo Topalilov

The article deals with the perception of the tribe Papiria in the nomenclature of the Roman civic... more The article deals with the perception of the tribe Papiria in the nomenclature of the Roman civics in two Trajanic colonies in Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior-col(onia) Ulp(ia) Tra(iana) Rat(iariensium) and col(onia) Ulp(ia) Oescensium respectively. Although located close geographically and with a few common traits of their historical development, some discrepancies appeared in the topic which are discussed. The inscriptions provide, although scanty, some information on the tribe affiliation of the civic and religious colonial elite, augustales coloniae as well as the tribe affiliation as a part of a certain ornamenta. All this allows to establish the Roman tribe as an important social marker and for prestige in the Roman civic community, and can therefore serve in the Roman provinces as a sign of the progress of urbanization and Romanization. Certainly, the observations made are preliminary due to the scanty evidence available so far for various reasons.

The present paper deals with the origin of the mosaic ateliers that were involved in the construc... more The present paper deals with the origin of the mosaic ateliers that were involved in the construction of the second mosaic pavement of the Metropolitan Basilica of Philippopolis, Thrace, dated in the 450s-460s. The analysis of the iconographic programme and of the style allows the identification of four mosaic ateliers: one, probably, metropolitan atelier, two provincial ones, that were strongly, influenced by Constantinopolitan artistic circles, and a local atelier.

The present paper deals with the mosaic pavements that embellished the public buildings, semi-pub... more The present paper deals with the mosaic pavements that embellished the public buildings, semi-public and private houses between the 80s of 4 th c. and the first two decades of 5 th c. in the two most important cities in late antique province of Thrace-Philippopolis and Augusta Traiana that are unearthed so far. This was a period of great significance for the mosaic development in both cities which though developed in different way until that time, were now united with the use of the full geometrization. Although already entered in the private mosaic pavements in Thrace in the time of the Tetrarchy, the full geometric composition did not receive wide acceptance in the aulae of the private houses and the figural compositions with real emblema or pseudo-emblem are persistent. The inclusion of the Christianity into the new imperial ideology in the time of Theodosius I and Arcadius and the establishment of the symphonia between the State and Church reflected on the importance of the Christian bishop, but also impacted on the stylistic development of the mosaic art in both cities with the abrupt abandonment of any other compositions and motifs than the geometric in order to avoid any link with the paganism and its art. The examples studied reveal that the full, 'orthodox' geometric composition and motifs, with humble colouring, were distributed in the private houses of the Christian clergy, while these geometric mosaics with the inclusion of few specific symbols-in the Christian basilicas, related to the liturgical need. It is without any doubt that the mosaic pavements in the Christian basilicas inspired the mosaic pavement decoration of the aulae of the elites in both cities since the middle of 5 th c. onward and therefore the Christianity dominating the official and private culture. At last, but not at least are the figural compositions that with the inclusion of specific Christian symbols gained Christian connotation. The present study reveals the still underestimated importance of the mosaic pavements for the study of the development of the political process in Thrace in the Late antiquity and link them with specific historical events as it is attested also elsewhere.

It is assumed that marine mosaics were among the most popular mosaic pavements across the Roman E... more It is assumed that marine mosaics were among the most popular mosaic pavements across the Roman Empire, particularly in thermal baths and triclinia. It has therefore been thought unsurprising that marine mosaics widely appear in Early Christian art. Late antique Thrace does not appear to be an exception to this trend, although few examples of such mosaics have been discovered so far. This article addresses all three examples from a villa suburbana in Serdica region as well as other examples from houses in Philippopolis and Augusta Traiana. All dated to the 4th century, these mosaic pavements hold different iconography that suggest that in the marine theme was not among the most popular themes that spread in Late Antique mosaics in the cities of inner Thrace. Instead, their use is attributable to specific historical circumstances such as Julian's advance into Thrace in 361-362 or the explicit desire and needs of a house owner to present himself as a wealthy merchant to guests. The Philippopolitan mosaic with 'classical' iconography may have had a Christian meaning as well. Although this study lacks the necessary support of additional examples, perhaps awaiting discovery at Thrace's coastal cities, it is a preliminary step toward more accurately gauging the distribution of marine mosaics in Thrace and their role in the development of mosaic art in the region in Late Antiquity.

Dialogues d'histoire ancienne

Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté | « Dialogues d'histoire ancienne » 2022/2 48/2 |... more Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté | « Dialogues d'histoire ancienne » 2022/2 48/2 | pages 440 à 446

On the 211-212 coinage from the Thracian peregrine city of Topeiros, the city-title featured the ... more On the 211-212 coinage from the Thracian peregrine city of Topeiros, the city-title featured the Trajanic nomen gentilicum Οὐλπία. This offers an opportunity to study the reasons behind this practice in Thrace as Topeiros had obtained municipal status long before the Trajan's times. The inquiry leads to the conclusion that it is linked to the imperial visit of Caracalla and Julia Domna, also involving local propaganda advertise restoration of lands which had been incorporated into the city's territory during the reign of Trajan.

Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté | « Dialogues d'histoire ancienne » 2022/2 48/2 | pages 4... more Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté | « Dialogues d'histoire ancienne » 2022/2 48/2 | pages 440 à 446

The present article deals with one of the major events that contributed to the establishment of t... more The present article deals with one of the major events that
contributed to the establishment of the civic doctrine of Serdican identity – the link between the foundation of the city and Optimus Princeps. The detailed analysis of the scanty numismatic and epigraphic material reveals that this link was introduced by adding the Trajan’s gentilicium Ulpia into the title of Serdica most probably in the second half of M. Aurelius’s rule (after the joint rule with L. Verus) by a small group of the Serdica’s elite of military milieu.
Given the nature of the evidence where Ulpia initially was presented – two
private inscriptions and a single coin issue without the name of the provincial legate – it is clear that in this case we are dealing with a purely local propaganda issue declaring an invented link which, however, gained wide acceptance on the coinage and epigraphic monuments in the time of the Severans. The lack of the imperial gentilicium on the official civic inscriptions callс into question its recognition by the Roman provincial authorities. By this invention, the Serdica’s elite got along with the elites in Pautalia and Anchialos that also proclaimed similar link with Trajan in the pre-Severan time.

The present article focuses on the development of the mosaic art between the time of Constantine ... more The present article focuses on the development of the mosaic art between the time of Constantine I and Theodosius I in Thrace based on the examples provided by the two urban centres in the province: the provincial capital Philippopolis and Augusta Traiana. The mosaic pavements were used to embellish private as well as public buildings, secular as well as religious in the term of the Christian basilicas – either built ex novo or incorporated into the existing complexes. Many of the questions had already been discussed in the recently published Corpus der Spätantiken und früchristlichen Mosaiken Bulgariens: Wien (Pillinger, R., Lirsch, A., Popova, V. (Hrgs.) and therefore the present article is a further step into the study of the matter. The development of the mosaic art in both cities should be considered into the discourse ‘Christians – non – Christians’, as well as ‘Arians – Orthodox’, and some of them may be linked with specific historical events which is very rare in the Late antiquity. The event under question is the march of the new emperor Julian in 361/362 on his way from Naissus to Constantinople, who seems to have resided in the region for some time and pursued the policy of restoration of the old temples, cults and associations as well as the prestigious past of the empire. It seems that his religious policy made a huge impact on the life of some cities that he reached on his way to Constantinople such as Serdica and Philippopolis and the mosaic pavements in Philippopolis provide a clue for this. The imperial presence was a catalyst also for similar initiatives in other urban centres in the province of Thrace such as for example Augusta Traiana. They also reveal that the question of the Arianic nature of the Christian community in Philippopolis and Augusta Traiana is far more complex than previously thought and in fact, the Arianic communities were not homogenous.

The cult of the ruler, its ideology and practice and the related official art are among the most ... more The cult of the ruler, its ideology and practice and the related official art are among the most interesting and challenging issues of historical knowledge. In different cultural circles and societies the manifestations of the ruling cult have a diverse character, and their study from a modern perspective helps us to get a deeper and truer knowledge of the past.

in: Traian and the Danubian Provinces. The Political, Economic, and Religious Life in the Danubia... more in: Traian and the Danubian Provinces. The Political, Economic, and Religious Life in the Danubian Provinces, Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on the Roman Danubian Provinces, Zagreb, 15th – 17th November 2017, Domagoj Tončinić, Livio Zerbini (eds.), Zagreb: FF Press, 2021, ISBN:978-953-175-811-6, 201-207.

, in: ANTIQVITAS AETERNA Classical Studies Dedicated to Leszek Mrozewicz on His 70th Birthday, K.... more , in: ANTIQVITAS AETERNA Classical Studies Dedicated to Leszek Mrozewicz on His 70th Birthday, K. Balbuza, M. Duch, Z. Kaczmarek, K. Królczyk, A. Tatarkiewicz (editors), Philippika - Altertumswissenschaftliche Abhandlungen, Wiesbaden, 2021, 425-437.

The present article deals with changes that occurred in the arrangement of the mosaic floor decor... more The present article deals with changes that occurred in the arrangement of the mosaic floor decorations of two important basilicas located in the capitals of two provinces in Thrace – the Episcopal basilica at Philippopolis and the basilica at Herakleia, which are both dated to the second half of the 5th c. The study reveals that in these cases the changes were not a purely decorative issue with the introduction of a new trend in mosaic decoration. Instead, these were innovations that reflected the new importance of the areas marked by mosaic decoration,
such as the ‘entrance’ in the atrium or narthex and the side aisles and their middle portions. It seems they were part of the introduction of the Constantinopolitan liturgy that emerged after the reassignment of Thrace to the jurisdiction of the Constantinopolitan church pursuant to canon 28 of the Fourth Ecumenical council at Chalcedon in 451. In order to avoid any misunderstandings, the new sites were marked by specific and clear Christians images. Dating to the second half of the 5th c., the Thracian examples are among the earliest so far attested and reveal the evolution of the Constantinopolitan liturgy before its completion, which is eventually attested in the monuments of the 6th c. in the capital and elsewhere.

The present article deals with the short-term coinage with ΜΕΛΣΑ on its reverse that seems to ha... more The present article deals with the short-term coinage with ΜΕΛΣΑ on its reverse that seems to have been issued in the fourth – beginning of third century BC. The author accepts that it is about an individual name and links it with the deeds of an unknown yet Thracian dynast in whose territory the Messambrian polichnion Bizone was established. At this very time a specific Messambrian coinage appeared revealing the creation of a new cult to the oikist whose name in the sources of 1st century BC is Melsas. The establishment of the polichnion in his territory and his potential support allowed this Thracian dynast to be honoured as an oikist whose cult received an impetus when the Dorian politeia joined the Thracian province of the Roman empire.

The present article deals with some issues related to the visible Christianisation of the topogra... more The present article deals with some issues related to the visible Christianisation of the topography of Late antique Philippopolis. The scanty epigraphic and archaeological data as well as written sources allow to trace some of main features of the process that started at the end of 3rd century as well as identify the driving forces for them which are locals, but also imperial.

Peter Lang

https://www.balkan-history.com/roman-mines/

Dialogues d'histoire ancienne

Peter Lang

https://www.balkan-history.com/roman-mines/

Studia Thracica. Юбилейно издание. Подбрани статии по повод 50 години от създаването на Института по Тракология/ Occasional Issue. Collected Papers on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Institute of Thracology, 2022

Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 23/1 (July 2017) http://saa.uaic.ro/issues/xxiii-1/ CUPRINS – C... more Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 23/1 (July 2017)

http://saa.uaic.ro/issues/xxiii-1/

CUPRINS – CONTENTS – SOMMAIRE

— Rada VARGA
Foreword

— Noemí MONCUNILL MARTÍ
Indigenous naming practices in the Western Mediterranean: the case of Iberian

— M. Cristina DE LA ESCOSURA BALBAS
People of Carthago Noua (Hispania Citerior). Juridical status and onomastics

Jordi PEREZ GONZÁLEZ
Aurifices en la Roma Julio Claudia. La fiebre del oro romana

— Milica TAPAVIČKI-ILIĆ, Jelena ANĐELKOVIĆ GRAŠAR
Finds in the Late Iron Age tradition from the Roman graves of Viminacium

— Branka MIGOTTI
The population of Aquae Balissae (Pannonia Superior)

Ivo TOPALILOV
A note on the nomenclature of the Thracian veterans

— Dan DANA, Radu ZAGREANU
Equites singulares Augusti originaires de la province de Dacie: épigraphie, onomastique, iconographie

— Imola BODA, Călin TIMOC, Victor BUNOIU
Population dynamics at the spas of Roman Dacia. Case study: the population of Băile Herculane