Archival research in Bulgaria

Our team member Nedeljko Radosavljević conducted a research trip to Bulgaria from 22 November to 2 December 2023. His main objective was to examine archival material and acquire relevant literature for the study of the Serbian church elites under Ottoman rule in the 18th century, a topic developed within the framework of WP1 entitled “Serbian Nobility in the Ottoman Provinces and at the Sultan’s Court (15th-18th centuries)”. The research was carried out in Sofia, in the Bulgarian Historical Archive and in the Oriental Collections Department of the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library and the Central State Archives of Bulgaria. Research was also carried out in the Kyustendil Regional Historical Museum and its departments. The collected sources and literature offer a particularly good insight into the research problems concerning the south-eastern part of Serbia and will allow a comparative analysis extending to the elites of other Slavic peoples under Ottoman rule.