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The oldest Bulgarian history book was written in Latin

Presentation of the historical manuscript by Petar Bogdan at the Bulgarian Presidency

Peter Bogdan Bakshev, painted by Vasil Goranov
Photo: Vasil Goranov

A reproduction of Petar Bogdan's manuscript "On the Antiquity of the Fatherland and on Bulgarian Affairs" - the first treatise on the history of Bulgaria, written almost a century before the famous "Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya" (Slav-Bulgarian History) by Father Paisius of Hilendar - will be presented today at 11am at the Presidency by the National Archaeological Institute and Museum at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. 

Written in Latin and completed around 1667 by the Catholic cleric and man of letters Petar Bogdan, the 200-page manuscript is one of Bulgaria's most valuable written artefacts. It describes the Christian past and present of the Bulgarian lands and was intended to rally support in Catholic Europe for Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule.



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