Seeking to present the State from a different perspective, the book examines both classical and modern theories of the emergence of the State, as well as the historical typology and evolution of the State over time. By applying a different approach, it seeks to overcome the confines of single disciplines, such as history, political science, sociology, law and anthropology among others. In practice, the book traces the history of the institution ‘state’ from the Antiquity to the Modern Age. Paev, K. The State from Antiquity to Modern Age: Theoretical and Historical Questions. Second revised edition: Sofia, Paradigma Publishing House, 2020, 220 p., ISBN 978-954-326-424-7

The penetration of tobacco into the Ottoman Empire was followed by a ban on its production and use in the seventeenth century. The lifting of the ban in 1688 led to the rapid spread of production and trade with tobacco products and made smoking widely popular in the Ottoman society. Although smoking was prevalent mainly among Muslims, the chibouk and the hookah became distinctive attributes and, for generations, an integral part of the cultural characteristics of sultan’s subjects, regardless of their religious or national affiliation. Whether it was consumed free or secretly due to penal laws, smoking became emblematic of the social and cultural representation of the Ottoman realm and, in a way, it was affiliated with a particular zone of comfort and tranquillity, an escape from all worries and problems of everyday life.

One can say without hesitation that during the highly dynamic medieval epoch rivalries and military clashes were of paramount importance in the struggles for dominance over the Balkan Peninsula. During the entire period, war-time activities included the capturing of those who had the misfortune to fall into the hands of the enemy. Various groups of soldiers and civilians alike have repeatedly tested the bitterness of captivity. Attempts to trace the fate of war-captives are, for understandable reasons, directly dependent on the data in the written records. The comparison of the various historical accounts is rather typical, even if the records deal with events that are different in time, place and participants. The present paper also compares two descriptions. This study encompasses two well-known historical accounts: the first one is from the chronicle (Synopsis historiarum) of John Skylitzes, while the second one is excerpted from Kritoboulos’ History of Mehmed the Conqueror. Despite all distinctions, there are some particular similarities. Both fragments concern the division of the spoils of war and the fate of the captured population and provide additional knowledge of the practices relating to prisoners of war in the Balkan medieval past.