Branislav Djurdjev

Branislav Djurdjev (, ; 4 August 1908 – 26 February 1993) was a Yugoslav and Serbian historian and orientalist who worked in Sarajevo for nearly forty years. A Marxist, he was one of the most prominent historians of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and helped in the founding of the Oriental Institute in Sarajevo in 1950, becoming its first director.

His scholarly interests covered the period of Ottoman rule in the Balkans up to the end of the 18th century, as well as the methodology and theory of historical science. }} He studied the character of Turkish–Ottoman feudalism, the influence of Turkish domination on the development of the Balkan peoples, the organisation of Vlach communities in the Western Balkans, the role of Christians in the Ottoman military organisation, the tribal organisation of Herzegovina and Montenegro, the position of the Serbian Church in the Ottoman state and its importance for the survival of the Serbian people. His theoretical interests focused on sociology, philosophy, periodization of history and criticism of post-Marxist historical theory. His research was mainly based on Ottoman archives, which he studied at the archives of the Prime Ministry office in Istanbul.

As a highly prolific scholar, he authored or co-authored over 300 books, papers, and other academic contributions from 1934 to 1991. His most notable works are [The Turkish rule in Montenegro in the 16th and 17th centuries: contribution to an unresolved question from our history], published in 1953; [The role of the Church in the earlier history of the Serbian people], published in 1964; and [The origin and development of the Brda, Montenegrin and Herzegovinian tribes], published in 1984.

He was one of the first regular members of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he served as the president from 1968 to 1971. Djurdjev also held membership of the Yugoslav Academy of Science and Arts, the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Additionally, he was an associate member of the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts from its creation in 1976 and was appointed as an external member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts towards the end of his life.

Djurdjev was honored with numerous distinctions throughout his life for his extensive scholarly contributions and active involvement in society. Notable among these are the ZAVNOBiH Award in 1975 and the AVNOJ Award in 1977. In addition, he received prestigious Yugoslav decorations, including the Order of Labour of the 2nd Order () and the Order of the Republic with a Golden Wreath (). Provided by Wikipedia