Currents of History 2/2019

Irena Ljubomirović
Jasmina Šaranac Stamenković

 A Contribution to the Biography of Nikola Vulić - Professor of the University of Belgrade

 Abstract: In the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, Serbian historiography produced a number of erudite historians. Among them, Nikola Vulić (1872–1945), a professor of the University of Belgrade and a member of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, was particularly prolific. In more than 550 papers in Serbian and several foreign languages, he dealt with various problems of ancient world history, mostly from the Roman period. The scientific value of many of his discussions is substantial, which is why they still represent a starting point in the study of certain problems.

 Key words: Nikola Vulić, Historian, Scientist, University, World War I

This work is an attempt to present Nikola Vulić – the man and the scientist – his scholarly work as a professor at the University of Belgrade and a member of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences (SANU), based on his unpublished manuscript, which is kept at the SANU Archives and in the National Library of Serbia. Thanks to this manuscript it was possible to make a study of his personality and the most important moments in his prolific career. He achieved very significant results in the field of archeology, epigraphy, classical philology, and ancient history. Vulić’s bibliography shows that he wrote over 500 studies. His research method was very characteristic: in his scientific studies a critical reference is relatively rare. There was no discussion about earlier understandings or citations of arguments by preceding researchers. In his own way he sharply criticized the conclusions of the other researchers and justified his reasons with arguments. Vulić’s discussions and articles occupied the attention of scientists for many years and were often a basis in their research work.

During the World War I Vulić was at the University in Clermont-Ferrand, where the French Government approved his lectureship, both to Serbian and French students. Vulić published a number of articles in the Cler mont newspapers describing the horrors that Serbia experienced during the war. After the war, Vulić left France, which paid tribute to this great scientist in the best possible way, by electing him as an honorary PhD professor of the University of Clermont-Ferrand. He became a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences.

He also initiated and organized the establishment of The National University in Belgrade and similar institutions all over Serbia. Vulić’s contribution to the study of ancient history made him one of the foremost researchers in the first half of the 20th century. His criticism of historical sources and application of strict rules of historical methodology became the ideal of the ensuing generations of scientists of ancient history.