The Annals of "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati. Fascicle XIX: History

DEIOTARUS BEFORE CAESAR: A LEGAL AND POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF AN ANCIENT TRIAL

Maria Isabela Miron — 2026-02-27

The trial of the Galatian king Deiotarus before Gaius Julius Caesar in 45 BC, known primarily through Cicero’s speech Pro rege Deiotaro, constitutes a revealing case study for the interaction between law, politics, and personal power in the final years of the Roman Republic. Although formally presented as a judicial proceeding, the causa Deiotariana lacked the institutional and procedural features of a regular Roman trial and should rather be understood as an ad hoc political hearing, entirely dependent on the authority of Caesar as the victorious leader of the civil war.

Caesar treated the case not as a matter of positive law, but as an issue of political loyalty and personal security. He simultaneously assumed the roles of accuser, judge, and alleged victim, thereby collapsing the separation between political authority and judicial function. In this context, Cicero’s defensive strategy deliberately avoids technical legal argumentation. Recognizing the futility of a strictly juridical defense, Cicero constructs a rhetorical appeal centered on Deiotarus’ character, advanced age, and long-standing loyalty to Rome. Rather than seeking an acquittal, Cicero appeals to clementia Caesaris, transforming the verdict into an act of political mercy rather than a legal judgment. Justice is displaced by grace, and the outcome of the trial depends on Caesar’s self-representation as a merciful ruler. Law becomes subordinated to political authority, and loyalty replaces legal normativity as the decisive criterion of judgment.

THE MAKING OF A MERCHANT COMMUNITY THE GREEKS IN THE 16TH CENTURY MOLDAVIA (II)

Cristian Nicolae Apetrei — 2026-02-28

The 16^th century brought to Moldavia a change that marked its economic and social life throughout the early modern era. Local merchants (Moldavian subjects of different ethnicities) lost control of the principality's trade to strong foreign competition. The winning side was dominated by Greek-speaking merchants, immigrants from the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian maritime empire starting from 1540s. Within a few decades, they formed a distinct community based on relationships of trust and various forms of solidarity. Towards the end of the century some of its members even began to take to a group identity. The present paper reconstructs the beginnings of this community, following two lines of investigation, published separately.

The second part of the study focuses on the interaction of Greek merchants with the economic-social environment in Moldova and aims at explaining how they managed to win against the local merchants. Sources from the 1550s-1570s suggest that business opportunities initially favored petty merchants only. They exploited the empty place left in the local economic-social system by the religious persecutions inflicted on the reformed protestants (Germans and Hungarians) and the Monophysites (Armenian) by orthodox princes. For the great merchants, the way was opened starting with the mid-1580s, when the financial crisis gripped the Ottoman Empire. In search of liquidity, the Ottoman government increased both the rate and the amount of financial obligations owed by the princes of Moldavia. Consequently, the latter had to constantly resort to credits offered by the merchants of Constantinople and the Cretan wine merchants. As a rule, credit relations were doubled by the favoring of creditors in the competition for leasing the fiscal revenues of the state/princes. Particularly profitable was the rank of “great publican”, which ensured the holder economic, fiscal and even legal advantages. Relations between the two sides were frequently strengthened with matrimonial alliances, followed by the promotion of Greek-speaking relatives into key positions in the government apparatus. Finally, the cooperation between the Moldavian princes and their Greek creditors took on a political nature as well. It should be noted that many of the local noble families did the same. The effects of these social integration strategies were the withdrawal of capital from commercial activities, land estate acquisitions and cultural assimilation. However, the economic conditions in Moldova remained unchanged, as the principality kept its peripheral status, both in relation to the Ottoman imperial system and to the European economic system. As a result, the assimilated merchants would be replaced in the 17th century by new waves of Greek-speaking merchants, migrating from both the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian maritime empire.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SLAVIC WRITTEN SOURCES IN STUDY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE OF GANJA CITY

Elnur Latif oglu HASANOV — 2026-02-28

The purpose of the study is research of Slavic written sources, also the archival materials, those have a great importance in the study of the historical past, cultural heritage of Azerbaijan. Especially the military archive’s materials have rich information.

The methods used for this study included historical and comparative research methods, chronological, source method etc.

For the first time various written documents such as the archival sources for the late Middle Ages have been investigated as the important springs in study of historic-cultural heritage of Ganja city. Information about fortress walls, palaces, caravanserais, baths, houses, bridges and other buildings of Azerbaijani cities is preserved in the archive. The documents of the archives are important historical sources in the study of material culture of Azerbaijan during this period. There are many documents in the archive about the history of Ganja Khanate.

The official military documents contain detailed historical information about the economy, culture, demography and political history of the city of Ganja and the Khanate. The materials in the funds of different archives, together with other sources of the researched period, allow to objectively illuminate the study of the history, also cultural heritage of the Ganja Khanate and this ancient city.

GERMAN CONSULAR OFFICIALS IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS IN BUCHAREST (1833–1939)

Ionel Constantin Mitea — 2026-03-24

Between 1833 and 1939, Germany had an extensive consular network in Romanian cities, which involved the presence of 118 officials in 19 Romanian cities, from all the historical provinces of Romania. Most of them carried out specific activities in Galați, Bucharest and Iași.

Germany's main interest in the Romanian space, during the analyzed period, was of a political nature and aimed at exercising its own influence in the Danubian-Pontic space and monitoring the presence of rival powers in the region.

The second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century also meant an increase in German interest in trade with Romania.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN SOFRONIE MICLESCU AND TEOFAN CRISTEA (1859-1861)

Ion Gumenâi — 2026-03-24

The theme proposed in this material is obviously related to the reforms, painful for some segments of society that Romanian society was going through in the modernization process initiated by the ruler AL. I. Cuza. The temporary setting is also not accidental, having as limits on the one hand, the beginning of the secularization process of monastery properties, and on the other hand, obviously the death of Metropolitan Sofronie Miclescu, an adept of the union of the Danubian Principalities, but also an ardent defender of the Institution of the Orthodox Church.

As an objective, we propose an analysis of the already known letters of these historical figures on the one hand, and on the other hand, bringing new pieces of their correspondence into the scientific circuit.

At the same time, we propose to analyse, based on this correspondence, the climate and tendencies of the monastic community in Romania, under the pressure of the reforms, the radiography of the real and supposed feelings of the Orthodox Church hierarchy at that time and the resistance that appeared on the Church-State axis or vice versa.

Not without interest is the issue related to the place given to Bessarabia, in this opposition of the clergy and the construct they were building in order to restore the old status also enjoyed by the Church, but also its properties.

Last but not least, it is interesting to note the place that the Russian Empire had, led by its Tsar, who even in the second half of the 19th century was seen as the "main protector" of the Orthodox world by a part of society.

PRAYERS FOR THE VICTORY OF THE ROMANIAN ARMY IN WORLD WAR I

Elena Diana Spiridon — 2026-03-24

As it is known, prayer during wartime represents a spiritual support, a source of hope and a symbol of community’s unity. It can’t stop conflicts, but it can bring inner peace and, implicitly, keep the desire for peace alive in people’s hearts. War represents one of the most difficult moments in the life of a society, bringing with it destruction, fear and loss of human lives.

The historical context allows Romania to negotiate its entry into World War I alongside the Allies in August 1916, after two years of neutrality, wishing to liberate Transylvania from Austro-Hungarian dominance. As a result, on the 15^th/28^th of August 1916, Romania became involved in World War I, with the aim of national unification.

From the very beginning of Romania’s military participation in the Great War, the involvement of the Romanian Orthodox Church aimed at providing moral support to the civilian population and implicitly religious and medical assistance services for Romanian soldiers. It should also be mentioned the logistical support offered to assist both civilian and military authorities in the war effort, by placing under their command the buildings associated with places of worship or through donations made for philanthropic causes. Metropolitan Pimen Georgescu, through his extensive activities during World War I, earned the nickname ‘the metropolitan of war and unification of the Romanian nation’.

Thus, prayer plays a profound role in war, giving people the strength to move forward, even in the most difficult moments.

IN SEARCH OF EXEMPLARY PERSONALITIES: THE CASE OF RADU CIOCULESCU (1901–1961)

Silviu B. Moldovan — 2026-03-24

The historical memory of a nation is sustained, to a significant extent, by the symbolic meanings constructed around the exemplary personalities of its identity-shaping past, because of their actions and achievements. By examining both the postwar destinies of a number of figures whose biographies were marked either by the authorship of writings concerning the Great Union or by their direct participation in its realization, and the still insufficiently explored history of Romanian Masonic circles, we have identified the noteworthy case of the well-known musicologist and writer Radu Cioculescu, a member of the “Meșterul Manole” Lodge in Bucharest. In 1950, he was sentenced for his involvement in a clandestine anti-communist group and died in detention in 1961. Until the end he maintained a stance of moral resistance and strived to uphold the morale of his fellow political prisoners. Radu Cioculescu established himself as a figure whose radiant power was maintained, through the power of example and sacrifice, persisted even after his death—an impact that appears to have once again drawn the attention of the Securitate authorities to his legacy.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ROMANIA, FROM THE ABDICATION OF KING MICHAEL I TO THE EARLY 1960S

George Enache — 2026-03-24

This study provides an overview of the relations between the Romanian communist state and the Catholic Church from early 1948 through the mid-1960s. The first part of the study focuses on a brief yet eventful period, namely 1948 and early 1949.

During this period, the communist state amended legislation regarding the organization of religious denominations to the detriment of the Catholic Church, denounced the Concordat with the Vatican, and initiated the dissolution of the Greek Catholic Church. The study highlights the general context of these transformations, in which the influence of the Soviet Union played a decisive role, the strategies of the Romanian communist state in the realm of religious policies, the motivations behind the denunciation of the Concordat and the dissolution of the Greek Catholic Church, the role played by the Orthodox Church in the process of abolishing the Greek Catholic Church, the Catholic Church’s acts of resistance, and the role of the Apostolic Nunciature in supporting these acts of resistance.

HEADS OF THE GALAȚI REGIONAL SECURITY DIRECTORATE (1948–1968) AND COMMANDERS OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR AND SECURITY – GALAȚI COUNTY (1968–1989). BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Nicolae Ioniță — 2026-03-24

35 years after the collapse of the communist regime in Romania, there is a need to compile a complete list of officers who worked within the feared communist political police, the Securitate. The author of this article has researched the documents existing within the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives for many years and compiled thousands of biographical sheets of officers who worked within the political police. In this article, the author presents the biographies of the commanders who headed the Galați Regional Security Directorate, which covered a large area of southeastern Romania (which also included a large number of forced labour camps and areas with compulsory residence), but also the biographies of those who led the branches of the Securitate and the Ministry of the Interior in Galați County, after the administrative reform of 1968 was applied in Romania, when the regions were replaced with smaller administrative units in terms of area, the counties.

THE EUROPEAN UNION'S EXTERNAL ACTION: NORMATIVE DEVELOPMENTS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CURRENT INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Dan Vătăman — 2026-03-24

In view of recent developments in international relations, marked by strategic competition for supremacy, growing global instability and attempts to undermine the rules-based international order, this study aims to highlight the efforts made by the European Union to address these unprecedented challenges, focusing primarily on the reform elements and innovations introduced by the Lisbon Treaty aimed at increasing the coherence, impact and visibility of the European Union's external action. Once the legal basis for external action has been clarified, the focus will be on highlighting the European Union's priorities and strategic orientations, in particular the determination to strengthen its role as a global actor in the new multipolar geopolitical context.

Gabriela Gîrmacea, Primul Război Mondial între realitate și ficțiune, București, Didactica Publishing House, 2018, 160 p.

Silviu B. Moldovan — 2026-03-24

Cristina Preutu, Legația franceză din București și serviciile secrete din România: 1940-1947, Iași, Editura Universității „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, 2023, 584 p.

Nicoleta Oana Giucă — 2026-03-24