Konstantinos Giakoumis
Prof. Konstantinos Giakoumis, Ph.D., (ORCID ID: 0000-0001-6658-4414 – H-Index: 6) is a Professor of History and Visual Arts at LOGOS Universioty College Tirana, Albania, and currently serves as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Linguistic Communication at the same institution, where he has been teaching since September 2020. His teaching portfolio includes courses such as Albanian History, Visual Arts and Methods. He is also an adjunct faculty at POLIS University, where he teaches History of Architecture in Albania in its Executive Master in Restoration and Valorization of Cultural Heritage.
His research interests span Byzantine and Ottoman history, art history, Balkan nationalism, and cultural heritage and pilgrimage studies. He has also participated with a leadership roles in research, innovation and development projects with EU funds in the context of Cross-Border Cooperation and ERASMUS+ Capacity-Building in Higher Education with such initiatives as “Homo Digitalis (ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE-STRAND-1 Project No 101129182),” “MAGNET (ERASMUS-EDU-2022-CBHE Project No. 101083006),” and “ROAMING (ERASMUS-EDU-2022-CBHE Project No. 101083070),” which address various aspects of digital humanities, governance enhancement, and international mobility in the West Balkans.
Prof. Giakoumis is a prolific scholar with numerous publications, including books, monographs, and peer-reviewed journal articles. His research on Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, history and culture has made significant contributions to scholarly, academic and cultural discourse. Additionally, he has earned distinctions such as the European Commission’s Seal of Excellence for his research proposals. He is also actively involved in peer-review activities for leading academic journals and serves as an advisor and external research fellow for several international institutions.
Supervisors: Dr. Rhoads Murphey, Prof. John Haldon, + Prof. A. Bryer, and Prof. L. Brubaker
Phone: 00355692070592
Address: Rruga Peti, Nd. 21, H. 3, Ap. 4, Sauk, 1044, Tirana, Albania
His research interests span Byzantine and Ottoman history, art history, Balkan nationalism, and cultural heritage and pilgrimage studies. He has also participated with a leadership roles in research, innovation and development projects with EU funds in the context of Cross-Border Cooperation and ERASMUS+ Capacity-Building in Higher Education with such initiatives as “Homo Digitalis (ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE-STRAND-1 Project No 101129182),” “MAGNET (ERASMUS-EDU-2022-CBHE Project No. 101083006),” and “ROAMING (ERASMUS-EDU-2022-CBHE Project No. 101083070),” which address various aspects of digital humanities, governance enhancement, and international mobility in the West Balkans.
Prof. Giakoumis is a prolific scholar with numerous publications, including books, monographs, and peer-reviewed journal articles. His research on Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, history and culture has made significant contributions to scholarly, academic and cultural discourse. Additionally, he has earned distinctions such as the European Commission’s Seal of Excellence for his research proposals. He is also actively involved in peer-review activities for leading academic journals and serves as an advisor and external research fellow for several international institutions.
Supervisors: Dr. Rhoads Murphey, Prof. John Haldon, + Prof. A. Bryer, and Prof. L. Brubaker
Phone: 00355692070592
Address: Rruga Peti, Nd. 21, H. 3, Ap. 4, Sauk, 1044, Tirana, Albania
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Papers by Konstantinos Giakoumis
The study is grounded on three fundamental concepts: normativity, contestation and antagonistic tolerance, discussed in the first part of the study. These concepts were utilized to demonstrate the aspirations of Christian communities to visually affirm their presence in a shared, ‘sacred’ space, thereby breaking off from the older Ottoman normativity. In this conceptual framework, in the first part of this study we presented in a chronological order eighteen belfries built in the form of multi-storeyed towers not rarely deviating from the architectural traits of the churches to which thety were attached in volume and architectural-decorative treatment. This second part follows up and deepens our understanding of the construction new belfries in modern-day Albania in the period under consideration.
The second case, that of Eleutherios Hadji Demetriou is quite dissimilar. He left his home city at a rather advanced age, having previously pursued a career in teaching, which set a certain level of living standards' expectations once in immigration. Having no requisite qualifications or resources to boost himself to success, he wrote a dramatic letter to his fellow patriots shortly before his death admitting his failure in immigration and demonstrating clear signs of inadaptation and non-acculturation.
As I hope to have demonstrated in this study, immigration viewed from the psychological level of individuals was accompanied by a great variety of human emotions leading sometimes to integration, but other times to inadaptation, non-acculturation and nostalgia.
in the Late Ottoman and Early Post-Ottoman Balkans*
Konstantinos Giakoumis1, Dasara Pula2
1LOGOS University College 2 POLIS University, Tirana
ABSTRACT
By building a case of the peculiar architecture of belfries in the late Ottoman and early post-Ottoman Balkans, in this paper we demonstrate that, at critical times of transience, socio-political pressures from within and from without, contestation over ‘sacred’ space pushes for changes in sacred space, whether urban or non-urban. Such changes are aimed as visual statements of an enhanced role and space claimed by a religious community in the frame of the new politico-religious establishment, thereby challenging old normativity. In particular, we are showing how, the post-Tanzimat moderate emancipation of the Ottoman Empire combined with its inability to maintain firm control over its provincial affairs and the strong drive of Christian communities to break away from previous restrictions in the construction of bell towers and the use of bells, led to the establishment of multi-storeyed belfries which in replacement of their humble ancestors.
Our departure point was how the combination of Ottoman domination and popular Islamic fears of bells led to the extinction or curtailing of Byzantine belfries in Ottoman-dominated regions. We then explored how, upon the Ottoman state’s weakness to impose firm central authority over its provinces and, most notably, after independence through secession from the Ottoman Empire, memory of and reaction against these restrictions led to the peculiar phenomenon of ‘liberation churches’ or belfries, in the Balkans, i.e., churches of monumental dimensions with vast bell towers distantly reminiscent of early Christian models, as a reaction to the church-building restrictions of the Ottoman Empire. We further investigated that the regions of modern-day Albania, though last to gain independence, were no exception thereof and we studied a total of eleven bell towers of the sort in this first part of the article, with monumental dimensions – mostly from the Orthodox communities. We demonstrated that, especially in urban centres, prominent bell towers in their contestation of urban skyscape provoked the communist regime, which consequently knocked them down.
In this article we studied and published a number of older, no longer existent churches and belfries in their historical background. The list of monuments studied is provided below; extant belfries are highlighted in grey. It should be noted that a number of other belfies should be added to this list, which were not included in this first part of the study:
# Church or Monastery Belfries Date
1. Dormition of the Virgin at Niçë 1874
2. Dormition of the Virgin at Voskopojë (Gk. Moschopolis) 1887
3. Prophet Elias at Voskopojë 1890
4. Dormition of the Virgin at Derviçan, Dropull, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
5. Dormition of the Virgin, Sopik, Pogon, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
6. Nativity of the Virgin, Skore, Pogon, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
7. St. Nicholas at Topovë, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
8. St. Nicholas at Dhrovjan, Sarandë Late-19th – early 20th c.
9. St. Spyridon, Vuno, Himarë Early 20th c.
10. All Saints, Himarë Early 20th c.
11. St. Nicholas at Voskopojë 1936
The prevalence of Orthodox monuments in the study was dictated by the availability of archival materials in our disposition. We have no doubt that similar church-construction patterns were also observed in Albania’s Catholic communities, such as the church of Saint Roch at Shirokë, Shkodra indicates. We are also convinced that, in the communist regime’s contestation over the urban skyscape for its own, ideologically charged landmarks, minarets, more often than not alongside the mosques they were attached to, were also knocked down in the name of what then called to be modernity. It would, however, be a significant advancement of our knowledge of the phenomena described in this study if future scholarship utilized photographic archival materials for the purpose of surveying these phenomena systematically in catholic churches, mosques and tekkes.
The study is grounded on three fundamental concepts: normativity, contestation and antagonistic tolerance, discussed in the first part of the study. These concepts were utilized to demonstrate the aspirations of Christian communities to visually affirm their presence in a shared, ‘sacred’ space, thereby breaking off from the older Ottoman normativity. In this conceptual framework, in the first part of this study we presented in a chronological order eighteen belfries built in the form of multi-storeyed towers not rarely deviating from the architectural traits of the churches to which thety were attached in volume and architectural-decorative treatment. This second part follows up and deepens our understanding of the construction new belfries in modern-day Albania in the period under consideration.
The second case, that of Eleutherios Hadji Demetriou is quite dissimilar. He left his home city at a rather advanced age, having previously pursued a career in teaching, which set a certain level of living standards' expectations once in immigration. Having no requisite qualifications or resources to boost himself to success, he wrote a dramatic letter to his fellow patriots shortly before his death admitting his failure in immigration and demonstrating clear signs of inadaptation and non-acculturation.
As I hope to have demonstrated in this study, immigration viewed from the psychological level of individuals was accompanied by a great variety of human emotions leading sometimes to integration, but other times to inadaptation, non-acculturation and nostalgia.
in the Late Ottoman and Early Post-Ottoman Balkans*
Konstantinos Giakoumis1, Dasara Pula2
1LOGOS University College 2 POLIS University, Tirana
ABSTRACT
By building a case of the peculiar architecture of belfries in the late Ottoman and early post-Ottoman Balkans, in this paper we demonstrate that, at critical times of transience, socio-political pressures from within and from without, contestation over ‘sacred’ space pushes for changes in sacred space, whether urban or non-urban. Such changes are aimed as visual statements of an enhanced role and space claimed by a religious community in the frame of the new politico-religious establishment, thereby challenging old normativity. In particular, we are showing how, the post-Tanzimat moderate emancipation of the Ottoman Empire combined with its inability to maintain firm control over its provincial affairs and the strong drive of Christian communities to break away from previous restrictions in the construction of bell towers and the use of bells, led to the establishment of multi-storeyed belfries which in replacement of their humble ancestors.
Our departure point was how the combination of Ottoman domination and popular Islamic fears of bells led to the extinction or curtailing of Byzantine belfries in Ottoman-dominated regions. We then explored how, upon the Ottoman state’s weakness to impose firm central authority over its provinces and, most notably, after independence through secession from the Ottoman Empire, memory of and reaction against these restrictions led to the peculiar phenomenon of ‘liberation churches’ or belfries, in the Balkans, i.e., churches of monumental dimensions with vast bell towers distantly reminiscent of early Christian models, as a reaction to the church-building restrictions of the Ottoman Empire. We further investigated that the regions of modern-day Albania, though last to gain independence, were no exception thereof and we studied a total of eleven bell towers of the sort in this first part of the article, with monumental dimensions – mostly from the Orthodox communities. We demonstrated that, especially in urban centres, prominent bell towers in their contestation of urban skyscape provoked the communist regime, which consequently knocked them down.
In this article we studied and published a number of older, no longer existent churches and belfries in their historical background. The list of monuments studied is provided below; extant belfries are highlighted in grey. It should be noted that a number of other belfies should be added to this list, which were not included in this first part of the study:
# Church or Monastery Belfries Date
1. Dormition of the Virgin at Niçë 1874
2. Dormition of the Virgin at Voskopojë (Gk. Moschopolis) 1887
3. Prophet Elias at Voskopojë 1890
4. Dormition of the Virgin at Derviçan, Dropull, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
5. Dormition of the Virgin, Sopik, Pogon, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
6. Nativity of the Virgin, Skore, Pogon, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
7. St. Nicholas at Topovë, Gjirokastër Late-19th – early 20th c.
8. St. Nicholas at Dhrovjan, Sarandë Late-19th – early 20th c.
9. St. Spyridon, Vuno, Himarë Early 20th c.
10. All Saints, Himarë Early 20th c.
11. St. Nicholas at Voskopojë 1936
The prevalence of Orthodox monuments in the study was dictated by the availability of archival materials in our disposition. We have no doubt that similar church-construction patterns were also observed in Albania’s Catholic communities, such as the church of Saint Roch at Shirokë, Shkodra indicates. We are also convinced that, in the communist regime’s contestation over the urban skyscape for its own, ideologically charged landmarks, minarets, more often than not alongside the mosques they were attached to, were also knocked down in the name of what then called to be modernity. It would, however, be a significant advancement of our knowledge of the phenomena described in this study if future scholarship utilized photographic archival materials for the purpose of surveying these phenomena systematically in catholic churches, mosques and tekkes.
We deem this topic to be important, because it reflects the perception of the ethnic Other in the process of nation-formation and state-building and how that changes from periods of ‘normal’ politics, after the state is well consolidated. We decided to choose this time period as one that illustrates best the focus of our research which deals with the way that pedagogies of war and textbooks are used to create and maintain a certain version of national identity which is constructed in opposition to the ethnic “other”, which most often happens to be the neighboring country/nationals. The selection of these textbooks not only reflects the direct relevance it has for the period we are studying in order to investigate the shifts and how it impacted the Albanian national identity, but also because these textbooks are the only surviving texts of these periods. In other words, in our research in National Library and archives, we could find only these remaining and surviving texts by these authors and do not possess knowledge of any other specimen. Thus, our effort to digitalize these texts and to use them as a reservoir of primary data that is analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, serves not only our specific project that focuses on the perception of the Greek in the Albanian national identity-building process in the period from 1886 to 1938, but also as a pool of useful data for similar projects.
Written in Greek, its acts reflect the competences and privileges that Christian prelates enjoyed in issues of ecclesiastical administration and civil law. In demonstrating the quality of information that can be retrieved from the codex, I limited myself to a couple of issues. The first is related to the ecclesiastical history of the jurisdiction of Dryinoupolis and Gjirokastër, in general, and the role of laymen in the accession of Bishop Dositheos in the Diocese of Drynoupolis, in particular. The second deals with an overview of the issue of divorces in the regions of Gjirokastër between 1786 and 1858, on the basis of the data recorded into the Codex. Evidence taken from the Codex of Dositheos was comparatively analyzed with documents from the archives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The crucial role of the noblemen of Gjirokastër into the accession of Dositheos into the throne of their Diocese (1760) constitute an interesting example of the role of laymen in decision-making on ecclesiastical matters, as a result of the coupling of an influential middle class in Gjirokastër with powerful individuals in the capital, well before the official concession to laymen of relevant rights by the Patriarchate in the 19th century.
The codex is an indispensable source for deep insights of social history in the region of Gjirokastër, as evidenced, for example, by 40 recorded instances of divorces dated to between 1786 and 1858. The issuing of divorces for the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire was in a non-exclusive way within the competences of the ecclesiastical courts. The court in most of the cases consisted only of the local metropolitan, however, after 1839, it also consisted of lay members of the Gjirokastër’s nobility.
The resolutions of the ecclesiastical courts on occasions of divorce were based chiefly upon the testimonies of witnesses. Testimonies were taken from both parties, a procedure which was carefully checked by the Patriarchate. On the grounds of serious medical reasons, witnesses were cross-examined in conjunction with the expertise of specialists, such as doctors, or midwives. Evidence from the ecclesiastical centre in the Ottoman capital convinces that this was a standard practice. Testimonies were taken on occasion from the interested parties and/or their representatives, their relatives, the archons of a village, or the entire village, or of an abbot. All of these procedures resulted in the prolongation of time needed for the issuing of a divorce issued. This prolongation, however, also reflected a policy of the church administration to gain time, in an effort to save the marriage and avoid the social consequences of a divorce.
It is, therefore, evident that divorces were issued upon very serious reasons. Ranked from less to more frequent, these reasons are: 1) uninterrupted wrangles within the couple; 2) slander and unfaithfulness; 3) the immigration of the husband, especially when followed by negligence in sending back alimonies and a young age of the wife; 4) and medical grounds (in the majority of the cases it is impossible to determine the actual illnesses, in others leprosy, sight problems that prevented the husband from working, thyroid that made the wife non-attractive and impotence are recorded). Last but not least, some of these illnesses are said to have been hidden before marriage, thereby allowing for a divorce to be issued.
Divorce settlements were decided on the basis of a combination of responsibility and local customary law. In all cases, with the exception of adultery, the husband was obliged by the ecclesiastical courts to return the bride’s dowry. If the husband’s part was found guilty, apart from the wife’s dowry, the husband also paid a penalty for the divorce. No document makes any mention of children in the family: it is highly likely, though, that the rate of the penalty was decided taking in silent consideration the existence of children. There are clear indications that the levy of a divorce penalty was a local custom, the Patriarchate seemingly not being unaware of it. Finally, a divorce was more of an issue in the province of Gjirokastër than the city itself, while there is no discrimination on the grounds of gender, 22 divorce suits were brought forward by men, while 16 by women.
This book is therefore not only publishing, but it also contextualizing the contents of the codex in the wider religious, cultural, social, economic, educational, administrative and juridical history of Epiros and Albania, in general, and in particular, to provide a hint of its specific values in the local context of the ecclesiastical district of Dryinoupolis, whose former jurisdiction extended to territories currently situated in north-western Greece and southern Albania.
Giakoumis K. (2018), “Angeliki DELIKARI, Kryepeshkopata e Ohrit gjatë mesjetës. Roli i saj si faktor bashkues në historinë politike dhe kishtare të Sllavëve të Ballkanit dhe të Bizantit, Thessaloniki 2014,” reviewed in Studie Historike, viti LXXII (LXXV), v. 2018 (1-2), pp. 309-314.