Lili Grozdanova is a senior assistant professor in the Faculty of History at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.” She has earned a Ph.D. in Ancient History. As a doctoral student, with the support of the Excellence Cluster Dialogue Europe (Sofia), she is researching the development of the Roman Empire, and more specifically its Thracian provinces, during the second half of the 3rd century CE—the era of the so-called “soldier emperors.”
She is conducting postdoctoral research on the coinage of Pautalia within the framework of the project (B-4-2) Region and Memoria: Local History and Local Myths on Thracian Provincial Coins (with the support of the Excellence Cluster Topoi, Berlin). She is currently continuing her research on Pautalia coinage. Numismatic materials are processed and analyzed using the online numismatic platform www.corpus-nummorum.eu and GIS software to study the characteristics of urban coinage through the application of new analysis methods based on digital technologies. The research interests of Senior Assistant Professor Dr. Lily Grozdanova are related to the interdisciplinary approach in historical research and the application of digital technologies in the humanities, the Roman provincial system (development and characteristics of the economic, political, and administrative structure of the provinces), and local and central mints—their specific features and significance.
Interview by Maria Vasileva with Senior Assistant Professor Dr. Lily Grozdanova (November 25, 2019)
1. Does being named Young Scientist of the Year bring you more pride or a greater sense of responsibility?
- The award brings me great joy, above all because I see it not so much as a personal achievement as a recognition of our collective work with my colleagues in the Department of Ancient History, Thracology, and Medieval History and in the various projects I am fortunate to be a part of. I hope this award will also serve as an additional incentive for the young people I meet as a teacher to continue pursuing the challenging path of science and the humanities in particular.
2. What is the main scholarly contribution of your dissertation?
- My dissertation, which has now been published as an e-book, is titled "The Roman Emperors Against the Goths of Kniva: Political Mythology, Historical Documents, and Reconstructable Events." A dissertation must necessarily have a demonstrable scientific contribution in order to be defended. Together with my academic advisor, Prof. Dilyana Boteva-Bojanova, Ph.D., we selected and developed a topic that, from the very beginning, clearly presented numerous challenges in scientific and even technical terms. The significance of the topic we chose a decade ago has been confirmed over the past four to five years by a new surge in international research on the era of the soldier-emperors, thanks to the discovery of a new narrative for the period by Jana Grusková and the team of the Scythica Vindobonensia project (FWF Project P28112G25: 01.08.2015 – 31.12.2019). The subject is particularly important also because it concerns a period in which the fate of the Empire was literally decided time and again in the Balkans.
As I explore this specific period, my own sense of what history teaches us becomes even clearer in my mind. Namely, to analyze information from sources of various types and natures in order to identify cause-and-effect relationships and attempt to reconstruct what happened. Or, to put it simply, history teaches us to think, understand, and manage our present and future based on the knowledge and skills we have already acquired.
3. Does your participation in the "Heritage BG" Center of Excellence project present a challenge for you as a researcher?
- My work during my doctoral and postdoctoral studies at two Centers of Excellence—"Dialog Europe" (Sofia) and "Topoi" (Berlin), led me to an observation that was very important for my professional path. Technologies have the potential to give us "new eyes" for the materials we observe and study. Naturally, every new method requires numerous tests and experiments to prove its scientific validity. In this sense, the work of centers of excellence such as "Nasledstvo BG" is crucial, because it possesses the scientific, research, and technological potential to fundamentally transform the research environment.
4. Is being a numismatist a hobby or a profession for you?
- For me, being a historian and researcher who is increasingly specializing in the field of ancient numismatics is a profession that gives me a lot and demands a lot. Despite the difficulties, the satisfaction it brings me is immense.
5. If you had to introduce Bulgaria to a foreigner... What event, fact, or person would you choose to impress them?
- I think I’d rather choose a place. I’d choose, for example, a place like the ancient theater in Plovdiv. There, antiquity has clearly and uniquely merged with the present. It becomes possible for someone like me, who has focused their professional gaze on something far back in time, to fulfill a childhood dream by attending a concert by a favorite artist in a real ancient theater. In my opinion, Bulgaria is rich precisely in places that exist not merely as cultural monuments of the past, but function today and are undeniable proof of the power and resilience of life.
6. What touches and excites you most as a researcher about the studies you’ve conducted?
- I’m genuinely excited by the dynamics of working as part of a team on various projects. It is truly inspiring how people, by working together, are capable of achieving things that sometimes border on the incredible. And how, in the search for answers hidden in our past, we build our present together, and there are no spatial or national borders between us because we share common ideas.
Senior Assistant Professor Dr. Lily Grozdanova
Recipient of the Award for Best Young Scholar at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” (November 25, 2019)
