S. N. LISHEV. Българският средневековен град. Sophia. Издательство на Българската Академия Науките. 1970. 223 pp. In recent years, the medieval city has increasingly become an object of not only concrete, but also typological study. One of the types is a Balkan city and its individual types, such as a Dalmatian, Byzantine, or Turkish city1 . On the basis of new sources (tax inventories, market taxes), the period of the XV - XIX centuries is successfully studied, compared with which the previous era is very poorly provided with written monuments. That is why the study of the history of the Bulgarian city of the IX-XIV centuries, which was undertaken by the Bulgarian scientist S. Lishev, presents serious difficulties, compounded by the breadth of chronological framework, as well as the variety of problems faced by the author. The latter include the separation of the city from the agricultural environment, the system of its commodity relations, the problem of urban independence, the degree of division of labor, the social organization of crafts and trade, and finally, the social stratification of citizens. In this book, the medieval Bulgarian city is examined at three stages of economic and social evolution. It is, first, a city of the IX-X centuries, then the XI-XII centuries (the era of Byzantine rule) and finally, the XIII-IV centuries 2 . The early, newly emerging city is outlined by S. Lishev in the most general terms. This is not accidental, since the data obtained during the excavations in Plisk and Preslav are clearly not enough to recreate the complete appearance of these settlements, and the materials drawn by the author from the "Book of the Eparch" can hardly serve as a sufficient basis for judging on this issue. In particular, the author should not, according to the data of the "Book of the Eparch" on the export of Bulgarian linen to Constantinople (p. 33), conclude that: 1 " La ville balkanique XV e-XIX e ss.". Sofia. 1970. 2 This is not the author's firs ... Read more