Aneliya Stoyanova

Chief Assistant Prof. PhD Aneliya Stoyanova

E-mail: aneliya(dot)an(dot)st(at)gmail(dot)com; aneliya(dot)stoyanova(at)ihist(dot)bas(dot)bg

ORCiD: 0000-0001-9423-9992

Scientific Interests

  • Early Modern History
  • History of diplomacy; European diplomacy in the Early Modern period (ceremonial, contact networks, methods of interaction)
  • Habsburg – Ottoman relations, XVI-XVII century
  • Relations between Christianity and Islam: The European Powers, the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia
  • Early Modern Intelligence History

Education

  • 2014–2020 – Ph.D., Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, Faculty of History
    Doctoral Program in Modern Balkan History – The Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the Balkans, 16th–17th centuries
  • 2011–2013 – Master of Arts, Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, Faculty of History, Master’s Program „Crises, Conflicts, and Diplomacy in World Politics, 16th–21st centuries”
  • 2008–2011 – Bachelor in History, Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, Faculty of History, Bachelor’s Program „Past and Present of Southeastern Europe”

Positions held

  • June 2024 – Present – Chief Assistant Professor, Section „World History and International Relations in Modern and Contemporary Times”, Institute for Historical Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS)
  • December 2022 – June 2024 – Postdoctoral Researcher (R2), Institute for Historical Studies, BAS
    Research under the National Program „Young Scientists and Postdoctoral Researchers”, funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria
    Project topic: „Habsburg-Ottoman Diplomatic Relations after the Long Turkish War: The Habsburg Turkish Policy”
  • October 2023 – May 2024 – Postdoctoral Researcher (R2), Faculty of History, Sofia University
    Project topic: „Diplomacy in the Early Modern Period: Between Ideology and Practice”
  • March 2021 – November 2022 – Assistant Professor, Section „World History and International Relations in Modern and Contemporary Times”, Institute for Historical Studies, BAS
  • October 2020 – June 2021 – Research Fellow, Fellow of the Centre for Advanced Study, Sofia
    Project topic: „A Possible Ally from the East: The Habsburg Intelligence and the Ottoman-Safavid Rivalry, 1560s–1610s”
  • March 2020 – September 2020 – Researcher (R1), Faculty of History, Sofia University
    Research under the National Program „Young Scientists and Postdoctoral Researchers”, funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria
    Project topic: „European Diplomats and Everyday Life in the Ottoman Capital in the Second Half of the 16th Century”
  • May 2018 – December 2019 – Research Fellow, Gerda Henkel Foundation Scholarship
  • May – October 2022 and June – November 2018 – Visiting Researcher at the Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences (Institut für die Erforschung der Habsburgermonarchie und der Balkanraumes, Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften)

Academic Degree and Title

  • 2020 – Ph.D. in History
    Dissertation title: „Vienna, Madrid, and the Habsburg-Ottoman Relations, 1555–1606”
    Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ivan Parvev

Academic Specializations

  • May – October 2022 – JESH Scholarship (Joint Excellence in Science and Humanities), Austrian Academy of Sciences, Visiting researcher at the Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences
    • Research in archives and libraries (Vienna, Austria)
  • May 2018 – December 2019 – Doctoral Scholarship, Gerda Henkel Foundation
    • Archival and library research
    • Research stays in Vienna (Austria), Valladolid/Simancas and Madrid (Spain)
  • June – November 2018 – Visiting researcher at the Institute for Habsburg and Balkan Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences
    • Archival and library research (Vienna, Austria)
  • May 2015 – January 2016 – „Richard Plaschka” Scholarship, OeAD-GmbH, Austrian Academic Exchange Service
    Visiting researcher, fellow

    • Archival and library research (Vienna, Austria)
  • April 2019 – Scholarship from the Doctoral Center of Sofia University
    • Short-term research visit at the British Library (London, UK)

Participation in Joint Research Projects

  • 2020–2022 – „From the Black Death to Cholera: The Fight Against Epidemics in Historical Perspective, 14th–19th centuries”
  • 2021 – „Early Modern Europe: Borders and Contradictions”
  • 2022 – „ Digital Scholarly Edition of Habsburg-Ottoman Diplomatic Sources 1500–1918”
    • Contribution: „Die Gesandtschaft des Johann Jakob Kurtz von Senftenau 1623/24”
  • 2023 – „Diplomacy in the Early Modern Period: Between Ideology and Practice”
  • 2024 – 2026 – „Diplomacy and Intelligence in the Balkans, 17th-19th: The Human Factor and Networks of Influence”
  • 2025 – 2026 – Collective scientific project „Collective volume in honor of Prof. Dr. Luiza Revyakina“, organized by the Institute for Historical Research at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (participant).

Languages

  • Proficient: German, English, Spanish, Russian, Latin
  • Basic: Greek, Turkish

Publications

Articles in Journals

  • Stoyanova, A. Die Rolle Wiens bei der Freilassung spanischer Kriegsgefangener im Osmanischen Reich in der zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts (Aneliya Stoyanova. Vienna’s Role in the Release of Spanish Prisoners of War in the Ottoman Empire in the Second Half of the 16th Century). Bulgarian Historical Review, 53, 2025, ISSN 0204-8906 (print); ISSN 2815-2905 (online), 3–37.
  • Stoyanova, A. Early Modern Diplomatic Realities: Michael Starzer and Caspar Gratiani in the First Years of Their Acquaintance (1610–1614). History, 3/24, ISSN: 0861–3710 (Print), 1314–8524 (Online), 257–274.
  • Stoyanova, A. Diplomatic Missions between the Ottoman and Habsburg Courts before and after the Long Turkish War (1593–1606). Istoricheski Pregled, 3/24, pp. 53–76. (Стоянова, А. Дипломатически мисии между Османския и Хабсбургския двор преди и след Дългата турска война (1593–1606). Исторически преглед, 3/24, ISSN 0323-9748 (Print), ISSN 2815-3391 (Online), 53–76.)
  • Stoyanova, A. The Mission of Johann Jakob Kurz von Senftenau to Constantinople (1623–1624). History, 1/2024, pp. 53–75. (Стоянова, А. Мисията на Йохан Якоб Курц фон Зенфтенау до Константинопол (1623–1624) и предизвикателства пред хабсбургските дипломати на Босфора след Дългата турска война. История, 1/2024, ISSN: 0861–3710 (Print), 1314–8524 (Online), 53–75. https://doi.org/10.53656/his2024-1-3-mis)
  • Stoyanova, A. Habsburg Intelligence in the Ottoman Empire in the 16th Century. In: Proceedings of the Institute for Historical Studies, Vol. 38, 2022, pp. 337–357. (Стоянова, А. Хабсбургското разузнаване в Османската империя през XVI век, В: Известия на ИИстИ, Т. 38, София 2022, ISSN: 2367–5187 (Print), 2815–2913 (Online), 337–357.)
  • Stoyanova, A. Plaque in Early Modern Istanbul: The Experience of the Hasburg Resident Ambassadors, 1560s–1590s. History. Vol. 30 (2022), №2, ISSN: 0861–3710 (Print), 1314–8524 (Online), 372–391;
  • Stoyanova, A. Habsburg Intelligence and Ottoman-Safavid Diplomacy, 1570s–1590s. CAS Working Paper Series. Vol. 12 (2020-2021), Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS). ISSN: 2683-1341, pp. 3–38;
  • Stoyanova, A. The Dragomans of the Habsburg Embassy in Constantinople in the Second Half of the 16th Century: The Story of Matthias del Faro. History Studies. Vol. 18, Limerick: University of Limerick, 2017. pp. 95–108. http://hdl.handle.net/10344/8904.

Articles in Edited Volumes

  • Stoyanova, A. Bellum contra Turcas terra marique: Habsburg Plans for an Anti-Ottoman Alliance (1566–1567) – In: Early Modern Europe: Borders and Conflicts, Sofia, 2022, pp. 62–82. (Стоянова, А. Bellum contra Turcas terra marique: Хабсбургските планове за антиосмански съюз от 1566–1567. В: Ранномодерна Европа: Граници и конфликти. София: Университетско издателство „Св. Климент Охридски”, 2022, ISBN 978-954-07-5425-3, 62–82)
  • Stoyanova, A. The Benefits and Limits of Permanent Diplomacy: Two Foreign Attempts to Influence Ottoman-Spanish Relations in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century. In: Markiewicz, C., Sowerby, T. (eds.), Diplomatic Cultures at the Ottoman Court, c. 1500–1630. New York: Routledge, 2021. ISBN 9780367429324. e-Book ISBN 9781003000211, pp. 153–173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003000211;
  • Stoyanova, A. Wien, Madrid und die habsburgisch-osmanischen Friedensverhandlungen in der zweiten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts, In: Kastner, G., Roschitz, M. (Eds.). Jahrbuch für Mitteleuropäische Studien. Wien/Hamburg: New Academic Press, 2020. ISBN 978-3-7003-2201-6. pp. 11–29;
  • Stoyanova, A. Exotic Precious „Magic” – Early Modern Bezoars and the Austrian Habsburg Court in the Second Half of the 16th Century. In: Maeva, M., Y. Erolova, P. Stoyanova, M. Hristova, V. Ivanova (eds.). Between the Worlds: Magic, Miracles, and Mysticism. Vol. 2. Sofia: IEFSEM – BAS & Paradigma, 2020, e-ISSN: 2683-0213, pp. 488–500. URL: https://conferenceworlds.wordpress.com/publications/;
  • Stoyanova, A. Diplomats and Diplomatic Missions: Habsburg-Ottoman Relations, 1541–1547. In: Past and Present of South-East Europe. Student Interpretations, Vol. 1, Sofia 2016, ISBN 978-954-07-3955-7, 30–54. (Стоянова, А. Дипломати и дипломатически мисии: хабсбургско-османските отношения, 1541–1547 – В: Минало и съвремие на Югоизточна Европа. Студентски интерпретации, Т. 1. София, 2016, ISBN 978-954-07-3955-7, 30–54)
  • Stoyanova, A. The Unfulfilled Alliance Between the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation and the Holy League, 1570–1573. – In: Doctoral and Postdoctoral Readings 2014. Sofia: IF-94, 2016, ISSN: 2367-4784, 38–48. (Стоянова, А. Неосъщественият съюз между Свещената Римска империя на германската нация и Свещената лига, 1570–1573. – В: Докторантски и постдокторантски четения 2014. София: ИФ-94, 2016, ISSN: 2367-4784, 38–48.)

Published reports:

  • Stoyanova, A. Tagungsbericht: Bordering Early Modern Europe, 21.03.2013 – 23.03.2013 Sofia, in: H-Soz-Kult, 01.07.2013, www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/tagungsberichte-4889;
  • Stoyanova, A. Tagungsbericht: Social Networking in South-Eastern Europe, 15th–19th Centuries, 26.10.2012–27.10.2012 Sofia, in: H-Soz-Kult, 26.01.2013, www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/tagungsberichte-4598.

Participation in Scientific Forums:

  • Kyustendil Readings „War and Peace“ (June 6–7, 2014, Kyustendil)
  • Conference „Crises in Early Modern Times: Scenarios–Experiences–Management–Coping. International Workshop for Junior Historians“ (October 2–4, 2014, Salzburg, Austria)
  • PhD and Postdoctoral Readings 2014 (December 18–19, 2014, Sofia)
  • Conference „REFORM-ation-EN in Early Modern European History. International PhD Workshop“ (October 22–24, 2015, Graz, Austria)
  • First Conference in Honor of Prof. Richard Plaschka, „Neue Ordnungen im Vergleich“ (October 27, 2015, Vienna, Austria)
  • PhD and Postdoctoral Readings 2015 (December 17–18, 2015, Sofia)
  • Conference „Centres of Diplomacy, Centres of Culture II: The English, French, and Ottoman Courts“ (March 14–15, 2016, Oxford, UK)
  • Workshop „Diplomatic Culture at the Ottoman Court“ (March 13, 2017, Oxford, UK)
  • Kyustendil Readings „History Between Evolution and Revolution“ (June 2–4, 2017, Kyustendil)
  • PhD Conference „Young Researchers“ (February 21, 2018, Sofia)
  • Workshop „Methodological Questions in Historical Research. International Workshop for Junior Historians“ (September 17–18, 2018, Pécs, Hungary)
  • Second Joint PhD Conference „Young Researchers“ (February 20, 2019, Sofia)
  • International Conference „Current Trends in Central European Research of Modern History, Politics and Culture“ (May 29–31, 2019, Olomouc, Czech Republic)
  • Third Conference in Honor of Prof. Richard Plaschka, „Zum 100-jährigen Jubiläum der Pariser Friedenskonferenzen 1919“ (December 6, 2019, Vienna, Austria)
  • International Conference „Between the Worlds: Magic, Miracles, and Mysticism“ (October 29–31, 2020, Sofia, online)
  • International Conference „Mediterranean Crossings. Soldiers, Prisoners, and Converts Between Permeable Borders (16th–18th centuries)“ (January 13–14, 2021, Palermo, online)
  • Scientific Conference „Historical Science in the Contemporary World“ (December 16, 2022, Sofia)
  • International Scientific Conference „SPLENDID ENCOUNTERS XI. Remapping Decisions. Governmental Decisions in Early Modern Diplomatic Relations Between the Ottoman Empire and Europe“ (April 27–28, 2023, Vienna, Austria)
  • Scientific Conference „East-West: Religions, Centres, and Peripheries“ (October 19–20, 2023, Sofia)
  • NNP Seminar „Young Scientists and Postdoctoral Fellows“ – 2 (November 14, 2023, Sofia)
  • Seminar „War and Its Echo in the Life of the Ottoman Province (15th–18th centuries)“ (November 30, 2023, Sofia)
  • National Scientific Conference „Bulgaria, Europe, and the World: Traditions and Transformations“ (April 24–25, 2024, Sofia)
  • International Scientific Conference „Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans: Historical Perspectives, Cultural Bridges, and New Horizons“ (October 3–4, 2024, Sofia)
  • International Scientific Conference „Splendid Encounters XII: Fake It Till You Make It: Deception, Bribery and Veiled Threats in Early Modern Diplomacy”, 22–23 September 2025, Warsaw, Poland.
  • International Scientific Conference „The Other Face of War”, 16–17 November 2025, Sofia.