RETHINKING BULGARIAN DIPLOMATIC HISTORY IN THE AGE OF DIGITAL HUMANITIES: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS, PROSOPOGRAPHIC RESEARCH, AND THE CHALLENGES OF “DIGITIZATION WITH A HUMAN FACE”
Études balkaniques (Sofia) 2025, N 4, pp. 837-857, DOI: https://doi.org/10.62761/645.EB.LXI3.01
Simeon A. SIMEONOV 
Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
Abstract: The rapid development of information and communication technologies has shaped the emergence of digital humanities, an interdisciplinary field merging digital tools with traditional scholarship. This article examines “Mapping the Bulgarian Foreign Service”, a digital interactive map documenting the data of Bulgarian Foreign Service appointments from 1878 to 1914 – a transformative period from liberation to the First World War. By employing prosopographical methods and quantitative data, the project sheds light on the fluidity and decentralization of diplomatic appointments, challenging Sofia-centered narratives. T he map corrects historical inaccuracies and broadens research to include lesser known diplomatic actors such as commercial agents and consular officers. The project illustrates how digital tools can humanize and enrich historical inquiry rather than replace it. As both a scholarly and public resource, the map enhances access to Bulgaria’s diplomatic past and contributes to the digital humanities by demonstrating the potential of data-driven, accessible, and interdisciplinary research in reinterpreting national histories.
Keywords: Bulgaria, diplomatic history, digital humanities, prosopography