Commercial navigation on the Dniester River (1812-1853)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
The article reveals one of the aspects of our researches regarding the external commerce of Bessarabia between 1812 and 1853. As a result of our endeavors of identification of transportation means of bessarabian commodities to Odessa, the most important seaport of the period, we found it necessary to accentuate our attention on commercial navigation on the Dniester River.
Analyzing archival documents and monographic literature we came to the conclusion that this problem shall be studied many-sided. To make the final conclusion, though, we must consider the aspects in totality. As a result we divided our paper in four parts: Means and conditions of Dniester navigation, Commercial transports on the course of Dniester, Commercial transports on the Dniester estuary, The role of Bessarabia in the commercial navigation of Dniester. Based on our researches, we consider that navigable potential of the Dniester River was utilized in the named period only partially. Most probably this was due to unconcern and mercenary of the Russian government, which ignored any initiatives, because their implementation didn’t promised quick dividends. Thus a vicious circle was formed. On the one hand the navigation on the Dniester River didn’t develop because of unsatisfactory hydrographical conditions, on the other hand the government refused to invest money for their amelioration as the Dniester navigation was too poor compared to other rivers of the Russian Empire.
The item is the lower part of a leg of a festive table made of white and gray marble. In the upper part, it has a protrusion, similar to a Doric capital, on the horizontal platform of which a square recess is engraved, designed to fix the second part of the leg (upper). The lower part of the leg is made in an anthropomorphic style, and, in our opinion, there are two variants of identifying the depicted character...
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
The item is the lower part of a leg of a festive table made of white and gray marble. In the upper part, it has a protrusion, similar to a Doric capital, on the horizontal platform of which a square recess is engraved, designed to fix the second part of the leg (upper). The lower part of the leg is made in an anthropomorphic style, and, in our opinion, there are two variants of identifying the depicted character. The first involves the image of the head of the young Heracles (Heracles - Ἡρακλῆς) (beardless), the most favorite hero of antiquity, wearing on his head the skin of the Nemean lion - Λέων της Νεμέας, a vicious monster from Greek mythology who lived in Nemea and was eventually killed by Heracles. The first labor of Heracles, of the twelve set by King Eurystheus (his cousin), was to kill the Nemean lion and bring his skin to the king. It is also known from Greek mythology that the lion of Nemea took the form of a beautiful woman in order to seduce the inhabitants of neighboring villages, who wanted to save the girl from danger. Upon entering the cave, a man saw the woman, who usually pretended to be wounded, and rushed to help her. When he approached her, the woman turned into a lion and killed him. Then the lion devoured the man, giving his bones to Hades - ᾍδης, the god of Hell, who lived in the kingdom of shadows. The second version of the anthropomorphic image interpretation suggests Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia in the second half of the 4th century BC, one of the most famous heroes of the Greek world, who sometimes is depicted as Hercules - wearing a lion's skin. Some researchers consider the custom of wearing the skin of a slain lion a sign of royal power. The word βασιλεύς itself, translated from ancient Greek, means "walking the path of the lion", that is, the king. This title was held by the Greek kings from the Homeric period, and later, starting from the 7th century AD - by the Byzantine emperors.
