University Archive

Alexander Fol

He was born in Sofia on July 3, 1933 to the family of Nikolai Fol – very famous Bulgarian director and playwright – and the writer Vera Boyadzhieva-Fol. In 1957 he graduated Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski ”, where he studied history and classical philology (graduated from his second major in 1959). Alexander Fol remained at Sofia University and after completing his education - since 1959 he was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Old and Medieval General History of the then Faculty of Philosophy and History, in 1972 he was elected Associate Professor and three years later a Full Professor. From 1979 to 1987 he headed the Department of Ancient History and Thracology at the Faculty of History of Sofia University; from 1991 he began to lecture on the History of Ancient Culture at the Department of Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Philosophy of the Sofia University. 1999 marked the beginning of his teaching career at New Bulgarian University, which in 2003 honored him with the title of "Honorary Professor".
In 1972, Alexander Fol founded the Thracian Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and was its director until 1991.
He is actively involved in the work of the historical-archeological expedition "Apolonia-Strandzha", which began in 1972, as well as in projects with foreign participation "Kovachevo", "Drama", "Dyadovo", "Heroes" and others.
His bibliography includes nearly 400 scientific works - monographs, studies, articles and more in the field of Thracian history and culture, among which "Thracian military art" (1969), "Demographic and social structure of ancient Thrace (I millennium BC)" (1970), "The Political History of the Thracians. The end of the second millennium by the end of the fifth century BC (1972), "Thrace and the Balkans in the Early Hellenistic Age" (1975), "Thracian Orphism" (1986), " Politics and Culture in Ancient Thrace ”( 1990),“ The Thracian Dionysus. Part One: Zagrei (1991) and Thracian Dionysus. Book Two: Sabazius ”(1994),“ History of Bulgarian Lands in Antiquity until the End of the 3rd Century BC ”(2008), and others.
In addition to being a scientist, Alexander Fol is also known as a political figure as well. From 1974 to 1980 he was Deputy and First Vice-Chairman of the Committee of Culture, and from 1980 to 1986 he held the post of Minister of Education. As a Member of Parliament he also participated in the work of the VIII National Assembly (1981–86).
Professor Dr. Alexander Fol died in Sofia on March 1, 2006.
 
The personal archive of Professor Alexander Fol was donated by his wife Prof. Valeria Fol and his daughter Alexandra Fol, in 2008. Since then, the fund has been periodically replenished. Materials reviewed and systematized so far can be categorized into the following sections: "Documents from the Scientific Activity", "Documents from the Service and Public Activity", "Illustrative Materials" and "Documents of the relatives".
The first section occupies a special place in the author's scientific texts - articles, lectures and reports (most of which have not been published), such as "The problem of the Triters", "Are there tertiaries in the Chimera cultural space", "Thracian-Peoples political unity until III BC, "Ideas in Types of Time," "Thracian Notebook," "Three Views," and more. Another interesting sub-item is the reviews of Prof. Alexander Fol for works of many Bulgarian scientists. This section also includes documents concerning the publication of the journal Orpheus (Journal of Indo-European and Thracian Studies). Among the materials submitted for storage by Prof. Alexander Fol also has important evidence of his involvement in the work of the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae Foundation. An important component of the fund are the reports and accompanying documents from the archeological expeditions in Drama and Kovachevo, as well as photographs from the excavations of Tatul and Perperek.
There are also a lot of documents related to the activities of the 1300 Years Bulgaria Fund.
Documents related to his father, Nikolai Fol, a well-known writer and theater director, are also found in the archives of Prof. Alexander Fol.