MILOŠ S. MILOJEVIĆ AND THE SOUTH SERB AREA: THE PROBLEM OF THE HISTORICAL HERITAGE

Abstract

This article reconsiders the place of Miloš S. Milojević in Serbian cultural and historiographical heritage by moving beyond the conventional perception of him solely as a pseudo-historian. Through an analysis of his biography, the nineteenth-century “Methodological Dispute” in Serbian historiography, and the case study of the Indian Anthology (Indijska rukovet), the paper argues that Milojević’s historical interpretations should be understood within the broader framework of Serbian state-building, national ideology, and the political use of the past. Rather than rehabilitating his pseudo-historical claims, the study examines their social and political functions in the context of the struggle for the liberation and integration of the southern Serbian lands.

Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between critical historiography and pseudo-history, demonstrating that their separation at the end of the nineteenth century marked the professionalization of Serbian historical scholarship, while pseudo-history itself remained an important historical phenomenon worthy of scholarly analysis. The paper further highlights the southern Serbian territories as the principal geographical and symbolic space in which pseudo-historical narratives were constructed to legitimize national claims. Finally, by examining the reinterpretation of Cyprien Robert’s work through Matija Ban and Milojević, the article points to the intersections of Illyrianism, Yugoslavism, and Serbian national ideology, showing how different political projects employed similar mechanisms of ideological reinterpretation of the past.