Ciao
I'm Ilia Curto Pelle
PhD Student in History, Princeton University
- Age 24
- Address Fondovi Jilishta, Sofia 1233, Bulgaria
- E-mail mail[at]curtopelle[dot]com
- Phone +359 878 898 712
- MPhil Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, University of Oxford
- BA Classics, Princeton University
- Princeton University
I am an early career scholar with interests in the economic and social history of the Eastern Mediterranean between the 5th and 10th centuries. My work adopts an interdisciplinary methodology drawing on fields as diverse as numismatics, artifact studies, literary studies, epigraphy, and even international relations to explore the lives of non-elite people (e.g. merchants, peasants, migrants) in the pivotal period of transition from the Late Antique to the Early Medieval world. My proposed PhD project at Princeton University aims to investigate the identity and self-presentation of merchants in the Eastern Mediterranean between the Late Roman Empire and the High Middle Ages. My dream is to become a leading scholar in the fields of Late Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval economic history.
Download ResumeExperience
August 2020 -
Project Manager & Member of Steering Committee
FLAME Project
From the summer of 2020 I have served as the assistant coordinator for the FLAME (Framing the Late Antique and early Medieval Economy) Project. In this capacity, I review references and content for the FLAME Project's coin circulation module. I am also responsible for identifying and rectifying bugs in the back end of the database. I also work on inputting numismatic data from museum collections and hoards from the Northern Balkans, Merovingian-era finds in France, and Sassanian finds in Georgia, contributing to the populating of FLAME's database. Since the summer of 2022, I have also been a part of the project's executive committee, which makes all the key decisions related to the future of the project, and have represented FLAME at several international conferences and meetings with other scholars and projects.
June-August 2024
Summer Fellow
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
In early 2024, I was awarded the Summer Fellowship in Byzantine Studies at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, the premier institute for the study of Byzantine History in the United States. As part of my internship, I was conceded the opportunity to research a mysterious hoard of 792 coins from the 12th-13th centuries, as well as participating in a lecture series and discussions alongside some of the brightest minds in the field. The publication of the results of my two-month investigation will be published in a forthcoming volume of DO's journal, Dumbarton Oaks Papers.
November 2022 - November 2023
Research Assistant
Dr. Michael Maas, Rice University
Dr. Michael Maas is one of the premier scholars of ethnography, ethnicity, and geographical thinking in Late Antiquity. Since the autumn of 2022, I served as his research assistant for his forthcoming monograph, The Conqueror's Gift: Empire and Ethnography at the End of Antiquity. My responsibilities included the reading, checking, and editing of footnotes, including the verification of citations and translations from primary and secondary sources and the translation of text from Greek and Latin. I assisted Dr. Maas to produce a volume with striking text and killer footnotes, which has the potential to reconsider the relationship between the Roman Empire and the barbarian world.
September 2023 - June 2024
Secretary
Oxford University Byzantine Society
During my first year at Oxford, I became part of the Oxford University Byzantine Society, the premier Oxford student organization for the promotion of Byzantine studies. I was honored to be elected as secretary of the OUBS for the 2023-2024 year. As secretary, it was my responsibility to assist the president of the OUBS in all of his capacities, which included the organization of a yearly conference on Byzantine Studies at Oxford, a research trip to Byzantine monasteries in Georgia, and a conference panel at the 2024 International Medieval Congress in Leeds. I also functioned as a reference person for the incoming graduate class of the Late Antique and Byzantine Studies program and co-organized academic and extra-curricular events for the student body.
May 2021 - July 2023
Coordinator
Histories in Transition Project, Austrian Academy of Sciences
Since May 2021, I worked together with the Histories in Transition Project at the Austrian Academy of Sciences as a coordinator of the Project. In this capacity, I oversaw the logistics of the organization of HIT's virtual seminar series and steering group meetings. In addition, I assisted the members of the HIT steering committee on the preparation of an online database of Carolingian-era manuscripts, as well as a Zotero bibliography, in order to further the goals of the project in investigating the transformation of historical writing in Western Europe between the 8th and 9th centuries.
November 2022 - June 2024
RAST Administrator
Research Assistance Support Team (RAST)
RAST is a newly emergent team within the Faculty Services division of the University of Oxford, which offers full-time research assistance to the faculty of the Said Business School. My responsibilities as the Research Assistance Support Team Administrator at SBS included the management of the RAST email inbox, the processing and allocation of RA requests from faculty, the storage and organization of RAST-related documentation, and the gathering and reviewing of feedback. My goal was to put RAST on the SBS map and to develop an innovative approaches to research assistance, which could become a model for similar teams in other departments at Oxford and other UK universities.
September 2018 - May 2022
Cataloger
Princeton Numismatic Collection
Since September 2018, I worked together with Professor Alan Stahl in the Princeton Numismatic collection. My responsibilities included the analysis, referencing, cataloging, photographing, and labeling of scyphate and flat silver, billon, and copper coins from the 12th and 13th centuries. I particularly focused on Bulgarian, Serbian, late Komnenian, Latin, Nicaean, Epirote, and early Palaiologan coinage. I also aided Professor Stahl in several capacities, most notably by creating a new and updated manual for inputting coin data, assisting in teaching sessions with fellow undergraduate students, and worked in several areas of the collection on the cataloging and photographing of coins dating from the 6th century BC to the 19th century AD.
May 2021 - May 2022
Editor-in-Chief
Princeton Studies in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
I had been working as a peer-editor for the Journal for Princeton Studies in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages (now renamed SCIVIAS) since my freshman year. The journal focuses on publishing promising examples of academic work from undergraduate and graduate students at Princeton. In 2020, I was chosen to become the vice-editor-in-chief of the Journal, overseeing the peer-review process of the Journal. Finally, I was extremely honored to be chosen as the editor-in-chief of the Journal for the 2021/2022 school year. I used my position to elevate my peers and tried to bring as many of the resources for the study of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages that our University offers to our readership. The result of my team's efforts was the publication of the most recent issue of the journal in the Spring of 2022, featuring contributions from both undergraduate students and faculty at Princeton University.
Education
2024-2030
Princeton University
Ph.D. in History
2022-2024
University of Oxford
Master of Philosophy in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies
2018-2022
Princeton University
B.A. in Classics (Ancient History), certificates in Hellenic Studies, Medieval Studies, History and Practice of Diplomacy, 3.983/4.000 GPA, Summa cum laude
2021
American Numismatic Society Lyceum
ANS Lyceum courses on Ancient Greek and Roman coins
2019
Paideia Institute, 2019 and 2020 iterations
Spoken Latin and Greek Conference
2017
Аcademia Vivarium Novum
Internship in Spoken Latin
2013-2018
National High School of Ancient Languages and Cultures "Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher"
Latin, Ancient Greek, Old Bulgarian, History, Cultural Anthropology
Language Skills
Languages are crucial to the study of past cultures. Therefore, learning languages is crucial for my work as a historian. After improving my Arabic and learning Middle Persian, my next goal is to learn Syriac, Coptic, and Hebrew.
Publications and Conferences
September 2024
Publication in The Byzantine Review
Book Review: Zhenya Zhekova – Stela Doncheva, Production of Imitative Byzantine Folles in the First Bulgarian Kingdom
July 2024
Presentation at 2024 International Medieval Congress
The impact of "Slavic invasions” on coin circulation in the Northern Balkans
June 2024
Presentation at XXth International Congress of Classical Archaeology
The FLAME Project: Using Digital Tools Study Coin Use in Lived Spaces
July 2023
Presentation at 2023 International Medieval Congress
The Byzantine Oikoumene: A Medieval International Society?
June 2023
Presentation at 10th Joint Meeting of ECFN and Nomisma.org & 2nd BulgNR TOGETHER
The impact of "Slavic invasions” on coin circulation in the Northern Balkans
May 2023
Presentation at 58th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Challenges and Perspectives for Studying the Circulation of Sassanian Coinage
February 2023
Presentation at 98th Annual Meeting of the Medieval Academy of America
The Byzantine Oikoumene: A Medieval International Society?
September 2022
Presentation at XVI International Numismatic Congress
The impact of "Slavic invasions” on coin circulation in the Northern Balkans
Spring 2022
Publication in Helicon: The Yale Undergraduate Journal of Classics
The transformation of Mard ō Mard from a Persian tradition to a literary topos
March 2022
Presentation at Global Medieval and Renaissance Studies Colloquium
Khan Krum and the Change of Bulgarian Grand Strategy at the Turn of the 9th Century
March 2022
Presentation at FLAME Conference: Networks in Transition: Monetary Exchange from Antiquity to the Middle Ages
The impact of "Slavic invasions” on coin circulation in the Northern Balkans
January 2022
Presentation at Conference: Small Change: New Perspectives on Early Medieval Money
The FLAME Project: a Digital Perspective on Early Medieval Coinage
September 2021
Publication in The Macksey Journal
The Araxa Honorary Decree for Orthagoras: Dating and Historical Context
April 2021
Presentation at Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium 2021
The Araxa Honorary Decree for Orthagoras: Dating and Historical Context
May 2020
Presentation at Princeton Research Day 2020
A New Approach to Seleucid Serrated Coins: Questions of Reform and Dynastic Continuity
Awards
October 2024
OCBR Graduate Prize for Best Master’s Thesis in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies
Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research (OCBR)
The Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research is the most important funding and research body for Byzantine Studies in the University of Oxford and, arguably, the United Kingdom. I had the privilege of being awarded their Graduate Prize in Byzantine Studies for my master's paper on the Phenomena of Byzantine Imitative Coinages in the 13th- and 14th-centuries. This is an important testament to all of the efforts I exerted in researching, preparing, and writing this thesis, and is an important stepping stone for my future career as a scholar of the economy of the Eastern Mediterranean in the Middle Ages.
June-August 2024
Summer Fellowship in Byzantine Studies
Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection
The Summer Fellowship in Byzantine Studies is conceeded to a dozen individuals a year, whose research focuses on topics in Byzantine history, architecture, art history, archaeology, etc. I became one of the youngest people to have ever been conceded the opportunity of traveling to Dumbarton Oaks and conducting independent research on a hoard of 792 coins, whose publication is forthcoming.
October 2022
Wakeham Humanities Scholarship
St. Catherine's College, University of Oxford
The Wakeham Humanities Scholarship is awarded to a distinguished student of St. Catherine's College at the University of Oxford in the humanities. It is offered to a graduate member of St. Catherine's College, who is enrolled in a masters degree program (MPhil, MSt) in literature or history. I had the honor of being awarded this Scholarship upon my admission to the University of Oxford and St. Catherine's College.
May 2022
John J. Keaney Prize for best senior thesis
Classics Department, Princeton University
The John J. Keaney Prize is the departmental prize for the best senior thesis. This award is in fond memory of Professor John Keaney, who served the Department as colleague, teacher, and mentor for 41 years, from 1959 to 2000. I was presented with this award during the Class Day ceremony of the Classics department of Princeton University for my senior thesis on "The Transformation of Balkan Society in the 7th century", undertaken under the supervision of Professors Daniela Mairhofer and John Haldon.
May 2022
Membership of Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) honor society
Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ) honor society, Princeton chapter
The Phi Beta Kappa Society (ΦΒΚ) is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. I was extremely honored to be invited to become a member of PBK for my academic successes during my undergraduate education at Princeton University.
May 2022
Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies Senior Thesis Prize
Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, Princeton University
Each year, the Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies awards a Hellenic Studies Senior Thesis Prize for the best senior thesis written on a topic in Byzantine or Modern Greek Studies. I had the honor of receiving this award for my senior thesis on "The Transformation of Balkan Society in the 7th century", undertaken under the supervision of Professors Daniela Mairhofer and John Haldon.
May 2022
Judith Laffan Memorial Prize
Department of Near Eastern Studies, Princeton University
The Judith Laffan Memorial Prize is awarded by the department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University every year to an undergraduate student at Princeton University for outstanding progress and dedication to the Arabic language. I had the honor of receiving this prize during the Class Day ceremony in May 2022.
December 2014-November 2016
First Place
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Student Institute
A chance for every young inquisitive person in Bulgaria to showcase his or her aptitude for research in many different areas of study by developing original work and defending it in front of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. I am extremely thankful to have had the opportunity to participate in the first and third iterations of the Student Institute in 2014 and 2016 respectively with my projects on the "Symbiosis of Cultures and Religions in the Palatine Chapel of Palermo" and "The Influences of Ancient Culture on the Iconography of the Virgin Mary". I was even more honored to have received the first prize in the respective categories for those two pieces of research as a high-school student.
September 2020
2019-2020 Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence
Princeton University
The Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence is one of the most important prizes that a student at Princeton University can receive in recognition of their academic achievements. During the 2019-2020 school year, I managed to receive the highest possible marks in all of my classes. In 2020, I had the honor to be awarded the Shapiro Prize alongside some of the most endowed Princeton students from my class.
Projects
References
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"I have worked with Ilia over the last half year and his assistance on the FLAME project (Framing the Late Antique and Medieval Economy) has been indispensable. He combines impressive ability with a heroic work ethic, all of which, along with great scholarly capacity, has meant that our project has been enormously enriched by his efforts."
Mark Pyzyk Database Coordinator, Framing the Late Antique and early Medieval Economy (FLAME) Project -
”Ilia is easily distinguished by a fierce ambition to achieve his goals, which has not only led to his choice to study in this school, but also to his excellent performance throughout the years both in class and in his Latin extra-curricular activities. His work on my subject has always been characterised by creativity, thorough learning and purposefulness. Ilia is a talented translator, and, due to his interest in Ancient history and Cultural anthropology, he exhibits an enormous potential to critically read and analyse sources from the Classical period in a plethora of subjects – history, culture and language."
Dr. Lidia Dimitrova Domaradska Chief teacher of Latin in the National High School of Ancient Languages and Cultures “Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher”, teacher of Ancient Greek and Latin Epigraphy and Classical languages in the History department of the Sofia University “St. Clement of Ochrid“, Sofia, Bulgaria -
Thanks to his qualities аs a musician, his broad vocal range, full-toned and rich voice, and his artistic gift indicative of a bright future as a professional bass singer, Ilia Curto Pelle earned his place in the ensemble. Ilia graduated with excellent grades. Thanks to self-training, self-discipline and the ability to master the material thoroughly, he achieves success with ease and inspires others, serving as an example of ambition, persistence and motivation. The contests he took part in and his prestigious awards are among the strongest evidence for his talent, discipline and performance.
Daniel Stanilov Ivanov Teacher of Music and conductor of the choirs at the National School of Ancient Languages and Cultures “Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher”, Sofia, Bulgaria -
His strong exactingness to himself and to his work helps Ilia in his relations with both classmates and teachers. Because of his innate intelligence, erudition and excellent upbringing, he has grown to become a highly prominent young man with a positive influence over his classmates and is respected by them. He shows tolerance and sense of humor. He has great relations with his classmates and his teachers; he is a team worker and has a high sense of responsibility towards everyone, both professionally and personally.
Alexander Milkov Ivanchev Senior teacher of History and Civilization at The National School for Ancient Languages and Cultures "Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher" – Sofia, Bulgaria -
Ilia is one of those students who get noticed right from the very start. His sound knowledge of Latin, Ancient Greek and Ancient Bulgarian and his excellent command of English and Russian allow him to approach any argument after getting acquainted with both the sources and the most advanced research on the topic. This advantage, combined with impressive work abilities and original thought, made Ilia stood out in two competitions at the Student Session of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in 2016 and 2014. Ilia’s developments drafted under my scientific leadership made a strong impression not only on the audience but also on the academic jury which distinguished him with the first place and he won academic internship at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Dr. Veselina Kirilova Vachkova Teacher of History and Culture History at the National School for Ancient Languages and Cultures “Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher”, Sofia Director of the Historical Museum in Perushtitsa.
Contact
If you want to discuss my academic interests, future plans, or projects, just get in touch by using the form below.
- E-mail mail[at]curtopelle[dot]com
- Phone +359878898712
- Skype iliacurtopelle
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Address
Fondovi Jilishta,
Sofia,1233
Bulgaria