A manuscript copy of Hristofor Jefarovich's "Stematography"

For the revival of the southern Slavs in the 18th century, the cultural, social and political work of Hristofor Jefarovich played an important role. A Bulgarian by birth, a native of the town of Dojran, his activities took place outside the borders of the Bulgarian lands, mainly among the Serbian population in the then vast Austrian monarchy. He loved to travel a lot, he was in Palestine, and also went to Moscow, where he died in 1754. Hristofor Jefarovich is the author of several books, the most important of which is undoubtedly his "Stematography", published in Vienna in 1741. His desire was to resurrect the glory of the South Slavic peoples - Bulgarians and Serbs, to awaken in them an interest in their native past, so that through this they would think about their difficult life as slaves: "How they were, what a kingdom it was, what nature, with what shield of arms... so that the memory among people would not fade away, but would be in the eternal ages, I dared to write this little book in type". The content of the book highlights Zhefarovich as one of the early, enthusiastic and convinced figures of the South Slavic cultural and political community, his book has indeed achieved the goal outlined by the author - awakening national consciousness among Bulgarians and Serbs, activating this consciousness, which leads them to their political liberation.