Vasil Nikolov Zlatarski (Bulgarian: Васил Николов Златарски; 26 November [O.S.

After the early death of his father, he went to his brother in Russia, where in 1887 he graduated the First Classical Lyceum in St. Petersburg.

He contributed significantly to the development of Bulgarian historical science by becoming the first professor of history at the Sofia University who conducted original research and by creating the field of Bulgarian medieval history proper, within the parameters in which it still exists today.

Between his first appointment at the university in 1893 and his death in 1935 he worked on his monumental History of the Bulgarian State in the Middle ages - a comprehensive study of the political history of the medieval Bulgarian state with long discussions of cultural and religious problems and meticulous analysis of broad source evidence.

Zlatarski popularised historical research in the country and established contacts with major Russian and Western medievalists and Byzantinists such as A.