He was also interested in philosophy — studying, among others, Socrates, Vasile Conta, and the Stoics Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus, and read works of history — the two Romanian historians who influenced him from early on were Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu and Nicolae Iorga.

The period was dominated by the overwhelming personality of the historian and politician Nicolae Iorga who, during his lifetime published over 1, 250 books and wrote more than 25, 000 articles.

It was discovered in 1915 by the Romanian scholar Nicolae Iorga.

Nicolae Iorga (; sometimes Neculai Iorga, Nicolas Jorga, Nicolai Jorga or Nicola Jorga, born Nicu N. Iorga ; January 17, 1871 – November 27, 1940 ) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, poet and playwright.

Holding teaching positions at the University of Bucharest, the University of Paris and several other academic institutions, Iorga was founder of the International Congress of Byzantine Studies and the Institute of South-East European Studies ( ISSEE ).

In parallel with his scientific contributions, Nicolae Iorga was a prominent right-of-center activist, whose political theory bridged conservatism, nationalism and agrarianism.

Initiator of large-scale campaigns to defend Romanian culture in front of perceived threats, Iorga sparked most controversy with his antisemitic rhetoric, and was for long an associate of the far right ideologue A. C. Cuza.

Involved in a personal dispute with the Guard's leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, and indirectly contributing to his killing, Iorga was also a prominent figure in Carol's corporatist and authoritarian party, the National Renaissance Front.

Nicolae Iorga was a native of Botoşani, and is generally believed to have been born on January 17, 1871 ( although his birth certificate has June 6 ).

Details on the family's more distant origins remain uncertain: Iorga was widely reputed to be of partial Greek-Romanian descent ; the rumor, still credited by some commentators, was rejected by the historian.

Iorga also credited this earliest formative period with having shaped his lifelong views on Romanian language and local culture: " I learned Romanian [...] as it was spoken back in the day: plainly, beautifully and above all resolutely and colorfully, without the intrusions of newspapers and best-selling books ".

His move was contrasted by the group of left-nationalists from the Poporanist faction, who were allied to the National Liberals and, soon after, in open conflict with Iorga.

According to one of Iorga's young disciples, the future journalist Pamfil Şeicaru, the mood was such that Iorga could have led a successful coup d ' état.

The perception that Iorga was a xenophobe also drew condemnation from more moderate traditionalist circles, in particular the Viaţa Literară weekly.

Its panelists, Ilarie Chendi and young Eugen Lovinescu, ridiculed Iorga's claim of superiority ; Chendi in particular criticized the rejection of writers based on their ethnic origin and not their ultimate merit ( while alleging, to Iorga's annoyance, that Iorga himself was a Greek ).

The schism was allegedly a direct result of his conflicts with other literary venues, and inaugurated a brief collaboration between Iorga and Făt Frumos journalist Emil Gârleanu.

The consequences hit Iorga in May 1909, when he was stopped from visiting Bukovina, officially branded a persona non grata, and expelled from Austrian soil ( in June, it was made illegal for Bukovinan schoolteachers to attend Iorga's lectures ).

In 1913, Iorga was in London for an International Congress of History, presenting a proposal for a new approach to medievalism and a paper discussing the sociocultural effects of the fall of Constantinople on Moldavia and Wallachia.

Iorga was even called under arms in the Second Balkan War, during which Romania fought alongside Serbia and against the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

The subsequent taking of Southern Dobruja, supported by Maiorescu and the Conservatives, was seen by Iorga as callous and imperialistic.

His attention was focused on the Albanians and Arbëreshë — Iorga soon discovered the oldest record of written Albanian, the 1462 Formula e pagëzimit.

The text, together with his program of agrarian conferences and his subscription lists for the benefit of victims ' relatives again made him an adversary of the National Liberals, who referred to Iorga as an instigator.

In 1910, the year when he toured the Old Kingdom's conference circuit, Nicolae Iorga again rallied with Cuza to establish the explicitly antisemitic Democratic Nationalist Party.

In March 1921, Iorga again turned on Stere.

The two worked together on Cuget Românesc newspaper, but were again at odds when Iorga began criticizing modernist literature and " the world's spiritual crisis ".

Iorga embarked on a longer journey during 1930: again lecturing in Paris during January, he left for Genoa and, from there, traveled to the United States, visiting some 20 cities, being greeted by the Romanian-American community and meeting with President Herbert Hoover.

Iorga again toured Europe in 1935, and, upon his return to Romania, gave a new set of conferences under the auspices of the Cultural League, inviting scholar Franz Babinger to lecture at the ISSEE.

Early in 1936, Nicolae Iorga was again lecturing at the University of Paris, and gave an additional conference at the Société des études historiques, before hosting the Bucharest session of the International Committee of Historians.

Iorga was again Romanian Commissioner of the Venice Biennale in 1940.

He was again in charge of Internal Affairs and Finance from 1931 to 1932, during the Iorga government, when he took a harsh stance against the fascist Iron Guard, outlawing it and arresting some of its members ( which led to a string of violent confrontations ).

Romanian historian of culture Alexandru Zub finds that Iorga's is " surely the richest opus coming from the 20th century ", while Maria Todorova calls Iorga " Romania's greatest historian ", adding " at least in terms of the size of his opus and his influence both at home and abroad ".

For a while in 1927, Iorga was also local leader of the Pan-European movement, created internationally by Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi.

Also then, Iorga was appointed Aggregate Professor by the University of Paris, received the honor of having foreign scholars lecturing at the Vălenii de Munte school, and published a number of scientific works and essays, such as: Brève histoire des croissades (" A Short History of the Crusades "), Cărţi reprezentative din viaţa omenirii (" Books Significant for Mankind's Existence "), România pitorească (" Picturesque Romania ") and a volume of addresses to the Romanian American community.

Iorga eventually parted with Sămănătorul in late 1906, moving on to set up his own tribune, Neamul Românesc.

Iorga managed to publish roughly as many new titles in 1914, the year when he received a Romanian Bene Merenti distinction, and inaugurated the international Institute of South-East European Studies or ISSEE ( founded through his efforts ), with a lecture on Albanian history.

Also in 1915, Iorga completed his economic history treatise, Istoria comerţului la români (" The History of Commerce among the Romanians "), as well as a volume on literary history and Romanian philosophy, Faze sufleteşti şi cărţi reprezentative la români (" Spiritual Phases and Relevant Books of the Romanians ").

Iorga, who reissued Neamul Românesc in Iaşi, resumed his activity at Iaşi University and began working on the war propaganda daily România, while contributing to R. W.

On December 1, later celebrated as Great Union Day, Iorga was participant in a seminal event of the union with Transylvania, as one of several thousand Romanians who gathered in Alba Iulia to demand union on the basis of self-determination.

Despite these successes, Iorga was reportedly snubbed by King Ferdinand, and only left to rely on Brătianu for support.

Shortly after the creation of Greater Romania, Iorga was focusing his public activity on exposing collaborators of the wartime occupiers.

Although very much opposed to the imprisoned Germanophile poet Tudor Arghezi, Iorga intervened on his behalf with Ferdinand.

Also in 1919, Iorga was elected chairman of the Cultural League, where he gave a speech on " the Romanians ' rights to their national territory ", was appointed head of the Historical Monuments ' Commission, and met the French academic mission to Romania ( Henri Mathias Berthelot, Charles Diehl, Emmanuel de Martonne and Raymond Poincaré, whom he greeted with a speech about the Romanians and the Romance peoples ).

Iorga was awarded the title of doctor honoris causa by the University of Strasbourg, while his lectures on Albania, collected by poet Lasgush Poradeci, became Brève histoire de l ' Albanie (" Concise History of Albania ").

In Bucharest, Iorga received as a gift from his admirers a new Bucharest home on Bonaparte Highway ( Iancu de Hunedoara Boulevard ).

Iorga also resumed his writing for the stage, with two new drama plays: one centered on the Moldavian ruler Constantin Cantemir ( Cantemir bătrânul, " Cantemir the Elder "), the other dedicated to, and named after, Brâncoveanu.

In 1921, when his 50th birthday was celebrated at a national level, Iorga published a large number of volumes, including a bibliographic study on the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and its leader Tudor Vladimirescu, an essay on political history ( Dezvoltarea aşezămintelor politice, " The Development of Political Institutions "), Secretul culturii franceze (" The Secret of French Culture "), Războiul nostru în note zilnice (" Our War as Depicted in Daily Records ") and the French-language Les Latins de l ' Orient (" The Oriental Latins ").

In politics, Iorga began objecting to the National Liberals ' hold on power, denouncing the 1922 election as a fraud.

In 1925, when he was elected a member of the Kraków Academy of Learning in Poland, Iorga gave conferences in various European countries, including Switzerland ( where he spoke at a League of Nations assembly on the state of Romania's minorities ).