Approaches to Polish-Lithuanian

ENIn this short essay I explore the multilingual and multireligious character ofthe multinational Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Early Modern period. This state was home not only to significant Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Jewish communities, but also to notable numbers of Armenians and Muslims. I set my study in the context of developments in historiography, which - in general works at least - has only recently turned its attention towards the abovementioned aspects ofthe the Early Modern Commonwealth, even though they permeated all aspects of society. This applies, as I will show, on multiple scales, from individual cities through the regional level to the transregional. The primary focus ofthis study will be on the way historical research has approached Poland-Lithuania, and in particular the Grand Duchy, and what imaginaries it has thus constructed. At the same time, or even more, this short piece is an outline of a prospective new approach drawing on a transregional and Transottoman perspective, influenced by the ongoing transnational turn in historiography. While historiography has played a key role in influencing current debates on memory cultures, I will only briefly touch upon those here. This paper outlines some of the far-reaching, transregional connections that shaped Poland-Lithuania, thus pointing towards new research questions that recognition ofthis could inspire.Indeed, Poland and Lithuania, as well as the partitioned territories that joined the Russian Empire, should always be considered in both their local and transregional contexts, and thus in their interconnections with Rus', Ruthenia, Muscovy and the Petersburg Empire, as well as with the northern Black Sea region, the Ottoman Empire and Persia. Important trade routes from Lviv (Lwów / Lemberg) led, of course, to Istanbul and Crimea, and from there further to Trabzon and Persia. Lithuania’s place in the Baltic region was established long ago in historiography, yet significant scope remains for developing further research perspectives. This essay works towards this goal by orienting its focus towards the southeast to a greater extent than has usually been the case in existing studies. [Extract, p. 43-44]