Pavle Julinac

Pavle Julinac (1730–1785) was a Serbian writer, philosopher, historian, traveler, soldier, and diplomat in the Imperial Russian service. Julinac's "A Short Introduction to the History of the Slavo-Serbian People" published in Venice in 1765 was the first historiography on Serbs. Ten years later, Julinac's translation of Marmontel's "Bélisaire" was the first West European literary work in Serbian. The work of Marmontel soon popularized the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment in Austria among the large Slavo-Serbian population there and in Russia.

Biography It is not known for certain where Pavle Julinac was born. Some sources state that he was born in Segedin; others believe it was in Čurug. He came from a noble Serbian Military Frontier family, the son of an Austrian soldier Arsenije Julinac, and the nephew of Major Vasilije Julinac of Segedin. Julinac attended the Lyceum in Pozun (Bratislava) from 1747 to 1753. Upon graduation, Julinac spoke Serbian, Slovak, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, and French. He held the greatest esteem for his teacher and mentor, Slovak historian Jovan Tomka Saksi, who taught the importance of geography as an introduction to historical treatises.

Works He is best known for four books, each with a historical and literary significance of the time. Julinac's books were printed in the Greco-Orthodox typography of Dimitrije Teodosije, a printer of Greek origin.

Marmontel's Belisaire was the first French novel translated into Serbian and published by Pavle Julinac in the year 1775.

Julinac also translated The Song of Roland, an epic poem based on the Battle of Roncevaux in 778, during the reign of Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle as Matter of France.

He wrote his memoirs and a travel book of his visit to Hilandar Monastery at Mount Athos.

His contemporary, the famous Serbian man of letter, Dositej Obradović, called him "Major Julinac," the highest military rank he attained while in the Russian military and diplomatic service.