View source for Biography:Nicolae Iorga

{{Short description|Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, poet and playwright}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Nicolae Iorga
| nationality         = Romanian
| smallimage          = 
| image               = Iorga at his desk Luceaferul 2, 1914.jpg
| caption             = Iorga in 1914
| order               = 34th
| office              = Prime Minister of Romania
| term_start          = 19 April 1931
| term_end            = 6 June 1932
| monarch             = Carol II
| predecessor         = Gheorghe Mironescu
| successor           = Alexandru Vaida-Voievod
| order1              = President of the Senate of Romania
| monarch1            = Carol II
| term_start1         = 9 June 1939
| term_end1           = 13 June 1939
| predecessor1        = Alexandru Lapedatu
| successor1          = Constantin Argetoianu
| order2              = President of the Assembly of Deputies
| monarch2            = Ferdinand I
| term_start2         = 9 December 1919
| term_end2           = 26 March 1920
| predecessor2        = Alexandru Vaida-Voevod
| successor2          = Duiliu Zamfirescu
| order3              = Member of the Crown Council
| monarch3            = Carol II
| term_start3         = 30 March 1938
| term_end3           = 6 September 1940
| office4             = Minister of Internal Affairs
| termlabel4          = Acting
| term_start4         = 18 April 1931
| term_end4           = 7 May 1931
| primeminister4      = ''Himself''
| predecessor4        = Ion Mihalache
| successor4          = Constantin Argetoianu {{small|(Acting)}}
| order5              = Minister of Culture and Religious Affairs
| term_start5         = 18 April 1931
| term_end5           = 5 June 1932
| primeminister5      = ''Himself''
| predecessor5        = Nicolae Costăchescu
| successor5          = [[Biography:Dimitrie Gusti|Dimitrie Gusti]]
| order6              = President of the Democratic Nationalist Party
| alongside6          = A. C. Cuza (until 26 April 1920)
| term_start6         = 6 May 1910
| term_end6           = 16 December 1938
| predecessor6        = ''None'' (co-founder)
| successor6          = ''None'' (party formally banned under the 1938 Constitution)
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1871|1|17|df=y}}
| birth_place         = Botoșani, Principality of Romania
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1940|11|27|1871|1|17|df=y}}
| death_place         = Strejnic, Prahova County, [[History:Kingdom of Romania|Kingdom of Romania]]
| death_cause         = Gunshot wounds
| party               = Democratic Nationalist Party {{small|(1910–1938)}} <br /> National Renaissance Front {{small|(1938–1940)}}
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Maria Tasu|1890|1900|end=divorced}}
* {{Marriage|Ecaterina Bogdan|1901|1940}}
}}
| alma_mater          = Alexandru Ioan Cuza University <br /> École pratique des hautes études <br /> [[Organization:Leipzig University|Leipzig University]]
| occupation          = Writer, poet, professor, literary critic, politician
| profession          = Historian, philosopher
| signature           = N. Iorga, semnătura (1917).jpg
| footnotes           = |
}}

'''Nicolae Iorga'''{{#tag:ref|Variously '''Neculai Iorga''', '''Nicolas Jorga''', '''Nicolai Jorga''' or '''Nicola Jorga''', born '''Nicu N. Iorga''';<ref>Iova, p. xxvii.</ref>|group=alt}} ({{IPA-ro|nikoˈla.e ˈjorɡa}}; 17 January 1871 – 27 November 1940) was a Romanian historian, politician, literary critic, memoirist, Albanologist, poet and playwright. Co-founder (in 1910) of the Democratic Nationalist Party (PND), he served as a member of Parliament, President of the Deputies' Assembly and Senate, cabinet minister and briefly (1931–32) as Prime Minister. A [[Philosophy:Child prodigy|child prodigy]], [[History:Polymath|polymath]] and polyglot, Iorga produced an unusually large body of scholarly works, establishing his international reputation as a medievalist, Byzantinist, [[Social:Romance studies|Latinist]], [[Social:Slavic studies|Slavist]], [[Art history|art historian]] and [[Philosophy:Philosophy of history|philosopher of history]]. Holding teaching positions at the University of Bucharest, the [[Organization:University of Paris|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). His activity also included the transformation of Vălenii de Munte town into a cultural and academic center.

In parallel with his academic contributions, Nicolae Iorga was a prominent [[Social:Right-wing politics|right-of-centre]] activist, whose political theory bridged conservatism, Romanian nationalism, and agrarianism. From [[Philosophy:Marxism|Marxist]] beginnings, he switched sides and became a maverick disciple of the ''Junimea'' movement. Iorga later became a leadership figure at ''[[Social:Sămănătorul|Sămănătorul]]'', the influential literary magazine with [[Social:Populism|populist]] leanings, and militated within the {{ill|League for the Cultural Unity of All Romanians|ro|Liga pentru Unitatea Culturală a tuturor Românilor}}, founding vocally conservative publications such as ''Neamul Românesc'', ''Drum Drept'', ''Cuget Clar'' and ''Floarea Darurilor''. His support for the cause of ethnic Romanians in [[Place:Austria-Hungary|Austria-Hungary]] made him a prominent figure in the pro-Entente camp by the time of [[Social:World War I|World War I]], and ensured him a special political role during the interwar existence of [[Social:Greater Romania|Greater Romania]]. 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. He was an adversary of the dominant National Liberals, later involved with the opposition Romanian National Party.

Later in his life, Iorga opposed the radically fascist Iron Guard, and, after much oscillation, came to endorse its rival King Carol II. Involved in a personal dispute with the Guard's leader [[Biography:Corneliu Zelea Codreanu|Corneliu Zelea Codreanu]], and indirectly contributing to his killing, Iorga was also a prominent figure in Carol's [[Social:Corporatism|corporatist]] and authoritarian party, the National Renaissance Front. He remained an independent voice of opposition after the Guard inaugurated its own National Legionary dictatorship, but was ultimately assassinated by a Guardist commando.

==Biography==

===Child prodigy===
[[File:Casa memorială Nicolae Iorga, Botoșani.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Memorial house in Botoșani]]

Nicolae Iorga was a native of Botoșani and was born into a family of Greek origin.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Karpat |first=Kemal H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=082osLxyBDgC&pg=PA2 |title=Studies on Ottoman Social and Political History: Selected Articles and Essays |date=2002 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-12101-0 |pages=2 |language=en |quote=...for instance the historian-Ottomanist Nicolae Iorga of Greek origin. |author-link=Kemal H. Karpat}}</ref> His father, Nicu Iorga, was a practicing lawyer;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pandrea |first=Petre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be6gAAAAMAAJ |title=Garda de fier: jurnal de filosofie politică : memorii penitenciare |date=2001 |publisher=Editura Vremea |isbn=978-973-9423-99-1 |pages=176 |language=ro |quote=Nu are nici o picătură de sânge românesc în vine. Pe Iorga îl cheamă Arghiropol. Acesta este numele său adevărat, tatăl era avocat grec la Botoşani.}}</ref> he ultimately descended from a Greek merchant who settled in Botoșani in the 18th century,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boia |first=Lucian |url=https://archive.org/details/lucian-boia-cum-s-a-romanizat-romania-humanitas-2015 |title=Cum sa romanizat România |date=2015 |publisher=Humanitas |isbn=978-973-50-4875-4 |location=Bucureşti |pages=34 |language=en |quote=Iar Nicolae Iorga, recunoscut drept cel mai de seamă istoric român, se trage, pe linie paternă, dintrun grec stabilit în Moldova în secolul al XVIIIlea |author-link=Lucian Boia}}</ref> five generations before Nicolae Iorga's birth.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Iorga |first=Nicolae |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FAoKAQAAIAAJ |title=Istoria românilor: Reformatorii |date=1988 |publisher=Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică |isbn=978-973-45-0402-2 |pages=285, n. 2 |language=ro |quote=[Editor's note:] Istoricul era descendent la a cincea generație din ''Iorga galiongiul'', negustor grec stabilit la Botoșani,}}</ref> His mother, Zulnia Iorga (''née'' Arghiropol), was a woman of Phanariote Greek descent.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Djuvara |first=Neagu |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AhnNDwAAQBAJ |title=Thocomerius–Negru Voda: Un voivod de origine cumana la inceputurile Tarii Romanesti. Raspuns criticilor mei si neprietenilor lui Negru Vodă |date=9 December 2016 |publisher=Humanitas SA |isbn=978-973-50-5553-0 |pages=11 |language=en |quote=Cât despre Iorga, străstrăbunicul său a fost grec, fost marinar. Mama istoricului era de origine greacă fanariotă, Arghiropol |author-link=Neagu Djuvara}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Rădulescu |first=Mihai Sorin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bS9EAQAAIAAJ |title=Elita liberală românească, 1866-1900 |date=1998 |publisher=Ed. All |isbn=978-973-9392-93-8 |pages=43 |language=ro}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Pandrea |first=Petre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=be6gAAAAMAAJ |title=Garda de fier: jurnal de filosofie politică : memorii penitenciare |date=2001 |publisher=Editura Vremea |isbn=978-973-9423-99-1 |pages=176 |language=ro}}</ref> Iorga claimed direct descent from the noble Mavrocordatos and Argyros families.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ioanid |first=Radu |date=1992 |title=Nicolae Iorga and Fascism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/260901 |journal=Journal of Contemporary History |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=467–492 |doi=10.1177/002200949202700305 |jstor=260901 |s2cid=159706943 |issn=0022-0094}}</ref><ref>Rădulescu, p. 344</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Treptow |first=Kurt W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiOhAAAAMAAJ |title="Procesul" lui Corneliu Zelea Codreanu: mai, 1938 |date=1994 |publisher=S.C. "Dosoftei" S.A. |pages=138 |language=ro}}</ref> He credited the five-generation-boyar status, received from his father's side (e.g. Miclescu, Catargi), and the "old boyar" roots of his mother, (e.g. Mavrocordat) with having turned him into a political man.<ref>Rădulescu, pp. 344, 351</ref> His parallel claim of being related to noble families such as the Cantacuzinos and the Craiovești is questioned by other researchers.<ref>Nastasă (2003), p. 62</ref> Iorga is generally believed to have been born on 17 January 1871 (although his birth certificate has 6 June).<ref>Iova, p. xxvii. See also Nastasă (2003), p. 61</ref>

In 1876, aged thirty-seven or thirty-eight, Nicu Sr. was incapacitated by an unknown illness and died, leaving Nicolae and his younger brother George orphans—a loss which, the historian would recall in writing, dominated the image he had of his own childhood.<ref>Iova, pp. xxvii–xxviii. See also Nastasă (2003), pp. 61–62, 66, 74–75</ref> In 1878, he was enlisted at the Marchian Folescu School, where, as he took pride in noting, he excelled in most areas, discovering a love for intellectual pursuits and, by age nine, even being allowed by his teachers to lecture his schoolmates in Romanian history.<ref>Iova, pp. xxviii–xxix</ref> His history teacher, a refugee Pole, sparked his interest in research and his lifelong Polonophilia.<ref name="nmpolonia">{{in lang|ro}} Nicolae Mareș, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120811191837/http://www.romlit.ro/nicolae_iorga_despre_polonia "Nicolae Iorga despre Polonia"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 35/2009</ref> Iorga also credited this earliest formative period with having shaped his lifelong views on Romanian language and local culture: "I learned Romanian&nbsp;... 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".<ref name="ivxxviii">Iova, p. xxviii</ref> He credited the 19th century polymath Mihail Kogălniceanu, whose works he had first been reading as a child, with having shaped this literary preference.<ref name="ivxxviii"/>

A student at Botoșani's A. T. Laurian gymnasium and high school after 1881, the young Iorga received top honors, and, beginning 1883, began tutoring some of his colleagues to increase his family's main revenue (according to Iorga, a "miserable pension of pittance").<ref>Iova, pp. xxix–xxx</ref> Aged thirteen, while on extended visit to his maternal uncle Emanuel "Manole" Arghiropol, he also made his press debut with paid contributions to Arghiropol's ''Romanul''<!-- sic --> newspaper, including anecdotes and editorial pieces on European politics.<ref>Iova, p. xxix</ref> The year 1886 was described by Iorga as "the catastrophe of my school life in Botoșani": on temporary suspension for not having greeted a teacher, Iorga opted to leave the city and apply for the National High School of [[Place:Iași|Iași]], being received into the scholarship program and praised by his new principal, the philologist Vasile Burlă.<ref>Iova, pp. xxix–xxxi</ref> The adolescent was already fluent in French, Italian, Latin and Greek, later referring to [[Social:Hellenic studies|Greek studies]] as "the most refined form of human reasoning".<ref name="ivxxx">Iova, p. xxx</ref>

By age seventeen, Iorga was becoming more rebellious. This was the time when he first grew interested in political activities, but displaying convictions which he later strongly disavowed: a self-confessed [[Philosophy:Marxism|Marxist]], Iorga promoted the left-wing magazine ''Viața Socială'', and lectured on ''Das Kapital''.<ref name="ivxxx"/> Seeing himself confined in the National College's "ugly and disgusting" boarding school, he defied its rules and was suspended a second time, losing scholarship privileges.<ref name="ivxxxi">Iova, p. xxxi</ref> Before readmission, he decided not to fall back on his family's financial support, and instead returned to tutoring others.<ref name="ivxxxi"/> Again expelled for reading during a teacher's lesson, Iorga still graduated in the top "first prize" category (with a 9.24 average) and subsequently took his Baccalaureate with honors.<ref>Iova, p. xxxi. See also Nastasă (2003), p. 61</ref>

===University of Iași and ''Junimist'' episode===
In 1888, Nicolae Iorga passed his entry examination for the University of Iași Faculty of Letters, becoming eligible for a scholarship soon after.<ref>Iova, p. xxxi; Nastasă (2003), pp. 61–62</ref> Upon the completion of his second term, he also received a special dispensation from the [[History:Kingdom of Romania|Kingdom of Romania]]'s Education Ministry, and, as a result, applied for and passed his third term examinations, effectively graduating one year ahead of his class.<ref>Iova, p. xxxi; Nastasă (2003), pp. 62–64; (2007), pp. 244, 399</ref> Before the end of the year, he also passed his license examination ''magna cum laude'', with a thesis on Greek literature, an achievement which consecrated his reputation inside both academia and the public sphere.<ref name="ivxxxii">Iova, p. xxxii</ref> Hailed as a "morning star" by the local press and deemed a "wonder of a man" by his teacher A. D. Xenopol, Iorga was honored by the faculty with a special banquet. Three academics (Xenopol, Nicolae Culianu, Ioan Caragiani) formally brought Iorga to the attention of the Education Ministry, proposing him for the state-sponsored program which allowed academic achievers to study abroad.<ref>Iova, p. xxxii. See also Nastasă (2003), pp. 62–63, 174–175; (2007), pp. 238–239</ref>

The interval witnessed Iorga's brief affiliation with ''Junimea'', a literary club with conservative leanings, whose informal leader was literary and political theorist Titu Maiorescu. In 1890, literary critic Ștefan Vârgolici and cultural promoter Iacob Negruzzi published Iorga's essay on poet Veronica Micle in the ''Junimist'' tribune ''Convorbiri Literare''.<ref>Iova, p. xxxii. See also Nastasă (2007), pp. 521, 528; Ornea (1998), p. 129</ref> Having earlier attended the funeral of writer Ion Creangă, a dissident ''Junimist'' and Romanian literature classic, he took a public stand against the defamation of another such figure, the dramatist Ion Luca Caragiale, groundlessly accused of plagiarism by journalist Constantin Al. Ionescu-Caion.<ref>Iova, p. xxxii. See also Nastasă (2003), p. 65</ref> He expanded his contribution as an opinion journalist, publishing with some regularity in various local or national periodicals of various leanings, from the socialist ''Contemporanul'' and ''Era Nouă'' to [[Biography:Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu|Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu]]'s {{Lang|ro|Revista Nouă}}.<ref>Iova, p. xxxii. See also Călinescu, p. 988</ref> This period saw his debut as a [[Social:Socialism|socialist]] poet (in {{Lang|ro|Contemporanul}}) and critic (in both ''Lupta'' and ''Literatură și Știință'').<ref>Constantin Kirițescu, "''O viață, o lume, o epocă'': Ani de ucenicie în mișcarea socialistă", in ''Magazin Istoric'', September 1977, pp. 14, 17</ref>

Also in 1890, Iorga married Maria Tasu, whom he was to divorce in 1900.<ref>Iova, pp. xxxii, xxxvii; Nastasă (2003), pp. 61, 64–71, 74, 105, 175</ref> He had previously been in love with an Ecaterina C. Botez, but, after some hesitation, decided to marry into the family of {{Lang|ro|Junimea}} man Vasile Tasu, much better situated in the social circles.<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 64–66, 69–70, 74, 175</ref> Xenopol, who was Iorga's matchmaker,<ref>Nastasă (2003), p. 175; (2007), pp. 239, 489</ref> also tried to obtain for Iorga a teaching position at Iași University. The attempt was opposed by other professors, on grounds of Iorga's youth and politics.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 239. See also Vianu, Vol. I, p. 165</ref> Instead, Iorga was briefly a high school professor of Latin in the southern city of Ploiești, following a public competition overseen by writer Alexandru Odobescu.<ref name="ivxxxii"/> The time he spent there allowed him to expand his circle of acquaintances and personal friends, meeting writers Caragiale and Alexandru Vlahuță, historians Hasdeu and Grigore Tocilescu, and Marxist theorist [[Biography:Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea|Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea]].<ref name="ivxxxii"/>

===Studies abroad===
[[File:Nicolae Iorga - Thomas III Marquis de Saluces.png|thumb|Title page of ''Thomas III, marquis de Saluces'', 1893]]
[[File:Nicolae Iorga - Philippe de Mezieres - Prima pagina.png|thumb|Title page of Iorga's ''Philippe de Mézières'', in its 1896 edition]]
Having received the scholarship early in the year, he made his first study trips to Italy (April and June 1890), and subsequently left for a longer stay in France, enlisting at the ''École pratique des hautes études''.<ref name="ivxxxii"/> He was a contributor for the ''Encyclopédie française'', personally recommended there by [[Social:Slavic studies|Slavist]] Louis Léger.<ref name="ivxxxii"/> Reflecting back on this time, he stated: "I never had as much time at my disposal, as much freedom of spirit, as much joy of learning from those great figures of mankind&nbsp;... than back then, in that summer of 1890".<ref>Iova, pp. xxxii–xxxiii</ref> While preparing for his second diploma, Iorga also pursued his interest in philology, learning English, German, and rudiments of other Germanic languages.<ref name="ivxxxiii">Iova, p. xxxiii</ref> In 1892, he was in England and in Italy, researching historical sources for his French-language thesis on Philippe de Mézières, a Frenchman in the Crusade of 1365.<ref name="ivxxxiii"/> In tandem, he became a contributor to ''Revue Historique'', a leading French academic journal.<ref name="ivxxxiii"/>

Somewhat dissatisfied with French education,<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 154, 233–234; (2007), pp. 179–180, 201–202</ref> Iorga presented his dissertation and, in 1893, left for the [[Place:German Empire|German Empire]], attempting to enlist in the University of Berlin's PhD program. His working paper, on Thomas III of Saluzzo, was not received, because Iorga had not spent three years in training, as required. As an alternative, he gave formal pledge that the paper in question was entirely his own work, but his statement was invalidated by technicality: Iorga's work had been redacted by a more proficient speaker of German, whose intervention did not touch the substance of Iorga's research.<ref name="ivxxxiii"/> The ensuing controversy led him to apply for a University of Leipzig PhD: his text, once reviewed by a commission grouping three prominent German scholars (Adolf Birch-Hirschfeld, Karl Gotthard Lamprecht, Charles Wachsmuth), earned him the needed diploma in August.<ref>Iova, pp. xxxiii–xxxiv</ref> On 25 July, Iorga had also received his {{Lang|fr|École pratique}} diploma for the earlier work on de Mézières, following its review by Gaston Paris and Charles Bémont.<ref name="ivxxxiii"/> He spent his time further investigating the historical sources, at archives in Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden.<ref name="ivxxxiv">Iova, p. xxxiv</ref> Between 1890 and the end of 1893, he had published three works: his debut in poetry ({{Lang|ro|Poezii}}, "Poems"), the first volume of {{Lang|ro|Schițe din literatura română}} ("Sketches on Romanian Literature", 1893; second volume 1894), and his Leipzig thesis, printed in Paris as {{Lang|fr|Thomas III, marquis �de Saluces. Étude historique et littéraire}} ("Thomas, Margrave of Saluzzo. Historical and Literary Study").<ref>Iova, pp. xxxiv–xxxv. See also Călinescu, p. 1010</ref>

Living in poor conditions (as reported by visiting scholar Teohari Antonescu),<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 66–68</ref> the four-year engagement of his scholarship still applicable, Nicolae Iorga decided to spend his remaining time abroad, researching more city archives in Germany (Munich), Austria (Innsbruck) and Italy (Florence, Milan, Naples, Rome, Venice etc.)<ref name="ivxxxiv"/> In this instance, his primordial focus was on historical figures from his Romanian homeland, the defunct Danubian Principalities of [[Place:Moldavia|Moldavia]] and Wallachia: the Moldavian Prince Peter the Lame, his son Ștefăniță, and Romania's national hero, the Wallachian Prince Michael the Brave.<ref name="ivxxxiv"/> He also met, befriended and often collaborated with fellow historians from European countries other than Romania: the editors of ''Revue de l'Orient Latin'', who first published studies Iorga later grouped in the six volumes of {{Lang|fr|Notes et extraits}} ("Notices and Excerpts") and Frantz Funck-Brentano, who enlisted his parallel contribution for ''Revue Critique''.<ref>Iova, p. xxxiv. See also Setton, p. 62</ref> Iorga's articles were also featured in two magazines for ethnic Romanian communities in [[Place:Austria-Hungary|Austria-Hungary]]: ''Familia'' and ''Vatra''.<ref name="ivxxxiv"/>

===Return to Romania===
Making his comeback to Romania in October 1894, Iorga settled in the capital city of [[Place:Bucharest|Bucharest]]. He changed residence several times, until eventually settling in Grădina Icoanei area.<ref name="apbucurestii">{{in lang|ro}} [[Biography:Andrei Pippidi|Andrei Pippidi]], [http://www.dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/bordeie-obiceie/articol/bucurestii-lui-n-iorga "Bucureștii lui N. Iorga"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829161728/http://www.dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/bordeie-obiceie/articol/bucurestii-lui-n-iorga |date=29 August 2010 }}, in ''Dilema Veche'', Nr. 341, August–September 2010</ref> He agreed to compete in a sort of debating society, with lectures which only saw print in 1944.<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 62–68</ref> He applied for the Medieval History Chair at the University of Bucharest, submitting a dissertation in front of an examination commission comprising historians and philosophers (Caragiani, Odobescu, Xenopol, alongside Aron Densușianu, Constantin Leonardescu and Petre Râșcanu), but totaled a 7 average which only entitled him to a substitute professor's position.<ref>Iova, pp. xxxiv–xxxv. See also Boia (2000), p. 83; Nastasă (2007), pp. 239, 244–245, 430</ref> The achievement, at age 23, was still remarkable in its context.<ref>Ornea (1995), p. 188; Nastasă (2007), pp. 239, 245</ref>

The first of his lectures came later that year as personal insight on the [[History:Historical method|historical method]], {{Lang|ro|Despre concepția actuală a istoriei și geneza ei}} ("On the Present-day Concept of History and Its Genesis").<ref name="ivxxxv">Iova, p. xxxv</ref> He was again out of the country in 1895, visiting the Netherlands and, again, Italy, in search of documents, publishing the first section of his extended historical records' collection {{Lang|ro|Acte și fragmente cu privire la istoria românilor}} ("Acts and Excerpts Regarding the History of Romanians"), his Romanian Atheneum conference on Michael the Brave's rivalry with ''condottiero'' Giorgio Basta, and his debut in travel literature ({{Lang|ro|Amintiri din Italia}}, "Recollections from Italy").<ref>Iova, p. xxxv. See also Nastasă (2007), p. 239</ref> The next year came Iorga's official appointment as curator and publisher of the Hurmuzachi brothers collection of historical documents, the position being granted to him by the [[Organization:Romanian Academy|Romanian Academy]]. The appointment, first proposed to the institution by Xenopol, overlapped with disputes over the Hurmuzachi inheritance, and came only after Iorga's formal pledge that he would renounce all potential copyrights resulting from his contribution.<ref name="ivxxxv"/> He also published the second part of {{Lang|ro|Acte și fragmente}} and the printed rendition of the de Mézières study (''Philippe de Mézières, 1337–1405'').<ref name="ivxxxv"/> Following an October 1895 reexamination, he was granted full professorship with a 9.19 average.<ref name="ivxxxv"/>

1895 was also the year when Iorga began his collaboration with the Iași-based academic and political agitator A. C. Cuza, making his earliest steps in antisemitic politics, founding with him a group known as the Universal ()and Romanian Antisemitic Alliance.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 84; Volovici, p. 18</ref><ref name="wt618">William Totok, "Romania (1878–1920)", in Richard S. Levy, ''Antisemitism: a Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution'', Vol. I, [[Company:ABC-CLIO|ABC-CLIO]], Santa Barbara, 2005, p. 618. {{ISBN|1-85109-439-3}}</ref> In 1897, the year when he was elected a corresponding member of the academy, Iorga traveled back to Italy and spent time researching more documents in the Austro-Hungarian [[History:Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia|Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia]], at Dubrovnik.<ref name="ivxxxv"/> He also oversaw the publication of the 10th Hurmuzachi volume, grouping diplomatic reports authored by [[History:Kingdom of Prussia|Kingdom of Prussia]] diplomats in the two Danubian Principalities (covering the interval between 1703 and 1844).<ref name="ivxxxv"/> After spending most of 1898 on researching various subjects and presenting the results as reports for the academy, Iorga was in [[Place:Transylvania|Transylvania]], the largely Romanian-inhabited subregion of Austria-Hungary. Concentrating his efforts on the city archives of Bistrița, Brașov and Sibiu, he made a major breakthrough by establishing that ''Stolnic'' Cantacuzino, a 17th-century man of letters and political intriguer, was the real author of an unsigned Wallachian chronicle that had for long been used as a historical source.<ref>Iova, p. xxxvi</ref> He published several new books in 1899: {{Lang|ro|Manuscrise din biblioteci străine}} ("Manuscripts from Foreign Libraries", 2 vols.), {{Lang|ro|Documente românești din arhivele Bistriței}} ("Romanian Documents from the Bistrița Archives") and a French-language book on the [[Religion:Crusades|Crusades]], titled {{Lang|fr|Notes et extraits pour servir à l'histoire des croisades}} ("Notes and Excerpts Covering the History of the Crusades", 2 vols.).<ref name="ivxxxvi-xxxvii">Iova, pp. xxxvi–xxxvii</ref> Xenopol proposed his pupil for a Romanian Academy membership, to replace the suicidal Odobescu, but his proposition could not gather support.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 239</ref>

Also in 1899, Nicolae Iorga inaugurated his contribution to the Bucharest-based French-language newspaper ''L'Indépendance Roumaine'', publishing polemical articles on the activity of his various colleagues and, as a consequence, provoking a lengthy scandal. The pieces often targeted senior scholars who, as favorites or activists of the National Liberal Party, opposed both {{Lang|ro|Junimea}} and the Maiorescu-endorsed Conservative Party: his estranged friends Hasdeu and Tocilescu, as well as V. A. Urechia and Dimitrie Sturdza.<ref>Iova, pp. xxxvi-–xxxvii; Nastasă (2003), pp. 68, 167, 169–170, 176, 177–178; (2007), pp. 309, 496–502, 508–509, 515–517</ref> The episode, described by Iorga himself as a stormy but patriotic debut in public affairs, prompted his adversaries at the academy to demand the termination of his membership for undignified behavior.<ref>Iova, pp. xxxi, xxxvi</ref> Tocilescu felt insulted by the allegations, challenged Iorga to a duel, but his friends intervened to mediate.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 309</ref> Another scientist who encountered Iorga's wrath was George Ionescu-Gion, against whom Iorga enlisted negative arguments that, as he later admitted, were exaggerated.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 508–509</ref> Among Iorga's main defenders were academics Dimitrie Onciul, [[Biography:N. Petrașcu|N. Petrașcu]], and, outside Romania, Gustav Weigand.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 515–517</ref>

==={{Lang|fr|Opinions sincères}} and Transylvanian echoes===
The young polemicist persevered in supporting this anti-establishment cause, moving on from {{Lang|fr|L'Indépendance Roumaine}} to the newly established publication {{Lang|ro|România Jună}}, interrupting himself for trips to Italy, the Netherlands and [[History:Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia-Lodomeria]].<ref name="ivxxxvi-xxxvii"/> In 1900, he collected the scattered polemical articles into the French-language books {{Lang|fr|Opinions sincères. La vie intellectuelle des roumains en 1899}} ("Honest Opinions. The Romanians' Intellectual Life in 1899") and {{Lang|fr|Opinions pérnicieuses d'un mauvais patriote}} ("The Pernicious Opinions of a Bad Patriot").<ref>Călinescu, p. 1010; Iova, p. xxxvii; Nastasă (2003), pp. 68, 167, 169–170, 178; (2007), pp. 169, 464, 496–502, 508–509, 516</ref><ref name="opapologia">{{in lang|ro}} Ovidiu Pecican, [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/AVALON.-Apologia-istoriei-recente*articleID_21149-articles_details.html "Avalon. Apologia istoriei recente"], in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 459, January 2009</ref> His scholarly activities resulted in a second trip into Transylvania, a second portion of his Bistrița archives collection, the 11th Hurmuzachi volume, and two works on Early Modern Romanian history: {{Lang|ro|Acte din secolul al XVI-lea relative la Petru Șchiopul}} ("16th Century Acts Relating to Peter the Lame") and {{Lang|ro|Scurtă istorie a lui Mihai Viteazul}} ("A Short History of Michael the Brave").<ref name="ivxxxvii">Iova, p. xxxvii</ref> His controversial public attitude had nevertheless attracted an official ban on his Academy reports, and also meant that he was ruled out from the national Academy prize (for which distinction he had submitted {{Lang|ro|Documente românești din arhivele Bistriței}}).<ref name="ivxxxvii"/> The period also witnessed a chill in the Iorga's relationship with Xenopol.<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 176–183</ref>

In 1901, shortly after his divorce from Maria, Iorga married Ecaterina (Catinca), the sister of his friend and colleague Ioan Bogdan.<ref>Iova, p. xxxvii; Nastasă (2003), pp. 39, 52, 69–72, 73–74, 118. See also Boia, 2010, p. 188; Butaru, p. 92; Nastasă (2007), pp. 294, 322–323</ref> Her other brother was cultural historian Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică, whose son, painter Catul Bogdan, Iorga would help achieve recognition.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 114, 150, 294, 379</ref> Soon after their wedding, the couple were in Venice, where Iorga received Karl Gotthard Lamprecht's offer to write a history of the Romanians to be featured as a section in a collective treatise of world history.<ref>Iova, p. xxxvii. See also Nastasă (2003), pp. 179–180</ref> Iorga, who had convinced Lamprecht not to assign this task to Xenopol,<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 179–180</ref> also completed {{Lang|ro|Istoria literaturii române în secolul al XVIII-lea}} ("The History of Romanian Literature in the 18th Century"). It was presented to the academy's consideration, but rejected, prompting the scholar to resign in protest.<ref name="ivxxxvii"/> To receive his imprimatur later in the year, Iorga appealed to fellow intellectuals, earning pledges and a sizable grant from the aristocratic Callimachi family.<ref name="ivxxxvii"/>

Before the end of that year, the Iorgas were in the Austro-Hungarian city of [[Place:Budapest|Budapest]]. While there, the historian set up tight contacts with Romanian intellectuals who originated from Transylvania and who, in the wake of the ''Transylvanian Memorandum'' affair, supported [[Social:Ethnic nationalism|ethnic nationalism]] while objecting to the intermediary [[Place:Cisleithania|Cisleithania]]n (Hungarian Crown) rule and the threat of [[Social:Magyarization|Magyarization]].<ref name="ivxxxvii"/> Interested in recovering the Romanian contributions to Transylvanian history, in particular Michael the Brave's precursory role in Romanian unionism, Iorga spent his time reviewing, copying and translating [[Social:Hungarian language|Hungarian-language]] historical texts with much assistance from his wife.<ref name="ivxxxvii"/> During the 300th commemoration of Prince Michael's death, which ethnic Romanian students transformed into a rally against Austro-Hungarian educational restrictions, Iorga addressed the crowds and was openly greeted by the protest's leaders, poet Octavian Goga and Orthodox priest Ioan Lupaș.<ref name="ivxxxvii"/> In 1902, he published new tracts on Transylvanian or Wallachian topics: {{Lang|ro|Legăturile Principatelor române cu Ardealul}} ("The Romanian Principalities' Links with Transylvania"), {{Lang|ro|Sate și preoți din Ardeal}} ("Priests and Villages of Transylvania"), {{Lang|ro|Despre Cantacuzini}} ("On the Cantacuzinos"), {{Lang|ro|Istoriile domnilor Țării Românești}} ("The Histories of Wallachian Princes").<ref name="ivxxxviii">Iova, p. xxxviii</ref>

Iorga was by then making known his newly found interest in cultural nationalism and national didacticism, as expressed by him in an open letter to Goga's Budapest-based ''Luceafărul'' magazine.<ref name="ivxxxviii"/> After further interventions from Goga and linguist Sextil Pușcariu, {{Lang|ro|Luceafărul}} became Iorga's main mouthpiece outside Romania.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 514–515</ref> Returning to Bucharest in 1903, Iorga followed Lamprecht's suggestion and focused on writing his first overview of Romanian national history, known in Romanian as {{Lang|ro|Istoria românilor}} ("The History of the Romanians").<ref name="ivxxxviii"/> He was also involved in a new project of researching the content of archives throughout Moldavia and Wallachia,<ref name="ivxxxviii"/> and, having reassessed the nationalist politics of ''Junimist'' poet Mihai Eminescu, helped collect and publish a companion to Eminescu's work.<ref>Both, p. 32</ref>

==={{Lang|ro|Sămănătorul}} and 1906 riot===
[[File:Samanatorul - Prima pagina - 13 martie 1905.jpg|thumb|Cover of ''Sămănătorul'', March 1905. The table of contents credits Iorga as an editorialist and political columnist]]

Also in 1903, Nicolae Iorga became one of the managers of ''[[Social:Sămănătorul|Sămănătorul]]'' review. The moment brought Iorga's emancipation from Maiorescu's influence, his break with mainstream ''Junimism'', and his affiliation to the traditionalist, [[Social:Ethnic nationalism|ethno-nationalist]] and neoromantic current encouraged by the magazine.<ref>Călinescu, pp. 407, 508, 601–602; Livezeanu, pp. 116–117; Ornea (1998), pp. 131, 136; Nastasă (2007), pp. 179–180; Veiga, pp. 164–167</ref> The {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorist}} school was by then also grouping other former or active ''Junimists'', and Maiorescu's progressive withdrawal from literary life also created a bridge with {{Lang|ro|Convorbiri Literare}}: its new editor, [[Biography:Simion Mehedinți|Simion Mehedinți]], was himself a theorist of traditionalism.<ref>Ornea (1998), pp. 73, 75–79, 131, 136, 376. See also Călinescu, p. 643</ref> A circle of ''Junimists'' more sympathetic to Maiorescu's version of conservatism reacted against this realignment by founding its own venue, ''Convorbiri Critice'', edited by Mihail Dragomirescu.<ref>Călinescu, pp. 643–644; Ornea (1998), pp. 73, 78–79, 88, 91–104, 134–139</ref>

In tandem with his full return to cultural and political journalism, which included prolonged debates with both the "old" historians and the ''Junimists'',<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 170, 181–183</ref> Iorga was still active at the forefront of historical research. In 1904, he published the [[History:Historical geography|historical geography]] work {{Lang|ro|Drumuri și orașe din România}} ("Roads and Towns of Romania") and, upon the special request of National Liberal Education Minister Spiru Haret, a work dedicated to the celebrated Moldavian Prince Stephen the Great, published upon the 400th anniversary of the monarch's death as {{Lang|ro|Istoria lui Ștefan cel Mare}} ("The History of Stephen the Great").<ref>Iova, pp. xxxviii–xxxix</ref> Iorga later confessed that the book was an integral part of his and Haret's didacticist agenda, supposed to be "spread to the very bottom of the country in thousands of copies".<ref name="ivxxxix">Iova, p. xxxix</ref> During those months, Iorga also helped discover novelist Mihail Sadoveanu, who was for a while the leading figure of {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorist}} literature.<ref name="iscenten">{{in lang|ro}} Ion Simuț, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160313200957/http://romlit.ro/centenarul_debutului_sadovenian "Centenarul debutului sadovenian"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 41/2004</ref>

In 1905, the year when historian Onisifor Ghibu became his close friend and disciple,<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 272–273</ref> he followed up with over 23 individual titles, among them the two German-language volumes of {{Lang|de|Geschichte des Rümanischen Volkes im Rahmen seiner Staatsbildungen}} ("A History of the Romanian People within the Context of Its National Formation"), {{Lang|ro|Istoria românilor în chipuri și icoane}} ("The History of the Romanians in Faces and Icons"), {{Lang|ro|Sate și mănăstiri din România}} ("Villages and Monasteries of Romania") and the essay {{Lang|ro|Gânduri și sfaturi ale unui om ca oricare altul}} ("Thoughts and Advices from a Man Just like Any Other").<ref name="ivxxxix"/> He also paid a visit to the Romanians of [[Place:Bukovina|Bukovina]] region, in Austrian territory, as well as to those of Bessarabia, who were subjects of the [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]], and wrote about their cultural struggles in his 1905 accounts {{Lang|ro|Neamul romănesc în Bucovina}} ("The Romanian People of Bukovina"), {{Lang|ro|Neamul romănesc în Basarabia}} ("...of Bessarabia").<ref name="omintelect">{{in lang|ro}} Ovidiu Morar, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150924123630/http://www.romaniaculturala.ro/articol.php?cod=7466 "Intelectualii români și 'chestia evreiască' "], in ''Contemporanul'', Nr. 6/2005</ref><ref name="ispitor">{{in lang|ro}} Ion Simuț, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120811191855/http://www.romlit.ro/pitorescul_prozei_de_cltorie "Pitorescul prozei de călătorie"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 27/2006</ref> These referred to [[Social:Tsarist autocracy|Tsarist autocracy]] as a source of "darkness and slavery", whereas the more liberal regime of Bukovina offered its subjects "golden chains".<ref name="ispitor"/>

Nicolae Iorga ran in the 1905 election and won a seat in Parliament's lower chamber.<ref name="cpfsigu1">{{in lang|ro}} Cătălin Petruț Fudulu, [http://www.zf.ro/ziarul-de-duminica/dosare-declasificate-nicolae-iorga-a-fost-urmarit-de-siguranta-4881296/ "Dosare declasificate. Nicolae Iorga a fost urmărit de Siguranță"], in ''Ziarul Financiar'', 10 September 2009</ref> He remained politically independent until 1906, when he attached himself to the Conservative Party, making one final attempt to change the course of ''Junimism''.<ref name="ihstere1">{{in lang|ro}} Ion Hadârcă, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110907135836/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/HADIRCAiun6.html "Constantin Stere și Nicolae Iorga: antinomiile idealului convergent (I)"], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', June 2006</ref> His move was contrasted by the group of [[Social:Left-wing nationalism|left-nationalists]] from the [[Social:Poporanism|Poporanist]] faction, who were allied to the National Liberals and, soon after, in open conflict with Iorga. Although from the same cultural family as {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorul}}, the Poporanist theorist Constantin Stere was dismissed by Iorga's articles, despite Sadoveanu's attempts to settle the matter.<ref name="ihstere1"/>

A peak in Nicolae Iorga's own nationalist campaigning occurred that year: profiting from a wave of Francophobia among young urbanites, Iorga boycotted the National Theater, punishing its staff for staging a play entirely in French, and disturbing public order.<ref name="cpfsigu1"/><ref>Boia (2000), pp. 92–93, 247; (2010), p. 353; Nastasă (2007), pp. 95, 428, 479; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 114–118; Veiga, pp. 165, 180</ref> According to one of Iorga's young disciples, the future journalist Pamfil Șeicaru, the mood was such that Iorga could have led a successful ''coup d'état''.<ref>Veiga, p. 180</ref> These events had several political consequences. The ''Siguranța Statului'' intelligence agency soon opened a file on the historian, informing Romanian Premier Sturdza about nationalist agitation.<ref name="cpfsigu1"/> The perception that Iorga was a [[Social:Xenophobia|xenophobe]] also drew condemnation from more moderate traditionalist circles, in particular the ''Viața Literară'' weekly. Its panelists, Ilarie Chendi and young [[Biography:Eugen Lovinescu|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).<ref name="dhscrisori">{{in lang|ro}} Dumitru Hîncu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120811191811/http://www.romlit.ro/scrisori_de_la_n._iorga_e._lovinescu_g._m._zamfirescu_b._fundoianu_camil_baltazar_petru_comarnescu "Scrisori de la N. Iorga, E. Lovinescu, G. M. Zamfirescu, B. Fundoianu, Camil Baltazar, Petru Comarnescu"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 42/2009</ref>

==={{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}}, Peasants' Revolt and Vălenii de Munte===
{{multiple image
| align    = right
| image1   = Neamul Romanesc - logo - 8 noiembrie 1907.png
| width1   = 200
| caption1 = Cover of ''Neamul Românesc'', November 1907
| image2   = Nicolae Iorga - Istoria Bisericii Romanesti vol I - Coperta.jpg
| width2   = 220
| caption2 = ''Istoria bisericii românești'', original edition
}}
Iorga eventually parted with {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorul}} in late 1906, moving on to set up his own tribune, ''Neamul Românesc''. The schism was allegedly a direct result of his conflicts with other literary venues,<ref name="ivxxxix"/> and inaugurated a brief collaboration between Iorga and ''Făt Frumos'' journalist Emil Gârleanu.<ref>Călinescu, p. 634</ref> The newer magazine, illustrated with idealized portraits of the Romanian peasant,<ref>Oldson, p. 156</ref> was widely popular with Romania's rural intelligentsia (among which it was freely distributed), promoting antisemitic theories and raising opprobrium from the authorities and the urban-oriented press.<ref name="omintelect"/>

Also in 1906, Iorga traveled into the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]], visiting Istanbul, and published another set of volumes—{{Lang|ro|Contribuții la istoria literară}} ("Contributions to Literary History"), {{Lang|ro|Neamul românesc în Ardeal și Țara Ungurească}} ("The Romanian Nation in Transylvania and the Hungarian Land"), {{Lang|ro|Negoțul și meșteșugurile în trecutul românesc}} ("Trade and Crafts of the Romanian Past") etc.<ref name="ivxxxix"/> In 1907, he began issuing a second periodical, the cultural magazine ''Floarea Darurilor'',<ref name="ivxxxix"/> and published with Editura Minerva an early installment of his companion to Romanian literature (second volume 1908, third volume 1909).<ref>Călinescu, p. 977; Iova, pp. xxxix–xl</ref> His published scientific contributions for that year include, among others, an English-language study on the [[Place:Byzantine Empire|Byzantine Empire]].<ref name="ivxxxix"/> At home, he and pupil Vasile Pârvan were involved in a conflict with fellow historian Orest Tafrali, officially over archeological theory, but also because of a regional conflict in academia: Bucharest and Transylvania against Tafrali's Iași.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 306–308, 517–521</ref>

A seminal moment in Iorga's political career took place during the 1907 Romanian Peasants' Revolt, erupting under a Conservative cabinet and repressed with much violence by a National Liberal one. The bloody outcome prompted the historian to author and make public a piece of social critique, the {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}} pamphlet {{Lang|ro|Dumnezeu să-i ierte}} ("God Forgive Them").<ref name="ivxxxix"/> 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.<ref name="ivxxxix"/> The historian did however struck a chord with Stere, who had been made prefect of Iași County, and who, going against his party's wishes, inaugurated an informal collaboration between Iorga and the Poporanists.<ref name="ihstere1"/> The political class as a whole was particularly apprehensive of Iorga's contacts with the {{ill|League for the Cultural Unity of All Romanians|ro|Liga pentru Unitatea Culturală a tuturor Românilor}} and their common [[Social:Irredentism|irredentist]] agenda, which risked undermining relations with the Austrians over Transylvania and Bukovina.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Cătălin Petruț Fudulu, [http://www.zf.ro/ziarul-de-duminica/dosare-declasificate-nicolae-iorga-sub-lupa-sigurantei-ii-4904721/ "Dosare declasificate. Nicolae Iorga sub lupa Siguranței (II)"], in ''Ziarul Financiar'', 16 September 2009</ref> However, Iorga's popularity was still increasing, and, carried by this sentiment, he was first elected to Chamber during the elections of that same year.<ref name="ivxxxix"/><ref name="ihstere1"/>

Iorga and his new family had relocated several times, renting a home in Bucharest's Gara de Nord (Buzești) quarter.<ref name="apbucurestii"/> After renewed but failed attempts to become an Iași University professor,<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 338–339, 492</ref> he decided, in 1908, to set his base away from the urban centers, at a villa in Vălenii de Munte town (nestled in the remote hilly area of Prahova County). Although branded an agitator by Sturdza, he received support in this venture from Education Minister Haret.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Cătălin Petruț Fudulu, [http://www.zf.ro/ziarul-de-duminica/dosare-declasificate-nicolae-iorga-sub-lupa-sigurantei-iii-4948034/ "Dosare declasificate. Nicolae Iorga sub lupa Siguranței (III)"], in ''Ziarul Financiar'', 16 September 2009</ref> Once settled, Iorga set up a specialized summer school, his own publishing house, a printing press and the literary supplement of {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}},<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 126, 492, 526; Iova, p. xxxix</ref> as well as an asylum managed by writer Constanța Marino-Moscu.<ref>Călinescu, p. 676</ref> He published some 25 new works for that year, such as the introductory volumes for his German-language companion to Ottoman history ({{Lang|de|Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches}}, "History of the Ottoman Empire"), a study on Romanian Orthodox institutions ({{Lang|ro|Istoria bisericii românești}}, "The History of the Romanian Church"),<ref>Iova, p. xl. See also Setton, p. 49</ref> and an anthology on Romanian [[Philosophy:Romanticism|Romanticism]].<ref>Călinescu, p. 996</ref> He followed up in 1909 with a volume of parliamentary speeches, {{Lang|ro|În era reformelor}} ("In the Age of Reforms"), a book on the 1859 Moldo–Wallachian Union ({{Lang|ro|Unirea principatelor}}, "The Principalities' Union"),<ref name="ivxl">Iova, p. xl</ref> and a critical edition of poems by Eminescu.<ref>Vianu, Vol. II, p. 149</ref> Visiting Iași for the Union Jubilee, Iorga issued a public and emotional apology to Xenopol for having criticized him in the previous decade.<ref>Nastasă (2003), p. 183</ref>

===1909 setbacks and PND creation===
At that stage in his life, Iorga became an honorary member of the Romanian Writers' Society.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 526</ref> He had militated for its creation in both {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorul}} and {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}}, but also wrote against its system of fees.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Cassian Maria Spiridon, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719230125/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/TATAapr8.html "Secolul breslei scriitoricești"], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', April 2008</ref> Once liberated from government restriction in 1909, his Vălenii school grew into a hub of student activity, self-financed through the sale of postcards.<ref name="cpfsigu4">{{in lang|ro}} Cătălin Petruț Fudulu, [http://www.zf.ro/ziarul-de-duminica/dosare-declasificate-nicolae-iorga-sub-lupa-sigurantei-iv-expulzat-din-reichstad-4972506/ "Dosare declasificate. Nicolae Iorga sub lupa Siguranței (IV)"], in ''Ziarul Financiar'', 8 October 2009</ref> Its success caused alarm in Austria-Hungary: ''Budapesti Hírlap'' newspaper described Iorga's school as an instrument for radicalizing Romanian Transylvanians.<ref name="cpfsigu4"/> Iorga also alienated the main Romanian organizations in Transylvania: the Romanian National Party (PNR) dreaded his proposal to boycott the Diet of Hungary, particularly since PNR leaders were contemplating a loyalist "Greater Austria" devolution project.<ref>H. Seton-Watson & C. Seton-Watson, pp. 51–52</ref>

The consequences hit Iorga in May 1909, when he was stopped from visiting Bukovina, officially branded a ''[[Social:Persona non grata|persona non grata]]'', and expelled from Austrian soil (in June, it was made illegal for Bukovinian schoolteachers to attend Iorga's lectures).<ref name="cpfsigu4"/> A month later, Iorga greeted in Bucharest the English scholar R.W. Seton-Watson. This noted critic of Austria-Hungary became Iorga's admiring friend, and helped popularize his ideas in the English-speaking world.<ref>H. Seton-Watson & C. Seton-Watson, pp. 9, 72, 95, 103, 190</ref><ref name="ideol&cult">{{in lang|ro}} Victor Rizescu, Adrian Jinga, Bogdan Popa, Constantin Dobrilă, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110928063749/http://www.romaniaculturala.ro/articol.php?cod=11663 "Ideologii și cultură politică"], in ''Cuvântul'', Nr. 377</ref>

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. Partly building on the antisemitic component of the 1907 revolts,<ref name="wt618"/><ref name="omintelect"/><ref>Oldson, pp. 134–135</ref> its doctrines depicted the Jewish-Romanian community and Jews in general as a danger for Romania's development.<ref>Cernat, p. 32; Ornea (1995), pp. 395–396; Veiga, pp. 55–56, 69, 166–167; Volovici, pp. 18, 31–33, 181–182</ref> During its early decades, it used as its symbol the right-facing [[Swastika|swastika]] (卐), promoted by Cuza as the symbol of worldwide antisemitism and, later, of the "[[Unsolved:Aryan race|Aryans]]".<ref>Radu, p. 583</ref> Also known as PND, this was Romania's first political group to represent the petty bourgeoisie, using its votes to challenge the tri-decennial [[Social:Two-party system|two-party system]].<ref>Veiga, p. 69. See also Butaru, pp. 95–97; Crampton, p. 109; Oldson, pp. 133–135</ref>

Also in 1910, Iorga published some thirty new works, covering gender history ({{Lang|ro|Viața femeilor în trecutul românesc}}, "The Early Life of Romanian Women"), Romanian military history ({{Lang|ro|Istoria armatei românești}}, "The History of the Romanian Military") and Stephen the Great's Orthodox profile ({{Lang|ro|Ștefan cel Mare și mănăstirea Neamțului}}, "Stephen the Great and Neamț Monastery").<ref name="ivxl"/> His academic activity also resulted in a lengthy conflict with art historian [[Biography:Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș|Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș]], his godfather and former friend, sparked when Iorga, defending his own academic postings, objected to making Art History a separate subject at University.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 36–38, 321–323. See also Nastasă (2003), pp. 39, 71</ref>

Reinstated into the academy and made a full member, he gave his May 1911 reception speech with a [[Philosophy:Philosophy of history|philosophy of history]] subject ({{Lang|ro|Două concepții istorice}}, "Two Historical Outlooks") and was introduced on the occasion by Xenopol.<ref name="ivxl-xli">Iova, pp. xl–xli</ref> In August of that year, he was again in Transylvania, at Blaj, where he paid homage to the Romanian-run ASTRA Cultural Society.<ref name="ivxli">Iova, p. xli</ref> He made his first contribution to Romanian drama with the play centered on, and named after, Michael the Brave ({{Lang|ro|Mihai Viteazul}}), one of around twenty new titles for that year—alongside his collected aphorisms ({{Lang|ro|Cugetări}}, "Musings") and a memoir of his life in culture ({{Lang|ro|Oameni cari au fost}}, "People Who Are Gone").<ref>Iova, p. xli. See also Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 53–61</ref> In 1912, he published, among other works, {{Lang|ro|Trei drame}} ("Three Dramatic Plays"), grouping {{Lang|ro|Mihai Viteazul, Învierea lui Ștefan cel Mare}} ("Stephen the Great's Resurrection") and {{Lang|ro|Un domn pribeag}} ("An Outcast Prince").<ref>Călinescu, p. 1010; Iova, p. xli</ref> Additionally, Iorga produced the first of several studies dealing with [[Place:Balkans|Balkan]] [[Earth:Geopolitics|geopolitics]] in the charged context leading up to the Balkan Wars ({{Lang|ro|România, vecinii săi și chestia Orientală}}, "Romania, Her Neighbors and the Eastern Question").<ref name="ivxli"/> He also made a noted contribution to [[Social:Ethnography|ethnography]], with {{Lang|ro|Portul popular românesc}} ("Romanian Folk Dress").<ref name="ivxli"/><ref name="goarta860">{{in lang|ro}} Gheorghe Oprescu, [http://documente.bcucluj.ro/web/bibdigit/periodice/transilvania/1920/BCUCLUJ_FP_279996_1920_051_011.pdf "Arta țărănească la Români"], in ''Transilvania'', Nr. 11/1920, p. 860 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University [http://documente.bcucluj.ro/ Transsylvanica Online Library])</ref>

===Iorga and the Balkan crisis===
[[File:Drum Drept - Coperta - 31 decembrie 1915.jpg|thumb|Cover of ''Drum Drept'', issue no. 48–52, dated 31 December 1915]]

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.<ref name="ivxli"/> He was later in the [[Place:Kingdom of Serbia|Kingdom of Serbia]], invited by the Belgrade Academy and presenting dissertations on Romania–Serbia relations and the Ottoman decline.<ref name="ivxli"/> Iorga was even called under arms in the Second Balkan War, during which Romania fought alongside Serbia and against the [[History:Kingdom of Bulgaria|Kingdom of Bulgaria]].<ref name="apbucurestii"/><ref name="prstoicad">Paul Rezeanu, "Stoica D. – pictorul istoriei românilor", in ''Magazin Istoric'', December 2009, pp. 29–30</ref><ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 91</ref> The subsequent taking of Southern Dobruja, supported by Maiorescu and the Conservatives, was seen by Iorga as callous and [[Social:Imperialism|imperialistic]].<ref name="zomemor">{{in lang|ro}} Z. Ornea, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120811191907/http://www.romlit.ro/din_memorialistica_lui_n._iorga "Din memorialistica lui N. Iorga"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 23/1999</ref>

Iorga's interest in the Balkan crisis was illustrated by two of the forty books he put out that year: {{Lang|ro|Istoria statelor balcanice}} ("The History of Balkan States") and {{Lang|ro|Notele unui istoric cu privire la evenimentele din Balcani}} ("A Historian's Notes on the Balkan Events").<ref name="ivxli"/> Noted among the others is the study focusing on the early 18th century reign of Wallachian Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu ({{Lang|ro|Viața și domnia lui Constantin vodă Brâncoveanu}}, "The Life and Rule of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu").<ref name="ivxli"/> That same year, Iorga issued the first series of his ''Drum Drept'' monthly, later merged with the {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorist}} magazine ''Ramuri''.<ref name="ivxli"/> Iorga managed to publish roughly as many new titles in 1914, the year when he received a Romanian {{Lang|ro|Bene Merenti}} distinction,<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 133–134</ref> and inaugurated the international Institute of South-East European Studies or ISSEE (founded through his efforts), with a lecture on Albanian history.<ref>Iova, p. xli. See also Guida, p. 238; Nastasă (2007), pp. 49, 50; Olaru & Herbstritt, p. 65</ref>

Again invited to Italy, he spoke at the ''Ateneo Veneto'' on the relations between the [[Place:Republic of Venice|Republic of Venice]] and the Balkans,<ref name="ivxli"/> and again about ''Settecento'' culture.<ref name="sbegoldoni">{{in lang|ro}} Smaranda Bratu-Elian, [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/Goldoni-si-noi*articleID_18668-articles_details.html "Goldoni și noi"], in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 397, November 2007</ref> His attention was focused on the Albanians and Arbëreshë—Iorga soon discovered the oldest record of [[Social:Albanian language|written Albanian]], the 1462 ''Formula e pagëzimit''.<ref>Edwin E. Jacques, ''The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present'', McFarland & Company, Jefferson, 1995, pp. 277, 284. {{ISBN|0-89950-932-0}}</ref><ref name="kkzodie">Kopi Kyçyku, "Nicolae Iorga și popoarele 'născute într-o zodie fără noroc' ", in ''Akademos'', Nr. 4/2008, pp. 90–91</ref> In 1916, he founded the Bucharest-based academic journal {{Lang|ro|Revista Istorică}} ("The Historical Review"), a Romanian equivalent for ''Historische Zeitschrift'' and ''The English Historical Review''.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 512; See also Iova, p. xlii</ref>

===Ententist profile===
Nicolae Iorga's involvement in political disputes and the cause of Romanian irredentism became a leading characteristic of his biography during [[Social:World War I|World War I]]. In 1915, while Romania was still keeping neutral, he sided with the dominant nationalist, Francophile and pro-Entente camp, urging for Romania to wage war on the Central Powers as a means of obtaining Transylvania, Bukovina and other regions held by Austria-Hungary; to this goal, he became an active member of the {{ill|League for the Cultural Unity of All Romanians|ro|Liga pentru Unitatea Culturală a tuturor Românilor}}, and personally organized the large pro-Entente rallies in Bucharest.<ref name="ivxlii">Iova, p. xlii</ref> A prudent anti-Austrian, Iorga adopted the [[Social:Interventionism (politics)|interventionist]] agenda with noted delay. His hesitation was ridiculed by hawkish [[Biography:Eugen Lovinescu|Eugen Lovinescu]] as pro-Transylvanian but anti-war,<ref>Boia (2010), pp. 106–107, 112–113</ref> costing Iorga his office in the Cultural League.<ref name="zomemor"/> The historian later confessed that, like Premier Ion I. C. Brătianu and the National Liberal cabinet, he had been waiting for a better moment to strike.<ref name="zomemor"/> In the end, his "Ententist" efforts were closely supported by public figures such as Alexandru I. Lapedatu and Ion Petrovici, as well as by Take Ionescu's National Action advocacy group.<ref>Boia (2010), pp. 76, 115–116, 122, 276</ref> Iorga was also introduced to the private circle of Romania's young King, Ferdinand I,<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 88–89</ref> whom he found well-intentioned but weak-willed.<ref name="zomemor"/> Iorga is sometimes credited as a tutor to Crown Prince Carol (future King Carol II),<ref name="agrevenind4">{{in lang|ro}} Alexandru George, [http://www.revistaluceafarul.ro/index.html?id=1486&editie=69 "Revenind la discuții (4)"], in ''Luceafărul'', Nr. 31/2009</ref> who reportedly attended the Vălenii school.<ref>Butaru, p. 93</ref>

In his October 1915 polemic with Vasile Sion, a Germanophile physician, Iorga at once justified suspicion of the German Romanians and praised those Romanians who were deserting the Austrian Army.<ref>Boia (2010), pp. 304–305</ref> The Ententists' focus on Transylvania pitted them against the Poporanists, who deplored the Romanians of Bessarabia. That region, the Poporanist lobby argued, was being actively oppressed by the [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]] with the acquiescence of other Entente powers. Poporanist theorist Garabet Ibrăileanu, editor of ''Viața Românească'' review, later accused Iorga of not ever speaking in support of the Bessarabians.<ref>Boia (2010), pp. 239, 325</ref>

Political themes were again reflected in Nicolae Iorga's 1915 report to the academy ({{Lang|ro|Dreptul la viață al statelor mici}}, "The Small States' Right to Exist") and in various of the 37 books he published that year: {{Lang|ro|Istoria românilor din Ardeal și Ungaria}} ("The History of the Romanians in Transylvania and Hungary"), {{Lang|ro|Politica austriacă față de Serbia}} ("The Austrian Policy on Serbia") etc.<ref name="ivxlii"/> Also in 1915, Iorga completed his [[Finance:Economic history|economic history]] treatise, {{Lang|ro|Istoria comerțului la români}} ("The History of Commerce among the Romanians"), as well as a volume on literary history and Romanian philosophy, {{Lang|ro|Faze sufletești și cărți reprezentative la români}} ("Spiritual Phases and Relevant Books of the Romanians").<ref name="ivxlii"/> Before spring 1916, he was commuting between Bucharest and Iași, substituting the ailing Xenopol at Iași University.<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 183–184; (2007), pp. 376, 492</ref> He also gave a final touch to the collection {{Lang|ro|Studii și documente}} ("Studies and Documents"), comprising his commentary on 30,000 individual documents and spread over 31 tomes.<ref name="ivxlii"/>

===Iași refuge===
[[File:Nicolae Iorga - Histoire des Relations Russo-Roumaines - Prima pagina.png|thumb|Iorga's essay on Romania–Russia relations, published in Iași, 1917]]

In late summer 1916, as Brătianu's government sealed an alliance with the Entente, Iorga expressed his joy in a piece named {{Lang|ro|Ceasul}} ("The Hour"): "the hour we have been expecting for over two centuries, for which we have been living our entire national life, for which we have been working and writing, fighting and thinking, has at long last arrived."<ref name="ivxlii"/> The Romanian campaign initially went well, as the Romanian Army penetrated deep into Transylvania, defeated the Austro-Hungarian Army and briefly occupied much of the region. However, following a massive counterattack on multiple fronts by the Central Powers, the campaign ended in massive defeat, forcing the Romanian Army and the entire administration to evacuate the southern areas, Bucharest included, in front of a German-led invasion. Iorga's home in Vălenii de Munte was among the property items left behind and seized by the occupiers, and, according to Iorga's own claim, was vandalized by the ''Deutsches Heer''.<ref name="ivxliv">Iova, p. xliv</ref>

Still a member of Parliament, Iorga joined the authorities in the provisional capital of Iași, but opposed the plans of relocating government out of besieged Moldavia and into the Russian Republic. The argument was made in one of his parliamentary speeches, printed as a pamphlet and circulated among the military: "May the dogs of this world feast on us sooner than to find our happiness, tranquility and prosperity granted by the hostile foreigner."<ref>Iova, p. xlii. See also Boia (2010), p. 123</ref> He did however allow some of his notebooks to be stored in Moscow, along with the Romanian Treasure,<ref name="gifcoresp2">{{in lang|ro}} Gheorghe I. Florescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317061932/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUiun3.html "Corespondența personală a lui N. Iorga" (II)], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', June 2003</ref> and sheltered his own family in Odessa.<ref name="apbucurestii"/>

Iorga, who reissued {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}} in Iași, resumed his activity at Iași University and began working on the war propaganda daily {{Lang|ro|România}},<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 92–93</ref> while contributing to R.W. Seton-Watson's international sheet ''The New Europe''.<ref>H. Seton-Watson & C. Seton-Watson, p. 190</ref> His contribution for that year included a number of brochures dedicated to maintaining morale among soldiers and civilians: {{Lang|ro|Războiul actual și urmările lui în viața morală a omenirii}} ("The Current War and Its Effects on the Moral Life of Mankind"), {{Lang|ro|Rolul inițiativei private în viața publică}} ("The Role of Private Initiative in Public Life"), {{Lang|ro|Sfaturi și învățături pentru ostașii României}} ("Advices and Teachings for Romania's Soldiers") etc.<ref name="ivxlii"/> He also translated from English and printed ''My Country'', a patriotic essay by Ferdinand's wife Marie of Edinburgh.<ref name="rcinvest">{{in lang|fr}} Romanița Constantinescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727134547/http://www.phantasma.ro/caiete/caiete/caiete18/06.html "Investissements imaginaires roumains en Quadrilatère: La ville de Balchik"], in ''Caietele Echinox'', Vol. 18, Babeș-Bolyai University Center for Imagination Studies, Cluj-Napoca, 2010, pp. 68–82. {{oclc|166882762}}</ref>

The heightened sense of crisis prompted Iorga to issue appeals against [[Philosophy:Defeatism|defeatism]] and reissue {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}} from Iași, explaining: "I realized at once what moral use could come out of this for the thousands of discouraged and disillusioned people and against the traitors who were creeping up all over the place."<ref name="ivxliii">Iova, p. xliii</ref> The goal was again reflected in his complementary lectures (where he discussed the "national principle") and a new set of works; these featured musings on the Allied commitment ({{Lang|fr|Relations des Roumains avec les Alliès}}, "The Romanians' Relations with the Allies"; {{Lang|fr|Histoire des relations entre la France et les roumains}}, "The History of Relations between France and the Romanians"), the national character ({{Lang|ro|Sufletul românesc}}, "The Romanian Soul") or columns against the loss of morale ({{Lang|ro|Armistițiul}}, "The Armistice").<ref name="ivxliii"/> His ideal of moral regeneration through the war effort came with an endorsement of land reform projects. Brătianu did not object to the idea, being however concerned that landowners would rebel. Iorga purportedly gave him a sarcastic reply: "just like you've been shooting the peasants to benefit the landowners, you'll then be shooting the landowners to benefit the peasants."<ref>Iova, pp. xliii–xliv</ref>

In May 1918, Romania yielded to German demands and negotiated the Bucharest Treaty, an effective armistice. The conditions were judged humiliating by Iorga ("Our ancestors would have preferred death");<ref name="ivxliv"/> he refused to regain his University of Bucharest chair.<ref>Boia (2010), p. 117</ref> The German authorities in Bucharest reacted by blacklisting the historian.<ref name="ivxliv"/>

===Greater Romania's creation===
Iorga only returned to Bucharest as Romania resumed its contacts with the Allies and the {{Lang|de|Deutsches Heer}} left the country. The political uncertainty ended by late autumn, when the Allied victory on the Western Front sealed Germany's defeat. Celebrating the Compiègne Armistice, Iorga wrote: "There can be no greater day for the entire world".<ref name="ivxliv"/> Iorga however found that Bucharest had become "a filthy hell under lead skies."<ref name="apbucurestii"/> His celebrated return also included the premiere of {{Lang|ro|Învierea lui Ștefan cel Mare}} at the National Theater, which continued to host productions of his dramatic texts on a regular basis, until ca. 1936.<ref>Călinescu, p. 1010. See also Ciprian, p. 220</ref>

He was reelected to the lower chamber in the June 1918 election, becoming President of the body and, due to the rapid political developments, the first person to hold this office in the history of [[Social:Greater Romania|Greater Romania]].<ref name="ivxliv"/><ref name="gifcoresp1">{{in lang|ro}} Gheorghe I. Florescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317061937/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUmai3.html "Corespondența personală a lui N. Iorga" (I)], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', May 2003</ref> The year also brought his participation alongside Allied envoys in the 360th anniversary of Michael the Brave's birth.<ref name="ivxliv"/> On 1 December, 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 the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia to demand union on the basis of [[Social:Self-determination|self-determination]].<ref name="ivxliv"/> Despite these successes, Iorga was reportedly snubbed by King Ferdinand, and only left to rely on Brătianu for support.<ref name="zomemor"/> Although he was not invited to attend the Paris Peace Conference, he supported Queen Marie in her role of informal negotiator for Romania, and cemented his friendship with her.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Gheorghe I. Florescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317061953/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUnov8.html "Regina Maria și Conferința de pace din 1919" (III)], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', November 2008</ref>

Shortly after the creation of Greater Romania, Iorga was focusing his public activity on exposing [[Social:Collaborationism|collaborators]] of the wartime occupiers. The subject was central to a 1919 speech he held in front of the academy, where he obtained the public condemnation of actively Germanophile academicians, having earlier vetoed the membership of Poporanist Constantin Stere.<ref>Boia (2010), pp. 111, 346–347. See also Iova, p. xliv</ref> He failed at enlisting support for the purge of Germanophile professors from University, but the attempt rekindled the feud between him and [[Biography:Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș|Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcaș]], who had served in the German-appointed administration.<ref>Boia (2010), pp. 111, 353–354, 356</ref> The two scholars later took their battle to court<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Dumitru Hîncu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140309113354/http://www.romlit.ro/al._tzigara-samurca_-_din_amintirile_primului_vorbitor_la_radio_romnesc "Al. Tzigara-Samurcaș – Din amintirile primului vorbitor la Radio românesc"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 42/2007</ref> and, until Iorga's death, presented mutually exclusive takes on recent political history.<ref name="afferdbio">{{in lang|ro}} Alexandru Florescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317061502/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUian5.html "Istorie și istorii: o biografie a regelui Ferdinand"], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', January 2005</ref> Although very much opposed to the imprisoned Germanophile poet Tudor Arghezi, Iorga intervened on his behalf with Ferdinand.<ref>Boia (2010), p. 341</ref>

Following November 1919 elections, Iorga became a member of the Senate, representing the Democratic Nationalists. Although he resented the universal male suffrage and viewed the adoption of electoral symbols as promoting political illiteracy, his PND came to use a logo representing two hands grasping (later replaced with a black-flag-and-sickle).<ref>Radu, pp. 580, 585</ref> The elections seemed to do away with the old political system: Iorga's party was third, trailing behind two newcomers, the Transylvanian PNR and the Poporanist Peasants' Party (PȚ), with whom it formed a parliamentary bloc supporting an Alexandru Vaida-Voevod cabinet.<ref>Veiga, pp. 35–36, 130</ref> This union of former rivals also showed Iorga's growing suspicion of Brătianu, whom he feared intended to absorb the PND into the National Liberal Party, and accused of creating a [[Social:Political machine|political machine]].<ref name="zomemor"/> He and his disciples were circulating the term ''politicianism'' ("politicking"), expressing their disappointment for the new political context.<ref name="zomemor"/><ref name="gifcoresp2"/>

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).<ref>Iova, pp. xliv–xlv</ref> Together with French war hero Septime Gorceix, he also compiled {{Lang|fr|Anthologie de la littérature roumaine}} ("An Anthology of Romanian Literature").<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Mircea Iorgulescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110906123436/http://www.romlit.ro/acum_85_de_ani_-_antologie_de_literatur_romn_n_frana "Acum 85 de ani – Antologie de literatură română în Franța"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 51–52/2005</ref> That year, the French state granted Iorga its Legion of Honor.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 276</ref>

A founding president of the Association of Romanian Public Libraries,<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Mircea Regneală, [https://web.archive.org/web/20101121054413/http://www.revista22.ro/colapsul-bibliotecilor-romanesti-949.html "Colapsul bibliotecilor românești"], in ''Revista 22'', Nr. 745, June 2004</ref> Iorga was also tightening his links with young Transylvanian intellectuals: he took part in reorganizing the Cluj Franz Joseph University into a Romanian-speaking institution, meeting scholars Vasile Pârvan and Vasile Bogrea (who welcomed him as "our protective genius"), and published a praise of the young traditionalist poet [[Biography:Lucian Blaga|Lucian Blaga]].<ref>Iova, p. xlv. See also Nastasă (2007), pp. 91, 273–278, 492</ref><ref name="iscoresp">{{in lang|ro}} Ion Simuț, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110907014932/http://www.romlit.ro/nicolae_iorga_-_coresponden_necunoscut "Nicolae Iorga – Corespondență necunoscută"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 22/2006</ref> He was in correspondence with intellectuals of all backgrounds, and, reportedly, the Romanian who was addressed the most letters in postal history.<ref name="gifcoresp1"/> Touring the larger conference circuit, he also wrote some 30 new books, among them: {{Lang|fr|Histoire des roumains de la Peninsule des Balcans}} ("The History of Romanians from the Balkan Peninsula": Aromanians, Istro-Romanians and Megleno-Romanians), {{Lang|ro|Istoria poporului francez}} ("The History of the French people"), {{Lang|ro|Pentru sufletele celor ce muncesc}} ("For The Souls of Working Men"), and {{Lang|ro|Istoria lui Mihai Viteazul}} ("The History of Michael the Brave").<ref>Iova, p. xlv. See also Tanașoca, pp. 99–100, 163</ref> Iorga was awarded the title of doctor ''honoris causa'' by the University of Strasbourg,<ref name="ivxlv">Iova, p. xlv</ref> while his lectures on Albania, collected by poet Lasgush Poradeci, became {{Lang|ro|Brève histoire de l'Albanie}} ("Concise History of Albania").<ref name="kkzodie"/> In Bucharest, Iorga received as a gift from his admirers a new Bucharest home on Bonaparte Highway (Iancu de Hunedoara Boulevard).<ref name="apbucurestii"/><ref name="ivxlv"/>

===Early 1920s politics===
Iorga's parliamentary bloc crumbled in late March 1920, when Ferdinand dissolved Parliament.<ref name="gifcoresp3">{{in lang|ro}} Gheorghe I. Florescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317061959/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUiul4.html "Corespondența personală a lui N. Iorga" (III)], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', July 2004</ref><ref>Butaru, p. 307</ref> During the spring 1920 election, Iorga was invited by journalist Sever Dan to run for a deputy seat in Transylvania, but eventually participated in and won the election of his earlier constituency, Covurlui County.<ref name="gifcoresp3"/> At that stage, Iorga was resenting the PNR for holding onto its regional government of Transylvania,<ref name="zomemor"/><ref name="gifcoresp2"/> and criticizing the PȚ for its claim to represent all Romanian peasants.<ref name="icstructura">{{in lang|ro}} Ionuț Ciobanu, [http://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/129-130/art06-ciobanu.html "Structura organizatorică a Partidului Țăranesc și a Partidului Național "] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102120433/http://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/129-130/art06-ciobanu.html |date=2 November 2012 }}, in ''Sfera Politicii'', Nr. 129–130</ref> In March 1921, Iorga again turned on Stere. The latter had since been forgiven for his wartime stance, decorated for negotiating the Bessarabian union, and elected on PȚ lists in Soroca County.<ref name="ihstere2">{{in lang|ro}} Ion Hadârcă, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317062009/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/HADIRCAiul6.html "Constantin Stere și Nicolae Iorga: antinomiile idealului convergent (II)"], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', July 2006</ref> Iorga's speech, "Stere's Betrayal", turned attention back to Stere's Germanophilia (with quotes that were supposedly taken out of context) and demanded his invalidation—the subsequent debate was tense and emotional, but a new vote in Chamber confirmed Stere as Soroca deputy.<ref name="ihstere2"/>

The overall election victory belonged to the radical, eclectic and anti-PNR People's Party, led by war hero Alexandru Averescu.<ref>Veiga, pp. 45–47</ref> Iorga, whose PND had formed the Federation of National Democracy with the PȚ and other parties,<ref name="gifcoresp3"/><ref name="gifaverescu">{{in lang|ro}} Gheorghe I. Florescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317062017/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/FLORESCUiul9.html "Alexandru Averescu, omul politic" (III)], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', July 2009</ref><ref>Radu, p. 579</ref> was perplexed by Averescu's ''sui generis'' appeal and personality cult, writing: "Everything [in that party] was about Averescu."<ref>Veiga, p. 47</ref> His partner Cuza and a portion of the PND were however supportive of this force, which threatened the stability of their vote.<ref name="gifaverescu"/> Progressively after that moment, Iorga also began toning down his antisemitism, a process of the end of which Cuza left the Democratic Nationalists to establish the more militant National-Christian Defense League (1923).<ref name="omintelect"/><ref name="zomemor"/><ref>Butaru, pp. 95–98, 122, 156; Cernat, p. 138; Neubauer, p. 164; Veiga, pp. 74–76, 96, 130. According to Crampton (p. 109), the two parties still shared views on antisemitism, even though the PND was officially "dedicated to recompensating those who had suffered during the war".</ref> Iorga's suggestions that new arrivals from Transylvania and Bessarabia were becoming a clique also resulted in collisions with former friend Octavian Goga, who had joined up with Averescu's party.<ref name="ihstere2"/>

His publishing activity continued at a steady pace during that year, when he first presided over the Romanian School of Fontenay-aux-Roses;<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 120, 195–196</ref> he issued the two volumes of {{Lang|fr|Histoire des roumains et de leur civilisation}} ("The History of the Romanians and Their Civilization") and the three tomes of {{Lang|ro|Istoria românilor prin călătorii}} ("The History of the Romanians in Travels"), alongside {{Lang|ro|Ideea Daciei românești}} ("The Idea of a Romanian Dacia"), {{Lang|ro|Istoria Evului Mediu}} ("The History of the Middle Ages") and some other scholarly works.<ref name="ivxlv"/> His biographical studies were mainly focused on his nationalist predecessor Mihail Kogălniceanu.<ref>Călinescu, p. 988. See also Vianu, Vol. II, p. 274</ref> Iorga also resumed his writing for the stage, with two new drama plays: one centered on the Moldavian ruler Constantin Cantemir ({{Lang|ro|Cantemir bătrânul}}, "Cantemir the Elder"), the other dedicated to, and named after, Brâncoveanu.<ref>Călinescu, p. 1010; Iova, pp. xlv–xlvi</ref> Centering his activity as a public speaker in Transylvanian cities, Iorga was also involved in projects to organize folk theaters throughout the country, through which he intended to spread a unified cultural message.<ref name="ivxlvi">Iova, p. xlvi</ref> The year also brought his presence at the funeral of A. D. Xenopol.<ref name="ivxlvi"/>

In 1921 and 1922, the Romanian scholar began lecturing abroad, most notably at the [[Organization:University of Paris|University of Paris]], while setting up a Romanian School in the French capital<ref name="ivxlvi"/> and the ''Accademia di Romania'' of [[Place:Rome|Rome]].<ref>Santoro, p. 116</ref> 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 [[History:Political history|political history]] ({{Lang|ro|Dezvoltarea așezămintelor politice}}, "The Development of Political Institutions"), {{Lang|ro|Secretul culturii franceze}} ("The Secret of French culture"), {{Lang|ro|Războiul nostru în note zilnice}} ("Our War as Depicted in Daily Records") and the French-language {{Lang|fr|Les Latins de l'Orient}} ("The Oriental Latins").<ref name="ivxlvi"/> His interest in Vladimirescu and his historical role was also apparent in an eponymous play, published with a volume of Iorga's selected lyric poetry.<ref>Călinescu, p. 1010. See also Iova, p. xlvi</ref>

In politics, Iorga began objecting to the National Liberals' hold on power, denouncing the 1922 election as a fraud.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Marin Pop, [https://web.archive.org/web/20151002145806/http://www.caietesilvane.ro/indexcs.php?cmd=articol&idart=714 "Alegerile parlamentare din anul 1922 în județul Sălaj"], in ''Caiete Silvane'', 10 June 2009</ref> He resumed his close cooperation with the PNR, briefly joining the party ranks in an attempt to counter this monopoly.<ref name="zomemor"/><ref name="gifcoresp3"/><ref name="icstructura"/><ref>Neubauer, p. 164; Veiga, pp. 99–100</ref> In 1923, he donated his Bonaparte Highway residence and its collection to the Ministry of Education, to be used by a cultural foundation and benefit university students.<ref name="ivxlvii">Iova, p. xlvii</ref> Receiving another ''honoris causa'' doctorate, from the University of Lyon, Iorga went through an episode of reconciliation with Tudor Arghezi, who addressed him public praise.<ref>Iova, pp. xlvi–xlvii</ref> 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".<ref name="gscursa">{{in lang|ro}} Geo Șerban, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120317053743/http://www.romaniaculturala.ro/articol.php?cod=8640 "Cursă de urmărire, cu suspans, prin intersecțiile avangărzii la români"], in ''Lettre Internationale'' Romanian edition, Nr. 58, Summer 2006</ref>

Among his published works for that year were {{Lang|fr|Formes byzantines et réalités balcaniques}} ("Byzantine Forms and Balkan Realities"), {{Lang|ro|Istoria presei românești}} ("The History of the Romanian Press"), {{Lang|fr|L'Art populaire en Roumanie}} ("Folk Art in Romania"), {{Lang|ro|Istoria artei medievale}} ("The History of [[History:Medieval art|Medieval art]]") and {{Lang|ro|Neamul românesc din Ardeal}} ("The Romanian Nation in Transylvania").<ref>Iova, p. xlvi. See also Tanașoca, p. 163</ref> Iorga had by then finished several new theatrical plays: {{Lang|ro|Moartea lui Dante}} ("The Death of Dante"), {{Lang|ro|Molière se răzbună}} ("Molière Gets His Revenge"), {{Lang|ro|Omul care ni trebuie}} ("The Man We Need") and {{Lang|ro|Sărmală, amicul poporului}} ("Sărmală, Friend of the People").<ref>Iova, p. xlvi. See also Călinescu, p. 1010</ref>

===International initiatives and American journey===
[[File:Nicolae Iorga - Histoire des états balcaniques jusqu'a 1924.pdf|thumb|Title page of Iorga's ''Histoire des états balcaniques jusqu'a 1924'' (1925)]]
[[File:Professeur Jorga, Exposition d'Aviculture 1928, Meurisse.jpg|thumb|Iorga in Versailles, 1928 photograph]]

A major moment in Iorga's European career took place in 1924, when he convened in Bucharest the first-ever International Congress of Byzantine Studies, attended by some of the leading experts in the field.<ref name="ivxlvii"/> He also began lecturing at Ramiro Ortiz's Italian Institute in Bucharest.<ref>Santoro, pp. 114–115</ref> 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: {{Lang|fr|Brève histoire des croissades}} ("A Short History of the Crusades"), {{Lang|ro|Cărți reprezentative din viața omenirii}} ("Books Significant for Mankind's Existence"), {{Lang|ro|România pitorească}} ("Picturesque Romania") and a volume of addresses to the Romanian American community.<ref name="ivxlvii"/> In 1925, when he was elected a member of the Kraków Academy of Learning in [[Place:Second Polish Republic|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).<ref name="ivxlvii"/> His bibliography for 1925 includes some 50 titles.<ref name="ivxlvii"/> Iorga also increased his personal fortune, constructing villas in two resort towns: in Sinaia (designer: Toma T. Socolescu) and, later, Mangalia.<ref name="ln(07)126">Nastasă (2007), p. 126</ref> More controversial still was his decision to use excess funds from the International Congress to improve his Vălenii printing press.<ref name="ln(07)126"/>

Iorga was again abroad in 1926 and 1927, lecturing on various subjects at reunions in France, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Sweden and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, many of his works being by then translated into French, English, German and Italian.<ref name="ivxlvii-xlviii">Iova, pp. xlvii–xlviii</ref> His work for 1926 centered on the first of four volumes in his series {{Lang|fr|Essai de synthèse de l'histoire de l'humanité}} ("Essay on the Synthesis of World History"), followed in 1927 by {{Lang|ro|Istoria industriei la români}} ("The History of Industry among the Romanians"), {{Lang|ro|Originea și sensul democrației}} ("The Origin and Sense of Democracy"), a study of Romanian contributions to the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War ({{Lang|ro|Războiul de independență}}, "The War of Independence") etc.<ref name="ivxlvii-xlviii"/> At home, the PND's merge into the PNR, accepted by Iorga, was stopped once the historian asked to become the resulting union's chief.<ref name="icstructura"/> Acting PNR leader Iuliu Maniu successfully resisted this move, and the two parties split over the issue.<ref name="icstructura"/>

For a while in 1927, Iorga was also local leader of the Pan-European movement, created internationally by [[Biography:Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi|Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi]].<ref>Guida, p. 238; Nicolae M. Nicolae, "Europa lui Coudenhove-Kalergi", in ''Magazin Istoric'', July 2002, p. 11</ref> A ''honoris causa'' doctor of [[Organization:University of Genoa|Genoa University]], he opened his course at the University of Paris with lectures on France's [[Place:Levant|Levant]]ine policy (1927) and, during 1928, was again invited to lecture in Spain, Sweden and Norway.<ref name="ivxlviii">Iova, p. xlviii</ref> His published works for that time grouped the political essay {{Lang|ro|Evoluția ideii de libertate}} ("The Evolution of Liberty as an Idea"), new historical studies and printed versions of his conferences: {{Lang|ro|Istoria învățământului}} ("The History of Education"), {{Lang|ro|Patru conferințe despre istoria Angliei}} ("Four Conferences on the History of England"), {{Lang|ro|Țara latină cea mai îndepărtată din Europa: Portugalia}} ("The Remotest Latin Country in Europe: Portugal").<ref>Iova, pp. xlviii–xlix</ref> In addition to his Bucharest Faculty of History chair, Iorga also took over the History of Literature course hosted by the same institution (1928).<ref name="ivxlviii"/>

Appointed the university's [[Social:Rector (academia)|Rector]] in 1929, he followed up with new sets of conferences in France, Italy or Spain, and published some 40 new books on topics such as Romanian folklore and [[History:History of Scandinavia|Scandinavian history]].<ref name="ivxlix">Iova, p. xlix</ref> For a while, he also held the university's concise literature course, replacing Professor Ioan Bianu.<ref name="zoistlit">{{in lang|ro}} Z. Ornea, [https://archive.today/20120909082811/http://www.romlit.ro/n._iorga-_istoric_literar "N. Iorga – istoric literar"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 43/1999</ref> Iorga's circle was joined by researcher Constantin C. Giurescu, son of historian Constantin Giurescu, who had been Iorga's rival a generation before.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 324–325, 386–387, 479–480</ref>

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.<ref>Iova, p. xlix. See also Ornea (1995), p. 396</ref> He was also an honored guest of [[Organization:Case Western Reserve University|Case Western Reserve University]], where he delivered a lecture in English.<ref name="kkzodie"/> Returning to attend the London International Congress of History, Iorga was also made a ''honoris causa'' doctor by the [[Organization:University of Oxford|University of Oxford]] (with a reception speech likening him to both Livy and Pliny the Elder).<ref name="ivxlix"/> That year, he also set up the ''Casa Romena'' institute in Venice.<ref>Santoro, p. 226</ref> His new works included {{Lang|ro|America și românii din America}} ("Romania and the Romanians of America") and {{Lang|ro|Priveliști elvețiene}} ("Swiss Landscapes"), alongside the plays {{Lang|ro|Sfântul Francisc}} ("Saint Francis") and {{Lang|ro|Fiul cel pierdut}} ("The Lost Son").<ref>Iova, p. xlix. See also Călinescu, p. 1010</ref> In 1931–1932, he was made a ''honoris causa'' doctor by four other universities (the University of Paris, La Sapienza, [[Organization:Vilnius University|Stefan Batory]], Comenius), was admitted into both ''Accademia dei Lincei'' and the ''Accademia degli Arcadi'', and published over 40 new titles per year.<ref name="ivl">Iova, p. l</ref>

===Prime Minister===
[[File:Professeur Jorga, reçu docteur Honoris Causa 1931, Meurisse.jpg|thumb|Iorga at the University of Paris, receiving his ''Honoris Causa'' Doctorate]]

Iorga became Romanian Premier in April 1931, upon the request of Carol II, who had returned from exile to replace his own son, Michael I. The authoritarian monarch had cemented this relationship by visiting the Vălenii de Munte establishment in July 1930.<ref>Brătescu, pp. 33–34</ref> A contemporary historian, Hugh Seton-Watson (son of R.W. Seton-Watson), documented Carol's confiscation of agrarian politics for his own benefit, noting: "Professor Iorga's immense vanity delivered him into the king's hands."<ref>Seton-Watson, p. 205</ref> Iorga's imprudent ambition is mentioned by cultural historian Z. Ornea, who also counts Iorga among those who had already opposed Carol's invalidation.<ref name="zomemor"/> In short while, Iorga's support for the controversial monarch resulted in his inevitable break with the PNR and PȚ. Their agrarian union, the National Peasants' Party (PNȚ), took distance from Carol's policies, whereas Iorga prioritized his "Carlist" monarchism.<ref name="zomemor"/><ref>Butaru, p. 306</ref> Iorga wilfully rejected PNȚ policies. There was a running personal rivalry between him and PNȚ leader Iuliu Maniu,<ref name="zomemor"/> even though Iorga had on his side Maniu's own brother, lawyer Cassiu Maniu.<ref name="iscoresp"/>

Once confirmed on the throne, Carol experimented with [[Social:Technocracy|technocracy]], borrowing professionals from various political groups, and closely linking Iorga with Internal Affairs Minister Constantin Argetoianu.<ref name="zomemor"/><ref>Ornea (1995), pp. 226, 265, 296; Veiga, pp. 126–131, 200–201</ref> Iorga survived the election of June, in which he led a National Union coalition, with support from his rivals, the National Liberals.<ref>Guida, p. 237</ref> During his short term, he traveled throughout the country, visiting around 40 cities and towns,<ref name="ivl"/> and was notably on a state visit to France, being received by Prime Minister [[Biography:Aristide Briand|Aristide Briand]] and by Briand's ally André Tardieu.<ref name="fg238">Guida, p. 238</ref> In recognition of his merits as an [[Social:Albanology|Albanologist]], the Albanian Kingdom granted Iorga property in Sarandë town, on which the scholar created a Romanian Archeological Institute.<ref name="kkzodie"/><ref>Tănase Bujduveanu, "Institutul român din Albania", in ''Magazin Istoric'', March 2011, pp. 28–32</ref>

The backdrop to Iorga's mandate was Carol's conflict with the Iron Guard, an increasingly popular [[Social:Fascism|fascist]] organization. In March 1932, Iorga signed a decree outlawing the movement, the beginning of his clash with the Guard's founder [[Biography:Corneliu Zelea Codreanu|Corneliu Zelea Codreanu]].<ref>Butaru, pp. 161, 169; Iova, p. l; Ornea (1995), pp. 173, 235, 243, 296; Volovici, p. 154. See also Veiga, pp. 137–138</ref> At the same time, his new education law enhancing university autonomy, for which Iorga had been campaigning since the 1920s, was openly challenged as unrealistic by fellow scholar Florian Ștefănescu-Goangă, who noted that it only encouraged political agitators to place themselves outside the state.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 58, 81</ref> Also holding the office of Education Minister, he allowed auditing students to attend university lectures without holding a Romanian Baccalaureate degree.<ref>In doing so, Iorga answered a call by world-famous physicist [[Biography:Albert Einstein|Albert Einstein]] to grant Einstein's Romanian pupil Melania Șerbu an educational opportunity. See {{in lang|ro}} [[Biography:Solomon Marcus|Solomon Marcus]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110906035547/http://www.romlit.ro/scrisori_ctre_i_de_la_albert_einstein "Scrisori către și de la Albert Einstein"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 28/2006 (with a chronological error).</ref> Reserving praise for the home-grown youth movement ''Micii Dorobanți'',<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Cristian Bârsu, [http://pm3.ro/pdf/28/28%20INTEGRAL.pdf "O evocare a lui Gheorghe Mocianu, primul profesor român de educație fizică"], in the Hațieganu University ''Paletristica Mileniului'', Nr. 2/2007, p. 77</ref> he was also an official backer of Romanian Scouting.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Ionuț Fantaziu, [http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/cercetasii-romaniei-se-distreaza-fara-internet-876819.html "Cercetașii României se distrează fără internet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608185537/http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/cercetasii-romaniei-se-distreaza-fara-internet-876819.html |date=8 June 2011 }}, in ''Evenimentul Zilei'', 22 November 2009</ref> In addition, Iorga's time in office brought the creation of another popular summer school, in the tourist resort of [[Place:Balchik|Balcic]], Southern Dobruja.<ref name="rcinvest"/>

The major issue facing Iorga was the economic crisis, part of the [[Finance:Great Depression|Great Depression]], and he was largely unsuccessful in tackling it.<ref name="zomemor"/><ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 82; Ornea (1995), p. 296; Veiga, pp. 130–131</ref> To the detriment of financial markets, the cabinet tried to implement [[Finance:Debt relief|debt relief]] for bankrupt land cultivators,<ref>Veiga, pp. 140–141</ref> and signed an agreement with Argentina, another exporter of agricultural produce, to try to limit [[Finance:Deflation|deflation]].<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Dumitru Șandru, [http://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/133/art09-sandru.html "Criza din 1929 – 1933 și criza actuală"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102120415/http://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/133/art09-sandru.html |date=2 November 2012 }}, in ''Sfera Politicii'', Nr. 133</ref> The mishandling of economic affairs made the historian a target of derision and indignation among the general public.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 82; Veiga, pp. 156–157</ref> The reduction of deficit with pay cuts for all state employees ("sacrificial curves") or selective layoffs was particularly dramatic, leading to widespread disillusionment among the middle class, which only increased grassroots support for the Iron Guard.<ref name="zomemor"/><ref>Veiga, pp. 156–158</ref> Other controversial aspects were his alleged favoritism and [[Social:Nepotism|nepotism]]: perceived as the central figure of an academic clique, Iorga helped Gheorghe Bogdan-Duică's family and Pârvan, promoted young historian Andrei Oțetea, and made his son in law Colonel Chirescu (m. Florica Iorga in 1918) a Prefect of Storojineț County.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 114, 120, 131, 150, 250, 275–278, 287, 306–307, 324–332, 506–507</ref> His premiership also evidenced the growing tensions between the PND in Bucharest and its former allies in Transylvania: Iorga arrived to power after rumors of a PNȚ "Transylvanian conspiracy", and his cabinet included no Romanian Transylvanian politicians.<ref>Guida, p. 231</ref> It was however open to members of the Saxon community, and Iorga himself created a new government position for ethnic minority affairs.<ref name="jn165">Neubauer, p. 165</ref>

Nicolae Iorga presented his cabinet's resignation in May 1932, returning to academic life. This came after an understanding between Carol II and a rightist PNȚ faction, who took over with Alexandru Vaida-Voevod as Premier.<ref>Ornea (1995), pp. 226, 296–297; Seton-Watson, p. 205; Veiga, pp. 130–131, 138</ref> The PND, running in elections under a square-in-square logo (回),<ref>Radu, pp. 577–578</ref> was rapidly becoming a minor force in Romanian politics. It survived through alliances with the National Liberals or with Averescu, while Argetoianu left it to establish an equally small agrarian group.<ref>Veiga, pp. 215, 235, 247–248. See also Radu, p. 579</ref> Iorga concentrated on redacting memoirs, published as {{Lang|ro|Supt trei regi}} ("Under Three Kings"), whereby he intended to counter political hostility.<ref name="zomemor"/><ref name="gc614-615">Călinescu, pp. 614–615</ref> He also created the Museum of Sacred Art, housed by the Crețulescu Palace.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [[Biography:Andrei Pippidi|Andrei Pippidi]], [http://www.dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/ieri-cu-vedere-spre-azi/articol/o-expozitie-formidabila "O expoziție formidabilă "], in ''Dilema Veche'', Nr. 292, September 2009</ref>

===Mid-1930s conflicts===
[[File:Cuget Clar - Coperta - 2 martie 1939.jpg|thumb|Cover of ''Cuget Clar'', issue no. 34, dated 2 March 1939]]

The political conflicts were by then reflected in Iorga's academic life: Iorga was becoming strongly opposed to a new generation of professional historians, which included Giurescu the younger, P. P. Panaitescu and Gheorghe Brătianu. At the core, it was a scientific dispute: all three historians, grouped around the new ''Revista Istorică Română'', found Iorga's studies to be speculative, politicized or needlessly didactic in their conclusions.<ref name="lb(00)101-106">Boia (2000), pp. 101–106</ref> The political discrepancy was highlighted by the more radical support these academics were directing toward King Carol II.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 325–326</ref> In later years, Iorga also feuded with his Transylvanian disciple [[Biography:Lucian Blaga|Lucian Blaga]], trying in vain to block Blaga's reception to the academy over differences in philosophy and literary preference.<ref>Nastasă (2003), pp. 189, 192, 204–205, 207–209; (2007), pp. 506–507</ref> On Blaga's side, the quarrel involved philologist and civil servant Bazil Munteanu; his correspondence with Blaga features hostile remarks about Iorga's "vulgarity" and cultural politics.<ref name="pccarti">{{in lang|ro}} Pavel Chihaia, [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/index.html/articles|details?articleID=16182 "Printre cărți și manuscrise"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017142138/http://www.observatorcultural.ro/index.html/articles%7Cdetails?articleID=16182 |date=17 October 2015 }}, in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 339, September 2006</ref>

On his way to a pan-European congress, Iorga stirred further controversy by attending, in Rome, the tenth anniversary of the 1922 March, celebrating [[Social:Italian Fascism|Italian Fascism]].<ref>Veiga, p. 134</ref> He resumed his participation in conference cycles during 1933, revisiting France, as well as taking back his position at the University of Bucharest; he published another 37 books and, in August 1933, attended the History Congress in [[Place:Warsaw|Warsaw]].<ref name="ivl"/> His new project was a cultural version of the Polish–Romanian alliance, working together with poet-diplomat Aron Cotruș to increase awareness of his country, and publishing his own work in the Polish press.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Nicolae Mareș, [https://web.archive.org/web/20111007023922/http://www.revistaluceafarul.ro/index.html?id=2911&editie=125 "Aron Cotruș – scriitor și diplomat – 120 de ani de la naștere"], in ''Luceafărul'', Nr. 1/2011</ref>

Early in 1934, Iorga issued a condemnation of the Iron Guard, following the assassination of National Liberal Premier Ion G. Duca by a [[Social:Iron Guard death squads|Legionary death squad]].<ref>Ornea (1995), p. 299</ref> However, during the subsequent police round-ups of Guardist activists, Iorga intervened for the release of fascist philosopher [[Biography:Nae Ionescu|Nae Ionescu]],<ref>Ornea (1995), p. 231</ref> and still invited Guardist poet Radu Gyr to lecture at Vălenii.<ref>Brătescu, p. 54</ref> At the same time, he was again focusing his attention on the condemnation of modernists and the poetry of Arghezi, first with the overview {{Lang|ro|Istoria literaturii românești contemporane}} ("History of Contemporary Romanian Literature"), then with his press polemics.<ref name="agrevenind4"/><ref>Livezeanu, p. 117; Ornea (1995), pp. 444–449, 452. See also Călinescu, p. 977</ref> Also in 1934, Iorga also published a book which coined his image of Romania's early modern culture—{{Lang|fr|Byzance après Byzance}} ("Byzantium after Byzantium"), alongside the three-volume {{Lang|fr|Histoire de la vie byzantine}} ("A History of Byzantine Life").<ref>Iova, p. l. See also Neubauer, p. 164; Setton, p. 49</ref> He followed up with a volume of memoirs {{Lang|ro|Orizonturile mele. O viață de om așa cum a fost}} ("My Horizons. The Life of a Man as It Was"),<ref name="zomemor"/><ref>Călinescu, p. 1010; Iova, pp. l–li; Zub (2000), p. 34</ref> while inaugurating his contribution to Romania's official cultural magazine, ''Revista Fundațiilor Regale''.<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 524</ref>

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,<ref name="ivli">Iova, p. li</ref> inviting scholar Franz Babinger to lecture at the ISSEE.<ref>Eugen Ciurtin, "Eastern Europe", in Gregory D. Alles (ed.), ''Religious Studies: A Global View'', [[Company:Routledge|Routledge]], London, 2008, p. 62. {{ISBN|0-415-39743-X}}; Nastasă (2007), pp. 39, 425–426</ref> Again in Iași, the historian participated in a special celebration of 18th century Moldavian Prince and [[Philosophy:Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] thinker Dimitrie Cantemir, whose remains had been retrieved from the Soviet Union to be reburied in the Romanian city.<ref name="ivli"/> Among the books Iorga published in 1935 are a new version of {{Lang|ro|Istoria lui Mihai Viteazul}}, alongside {{Lang|ro|Originalitatea lui Dimitrie Cantemir}} ("Dimitrie Cantemir's Originality"), {{Lang|ro|Comemorarea unirii Ardealului}} ("The Commemoration of Transylvania's Union") and two volumes of his {{Lang|ro|Memorii}} ("Memoirs").<ref name="ivli"/> His additional essays covered the careers of 17th century intellectuals (Anthim the Iberian, Axinte Uricariul, Constantin Cantacuzino).<ref>Călinescu, pp. 978, 979</ref> Also in 1935, Iorga and his daughter Liliana co-authored a Bucharest guide book.<ref name="apcumlevedea">{{in lang|ro}} [[Biography:Andrei Pippidi|Andrei Pippidi]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110505071552/http://www.dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/bordeie-obiceie/articol/istorie-i-arhitectura-cum-le-vedea-iorga "Istorie și arhitectură, cum le vedea Iorga"], in ''Dilema Veche'', Nr. 373, April 2011</ref>

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.<ref name="ivli"/> He was also in the Netherlands, with a lecture on Byzantine [[History:Social history|social history]]: {{Lang|fr|L'Homme byzantin}} ("Byzantine Man").<ref name="mmhomob">{{in lang|ro}} Mircea Muthu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727134615/http://www.phantasma.ro/caiete/caiete/caiete3/04.html "Homo balcanicus"], in ''[http://phantasma.ro/caiete.html Caietele Echinox]'', Vol. 3, Babeș-Bolyai University Center for Imagination Studies, Cluj-Napoca, 2002, pp. 43–51. {{ISBN|973-35-1355-5}}</ref> Upon his return, wishing to renew his campaign against the modernists, Iorga founded ''Cuget Clar'', the neo-{{Lang|ro|Sămănătorist}} magazine.<ref>Ornea (1995), p. 445</ref>

By that moment in time, he was publicly voicing his concern that Transylvania was a target of expansion for [[History:Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946)|Regency-period Hungary]], while cautioning the public against [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]] and its [[Social:Revanchism|revanchism]].<ref>Brătescu, pp. 69, 77; Iova, pp. li–lii; Volovici, pp. 151–152, 154, 157</ref> Similarly, he was concerned about the Soviet threat and the fate of Romanians in the Soviet Union, working closely with the Transnistrian [[Social:Anti-communism|anti-communist]] refugee Nichita Smochină.<ref>Brătescu, p. 59</ref> Such worries were notably expressed by Iorga in a series of Bucharest Radio broadcasts, {{Lang|ro|Sfaturi pe întuneric}} ("Advice at Dark", soon after published in brochure format).<ref>Iova, p. lii. See also Călinescu, p. 1010; Nastasă (2007), p. 523</ref> He completed several new volumes, among which were {{Lang|ro|Dovezi despre conștiința originii românilor}} ("Evidence on the Conscious Origin of the Romanians"), the polemical essay {{Lang|ro|Lupta mea contra prostiei}} ("My Fight against Stupidity"), and the first two volumes of the long planned {{Lang|ro|Istoria românilor}}.<ref name="ivlii">Iova, p. lii</ref>

===1937 retirement and Codreanu trials===
[[File:Consilierul regal Nicolae Iorga și președintele Consiliului, Armand Călinescu.jpg|thumb|300px|Crown Councillor Iorga and Prime Minister Armand Călinescu in National Renaissance Front uniforms (10 May 1939)]]

Nicolae Iorga was officially honored in 1937, when Carol II inaugurated a Bucharest Museum of World History, placed under the ISSEE director's presidency.<ref name="so&gh64">Olaru & Herbstritt, p. 64</ref> However, the publicized death threats he received from the Iron Guard eventually prompted Iorga to retire from his university position.<ref name="ivliii">Iova, p. liii</ref> He withdrew to Vălenii de Munte, but was still active on the academic scene, lecturing on "the development of the human spirit" at the World History Institute, and being received as a corresponding member into Chile's Academy of History.<ref name="ivliii"/> He also mentored German biographer Eugen Wolbe, who collected data on the Romanian kings.<ref name="afferdbio"/> This contribution was doubled by a steady participation in the country's political life. Iorga attended the Cultural League congress in Iași, where he openly demanded for the Iron Guard to be outlawed on the grounds that it served Nazi interests, and discussed the threat of war in his speeches at Vălenii de Munte and his Radio conferences.<ref>Iova, p. liii. See also Ornea (1995), p. 98</ref> With his {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}} disciple N. Georgescu-Cocoș, he was also continuing his fight against modernism, inspiring a special Romanian Academy report on the modernists' "pornography".<ref name="ascboxa">{{in lang|ro}} Adina-Ștefania Ciurea, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120811190656/http://www.romlit.ro/scriitori_n_boxa_acuzailor "Scriitori în boxa acuzaților"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 33/2003</ref>

The early months of 1938 saw Nicolae Iorga joining the national unity government of Miron Cristea, formed by Carol II's right-wing power base.<ref>Crampton, pp. 115–116; Santoro, p. 233</ref> A Crown Councillor, he then threw his reluctant support behind the National Renaissance Front, created by Carol II as the driving force of a pro-fascist but anti-Guard [[Social:One-party state|one-party state]] (''see 1938 Constitution of Romania'').<ref>Țurlea, ''passim''; Veiga, pp. 245–248, 250, 262–265. See also Butaru, p. 293</ref> Iorga was upset by the imposition of uniforms on all public officials, calling it "tyrannical", and privately ridiculed the new constitutional regime's architects, but he eventually complied to the changes.<ref>Țurlea, ''passim''</ref> In April, Iorga was also at the center of a scandal which resulted in Codreanu's arrest and eventual extrajudicial killing. By then, the historian had attacked the Guard's policy of setting up small commercial enterprises and charity ventures. This prompted Codreanu to address him an open letter, which accused Iorga of being dishonest.<ref>Deletant, pp. 34, 43–44; Ornea (1995), pp. 314–316, 336–337; Veiga, pp. 250, 271</ref> Premier Armand Călinescu, who had already ordered a clampdown on Guardist activities, seized Iorga's demand for satisfaction as an opportunity, ordering Carol's rival to be tried for libel—the preamble to an extended trial on grounds of conspiracy.<ref>Deletant, pp. 34–35, 43–44; Ornea (1995), p. 316; Veiga, pp. 250–251, 271–272</ref> An unexpected consequence of this move was the protest resignation of General Ion Antonescu from the office of Defense Minister.<ref>Deletant, p. 44</ref>

Iorga himself refused to attend the trial; in letters he addressed to the judges, he asked the count of libel to be withdrawn, and advised that Codreanu should follow the [[Social:Insanity defense|insanity defense]] on the other accusations.<ref>Ornea (1995), pp. 316–317</ref> Iorga's attention then moved to other activities: he was Romanian Commissioner for the 1938 Venice Biennale,<ref name="sedint">[http://www.seductiveness-of-interval.ro/pages/istoric_en.swf "History"]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20090422164129/http://www.seductiveness-of-interval.ro/ Venice Biennale Romanian Pavilion: ''Seductiveness of Interval'']; retrieved 23 February 2011</ref> and supportive of the effort to establish a Romanian school of genealogists.<ref>Rădulescu, p. 342</ref>

In 1939, as the Guard's campaign of retribution had degenerated into [[Social:Terrorism|terrorism]], Iorga used the Senate tribune to address the issue and demand measures to curb the violence.<ref name="ivliii-liv">Iova, pp. liii–liv</ref> He was absent for part of the year, again lecturing in Paris.<ref name="sț47">Țurlea, p. 47</ref> Steadily publishing new volumes of {{Lang|ro|Istoria românilor}}, he also completed work on several other books: in 1938, {{Lang|ro|Întru apărarea graniței de Apus}} ("For the Defense of the Western Frontier"), {{Lang|ro|Cugetare și faptă germană}} ("German Thought and Action"), {{Lang|ro|Hotare și spații naționale}} ("National Borders and Spaces"); in 1939 {{Lang|ro|Istoria Bucureștilor}} ("History of Bucharest"), {{Lang|ro|Discursuri parlamentare}} ("Parliamentary Addresses"), {{Lang|ro|Istoria universală văzută prin literatură}} ("World History as Seen through Literature"), {{Lang|ro|Naționaliști și frontiere}} ("Nationalists and Frontiers"), {{Lang|ro|Stări sufletești și războaie}} ("Spiritual States and Wars"), {{Lang|ro|Toate poeziile lui N. Iorga}} ("N. Iorga's Complete Poetry") and two new volumes of {{Lang|ro|Memorii}}.<ref name="ivliii-liv"/> Also in 1938, Iorga inaugurated the open-air theater of Vălenii de Munte with one of his own dramatic texts, {{Lang|ro|Răzbunarea pământului}} ("The Earth's Revenge").<ref name="ivliii"/> The total number of titles he presented for publishing in 1939 is 45, including a play about Christina of Sweden ({{Lang|ro|Regele Cristina}}, "King C[h]ristina")<ref name="ivliv">Iova, p. liv</ref> and an anti-war cycle of poems.<ref name="nmpolonia"/> Some of his Anglophile essays were printed by Mihail Fărcășanu in ''Rumanian Quarterly'', which sought to preserve Anglo–Romanian cooperation.<ref name="azsistemul">{{in lang|ro}} Alexandru Zub, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110605223243/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/ZUBfeb5.html "Sistemul de la Versailles. Considerații istoriografice"], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', February 2005</ref>

Iorga was again Romanian Commissioner of the Venice Biennale in 1940.<ref name="sedint"/> The accelerated political developments led him to focus on his activities as a militant and journalist. His output for 1940 included a large number of conferences and articles dedicated to the preservation of Greater Romania's borders and the anti-Guardist cause: {{Lang|ro|Semnul lui Cain}} ("The Mark of Cain"), {{Lang|ro|Ignoranța stăpâna lumii}} ("Ignorance, Mistress of the World"), {{Lang|ro|Drumeț în calea lupilor}} ("A Wayfarer Facing Wolves") etc.<ref name="ivliv"/> Iorga was troubled by the outbreak of [[Social:World War II|World War II]] and saddened by the fall of France, events which formed the basis of his essay {{Lang|ro|Amintiri din locurile tragediilor actuale}} ("Recollections from the Current Scenes of a Tragedy").<ref name="ivliv"/> He was also working on a version of ''Prometheus Bound'', a tragedy which probably reflected his concern about Romania, her allies, and the uncertain political future.<ref name="nmpolonia"/>

===Iorga's murder===
The year 1940 saw the collapse of Carol II's regime. The unexpected cession of Bessarabia to the Soviets shocked Romanian society and greatly angered Iorga.<ref name="ihstere2"/><ref>Brătescu, p. 77</ref> At the two sessions of the Crown Council held on 27 June, he was one of six (out of 21) members to reject the Soviet ultimatum demanding Bessarabia's handover, instead calling vehemently for armed resistance.<ref name="ihstere2"/> Later, the Nazi-mediated Second Vienna Award made Northern Transylvania a part of Hungary. This loss sparked a political and moral crisis, eventually leading to the establishment of a National Legionary State with Ion Antonescu as ''Conducător'' and the Iron Guard as a governing political force. In the wake of this reshuffling, Iorga decided to close down his {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}}, explaining: "When a defeat is registered, the flag is not surrendered, but its fabric is wrapped around the heart. The heart of our struggle was the national cultural idea."<ref name="ivliv"/> Perceived as Codreanu's murderer, he received renewed threats from the Iron Guard, including hate mail, attacks in the movement's press (''Buna Vestire'' and ''Porunca Vremii'')<ref>Ornea (1995), p. 335. See also Iova, p. liii</ref> and tirades from the Guardist section in Vălenii.<ref>Brătescu, p. 79</ref> He further antagonized the new government by stating his attachment to the abdicated royal.<ref name="jn164">Neubauer, p. 164</ref>

[[File:Cadavrul_lui_Nicolae_Iorga._Noiembrie_1940,_Stejnicul.jpg|thumb|right|Iorga's corpse is lifted from the side of the road on the morning of 28 November 1940]]

Nicolae Iorga was forced out of Bucharest (where he owned a new home in Dorobanți quarter)<ref name="apbucurestii"/> and Vălenii de Munte by the massive earthquake of November. He then moved to Sinaia, where he gave the finishing touches to his book {{Lang|ro|Istoriologia umană}} ("Human [[History:Historiography|Historiology]]").<ref>Iova, p. lv. See also Brătescu, pp. 81, 84; Nastasă (2007), p. 126</ref> He was kidnapped by a Guardist squad, the best-known member of which was agricultural engineer Traian Boeru,<ref>Veiga, p. 310</ref> on the afternoon of 27 November, and killed in the vicinity of Strejnic (some distance from the city of Ploiești). He was shot at some nine times in all, with 7.65&nbsp;mm and 6.35&nbsp;mm handguns.<ref name="ivlv">Iova, p. lv</ref> Iorga's killing is often mentioned in tandem with that of agrarian politician Virgil Madgearu, kidnapped and murdered by the Guardists on the same night, and with the Jilava massacre (during which Carol II's administrative apparatus was decimated).<ref>Brătescu, p. 82; Crampton, p. 118; Deletant, pp. 60–61; Ornea (1995), pp. 19, 196, 209–210, 339–341, 347, 357; Veiga, pp. 292–295, 309–310; Seton-Watson, pp. 214–215</ref> These acts of retribution, placed in connection with the discovery and reburial of Codreanu's remains, were carried out independently by the Guard, and enhanced tensions between it and Antonescu.<ref>Deletant, pp. 60–61; Ornea (1995), pp. 339–343</ref>

Iorga's death caused much consternation among the general public, and was received with particular concern by the academic community. Forty-seven universities worldwide flew their flags at half-staff.<ref name="ivlv"/> A funeral speech was delivered by the exiled French historian Henri Focillon, from New York City, calling Iorga "one of those legendary personalities planted, for eternity, in the soil of a country and the history of human intelligence."<ref name="ivlv"/> At home, the Iron Guard banned all public mourning, excepting an obituary in ''Universul'' daily and a ceremony hosted by the Romanian Academy.<ref>Iova, pp. lv–lvi. See also Ornea (1995), pp. 340–341</ref> The final oration was delivered by philosopher [[Biography:Constantin Rădulescu-Motru|Constantin Rădulescu-Motru]], who noted, in terms akin to those used by Focillon, that the murdered scientist had stood for "our nation's intellectual prowess", "the full cleverness and originality of the Romanian genius".<ref>Iova, pp. lv–lvi</ref>

Iorga's remains were buried at Bellu, in Bucharest, on the same day as Madgearu's funeral—the attendants, who included some of the surviving interwar politicians and foreign diplomats, defied the Guard's ban with their presence.<ref>Brătescu, p. 82</ref> Iorga's last texts, recovered by his young disciple G. Brătescu, were kept by literary critic Șerban Cioculescu and published at a later date.<ref>Brătescu, p. 83</ref> Gheorghe Brătianu later took over Iorga's position at the South-East Europe Institute<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 49</ref> and the Institute of World History (known as Nicolae Iorga Institute from 1941).<ref name="so&gh64"/>

==Political outlook==

===Conservatism and nationalism===
Nicolae Iorga's views on society and politics stood at the meeting point of traditional conservatism, [[Social:Ethnic nationalism|ethnic nationalism]] and [[Social:National conservatism|national conservatism]]. This fusion is identified by political scientist Ioan Stanomir as a mutation of {{Lang|ro|Junimea}}{{'}}s ideology, running contrary to Titu Maiorescu's [[Philosophy:Liberal conservatism|liberal conservatism]], but resonating with the ideology of Romania's national poet, Mihai Eminescu.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 8–9, 102, 104–105, 112–119</ref> A maverick ''Junimist'', Eminescu added to the conservative vision of his contemporaries an intense nationalism with [[Philosophy:Reactionary|reactionary]], racist and [[Social:Xenophobia|xenophobic]] tinges, for which he received posthumous attention in Iorga's lifetime.<ref name="omintelect"/><ref>Both, ''passim''; Butaru, pp. 13, 64–87, 89, 95–96, 108, 112, 123, 158, 252–254, 316–317; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 8–9, 104–105, 108–110, 113, 114, 147–155, 198–206</ref> Identified by researcher Ioana Both as a source for the "Eminescu myth", Iorga saw in him the poet of "healthy race" ideas and the "integral expression of the Romanian soul", rather than a melancholy artist.<ref>Both, pp. 31–32</ref> This ideological source shaped the attitudes of many ''[[Social:Sămănătorul|Sămănătorists]]'', eroding {{Lang|ro|Junimea}}{{'}}s influence and redefining Romanian conservatism for the space of one generation.<ref>Both, pp. 31–32; Butaru, pp. 95–96; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 8–9</ref> A definition provided by political scientist John Hutchinson lists Iorga among those who embraced "cultural nationalism", which rejected modernization, as opposed to "political nationalism", which sought to modernize the nation-state.<ref>Alexandrescu, pp. 142, 158</ref>

Borrowing Maiorescu's theory about how [[Social:Westernization|Westernization]] had come to Romania as "forms without concept" (meaning that some modern customs had been forced on top of local traditions), Iorga likewise aimed it against the liberal establishment, but gave it a more radical expression.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 102, 112–121; Nastasă (2007), pp. 42, 169, 496–502, 508–509, 515–517, 528. See also Călinescu, p. 977</ref> A significant point of continuity between ''Junimism'' and Iorga was the notion of two "positive" social classes, both opposed to the bourgeoisie: the lower class, represented by the peasantry, and the aristocratic class of boyars.<ref>Ornea (1998), p. 272; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 113–121, 228–230; Veiga, pp. 164–166, 175–176</ref> Like Maiorescu, Iorga attacked the [[Social:Centralized government|centralizing]] 1866 Constitution, to which he opposed a statehood based on "organic" growth, with self-aware local communities as a source of legitimacy.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 114–121, 127, 138, 176–189, 224–234. See also Czobor-Lupp, pp. 122–123, 125–126, 129–131</ref> Also resonating with the ''Junimist'' club was Iorga's vision of the {{wipe|French Revolution}}—according to French author René Girault, the Romanian was an "excellent connaisseur" of this particular era.<ref name="rg415-416">René Girault, ''Être historien des relations internationales'', University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, 1998, pp. 415–416. {{ISBN|2-85944-346-0}}</ref> The revolutionary experience was, in Iorga's view, traumatic, while its liberal or [[Biography:Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]] inheritors were apostates disturbing the traditional equilibrium.<ref>Czobor-Lupp, pp. 130–131; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 47, 113–114, 116–121, 127, 177, 180–184, 186, 232; Veiga, p. 164</ref> His response to the Jacobin model was an Anglophile and [[Biography:Alexis de Tocqueville|Tocquevillian]] position, favoring the British constitutional system and praising the [[History:American Revolution|American Revolution]] as the positive example of [[Social:Nation-building|nation-building]].<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 120, 178–179, 181–183, 188–189, 231</ref>

Like ''Junimism'', Iorga's conservatism did not generally rely on religion. A [[Philosophy:Secularism|secularist]] among the traditionalists, he did not attach a special meaning to Christian ethics, and, praising the creative force of man, saw [[Philosophy:Asceticism|asceticism]] as a negative phenomenon.<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 56–61. See also Livezeanu, pp. 120, 122</ref> However, he strongly identified the [[Religion:Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian Orthodox Church]] and its [[Philosophy:Hesychasm|hesychasm]] with the Romanian psyche, marginalizing the Latin Church and the [[History:Transylvanian School|Transylvanian School]].<ref name="ideol&cult"/> In rejecting pure [[Philosophy:Individualism|individualism]], Iorga also reacted against the modern reverence toward [[Social:Athenian democracy|Athenian democracy]] or the Protestant Reformation, giving more positive appraisals to other community models: Sparta, [[Place:Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]], the Italian city-states.<ref>Czobor-Lupp, pp. 122–130</ref> As argued by political scientist Mihaela Czobor-Lupp, his was an "alternative" to the [[Philosophy:Rationalism|rationalist]] perspective, and a counterweight to [[Biography:Max Weber|Max Weber]]'s study on ''The Protestant Ethic''.<ref>Czobor-Lupp, pp. 123, 126–131</ref> His theories identified the people as a "natural entity [with] its own organic life", and sometimes justified the [[Social:Right of conquest|right of conquest]] when new civilizations toppled [[Social:Societal collapse|decadent ones]]—the conflict, he argued, was between [[Religion:Heracles|Heracles]] and Trimalchio.<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, p. 67</ref> In his private and public life, Iorga's conservatism also came with sexist remarks: like Maiorescu, Iorga believed that women only had a talent for nurturing and assisting male protagonists in public affairs.<ref>Alin Ciupală, ''Femeia în societatea românească a secolului al XIX-lea'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 2003, pp. 95, 109–110, 113. {{ISBN|973-33-0481-6}}</ref>

Despite the various similarities, Iorga and the ''Junimist'' loyalists became political enemies. Early on, Maiorescu would respond to his letters with disdain, while novelist Ioan Slavici called his irredentist projects "nonsense".<ref>Călinescu, pp. 407, 508</ref> Writing in 1920, ''Convorbiri Critice'' editor Mihail Dragomirescu accused those ''Junimists'' who followed Iorga's "[[Social:Chauvinism|chauvinist]] nationalism" of having forgotten that Maiorescu's [[Philosophy:Art for art's sake|art for art's sake]] principles "substituted the political criterion of patriotism for the criterion of truth."<ref>Ornea (1998), p. 136</ref> The conflict between Iorga and Dragomirescu was also personal, and, as reported by Iorga's disciple Alexandru Lapedatu, even caused the two to physically assault each other.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 309–310, 313–314</ref>

Iorga's brand of national conservatism was more successful than its more conventional predecessor: while the Conservative Party disappeared from the public eye after 1918, Iorga's more nationalistic interpretation was still considered relevant in the 1930s. One of the last Conservative leaders, Nicolae Filipescu, even pondered forging an alliance with the historian, in an attempt to save the group for dissolution.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', p. 112</ref> According to Ioan Stanomir, Iorga and fellow historian Ioan C. Filitti were together responsible for "the most memorable pages" in Romanian conservative theory for "the 1928–1938 decade".<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', p. 7</ref> In Stanomir's assessment, this last period of Iorga's activity also implied a move toward the main sources of traditional conservatism, bringing Iorga closer to the line of thought represented by [[Biography:Edmund Burke|Edmund Burke]], Thomas Jefferson or Mihail Kogălniceanu, and away from that of Eminescu.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 7, 116–119, 176–189, 224–234</ref>

The final years brought Iorga's stark condemnation of all [[Social:Statism|statism]], from the [[Social:Absolute monarchy|absolute monarchy]] to modern [[Social:State capitalism|state capitalism]], accompanied by a [[Philosophy:Dystopia|dystopia]]n perspective on industrialization as the end of the individual.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 178–178, 185–186, 226–228, 233–234</ref> Like Eminescu, Iorga was essentially a conservative [[Social:Anti-capitalism|anti-capitalist]] and economic [[Social:Corporatism|corporatist]], who confessed his admiration for pre-modern guilds.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 184–185, 233–234</ref> In Stanomir's account, these ideals, alongside the dreams of a "ghostly" organic identity, anti-ideological monarchism and national regeneration, brought Iorga into Carol II's camp.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 177–178</ref> Another factor was the rise of Nazi Germany, which, Iorga thought, could only be met by national unity under a powerful ruler.<ref name="sț47"/> The realignment came with contradictory statements on Iorga's part, such as when, in 1939, he publicly described Carol's Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen house as having usurped the throne of ''Domnitor'' Alexander John I, statements which enraged monarchist writer Gala Galaction.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Ioana Pârvulescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110906090232/http://www.romlit.ro/statuia_lui_carol_i "Statuia lui Carol I"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 49/2005</ref>

Iorga found himself in Kogălniceanu's conservative statement, "civilization stops when revolutions begin",<ref>Jerzy W. Borejsza, "The French Revolution in Relation to Poland and East-Central Europe", in Joseph Klaits, Michael H. Haltzel (eds.), ''Global Ramifications of the French Revolution'', {{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}, Cambridge etc., 2002, p. 65. {{ISBN|0-521-52447-4}}</ref> being especially critical of communist revolution. He described the Soviet experiment as a "caricature" of the Jacobin age<ref name="rg415-416"/> and communist leader {{wipe|Joseph Stalin}} as a dangerous usurper.<ref>Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', p. 234. See also Țurlea, p. 45</ref> Iorga found the small Romanian Communist Party an amusement and, even though he expressed alarm for its terrorist tendencies and its "foreign" nature, disliked the state's use of brutal methods against its members.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Radu Filipescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110818172913/http://istorie.uab.ro/publicatii/colectia_auash/annales_10/studii/5%20radu_filipescu.pdf "Partidele parlamentare și problema comunismului (1919–1924)"], in ''Annales Universitatis Apulensis, Series Historica'', 10/I, 2006, pp. 69, 71, 75–77, 81. See also {{in lang|ro}} Aug. Popa, [http://documente.bcucluj.ro/web/bibdigit/periodice/culturacrestina/1937/BCUCLUJ_FP_279432_1937_017_002_003.pdf "Rătăcirea extremistă"], in ''Cultura Creștină'', Nr. 2–3/1937, pp. 76–77 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University [http://documente.bcucluj.ro/ Transsylvanica Online Library])</ref>

===Antisemitism===
[[File:Ion Theodorescu-Sion - Păcăleală de 1 Aprilie, Furnica, 1 apr 1910.JPG|thumb|300px|''April's Fool. On 1 April, the Israelite community of Buhuși has entrusted Mr Iorga with the office of Hakham in that locality.'' (1910 cartoon by Ion Theodorescu-Sion)]]

A major and controversial component of Iorga's political vision, present throughout most of his career, was his antisemitism. Cultural historian William O. Oldson notes that Iorga's "amazing list of accomplishments" in other fields helped give antisemitism "an irresistible panache" in Romania, particularly since Iorga shared in the belief that all good nationalists were antisemites.<ref>Oldson, pp. 132–134. See also Volovici, pp. 34, 186, 190</ref> His ideas on the "Jewish Question" were frequently supported by violent language, which left traces on his journalist activity (even though, Oldson notes, he did not resort to racial slurs).<ref name="wo134">Oldson, p. 134</ref> In 1901, when he blocked Jewish linguist Lazăr Șăineanu from obtaining an academic position, Iorga wrote that Jews had a "passion for high praise and multiple earnings";<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Laszlo Alexandru, "Un savant călcat în picioare (II)", in ''Tribuna'', Nr. 152, January 2009</ref> three years later, in ''[[Social:Sămănătorul|Sămănătorul]]'', he argued that Iași was polluted by the "dirty business" of a "heathen and hostile" community.<ref name="omintelect"/><ref>Volovici, p. 32</ref> Similar accusations were stated, in his travel accounts, where he even justified [[Social:Pogrom|pogrom]]s against Bukovinian and Bessarabian Jews.<ref name="omintelect"/>

The PND, coming from the same ideological family as Poland's Roman Dmowski and the National Democracy movement,<ref name="fv69">Veiga, p. 69</ref> proclaimed that local Jews were suffocating the Romanian middle class and needed to be expelled, using slogans such as {{Lang|ro|Evreii la Palestina}} ("The Jews to [[Place:Palestine (region)|Palestine]]").<ref>Ornea (1995), pp. 395–396</ref> The program was criticized from early on by [[Biography:Constantin Rădulescu-Motru|Constantin Rădulescu-Motru]], Iorga's fellow nationalist and post-''Junimist'', who noted that the economic rationale behind it was unsound.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [[Biography:Marta Petreu|Marta Petreu]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727134627/http://www.phantasma.ro/caiete/caiete/caiete13/21.html "De la lupta de rasă la lupta de clasă. C. Rădulescu-Motru"], in ''Caietele Echinox'', Vol. 13, Babeș-Bolyai University Center for Imagination Studies, Cluj-Napoca, 2007, pp. 190–200. {{ISBN|2-905725-06-0}}</ref> According to Oldson, the claim that Jews were economic "vampires" was entirely unsubstantiated, even hypocritical: "[Iorga was] a Moldavian and fully aware of the complex causes of that province's poverty".<ref name="wo134"/>

Iorga's personal conservative outlook, passed into the party doctrines, also implied a claim that the Jews were agents of rebellion against political and cultural authority.<ref>Cernat, p. 32; Oldson, p. 135; Sandqvist, pp. 63, 77, 281</ref> He had nevertheless opted for religious-cultural over racial antisemitism, believing that, at the core of civilization, there was a conflict between [[Philosophy:Christian values|Christian values]] and Judaism.<ref>Cernat, p. 32</ref> He also suggested that Romanian antisemitism was conjectural and defensive, [[Social:Racial segregation|segregationist]] rather than destructive, and repeatedly argued that xenophobia was not in the national character—ideas paraphrased by Oldson as a "humane antisemitism".<ref>Oldson, pp. 135–137</ref> Oldson also refers to a paradox in the attitude of Iorga (and [[Biography:Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu|Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu]] before him): "A self-consciously proclaimed esteem for a minuscule [Jewish] elite (such as writer Gheorghe Kernbach),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://luceafarul.net/personalitati-ale-culturii-botosanene-gheorghe-chernbach-gheorghe-din-moldova-1863-1909 | title=Personalităţi ale culturii botoşănene – Gheorghe Kernbach (Gheorghe din Moldova) 1863 – 1909 | date=13 January 2013 }}</ref> then, went hand in hand with the utmost contempt and condescension for the bulk of Romanian Jewry."<ref>Oldson, p. 145</ref>

Reviewing the impact of such ideas, literary critic William Totok referred to ''Neamul Românesc'' as "the most important platform of antisemitic agitation prior to World War I."<ref name="wt618"/> Habitually, the magazine attacked the Jewish-owned papers ''Adevărul'' and ''Dimineața'', while claiming to document the "Judaization" of Romania's intellectual environments.<ref>Voicu, pp. 146–147, 148</ref> It also specifically targeted Romanians who were friendly with Jews, one such case being that of writer Ion Luca Caragiale (attacked for his contacts with Șăineanu, dramatist Ronetti Roman and other Jews).<ref>Voicu, p. 148</ref><ref name="bcexil">Barbu Cioculescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120326202048/http://www.romlit.ro/n_exil "În exil"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 4/2002</ref> Caragiale replied with noted irony, calling Iorga "tall but crooked".<ref name="pccarti"/><ref name="bcexil"/>

Nicolae Iorga and A. C. Cuza's modern revival of antisemitism, together with the core themes of {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorul}} propaganda, were paradoxical sources of inspiration for the Iron Guard in its early years.<ref name="omintelect"/><ref>Boia (2000), p. 100; Butaru, pp. 97, 126–127; Oldson, pp. 134–135, 161; Ornea (1995), pp. 315, 351, 410, 441, 444; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', p. 225; Veiga, pp. 55, 120, 165–167, 175–177, 181, 293; Volovici, pp. 59, 60, 63, 65, 129, 133, 154, 174. See also Călinescu, pp. 948–949</ref> However, with the [[History:Interwar period|interwar period]] came a relaxation of Iorga's own antisemitic discourse, when he described Jews as potentially loyal to "the legitimate masters of the land".<ref>Volovici, pp. 34–35</ref> He recorded being touched by his warm reception among the Romanian American Jewish community in 1930,<ref>Ornea (1995), p. 396; Volovici, p. 152</ref> and, after 1934, published his work with the ''Adevărul'' group.<ref>Călinescu, p. 977</ref> As Cuza himself began censuring this more tolerant discourse, Iorga even voiced his admiration for the Jewish mecena Aristide Blank.<ref>Butaru, p. 97</ref> As noted by researcher George Voicu, the anti-"Judaization" discourse of the far right was by then turning against Iorga.<ref>Voicu, p. 147</ref> Later in life, Iorga made the occasional return to antisemitic rhetoric: in 1937–1938, he alleged that Jews were pressuring Romanians into leaving the country, and described the necessity of "delousing" Romania by colonizing Romanian Jews elsewhere.<ref name="omintelect"/><ref>Volovici, pp. 54–55, 152–155</ref>

Despite his shifting attitude towards the Romanian Jewry, he opposed the [[Social:Zionism|Zionist movement]] throughout his life.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://m.rfi.ro/cultura-140141-nicolae-iorga-istoric-politician-antisemit-non-violent-ucis-de-antisemiti | title=Nicolae Iorga – istoric, politician, antisemit non-violent, ucis de antisemiți | date=24 November 2021 }}</ref>

===Geopolitics===
[[File:PequeñaEntente.svg|thumb|280px|Greater Romania and the Little Entente (in light green), with their nominal enemy, Regency Hungary]]

Iorga's changing sentiment flowed between the extremes of Francophilia and Francophobia. The Romanian scholar explained in detail his dislike for the [[Place:French Third Republic|Third Republic]]'s social and political landscape. He recalled that, in the 1890s, he had been shocked by the irreverence and [[Philosophy:Cosmopolitanism|cosmopolitanism]] of French student society.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 179–180, 195–196, 201–202; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 115–118</ref> In a 1906 speech, Iorga also noted that Francophone elites and urban [[Social:Diglossia|diglossia]] were slowly destroying the country's social fiber, by creating a language gap between classes.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 93, 247; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 114–118</ref> Also, {{Lang|ro|Neamul Românesc}} showed a preference for ''Action Française'' and the French reactionary right in their conflict with the Third Republic.<ref>Eugen Weber, ''Action Française: Royalism and Reaction in Twentieth Century France'', Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1962, pp. 483–484. {{OCLC|401078}}</ref> Shortly after the beginning of World War I, during the Battle of the Frontiers, Iorga publicized his renewed love for France, claiming that she was the only belligerent engaged in a purely [[Social:Defensive war|defensive war]]; in the name of Pan-Latinism, he later chided Spain for keeping neutral.<ref>Boia (2000), p. 246</ref>

Iorga's coverage of European culture and continental affairs also opened bridges with other cultural areas, particularly so during the interwar. By that time, historian Lucian Boia notes, he was seeing Europe as a community of nations, and, "in his own way", was rejecting isolationism or "primitive" xenophobia.<ref>Boia (2000), p. 100</ref> According to academic Francesco Guida, Iorga's political and scholarly activities displayed a "great openness towards the outside world", even as, in 1930s France, public opinion was turning against him.<ref>Guida, pp. 237–238</ref> Instead, Iorga affirmed himself as a promoter of English culture, making noted efforts at promoting awareness of its defining traits among the Romanian public.<ref name="albuyeats">Rodica Albu, "The Reception of W. B. Yeats in Romania", in K. P. S. Jochum (ed.), ''The Reception of W.B. Yeats in Europe'', Continuum International Publishing Group, London & New York, 2006, pp. 177–178, 186, 306, 307. {{ISBN|0-8264-5963-3}}</ref><ref name="tccpoe">Thomas C. Carlson, "Poe in Romania", in Lois Vines (ed.), ''Poe Abroad. Influence, Reputation, Affinities'', University of Iowa Press, Iowa City, 1999, p. 80. {{ISBN|0-87745-697-6}}</ref> At the time, although flirting with Pan-European nationalism, he stood in contrast with the Transylvanian-born Iuliu Maniu for displaying no sympathy toward Danubian Confederation projects, believing them to conceal Hungary's [[Social:Revanchism|revanchism]].<ref name="fg238"/>

Disenchanted with German culture after the shock of World War I,<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 247–248; Grigorescu, pp. 376–377; Nastasă (2007), pp. 215–216; Oldson, pp. 134–135</ref> Iorga also had strong views on Adolf Hitler, [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]] and [[Social:Nazism|Nazism]] in general, taking in view their contempt for the Versailles system, but also their repressive politics. He summarized this in {{Lang|ro|Sfaturi pe întuneric}}: "Beware my people for great dangers are stalking you&nbsp;... Borders are attacked, gutted, destroyed, gulped up.&nbsp;... There reemerges, in its cruelest form, the old theory that small states have no right to independence, that they fall within [[History:Lebensraum|living spaces]]&nbsp;... I cannot forget the past and I cannot reach an agreement with Hitler's dictatorship, being a man who cherishes freedom of thought".<ref name="ivlii"/> He later called Germany's Bohemia Protectorate a "[[Religion:Behemoth|Behemoth]]", referring to its annexation as a "prehistoric" act.<ref name="azsistemul"/>

His anti-war texts of 1939 replied to claims that a new armed conflict would usher in national "vitality", and, during the September Campaign, expressed solidarity with Poland—Iorga's Polonophila was even noted by the Nazis, causing more frictions between Berlin and Bucharest.<ref name="nmpolonia"/> The conservative Iorga was however inclined to sympathize with other forms of [[Philosophy:Totalitarianism|totalitarianism]] or [[Social:Corporatism|corporatism]], and, since the 1920s, viewed [[Social:Italian Fascism|Italian Fascism]] with some respect.<ref>Boia (2000), p. 116; Santoro, pp. 115–116, 226–228, 231, 233, 333, 359–364; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 228, 233; Veiga, pp. 89, 97, 130–131, 134, 149, 253</ref> Italian agents of influence hesitated between Iorga and the Iron Guard, but the Fascist International sought to include Iorga among its Romanian patrons;<ref>Santoro, pp. 231, 333; Veiga, p. 253</ref> Iorga himself expressed regret that the Italian regime was primarily an ally of revanchist Hungary, but applauded the 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, and, to the alarm of France, repeatedly argued that an Italian alliance was more secure than the [[History:Little Entente|Little Entente]].<ref>Santoro, pp. 115, 226–227, 233, 359–360, 363–364</ref>

Nicolae Iorga's bitterness about Romanian geopolitical disadvantages was encoded in his oft-quoted remark about the country only having two peaceful borders: one with Serbia, the other with the Black Sea.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Adam Puslojić, Ștefania Coșovei, [http://www.revistaluceafarul.ro/index.html?id=1363&editie=64 "Prietenia este un vis comun"], in ''Luceafărul'', Nr. 24-25/2009</ref> Despite these views, he endorsed the idea of minority rights in Greater Romania, attempting to find common ground with the Hungarian-Romanian community.<ref>Neubauer, p. 165; Neubauer ''et al.'', pp. 272–273. See also Nastasă (2007), p. 454; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', p. 232</ref> In addition to promoting inclusive action in government, Iorga declared himself against turning Hungarians and Transylvanian Saxons into "pharisaic" Romanians by coercing them to adopt the Romanian tradition.<ref name="jn165"/> In 1936, he even spoke in favor of Armenian Hungarian archeologist Márton Roska, prosecuted in Romania for challenging official theses about Transylvania, arguing that Transylvania "cannot be defended with prison sentences".<ref>Nastasă (2003), p. 315; (2007), p. 457</ref> Iorga was also noted for fostering the academic career of Eufrosina Dvoichenko-Markov, one of the few Russian-Romanian researchers of the interwar period.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 459–460. On Dvoichenko's work, see Călinescu, pp. 983, 991, 997; Vianu, Vol. I, p. 44</ref> He was however skeptical about the Ukrainian identity and rejected the idea of an independent {{wipe|Ukraine}} on Romania's border, debating the issues with ethnographer Zamfir Arbore.<ref>Boia, 2010, pp. 144–145</ref>

Various of Iorga's tracts speak in favor of a common background uniting the diverse nations of the [[Place:Balkans|Balkans]]. Bulgarian historian Maria Todorova suggests that, unlike many of his predecessors, Iorga was not alarmed Romania being perceived as a Balkan country, and did not attach a negative connotation to this affiliation (even though, she notes, Iorga explicitly placed the northern limit of the Balkans on the [[Place:Danube|Danube]], just south of Wallachia).<ref name="mt46">Todorova, p. 46</ref> In the 1930s, the Romanian scholar spoke with respect about all the Balkan peoples, but claimed that Balkan statehood was "Oriental" and underdeveloped.<ref name="kkzodie"/>

==Scientific work==

===Iorga's reputation for genius===
[[File:Stenografia lui N. Iorga.jpg|thumb|280px|Iorga's shorthand method: a fragment from his private notes]]

Iorga the European scholar has drawn comparisons with figures such as [[Biography:Voltaire|Voltaire]],<ref name="agrevenind4"/><ref name="gc612">Călinescu, p. 612</ref> Jules Michelet,<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, p. 68</ref> Leopold von Ranke<ref name="hsw&csw9">H. Seton-Watson & C. Seton-Watson, p. 9</ref> and Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz.<ref name="fv69"/> Having achieved fluency in some 12 foreign languages,<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 175</ref> he was an exceptionally prolific author: according to his biographer Barbu Theodorescu, the total of his published contributions, both volumes and brochures, was 1,359.<ref>Iova, p. xxxiv. According to Veiga (p. 69): "1,300 volumes and 25,000 articles"</ref> His work in documenting Romania's historical past could reach an unprecedented intensity, one such exceptional moment being a 1903 study trip to Târgu Jiu, a three-day interval during which he copied and summarized 320 individual documents, covering the period 1501–1833.<ref name="ivxxxviii"/> His mentor and rival Xenopol was among the first voices to discuss his genius, his 1911 Academy speech in honor of Nicolae Iorga making special note of his "absolutely extraordinary memory" and his creative energy, and concluding: "one asks himself in wonder how a brain was able to conceive of so many things and a hand was able to record them".<ref name="ivxl-xli"/> In 1940, Rădulescu-Motru likewise argued that Iorga had been "a creator&nbsp;... of unparalleled fecundity",<ref>Iova, p. lvi</ref> while ''Enciclopedia Cugetarea'' deemed him the greatest-ever mind in Romania.<ref name="agrevenind4"/><ref>Oldson, p. 132</ref> According to literary historian George Călinescu, Iorga's "huge" and "monstrously" comprehensive research, leaving no other historian "the joy of adding something", was matched by the everyday persona, a "hero of the ages".<ref name="gc612"/>

The level of Iorga's productivity and the quality of his historical writing were also highlighted by more modern researchers. Literary historian Ovid Crohmălniceanu opined that Iorga's scientific work was one of the "illustrious accomplishments" of the interwar years, on par with Constantin Brâncuși's sculptures and George Enescu's music.<ref>Crohmălniceanu, p. 19</ref> Romanian historian of culture Alexandru Zub finds that Iorga's is "surely the richest opus coming from the 20th century",<ref>Zub (2000), p. 47</ref> 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".<ref name="mt46"/> According to philosopher Liviu Bordaș, Iorga's main topic of interest, the relation between Romania and the [[Place:Eastern world|Eastern world]], was exhaustively covered: "nothing escaped this sacred monster's attention: Iorga had read everything."<ref name="lbintoarcer">{{in lang|ro}} Liviu Bordaș, [http://www.dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/polul-plus/articol/intoarcerea-radacinilor "Întoarcerea rădăcinilor"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331213343/http://dilemaveche.ro/sectiune/polul-plus/articol/intoarcerea-radacinilor |date=31 March 2012 }}, in ''Dilema Veche'', Nr. 360, January 2011</ref>

===Method and biases===
The definition of history followed by Iorga was specified in his 1894 {{Lang|ro|Despre concepția actuală a istoriei și geneza ei}}: "History is the systematic exposition, free from all unrelated purpose, of facts irrespective of their nature, methodically acquired, through which human activity manifested itself, irrespective of place and time."<ref name="ivxxxiv"/> With Ioan Bogdan and Dimitrie Onciul, young Iorga was considered an exponent of the "new" or "[[Philosophy:Critical historiography|critical]]" school, with which ''Junimism'' tackled Romantic nationalism in the name of objectivity.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 82–83, 101; Nastasă (2003), pp. 63, 72–73, 167–184; (2007), pp. 44, 306–307, 436, 502, 515–521</ref> However, even at that stage, Iorga's ideas accommodated a belief that history needed to be written with a "poetic talent" that would make one "relive" the past.<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 67–68</ref>

By 1902, he had changed his approach in [[History:Historiography|historiography]] to include and illustrate his belief in emotional attachment as a positive value of cultural nationalism. He would speak of historians as "elders of [their] nation",<ref>Boia (2010), p. 101</ref> and dismissed academic specialization as a "blindfold".<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, p. 53. See also Zub (2000), pp. 33–34</ref> Reflecting back on the transition, Iorga himself stated: "The love for the past, for great figures of energy and sincerity,&nbsp;... the exact contrary of tendencies I had found existed among my contemporaries, had gripped me and, added to my political preoccupations, such awakenings served me, when it came to criticizing things present, more than any argument that is abstract, logical in nature."<ref name="ivxxxviii"/> The point of his research, Iorga explained in 1922, was to show "the nation itself as a living being".<ref>Boia (2000), p. 99</ref> According to literary historian Victor Iova: "[Iorga's] overall activity&nbsp;... did not just seek the communication of knowledge, but also expressly sought to define the social finality of his time, its ethical sense and his own patriotic ideal."<ref name="ivli"/> The 1911 speech {{Lang|ro|Două concepții istorice}} nevertheless provided a more nuanced outline, cautioning against a potential cult of heroes and suggesting that national histories were inextricably linked to each other: "The life of a people is at all times mingled with the lives of others, existing in relation with these and at all times feeding into the others' lives."<ref name="ivxl"/>

According to George Călinescu, Nicolae Iorga was overdependent on his memory, which could result in "utterly fictitious" critical apparatuses for his scientific works.<ref name="gc612"/> Călinescu suggests that Iorga was an "anachronistic" type in his context: "approved only by failures", aged before his time, modeling himself on ancient chroniclers and out of place in modern historiography.<ref name="gc612"/> In the 1930s, Iorga's status in regulating the official historical narrative was challenged by Constantin C. Giurescu, P. P. Panaitescu and Gheorghe Brătianu, who wanted to return academic discourse back to the basic ''Junimist'' caveats, and were seen by Iorga as "denialists".<ref name="lb(00)101-106"/> For all the controversy, Lucian Boia suggests, neither of the ''Revista Istorică Română'' publishers was completely beyond Iorga's subjectivity, pathos or political bias, even though Panaitescu was for long "closer" to the ''Junimist'' model.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 103–107</ref> A particular challenge to Iorga's historical narrative also came from rival Hungarian historiography: in 1929, Benedek Jancsó called Iorga's science a branch of "Romanian [[Social:Imperialism|imperialist]] nationalism", his argument rejected as "false logic" by the Romanian.<ref>Santoro, p. 358</ref> Iorga had a friendly attitude toward other Hungarian scholars, including Árpád Bitay and Imre Kádár, who were his guests at Vălenii.<ref name="jn165"/>

Several other historians have expressed criticism of Iorga's bias and agenda. R.&nbsp;W. Seton-Watson regarded him as "prolific" and "''bahnbrechend''", but mentioned his "slovenly style".<ref name="hsw&csw9"/> In 1945, Hugh Seton-Watson spoke of the "great Roumanian Professor" having contributed "erudite chronology, written in a highly romantic and bombastic spirit."<ref>Seton-Watson, p. 41</ref> In his own ''Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time'', Iorga's German colleague Franz Babinger also noted that Iorga could get "carried away by national pride".<ref>In reference to Iorga's challenged claim that Orban, the supergun technician, was Romanian. See Franz Babinger, ''Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Bollingen Series XCVI'', Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1978, p. 82. {{ISBN|0-691-09900-6}}</ref> Medievalist Kenneth Setton also described Iorga as "the great Rumanian historian&nbsp;... who was sometimes intoxicated by the grandeur of his own historical concepts, but whose work is always illuminating."<ref>Setton, p. 49. Setton also notes (p. 36) "some hasty summaries" in Iorga's commentary on the margin of documents, "but on the whole one can admire both his industry and his accuracy."</ref> While Japanese sociologist Kosaku Yoshino sees Iorga as a main contributor to didactic and dramatized cultural nationalism in Europe,<ref>Kosaku Yoshino, ''Cultural Nationalism in Contemporary Japan: A Sociological Enquiry'', [[Company:Routledge|Routledge]], London, 2000, pp. 45–46. {{ISBN|0-415-12084-5}}</ref> [[Organization:University of Trento|University of Trento]] academic Paul Blokker suggests that, although "politicized, [[Philosophy:Essentialism|essentialist]] and sometimes anachronistic", Iorga's writings can be critically recovered.<ref name="pb164">Blokker, p. 164</ref> Ioana Both notes: "A creator with titan-like forces, Iorga is more a visionary of history than a historian".<ref>Both, p. 31</ref> Bordaș criticizes Iorga's habit of recording "everything" into his studies, and without arranging the facts described into an "[[Philosophy:Epistemology|epistemological]] relationship".<ref name="lbintoarcer"/>

Despite Iorga's ambition of fusing research and pedagogy, his students, both rivals and friends, often noted that he was inferior to other colleagues when it came to teaching, in particular in directing advanced classes—reportedly, his popularity dropped with time, the aging Iorga having displayed aggression toward inquisitive students.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 479–482, 532</ref> In 1923, even an old friend like Sextil Pușcariu could accuse Iorga of behaving like a "dictator".<ref>Nastasă (2003), p. 73</ref> In compensation, the historian fulfilled this function with his activity in the media and in the field of [[History:Popular history|popular history]], at which he was, according to historian Lucian Nastasă, masterful but vulgarizing.<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 513–516, 526</ref>

===Iorga and Romanian ethnogenesis===
[[File:004 - Basarab I.jpg|thumb|220px|Radu I of Wallachia's remains, as uncovered in 1920 (thought by Iorga to belong to Basarab I)]]

Iorga's ideas on the origin of the Romanians, and his explanation for the more mysterious parts of that lengthy [[Social:Ethnogenesis|ethnogenesis]] process, were shaped by his both his scientific and ideological preoccupations. Some of Iorga's studies focused specifically on the original events in the process: ancient Dacia's conquest by the Roman Empire (Trajan's Dacian Wars), and the subsequent foundation of Roman Dacia. His account is decidedly in support of Romania's Roman (Latin) roots, and even suggests that [[Social:Romanization (cultural)|Romanization]] preceded the actual conquest.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 143, 181. See also Santoro, pp. 115–116</ref> However, he viewed the autochthonous element in this acculturation, the Dacians (collocated by him with the Getae),<ref>Boia (2000), p. 208</ref> as historically significant, and he even considered them the source for Romania's later links with the Balkan "Thracian" space.<ref>Călinescu, p. 949; Neubauer, p. 165; Neubauer ''et al.'', p. 250</ref> Through the Thracians and the Illyrians, Iorga believed to have found a common root for all Balkan peoples, and an ethnic layer which he believed was still observable after later conquests.<ref>Neubauer, p. 165; Todorova, p. 46</ref> He was nevertheless explicit in distancing himself from the speculative texts of Dacianist Nicolae Densușianu, where Dacia was described as the source of all European civilization.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Zoe Petre, [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/index.html/articles|details?articleID=1496 "Burebista, contemporanul nostru"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411175651/http://www.observatorcultural.ro/index.html/articles%7Cdetails?articleID=1496 |date=11 April 2013 }}, in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 79, August 2001</ref>

Iorga had a complex personal perspective on the little-documented Dark Age history, between the Roman departure (271 AD) and the 14th century emergence of two Danubian Principalities: [[Place:Moldavia|Moldavia]] and Wallachia. Despite the separate histories and conflicting allegiances these regions had during the High Middle Ages, he tended to group the two Principalities and medieval Transylvania together, into a vague non-stately entity he named "the Romanian Land".<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 180–181</ref> Iorga cautioned about the emergence of states from a [[Social:Stateless society|stateless society]] such as the proto-Romanian one: "The state is a late, very elevated, very delicate form that, under certain conditions, may be reached by a people.&nbsp;... There was therefore no state, but a Romanian mass living in the midst of forests, in those villages harbored by protective forests, where it is just as true that a certain way of life could emerge, sometimes on a rather elevated level."<ref>Pecican, pp. 110–111</ref>

Echoing his political conservatism, Iorga's theory proposed that the Romanized Dacians, or all their Vlach-Romanian successors, had created peasant republics to defend themselves against the invading nomads. It spoke of the rapid ruralization of Latin urban dwellers—suggested to him by [[Social:Etymology|etymologies]] such as the derivation of {{Lang|ro|pământ}} ("soil") from ''pavimentum'',<ref>Pecican, pp. 84–85</ref> and the creation of "genealogical villages" around common ancestors ({{Lang|ro|moși}})<ref>Djuvara, p. 233</ref> or the ancient communal sharing of village lands, in the manner imagined by writer Nicolae Bălcescu.<ref name="ideol&cult"/> Iorga also supposed that, during the 12th century, there was an additional symbiosis between settled Vlachs and their conquerors, the nomadic Cumans.<ref>Pierre Ș. Năsturel, "À propos du Tenou Orman (Teleorman) de Kinnamos", in Hélène Ahrweiler (ed.), ''Byzantina Sorbonensia 3. Geographica Byzantina'', University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, Paris, 1981, pp. 87–88. {{ISBN|2-85944-041-0}}; Tanașoca, p. 132</ref>

Iorga's peasant polities, sometimes described by him as {{Lang|ro|Romanii populare}} ("people's Romanias", "people's Roman-like polities"),<ref name="mmhomob"/><ref name="gan214">Gheorghe-Alexandru Niculescu, "Nationalism and the Representation of Society in Romanian Archaeology", in ''Nation and National Ideology'', p. 214</ref><ref>Boia (2000), pp. 99, 188; Neubauer, pp. 164–165; Tanașoca, pp. 100, 102. See also {{in lang|ro}} Alexandru Niculescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110908035505/http://www.romlit.ro/multiculturalism_alteritate_istoricitate "Multiculturalism, alteritate, istoricitate"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 32/2002</ref> were seen by him as the sources of a supposed uncodified constitution in both Moldavia and Wallachia. That constitutional system, he argued, created solidarity: the countries' ''hospodar'' rulers were themselves peasants, elected to high military office by their peers, and protecting the entire community.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 93, 99; Neubauer, p. 165; Sandqvist, p. 252; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 112–114, 115, 119–121, 224–225, 228–231; Veiga, pp. 165–166. See also Călinescu, p. 949</ref> Unlike Ioan Bogdan and others, Iorga strongly rejected any notion that the South Slavs had been an additional contributor to ethnogenesis, and argued that Slavic idioms were a sustained but nonessential influence in historical Romanian.<ref name="zoistlit"/><ref>Boia (2000), pp. 164–166, 181</ref> Until 1919, he was cautious about counting the Romanians and Aromanians as one large ethnic group, but later came to share the inclusivist views of his Romanian colleagues.<ref>Tanașoca, pp. 99–100</ref> Iorga also stood out among his generation for flatly rejecting any notion that the 12th-century [[Place:Second Bulgarian Empire|Second Bulgarian Empire]] was a "Vlach-Bulgarian" or "Romanian-Bulgarian" project, noting that the Vlach achievements there benefited "''another nation''" (Iorga's italics).<ref>Boia (2000), p. 181. See also Tanașoca, pp. 130, 132</ref>

The stately foundation of Moldavia and of Wallachia, Iorga thought, were linked to the emergence of major trade routes in the 14th century, and not to the political initiative of military elites.<ref>Pecican, pp. 38, 49, 277–279</ref> Likewise, Iorga looked into the genesis of boyardom, describing the selective progression of free peasants into a local aristocracy.<ref>Djuvara, pp. 135–136</ref> He described the later violent clash between ''hospodars'' and boyars as one between [[Social:National interest|national interest]] and disruptive centrifugal tendencies, suggesting that prosperous boyardom had undermined the balance of the peasant state.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 292–293</ref> His theory about the peasant nature of Romanian statehood was hotly debated in his lifetime, particularly after a 1920 discovery showed that Radu I of Wallachia had been buried in the full regalia of medieval lords.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 99–100</ref> Another one of his influential (but disputed) claims attributed the appearance of pre-modern slavery, mainly affecting the Romani (Gypsy) minority, exclusively on alien customs borrowed from the Mongol Empire.<ref>Viorel Achim, ''The Roma in Romanian History'', Central European University Press, Budapest, 2004, pp. 15, 27–28. {{ISBN|963-9241-84-9}}; Elena Marushiakova, Vesselin Popov, "Gypsy Slavery in Wallachia and Moldavia", in Tomasz Kamusella, Krzysztof Jaskułowski (eds.), ''Nationalisms across the Globe. Vol. 1: Nationalisms Today'', Peter Lang AG, Bern, 2009, p. 90. {{ISBN|978-3-03911-883-0}}</ref> Iorga's verdicts as a medievalist also produced a long-standing controversy about the real location of the 1330 Battle of Posada—so-named by him after an obscure reference in the ''Chronicon Pictum''—whereby the Wallachian Princes secured their throne.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727134725/http://www.phantasma.ro/dezbateri/masa/masa3.html ''Locurile memoriei''], round table of the Babeș-Bolyai University's Center for Imagination Studies</ref>

A major point of contention between Panaitescu and Iorga referred to Michael the Brave's historical achievements: sacrilegious in the eyes of Iorga, Panaitescu placed in doubt Michael's claim to princely descent, and described him as mainly the political agent of boyar interests.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 102–103</ref> Contradicting the Romantic nationalist tradition, Iorga also agreed with younger historians that, for most of their history, Romanians in Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania were more justifiably attached to their polities than to national awakening ideals.<ref name="lb(00)202-203">Boia (2000), pp. 202–203</ref> Panaitescu was however more categorical than Iorga in affirming that Michael the Brave's expeditions were motivated by political opportunism rather than by a pan-Romanian national awareness.<ref name="lb(00)202-203"/>

===Byzantine and Ottoman studies===
Two of Iorga's major fields of expertise were Byzantine studies and [[Social:Turkology|Turkology]]. A significant portion of his contributions in the field detailed the impact of Byzantine influences on the Danubian Principalities and the Balkans at large. He described the "Byzantine man" as embodying the blend of several cultural universes: [[History:Greco-Roman world|Greco-Roman]], [[Place:Levant|Levant]]ine and [[Religion:Eastern Christianity|Eastern Christian]].<ref name="mmhomob"/> In this context, Iorga was also exploring Romania's own identity issues as a confluence of Byzantine Eastern Orthodoxy and a [[Place:Western Roman Empire|Western Roman]] linguistic imprint.<ref>Blokker, ''passim''; Santoro, pp. 115–116; Spiridon, pp. 94–95, 104</ref>

Iorga's writings insisted on the importance of Byzantine Greek and Levantine influences in the two countries after the fall of Constantinople: his notion of "Byzantium after Byzantium" postulated that the cultural forms produced by the Byzantine Empire had been preserved by the Principalities under Ottoman suzerainty (roughly, between the 16th and 18th centuries).<ref>Blokker, pp. 166–170; Boia (2000), pp. 100, 181, 267; Djuvara, p. 339; Neubauer, p. 164; Spiridon, p. 104. Also cited in specific reference to Byzantine art: Clemena Antonova, ''Space, Time, and Presence in the Icon: Seeing the World with the Eyes of God'', [[Company:Ashgate Publishing|Ashgate Publishing]], Farnham & Burlington, 2010, p. 167. {{ISBN|978-0-7546-6798-8}}</ref> Additionally, the Romanian scholar described the Ottoman Empire itself as the inheritor of Byzantine government, legal culture and civilization, up to the [[History:Age of Revolution|Age of Revolution]].<ref>Todorova, p. 165; Setton, p. 49</ref> However, the {{Lang|de|Geschichte des Osmanischen Reiches}} postulated that the Ottoman decline was irreversible, citing uncompromising [[Religion:Islam|Islam]] as one of the causes,<ref>Suraiya Faroqhi, Fikret Adanır, "Introduction", in ''The Ottomans and the Balkans: A Discussion of Historiography'', [[Company:Brill Publishers|Brill Publishers]], Leiden etc., 2002, p. 43. {{ISBN|90-04-11902-7}}</ref> and playing down the cohesive action of Ottomanism.<ref>Șerif Mardin, ''The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought: A Study in the Modernization of Turkish Political Ideas'', Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, 2000, p. 11. {{ISBN|0-8156-2861-7}}</ref>

The post-Byzantine thesis was taken by various commentators as further proof that the Romanian historian, unlike many of his contemporaries, accepted a level of [[Philosophy:Multiculturalism|multiculturalism]] or acculturation in defining modern Romanian identity. [[Philosophy:Semiotics|Semiotician]] Monica Spiridon writes: "Iorga highly valued the idea of cultural confluence and hybridity."<ref>Spiridon, p. 104</ref> Similarly, Maria Todorova notes that, although it minimized the Ottoman contribution and displayed "emotional or evaluative overtones", such a perspective ran against the divisive interpretations of the Balkans, offering a working paradigm for a global history of the region: "Although Iorga's theory may be today [ca. 2009] no more than an exotic episode in the development of Balkan historiography, his formulation {{Lang|fr|Byzance après Byzance}} is alive not only because it was a fortunate phrase but because it reflects more than its creator would intimate. It is a good descriptive term, particularly for representing the commonalities of the Orthodox peoples in the Ottoman Empire&nbsp;... but also in emphasizing the continuity of two imperial traditions".<ref>Todorova, p. 165</ref> With his research, Iorga also rehabilitated the Phanariotes, Greek or [[Social:Hellenization|Hellenized]] aristocrats who controlled Wallachia and Moldavia in Ottoman times, and whom Romanian historiography before him presented as wreckers of the country.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 100, 238; Djuvara, p. 90</ref>

==Cultural critic==

===Beginnings===
Iorga's tolerance for the national bias in historiography and his own political profile were complemented in the field of literature and the arts by his strong belief in didacticism. Art's mission was, in his view, to educate and empower the Romanian peasant.<ref>Călinescu, pp. 601–602, 949, 968; Crohmălniceanu, pp. 32–33; Livezeanu, pp. 116–117; Sandqvist, pp. 60–61, 251–252; Veiga, pp. 166–167</ref> The rejection of [[Philosophy:Art for art's sake|art for art's sake]], whose indifference in front of nationality issues enraged the historian, was notably illustrated by his 1902 letter to the like-minded ''Luceafărul'' editors, which stated: "You gentlemen should not allow aesthetic preoccupations to play the decisive part, and you are not granted such circumstances as to dedicate yourselves to pure art.&nbsp;... Do not imitate&nbsp;..., do not allow yourselves to be tempted by things you have read elsewhere. Write about things from your country and about the Romanian soul therein."<ref name="ivxxxviii"/> His ambition was to contribute an alternative to ''Junimist'' literary history,<ref name="zomemor"/><ref name="zoistlit"/><ref>Vianu, Vol. I, pp. 43–44; Vol. II, pp. 53, 56–57</ref> and, according to [[Philosophy:Comparative literature|comparatist]] John Neubauer, for the first time integrate "the various Romanian texts and writers into a grand narrative of an organic and spontaneous growth of native creativity, based on local tradition and folklore."<ref name="jn164"/> Iorga described painter Nicolae Grigorescu as the purveyor of national pride,<ref>Drăguț ''et al.'', p. 152</ref> and was enthusiastic about Stoica D., the war artist.<ref name="prstoicad"/> He recommended artists to study handicrafts, even though, an adversary of the pastiche, he strongly objected to Brâncovenesc revival style taken up by his generation.<ref name="apcumlevedea"/> His own monographs on Romanian art and folklore, admired in their time by art historian Gheorghe Oprescu,<ref name="goarta860"/> were later rated by ethologist Romulus Vulcănescu a sample of [[History:Microhistory|microhistory]], rather than a groundbreaking new research.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Iordan Datcu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20091128092355/http://www.romlit.ro/profesorul_alexandru_dima "Profesorul Alexandru Dima"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 39/2005</ref>

Initially, with {{Lang|fr|Opinions sincères}}, Iorga offered a historian's manifesto against the whole cultural establishment, likened by historian Ovidiu Pecican with [[Biography:Allan Bloom|Allan Bloom]]'s 1980s critique of American culture.<ref name="opapologia"/> Before 1914, Iorga focused his critical attention on Romanian Symbolists, whom he denounced for their erotic style (called "''lupanarium'' literature" by Iorga)<ref name="ascboxa"/> and [[Philosophy:Aestheticism|aestheticism]]—in one instance, he even scolded {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorul}} contributor Dimitrie Anghel for his floral-themed Symbolist poems.<ref>Ornea (1998), p. 77</ref> His own theses were ridiculed early in the 20th century by Symbolists such as Emil Isac, Ovid Densusianu or Ion Minulescu,<ref>Sandqvist, pp. 77, 202</ref> and toned down by {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorul}} poet Ștefan Octavian Iosif.<ref>Călinescu, p. 604</ref>

[[File:Nadia Bulighin - Ragazze in abito popolare (Iorga, Conferenze italiene sulla nazione romena, 1927).png|thumb|220px|Girls in Romanian dress. Nadia Bulighin's illustration to Iorga's conferences "on the Romanian nation" (1927)]]
After his own Marxist beginnings, Iorga was also a critic of [[Biography:Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea|Constantin Dobrogeanu-Gherea]]'s socialist and [[Social:Poporanism|Poporanist]] school, and treated its literature with noted disdain.<ref name="ihstere1"/> In reply, Russian Marxist journalist [[Biography:Leon Trotsky|Leon Trotsky]] accused him of wishing to bury all left-wing contributions to culture,<ref name="ihstere2"/><ref>[[Biography:Leon Trotsky|Leon Trotsky]], ''The War Correspondence of Leon Trotsky: The Balkan Wars 1912–13'', Monad Press, New York City, 1980, pp. 408–409. {{ISBN|0-909196-08-7}}</ref> and local socialist [[Biography:Henric Sanielevici|Henric Sanielevici]] wrote that Iorga's literary doctrine did not live up to its moral goals.<ref name="iscenten"/><ref>[[Biography:Henric Sanielevici|Henric Sanielevici]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231243/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_new-critical-studies-1920.html "New Critical Studies, 1920" (excerpts)], in ''Plural Magazine'', Nr. 29/2007</ref> Iorga wrote with noted warmth about ''Contemporanul'' and its cultural agenda,<ref name="zomemor"/> but concluded that Poporanists represented merely "the left-wing current of the National Liberal Party".<ref name="zoistlit"/>

===Campaigns against modernism===
Iorga's direct influence as a critic had largely faded by the 1920s, owing in part to his decision of concentrating his energy elsewhere.<ref>Crohmălniceanu, p. 11</ref> Nevertheless, he was still often involved at the forefront of cultural campaigns against the various manifestations of [[Philosophy:Modernism|modernism]], initiating polemics with all the circles representing Romania's new literary and artistic trends: the moderate ''Sburătorul'' review of literary theorist [[Biography:Eugen Lovinescu|Eugen Lovinescu]]; the eclectic ''Contimporanul'' magazine; the Expressionist cell affiliated with the traditionalist magazine ''Gândirea''; and ultimately the various local branches of Dada or Surrealism. In some of his essays, Iorga identified Expressionism with the danger of Germanization, a phenomenon he described as "intolerable" (although, unwittingly, he was also among the first Romanians to tackle Expressionism).<ref>Grigorescu, pp. 376–377</ref> In an analogy present in a 1922 article for ''Gazeta Transilvaniei'', Iorga suggested that the same "German" threat was agitating the avant-garde voices of Latin Europe, [[Social:Futurism|Futurists]] and Dadaist "energumens" alike.<ref>Cernat, p. 125</ref> During the 1930s, as the cultural and political climate changed, Iorga's main accusation against Tudor Arghezi, [[Biography:Lucian Blaga|Lucian Blaga]], [[Biography:Mircea Eliade|Mircea Eliade]], Liviu Rebreanu, George Mihail Zamfirescu and other Romanian modernists was their supposed practice of literary "pornography".<ref name="ascboxa"/><ref>Ornea (1995), pp. 445–446. See also Călinescu, p. 613; Sandqvist, p. 377</ref>

The ensuing polemics were often bitter, and Iorga's vehemence was met with ridicule by his modernist adversaries. {{Lang|ro|Sburătorul}} literary chronicler [[Biography:Felix Aderca|Felix Aderca]] saw in Iorga the driver of "the boorish carts of {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorism}}",<ref>Crohmălniceanu, p. 26</ref> and Blaga called him "the collective name for a multitude of monsters".<ref name="pccarti"/> Iorga's stance on "pornography" only attracted provocation from the younger avant-garde writers. In the early 1930s, the avant-garde youth put out the licentious art magazine {{Lang|ro|Alge}} sent him a copy for review; prosecuted on Iorga's orders, they all later became noted as left-wing authors and artists: Aurel Baranga, Gherasim Luca, Paul Păun, Jules Perahim.<ref name="ascboxa"/><ref>{{in lang|ro}} Michaël Finkenthal, [https://web.archive.org/web/20140714204851/http://www.revista-apostrof.ro/articole.php?id=103 "Ce s-a întîmplat cu 'algiștii' în 1933?"], in ''Apostrof'', Nr. 1/2007; Sandqvist, pp. 376–377</ref>

A lengthy polemic consumed Iorga's relationship with Lovinescu, having at its core the irreconcilable differences between their visions of cultural history. Initially an Iorga aficionado and an admirer of his attack on foreign influences,<ref>Nastasă (2007), pp. 427–429</ref> the {{Lang|ro|Sburătorul}} leader left sarcastic comments on Iorga's rejection of Symbolism, and, according to Crohmălniceanu, "entire pages of ironies targeting Iorga's advice to writers that they should focus of the sufferings of their 'brother' in the village".<ref>Crohmălniceanu, pp. 32–33</ref> Lovinescu also ridiculed Iorga's traditionalist mentoring, calling him a "pontiff of indecency and insult",<ref>Nastasă (2007), p. 429</ref> an enemy of "democratic freedom",<ref name="omintelect"/> and the patron of forgettable "literature about [[Social:Hajduk|hajduk]]s".<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Ioan Holban, [http://www.revistaluceafarul.ro/index.html?id=3113&editie=133 "Oamenii, ca pietrele din Bistrița"], in ''Luceafărul'', Nr. 10/2011</ref>

Other authors back Lovinescu's verdict about the historian's lack of critical intuition and prowess.<ref name="iscenten"/><ref name="agrevenind4"/><ref name="gscursa"/><ref name="zoistlit"/><ref>Călinescu, pp. 601–602, 612–613</ref> According to Călinescu, Iorga was visibly embarrassed by even 19th century [[Philosophy:Romanticism|Romanticism]], out of his territory with virtually everything after "Villani and Commynes", and endorsing the "{{Lang|fr|obscure manqués|italic=no}}" in modern Romanian letters.<ref>Călinescu, pp. 612–613</ref> Alexandru George only supports in part this verdict, noting that Iorga's literary histories degenerated from "masterpiece" to "gravest mistake".<ref name="agrevenind4"/> An entire category of minor, largely forgotten, writers was endorsed by Iorga, among them Vasile Pop,<ref name="iscenten"/> Ecaterina Pitiș, Constantin T. Stoika and Sandu Teleajen.<ref name="gc613">Călinescu, p. 613</ref>

Iorga's views were in part responsible for a split taking place at {{Lang|ro|Gândirea}}, occurring when his traditionalist disciple, [[Biography:Nichifor Crainic|Nichifor Crainic]], became the group's new leader and marginalized the Expressionists. Crainic, who was also a poet with {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorist}} tastes, was held in esteem by Iorga, whose publications described him and his disciples as the better half of {{Lang|ro|Gândirea}}.<ref name="pccarti"/><ref>Grigorescu, p. 377; Livezeanu, pp. 115, 117–122; Ornea (1995), pp. 106–107, 441, 456</ref> Iorga was also the subject of a {{Lang|ro|Gândirea}} special issue, being recognized as a forerunner (a title he shared with Octavian Goga and Vasile Pârvan).<ref>Crohmălniceanu, p. 93</ref> There was however a major incompatibility between the two traditionalist tendencies: to Iorga's secularism, Crainic opposed a quasi-theocratic vision, based on the [[Religion:Romanian Orthodox Church|Romanian Orthodox Church]] as a guarantee of Romanian identity.<ref>Crohmălniceanu, pp. 77–79; Livezeanu, pp. 118–123; Ornea (1995), pp. 106–107; Volovici, pp. 76, 85</ref> Crainic saw his own theory as an afterthought of {{Lang|ro|Sămănătorism}}, arguing that his {{Lang|ro|Gândirism}} had erected an "azure tarpaulin", symbolizing the Church, over Iorga's nationalism.<ref>Crohmălniceanu, p. 78</ref>

In particular, his ideas on the Byzantine connections and organic development of Romanian civilization were welcomed by both the {{Lang|ro|Gândirists}} and some representatives of more conventional modernism.<ref>Cernat, pp. 208–210, 402; Grigorescu, pp. 434, 443</ref> One such figure, affiliated with {{Lang|ro|Contimporanul}}, was essayist [[Biography:Benjamin Fondane|Benjamin Fondane]]. His views on the bridging of tradition with modernism quoted profusely from Iorga's arguments against cultural imitation, but parted with Iorga's various other beliefs.<ref>Cernat, pp. 208–209</ref> According to Călinescu, the "philosopher-myths" (Iorga and Pârvan) also shaped the anti-''Junimist'' outlook of the 1930s ''Trăirists'', who returned to ethnic nationalism and looked favorably on the Dacian layer of Romanian identity.<ref>Călinescu, pp. 948–951</ref> Iorga's formative influence on {{Lang|ro|Trăirists}} such as Eliade and [[Biography:Emil Cioran|Emil Cioran]] was also highlighted by some other researchers.<ref>Alexandrescu, pp. 159–160; Erwin Kessler, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231233/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_ideas-and-ideology-in-interwar-romania.html "Ideas And Ideology in Interwar Romania"], in ''Plural Magazine'', Nr. 29/2007; {{in lang|ro}} Ovidiu Pecican, [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/AVALON.-Patru-lei-tineri-interbelici*articleID_22482-articles_details.html "Avalon. Patru lei interbelici"], in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 493, September 2009; Ilinca Zarifopol-Johnston, Kenneth R. Johnston, ''Searching for Cioran'', Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 2009, pp. 67–69. {{ISBN|978-0-253-35267-5}}; Zub (2000), p. 34; Volovici, pp. 85, 88, 89, 126, 129, 145</ref> In 1930s Bessarabia, Iorga's ideology helped influence poet Nicolai Costenco, who created ''Viața Basarabiei'' as a local answer to ''Cuget Clar''.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Alexandru Burlacu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927000425/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/Alexandru%20BURLACUm.htm "Poezia basarabeană: Arcadia în negativ (I)"], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', March 2002</ref>

==Literary work==

===Narrative style, drama, verse and fiction===
According to some of his contemporaries, Nicolae Iorga was an outstandingly talented public speaker. One voice in support of this view is that of Ion Petrovici, a ''Junimist'' academic, who recounted that hearing Iorga lecture had made him overcome a prejudice which rated Maiorescu above all Romanian orators.<ref>Crohmălniceanu, p. 392</ref> In 1931, critic [[Biography:Tudor Vianu|Tudor Vianu]] found that Iorga's "great oratorical skill" and "volcanic nature" complimented a passion for the major historical phenomena.<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 53–54</ref> A decade later, George Călinescu described in detail the historian's public speaking routine: the "''zmeu''"-like introductory outbursts, the episodes of "idle grace", the apparent worries, the occasional anger and the intimate, calm, addresses to his bewildered audience.<ref>Călinescu, p. 615</ref>

The oratorical technique flowed into Iorga's contribution to ''belles-lettres''. The antiquated polished style, Călinescu notes, even surfaced in his works of research, which revived the picturesque tone of medieval chronicles.<ref name="gc612"/> Tudor Vianu believed it "amazing" that, even in 1894, Iorga had made "so rich a synthesis of the scholarly, literary and oratorical formulas".<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, p. 63</ref> Critic Ion Simuț suggests that Iorga is at his best in travel writing, combining historical fresco and picturesque detail.<ref name="ispitor"/> The travel writer in young Iorga blended with the essayist and, occasionally, the philosopher, although, as Vianu suggests, the {{Lang|ro|Cugetări}} aphorisms were literary exercises rather than "philosophical system."<ref>Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 54–55</ref> In fact, Iorga's various reflections attack the core tenets of philosophy, and describe the philosopher prototype as detached from reality, intolerant of others, and speculative.<ref>Czobor-Lupp, pp. 123, 127, 130–131; Stanomir, ''Spiritul'', pp. 180–181; Vianu, Vol. III, pp. 55, 65–66</ref>

Iorga was a highly productive dramatist, inspired by the works of Carlo Goldoni,<ref name="sbegoldoni"/> William Shakespeare, Pierre Corneille and the Romanian Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea.<ref name="ccpiese7">{{in lang|ro}} Cosmin Ciotloș, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120818020556/http://www.romlit.ro/cteva_piese_de_rezisten_vii "Câteva piese de rezistență (VII)"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 17/2009</ref> According to critic Ion Negoițescu, he was at home in the genre, which complimented his vision of "history as theater".<ref name="ispitor"/> Other authors are more reserved about Iorga's value for this field: noting that Negoițescu's verdict is an isolated opinion, Simuț considers the plays' rhetorical monologues "hardly bearable".<ref name="ispitor"/> Literary historian Nicolae Manolescu found some of the texts in question illegible, but argued: "It is inconceivable that Iorga's theater is entirely obsolete".<ref name="ccpiese7"/> Of the twenty-some plays, including many verse works, most are in the historical drama genre.<ref name="ccpiese7"/> Manolescu, who argues that "the best" of them have a medieval setting, writes that {{Lang|ro|Constantin Brâncoveanu, Un domn pribeag}} and {{Lang|ro|Cantemir bătrânul}} are "without any interest".<ref name="ccpiese7"/> Iorga's other work for the stage also includes the "five-act fairy tale" {{Lang|ro|Frumoasa fără trup}} ("Bodyless Beauty"), which repeats a motif found in Romanian folklore,<ref>Vianu, Vol. I, p. 237</ref> and a play about Jesus Christ (where Jesus is not shown, but heard).<ref>Ciprian, pp. 220–221</ref>

Iorga's poems include odes to Poland, written shortly after the 1939 German invasion, described by author Nicolae Mareș as "unparalleled in any other literature".<ref name="nmpolonia"/> Overall, however, Iorga as poet has enlisted negative characterizations, rated by Simuț as "uninteresting and obsolete".<ref name="ispitor"/> Among Iorga's other contributions are translations from foreign writers: [[Biography:Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]],<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Adriana Gagea, Ileana Șerbănescu, Bogdan Damian, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20110910124052/http://www.bibliotecametropolitana.ro/Uploads//3_2011/154840.pdf Johann Wolfgang Goethe în cultura română (bibliografie)]'', Mihail Sadoveanu City Library, Bucharest, 1999, pp. 33, 46. {{ISBN|973-98918-9-6}}</ref> Kostis Palamas,<ref name="nmpolonia"/> Goldoni<ref name="sbegoldoni"/> etc. A special target for his interest was English literature, which he believed had a "fundamental bond" with Romanian lore, as traditions equally "steeped in mystery."<ref name="tccpoe"/> In addition to translating from Marie of Edinburgh, Iorga authored versions of poems by William Butler Yeats ("Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven", "When You Are Old").<ref name="albuyeats"/>

===Memoirs===
In old age, Iorga had also established his reputation as a memoirist: {{Lang|ro|Orizonturile mele}} was described by Victor Iova as "a masterpiece of Romanian literature".<ref name="ivl"/> George Călinescu referred to this series as Iorga's "interesting" and "eminently subjective" literature; "dignified" and dominated by "explosions of sentiment", it echoes, according to Călinescu, the Renaissance model of Ion Neculce.<ref>Călinescu, pp. 613–614</ref> Many of the volumes were quickly written as Iorga's attempt to rehabilitate himself after a failed premiership;<ref name="zomemor"/> {{Lang|ro|Orizonturile}} comprises messages on the power and justness of his cause: "And so I stand at age sixty-two, confident and strong, proud, upright in front of my conscience and the judgment of time."<ref name="ivli"/> The works offer retrospective arguments against Iorga's adversaries and sketch portraits of people who crossed Iorga's path—attributes which, Iova suggests, fully exploit Iorga's talents as a "polemicist" and "portraitist";<ref>Iova, pp. l–li</ref> according to Alexandru Zub, they also fall into place within the Romanian ego-history vogue, between Xenopol's and Pârvan's.<ref>Zub (2000), pp. 34–38, 42, 47–48</ref>

Both the diaries and the memoirs are noted for their caustic and succinct portraits of Iorga's main rivals: Maiorescu as inflexible and unemotional, Dimitrie Sturdza as avaricious, [[Biography:Nae Ionescu|Nae Ionescu]] as "an awful temper", Hungarian politician István Tisza as a "Turanian" tyrant; Iorga contributed particularly emotional, and critically acclaimed, tributes for his political friends, from Vasile Bogrea to Yugoslavia's Nikola Pašić.<ref name="gc614-615"/> {{Lang|ro|Supt trei regi}} abounds in positive and negative portrayals, but, Călinescu notes, it fails to show Iorga as politically astute: "he gives the impression that he knows no more [of the events] than the man of the street."<ref name="gc614">Călinescu, p. 614</ref>

At times, Iorga sheds a nostalgic light on his one-time opponents (similar, in Călinescu's view, to "inscriptions on their graves").<ref name="gc613"/> Notably in this context, Iorga reserved praise for some who had supported the Central Powers (Carol I,<ref name="zomemor"/> Virgil Arion, George Coșbuc, Dimitrie Onciul),<ref>Boia, 2010, pp. 154, 213–214, 263–264</ref> but also stated that actual collaboration with the enemy was unforgivable.<ref name="gc614"/> His obituary piece of socialist activist I. C. Frimu, part of {{Lang|ro|Oameni cari au fost}}, was so sympathetic that the authorities had to censor it.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110928072138/http://www.curierulnational.ro/Specializat/2003-06-14/Social-democratia+romaneasca+fata+in+fata+cu+traditiile+ei "Social-democrația românească față în față cu tradițiile ei"], in ''Curierul Național'', 14 June 2003</ref>

==Legacy==

===Scholarly impact, portrayals and landmarks===
[[File:1 leu. Romania, 2005 a.jpg|thumb|280px|Nicolae Iorga's portrait on a Romanian bill, 2005]]

The fields of scientific inquiry opened by Iorga, in particular his study into the origin of the Romanians, were taken up after his death by other researchers: Gheorghe Brătianu, Constantin C. Giurescu, P. P. Panaitescu, Șerban Papacostea, Henri H. Stahl.<ref>Pecican, pp. 38, 69, 75–79, 277, 279. See also Tanașoca, pp. 101–103</ref> As cultural historian, Iorga found a follower in N. Cartojan,<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Alexandru Niculescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120818020715/http://www.romlit.ro/un_savant_o_epoc "Un savant, o epocă"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 5/2002</ref> while his thoughts on the characteristics of Romanianness inspired the social psychology of Dimitrie Drăghicescu.<ref>Victor Rizescu, "Subverting the Cannon: Oligarchic Politics and Modernizing Optimism in Pre-communist Romania", in [https://web.archive.org/web/20111216221130/http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/publications/a_nec2002-2003.pdf ''The New Europe College Yearbook 2002–2003''], New Europe College, Bucharest, 2005, p. 313</ref> In the [[Philosophy:Postmodernity|postmodern age]], Iorga's pronouncements on the subject arguably contributed to the birth of Romanian imagological, [[Philosophy:Postcolonialism|post-colonial]] and [[Social:Cross-cultural studies|cross-cultural studies]].<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Carmen Andraș, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110727134753/http://www.phantasma.ro/mundus/2003/andras/capitol.html ''România și imaginile ei în literatura de călătorie britanică: I. 2. Imagologia, studiile culturale comparate, studiile post-coloniale și subalterne – ipostaze ale studiilor de imagine. Direcții, metode, concepte''], Editura Dacia, Cluj-Napoca, 2003. {{ISBN|978-973-35-1562-3}}</ref> The idea of {{Lang|ro|Romanii populare}} has endured as a popular working hypothesis in Romanian archeology.<ref name="gan214"/>

Aside from being himself a writer, Iorga's public image was also preserved in the literary work of both his colleagues and adversaries. One early example is a biting epigram by Ion Luca Caragiale, where Iorga is described as the dazed savant.<ref>Voicu, pp. 148–149</ref> In addition to the many autobiographies which discuss him, he is a hero in various works of fiction. As geographer Cristophor Arghir, he is the subject of a thinly disguised portrayal in the ''Bildungsroman'' {{Lang|ro|În preajma revoluței}} ("Around the Time of the Revolution"), written by his rival Constantin Stere in the 1930s.<ref>Călinescu, pp. 761–762; Crohmălniceanu, p. 379</ref> Celebrated Romanian satirist and ''Viața Românească'' affiliate [[Biography:Păstorel Teodoreanu|Păstorel Teodoreanu]] was engaged in a lengthy polemic with Iorga, enshrining Iorga in Romanian humor as a person with little literary skill and an oversized ego,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110928131438/http://www.rri.ro/arh-art.shtml?lang=1&sec=170&art=18161 "RRI Encyclopaedia. Păstorel Teodoreanu and the Embodiment of the Epigram"], Radio Romania International archive, 16 January 2009; retrieved 19 February 2010</ref> and making him the subject of an entire collection of poems and articles, {{Lang|ro|Strofe cu pelin de mai pentru Iorga Neculai}} ("Stanzas in May [[Biology:Artemisia (genus)|Wormwood]] for Iorga Neculai").<ref>Călinescu, p. 778; {{in lang|ro}} Chris Tănăsescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110605223050/http://convorbiri-literare.dntis.ro/TANASESCUmai9.html "Moștenirea poetică pierdută a Academiei Libere de la Iași"], in ''Convorbiri Literare'', May 2009</ref> One of Teodoreanu's own epigrams in ''Contimporanul'' ridiculed {{Lang|ro|Moartea lui Dante}}, showing the resurrected [[Biography:Dante Alighieri|Dante Alighieri]] pleading with Iorga to be left in peace.<ref>Cernat, p. 152</ref> Iorga was also identified as the subject of fictional portrayals in a modernist novel by N. D. Cocea<ref>{{in lang|ro}} C. Pastia, [http://documente.bcucluj.ro/web/bibdigit/periodice/gandromanesc/1933/BCUCLUJ_FP_BALP73_1933_001_006.pdf "Mișcarea culturală. Cărți. N. D. Cocea, ''Fecior de slugă''"], in ''Gând Românesc'', Nr. 6/1933, pp. 289–290 (digitized by the Babeș-Bolyai University [http://documente.bcucluj.ro/ Transsylvanica Online Library])</ref> and (against the author's disclaimer) in George Ciprian's play ''The Drake's Head''.<ref>Ciprian, pp. 410–411</ref>

Iorga became the subject of numerous visual portrayals. Some of the earliest were satires, such as an 1899 portrait of him as a Don Quixote (the work of Nicolae Petrescu Găină)<ref>Nastasă (2003), p. 176; Paul Rezeanu, "Caricaturistul N.S. Petrescu-Găină", in ''Magazin Istoric'', August 2008, pp. 62, 63</ref> and images of him as a ridiculously oversized character, in Ary Murnu's drawings for ''Furnica'' review.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Silvia Craus, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120325171930/http://old.bihoreanul.ro/articol/ziar/oradea/catavencii-de-alta-data/8066/270/ "Cațavencii de altădată"], in ''Bihoreanul'', 14 November 2005</ref> Later, Iorga's appearance inspired the works of some other visual artists, including his own daughter Magdalina (Magda) Iorga,<ref>Lazăr, "O parte...", p. 43</ref> painter Constantin Piliuță<ref>Drăguț ''et al.'', p. 312</ref> and sculptor Ion Irimescu, who was personally acquainted with the scholar.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Filip-Lucian Iorga, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120818020831/http://www.romlit.ro/ion_irimescu__cine_va_vrea_s_m_cunoasc_s_stea_de_vorb_cu_sculpturile_mele "Interviu. 'Ion Irimescu: "Cine va vrea să mă cunoască să stea de vorbă cu sculpturile mele' "], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 42/2003</ref> Irimescu's busts of Iorga are located in places of cultural importance: the ISSEE building in Bucharest and a public square in [[Place:Chișinău|Chișinău]], Moldova (ex-Soviet Bessarabia).<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Ioan Popescu, [http://www.ziarulprahova.ro/stiri/cultura/61331/proiecte-cultural-istorice-prahovene-pe-meleaguri-moldovene "Proiecte cultural-istorice prahovene, pe meleaguri moldovene"], in ''Ziarul Prahova'', 19 November 2009</ref> The city has another Iorga bust, the work of Mihail Ecobici, in the ''Aleea Clasicilor'' complex.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20110907211446/http://www.monument.md/catalog/busturi/374/ ''Bustul istoricului și omului politic român Nicolae Iorga''], [http://www.monument.md/ Patrimoniul istoric și arhitectural al Republicii Moldova (Monument.md)] entry</ref> Since 1994, Iorga's face is featured on a highly circulated Romanian leu bill: the 10,000 lei banknote, which became the 1 leu bill following a 2005 monetary reform.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20121010025212/http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/banii-romanesti--de-la-hartie-la-euro--849441.html "Banii românești, de la hârtie la euro"], in ''Evenimentul Zilei'', 2 May 2009</ref>

Several Romanian cities have "Nicolae Iorga" streets or boulevards: Bucharest (also home of the Iorga High School and the Iorga Park), Botoșani, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Craiova, [[Place:Iași|Iași]], Oradea, Ploiești, Sibiu, [[Place:Timișoara|Timișoara]], etc. In Moldova, his name was also assigned to similar locations in Chișinău and Bălți. The Botoșani family home, restored and partly rebuilt in 1965, is currently preserved as a Memorial House.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120325171930/http://www.botosani.djc.ro/ObiectiveDetalii.aspx?ID=292 ''Casa Memorială N. Iorga, Botoșani''], at the Botoșani County's Directorate for Culture and National Patrimony Sites</ref> The house in Vălenii is a memorial museum.<ref name="vrcenten">{{in lang|ro}} Veronica Marinescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120323095720/http://www.curierulnational.ro/Eveniment/2008-08-25/Universitatea+de+vara+%E2%80%9ENicolae+Iorga%22,+la+centenar "Universitatea de vară 'Nicolae Iorga', la centenar"], in ''Curierul Național'', 25 August 2008</ref><ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20120325171930/http://www.prahova.djc.ro/ObiectiveDetalii.aspx?ID=1851 ''Casa N. Iorga''], at the Prahova County's Directorate for Culture and National Patrimony Sites</ref>

===Political symbol===
Iorga's murder, like other acts of violence ordered by the Iron Guard, alarmed Ion Antonescu, who found that it contradicted his resolutions on public order—the first clash in a dispute which, early in 1941, erupted as the Legionary Rebellion and saw the Guard's ouster from power.<ref>Deletant, p. 61sqq; Veiga, p. 292sqq</ref> Reportedly, Iorga's murder instantly repelled some known supporters of the Guard, such as Radu Gyr<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Ioana Diaconescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110918200211/http://www.romlit.ro/deinut_politic_sub_trei_dictaturi_radu_gyr "Deținut politic sub trei dictaturi: Radu Gyr"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 50/2006</ref> and [[Biography:Mircea Eliade|Mircea Eliade]].<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Matei Călinescu, [http://www.observatorcultural.ro/Recitind-Jurnalul-portughez*articleID_16139-articles_details.html "Recitind ''Jurnalul portughez''"], in ''Observator Cultural'', Nr. 338, September 2006</ref> Responding to condemnation of his actions from his place of exile in Francoist Spain, the Guard leader Horia Sima claimed to have played no part in the killing. Sima stated that he did not regret the act, noting that Iorga the scholar had had a long enough career,<ref>Ornea (1995), pp. 339–341</ref> and arguing, counterfactually, that the revenge was saluted by most Romanians.<ref>Veiga, pp. 294, 309–310</ref>

Romania's communist regime, set up in the late 1940s, originally revised Iorga's role in the historical narrative: a record 214 works of his were banned by communist censors, and remained banned until 1965.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Ion Zubașcu, [http://www.viataromaneasca.eu/arhiva/55_viata-romaneasca-11-2008/33_atitudini/174_un-manual-de-istorie-a-comunismului-fara-scriitori.html "Un manual de istorie a comunismului fără scriitori?"], in ''Viața Românească'', Nr. 11/2008</ref> From 1948, the Nicolae Iorga Institute of History was merged into a communist institution headed by Petre Constantinescu-Iași, while Papacostea was assigned as head of the reorganized ISSEE.<ref>Olaru & Herbstritt, pp. 64, 65</ref> Beginning in the 1960s, the [[Social:National communism|national communist]] authorities capitalized on Nicolae Iorga's image, suggesting that he was a forerunner of Nicolae Ceaușescu's official ideology. Iorga was promoted to the national communist pantheon as an "anti-fascist" and "[[Philosophy:Progressivism|progressive]]" intellectual, and references to his lifelong [[Social:Anti-communism|anti-communism]] were omitted.<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 29, 116–117. See also {{in lang|ro}} Emanuel Copilaș, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721190441/http://www.sferapoliticii.ro/sfera/139/art09-copilas.html "Confiscarea lui Dumnezeu și mecanismul inevitabilității istorice: o comparație între mitologia legionară și cea a comunismului românesc (II)"], in ''Sfera Politicii'', Nr. 139; Stanomir, ''Un pămînt'', pp. 280, 319, 323</ref> The ban on his works was selectively lifted, and some of his main books were again in print between 1968 and 1989,<ref name="zoistlit"/><ref>Lazăr, "O parte...", pp. 43–44</ref> along with volumes of his correspondence.<ref name="gifcoresp1"/> In 1988, Iorga was the subject of ''Drumeț în calea lupilor'', a Romanian film directed by Constantin Vaeni. It depicted an imaginary encounter and clash between the historian (Valentin Teodosiu) and a character based on Horia Sima (Dragoș Pâslaru).<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Marian Rădulescu, [http://agenda.liternet.ro/articol/10553/Marian-Radulescu/Amintirile-unui-mim-Valentin-Teodosiu-Un-clovn-pentru-eternitate.html "Amintirile unui mim – Valentin Teodosiu: ''Un clovn pentru eternitate''"], at the LiterNet publishing house, January 2010; retrieved 6 April 2011</ref> However, the Bonaparte Highway villa, bequeathed by Iorga to the state, was demolished during the ''Ceaușima'' campaign of 1986.<ref name="apbucurestii"/>

Iorga's theories on the Dacians and the Thracians were among the many elements synthesized into the nationalist current known as protochronism, which claimed that the sources of Romanian identity were to be found in pre-Roman history, and was offered support by Ceaușescu's regime.<ref>Neubauer ''et al.'', p. 250</ref> His work was selectively reinterpreted by protochronists such as Dan Zamfirescu,<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Mircea Martin, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110427174511/http://www.revista22.ro/cultura-romana-intre-comunism-si-nationalism-ii-241.html "Cultura română între comunism și naționalism (II)"], in ''Revista 22'', Nr. 660, October–November 2002</ref> Mihai Ungheanu<ref>Florin Mihăilescu, ''De la proletcultism la postmodernism'', Editura Pontica, Constanța, 2002, pp. 205–206. {{ISBN|973-9224-63-6}}</ref> and Corneliu Vadim Tudor.<ref>Stanomir, ''Un pămînt'', pp. 319, 323, 324; {{in lang|ro}} Traian Ungureanu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120402003936/http://www.revista22.ro/ca-orice-paria-1317.html "Ca orice paria"], in ''Revista 22'', Nr. 768, November 2004</ref> Contrasting perspectives on Iorga's legacy were held by the various voices within the Romanian diaspora. On the 40th anniversary of his death, the Munich-based Romanian section of the anti-communist Radio Free Europe (RFE) broadcast an homage piece with renewed condemnation of Iorga's killers. RFE received death threats from obscure Iron Guard diaspora members, probably agents of the Securitate secret police.<ref>Richard H. Cummings, ''Cold War Radio: The Dangerous History of American Broadcasting in Europe, 1950–1989'', McFarland & Company, Jefferson, 2009, pp. 137–139, 149–152. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-4138-9}}</ref>

Iorga has enjoyed posthumous popularity in the decades since the Romanian Revolution of 1989: present at the top of "most important Romanians" polls in the 1990s,<ref>Boia (2000), pp. 27–29</ref> he was voted in at No. 17 in the ''100 greatest Romanians'' televised poll.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20061023063242/http://www.mariromani.ro/top100.php ''Mari Români''], at the TVR 1 ''100 greatest Romanians'' site</ref> As early as 1989, the Iorga Institute was reestablished under Papacostea's direction.<ref name="so&gh64"/> Since 1990, the Vălenii summer school has functioned regularly, having Iorga exegete Valeriu Râpeanu as a regular guest.<ref name="vrcenten"/> In later years, the critical interpretation of Iorga's work, first proposed by Lucian Boia around 1995, was continued by a new school of historians, who distinguished between the nationalist-didactic and informative contents.<ref name="pb164"/>

===Descendants===
Nicolae Iorga had over ten children from his marriages, but many of them died in infancy.<ref name="ln(07)155">Nastasă (2007), p. 155</ref> In addition to Florica Chirescu, his children from Maria Tasu were Petru, Elena, Maria; with Catinca, he fathered Mircea, Ștefan, Magdalina, Liliana, Adriana, Valentin, and Alina.<ref name="tdlpoeții">{{in lang|ro}} Traian D. Lazăr, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160910080141/http://revista-apostrof.ro/articole.php?id=1581 "Poeții familiei Iorga"], in ''Apostrof'', Nr. 10/2011</ref> Magdalina, who enjoyed success as a painter, later started a family in Italy.<ref>Lazăr, "O parte...", pp. 41–42, 43</ref><ref name="yllmicaella">{{in lang|ro}} Yolanda Lalu Levi, [http://www.memoria.ro/?location=view_article&id=986 ''Micaella Filitti, Paris, iulie 2002''], at the [http://www.memoria.ro/ Memoria Digital Library]; retrieved 10 May 2011</ref> The only one of his children to train in history, known for her work in reediting her father's books<ref>Lazăr, "O parte...", pp. 42–44</ref> and her contribution as a sculptor, Liliana Iorga married fellow historian Dionisie Pippidi in 1943.<ref name="ln(07)155"/> Alina became the wife of an {{wipe|Argentina}} jurist, Francisco P. Laplaza.<ref name="ln(07)155"/>

Mircea Iorga was married into the aristocratic Știrbey family,<ref>Nastasă (2003), p. 39</ref> and then to Mihaela Bohățiel, a Transylvanian noblewoman who was reputedly a descendant of the Lemeni clan and of the medieval magnate Johannes Benkner.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Mihai Sorin Rădulescu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120818021136/http://www.romlit.ro/din_ardealul_de_altdat "Din Ardealul de altădată"], in ''România Literară'', Nr. 31/2006; [http://www.zf.ro/ziarul-de-duminica/familia-benkner-3387252/ "Familia Benkner"], in ''Ziarul Financiar'', 28 October 2008</ref> He was for a while attracted to PND politics and also wrote poetry.<ref name="tdlpoeții"/> An engineer by trade, he was headmaster of the Bucharest Electrotechnical College in the late 1930s.<ref name="sț47"/><ref name="tdlpoeții"/> Another son, Ștefan N. Iorga, was a writer active with the ''Cuget Clar'' movement,<ref name="gc613"/><ref name="tdlpoeții"/> and later a noted physician.<ref>Brătescu, p. 284</ref>

Iorga's niece Micaella Filitti, who worked as a civil servant in the 1930s, defected from Communist Romania and settled in France.<ref name="yllmicaella"/> Later descendants include historian [[Biography:Andrei Pippidi|Andrei Pippidi]], son of Dionisie, who is noted as a main editor of Iorga's writings.<ref name="zoistlit"/><ref>Lazăr, "O parte...", p. 44</ref> Pippidi also prefaced collections of Iorga's correspondence, and published a biographical synthesis on his grandfather.<ref name="gifcoresp1"/> Andrei Pippidi is married to political scientist and journalist Alina Mungiu,<ref>Michael Shafir, "Memory, Memorials, and Membership: Romanian Utilitarian Anti-Semitism and Marshal Antonescu", in Henry F. Carey (ed.), ''Romania since 1989: Politics, Economics, and Society'', Lexington Books, Oxford, 2004, p. 88. {{ISBN|0-7391-0592-2}}</ref> the sister of award-winning filmmaker Cristian Mungiu.<ref>{{in lang|ro}} Claudia Craiu, [http://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/mozaic/povestea-lui-cristi-mungiu-a-familiei-si-a-gagicutei-lui~ni4ck3 "Povestea lui Cristi Mungiu, a familiei și a 'gagicuței' lui"], in ''Ziarul de Iași'', 31 May 2007; Cristinel C. Popa, [http://www.jurnalul.ro/campaniile-jurnalul/romani-care-mai-au-de-spus-ceva/prof-dr-ostin-mungiu-romania-este-o-tara-plina-de-durere-fizica-si-sociala-prost-tratata-577608.html "Prof. dr. Ostin Mungiu: România este o țară plină de durere fizică și socială prost tratată"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611191824/http://www.jurnalul.ro/campaniile-jurnalul/romani-care-mai-au-de-spus-ceva/prof-dr-ostin-mungiu-romania-este-o-tara-plina-de-durere-fizica-si-sociala-prost-tratata-577608.html|date=11 June 2011}}, in ''Jurnalul Național'', 11 May 2011</ref>

==Notes==
<references group=alt/>
{{Reflist|3}}

==References==
{{Refbegin}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120914113908/http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/publications/nation.pdf ''Nation and National Ideology. Past, Present and Prospects. Proceedings of the International Symposium Held at the New Europe College''], Center for the Study of the Imaginary & New Europe College, Bucharest, 2002, pp.&nbsp;117–121. {{ISBN|973-98624-9-7}}; See:
**Irina Livezeanu, "After the Great Union: Generational Tensions, Intellectuals, Modernism, and Ethnicity in Interwar Romania", pp.&nbsp;110–127
**Sorin Alexandrescu, "Towards a Modern Theory of Romanian Nationalism in the Interwar Period", pp.&nbsp;138–164
*Paul Blokker, "Romania at the Intersection of Different Europes: Implications of a Pluri-civilizational Encounter", in Johann P. Arnason, Natalie J. Doyle, ''Domains and Divisions of European History'', Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, 2010, pp.&nbsp;161–180. {{ISBN|978-1-84631-214-4}}
*Lucian Boia,
**''Istorie și mit în conștiința românească'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 2000. {{ISBN|973-50-0055-5}}
**''"Germanofilii". Elita intelectuală românească în anii Primului Război Mondial'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 2010. {{ISBN|978-973-50-2635-6}}
*{{in lang|fr}} Ioana Both, " 'Mihai Eminescu – Poète National Roumain.' Histoire et Anatomie d'un Mythe Culturel", in [https://web.archive.org/web/20120831174037/http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/publications/a_nec1997-1998.pdf ''The New Europe College Yearbook 1997–1998''], New Europe College, Bucharest, 2000, pp.&nbsp;9–70. {{ISBN|973-98624-5-4}}
*G. Brătescu, ''Ce-a fost să fie. Notații autobiografice'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 2003. {{ISBN|973-50-0425-9}}
*{{in lang|ro}} Lucian T. Butaru, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20150324080526/http://www.euro.ubbcluj.ro/structura/pers/pdf/lucian_butaru_rasism....pdf Rasism românesc. Componenta rasială a discursului antisemit din România, până la Al Doilea Război Mondial]'', Editura Fundației pentru Studii Europene, Cluj-Napoca, 2010. {{ISBN|978-606-526-051-1}}
*George Călinescu, ''Istoria literaturii române de la origini pînă în prezent'', Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1986
*Paul Cernat, ''Avangarda românească și complexul periferiei: primul val'', Cartea Românească, Bucharest, 2007. {{ISBN|978-973-23-1911-6}}
*George Ciprian, ''Mascărici și mîzgălici. Amintiri'', Editura de stat pentru literatură și artă, Bucharest, 1958.  {{OCLC|7288521}}
*Marcel Cornis-Pope, John Neubauer (eds.), ''History of the Literary Cultures of East-Central Europe'', Vol. II, John Benjamins, Amsterdam & Philadelphia, 2004. {{ISBN|90-272-3453-1}}; See:
**Monica Spiridon, "On the Borders of Mighty Empires: Bucharest, City of Merging Paradigms", pp.&nbsp;93–105
**John Neubauer, Marcel Cornis-Pope, Sándor Kibédi-Varga, Nicolae Harsanyi, "Transylvania's Literary Cultures: Rivalry and Interaction", pp.&nbsp;245–283
*R. J. Crampton, ''Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century – and after'', [[Company:Routledge|Routledge]], London, 1997. {{ISBN|0-415-16423-0}}
*Ovid Crohmălniceanu, ''Literatura română între cele două războaie mondiale'', Vol. I, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1972.  {{OCLC|490001217}}
*Mihaela Czobor-Lupp, "The Tension between Philosophy, History and Politics in Forging the Meaning of Civil Society in Romanian Philosophical Culture", in Magdalena Dumitrana (ed.), ''Romania: Cultural Identity and Education for Civil Society. Romanian Philosophical Studies, V. Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change, Series IVA, Eastern and Central Europe, Volume 24'', Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, Washington, 2004, pp.&nbsp;91–134. {{ISBN|1-56518-209-X}}
*Dennis Deletant, ''Hitler's Forgotten Ally: Ion Antonescu and His Regime, Romania, 1940–1944'', [[Company:Palgrave Macmillan|Palgrave Macmillan]], London, 2006. {{ISBN|1-4039-9341-6}}
*Neagu Djuvara, ''Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1995. {{ISBN|973-28-0523-4}}
*Vasile Drăguț, Vasile Florea, Dan Grigorescu, Marin Mihalache, ''Pictura românească în imagini'', Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 1970. {{OCLC|5717220}}
*Dan Grigorescu, ''Istoria unei generații pierdute: expresioniștii'', Editura Eminescu, Bucharest, 1980. {{OCLC|7463753}}
*Francesco Guida, "Federal Projects in Interwar Romania: An Overvaulting Ambition?", in Marta Petricioli, Donatella Cherubini (eds.), ''For Peace in Europe: Institutions and Civil Society between the World Wars'', Peter Lang AG, Brussels, 2007, pp.&nbsp;229–257. {{ISBN|978-90-5201-364-0}}
*Victor Iova, "Tabel cronologic", in N. Iorga, ''Istoria lui Mihai Viteazul'', Vol. I, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1979, pp. xxvii–lvi.  {{OCLC|6422662}}
*Traian D. Lazăr, "O parte a 'clanului Iorga' ", in ''Magazin Istoric'', June 2011, pp.&nbsp;41–44
*Lucian Nastasă,
**''Intelectualii și promovarea socială (pentru o morfologie a câmpului universitar)'', Editura Nereamia Napocae, Cluj-Napoca, 2003
**''"Suveranii" universităților românești. Mecanisme de selecție și promovare a elitei intelectuale'', Vol. I, Editura Limes, Cluj-Napoca, 2007. {{ISBN|978-973-726-278-3}}
*John Neubauer, "Conflicts and Cooperation between the Romanian, Hungarian, and Saxon Literary Elites in Transylvania, 1850–1945", in Victor Karady, Borbála Zsuzsanna Török (eds.), [http://www.edrc.ro/docs/docs/elitform/Intregul-volum.pdf ''Cultural Dimensions of Elite Formation in Transylvania (1770–1950)''], Ethnocultural Diversity Resource Center, Cluj-Napoca, 2008, p.&nbsp;159–185. {{ISBN|978-973-86239-6-5}}
*Stejărel Olaru, Georg Herbstritt (eds.), ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090304043637/http://www.stiftung-aufarbeitung.de/downloads/pdf/vadrum.pdf Vademekum Contemporary History Romania. A Guide through Archives, Research Institutions, Libraries, Societies, Museums and Memorial Places]'', Romanian Institute for Recent History, Stiftung für Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, Berlin & Bucharest, 2004
*William O. Oldson, ''A Providential Anti-Semitism. Nationalism and Polity in Nineteenth-Century Romania'', American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1991. {{ISBN|0-87169-193-0}}
*Z. Ornea,
**''Anii treizeci. Extrema dreaptă românească'', Editura Fundației Culturale Române, Bucharest, 1995. {{ISBN|973-9155-43-X}}
**''Junimea și junimismul'', Vol. II, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1998. {{ISBN|973-21-0562-3}}
*Ovidiu Pecican, ''Regionalism românesc. Organizare prestatală și stat la nordul Dunării în perioada medivală și modernă'', Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2009. {{ISBN|978-973-669-631-2}}
*Sorin Radu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130411195419/http://www.mnuai.ro/docs/apulum/articole/sorin%20radu.pdf "Semnele electorale ale partidelor politice în perioada interbelică"], in the National Museum of the Union ''Apulum Yearbook'', Vol. XXXIX, 2002, pp.&nbsp;573–586
*{{in lang|fr}} Mihai Sorin Rădulescu, "Sur l'aristocratie roumaine de l'entre-deux-guerres", in [https://web.archive.org/web/20140125030033/http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/publications/a_nec1996-1997.pdf ''The New Europe College Yearbook 1996–1997''], New Europe College, Bucharest, 2000, pp.&nbsp;339–365. {{ISBN|973-98624-4-6}}
*Tom Sandqvist, ''Dada East. The Romanians of Cabaret Voltaire'', MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts & London, 2006. {{ISBN|0-262-19507-0}}
*Stefano Santoro, ''L'Italia e l'Europa orientale: diplomazia culturale e propaganda 1918–1943'', FrancoAngeli, Milan, 2005. {{ISBN|88-464-6473-7}}
*Hugh Seton-Watson, ''Eastern Europe between the Wars, 1918–1941'', {{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}, Cambridge, 1945.  {{OCLC|463173616}}
*Hugh Seton-Watson, Christopher Seton-Watson, ''The Making of a New Europe. R.W. Seton-Watson and the Last Years of Austria-Hungary'', Methuen Publishing, London, 1981. {{ISBN|0-416-74730-2}}
*Kenneth Setton, ''The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571. Volume II: The Fifteenth Century'', American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1997. {{ISBN|0-87169-127-2}}
*Ioan Stanomir,
**''Spiritul conservator. De la Barbu Catargiu la Nicolae Iorga'', Editura Curtea Veche, Bucharest, 2008. {{ISBN|978-973-669-521-6}}
**"Un pămînt numit România", in Paul Cernat, Angelo Mitchievici, Ioan Stanomir, ''Explorări în comunismul românesc'', Polirom, Iași, 2008, pp.&nbsp;261–328. {{ISBN|973-681-794-6}}
*Nicolae-Șerban Tanașoca, "''Aperçus'' of the History of Balkan Romanity", in Răzvan Theodorescu, Leland Conley Barrows (eds.), [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716112735/http://www.cepes.ro/publications/pdf/politics_culture.pdf ''Studies on Science and Culture. Politics and Culture in Southeastern Europe''], UNESCO-CEPES, Bucharest, 2001, pp. &nbsp;94–170. {{OCLC|61330237}}
*Maria Todorova, ''Imagining the Balkans'', [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]], Oxford etc., 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-19-538786-5}}
*Petre Țurlea, "Vodă da, Iorga ba", in ''Magazin Istoric'', February 2001, pp.&nbsp;43–47
*Francisco Veiga, ''Istoria Gărzii de Fier, 1919–1941: Mistica ultranaționalismului'', Humanitas, Bucharest, 1993. {{ISBN|973-28-0392-4}}
*[[Biography:Tudor Vianu|Tudor Vianu]], ''Scriitori români'', Vols. I-III, Editura Minerva, Bucharest, 1970–1971. {{OCLC|7431692}}
*George Voicu, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120224003608/http://www.euro.ubbcluj.ro/studiaj/sj2007/12.THE%20-JUDAISATION-%20OF%20THE%20ENEMY%20IN%20THE%20ROMANIAN%20POLITICAL%20CULTURE%20AT%20THE%20BEGINNING%20OF%20THE%2020TH%20CENTURY%20-%20GEORGE%20VOICU.pdf "The 'Judaisation' of the Enemy in the Romanian Political Culture at the Beginning of the 20th Century"], in the Babeș-Bolyai University ''Studia Judaica'', 2007, pp.&nbsp;138–150
*Leon Volovici, ''Nationalist Ideology and Antisemitism. The Case of Romanian Intellectuals in the 1930s'', Pergamon Press, Oxford etc., 1991.  {{ISBN|0-08-041024-3}}
*{{in lang|ro}} Alexandru Zub, "Istoricul în fața duratei imediate: aportul ego-istoriei", in [https://web.archive.org/web/20110723120528/http://www.nec.ro/fundatia/nec/publications/istoria.pdf ''Istoria recentă în Europa. Obiecte de studiu, surse, metode etice ale studiului istoriei recente. Lucrările simpozionului internațional organizat de Colegiul Noua Europă''], New Europe College, Bucharest, 2002, pp.&nbsp;33–51. {{ISBN|973-85697-0-2}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Nicolae Iorga}}
* {{Librivox author |id=16095}}
*Translations from Iorga, in ''Plural Magazine'' (various issues): [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231346/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_advice-at-dark.html "Advice at Dark" (excerpt)], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231432/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_history-of-the-romanians-before-decebalus.html "History of the Romanians – Before Decebalus"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231504/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_language-as-an-element-of-the-romanian-soul.html "Language as an Element of the Romanian Soul"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231514/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_museums-what-they-are-and-what-they-must-be-the-example-of-america.html "Museums: What They Are and What They Must Be. The Example of America"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231524/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_our-defense-abroad.html "Our Defense Abroad"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231537/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_reading-the-history-of-the-romanians.html "Reading ''The History of the Romanians''"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231545/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_the-cultural-and-intellectual-life-of-bucharest.html "The Cultural and Intellectual Life of Bucharest"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231627/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_the-nationalist-doctrine-1922.html "The Nationalist Doctrine" (excerpts)], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231638/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_the-place-of-the-romanian-people-in-universal-history.html "The Place of the Romanian People in Universal History"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231648/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_towards-sulina.html "Towards Sulina"], [https://web.archive.org/web/20120320231658/http://www.plural-magazine.com/article_what-i-understand-by-a-capital.html "What I Understand by a Capital"]
*{{in lang|ro}} [http://www.iini.ro/ The Nicolae Iorga Institute]
*{{in lang|ro}} [http://www.ear.ro/3brevist/rv17/rv17.htm ''Revista Istorică''], Editura Academiei entry

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=Alexandru Vaida-Voevod}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the Assembly of Deputies|years=1919–1920}}
{{s-aft|after=Duiliu Zamfirescu}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Gheorghe Mironescu}}
{{s-ttl|title=Prime Minister of Romania|years=1931–1932}}
{{s-aft|after=Alexandru Vaida-Voevod}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=Ion Mihalache}}
{{s-ttl|title=Minister of Internal Affairs|years=1931}}
{{s-aft|after=Constantin Argetoianu<br />{{small|Acting}}}}	
|-
{{s-bef|before=Alexandru Lapedatu}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the Romanian Senate|years=1939}}
{{s-aft|after=Constantin Argetoianu}}
{{s-end}}

{{Navboxes
| list=
}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Iorga, Nicolae}}
[[Category:Aphorists]]
[[Category:Political philosophers]]

{{Sourceattribution|Nicolae Iorga}}