History of the Balkans: Encyclopedia II - History of the Balkans

The Balkans was a confluence of great powers, a buffer between occident and orient. Various wars, rebellions, invasions, and disputes between different ethnic groups were supported by at least one great power, with at least one other great power opposed.

History of the Balkans - Genoa colonies in lower Danube

Its name derived from Saint Giorgio. It was first mentioned in Codex Latinus Parisinus, in 1395 during the Mircea cel Batran and was conquered by the Ottomans in 1420 as a way to control the Danube traffic.

Enisala is situated between Babadag and Razelm. Builded in XII century by Genoese, archeologists have proved that the place was inhabited from BC.

History of the Balkans - Fourth Crusade in the Balkans

History of the Balkans - Battle of Nicopolis

History of the Balkans - Eastern Roman Empire

The Eastern Roman Empire (also known as Romania) was the eastern half of the Roman empire after it was legally divided into two parts. The Western empire held some of the old Roman places, such as parts of Italy. The Eastern Roman Empire had its capital at Constantinople (formerly Byzantium or Byzantion), and its core territory was the south-eastern Balkan peninsula. During most of its history the Eastern Roman empire controlled many provinces in the Balkans and in Asia Minor. The Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian for a time reconquered and restored much of the territory once held by the unified Roman empire, from Spain and Italy, to Anatolia.

Unlike the western Roman Empire, which met a famous if rather ill-defined death in the year 476 AD, the Eastern Roman Empire came to a much less famous but far more definitive conclusion at the hands of Mehmet II and the Ottoman Empire in the year 1453.

The Roman Empire collapsed from the inside when Rome was sacked, thus putting an end to the classical age. Its holdings would gradually be given over to various kings and chiefs. To this day, the dominions of the Roman Empire have never been fully reunified.

By contrast, the Eastern half of the empire, which gradually evolved into a medieval power which has often been called the Byzantine empire (and in which Greek eventually became the dominant language) was gradually whittled away over the years. Its nemesis was the Ottoman Empire, with which it shared a somewhat transitory boundary. Over time, it lost piece after piece of territory to invaders, and was actually invaded (and the capital sacked) by the crusaders at one point.

By the end, the empire consisted of nothing but Constantinople, with all other territories in both the Balkans and Asia Minor gone. The conclusion was reached in 1453, when the city was successfully sieged by Mehmed II, bringing to an end the age of Rome.

History of the Balkans - Ottoman Empire

The Ottomans were one of the most powerful and influential civilizations of the modern period. The Ottoman Empire (1299 to 1923), created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia, persisted until the 20th century and did not end until after World War I when Turkey adopted a more European style secular government (under Kemal Atatürk). The Empire was at its height in the 16th century when it reached levels of artistry, cultural importance, and military dominance not seen for many years. The Empire began to crumble in the 19th century after a long slow decline facing new feelings of nationalism and a desire for freedom, along with the colonisation of some of its former territory by newer, more modern forces such as the French and British Empires.

The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans was characterised by centuries of bloody struggle for freedom and protracted periods of stalemate with the Habsburgs along the border in Hungary as well as anti-Turkish propaganda in Europe, and with the invasions from the east.

History of the Balkans - East-West Schism

The East-West Schism, known also as the Great Schism (though this latter term sometimes refers to the later Western Schism), was the event that divided Christianity into Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Though normally dated to 1054, when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated each other, the East-West Schism was actually the result of an extended period of estrangement between the two Churches. The primary causes of the Schism were disputes over papal authority—the Pope claimed he held authority over the four Eastern patriarchs, while the patriarchs claimed that the Pope was merely a first among equals—and over the insertion of the filioque clause into the Nicene Creed. There were other, less significant catalysts for the Schism, including variance over liturgical practices and conflicting claims of jurisdiction

History of the Balkans - Habsburg Empire

The Habsburg Empire constituted a great region in Europe from the late Middle Ages until World War I. It was named after the Austrian royal family who ruled it and its capital city was Vienna. The Habsburg Empire grew to include what are today Hungary, the Czech lands, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and parts of Italy, Poland, and Romania. The Habsburg Empire (Austria-Hungary after 1867) became a major player in the Balkans. For many years the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburgs vied for control of the Balkans and chequing each others' expansion for many years. In the 19th century, as Ottoman power waned, the Habsburgs became more important, although at the same time the nation states of the area, Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia arose and became of force in their own right. Russia was also a factor in the Balkans, though they generally acted as an agent for other Slavic countries rather than as a direct occupier.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Middle Ages and the Early Modern period", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

History of the Balkans - Middle Ages and the Early Modern period

History of the Balkans - Middle Ages and the Early Modern period: Encyclopedia II - History of the Balkans - Middle Ages and the Early Modern period

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History of the Balkans: Encyclopedia II - History of the Balkans - Middle Ages and the Early Modern period