Seeing the present in the past: Byzantium and the Balkans
The legacy of the Byzantine Empire in the Balkans stretches back for centuries. Today’s politics should remember that the idea of Balkan states as homogenous entities is not natural. This is a relatively new idea that was realized through violence, population exchanges and expulsion at the turn of the 20th century. This process then continued well into the 1990s with the Yugoslav Wars.
The Byzantine Empire is the medieval successor to the ancient Roman Empire. Its origins are traditionally traced back to the time when the Roman Empire began to re-position its centre of power towards the Eastern Mediterranean, adopted Constantinople as its capital, adopted Greek (rather than Latin) as its primary language, and Christianity as its official religion. This all roughly happened in the period between the years 300 and 400.
February 28, 2025 -
Mirela Ivanova
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AnalysisIssue 1-2 2025Magazine
Despite its Ottoman history, the Banya Bashi Mosque is the only active one which survives in Sofia today. It is estimated that the number of mosques in the city during the Ottoman period could have been nearly 50. Photo: Marius Karp / Shutterstock
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