The Balkans has always been a point of contention between the East and the West, and although the various incarnations of Hungary, Austria, and Austria-Hungary tended to dominate next to the advancing Ottoman Army, Russia was always nipping at the edges and creating leverage with the large number of Orthodox Slavs in Central Europe. That …
The last thousand years of Balkan history is a tale of three powers pulling on the limbs of an infant, as in the Biblical parable of Solomon’s wisdom. The Balkan baby is yanked first toward Austria, then toward Russia, and all the while the Ottoman Empire is pulling steadily on its legs. The arguments between …
The provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be occupied and administered by Austria-Hungary…Austria-Hungary reserves the right to maintain garrisons and to have military and trading roads over the whole area of that portion [the Sandjak of Novi Pazar] of the ancient Vilayet of Bosnia. The diplomatic coda to the Pig War of 1906-1908 became, like …
Some mythologies are well-known around the world with the Greek and Roman mythologies being the most popular. There are also some lesser-known, although just as fascinating, deities and mythologies; like the Slavs. Its lack of popularity is largely due to fact that contemporaneous written records don’t exist – the Slavs did not keep written records. …
“We are not going to pay the balance on others’ accounts, we are not going to serve as pocket money in anyone’s currency exchange, we are not going to allow ourselves to become entangled in political spheres of interest. Why should it be held against our peoples that they want to be completely independent? And …
The most popular walking tours in London include strolling by known plague pit sites, where the hundreds of thousands of Londoners who died during the numerous outbreaks of plague are buried. The Black Death killed between 1/3 and 2/3 of Europe’s inhabitants over the course of its random and terrifying outbreaks. The impact of the …
On 7 August 626, faced with an inability to breech the sea walls at the Golden Horn area of then-Constantinople, the Slav fighters supporting the Avar army melted away back into the Balkan hinterlands. The combined army of Avars, Slavs, and Persians were unable to take Constantinople, which stood until the Ottoman victory in 1453. …
Between 1804 and 1835 Serbia fought for independence from the Ottoman Empire that had ruled over the Balkans for more than 400 years. Men like Dositej Obradović and Vuk Karadžić emphasized the essentials of being Serbian, the things that unified the Serbian people and nation. Language, customs, and a shared history became the foundation of the rallying …
When Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the Jews from Spain on 31 July 1492, they were welcomed with open arms into the Ottoman-ruled Balkans. Thus the Balkans, and particularly Sarajevo, came to be populated with Sephardic Jews to the extent that at the height of the community’s population, 20% of Sarajevo was Jewish and 10% of …
On 4 July 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sofie were buried at their estate of Artstetten. Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary didn’t even attend the funeral of his nephew and heir. Royal gossip in Europe was well aware that the Archduke had been disliked by the Emperor. Franz Josef and his court had …
For faster login or register use your social account.
[fbl_login_button redirect="" hide_if_logged="" size="large" type="continue_with" show_face="true"]
