The Vojvodina town of Petrovaradin, now part of Novi Sad, Serbia, was first settled in 4,500 BC during the Stone Age. Since that time, it was the scene of battles between great and regional powers over a dozen times. In a way, it exemplifies the fortunes of the Balkans themselves, caught between shifting alliances and …
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 …
There was a slaughter. From 303 a series of edicts from the Roman government rescinded the rights of Christians in the Empire and demanded that everyone sacrifice to the gods. Those that didn’t conform were killed – although this was enforced to different levels in different places. Illyricum and Thrace, the Balkan areas of the …
The mightiest empire of antiquity, and arguably the mightiest empire the world has ever seen, was in decline in the third century AD. Not just in decline, but rapidly falling apart at the seams. Barbarians were invading, the peasants were revolting, the currency was debased, the plague surfaced, and Roman rulers were busy amusing themselves …
In the Balkans, language rolls off the tongue and defines the culture profoundly. The way people speak is the way they think and also how they act and react. Tradition is key – the way things are done is the way things have always been done. Nothing changes easily. It is little wonder there are …
Within the thousands of pictures the world has of Yugoslavia’s apex leader Josip Broz Tito are many, many photos of the Yugoslav leader in various poses and situations with his pet dogs. Tito was well-known as an animal lover. During his time in leadership, other world leaders would send exotic beasts of all types to …
No one would have suspected that a humble German Mauser Rifle, carrying a breakthrough technology, would serve on many sides of the precursor conflicts to the Great War. The big small arms breakthroughs, the rifle cartridge, were quickly embraced by Germans arms manufacturers, and changed the range of infantry engagements from 50 meters, to a …
Many little girls dream of being princesses. And little girls lucky enough to already be princesses dream of being queens. But no little girl ever expects to be an unhappy, unloved queen. Especially if they are considered one of the most beautiful girls in the world. There is a story about the Serbian Queen Natalija …
In 1455 the Ottomans approached the fortress at Novo Brdo in Serbia, the last city to remain standing during the first invasion of the Turks. The Christians inside the fortress managed to hold on for forty days, but on June 1, they could delay it no longer. Knowing the price of surrender, it was still …
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