“God I fear slightly, the Sultan not at all, and the Grand Vizier no more than my own horse.” A man who would say those words to the Ottoman Empire is not a man to be taken lightly, and Husein Gradaščević managed to prove that he deserved to say them before he died at the …
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 …
In August 1963, one month after an earthquake decimated the capital of Skopje, an open topped car zipped around the Socialist Republic of Macedonia carrying two powerful men who were dancing around a renewed relationship. Josip Broz Tito, whose fantastic response to Stalin’s constant dispatching of assassins ended Soviet/Yugoslav relations for many years, was showing …
Before the ink on the surrenders were dry in the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, they began demanding a very special tribute from the inhabitants of the area – their children. As the founder of the Janissaries, Candarli Kara Halil Hayreddin, said: The conquered are slaves of the conquerors, to whom their goods, their women, …
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 …
Modern history books don’t necessarily print bald-faced lies, but they create mistaken impressions with tricks, and by leaving out certain facts. For instance, the greatest trick the Austrians ever played is convincing the world that Mozart was Austrian and Hitler was German. Most were taught that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was an ancient country, established through …
Although most have since assimilated to their respective countries, for over a thousand years a non-Slav shepherd minority existed in the Balkans, speaking a Latin-based language and following their own traditions. The Vlachs, also known as the Choban in Romania, the Vlasi in Slavic areas, the Tsintsar in Serbia, and officially as the Arumani, first …
God Will Protect Us All A White Rose in the Land of Eagles The Words of the Leader The Contrary Communist And the Walls Came Tumbling Down A Princess Most Brave We Must Stop the Bear! Three Players in the Balkan Sandbox Yet Another Balkan Crisis French Artillery in the Balkans The War That Wasn’t …
The only thing people really remember in the folklore about the Despotess Jerina is that she was a terrible and horrifying woman. She threw her lovers into the deep inner well of Maglič Fortress, near Kraljevo in Serbia. She threw children into the River Đetinja from the highest tower of the Užice Fortress. And she …
Getting ready for travel can be almost as much fun as the actual traveling. Actually, given the issues with airline seats, airborne infections, and jet lag, the travel part isn’t that great. Visiting is great, for sure. But traveling to the area to be visited? Maybe some people are masochists and enjoy the armrest struggle …
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