Macedonia, Its People and HistoryAn introduction to one of the significant peoples of the Balkan peninsula, this book presents the achievements and problems of the Macedonians from ancient times to the present. Most Macedonians today live in Yugoslavia, where they comprise one of the five major national groups and dominate one of the six federated Republics, but a sizable number reside in Bulgaria and Greece. The introductory chapter outlines the complex geography, ethnography, and ancient history of the Balkans. The mysterious Macedonians of the Classical Period vanished with Philip and Alexander, to be replaced in the 6th and 7th centuries AD by a Slavic people who came from the Russo-Polish-Ukranian plains in the Great Migration to the Byzantine empire. The Macedonians adopted Eastern Orthodoxy, and their language, written in Cyrillic script, became one of three principal languages of Yugoslavia. The Macedonians have preserved a rich cultural identity through thirteen centuries of political turmoil and partition. Macedonia--including the Greek and Bulgarian parts--has distinctive customs, folklore, art, and architecture. |
