2. HISTORY
Conquered & ruled by many groups
Different groups continues to shape life in these areas
3. EARLY HISTORY
600 B.C.
Greeks founded colonies (Northern Black Sea coast)
Romans conquered most of area (Adriatic Sea to
Danube River)
Roman Empire Divided in late 300s A.D.
Area became part of Byzantine Empire
Many became Orthodox Christians at this time
Muslim Ottoman Turks conquered Byzantine Empire
Many people became Muslims
Ottomans drove out in 1800s & separate kingdoms
were created
4. WWI & AFTER
Trouble between Balkan kingdoms & neighbors led
to WWI
1800s: Austro-Hungarian Empire took control of part of
Balkan peninsula. A man from Serbia shot the heir to
Austro-Hungarian throne, starting the war
After WWI
Europe’s leaders divided peninsula
Yugoslavia created (combination of several former
independent countries under one gov’t)
Lasted until the 1990s (conflict between ethnic & religious
groups)
5. CULTURE
Most diverse culture area in Europe
Large number of religions practiced & languages
spoken
6. RELIGION
Most are Christian
3 Types: Orthodox Christian, Roman Catholic, and
Protestant
Large group of Muslims who follow Islam
7. LANGUAGE
3 major:
Slavic (related to Russian)
Latin form (related to French, Italian, and Spanish)
German
Some languages are not related to these languages
Albanian
Roma (have own language)
8. THE BALKANS TODAY
Recovering from weak economies from Soviet
Communist gov’t
Poorest in Europe
Religious & Ethnic groups have had serious
implications
Violence
Largest religious or ethnic groups tried to get rid of all other
groups (threatened with punishments or death)
Known as ethnic cleansing
Troops sent in 1995 & in 2008 fighting ended
9. Albania: poorest; struggled since end of Soviet
period; high unemployment & crime rates
Macedonia: once part of Yugoslavia, broke away in
1991; did so peacefully
Slovenia: once part of Yugoslavia; joined EU in
2004
Croatia: once part of Yugoslavia; fighting between
Croats and Serbs; many Serbs left and peace was
restored
Bosnia & Herzegovina: peacefully since end of
ethnic & religious violence; people working to
rebuild
10. Serbia: largest nation of former Yugoslavia; fighting
between different ethnic groups
Kosovo: former province of Serbia; independent in
2008; mostly ethnic Albanian
Montenegro: mountainous country separated
peacefully from Serbia in 2006
Romania: largest of Balkan states; recovering from
years of bad gov’t; poor leaders have left gov’t and
economy in ruins
Bulgaria: people are working to develop a capitalist
economy based on industry and tourism
