Macedonia/Macedonians

Macedonia/Macedonians:
Development of a Nation
How Macedonia became
Macedonia,
and how the Macedonians became Macedonian.

How
Macedonians as a people, and the country of Macedonia as a nation-state,
evolved and materialized into current form, in terms of ancestral
bloodlines, the Macedonian language, borders, culture, and even how they
received their name.

Ancestral Background
Development of Language
Formation of Borders
Etymology (How Name Received)
Culture
Macedonia in 2008

Macedonian Ancestral Background:

1. 
   3000 BC – People along the Baltic coast
   centered around modern Lithuania begin speaking the
   Proto-Balto-Slavic language, a branch off from
   
   Proto-Indo-European. This serves as the genesis of the Slavic
   and Baltic languages/peoples.
2. 1000 BC – A group splinters from the
   Proto-Balto-Slavic people, migrating southeast into modern Ukraine.
   This branch off group were the predecessors to Slavs, who would
   ultimately extend outward in all directions.
3. In the 6^th century, as Germanics
   migrated westward, a group of Slavs expanded southward to fill the
   void, inhabiting the northern border of the Byzantine Empire
   (continuation of the Roman Empire in the Greek world).
4. 558 – Avars, a central Asian Turkic people,
   driven west into Europe (through modern Ukraine) by Persians and
   more powerful Turkic empires, came into contact with the Byzantines.
   They were paid off by the Byzantines to settle the area north of the
   Danube River, and to subdue barbarian Germanics remaining in the
   territory. The Avars succeeded in driving the Germans out of area,
   including the Lombards, who were driven into Italy, where they
   become the ruling class. At this time, large groups of Slavic
   peoples were settled north of the Danube as well. The Avar raids
   forced them south into the Balkan peninsula, where they settled
   lands abandoned by Germanic peoples, including modern Romania and
   Hungary. Slavic peoples would inhabit the entire Balkan region north
   of the Greek-inhabited lands at the very southern portion of the
   peninsula by 700.
5. A
   substantial influx of Bulgars enter the area beginning in the 7^th
   century, continuing until the territory was lost by the Bulgars for
   good in the 10^th century. This Slavic-Bulgarian mix would
   serve as the basis for the modern Macedonian nationality.

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Development of Macedonian
Language:

1. 3000 BC – People along the Baltic coast
   centered around modern Lithuania begin speaking the
   Proto-Balto-Slavic language, a branch off from
   
   Proto-Indo-European. This serves as the genesis of the Slavic
   and Baltic languages/peoples.
2. 1000 BC – A group splinters from the
   Proto-Balto-Slavic people, migrating southeast into modern Ukraine.
   This branch off group were the predecessors to Slavs, who would
   ultimately extend outward in all directions. Their language evolves
   into the original Slav language, a sub-branch of Proto-Balto-Slavic,
   and the ancestral language to all Slav sub-branches, including
   Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Serbian, Croatian and others.
3. South Slav Language begins to separate from
   Western Slav Language in the 9^th to 10^th
   century, after Magyars settled into modern Hungary, separating the
   West Slavs (in modern Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia) from the
   South Slavs (territory roughly approximating the former Yugoslavia).
4. South
   Slav languages begin to diverge, barely distinguishable as separate
   dialects before the Ottoman conquests of the 14^th and 15^th
   centuries, then separating more during the time of the Ottoman
   conquests. Macedonian was the language that developed among the
   Slavs in modern day Macedonia.

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Formation of Macedonia
Borders:

1. 
   In
   ancient times, the southern portion of Macedonia was home to Greek
   city states, then later the Kingdom of Macedon (expanded by
   Alexander the Great) beginning in 336 BC, while the northern section
   was part of the Thracian Kingdom of Dacia (an ancient Balkan
   people). The territory was conquered by Rome in the 2^nd
   century BC.
2. In the 6^th century, as Germanics
   migrated westward, a group of Slavs expanded southward to fill the
   void, inhabiting the northern border of the Byzantine Empire
   (continuation of the Roman Empire in the Greek world).
3. 558 – Avars, a central Asian Turkic people,
   driven west into Europe (through modern Ukraine) by Persians and
   more powerful Turkic empires, came into contact with the
   
   Byzantines.
   They were paid off by the Byzantines to settle the area north of the
   Danube River, and to subdue barbarian Germanics remaining in the territory.
   The Avars succeeded in driving the Germans out of area, including
   the Lombards, who were driven into Italy, where they become the
   ruling class. At this time, large groups of Slavic peoples were
   settled north of the Danube as well. The Avar raids forced them
   south into the Balkan peninsula, where they settled lands abandoned
   by Germanic peoples, including modern Romania and Hungary. Slavic
   peoples would inhabit the entire Balkan region north of the
   Greek-inhabited lands at the very southern portion of the peninsula
   by 700.
4. 837 – The region of modern Macedonia was
   incorporated into Bulgarian Empire.
5. 972 – Modern Macedonia was conquered by
   Byzantines (continuation of the Roman
   
   Empire
   by the Greeks).
6. Macedonia revolted against Byzantine, becoming
   independent in 1042.
7. Around 1450, Macedonia was conquered by the
   Ottoman Empire (a Turkish, Muslim empire).
8. In 1878, upon the defeat of the Ottomans in
   the Russo-Ottoman war, Macedonia breaks away from Ottomans, becoming
   absorbed into the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Bulgaria was also freed from
   Ottoman rule at this time).
9. Macedonia was captured by Serbia during the
   Balkan Wars of 1912-13. Parts of historic Albania were added to
   Macedonia by the Serbs, resulting in a sizable Albanian population
   in Macedonia, even to this day. It remained part of Serbia, becoming
   part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 after WWI,
   with the name being changed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929.
10. Macedonia successfully declared independence
    in 1991.

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Etymology (How
Name Received):

Macedonia was named after
the ancient Macedonians (Greeks), who inhabited the land in ancient
times (Kingdom of Macedon, which produced Alexander the Great, and
brought Greek domination throughout much of the known world during the 4^th
century BC).

Macedonian Culture:

While under Ottoman rule, the “Macedonians” lost their nationalistic
identity, since the Ottomans divided the European part of its empire
according to religion. Therefore, the Macedonians were administered to
by the Greeks. Upon being decoupled from the Ottoman Empire, and placed
under Serbian/Yugoslavian rule, Macedonians claimed Greek heritage, an
assertion vehemently opposed by Greece, resulting in tensions between
the two nations after Macedonia became independent.

Macedonian culture is influenced by a blend of neighboring cultures,
such as Greek, Slavic and Bulgarian (due to long-time Bulgarian control
of the region). Eastern Orthodoxy is an especially powerful unifying
force among Macedonians.

Macedonia in
2008:

Economy: Least developed
industrial infrastructure of former Yugoslavia, so had to play catch up
upon dissolution of Yugoslavia. One of lowest per capita GDPs in Europe,
and one of least developed economies in Europe with extremely high
unemployment at about 35%. Suffered from guaranteed market due to
state-planned economy under the Yugoslavian communist regime, as well as
economic embargo imposed by Greece over disputed name (since Macedonia
is also a region within Greece). Since 1996 though, it has experienced
steady but slow growth.
Government: Democratic Republic
Religion: Macedonian Orthodox 65%, Muslim 33%. Demographics:
Macedonian 64%, Albanian 25% (western part historically part of Albanian
lands), Turkish 4% (holdovers from long time Ottoman rule).
Foreign Policy: Primary focus to become more integrated in
European community, and complete recognition as a sovereign state. Main
dispute with Greece is over the country’s name, which refers to
historical Greek kingdom (Macedon), and region within Greece. The matter
is still under negotiation.
Population: 2,061,315 (2008)

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