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)

 

Formation of Nations (All European Nations)

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