Balkan Political History

The region of Macsó (today Mačva, Serbia) and Barancs (today Braničevo, Serbia) were controlled by the Byzantine Empire until 1180. After the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenos, King Béla III occupied these territories together with Syrmia and Bosnia, which had been formerly controlled by the Byzantine Empire, too. The earliest sources refer to Macsó as Sirmia Ulterior, or Lower Syrmia. The first known ruler of Lower Syrmia was Princess Margaret, the daughter of King Bela III, and then her sons inherited the territory until the 1240s. Rostislav Mikhailovich, the exiled prince of Halych, became ruler of Lower Syrmia in 1247. He was the husband of Princess Anna, the daughter of King
Béla IV. Macsó, as the name of this territory, first appeared in the sources in 1250. Macsó was ruled by the female members of the Árpádian dynasty, or their husbands, until the end of the 13th century. The territories of Macsó and Barancs (and also Kucsó) were
organized into Banats in the 1270s. The exiled Serbian king, Stephen Dragutin, ruled these territories from 1284. After his death in 1316, Dragutin’s brother, the Serbian king, Milutin, occupied Macsó. It was reconquered by the Hungarian army between 1317 and 1319 during the reign of King Charles I. Permanent government of the territory of Macsó
had not been organized because of the constant wars. The center of the territory was the fortress of Macsó, which unfortunately cannot be located at present.

The
r
elations between Macedonia and Bulgaria
Односите помеѓу Македонија и Бугарија
Dr.
Dejan Marolov
“Goce Delchev” University, Shtip, Macedonia
[email protected]
Abstract
The Macedonian
-
Bulgarian relations are very interesting and in the same time very complicate from both
historical point of view and present point of view. This paper
treats this relations and the joint declaration
from 1999 as key document for this relations. Having in mind that (1) Bulgaria is member of EU and NATO and
(2)  Macedonia  has  aspiration  for  joining  them,  this  bilateral  relations  have  the  full  capacity  to  be come  international issue. This paper is trying to present its  humble  contribution for the future improvement of this  relations.

Balkanlardaki aktüel gelişmelerin anlamlandırılmasına katkı sağlayacağı düşüncesiyle bu çalışmada, bölgede 90’lı yıllardan 2000’lerin başlarına kadar geçen zaman diliminde yaşanan önemli kriz ve çatışmalar ele alınmaktadır. Söz konusu dönemde bölgesel sonuçlarının yanı sıra küresel ölçekli bir çok gelişmeye de doğrudan ya da dolaylı olarak etki eden belli başlı çatışmaları; Yugoslavya dağılırken çıkan savaşlar, Arnavutluk’ta 1997’de yaşanan kaos ile Kosova ve Makedonya krizleri oluşturmaktadır. Balkanlar’da 1990’larda meydana gelen kriz ve çatışmalara toplu olarak bakıldığında Soğuk Savaş’ın sona erişinin en ‘sıcak’ sonuçlarının bu bölgede hissedildiği görülmektedir. Avrupa’nın hemen yanı başında ard arda patlak veren krizlerin büyük bir kısmı, Yugoslavya’nın dağılmasıyla meydana gelen istikrarsızlık atmosferiyle ilişkilidir. Yaşanan çatışmaları sonlandıran anlaşmaların hemen hepsi ise birer ‘ateşkes’ mahiyetindedirler. Bu dönemde sorunlar çözülememiş ancak ertelenmişlerdir.

***

In this study, significant crises and conflicts which were occurred in the Balkan peninsula between 90’s and the beginnings of the 2000’s are analyzed. In this period main crises and conflicts that were influenced both the regional geopolitics and global agenda are those: Disintegration of Yugoslavia and the subsequent wars, the crisis of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. When it is looked at those crises and conflicts collectively, it can be said that the hottest results of the Cold War’s end were felt in this region. Most of the crises which were erupted so close to Europe were related to instability atmosphere that were created by the disintegration of Yugoslavia. And, agreements that were ended the conflicts in this period are only “cease fires” which were not solved the problems completely but only postponed them.

Εδώ και διακόσια περίπου χρόνια, οι Έλληνες εορτάζουν την εθνική τους παλιγγενεσία με τελετές και ομιλίες, και συχνά έχει κανείς την αίσθηση ότι η εορτή καθαυτή χάνει το νόημά της και αποκτά ένα χαρακτήρα τυπικό και φορμαλιστικό. Στην Ελλάδα, πλέον, έχουμε συνηθίσει να θεωρούμε την εθνική ανεξαρτησία σαν κάτι δεδομένο και «παλιό». Συμβαίνει λιγότερο στην Κύπρο, όπου ο αγώνας για την εθνική ελευθερία είναι πολύ πιο πρόσφατοςεξ άλλου, συνεχίζεται ακόμη.