|
|
General
Information*
Macedonia
Background: "International
recognition of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (F.Y.R.O.M.) independence from
Yugoslavia in 1991 was delayed by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it
considered a Hellenic name and symbols. Greece finally lifted its trade blockade in 1995,
and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, despite continued disagreement over
F.Y.R.O.M.'s use of "Macedonia." F.Y.R.O.M.'s large Albanian minority, an ethnic
Albanian armed insurgency in F.Y.R.O.M. in 2001, and the status of neighboring Kosovo
continue to be sources of ethnic tension. "
-- CIA World Factbook
Location: Southeastern Europe, north of Greece
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 25,333 sq. km
land: 24,856 sq km
water: 477 sq km
Capitol: Skopje
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Vermont
Land boundaries: total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Yugoslavia 221 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Climate: warm dry summers and mild wet winters. The springs are rather
short and cool, the autumns longer and quite warm.
Terrain: Macedonia is a mountainous country. About 80% of its
territory is mountainous and 20% is lowland.
Natural resources: chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade
iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber
Waters: The rivers and lakes are rich in wild life. The rivers abound
in fish such as trout, perch, bream and barbel.
Geography—note: landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and
Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe
Government type: emerging democracy
Population: 2,041,467 (July 2000 est.)
Nationality: noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian
Ethnic groups: Macedonian 66.6%, Albanian 22.7%, Turkish 4%, Roma 2.2%, Serb
2.1%, other 2.4% (1994)
Religions: Macedonian Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30%, other 3%
Languages: Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3%
Map of Europe Map
of the Balkans
Macedonian Heritage
An on-line review of Macedonian affairs, history and culture http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/editorial.html
|
A Little of Slavic History
Slav Origin
"Little is known of the origins of Slavs. Philologists and archaeologists
theorize that the Slavs settled very early in the Carpathian Mountains or in the area of
present-day Belarus. By A.D. 600, they had split linguistically into southern, western,
and eastern branches. The East Slavs settled along the Dnepr River in what is now
Ukraine; then they spread northward to the northern Volga River valley, east of modern-day
Moscow, and westward to the basins of the northern Dnestr and the western Bug rivers, in
present-day Moldova and southern Ukraine. "
-- The Library of
Congress Country Studies
Early Macedonian History
"In its earliest history, Macedonia was ruled
by the Bulgars and the Byzantines, who began a long tradition of rivalry over that
territory. Slavs invaded and settled Byzantine Macedonia late in the sixth century, and in
A.D. 679 the Bulgars, a Turkic steppe people, crossed into the Balkans and directly
encountered the Byzantine Empire. The Bulgars commingled with the more numerous Slavs and
eventually abandoned their Turkic mother tongue in favor of the Slavic language. The
Byzantines and Bulgars ruled Macedonia alternately from the ninth to the fourteenth
century, when Stefan Dusan of Serbia conquered it and made Skopje his capital. A local
noble, Vukasin, called himself king of Macedonia after the death of Dusan, but the Turks
annihilated Vukasin's forces in 1371 and assumed control of Macedonia. "
--The Library of Congress/Country
Studies
Country Studies/Yugoslavia (former): see:
Macedonia
Macedonia From the Settlement of the Slavs
to the Ottoman Empire
[ Council for Research into South-Eastern Europe ]
http://faq.macedonia.org
/history/mk.from.slavs.
2.ottoman.html
Line Reference Sources:
The Library of Congress Country Studies
The CIA World Factbook 2002 and The Library of Congress
|
