Balcanica 2021 Issue 52, Pages: 7-23
https://doi.org/10.2298/BALC2152007K
Full text ( 184 KB)
European borders in Serbian history
Kalić Jovanka (Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade)
This paper looks at the typology of borders which have traversed the Balkan
lands for centuries. They have been diverse - geographical, political,
economic, ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural. As a result of their
length of duration, consequences and importance, they led to phenomena which
can hardly be fully appreciated. Serbs lived along those borders, be they
already existing or created over time. This research is focused on two
borders. The one created by the division of the Roman Empire (395) and
strengthened by the schism of Christianity (1054), and the other, completely
different, created by the Ottoman conquest of the Balkan lands in the
fifteenth century. Local Balkan borders, on the other hand, have never
acquired a broader significance in the culture of this region.
Keywords: Roman Empire, Serbs, Ottoman Turks