At the end of the twentieth century people spoke as if the Balkans had plagued Europe for ever. But two hundred years earlier, the Balkans did not exist. It was not the Balkans but the 'Rumeli' that the Ottomans ruled, the formerly Roman lands they had conquered from Byzantium, together with their Christian inhabitants. In this original account of the region Mark Mazower dispels current Western cliches and replaces stereotypes with a vivid account of how mountains, empires and religions have shaped its inhabitants' lives. As a bridge between Europe and Asia it has been exposed to a constant incursion of nomadic peoples across the centuries. Mazower's narrative ranges broadly both in time and in space, treating the former Turkish domains in Europe as part of a common if complex historical inheritance.

【作者简介】

马克•马佐尔（Mark Mazower）

英国历史学家，美国哥伦比亚大学教授。马佐尔毕业于牛津大学古典与哲学系，是希腊和巴尔干历史方面的史学权威。针对巴尔干半岛风云变幻的政治局势，他也长期为《金融时报》《独立报》等媒体提供时事评论。

马佐尔著有《黑暗大陆》《希特勒的帝国》《巴尔干五百年》等书。《巴尔干五百年》曾获得2001年沃尔夫森历史写作个人奖，以及2001年阿道弗•本廷克奖。