History of the Balkans
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Mediaeval history, whether of the East or the West, is mostly a record of bloodshedding and cruelty; and the Middle Age has been prolonged to our own time in most parts of the Balkans, and is not yet over in some parts. There are certain things salutary to bear in mind when we think or speak of any part of that country today. Contents: BULGARIA. The Arrival of the Bulgars in the Balkan Peninsula, 600–700 The Early Years of Bulgaria and the Introduction of Christianity, 700–893 The Rise and Fall of the First Bulgarian Empire, 893–972 The Rise and Fall of 'Western Bulgaria' and the Greek Supremacy, 963–1186 The Rise and Fall of the Second Bulgarian Empire, 1186–1258 The Serbian Supremacy and the Final Collapse, 1258–1393 The Turkish Dominion and the Emancipation, 1393–1878 The Aftermath, and Prince Alexander of Battenberg, 1878–86 The Regeneration under Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg, 1886–1908 The Kingdom, 1908–13 SERBIA. The Serbs under Foreign Supremacy, 650–1168 The Rise and Fall of the Serbian Empire and the Extinction of Serbian Independence, 1168–1496 The Turkish Dominion, 1496–1796 The Liberation of Serbia under Kara-George (1804–13) and Milos Obrenovic (1815–30): 1796–1830 The Throes of Regeneration: Independent Serbia, 1830–1903 Serbia, Montenegro, and the Serbo-Croats in Austria-Hungary, 1903–8 Serbia and Montenegro, and the two Balkan Wars, 1908–13 GREECE. By ARNOLD J. TOYNBEE. From Ancient to Modern Greece The Awakening of the Nation The Consolidation of the State RUMANIA: HER HISTORY AND POLITICS. By D. MITRANY Introduction Formation of the Rumanian Nation The Foundation and Development of the Rumanian Principalities The Phanariote Rule Modern Period to 1866 Contemporary Period: Internal Development Contemporary Period: Foreign Affairs Rumania and the Present War TURKEY. By D. G. HOGARTH Origin of the Osmanlis Expansion of the Osmanli Kingdom Heritage and Expansion of the Byzantine Empire Shrinkage and Retreat Revival Relapse Revolution The Balkan War The Future
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Arnold Toynbee
OK Publishing, 2020
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In answer to this appeal the emperor sent the two brothers Cyril and Methodius, who were Greeks of Salonika and had considerable knowledge of Slavonic languages. They composed the Slavonic alphabet which is to-day used throughout Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro, and in many parts of Austria-Hungary and translated the gospels into Slavonic; it is for this reason that they are regarded with such veneration by all members of the Eastern Church. Their mission proved the greatest success (it must be remembered that at this time the various Slavonic tongues were probably less dissimilar than they are now), and the two brothers were warmly welcomed in Rome by Pope Adrian II, who formally consented to the use, for the benefit of the Slavs, of the Slavonic liturgy (a remarkable concession, confirmed by Pope John VIII). This triumph, however, was short-lived; St. Cyril died in 869 and St. Methodius in 885; subsequent Popes, notably Stephen V, were not so benevolent to the Slavonic cause; the machinations of the German hierarchy (which included, even in those days, the falsification of documents) were irresistible, and finally the invasion of the Magyars, in 893, destroyed what was left of the Slavonic Church in Moravia. The missionary brothers had probably passed through Bulgaria on their way north in 863, but without halting. Many of their disciples, driven from the Moravian kingdom by the Germans, came south and took refuge in Bulgaria in 886, and there carried on in more favourable circumstances the teachings of their masters. Prince Boris had found it easier to adopt Christianity himself than to induce all his subjects to do the same. Even when he had enforced his will on them at the price of numerous executions of recalcitrant nobles, he found himself only at the beginning of his difficulties. The Greeks had been glad enough to welcome Bulgaria into the fold, but they had no wish to set up an independent Church and hierarchy to rival their own. Boris, on the other hand, though no doubt full of genuine spiritual ardour, was above all impressed with the authority and prestige which the basileus derived from the Church of Constantinople; he also admired the pomp of ecclesiastical ceremony, and wished to have a patriarch of his own to crown him and a hierarchy of his own to serve him. Finding the Greeks unresponsive, he turned to Rome, and Pope Nicholas I sent him two bishops to superintend the ecclesiastical affairs of Bulgaria till the investiture of Boris at the hands of the Holy See could be arranged. These bishops set to work with a will, substituted the Latin for the Greek rite, and brought Bulgaria completely under Roman influence. But when it was discovered that Boris was aiming at the erection of an independent Church their enthusiasm abated and they were recalled to Rome in 867.
Adrian II proved no more sympathetic, and in 870, during the reign of the Emperor Basil I, it was decided without more ado that the Bulgarian Church should be directly under the Bishop of Constantinople, on the ground that the kingdom of Boris was a vassal-state of the basileus, and that from the Byzantine point of view, as opposed to that of Rome, the State came first and the Church next. The Moravian Gorazd, a disciple of Methodius, was appointed Metropolitan, and at his death he was succeeded by his fellow countryman and co-disciple Clement, who by means of the construction of numerous churches and monasteries did a great deal for the propagation of light and learning in Bulgaria. The definite subjection of the Bulgarian Church to that of Byzantium was an important and far-reaching event. Boris has been reproached with submitting himself and his country to Greek influence, but in those days it was either Constantinople or Rome (there was no third way); and in view of the proximity of Constantinople and the glamour which its civilization cast all over the Balkans, it is not surprising that the Greeks carried the day.
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