Macedonia: A Voyage through History (Vol. 1, From Ancient Times to the Ottoman Invasions)
These two volumes cover the entire period of Macedonia’s written history. Volume 1 moves from the Temenid kingdom in the Fifth Century BC, through Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian rule, to the overthrow of Christian rule by the Ottoman Turks.
Many of the highlights in ancient Macedonian history were created by King Philip II and his son Alexander, and by the struggles of the Antigonid regime to withstand the ambitions of the Romans. High points in the Byzantine rule were achieved under Emperor Justinian in the 6th Century, and again under Basil II in the 11th.
Geography made Macedonia a transit territory for the Crusades, but their passage was marked nevertheless by wanton brutality. By the beginning of the 13th Century, Byzantine power had passed its apogee, and it suffered the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade. The ensuing establishment of the Latin Empire exposed Macedonia to repeated rounds of devastation by Latin, Bulgarian and Greek warlords. Despite the recovery of Constantinople by Michael Palaeologus, the much-weakened Byzantine Empire could no longer withstand its foes. Despite the transient displacement of Greek power by Serbian rule, Macedonia was destined to succumb to the Ottomans.
The emphasis in Volume 1 is weighted geographically towards Aegean Macedonia – northwestern Greece – where the ancient kingdom was rooted. Vardar Macedonia – the lands that now comprise the Macedonian Republic – only emerged as a civilised historical entity during the Middle Ages. This voyage through history not only documents the Macedonian past, but also discovers its cultural heritage. This includes the mosaics and sculptures of the Alexandrine era, and its Christian churches, for Christianity left its indelible mark on Macedonian civilisation. The book follows the emergence of early Christianity from the time of St. Paul, but gives emphasis to the artistic culture of late antiquity.
A further chapter is devoted to Orthodox mysticism and its fourteenth century role in the creation of the secret churches in the lakes of Ohrid and Prespa. Another charts the strange history of Athos, Macedonia’s Holy Mountain peninsula, in its formative period.
Michael Palairet was Reader in Economic History at the University of Edinburgh until retirement in 2005. His many publications focus on modern and contemporary economic development in Greece and the Balkans, including two books, The Balkan Economies c. 1800–1914, which was published by Cambridge University Press, and translated into Turkish, Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian, and The Four Ends of the Greek Hyperinflation, 1941–1946, published by Museum Tusculanum Press. Since retirement, he has expanded his interest into ancient and medieval Balkan civilisations. While researching this book, he stayed for long periods in his flat in Ohrid, the most beautiful town in little-visited Macedonia.
"Macedonia: A Voyage through History from Michael Palairet offers a detailed, extensive overview of the history of Macedonia. In this rather ambitious project, Palairet attempts to discuss the historical developments on the territory of Macedonia covering the entire history staring from ancient times and the first organization of life on this territory to the Macedonian independence and the most contemporary developments. This makes the monograph a very important contribution to the state of art since it is one of the rare academic works in English which analyzes and discusses the historical developments on the territory of Macedonia. [...] Palairet’s ambitious plan, supported with clear academic courage and passion, makes this book an interesting introduction to the Macedonian history. It has a significant contribution to the literature on Macedonia and its rather provocative and bold academic style opens a room for increasing interests in the topic and for the pursuit of further research in this area."
Trajche Panov European University Institute, Florence East European Quarterly, 45:1-2 (2017)
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