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.

【作者簡介】

馬剋•馬佐爾（Mark Mazower）

英國曆史學傢，美國哥倫比亞大學教授。馬佐爾畢業於牛津大學古典與哲學係，是希臘和巴爾乾曆史方麵的史學權威。針對巴爾乾半島風雲變幻的政治局勢，他也長期為《金融時報》《獨立報》等媒體提供時事評論。

馬佐爾著有《黑暗大陸》《希特勒的帝國》《巴爾乾五百年》等書。《巴爾乾五百年》曾獲得2001年沃爾夫森曆史寫作個人奬，以及2001年阿道弗•本廷剋奬。