112-570: Bektashi Dedebabate is the religious leadership of Bektashi Islam . The dedebabas ( Albanian : kryegjysh ) are the spiritual and religious leaders of the Bektashi community. Bektashis do not consider them as divinely appointed leaders. The current and eighth Bektashi debebaba is Baba Mondi . List of dedebabas following the 1925 exodus of the Bektashi Order from Turkey to Albania: Bektashi Order Bektashism ( Albanian : Urdhri Bektashi)
224-513: A fruit brandy , is used as a sacramental element by in Bektashism, and Alevi Jem ceremonies, where it is not considered alcoholic and is referred to as "dem". Poetry plays an important role in the transmission of Bektashian spirituality. Several important Ottoman-era poets were Bektashis, and Yunus Emre , the most acclaimed poet of the Turkish language , is generally recognized as a subscriber to
336-511: A considerable impact on the Islamization of many areas, primarily Albania and Bulgaria , as well as parts of Macedonia , particularly among Ottoman-era Greek Muslims from western Greek Macedonia such as the Vallahades . By the 18th century Bektashism began to gain a considerable hold over the population of southern Albania and northwestern Greece ( Epirus and western Greek Macedonia). Following
448-555: A fight between Zeus and the monster/titan Typhon . Zeus injured Typhon with a thunder bolt and Typhon's blood fell on the mountains, giving them their name. The earliest mention of the name appears in an early 14th-century Arab map, in which the Haemus Mountains are referred to as Balkan . The first attested time the name "Balkan" was used in the West for the mountain range in Bulgaria
560-514: A high of 8 million in the late 16th-century to only 3 million by the mid-eighteenth. This estimate is based on Ottoman documentary evidence." Most of the Balkan nation-states emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries as they gained independence from the Ottoman or Habsburg empires: Greece in 1821, Serbia, and Montenegro in 1878, Romania in 1881, Bulgaria in 1908 and Albania in 1912. In 1912–1913,
672-617: A member of the Axis, Germany, with Bulgaria, invaded both Greece and Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia immediately disintegrated when those loyal to the Serbian King and the Croatian units mutinied. Greece resisted, but, after two months of fighting, collapsed and was occupied. The two countries were partitioned between the three Axis allies, Bulgaria, Germany and Italy, and the Independent State of Croatia ,
784-444: A moderate version of Islam . Bektashis believe in God and follow all the prophets . Bektashis claim the heritage of Haji Bektash Veli, who was a descendant of Ali , Husayn ibn Ali , Ali al-Sajjad and other Imams. In contrast to many Twelver Shia, Bektashis respect all companions of Muhammad, including Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman , Talha and Mu'awiya , though consider Ali to be
896-453: A puppet state of Italy and Germany. During the occupation, the population suffered considerable hardship due to repression and starvation, to which the population reacted by creating a mass resistance movement. Together with the early and extremely heavy winter of that year (which caused hundreds of thousands of deaths among the poorly fed population), the German invasion had disastrous effects in
1008-617: A revolutionary organization with predominantly Serb and pro-Yugoslav members, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Bosnia and Herzegovina's capital, Sarajevo . That caused a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which—through the existing chains of alliances —led to the World War I. The Ottoman Empire soon joined the Central Powers becoming one of
1120-816: A ritual meal ( muhabbet ) and yearly confession of sins to a baba ( magfirat-i zunub مغفرة الذنوب). Bektashis base their practices and rituals on their non-orthodox and mystical interpretation and understanding of the Quran and the prophetic practice ( Sunnah ). They have no written doctrine specific to them, thus rules and rituals may differ depending on under whose influence one has been taught. Bektashis generally revere Sufi mystics outside of their own order, such as ibn Arabi , al-Ghazali and Rumi , who are close in spirit to them despite many of being from more mainstream Islamic backgrounds. As with other Muslims, Bektashis do not consume pork and consider it haram ("prohibited") and in addition, also do not consider rabbit. Rakia ,
1232-652: A separate religious community with the Macedonian government in 1993, but the Macedonian government has refused to recognize them. On 21 September 2024, it was reported that Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania was planning to create the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order , a sovereign microstate for the Order within Albania's capital of Tirana . Rama said the aim of the new state would be to promote religious tolerance and
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#17328546208961344-685: A whole and southern parts of Slovenia. The Province of Trieste in Italy, although by some definitions on the peninsula, is generally excluded from the Balkans. Hungary and Moldova are occasionally included in discussions of the Balkans due to cultural and historical affiliation, but are generally excluded. The term Southeast Europe is also used for the region, with various definitions. Individual Balkan states can also be considered part of other regions, including Southern Europe , Eastern Europe , and Central Europe . Turkey, including its European territory,
1456-592: Is initiatic , and members must traverse various levels or ranks as they progress along the spiritual path to the Reality . The Turkish names are given below, followed by their Arabic and Albanian equivalents. Traditionally there were twelve of these hierarchical rankings, the most senior being the dedebaba (great-grandfather). In Albania , the World Headquarters of the Bektashi ( Albanian : Kryegjyshata ) divides
1568-621: Is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains (Haemus Mountains) that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria . The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish straits in the east, and
1680-617: Is an Islamic Sufi mystic order that originated in 13th-century Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire . It is named after the saint Haji Bektash Veli . The Bektashian community is currently led by Baba Mondi , their eighth Bektashi Dedebaba and headquartered in Tirana , Albania . Collectively, adherents of Bektashism are called Bektashians or simply Bektashis. Originally one of many Sufi orders within Sunni Islam, by
1792-620: Is celebrated by Bektashis as Ali's birthday (see also Nevruz in Albania ). The Bektashian Order is a Sufi order and shares much in common with other Islamic mystical movements, such as the need for an experienced spiritual guide—called a baba in Bektashian parlance — as well as the doctrine of "the four gates that must be traversed": the " Sharia " ( religious law ) , " Tariqah " (the spiritual path) , " Marifa " (true knowledge) , " Haqiqa " (truth) . There are many other practices and ceremonies that share similarities with other faiths, such as
1904-805: Is considered the pīr-i thānī ('the Second Elder') by Bektashians. It was originally founded as a Sufi movement. The branch became widespread in the Ottoman Empire , their lodges scattered throughout Anatolia as well as in the Balkans . It became the official order of the Janissary corps, the elite infantry corp of the Ottoman Army . Therefore, they also became mainly associated with Anatolian and Balkan Muslims of Eastern Orthodox convert origin, mainly Albanians and northern Greeks (although most leading Bektashian babas were of southern Albanian origin). In 1826,
2016-524: Is currently a widely and frequently used expression in the religious discourse of Turkey as an umbrella term for the two religious groups of Alevism and Bektashism. Bektashism originated in Anatolia as the followers of the 13th-century scholar Bektash , who himself studied under Central Asian mystic Ahmad Yasawi . The doctrines and rituals of the Bektashiyya were codified by the mystic Balim Sultan , who
2128-534: Is generally encompassed in the region known as Southeast Europe . Italy currently holds a small area around Trieste that is by some older definitions considered a part of the Balkan Peninsula. However, the regions of Trieste and Istria are not usually considered part of the Balkans by Italian geographers, due to their definition of the Balkans that limits its western border to the Kupa River. The borders of
2240-704: Is generally included in Western Asia or the Middle East . The Western Balkans is a political neologism coined to refer to Albania and the territory of the former Yugoslavia, except Slovenia , since the early 1990s. The region of the Western Balkans, a coinage exclusively used in pan-European parlance, roughly corresponds to the Dinaric Alps territory. The institutions of the European Union have generally used
2352-455: Is in wide use, from over 1,000 dams. The often relentless bora wind is also being harnessed for power generation. Metal ores are more usual than other raw materials. Iron ore is rare, but in some countries there is a considerable amount of copper, zinc, tin , chromite , manganese , magnesite and bauxite . Some metals are exported. The Balkan region was the first area in Europe to experience
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#17328546208962464-666: Is mostly unsuccessful because of the mountains, hot summers and poor soils, although certain cultures such as olive and grape flourish. Resources of energy are scarce, except in Kosovo , where considerable coal , lead , zinc , chromium and silver deposits are located. Other deposits of coal , especially in Bulgaria, Serbia and Bosnia, also exist. Lignite deposits are widespread in Greece. Petroleum scarce reserves exist in Greece, Serbia and Albania. Natural gas deposits are scarce. Hydropower
2576-646: Is no longer Balkan proper, but the cradle of our Western civilization. Most of the area is covered by mountain ranges running from the northwest to southeast. The main ranges are the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina in Bulgarian language ), running from the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria to the border with Serbia , the Rila - Rhodope massif in southern Bulgaria, the Dinaric Alps in Bosnia and Herzegovina , Croatia and Montenegro ,
2688-572: Is seen on the Adriatic coasts of Albania, Croatia and Montenegro, as well as the Ionian coasts of Albania and Greece, in addition to the Aegean coasts of Greece and Balkan Turkey (European Turkey) . Over the centuries, forests have been cut down and replaced with bush . In the southern part and on the coast there is evergreen vegetation. Inland there are woods typical of Central Europe ( oak and beech , and in
2800-580: Is the legally recognized organisation which claims to represent all Muslims in North Macedonia , invaded the Bektashian Order's Arabati Baba Teḱe in an attempt to reclaim this tekke as a mosque although the facility has never functioned as such. Subsequently, the Bektashian Order of North Macedonia sued the government for failing to restore the tekke to the Bektashians, pursuant to a law passed in
2912-491: Is ultimately the whole of continental Europe itself that functions as a kind of Balkan Turkish global empire with Brussels as the new Constantinople, the capricious despotic center threatening English freedom and sovereignty. So Balkan is always the Other: it lies somewhere else, always a little bit more to the southeast, with the paradox that, when we reach the very bottom of the Balkan peninsula, we again magically escape Balkan. Greece
3024-562: The Abbas Ali Türbe on August 20–25. In addition to the Muslim daily five prayers, Bektashians have two specific prayers, one at dawn and one at dusk for the welfare of all humanity. Bektashism places much emphasis on the concept of Wahdat al-Wujud ( Arabic : وحدة الوجود , romanized : Unity of Being ) that was formulated by Ibn Arabi . Malakat is an important text of Bektashian written by Haji Bektash. Bektashis also follow
3136-822: The Baltic Sea are closer to Trieste than Odesa yet it is not considered as another European peninsula. Since the late 19th and early 20th century no exact northern border has been clear, with an issue, whether the rivers are usable for its definition. In studies the Balkans' natural borders, especially the northern border, are often avoided to be addressed, considered as a problème fastidieux (delicate problem) by André Blanc in Géographie des Balkans (1965), while John Lampe and Marvin Jackman in Balkan Economic History (1971) noted that "modern geographers seem agreed in rejecting
3248-480: The Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Musala , 2,925 metres (9,596 ft), in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria. The concept of the Balkan Peninsula was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered the Balkan Mountains the dominant mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from
3360-677: The Directorate of Religious Affairs and the community's headquarters relocated to Albania. Salih Nijazi was the last Dedebaba in Turkey and the first in Albania. The order became involved in Albanian politics, and some of its members, including Ismail Qemali , were major leaders of the Albanian National Awakening . Bektashis believe in the ismah of the Islamic prophets and messengers , and
3472-513: The First Balkan War broke out when the nation-states of Bulgaria , Serbia , Greece and Montenegro united in an alliance against the Ottoman Empire . As a result of the war, almost all remaining European territories of the Ottoman Empire were captured and partitioned among the allies. Ensuing events also led to the creation of an independent Albanian state. Bulgaria insisted on its status quo territorial integrity, divided and shared by
Bektashi Dedebabate - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-641: The Hurufis (in the early 15th century), the Qalandariyya stream of Sufism, figures like Ahmad Yasawi , Yunus Emre , Shah Ismail , Shaykh Haydar , Nesimi , Pir Sultan Abdal , Gül Baba , Sarı Saltık and to varying degrees more broadly the Shia belief system circulating in Anatolia during the 14th to 16th centuries. The mystical practices and rituals of the Bektashi order were systematized and structured by Balım Sultan in
3696-651: The Korab - Šar mountains which spreads from Kosovo to Albania and North Macedonia , and the Pindus range, spanning from southern Albania into central Greece and the Albanian Alps , and the Alps at the northwestern border. The highest mountain of the region is Rila in Bulgaria, with Musala at 2,925 m, second being Mount Olympus in Greece, with Mytikas at 2,917 m, and Pirin mountain with Vihren , also in Bulgaria, being
3808-632: The Ottomans several decades later. Ottoman expansion in the region began in the second half of the 14th century, as the Byzantine Empire continued to lose its grip on the region after several defeats to the Ottomans. In 1362, the Ottoman Turks conquered Adrianople (now Edirne , Turkey). This was the start of their conquest of the Balkan Peninsula, which lasted for more than a century. Other states in
3920-749: The Rhodope Mountains to be the northern limit of the Peninsula of Haemus and the same limit applied approximately to the border between Greek and Latin use in the region (later called the Jireček Line ). However large spaces south of Jireček Line were and are inhabited by Vlachs ( Aromanians ), the Romance-speaking heirs of Roman Empire. The Bulgars and Slavs arrived in the sixth-century and began assimilating and displacing already-assimilated (through Romanization and Hellenization) older inhabitants of
4032-508: The Thracian king Haemus was turned into a mountain by Zeus as a punishment and the mountain has remained with his name. A reverse name scheme has also been suggested. D. Dechev considers that Haemus (Αἷμος) is derived from a Thracian word *saimon , 'mountain ridge'. A third possibility is that "Haemus" ( Αἵμος ) derives from the Greek word haima ( αἷμα ) meaning 'blood'. The myth relates to
4144-610: The 16th century the order adopted some tenets of Twelver Shia Islam, including a veneration of Ali , the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad , and the Twelve Imams , as well as a variety of syncretic beliefs. The Bektashis acquired political importance in the 15th century, when the order dominated the Janissary Corps . After the foundation of the Turkish Republic , Kemal Atatürk banned religious institutions that were not part of
4256-478: The 16th century. According to a 2005 estimate made by Reshat Bardhi , there are over seven million Bektashis worldwide, though more recent studies put the figure as high as 20 million. In Albania , they make up 9% of the Muslim population and 5% of the country's population. An additional 12.5 million Bektashis live in Turkey . Bektashis are mainly found throughout Anatolia , the Balkans and among Ottoman-era Greek Muslim communities. The term "Alevi–Bektashi"
4368-404: The 1925 exodus of the Bektashian order from Turkey to Albania: List of Bektashi Dedebabas following the 1925 exodus of the Bektashi Order from Turkey to Albania: Balkans The Balkans ( / ˈ b ɔː l k ən z / BAWL -kənz , / ˈ b ɒ l k ən z / BOL -kənz ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula ( Peninsula of Haemus , Haemaic Peninsula ),
4480-434: The Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. The term Balkan Peninsula was a synonym for Rumelia in the 19th century, the parts of Europe that were provinces of the Ottoman Empire at the time. It had a geopolitical rather than a geographical definition, which was further promoted during the creation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the early 20th century. The definition of the Balkan Peninsula's natural borders does not coincide with
4592-441: The Albanian communities of North Macedonia and Kosovo , the most important being the Arabati Baba Teḱe in the city of Tetovo , which was until recently under the guidance of Baba Tahir Emini (1941–2006). Following the death of Baba Tahir Emini, the dedelik of Tirana appointed Baba Edmond Brahimaj (known as Baba Mondi ), formerly head of the Turan Tekke of Korçë , to oversee the Harabati baba tekke . A splinter branch of
Bektashi Dedebabate - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-439: The Balkans after the Indo-European migrations in the region. In pre-classical and classical antiquity , this region was home to Greeks , Illyrians , Paeonians , Thracians , Dacians , and other ancient groups. The Achaemenid Persian Empire incorporated parts of the Balkans comprising Macedonia , Thrace (parts of present-day eastern Bulgaria ), and the Black Sea coastal region of Romania beginning in 512 BC. Following
4816-419: The Balkans and eventual creation of a joint military staff for the three countries. When the pact was signed, Turkey and Greece were members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), while Yugoslavia was a non-aligned communist state. With the Pact, Yugoslavia was able to indirectly associate itself with NATO. Though, it was planned for the pact to remain in force for 20 years, it dissolved in 1960. As
4928-403: The Balkans are due to many contrasting definitions disputed. There exists no universal agreement on the region's components. The term by most definitions fully encompasses Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Greece , Kosovo , Montenegro , North Macedonia , European Turkey , Romanian coast , most of Serbia and large parts of Croatia . Sometimes the term also includes Romania as
5040-428: The Balkans by using its protectorate Albania to invade Greece . After repelling the attack, the Greeks counterattacked, invading Italy-held Albania and causing Nazi Germany's intervention in the Balkans to help its ally. Days before the German invasion, a successful coup d'état in Belgrade by neutral military personnel seized power. Although the new government reaffirmed its intentions to fulfill its obligations as
5152-410: The Balkans inhabitants who were pagan beforehand. Initially, it was adopted by the Bulgarians and Serbs, with the Romanians joining a bit later. The Albanians , on the other hand due to their isolation in their mountain settlements, were not immediately affected by the spread of Christianity. The emergence of the First Bulgarian Empire and the constant conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and
5264-480: The Balkans is dominated by its geographical position; historically the area was known as a crossroads of cultures. It has been a juncture between the Latin and Greek bodies of the Roman Empire , the destination of a massive influx of pagan Bulgars and Slavs , an area where Orthodox and Catholic Christianity met, as well as the meeting point between Islam and Christianity. Albanic , Hellenic , and other Palaeo-Balkan languages , had their formative core in
5376-483: The Balkans place their greatest folk heroes in the era of either the onslaught or the retreat of the Ottoman Empire. As examples, for Greeks, Constantine XI Palaiologos and Kolokotronis ; and for Serbs, Miloš Obilić , Tsar Lazar and Karadjordje ; for Albanians, George Kastrioti Skanderbeg; for ethnic Macedonians , Nikola Karev and Goce Delčev ; for Bulgarians, Vasil Levski , Georgi Sava Rakovski and Hristo Botev and for Croats , Nikola Šubić Zrinjski . In
5488-508: The Bektashi, a conference during which members of the Bektashi Community make important decisions, has been held in Albania several times. Since 1945, it has been held exclusively in Tirana . The longest gap between two congresses lasted from 1950 to 1993, when congresses could not be held during Communist rule in Albania . A list of congresses is given below. This section lists the Dedebabas (Supreme Leaders) of Bektashism. List of Dedebabas (mostly based in Hacıbektaş , Anatolia), prior to
5600-425: The Bektashian order was banned throughout the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Mahmud II for having close ties with the Janissary corps. Many Bektashian dervishes were exiled, and some were executed. Their tekkes were destroyed and their revenues were confiscated. This decision was supported by the Sunni religious elite as well as the leaders of other, more orthodox, Sufi orders. Bektashis slowly regained freedom with
5712-498: The Bektashian order. Like many Sufis, the Bektashis were quite lax in observing daily Muslim laws, and women as well as men took part in ritual wine drinking and dancing during devotional ceremonies. The Bektashis in the Balkans adapted such Christian practices as the ritual sharing of bread and the confession of sins. Bektashi mystical writings made a rich contribution to Sufi poetry. A poem from Bektashi poet Balım Sultan (died c. 1517/1519): Like most other Sufi orders, Bektashism
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#17328546208965824-410: The First Bulgarian Empire significantly weakened the Byzantine control over the Balkans by the end of the 10th century. The Byzantines further lost power in the Balkans after the resurgence of the Bulgarians in the late 12th century, with the forming of their Second Bulgarian Empire . After the collapse of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Byzantine's Empire grip on power was prolonged by the inability of
5936-452: The Fourteen Infallibles : Prophet Muhammad , his daughter Fatima , and the Twelve Imams . In contrast to many Twelver Shia, Bektashis respect all companions of Muhammad, including Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman , Talha and Mu'awiya , though consider Ali to be the most superior of all companions. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, the Bektashi order was later significantly influenced during its formative period by
6048-437: The Great Powers next to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) in other boundaries and on the pre-war Bulgarian-Serbian agreement. Bulgaria was provoked by the backstage deals between its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on the allocation of the spoils at the end of the First Balkan War. At the time, Bulgaria was fighting at the main Thracian Front. Bulgaria marks the beginning of Second Balkan War when it attacked them. The Serbs and
6160-399: The Greeks repulsed single attacks, but when the Greek army invaded Bulgaria together with an unprovoked Romanian intervention in the back, Bulgaria collapsed. The Ottoman Empire used the opportunity to recapture Eastern Thrace , establishing its new western borders that still stand today as part of modern Turkey. World War I was sparked in the Balkans in 1914 when members of Young Bosnia ,
6272-399: The Ottoman occupied parts of Europe), while Yugoslavian maps also included Croatia and Bosnia. The term Balkan Peninsula was a synonym for European Turkey, the political borders of former Ottoman Empire provinces. The usage of the term changed in the very end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, when it was embraced by Serbian geographers, most prominently by Jovan Cvijić . It
6384-435: The Ottomans for a time (1443–1468) by using guerilla warfare . Skanderbeg's achievements, in particular the Battle of Albulena and the First Siege of Krujë won him fame across Europe. The Ottomans eventually conquered the near entirety of the Balkans and reached central Europe by the early 16th century. Some smaller countries, such as Montenegro managed to retain some autonomy by managing their own internal affairs, since
6496-556: The Persian defeat in the Greco-Persian Wars in 479 BC, they abandoned all of their European territories, which regained their independence. During the reign of Philip II of Macedon (359-336 BC), Macedonia rose to become the most powerful state in the Balkans . In the second century BC, the Roman Empire conquered the region and spread Roman culture and the Latin language, but significant parts still remained under classical Greek influence. The only Paleo-Balkan languages that survived are Albanian and Greek . The Romans considered
6608-417: The Quran and Hadith. Bektashis follow the modern-day Bektashian Dedebabate, currently headed by Baba Mondi . Bektashis consider the dedebaba as their leader overseeing the entire branch. Bektashism is also heavily permeated with Shiite concepts, such as the marked reverence of Ali, the Twelve Imams, and the ritual commemoration of Ashura marking the Battle of Karbala . The old Persian holiday of Nowruz
6720-411: The Slavs to unite, which was caused by frequent infighting amongst themselves. Bulgaria in the first half of the 14th century was then overshadowed by the new rising regional power of Serbia, which was a result of Stefan Dušan rising up and conquering much of the Balkans to create the Serbian Empire . The Serbian and Byzantine empires continued to be the dominant forces in the region until the arrival of
6832-406: The Turkish suffix -an 'swampy forest' or Persian bālā-khāna 'big high house'. It was used mainly during the time of the Ottoman Empire . In both Ottoman Turkish and modern Turkish , balkan means 'chain of wooded mountains'. From classical antiquity through the Middle Ages , the Balkan Mountains were called by the local Thracian name Haemus . According to Greek mythology,
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#17328546208966944-416: The West, later even spearheaded, together with India and Egypt the Non-Aligned Movement . Albania on the other hand gravitated toward Communist China , later adopting an isolationist position. On 28 February 1953, Greece , Turkey and Yugoslavia signed the treaty of Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation in Ankara to form the Balkan Pact of 1953 . The treaty's aim was to deter Soviet expansion in
7056-400: The Western Balkans, joined the EU in July 2013. The term is criticized for having a geopolitical, rather than a geographical meaning and definition, as a multiethnic and political area in the southeastern part of Europe. The geographical term of a peninsula defines that the sea border must be longer than the land border, with the land side being the shortest in the triangle, but that is not
7168-450: The area starting falling like Serbia after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Bulgaria in 1396, Constantinople in 1453, Bosnia in 1463, Herzegovina in 1482, and Montenegro in 1499. The conquest was made easier for the Ottomans due to existing divisions among the Orthodox peoples and by the even deeper rift that had existed at the time between the Eastern and Western Christians of Europe. The Albanians under Skanderbeg's leadership resisted
7280-483: The arrival of farming cultures in the Neolithic era. The Balkans have been inhabited since the Paleolithic and are the route by which farming from the Middle East spread to Europe during the Neolithic (7th millennium BC). The practices of growing grain and raising livestock arrived in the Balkans from the Fertile Crescent by way of Anatolia and spread west and north into Central Europe, particularly through Pannonia . Two early culture-complexes have developed in
7392-410: The ban on Sufi orders in the Republic of Turkey , the Bektashian community's headquarters was moved from Hacıbektaş in central Anatolia, to Tirana, Albania. In Albania, the Bektashian community declared its separation from the Sunni community and they were perceived ever after as a distinct Islamic sect rather than a branch of Sunni Islam. Bektashism continued to flourish until the Second World War. After
7504-469: The broad geographical, social-political and historical context of the Balkans, while the neologism Western Balkans is perceived as a humiliation of Croatia by the European political powers. According to M. S. Altić, the term has two different meanings, "geographical, ultimately undefined, and cultural, extremely negative, and recently strongly motivated by the contemporary political context". In 2018, President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović stated that
7616-428: The case for the Balkan Peninsula. Both the eastern and western sea catheti from Odesa to Cape Matapan ( c. 1230 –1350 km) and from Trieste to Cape Matapan ( c. 1270 –1285 km) are shorter than the land cathetus from Trieste to Odesa ( c. 1330 –1365 km). The land has too long a land border to qualify as a peninsula – Szczecin (920 km) and Rostock (950 km) at
7728-403: The coming of the Tanzimat era. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk shut down the lodges in 1925. Consequently, the Bektashian leadership moved to Albania and established their headquarters in the city of Tirana . Among the most famous followers of Bektashian in the 19th century Balkans were Ali Pasha and Naim Frashëri . After lodges in Turkey were shut down,
7840-470: The communists took power in 1945, several babas and dervishes were executed and a gradual constriction of Bektashian influence began. Ultimately, in 1967 all tekkes were shut down when Enver Hoxha banned all religious practice. When this ban was rescinded in 1990 the Bektashism reestablished itself, although there were few left with any real knowledge of the spiritual path. Nevertheless, many "tekkes" (lodges) operate today in Albania. The most recent head of
7952-422: The country into 6 different administrative districts (similar to Christian parishes and patriarchates ), each of which is called a gjyshata . During the 1930s, the six gjyshata of Albania set up by Sali Njazi were: National headquarters in other countries are located in: There is also a Bektashian office in Brussels , Belgium . The World Bektashi Congress , also called the National Congress of
8064-650: The dedebaba in Turkey: Mustafa Eke and Haydar Ercan. A large functioning Bektashian tekke was also established in the United States in 1954 by Baba Rexheb . This tekke is found in the Detroit suburb of Taylor and the tomb ( türbe ) of Baba Rexheb continues to draw pilgrims of all faiths. In 2002, a group of armed members of the Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia (ICM), a Sunni group that
8176-755: The dissolution of the union as unconstitutional and the Yugoslav People's Army unsuccessfully tried to maintain the status quo. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991, which prompted the Croatian War of Independence in Croatia and the Ten-Day War in Slovenia. The Yugoslav forces eventually withdrew from Slovenia in 1991 while the war in Croatia continued until late 1995 . The two were followed by Macedonia and later Bosnia and Herzegovina, with Bosnia being
8288-549: The early 1990s returning properties previously nationalized under the Yugoslav government. The law, however, deals with restitution to private citizens, rather than religious communities. The ICM claim to the tekke is based upon their contention to represent all Muslims in North Macedonia; and indeed, they are one of two Muslim organizations recognized by the government, both Sunni. The Bektashian community filed for recognition as
8400-606: The end of World War I, the Balkan Pact , or Balkan Entente, was formed by a treaty between Greece , Romania , Turkey and Yugoslavia on 9 February 1934 in Athens . With the start of the World War II , all Balkan countries, with the exception of Greece, were allies of Nazi Germany , having bilateral military agreements or being part of the Axis Pact . Fascist Italy expanded the war in
8512-662: The end of the 18th century, and other authors started applying the name to the wider area between the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The concept of the "Balkans" was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered it as the dominant central mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. During the 1820s, "Balkan became the preferred although not yet exclusive term alongside Haemus among British travelers... Among Russian travelers not so burdened by classical toponymy, Balkan
8624-518: The first battleground of the emerging Cold War. The Truman Doctrine was the US response to the civil war , which raged from 1944 to 1949. This civil war, unleashed by the Communist Party of Greece , backed by communist volunteers from neighboring countries (Albania, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia), led to massive American assistance for the non-communist Greek government. With this backing, Greece managed to defeat
8736-551: The historical and political connotations of the term Balkans , especially since the military conflicts of the 1990s in Yugoslavia in the western half of the region, the term Southeast Europe is becoming increasingly popular. A European Union initiative of 1999 is called the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe . The online newspaper Balkan Times renamed itself Southeast European Times in 2003. In other languages of
8848-577: The last outpost of the peaceful Mitteleuropa. For Italians and Austrians, it begins with Slovenia, where the reign of the Slavic hordes starts. For Germans, Austria itself, on account of its historic connections, is already tainted by Balkanic corruption and inefficiency. For some arrogant Frenchmen, Germany is associated with the Balkanian Eastern savagery—up to the extreme case of some conservative anti-European-Union Englishmen for whom, in an implicit way, it
8960-515: The late 19th century to the creation of post– World War I Yugoslavia (initially the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918). After the dissolution of Yugoslavia beginning in June 1991, the term Balkans acquired a negative political meaning, especially in Croatia and Slovenia, as well in worldwide casual usage for war conflicts and fragmentation of territory (see Balkanization ). In part due to
9072-518: The most superior of all companions. Bektashians follow the teachings of Haji Bektash, who preached about the Twelve Imams. Bektashis differ from other Muslims by also following the Fourteen Innocents, who either died in infancy or were martyred with Husayn. Abbas ibn Ali is also an important figure in Bektashism, and Bektashians visit Mount Tomorr to honor him during an annual pilgrimage to
9184-491: The mountains, spruce , fir and pine ). The tree line in the mountains lies at the height of 1,800–2,300 m. The land provides habitats for numerous endemic species, including extraordinarily abundant insects and reptiles that serve as food for a variety of birds of prey and rare vultures . The soils are generally poor, except on the plains , where areas with natural grass, fertile soils and warm summers provide an opportunity for tillage. Elsewhere, land cultivation
9296-708: The northern and central Balkans. This migration brought about the formation of distinct ethnic groups amongst the South Slavs, which included the Bulgarians , Croats and Serbs and Slovenes . Prior to the Slavic landing, parts of the western peninsula have been home to the Proto-Albanians . Including cities like Nish , Shtip . This can be proven through the development of the names, for example Naissos > Nish and Astibos > Shtip follow Albanian phonetic sound rules and have entered Slavic, indicating that Proto-Albanian
9408-595: The old idea of a Balkan Peninsula". Another issue is the name: the Balkan Mountains , mostly in Northern Bulgaria, do not dominate the region by length and area as do the Dinaric Alps . An eventual Balkan peninsula can be considered a territory south of the Balkan Mountains, with a possible name "Greek-Albanian Peninsula." The term influenced the meaning of Southeast Europe which again is not properly defined by geographical factors. Croatian geographers and academics are highly critical of inclusion of Croatia within
9520-518: The only non-communist countries, Greece and Turkey were (and still are) part of NATO composing the southeastern wing of the alliance. In the 1990s, the transition of the regions' ex-Eastern bloc countries towards democratic free-market societies went peacefully. While in the non-aligned Yugoslavia , Wars between the former Yugoslav republics broke out after Slovenia and Croatia held free elections and their people voted for independence on their respective countries' referendums. Serbia, in turn, declared
9632-589: The order has recently sprung up in the town of Kičevo which has ties to the Turkish Bektashian community under Haydar Ercan Dede rather than Tirana. A smaller Bektashian tekke , the Dikmen Baba Tekkesi, is in operation in the Turkish-speaking town of Kanatlarci , North Macedonia that also has stronger ties with Turkey's Bektashis. In Kosovo, the relatively small Bektashian community has a tekke in
9744-505: The order in Albania was Hajji Reshat Bardhi Dedebaba (1935–2011) and the main tekke has been reopened in Tirana. In June 2011 Baba Edmond Brahimaj was chosen as the head of the Bektashian order by a council of Albanian babas. Today sympathy for the order is generally widespread in Albania where approximately 20% of Muslims identify themselves as having some connection to Bektashism. There are also important Bektashian communities among
9856-672: The order's headquarters moved to Albania . On 20 March 1930, Salih Nijazi was elected as the Dedebaba of the Bektashian community in Albania. Prior to Nijazi, the Dedebaba was Haxhi Fejzullah in Turkey. Njazi established the Bektashi World Headquarters in Tirana . Its construction was finished in 1941 during the Italian occupation of Albania . Nijazi promoted Bektashian Islam by introducing major ceremonies at popular tekkes. After he
9968-458: The partisans and, ultimately, remained one of the two only non-communist countries in the region with Turkey. However, despite being under communist governments, Yugoslavia (1948) and Albania (1961) fell out with the Soviet Union. Yugoslavia, led by Marshal Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), first propped up then rejected the idea of merging with Bulgaria and instead sought closer relations with
10080-497: The past several centuries, because of the frequent Ottoman wars in Europe fought in and around the Balkans and the comparative Ottoman isolation from the mainstream of economic advance (reflecting the shift of Europe's commercial and political centre of gravity towards the Atlantic ), the Balkans have been the least developed part of Europe. According to Halil İnalcık , "The population of the Balkans, according to one estimate, fell from
10192-412: The peninsula, is generally excluded. Although they have no territory on the peninsula, Hungary and Moldova are occasionally incorporated into discussions of the Balkans due to cultural and historical affiliations. The origin of the word Balkan is obscure; it may be related to Turkish bālk 'mud' (from Proto-Turkic * bal 'mud, clay; thick or gluey substance', cf. also Turkic bal 'honey'), and
10304-510: The region's components. The term by most definitions fully encompasses Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Bulgaria , Greece , Kosovo , Montenegro , North Macedonia , European Turkey , the Romanian coast , most of Serbia and large parts of Croatia . The term sometimes includes all of Romania , Serbia and Croatia, and southern parts of Slovenia . The Province of Trieste in northeastern Italy , although by some definitions considered part of
10416-587: The region, Starčevo culture and Vinča culture . The Balkans are also the location of the first advanced civilizations. Vinča culture developed a form of proto-writing before the Sumerians and Minoans , known as the Old European script , while the bulk of the symbols had been created in the period between 4500 and 4000 BC, with the ones on the Tărtăria clay tablets even dating back to around 5300 BC. The identity of
10528-661: The region, the region is known as: The Balkan Peninsula is bounded by the Adriatic Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea (including the Ionian and Aegean seas) and the Sea of Marmara to the south and the Black Sea to the east. Its northern boundary is often given as the Danube , Sava and Kupa Rivers. The Balkan Peninsula has a combined area of about 470,000 km (181,000 sq mi) (slightly smaller than Spain). The peninsula
10640-549: The same territory, used the term Südosteuropäische Halbinsel ('southeastern European peninsula'). Another reason it was not commonly accepted as the definition of then European Turkey had a similar land extent. However, after the Congress of Berlin (1878) there was a political need for a new term and gradually "the Balkans" was revitalized, but in the maps, the northern border was in Serbia and Montenegro without Greece (it only depicted
10752-491: The southern part, winters are milder. The humid continental climate is predominant in Bosnia and Herzegovina, northern Croatia, Bulgaria, Kosovo , northern Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, and the interior of Albania and Serbia . Meanwhile, the other less common climates, the humid subtropical and oceanic climates, are seen on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria and Balkan Turkey (European Turkey) . The Mediterranean climate
10864-459: The technical definition of a peninsula; hence modern geographers reject the idea of a Balkan Peninsula, while historical scholars usually discuss the Balkans as a region. The term has acquired a stigmatized and pejorative meaning related to the process of Balkanization . The alternative term used for the region is Southeast Europe . The borders of the Balkans are, due to many contrasting definitions, disputed. There exists no universal agreement on
10976-510: The term Western Balkans to mean the Balkan area that includes countries that are not members of the European Union, while others refer to the geographical aspects. Each of these countries aims to be part of the future enlargement of the European Union and reach democracy and transmission scores but, until then, they will be strongly connected with the pre-EU waiting program Central European Free Trade Agreement . Croatia, considered part of
11088-511: The territory was too mountainous to completely subdue. Another small country that retained its independence, both de facto and de jure in this case, was the Adriatic trading hub of Ragusa (now Dubrovnik , Croatia). By the end of the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire had become the controlling force in the region after expanding from Anatolia through Thrace to the Balkans. Many people in
11200-402: The third at 2915 m. The karst field or polje is a common feature of the landscape. On the Adriatic and Aegean coasts, the climate is Mediterranean , on the Black Sea coast the climate is humid subtropical and oceanic , and inland it is humid continental . In the northern part of the peninsula and on the mountains, winters are frosty and snowy, while summers are hot and dry. In
11312-471: The three empires participating in that alliance. The next year Bulgaria joined the Central Powers attacking Serbia, which was successfully fighting Austro-Hungary to the north for a year. That led to Serbia's defeat and the intervention of the Entente in the Balkans which sent an expeditionary force to establish a new front , the third one of that war, which soon also became static. The participation of Greece in
11424-644: The timetable of the planned invasion in Russia causing a significant delay, which had major consequences during the course of the war. Finally, at the end of 1944, the Soviets entered Romania and Bulgaria forcing the Germans out of the Balkans. They left behind a region largely ruined as a result of wartime exploitation. During the Cold War , most of the countries on the Balkans were governed by communist governments. Greece became
11536-586: The town of Gjakovë and is under the leadership of Baba Mumin Lama and it recognizes the leadership of Tirana. In Bulgaria, the türbes of Kıdlemi Baba, Ak Yazılı Baba, Demir Baba and Otman Baba function as heterodox Islamic pilgrimage sites and before 1842 were the centers of Bektashian tekkes . Bektashis continue to be active in Turkey and their semi-clandestine organizations can be found in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir . There are currently two rival claimants to
11648-404: The use of the term "Western Balkans" should be avoided because it does not imply only a geographic area, but also negative connotations, and instead must be perceived as and called Southeast Europe because it is part of Europe. Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek said of the definition, This very alibi confronts us with the first of many paradoxes concerning Balkan: its geographic delimitation
11760-582: The war three years later, in 1918, on the part of the Entente finally altered the balance between the opponents leading to the collapse of the common German-Bulgarian front there, which caused the exit of Bulgaria from the war, and in turn, the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ending the First World War. Between the two wars, in order to maintain the geopolitical status quo in the region after
11872-829: The word popular in Bulgaria, however it is only an unscholarly assertion. The word was used by the Ottomans in Rumelia in its general meaning of mountain, as in Kod̲j̲a-Balkan , Čatal-Balkan , and Ungurus-Balkani̊ , but it was especially applied to the Haemus mountain. The name is still preserved in Central Asia with the Balkan Daglary (Balkan Mountains) and the Balkan Region of Turkmenistan . The English traveler John Bacon Sawrey Morritt introduced this term into English literature at
11984-570: Was done with political reasoning as affirmation for Serbian nationalism on the whole territory of the South Slavs , and also included anthropological and ethnological studies of the South Slavs through which were claimed various nationalistic and racialist theories. Through such policies and Yugoslavian maps the term was elevated to the modern status of a geographical region. The term acquired political nationalistic connotations far from its initial geographic meaning, arising from political changes from
12096-430: Was in a letter sent in 1490 to Pope Innocent VIII by Buonaccorsi Callimaco , an Italian humanist, writer and diplomat. The Ottomans first mention it in a document dated from 1565. There has been no other documented usage of the word to refer to the region before that, although other Turkic tribes had already settled in or were passing through the region. There is also a claim about an earlier Bulgar Turkic origin of
12208-408: Was murdered, Ali Riza succeeded him as the Dedebaba. Despite the negative effect of the ban of lodges on Bektashian culture, most Bektashians in Turkey have been generally supportive of secularism to this day, since these reforms have relatively relaxed the religious intolerance that had historically been shown against them by the official Sunni establishment. In the Balkans the Bektashian order had
12320-593: Was never precise. It is as if one can never receive a definitive answer to the question, "Where does it begin?" For Serbs, it begins down there in Kosovo or Bosnia, and they defend the Christian civilization against this Europe's Other. For Croats, it begins with the Orthodox, despotic, Byzantine Serbia, against which Croatia defends the values of democratic Western civilization. For Slovenes, it begins with Croatia, and we Slovenes are
12432-519: Was spoken prior to the Slavic invasion of the Balkans. During the Early Middle Ages , The Byzantine Empire was the dominant state in the region, both military and culturally. Their cultural strength became particularly evident in the second half of the 9th century when the Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius managed to spread the Byzantine variant of Christianity to the majority of
12544-632: Was the preferred term". In European books printed until late 1800s it was also known as Illyrian Peninsula or Illyrische Halbinsel in German. The term was not commonly used in geographical literature until the mid-19th century because, already then, scientists like Carl Ritter warned that only the part south of the Balkan Mountains could be considered as a peninsula and considered it to be renamed as "Greek peninsula". Other prominent geographers who did not agree with Zeune were Hermann Wagner , Theobald Fischer , Marion Newbigin , and Albrecht Penck , while Austrian diplomat Johann Georg von Hahn , in 1869, for
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