صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

and Kiona in Aetolia (8235). Owing to the distribution of the mountain-chains, the principal rivers flow in an easterly or southeasterly direction; the Danube falls into the Black Sea; the Maritza, Mesta, Struma (Strymon), Vardar and Salambria into the Aegean. The only considerable rivers flowing into the Adriatic are the Narenta, Drin and Viossa. The principal lakes are those of Ochrida, Prespa, Scutari and Iennina. The climate is more severe than that of the sister peninsulas, and the temperature is liable to sudden changes. The winter, though short, is often intensely cold, especially in the Danubian plain and in Thrace, the rigorous climate of which is frequently alluded to by the Latin poets. Bitter north-easterly winds prevail in the spring, and snow is not uncommon even in the low-lying districts of Greece. The autumn weather is generally fine and clear,

Geology. Broadly speaking, the Balkan Peninsula may be divided into four areas which geologically are distinct. There is a central region, roughly triangular in shape, with its base resting upon the

ADRIATIC

SEA

MEDITERRANEAN

SEA

ASIA

MINOR

to Scotland. Consequent on the dispute which had broken out between England and France, a council of twelve was appointed to assist him, and it was decided to defy Edward. Englishmen were dismissed from the Scottish court, their fiefs were confiscated, and an alliance was concluded with Philip IV., king of France. War broke out, but Baliol did not take the field in person. Invading Scotland, Edward met with a feeble resistance, and at Brechin. in July 1296 Baliol surrendered his kingdom to Antony Bek, bishop of Durham, as the representative of the English king. About the same time he appeared before Edward at Montrose, and delivered to him a white rod, the feudal token of resignation. With his son, Edward, he was taken a prisoner to England, remaining in captivity until July 1299, when he was released at the request of Pope Boniface VIII. He lived for some time under the pope's supervision, and seems to have passed his remaining days quietly on his French estates. He died in Normandy early in 1315, leaving several children by his wife, Isabel, a daughter of John de Warenne, earl of Surrey (d. 1304).

See Documents and Records illustrating the History of Scotland,edited by F. T. Palgrave (London, 1837); Documents illustrative of the History of Scotland, 1286-1306, edited by J. Stevenson (Edinburgh, 1870); J. H. Burton, History of Scotland, vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 1905); A. Lang, History of Scotland, vol. i. (Edinburgh, 1904); Sír H. Maxwell, Robert the Bruce (London, 1897); Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland, edited by J. Bain (Edinburgh, 1881-1888). Also SCOTLAND: History.

BALIUAG, a town of the province of Bulacán, Luzon, Philippine Islands, on the Quiñgua river, 29 m. (by rail) N.N.W. of Manila. Pop. (1903) 21,008, including the population (7072) of Bustos, which was annexed to Baliuag in that year after the census, was taken. Baliuag is served by an extension of the railway between Manila and Dagupan. It is the trade centre of a fertile agricultural district, and manufactures bamboo hats, silk and native fibre goods.

BALKAN PENINSULA, the most easterly of the three large peninsulas which form the southern extremities of the European continent. Its area, 184,779 sq. m., is about 35,000 sq. m. less than that of the Iberian Peninsula, but more than twice that of the Italian. Its northern boundary stretches from the Kilia mouth of the Danube to the Adriatic Sea near Fiume, and is generally regarded as marked by the courses of the rivers Danube, Save and Kulpa. On the E. it is bounded by the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmora, and the Aegean; on the S. by the Mediterranean; on the W. by the Ionian Sea and the Adriatic. With the exception of the Black Sea coast and the Albanian littoral, its shores are considerably indented and flanked by groups of islands. The Peninsula in its general contour resembles an inverted pyramid or triangle, terminating at its apex in a subsidiary peninsula, the Peloponnesus or Morea. Its surface is almost entirely mountainous, the only extensive plains being those formed by the valleys of the Danube and Maritza, and the basin of Thessaly drained by the Salambria (ancient Peneus). The Danubian plain, lying, for the most part, outside the Peninsula, is enclosed, on the north, by the Carpathians; and on the south by the Balkans, from which the Peninsula derives its name. These ranges form together the great semicircular mountain-chain, known as the anti-Dacian system, through which the Danube finds a passage at the Iron Gates. The other mountain-systems display great complexity of formation; beginning with the Dinaric Alps and the parallel ranges of Bosnia, they run, as a rule, from north-west to south-east; the great chain of Rhodope traverses the centre of the Peninsula, throwing out spurs towards the Black Sea and the Aegean; farther west are the lofty Shar Dagh and the mountains of Montenegro and Albania, continued by the Pindus range and the heights of Acarnania and Aetolia. The principal summits are Olympus (9794 ft.), overlooking the Gulf of Salonica; Musallá (0631) and Popova Shapka (8855), both in the Rhodope system; Liubotrn in the Shar Dagh (8989); Elin, in the Perin Planina (8794); Belmeken in southern Bulgaria (chain of Dospat, 8562); Smolika in the Pindus range (8445); Dormitor in northern Montenegro (8294); Kaimakchalan in central Macedonia (8255)

English Miles

100 15

Quaternary

Tertiary

Cretaceous. Includes Triacs
Jurassic not get sepurately
defined

Jurassic

Triassic

HER Carboniferous

Arcbaran & Metamorphic

Emery Walker Sh

Plutonic Rocks
Volcanic Rocha

• Active Volcanoes

Aegean Sea and its apex in Servia. On two sides this area is bordered by belts of folded beds which form on the west the mountain ranges of the Adriatic and Ionian coasts, and on the north the chain of the Balkans. Finally, beyond the Balkans lies the great Rumanian depression, occupied chiefly by undisturbed Cretaceous and Tertiary strata. The central region, although wedged in between two belts of folding, is not affected by the folds of either, excepting near its margins. It consists largely of crystalline and schistose rocks. The core is formed by the mountain masses of Rhodope, Belasitza, Perin and Rila; and here Palaeozoic and Mesozoic beds are absent, and the earliest sedimentary deposits belong to the Tertiary period and lie flat upon the crystalline rocks. Upon the margins, however, Cretaceous beds are found. The eastern parts of Greece are composed almost entirely of Cretaceous beds, but nevertheless they must be considered to belong to the central area, for the folds which affect them are nearly at right angles to those of the western chains. In general, however, the central area is one of faulting rather than of folding, and the sedimentary beds sometimes lie in troughs formed by faults. Extensive volcanic outbursts occurred in this region during the Tertiary period. In the western folded bell the strike of the folds is N.W.-S.E., or N.N.W.-S.S.E. There are many local irregularities, but the general direction is maintained as far as the southern extremity of Greece, where the folds show a tendency to curve towards Crete. In the north, Carboniferous beds are present, and the Trias and the Jura take a considerable part in the formation of the chain. The Sarmatian beds are also involved in the folds, indicating that the folding was not completed till Pliocene times. In the south, the older beds disappear and the whole chain is formed chiefly of Cre taceous beds, though Eocene and probably Jurassic rocks are

present. The Eocene beds are folded, but the marginal Pliocene |
beds are not, and the final folding seems to have taken place during
the Miocene period. (For the Balkans, see BULGARIA.)
Area and Population-The following figures show the area and
population of the various political divisions of the Balkan Peninsula
in 1909; see also the articles on the separate countries.

Political Divisions.

Croatia-Slavonia (south of the Save and Kulpa)

appeared in the rest of Greece, almost entirely in Servia; and it continues to decrease in Bulgaria notwithstanding the efforts of the authorities to check emigration. It is howhere found in compact masses except in north-eastern Bulgaria and the region between Adrianople, the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmora. Elsewhere it appears in separate villages and Pop. per isolated districts, or in the larger towns and their immediate neighbourhood. The total Turkish population of the Peninsula scarcely exceeds 1,800,000. The Slavonic population, including the Serbo-Croats and Bulgars, is by far the most numerous; its total aggregate exceeds 10,000,000. The majority of the Serbo-Croats left their homes among the Carpathians and settled in the Balkan Peninsula in the 7th century. The distinction between the Serbs of the more central region and the Croats of the north-west, was first drawn by the early Byzantine chroni clers, and was well established by the 12th cen. tury: It does not correspond with any valid linguistic or racial difference; but in the course of

1

Area in sq. m.

Pop. in 1909.

sq. m.

(about) 8,200

(about) 1,200,000

Servia

18,782

2.493.770

Bulgaria (with Eastern Rumelia)

37.240

4,028,239

The Dobrudja (Rumania)

5.896

258,242

Dalmatia (Austria)

[blocks in formation]

146-3 132-2 88. 43.9 120-I

Montenegro

[blocks in formation]

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austria

Hungary)

19,696

1.568,092

Sanjak of Novibazar (Turkish)

2,840'

153,000

Albania, Macedonia and other

Turkish possessions.

62.744

Greece

24.400

187.976

70-9 53.5 5,812,300 92-6 2,631,952 107.8 19.048.756 101-3

For full details as to the physical features, natural products, | time a strong religious difference arose. Along the Croatian and population, customs, trade, finance, government, religion, education, Language, literature, antiquities, history, politics, &c., of the Balkan lands, see ALBANIA, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, BULGARIA, CROATIA-SLAVONIA, DALMATIA, DOBRUDJA, GREECE, ILLYRIA, MACEDONIA, MONTENEGRO, NOVIBAZAR, SERVIA and TURKEY. Races.-The Peninsula is inhabited by a great variety of races, whose ethnological limits are far from corresponding with the existing political boundaries. The Turkish population, descended in part from the Ottoman invaders of the 14th and 15th centuries,

The Balkan

Peninsula

Distribution

of Races.be

Tarts

Morea

ylvania

BULGAR

The Lig telde Crete

Constantinople

ASIA

Smyrna
MINOR

in part from colonists introduced at various epochs from Asia by
the Turkish government, declined considerably during the 19th
century, especially in the countries withdrawn from the sultan's
authority. It is diminishing in Thessaly; it has entirely dis-

Dalmatian coast there existed a well-developed Latin civiliza tion, which was sustained by constant intercourse with Italy; and, under its influence, the Serbo-Croatian immigrants were converted to the Roman Catholic Church. In the wild and mountainous interior, however, the Byzantine Church had few or no rivals and the Orthodox creed prevailed. The Orthodox Serbs inhabit the kingdom of Servia, Old Servia (or Novibazar and north-western Macedonia), Montenegro, Herzegovina and parts of Bosnia. The Roman Catholic Croats predominate in Dalmatia, north-western Bosnia and Croatia-Slavonia. Montenegro, like the other mountainous regions, adhered to the Greek Church; it received a number of Orthodox Servian refugees at the beginning of the 15th century, when the Turks occupied Servia. The numbers of the Serbo-Croats may be estimated at about 5,600,000. The Bulgars, who descend from a fusion of the Slavonic element with a later Ugro-Finnish immigration, inhabit the kingdom of Bulgaria (including Eastern Rumelia), parts of the Dobrudja and the greater part of Macedonia, except Old Servia and the Aegean littoral. Apart from their colonies in Bessarabia and elsewhere, they may be reckoned at 4.400,000. Only a portion of the widely-spread Ruman or Vlach race, which extends over a great part of Transylvania, south Hungary and Bessarabia, as well as the Rumanian kingdom, falls within the limits of the Peninsula. It is found in numerous detached settlements in Macedonia, Albania and northern Greece, and in colonies of recent date in Servia and Bulgaria. The nomad Vlachs or Tzintzars of these countries call themselves Arumâni or "Romans"; they are a remnant of the native Latinized population which received an increase from the immigration of Daco-Roman refugees, who fled southwards during the 3rd century, after the abandonment of Dacia by Aurelian. (See VLACHS.) The entire Ruman population of the Balkan countries may be set down approximately at 600,000. The Albanians, who call themselves Skkupetar or Arber, ate the representatives of the primitive Illyrian population; they inhabit the Adriatic littoral from the southern frontier of Montenegro to the northern boundary of Greece, in which country they are found in considerable numbers. They have shown a tendency to advance in a north-easterly direction towards the Servian frontier, and the movement has been encouraged for political reasons by the Turkish government. The whole Albanian nation possibly numbers from 1,500,000 to 1,600,000. The Greeks, whose immigration from Asia Minor took place in pre-historic times, are, next to the Albanians, the oldest race in the Peninsula. Their maritime and commercial instincts have led them from the earliest times to found settlements on the sea-coast and the islands. They inhabit the Black Sea littoral from Varna to the Bosporus, the shores of the Sea of Marmora and the Aegean, the Acgean archipelago, the mainland of Greece, Epirus and the western islands as far north as Corfu. In Constantinople they

[graphic]

probably exceed 300,000. They are seldom found in large | nacular. Albanian, the only surviving remnant of the ancient numbers at any great distance from the sea, and usually conThraco-Illyrian speech, affords an interesting study to philologists, It undoubtedly belongs to the Indo-European family, but its carlier gregate in the principal towns and commercial centres, such as forms cannot, unfortunately, be ascertained owing to the absence Adrianople, Constantza, Varna and Philippopolis; there are of literary monuments. Certain remarkable analogies between also detached colonies at Melnik, Stanimaka, Kavakly, Niegush Albanian and the other languages of the Peninsula, especially and elsewhere. The Greek inhabitants of the Peninsula and Bulgarian and Rumanian, have been supposed to point to the adjacent islands probably number 4,500,000. The remainder immigrant races. influence exercised by the primitive speech upon the idioms of the of the population is for the most part composed of Armenians, Jews and gipsies. The Armenians, like the Greeks, congregate in the principal centres of trade, especially at Constantinople; their numbers were greatly reduced by the massacres of 1896. The Jews are most numerous at Salonica where they form half the population. The gipsies are scattered widely throughout the Peninsula; they are found not only in wandering troops, as elsewhere in Europe, but in settlements or cantonments in the neighbourhood of towns and villages.

Religions. Owing to the numerous conversions to Islam which followed the Turkish conquest, the Mahommedan population of the Peninsula is largely in excess of the purely Turkish element. More than half the Albanian nation and 35% of the inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the creed of the conquering race. Among the Bulgars and Greeks the conversions were less numerous. The Bulgarian Mahommedans, or Pomaks, who inhabit the valleys of Rhodope and certain districts in northern Bulgaria, are numerically insignificant; the Greek followers of Islam are almost confined to Crete. The whole Moslem population of the Peninsula is about 3,300,000. The great bulk of the Christian population belongs to the Orthodox Church, of which the oecumenical patriarch at Constantinople is the nominal head, having precedence over all other ecclesiastical dignitaries. The Bulgarian, Servian, Montenegrin and Greek churches are, however, in reality autocephalous. The Bulgarian church enjoys an exceptional position, inasmuch as its spiritual chief, the exarch, who resides at Constantinople, controls the Bulgarian prelates in European Turkey as well as those in the kingdom of Bulgaria. On the other hand, the Greek prelates in Bulgaria are subject to the patriarch. Religious and political questions are intimately connected in eastern Europe. The heads of the various religious communities are the only representatives of the Christian population recognized by the Turkish government; they possess a seat in the local administrative councils and supervise the Christian schools. The efforts of the several branches of the Orthodox Church to obtain a separate organization in the Turkish dominions are to be attributed exclusively to political motives, as no difference of dogma divides them. The Serbo-Croats of Dalmatia, and Croatia-Slavonia, some of the Gheg tribes in Albania, about 21% of the Bosnians, a still smaller number of Bulgarians in the kingdom and in Macedonia and a few Greeks in the islands belong to the Roman Catholic Church. A certain number of Bulgars at Kukush in Macedonia and elsewhere form a "uniate "church, which accepts the authority and dogma of Rome, but preserves the Orthodox rite and discipline. The Armenians are divided between the Gregorian and Uniate-Armenian churches, each under a patriarch. The other Christian confessions are numerically inconsiderable. The Gagauzi in Eastern Bulgaria a Turanian and Turkish-speaking race, profess Christianity.

Languages.-Until comparatively recent times Turkish and Greek were the only languages systematically taught or officially recognized in the Balkan lands subject to Turkish rule. The first, the speech of the conquering race, was the official language; the second, owing to the intellectual and literary superiority of the Greeks, their educational zeal and the privileges acquired by their church, became the language of the upper classes among the Christians. The Slavonic masses, however, both Servian and Bulgarian, preserved their language, which saved these nationalities from extinction. The Servian dialect extending into regions which escaped the Turkish yoke, enjoyed certain advantages denied to the Bulgarian: in free Montenegro the first Slavonic printing-press was founded in 1493; at Ragusa, a century later, Servian literature attained a high degree of excellence. Bulgarian, for nearly four centuries, ceased to be a written language except in a few monasteries; a literary revival, which began about the middle of the 18th century, was the first symptom of returning national consciousness. The Servian, Bulgarian and Rumanian languages have borrowed largely from the Turkish in their vocabularies, but not in their structural forms, and have adopted many words from the Greek. Modern Greek has also a large number of Turkish words which are rejected in the artificial literary language. The revival of the various Balkan nationalities was in every case accompanied or preceded by a literary movement; in Servian literature, under the influence of Obradovich and Vuk Karajich, the popular idiom, notwithstanding the opposition of the priesthood, superseded the ecclesiastical RussianSlavonic; in Bulgaria the eastern dialect, that of the Sredna Gora, prevailed. Among the Greeks, whose literature never suffered a complete eclipse, a similar effort to restore the classical tongue resulted in a kind of compromise; the conventional literary language, which is neither ancient nor modern, differs widely from the ver

History. The great Slavonic immigration, which changed the ethnographic face of the Peninsula, began in the 3rd century A.D. and continued at intervals throughout the following four centuries. At the beginning of this movement the Byzantine empire was in actual or nominal possession of all the regions south of the Danube; the greater part of the native ThracoIllyrian population of the interior had been romanized and spoke Latin. The Thracians, the progenitors of the Vlachs, took refuge in the mountainous districts and for some centuries disappeared from history: originally an agricultural people, they became nomad shepherds. In Albania the aboriginal Illyrian element, which preserved its ancient language, maintained itself in the mountains and eventually forced back the immigrant race. The Greeks, who occupied the maritime and southern regions, were driven to the sea-coast, the islands and the fortified towns. Slavonic place-names, still existing in every portion of the Peninsula, bear witness to the multitude of the invaders and the permanency of their settlements. In the 6th century the Slavs penetrated to the Morea, where a Slavonic dialect was spoken down to the middle of the 15th century. In the 7th the Serbo-Croats invaded the north-western regions (Croatia, Servia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro and northern Albania); they expelled or assimilated the Illyrian population, now represented in Dalmatia by the slavonized Morlachs or Mavro-Vlachs, and appropriated the old Roman colonies on the Adriatic coast. At the end of the 7th century the Bulgars, a Turanian race, crossed the Danube and subjected the Slavonic inhabitants of Moesia and Thrace, but were soon assimilated by the conquered population, which had already become partly civilized. Under their tsar Krum (802-815) the Bulgars invaded the districts of Adrianople and central Macedonia; under Simeon (893-927), who fixed his capital at Preslav, their empire extended from the Adriatic to the Black Sea. In 971, John Zimisces, but Bulgarian power was soon revived under the "the first Bulgarian empire" was overthrown by the emperor Shishman dynasty at Ochrida. In 1014 Tsar Samuel of Ochrida, who had conquered the greater part of the Peninsula, was defeated at Belasitza by the Greek emperor Basil II., and the

"

western Bulgarian empire" came to an end. In the 10th century the Vlachs reappear as an independent power in Southern Macedonia and the Pindus district, which were known as Great Walachia (Meyáλn Blaxia). The Serbs, who owing to the dissensions of their zhupans or chicfs, had hitherto failed to take a prominent part in the history of the Peninsula, attained unity under Stephen Nemanya (1169-1195), the founder of the Nemanyich dynasty. A new Bulgarian power, known as the "second or "Bulgaro-Vlach empire," was founded at Trnovo in 1186 under the brothers Ivan and Peter Asen, who led a revolt of Vlachs and Bulgars against the Greeks. In 1204 Constantinople of Flanders was crowned emperor; the Venetians acquired was captured by the Latins of the Fourth Crusade, and Baldwin several maritime towns and islands, and Frankish feudal dynasties were established in Salonica, Athens, Achaea and elsewhere. Greek rule, however, survived in the despotate of Epirus under princes of the imperial house of the Angeli. The Latin tenure of Constantinople lasted only 57 years; the imperial city was recaptured in 1261 by Michael VIII. Palaeologus, but most of the feudal Latin states continued to exist till the Turkish con. quest; the Venetians retained their possessions for several centuries later and waged continual wars with the Turks. In 1230 Theodore of Epirus, who had conquered Albania, Great Walachia and Macedonia, was overthrown at Klokotnitza by Ivan Asên II., the greatest of Bulgarian monarchs (1218-1241), who defeated Baldwin at Adrianople and extended his sway over most of the Peninsula. The Bulgarian power declined after

his death and was extinguished at the battle of Velbûzhd (1330), by the Servians under Stephen Urosh III. A short period of Servian predominancè followed under Stephen Dushan (13311355) whose realm included Albania, Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly and northern Greece. The Servian incursion was followed by a great Albanian emigration to the southern regions of the Peninsula. After Dushan's death his empire disappeared, and Servia fell a prey to anarchy. For a short time the Bosnians, under their king Stephen Tvrtko (1353-1391), became the principal power in the west of the Peninsula. The disorganization and internecine feuds of the various states prepared the way for the Ottoman invasion. In 1356 the Turks seized Gallipoli; in 1361 the sultan Murad I. established his capital at Adrianople; in 1389 the fate of the Slavonic states was decided by the rout of the Servians and their allies at Kossovo. The last remnant of Bulgarian national existence disappeared with the fall of Trnovo in 1393, and Great Walachia was conquered in the same year. Under Mahommed II. (1451-1481) the Turks completed the conquest of the Peninsula. The despotate of Epirus succumbed in 1449, the duchy of Athens in 1456; in 1453 Constantinople was taken and the decrepit Byzantine empire perished; the greater part of Bosnia submitted in 1463; the heroic resistance of the Albanians under Scanderbeg collapsed with the fall of Croia (1466), and Venetian supremacy in Upper Albania ended with the capture of Scutari (1478). Only the mountain stronghold of Montenegro and the Italian city-states on the Adriatic coast escaped subjection. In the 16th century under Solyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) the Ottoman power attained its greatest height; after the unsuccessful siege of Vienna (1683) it began to decline. The period of decadence was marked in the latter half of the 18th century by the formation of practically independent pashaliks or fiefs, such as those of Scutari under Mahommed of Bushat, Iannina under Ali of. Tepelen, and Viden. under Pasvan-oglu. The detachment of the outlying portions of the empire followed. Owing to the uncompromising character of the Mahommedan religion and the contemptuous attitude of the dominant race, the subject nationalities underwent no process of assimilation during the four centuries of Turkish rule; they retained not only their language but their religion, manners and peculiar characteristics, and when the power of the central authority waned they still possessed the germs of a national existence. The independence of Greece was acknowledged in 1829, that of Servia (as a tributary principality) in 1830. No territorial changes within the Peninsula followed the Crimean War; but the continuance of the weakened authority of the Porte tended indirectly to the independent development of the various nationalities. The Ionian Islands were ceded by Great Britain to Greece in 1864. The great break-up.came in 1878. The abortive treaty of San Stefano, concluded in that year, reduced the Turkish possessions in the Peninsula to Albania, Epirus, Thessaly and a portion of southern Thrace. A large Bulgarian principality was created extending from the Danube to the Aegean and from the Black Sea to the river Drin in Albania; it received a considerable coast-line on the Aegean and abutted on the Gulf of Salonica under the walls of that town. At the same time the frontiers of Servia and Montenegro were enlarged so as to become almost contiguous, and Montenegro received the ports of Antivari and Dulcigno on the Adriatic. From a strategical point of view the Bulgaria of the San Stefano treaty threatened Salonica, Adrianople and Constantinople itself; and the great powers, anticipating that the new state would become a Russian dependency, refused their sanction to its provisions. The treaty of Berlin followed, which limited the principality to the country between the Danube and the Balkans, created the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia south of the Balkans, and left the remainder of the proposed Bulgarian state under Turkish rule. The Montenegrin frontier laid down at San Stefano was considerably curtailed, Dulcigno, the district north-east of the Tara, and other territories being restored to Turkey; in addition to Nish, Servia received the districts of Pirot and Vranya on the east instead of the Ibar valley on the

west; the Dobrudja, somewhat enlarged, was ceded to Rumania' which surrendered southern Bessarabia to Russia. Bosnia and Herzegovina were handed over to Austrian administration; under a subsequent convention with Turkey, Austria sent troops into the sanjak of Novibazar. The complete independence of the principalities of Servia, Rumania and Montenegro was recognized. The claims of Greece, ignored at San Stefano, were admitted at Berlin; an extension of frontier, including Epirus as well as Thessaly, was finally sanctioned by the powers in 1880, but owing to the tenacious resistance of Turkey only Thessaly and the district of Arta were acquired by Greece in 1881. Rumania was proclaimed a kingdom in that year, Servia in 1882. In 1880, after a naval demonstration by the powers, Dulcigno was surrendered to Montenegro in compensation for the districts of Plava and Gusinye restored to Turkey. In 1886 the informal union of Eastern Rumelia with Bulgaria was sanctioned by Europe, the districts of Tumrush (Rhodope) and Krjali being given back to the sultan. In 1897 Crete was withdrawn from Turkish administration, and the Greco-Turkish War of that year was followed by the cession to Turkey of a few strategical points on the Thessalian frontier. In 1908 Bosnia and Herzegovina were annexed to the Dual Monarchy, and Bulgaria (including Eastern Rumelia) was proclaimed an independent kingdom.

The growth and development of the Balkan nations have, to a great extent, been retarded by the international jealousies arising from the Eastern Question. The possibility of A Balkan the young states entering into a combination which confedera would enable them to offer a united resistance to tion. foreign interference while simultaneously effecting a compromise in regard to their national aims, has at various times occupied the attention of Balkan politicians. Among the earliest advocates of this idea was Ristich, the Servian statesman. During the reaction against Russia which followed the war of 1877 informal discussions were conducted with this object, and it was even suggested that a reformed or constitutional Turkey might find a place in the confederation. The movement was favourably regarded by King Charles of Rumania and Prince Alexander of Bulgaria. But the revolt of Eastern Rumelia, followed by the Servo-Bulgarian War and the coercion of Greece by the powers, embittered the rivalry of the various races, and the project was laid aside. It was revived in a somewhat modified form in 1891 by Tricoupis, who suggested an offensive alliance of the Balkan states, directed against Turkey and aiming at a partition of the Sultan's possessions in Europe. The scheme, which found favour in Servia, was frustrated by the opposition of Stamboloff, who denounced it to the Porte. In 1897 a Bulgarian proposal for joint pacific action with a view to obtaining reforms in Macedonia was rejected by Greece.

"

AUTHORITIES.-Special bibliographies are appended to the separate articles which deal with the various political divisions of the Peninsula. For a general description of the whole region, its inhabitants, political problems, &c., see Odysseus," Turkey in Europe (London, 1900), a work of exceptional interest and value. Miller, Travels and Politics in the Near East (London, 1898); L. See also The Balkan Question, ed. L. Villari (London, 1905); W. Lamouche, La Péninsule balkanique (Paris, 1899); H. C. Thomson, The Outgoing Turk (London, 1897); T. Joanne, Etats du Danube et. des Balkans (Paris, 1895); R. Millet, Souvenirs des Balkans (Paris, 1891); V. Cambon, Autour des Balkans (Paris, 1890); P. J. Hamard, Par delà l'Adriatique et les Balkans (Paris, 1890); E. de Laveleye, La Péninsule des Balkans (Brussels; 1886). For geology see F. Toula, "Materialien zu einer Geologie der Balkan-halbinsel," Jahr. k.-k. geol. Reichsanst. (Vienna, vol. xxxiii. 1883), pp. 61-114; A. Bittnel. (1880); A. Philippson, Der Peloponnes (Berlin, 1892); J. Cvijić, M. Neumayr, &c., Denks. k. Akad. Wiss. Wien, math.-nat. Cl., vol. xl. Die Tektonik der Balkanhalbinsel," C. R. IX. Cong. géol. inter. Vienne, pp. 347-370 (1904). For the condition of the Peninsula before the Treaty of Berlin, see E. Rüffer, Die Balkanhalbinsel und ihre Volker (Bautzen, 1869); Mackenzie and Irby, Travels in the Slavonic Provinces of Turkey (London, 1866); and A. Boué, La Turquie d'Europe (Paris, 1840). W. Miller, The Balkans (London, 1896), sketches the history of Bulgaria, Montenegro, Rumania and Servia. See also Sir E. Hertslet, The Map of Europe by Treaty, esp. A Balkan Convol. iv. (London, 1875-1891); J. D. Bourchier, the Austrian and Russian staff maps, and the ethnographical maps federation," in the Fortnightly Review (London, September 1891); of Kiepert and Peucker. J. D. B.)

BALKASH, or BALKHASH (called by the Kirghiz Ak-denghis or Ala-denghiz and by the Chinese Si-hai), a lake of Asiatic Russia, in the Kirghiz steppes, between the governments of Semipalatinsk and Semiryechensk, in 45° to 47° N. and 73° 30′ to 79° E., about 600 m. to the east of Lake Aral. It is fourth in size of the lakes in Eurasia, having an area of 7115 sq. m., and lies at an altitude of goo ft. It has the shape of a broad crescent, about 430 m. long from W.S.W. to E.N.E., having its concave side turned southwards; its width varies from 36 to 53 m. Its north-western shore is bordered by a dreary plateau, known as the Famine Steppe (Bek-pak-dala). The south-east shore, on the contrary, is low, and bears traces of having extended formerly as far as the Sasyk-kul and the Ala-kul. The Kirghiz in 1903 declared that its surface had been rising steadily during the preceding ten years, though prior to that it was dropping. The chief feeder of the lake is the Ili, which rises in the Khantengri group of the Tian-shan Mountains. The Karatal, the Aksu and the Lepsa also enter from the south-east, and the Ayaguz from the north-east. The first three rivers make their way with difficulty through the sands and reeds, which at a quite recent time were covered by the lake. Although it has no outlet, its waters are relatively fresh. It.freezes generally from November to April. Its greatest depth, 35 ft., is along the north-west shore. The fauna of the lake and of its tributaries -explored by Nikolsky-is more akin to the fauna of the rivers of the Tarim basin than to that of the Aral; it also does not contain the common frog. It seems, therefore, probable that Lake Balkash stood formerly in communication through lakes Ebi-nor and Ayar (Telli-nor) with the lake that formerly filled the Lukchun depression (in 894° E. long. and 42° N. lat.), but researches show that a connexion with Lake Aral-at least in recent times-was improbable. The lake has been investigated by L. S. Berg (see Petermanns Mitteilungen, 1903).

The antiquity and greatness of the place are recognized by the native populations, who speak of it as the Mother of Cities. Its foundation is mythically ascribed to Kaiomurs, the Persian Romulus; and it is at least certain that, at a very carly date, it was the rival of Ecbatana, Nineveh and Babylon. For a long time the city and country was the central seat of the Zoroastrian religion, the founder of which is said to have died within the walls. From the Memoirs of Hsuan Tsang, we learn that, at the time of his visit in the 7th century, there were in the city, or its vicinity, about a hundred Buddhist convents, with 3000 devotees, and that there was a large number of stupas, and other religious monuments. The most remarkable was the Nau Behar, Nova | Bihara or New Convent, which possessed a very costly statue of Buddha. A curious notice of this building is found in the Arabian geographer Yaqût. Ibn-Haukal, an Arabian traveller of the roth century, describes Balkh as built of clay, with ramparts and six gates, and extending half a parasang. He also mentions à castle and a mosque. Idrisi, in the 12th century, speaks of its possessing a variety of educational establishments, and carrying on an active trade. There were several important commercial routes from the city, stretching as far cast as India and China. In 1220 Jenghiz Khan sacked Balkh, butchered its inhabitants and levelled all the buildings capable of defence,treatment to which it was again subjected in the 14th century by Timur. Notwithstanding this, however, Marco Polo can still, in the following century, describe it as " a noble city and a great." Balkh formed the government of Aurangzeb in his youth. In 1736 it was conquered by Nadir Shah. Under the Durani monarchy.it fell into the hands of the Afghans; it was conquered by Shah Murad of Kunduz in 1820, and for some time was subject to the khan of Bokhara. In 1850 Mahommed Akram Khan, Barakzai, captured Balkh, and from that time it remained under Afghan rule.

See Hsuan Tsang, tr. by Julien, vol. i. pp. 29-32: Burnes's Travels in Bokhara (1831-1833); Ferrier's Travels; Vambery's Bokhara (1873); Report of the Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission (T. H. H.*) of 1884-1885.

BALKH, a city of Afghanistan, about 100 m. E. of Andkhui and some 46 m. S. of the Oxus. The city, which is identical with the ancient Bactra or Zainaspa, is now for the most part a mass of ruins, situated on the right bank of the Balkh river, 1200 ft. above the sea. It comprises about 500 houses of Afghan BALL, SIR ALEXANDER JOHN, Bart. (1759-1809), British settlers, a colony of Jews and a small bazaar, set in the midst rear-admiral and governor of Malta, came of a Gloucestershire of a waste of ruins and many acres of débris. Entering by the family. He entered the navy, and in 1778 was promoted west (or Akcha) gate, one passes under three arches, which are lieutenant. Three years later began a close association with probably the remnants of a former Jama Masjid. The outer Rodney, and, two days after his chief's crowning victory of walls (mostly in utter disrepair) are about 6 to 7 m. in April 12, 1782, Ball was promoted commander, and in 1783 he perimeter, and on the south-eastern borders are set high on a became captain. At this time he spent a year in France with the mound or rampart, indicating a Mongol origin. The fort and double purpose of learning the language and living economically. citadel to the north-east are built well above the town on a barren Nelson, then a captain, was at this time by no means favourably mound and are walled and moated. There is, however, little impressed by his future friend and comrade, and spoke of him as left but the remains of a few pillars. The Masjid Sabz, with a "great coxcomb." It was not until 1790 that Ball received a its green-tiled dome, is said to be the tomb of a Khwaja, Abul command. From that year, however, he was continuously Narsi Parsar. Nothing but the arched entrance remains of the employed. In 1798, assistance rendered by him to Nelson's ship Madrasa, which is traditionally not very old. The earlier in heavy weather caused the latter to forget his former animosity, Buddhist constructions have proved more durable than the and from that time the two were close friends. Under Nelson's Mahommedan buildings. The Top-i-Rustam is 50 yds. in command Ball took part in the battle of the Nile, and his ship, diameter at the base and 30 yds. at the top, circular and about the "Alexander," was the particular opponent of Brueys' flagship, 50 ft. high. Four circular vaults are sunk in the interior and "L'Orient," which blew up. Two months later he was ordered four passages have been pierced below from the outside, which to the blockade of Malta, which was kept up without a break for probably lead to them. The base of the building is constructed the next two years. Ball committed the blockade to his first of sun-dried bricks about 2 ft. square and 4 or 5 in. thick, lieutenant, and himself led the marines and local militia, which The Takht-i-Rustam is wedge-shaped in plan, with uneven sides. made the siege on the land side. His care for his men laid the It is apparently built of pisé mud (i.e. mud mixed with straw and foundations of his popularity with the Maltese which continued puddled). It is possible that in these ruins we may recognize till his death. After the fall of Malta, Ball practically retired from the Nan Vihara of the Chinese traveller Hsüan Tsang. There the service, in spite of Nelson's urgent entreaty that he should are the remains of many other topes (or stupas) in the neigh- continue afloat, and from 1801 (when he was made a baronet) to bourhood. The mounds of ruins on the road to Mazar-i-1809 he was governor of Malta, where he endeared himself to the Sharif probably represent the site of a city yet older than those on which stands the modern Balkh. The town is garrisoned by a few hundred kasidars, the regular troops of Afghan Turkestan being cantoned at Takhtapul, near Mazari-Sharif. The gardens to the north-east contain a caravanserai, which is fairly well kept and comfortable. It forms one side of a courtyard, which is shaded by a group of magnificent chenar trees.

people by his regard for their interests, and his opposition to the policy of treating the island as a conquered dependency. His friendship with Lord Nelson, whose letters prove his high regard for him, was only broken by death. Ball died on the 20th of October 1809 and was buried in Malta. Sir Alexander Ball was kind to Coleridge and is highly praised by him in The Friend, "The Third Landing Place." There are numerous mentions of Ball in Nelson's Despatches, in Sir H. Nicolas' edition.

« السابقةمتابعة »