View source for Balkan peninsula

The '''Balkan Peninsula''' is the area of southern [[Europe]] bounded by the [[Adriatic Sea]] and [[Ionian Sea]] to the west, and the [[Black Sea]] and [[Aegean Sea]] to the east. It comprises [[Greece]], the European portion of [[Turkey]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], [[Albania]], [[Macedonia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Montenegro]], [[Croatia]], [[Serbia]], and [[Slovenia]]. It is named after the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. In the early 19th century the Balkan peninsula – or "the [[Balkans]]" for short – was largely part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The subsequent decline of that empire led to the breaking away of smaller independent states, giving rise to the term 'Balkanization'.

==Further reading==
*  Jelavich, Barbara. '' History of the Balkans. Vol. 1, Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries'' (1983) [https://www.amazon.com/History-Balkans-Vol-Eighteenth-Publication/dp/0521274583/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243457844&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
*  Jelavich, Barbara. ''History of the Balkans: vol 2: Twentieth century'' (1983)  476 pages [https://books.google.com/books?id=Hd-or3qtqrsC&dq=intitle:history+intitle:balkans+inauthor:jelavich&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=30&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES excerpt and text search] 
* Ramet, Sabrina Petra. ''Balkan Babel: Politics, Culture, and Religion in Yugoslavia.'' (1992). 230 pp.
* Singleton, Fred. ''A Short History of the Yugoslav Peoples.'' (1985). 309 pp.

==See also==
* [[Yugoslavia]]

[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Balkans]]