| − | 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'. | + | 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'. |