An examination of the Balkan region probes the history behind the hatred tearing the region apart, traveling back seven centuries to explore the roots of ethnic strife in Southeastern Europe.

"In The Balkan Wars, Andre Gerolymatos explores how ancient events engendered nationalist and cultural myths that evolved over time, gaining psychic strength in the collective consciousnesses of the Balkan peoples. In riveting and sometimes graphic detail, this book shows that violence and terror have had plenty of precedence in the region.

Gerolymatos introduces us to key figures who have played a hand in the shaping of the cultural and ethnic landscape of the Balkans, beginning with Sultan Murad I, Prince Lazar, and Milos Obolic, the legendary trinity of the Battle of Kosovo that inspired countless generations of Serbian resistance and vengeance. We also meet the nameless individuals who did the real work of rebellion and revolution, such as the Greek klephts, ruthless mountain bandits who became romantic symbols of freedom and patriotism during the 19th century - despite having plundered and terrorized the Balkan countryside for centuries prior to the Greek War of Independence of the 1820s.

And in a chilling account of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, 1914, the 525th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, we learn the inside story of the Archduke's fateful visit and the conspirators who awaited him.".

"Gerolymatos gives the characters in this historical drama a human face, and in doing so brings the events of long ago into the sharp focus of current events. His lively survey of centuries of strife finally provides a long-overdue account of the origins of ethnic hatred and warmongering in this turbulent land."--BOOK JACKET.