Alexander the Great is hailed as one of the most successful military leaders in history
- unifying a vast expanse of land from Greece to Egypt and India.
He was born in 356 BC in the Kingdom of Macedon [Ma-se-don].
But today that region, is disputed.
The Republic of Macedonia and the REGION of Macedonia in Greece, have been fighting about
the true borders of the Macedonian region - and where Alexander the Great was born - for
decades.
So what’s the deal here?
Why do Macedonia and Greece hate each other?
Well, first let’s clear up the obvious confusion here.
There are TWO places that identify themselves as “Macedonian”.
One is just a REGION of Greece, and one is an actual country with the official name:
“the Republic of Macedonia”.
These two places share a similar historical affiliation with the ancient kingdom of Macedon,
where Alexander the Great was born.
People who affiliate themselves with Macedonian culture in both the region and the republic
have their own unique language and traditions.
Many view the state border between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, as an illegal
partition of their people.
On the other hand, Greece and other nations refuse to acknowledge an independent Macedonian
identity.
They claim that what is Macedonian is actually Greek - or Albanian, or Bulgarian - depending
on the country.
Greeks have viewed Macedonia as a part of their empire for a long time, and much of
their history is interrelated.
After the Balkan Wars in 1913, Greece officially acquired the entire Macedonian region.
But they lost part of their territory during the World Wars to what later became Yugoslavia.
The lost territory was known as the Republic of Macedonia.
Today, the politically stronger Greece, has barred the poorer country of Macedonia from
joining organizations like the EU and NATO - mostly over the name dispute.
In fact, Greece is the reason the country must internationally call itself the “FORMER
YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC of Macedonia.”
According to Greek officials, using the name “Macedonia” for another country “ implies
territorial ambitions toward Greece's own northern province of Macedonia”.
Greece also has a history of repressing Macedonian culture - or denying that it exists - in order
to better unify their own nation.
Even now, the Macedonian language is not permitted in Greek media, education, or public life.
There, it’s considered a Greek dialect instead of a separate Slav language.
But Macedonia has been pushing back against Greek dominance.
In the early 2000’s, they challenged Greece’s claim on Alexander the Great by renaming their
airport in his honor, and erecting a huge statue of him in their capital.
They also sued Greece in 2008 for disallowing them access to NATO.
They won their lawsuit, but, tensions have not improved between the two countries in
the past few decades.
Other nations, like Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania and Kosovo, also have trouble accepting Macedonians
as a separate ethnicity.
This is partially why the Balkan Peninsula remains a politically volatile area to this
day.
Greece’s relationship with Turkey is another complicated one, marred with history and ethnic
conflict.
To learn about how this plays out on the Island of Cyprus, check out our video here.
Thanks for watching TestTube!
Don’t forget to subscribe!