Macedonian National Holiday Saint Clemens of Ohrid 2007
08.12.2007 - Celebrating the Macedonian national holiday in the Republic of Macedonia to honour the first medieval Macedonian Bishop, scholar and writer, Saint Clemens of Ohrid/ Kliment Ohridski (ca. 840-916).
The principle written testimonies to Clement's life are his hagiography known as Comprehensive, by Archbishop Theophilact of Ohrid, written at the end of the 11th century, and the Prologue by Demetrius Chomatianus, an Ohrid archbishop of the l3th century. Both are written in Ecclesiastical Greek. As to the life of Nahum, Clement's companion and brother-in-faith, it is most thoroughly, though still scantily, dealt with in his two Slavonic Hagiographies which remained unknown until the end of the last century. According to the written documents, the faithful disciples of Cyril and Methodius, the godly and righteous Clement, Nahum, Gorazd, Angelarius and Sava, were of equal learning and maturity as apostles. Methodius had been preparing Gorazd to be his successor, but destiny decided otherwise. Clement and the rest of the exiles, following the Danube via Singidunum (Belgrade) reached Pliska and the court of the Bulgarian Prince Boris-Michael. Having long wished for his own clerical elite, the latter gave the exhausted newcomers a warm welcome. After a few months Clement was appointed to Ohrid, Devol and Glavenica to preach the gospel and introduce the Slavonic alphabet to the flock there. Nahum stayed in the Monastery of St. Panteleimon near Preslav teaching the monks and instructing them in the Gospel.
Seven years later in 893, after the coronation of Simeon, Clement was summoned to Kutmicevica and to the new capital, Preslav. Simeon - one of the most educated spirits of the time, a child of the Great School - immediately summoned a council at which Clement was probably also present. It was expected that Clement would be given the position of the prince's royal counselor and assistant. This, however, did not happen. The reformation of the alphabet and the introduction of the Cyrillic (knigi - letters), apparently attenuated the relationship between the Ohrid apostle and the prince, who was later to become the Bulgarian czar. Clement was appointed to a peripheral province of the state, the Velicka bishopric. This appointment somewhat resembles a reproach, a distancing. The disagreement on the painful issue of the alphabet and Clement's opposition to the new hellenized alphabet appear to be the reasons for the alienation between Clement and the Prince Simeon over the cultural policy of the state.
The benefits were manifold. The Apostolic work continued in Ohrid. Clement was joined by Nahum. The Ohrid region became the centre of the first Slavonic University. The alphabet used was the Glagolitic. The tradition of Cyril and Methodius was preserved and continued. Ohrid was thenceforth a spring of new water, a fast-flowing stream which flowed unchecked through Macedonia and merged, as a constituent part, into the vast sea of Slavonic and Byzantine culture.
The role played by the founders of the first schooling in the Balkans was immense. Legends speak of 3000 students. Theophilact says that Clement preached ...in a few words... about the ecclesiastical life, the memory of the saints, the enlightenment of the soul... He translated continuously: chants, psalms, festal fragments from the Bible, moralities... Thus the Slavonic liturgy was beginning to be created.
In their beloved Ohrid, Clement and Naum built their churches on opposite sides of the lake. In the town itself Clement dedicated a shrine to the holy healer Panteleimon. At the same time, towards the end of the 9th century, by the springs of the Crn Drim river, Naum erected a monument to the archangels of the bodiless army, Gabriel and Michael. Both Clement and Naum were buried in the tombs which they themselves had built in the churches they bequested: Naum in the year 910, and Clement six years later, in 916. The belief that St. Naum in his monastery heals the mentally ill and those possessed by demons survives to this very day.
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ITINERARY: SKOPJE - LAKE MATKA - MAVROVO NATIONAL PARK - STRUGA - OHRID - BITOLA - PRILEP - KRUSHEVO - SKOPJE
DAY 1: Skopje
Arrival in Skopje. Guided sightseeing tour of Skopje - Macedonia Square, the statue of Mother Teresa; the Stone Bridge - symbol of Skopje; the church of St. Spas (Holy Salvation); Skopje Fortress, Old Varosha quarter, etc. Accommodation. Free time for individual visit to the Museum of Mother Teresa, Archeological Museum or Skopje Museum housed in the old railway station. Overnight in Skopje.
DAY 2: Skopje surroundings
Breakfast. Tour in the surroundings of Skopje. Drive to Lake Matka, which is the most popular getaway retreat of most citizens of Skopje. A boat trip along the lake with a stop for a visit of Ubava Cave. Visit of the Monastery Church of St. Andrew in Matka, built in the 14th century. Departure for the village of Gorno Nerezi, located in the slopes of Vodno Mountain for a visit of the Monastery Church of St. Pantelejmon. This is a remarkable mediaeval church built in the 12th century, representing an important monument from the Byzantine period - the fresco composition Lamentation of Christ. Return to Skopje. Overnight in Skopje.
DAY 3: Mavrovo - Monastery St. John Bigorski - Struga - Ohrid
Breakfast. Departure for Mavrovo National Park. Stop at Mavrovo Lake - the biggest artificial lake in Macedonia, part of Mavrovo National Park. Photo break by the flooded church of St. Nikolas, build in mid 19th century. Visit to the mystical and tranquil Monastery of St. John Bigorski (St John the Baptist). In the monastery church you can see an icon of St. John the Baptist dating from the 11th century as well as the final and most stunning, one of only three iconostases carved out of walnut. Walking tour in Struga - the town of poetry - St. George Church, Brothers Miladinovi Memorial House, Old Bazar. Arrival in Ohrid in the evening. Accommodation at hotel at Ohrid Riviera. Overnight in Ohrid.
DAY 4: Ohrid
Breakfast. Guided sightseeing tour of Ohrid. The tour starts in front of the statue of St. Cyril and Methodius, and it continues to the Lower gate, the Church of St Sophia, the Roman Amphitheatre, the Upper gate, St Clements’s Church, the church St. Joan Kaneo, Tsar Samuil’s fortress, Ohrid’s marketplace, etc. Free time. In the afternnon a tour to the beautiful monastery of St. Naum. St. Naum is a the most famous monastery complex in the Ohrid area. The original church of the Holy Archangels was built in the early 10th century by St. Naum and later it housed the tomb and relics of St. Naum himself but today its remains are buried beneath the present 16th-century church. Optional boat tour on the Ohrid Lake. In the evening optional dinner at traditional restaurant with music and dances. Overnight in Ohrid.
DAY 5: Bitola - Prilep - Krushevo
Breakfast. Departure for the town of Bitola. Sightseeing tour of Bitola - the famous Clock Tower, first built in 1664 but got its present appearance in the 19th century, the church St. Demetrius, the main Shirok Sokak Street. Visit to the ancient town Heraclea Lynkestis founded by Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Departure for Krushevo. Walking tour - Toshe Proeski's memorial house, the churches of St. Nicolas and St. John, the museum-gallery of Nikola Martinovski, Monument Makedonium. Return to the Pelagonian Plain and visit to the monastery of Archangel Michael above the Old town of Prilep. Accommodation in Prilep and overnight.
DAY 6: Prilep - Kavadartsi - Stobi - Veles - Skopje
Breakfast. Departure for the town of Kavadartsi. Visit of the famous Tikvesh Winery for a tour and wine tasting. Drive to Stobi and tour of the archaeological reserve – one of the most developed Roman cities in the Roman province of Macedonia, early Christian center. Drive to Veles. Sightseeing tour of the town, located on the two shores of Vardar River, and visit to one of the most impressive Revival churches in Macedonia, built in the middle of 19th century by the famous local builder Andrey Damyanov. Drive to Skopje. Accommodation and overnight in Skopje.
Macedonian Adventures: Vodocha monastery attracts pilgrims and history lovers
In this edition of Macedonian Adventures, we travel to the Vodocha monastery.
Dating back to the first centuries of Christianity, the complex took its present shape in the Middle Ages.
A cultural monument, it remains a functioning monastery where nuns still live.
“An earthquake brought down the arches of this cathedral in 1931; half a century later they were restored with historical accuracy,” reported euronews’ Denis Loctier.
Father Grigorij, Priest, Vodocha and Veljusa monasteries, explained: “The restoration was done in the same authentic way in which the church was built, using only stones and horizontal bricks – in the Byzantium style typical for older churches.”
Rising near eastern Macedonian city of Strumica, the Vodocha and Veljusa monasteries welcome pilgrims and all admirers of religious art and history.
Russia: Putin and Macedonian President Ivanov discuss relations and trade in Moscow
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the President of Macedonia Gjorgje Ivanov in Moscow, Wednesday. The main topics of the meeting reportedly included the current political situation in Macedonia, bilateral cooperation and boosting of economic ties between both countries.
Regarding recent turmoils in Macedonian domestic politics, Putin said, we carefully monitor what is happening in your country, while also wishing success to Ivanov in ensuring that the internal political situation in Macedonia develops in accordance with the constitution.
Ivano flew to Moscow on the feast day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who played a decisive role in the history of both Russian and Macedonian culture. Ivanov took part in the ceremony of presenting the Patriarch Alexy II Prize for Excellence in Strengthening the Unity of Orthodox Peoples for the Establishment and Promotion of Christian Values in the Life of Society for 2016.
He said, Even though so many centuries have passed, 1000 years, we are preserving the memory of Saints Cyrill and Methodius, as well as [their pupil] Saint Clement of Ohrid and Saint Naum of Ohrid.
Russia's foreign trade turnover with Macedonia last year, reportedly amounted to over 130 million dollars (€116,066,249). In 2017, the amount grew by over 150%. Macedonia did not join the EU's anti-Russian sanctions.
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Cyril & Methodius (The Big Read)
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TIME TO WEAR THE DRESS / Vlog12-17
In this episode, we are visiting the former Kingdom of Macedonia! Have a look how they are doing today!
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Music: Joseph Nikolas Digital Dreams
10 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MACEDONIA
1. Home to the world’s deepest underwater cave
Cave Vrelo is a stunning underwater cave with a depth of 77 meters, which makes it the world’s deepest underwater cave and an interesting place to visit in Macedonia!
2. Alexander the Great
King of the former kingdom of Macedonia, and one of the first “world leaders” with an empire that stretched from Europe to Asia. However, shortly after his death, the empire started to fall.
3. The first country in the world to have full access to wireless broadband
In 2006, it became the first country in the world to have full access to a wireless broadband connection, after being a part of a high-tech project.
4. The Official name in United Nations is F.Y.R.O.M, but…
While the official name of Macedonia in the United Nations is the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, more than 135 countries have recognized it as the Republic of Macedonia.
The reason why U.N still uses F.Y.R.O.M is because of an old dispute between Greece and Macedonia.
5. Ohrid lake is one of the oldest lakes
Not only the oldest but also one of the deepest with a max depth of 288 meters. The age of Ohrid Lake is estimated to be around 4 million years old.
In 1979 it was declared as a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the lake area is home to more than 200 endemic species.
6. The Cyrillic alphabet was invented here
The Cyrillic alphabet, which is used by several countries and official here, is based on the alphabet developed in the 9th century by two Macedonian (Region) brothers – St Cyril (thus – Cyrillic) and St Methodius. It was taught by their disciples at a monastery in Ohrid, from whence it spread across the eastern Slavic world.
Their disciples taught it at a Monastery in Ohrid, and from there it spread across the eastern Slavic world.
7. One-quarter of the population lives in the capital
More than 500 000 people live in the Macedonian capital Skopje. That’s about one-quarter of the total population of about 2.1 million.
8. Of all the Yugoslav territories, Macedonia was the only one that gained independence peacefully
Macedonians gained their independence in 1991.
10. Millenium Cross
One of the world’s biggest cross monuments, standing tall on top of a hill in Skopje with a stunning 66 meters in height.
Saints Cyril and Methodius | Wikipedia audio article
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Saints Cyril and Methodius
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Saints Cyril and Methodius (826–869, 815–885; Greek: Κύριλλος καὶ Μεθόδιος (Kýrillos kaí Methódios), Old Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ и Меѳодїи) were two brothers who were Byzantine Christian theologians and Christian missionaries. Through their work they influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they received the title Apostles to the Slavs. They are credited with devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to transcribe Old Church Slavonic. After their deaths, their pupils continued their missionary work among other Slavs. Both brothers are venerated in the Orthodox Church as saints with the title of equal-to-apostles. In 1880, Pope Leo XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1980, Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia.
Macedonian nationalism | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Macedonian nationalism
00:01:16 1 The designation Macedonian
00:05:31 2 Origins
00:10:30 3 History
00:10:38 3.1 Early and middle 19th century
00:12:07 3.2 Late 19th and early 20th century
00:13:26 3.3 Balkan Wars and First World War
00:14:23 3.4 Interwar period and WWII
00:16:26 3.5 Post-World War II
00:17:56 3.6 Post-Informbiro period and Bulgarophobia
00:20:57 3.7 Post-independence period and Antiquisation
00:27:50 4 Macedonism
00:29:33 4.1 Macedonism as an ethno-political conception
00:38:16 4.2 Early adherents
00:39:45 4.3 Contemporary ideas
00:43:05 5 See also
00:43:40 6 References and notes
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Macedonian nationalism is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts among ethnic Macedonians that were first formed in the late 19th century among separatists seeking the autonomy of the region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire. The idea evolved during the early 20th century alongside the first expressions of ethnic nationalism among the Slavs of Macedonia. The separate Macedonian nation gained recognition after World War II when SR Macedonia was created as part of SFR Yugoslavia. Afterwards the Macedonian historiography has established historical links between the ethnic Macedonians and events and figures from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century. Following the independence of the Republic of Macedonia in the late 20th century, issues of Macedonian national identity have become contested by the country's neighbours, as some adherents to aggressive Macedonian nationalism, called Macedonism, hold more extreme beliefs such as an unbroken continuity between ancient Macedonians (an ancient Greek people), and modern ethnic Macedonians (a Slavic people), and views connected to the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia, which involves territorial claims on a large portion of Greece, along with smaller regions of Albania, Bulgaria, and Serbia.
Bitola
Bitola (Macedonian: Битола [ˈbitɔɫa] ( ) known also by several alternative names) is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece. It is an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. It has been known since the Ottoman period as the city of the consuls, since many European countries have consulates in Bitola. According to the 2002 census, Bitola is the second largest city in the country. Bitola is also the seat of the Bitola Municipality. Bitola is one of the oldest cities on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. It was founded as Heraclea Lyncestis in the middle of the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedon. During the Ottoman rule the city was the last capital of Ottoman Rumelia.
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First Bulgarian Empire | Wikipedia audio article
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First Bulgarian Empire
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SUMMARY
=======
The First Bulgarian Empire (Old Bulgarian: ц︢рьство бл︢гарское, ts'rstvo bl'garskoe) was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed in southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 681 when Bulgar tribes led by Asparuh moved to the north-eastern Balkans. There they secured Byzantine recognition of their right to settle south of the Danube by defeating – possibly with the help of local South Slavic tribes – the Byzantine army led by Constantine IV. At the height of its power, Bulgaria spread from the Danube Bend to the Black Sea and from the Dnieper River to the Adriatic Sea.
As the state solidified its position in the Balkans, it entered into a centuries-long interaction, sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile, with the Byzantine Empire. Bulgaria emerged as Byzantium's chief antagonist to its north, resulting in several wars. The two powers also enjoyed periods of peace and alliance, most notably during the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, where the Bulgarian army broke the siege and destroyed the Arab army, thus preventing an Arab invasion of Southeastern Europe. Byzantium had a strong cultural influence on Bulgaria, which also led to the eventual adoption of Christianity in 864. After the disintegration of the Avar Khaganate, the country expanded its territory northwest to the Pannonian Plain. Later the Bulgarians confronted the advance of the Pechenegs and Cumans, and achieved a decisive victory over the Magyars, forcing them to establish themselves permanently in Pannonia.
During the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Simeon I achieved a string of victories over the Byzantines. Thereafter, he was recognized with the title of Emperor, and proceeded to expand the state to its greatest extent. After the annihilation of the Byzantine army in the battle of Anchialus in 917, the Bulgarians laid siege to Constantinople in 923 and 924. The Byzantines, however, eventually recovered, and in 1014, under Basil II, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Bulgarians at the Battle of Kleidion. By 1018, the last Bulgarian strongholds had surrendered to the Byzantine Empire, and the First Bulgarian Empire had ceased to exist. It was succeeded by the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1185.
After the adoption of Christianity, Bulgaria became the cultural center of Slavic Europe. Its leading cultural position was further consolidated with the invention of the Glagolitic and Early Cyrillic alphabets shortly after in the capital Preslav, and literature produced in Old Bulgarian soon began spreading north. Old Bulgarian became the lingua franca of much of Eastern Europe and it came to be known as Old Church Slavonic. In 927, the fully independent Bulgarian Patriarchate was officially recognized.
The Bulgars and other non-Slavic tribes in the empire gradually adopted an essentially foreign Slavic language. Since the late 9th century, the names Bulgarians and Bulgarian gained prevalence and became permanent designations for the local population, both in literature and in common parlance. The development of Old Church Slavonic literacy had the effect of preventing the assimilation of the South Slavs into neighbouring cultures, while stimulating the formation of a distinct Bulgarian identity.
Skopje | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:03:09 1 Geography
00:03:18 1.1 Topography
00:05:06 1.2 Hydrography
00:07:59 1.3 Geology
00:10:03 1.4 Climate
00:12:09 1.5 Nature and environment
00:14:33 2 Urbanism
00:14:41 2.1 Urban morphology
00:18:21 2.2 Localities and villages
00:19:21 2.3 Urban sociology
00:21:36 3 Toponymy
00:23:22 4 History
00:23:30 4.1 Origins
00:25:14 4.2 Roman Scupi
00:27:48 4.3 Middle Ages
00:32:28 4.4 Ottoman period
00:38:46 4.5 Balkan Wars till present day
00:44:59 5 Emblems
00:45:34 6 Administration
00:45:43 6.1 Status
00:46:33 6.2 City Council
00:47:19 6.3 Mayor
00:47:41 6.4 Municipalities
00:49:16 7 Economy
00:49:24 7.1 Economic weight
00:50:51 7.2 Firms and activities
00:53:35 7.3 Employment
00:55:04 8 Population
00:55:12 8.1 Demography
00:56:48 8.2 Ethnic groups
00:59:48 8.3 Religion
01:01:57 8.4 Health
01:03:07 8.5 Education
01:04:35 9 Media
01:06:31 10 Sports
01:09:10 11 Transport
01:09:19 11.1 Main connections
01:11:34 11.2 Rail and coach stations
01:13:00 11.3 Public transport
01:14:27 11.4 Airport
01:16:04 12 Air pollution
01:16:38 13 Culture
01:16:46 13.1 Cultural institutions
01:18:21 13.2 Museums
01:20:12 13.3 Architecture
01:26:18 13.4 Festivals
01:29:31 13.5 Nightlife
01:31:42 14 People from Skopje
01:31:51 15 International relations
01:32:01 15.1 Twin towns – sister cities
01:32:13 15.2 Partnerships
01:32:22 16 See also
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I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
=======
Skopje (, US also ; Macedonian: Скопје [ˈskɔpjɛ] (listen), Albanian: Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic center.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. Originally a Paeonian city, Scupi became the capital of Dardania in the second century BC. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans and became a military camp. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992.
From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire and acted as its capital city from 1346 to 1371. In 1392, Skopje was conquered by the Ottoman Turks who called it Üsküb, with this name also being in use in English for a time. The town stayed under Ottoman control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of pashasanjak of Üsküp and later the Vilayet of Kosovo. At that time the city was famous for its oriental architecture. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars. During the First World War the city was seized by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and after this war, it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia becoming the capital of the Vardarska banovina. In the Second World War the city was again captured by Bulgaria and in 1944 became the capital of SR Macedonia, then a federated state of Yugoslavia. The city developed rapidly, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake.
Skopje is located on the upper course of the Vardar River, and is located on a major north-south Balkan route between Belgrade and Athens. It is a center for metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, and printing industries. Industrial development of the city has been accompanied by development of the trade, logistics, and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of transportation, culture and sport. According to the last official count from 2002, Skopje had a population of 506,926 inhabitants; according to official estimates, the city ...
Serbia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Serbia
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written
language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through
audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio
while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using
a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
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This video uses Google TTS en-US-Standard-D voice.
SUMMARY
=======
Serbia (Serbian: Србија / Srbija [sř̩bija]), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija [repǔblika sř̩bija]), is a country situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe in the southern Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. The sovereign state borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; Macedonia to the south; Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west. The country claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents. Its capital, Belgrade, ranks among the oldest and largest cities in southeastern Europe.Following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans postdating the 6th century, Serbs established several sovereign states in the early Middle Ages which at times nominally recognized Byzantine, Frankish and Hungarian overrule. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by the Vatican and Constantinople in 1217, reaching its peak in 1346 as a relatively short-lived Serbian Empire. By the mid-16th century, the entire modern-day Serbia was annexed by the Ottomans, at times interrupted by the Habsburg Empire, which started expanding towards Central Serbia from the end of the 17th century, while maintaining a foothold in modern-day Vojvodina. In the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. Following disastrous casualties in World War I, and the subsequent unification of the former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina (and other territories) with Serbia, the country co-founded Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples, which would exist in various political formations until the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the country declared independence in April 1992 as Serbia formed a union with Montenegro, which was peacefully dissolved in 2006. In 2008, the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community.
Serbia is a member of the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC, CEFTA and it is acceding to the WTO. Since 2014 the country has been negotiating its EU accession with perspective of joining the European Union by 2025 and is the only country in the current enlargement agenda which is designated as free by Freedom House. Since 2007, Serbia formally adheres to the policy of military neutrality. An upper-middle income economy with a dominant service sector followed by the industrial sector and agriculture, the country ranks high by the Human Development Index (66th), Social Progress Index (45th) as well as the Global Peace Index (54th).
Second Bulgarian Empire | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
Second Bulgarian Empire
Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago.
Learning by listening is a great way to:
- increases imagination and understanding
- improves your listening skills
- improves your own spoken accent
- learn while on the move
- reduce eye strain
Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone.
You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at:
You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through:
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
SUMMARY
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The Second Bulgarian Empire (Bulgarian: Второ българско царство, Vtorо Bălgarskо Tsarstvo) was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. It was succeeded by the Principality and later Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1878.Until 1256, the Second Bulgarian Empire was the dominant power in the Balkans, defeating the Byzantine Empire in several major battles. In 1205 Emperor Kaloyan defeated the newly established Latin Empire in the Battle of Adrianople. His nephew Ivan Asen II defeated the Despotate of Epiros and made Bulgaria a regional power again. During his reign, Bulgaria spread from the Adriatic to the Black Sea and the economy flourished. In the late 13th century, however, the Empire declined under constant invasions by Mongols, Byzantines, Hungarians, and Serbs, as well as internal unrest and revolts. The 14th century saw a temporary recovery and stability, but also the peak of Balkan feudalism as central authorities gradually lost power in many regions. Bulgaria was divided into three parts on the eve of the Ottoman invasion.
Despite strong Byzantine influence, Bulgarian artists and architects created their own distinctive style. In the 14th century, during the period known as the Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture, literature and art flourished. The capital city Tarnovo, which was considered a New Constantinople, became the country's main cultural hub and the centre of the Eastern Orthodox world for contemporary Bulgarians. After the Ottoman conquest, many Bulgarian clerics and scholars emigrated to Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and Russian principalities, where they introduced Bulgarian culture, books, and hesychastic ideas.
Principality of Moravia | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:04:59 1 Name
00:05:08 1.1 Great Moravia
00:07:43 1.2 Etymology
00:08:39 2 Territory
00:11:46 2.1 Traditional view
00:14:42 2.2 Further theories
00:16:42 3 History
00:16:51 3.1 Origins (before c. 800)
00:21:38 3.2 Development of Moravia (c. 800–846)
00:28:16 3.3 Fights for independence (846–870)
00:35:21 3.4 Svätopluk's reign (870–894)
00:44:36 3.5 Decline and fall (894–before 907)
00:49:45 4 State and society
00:49:55 4.1 Sources
00:51:06 4.2 Settlement structure
00:57:41 4.3 Monarchs
00:58:51 4.4 Administration
01:01:33 4.5 Warfare
01:05:28 4.6 Aristocracy
01:06:42 4.7 Population
01:09:31 5 Economy
01:12:44 6 Culture
01:12:53 6.1 Sacral architecture
01:16:50 6.2 Religion
01:20:15 6.3 Literature
01:23:44 6.4 Arts
01:24:43 7 Legacy
01:30:09 8 See also
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I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.
- Socrates
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Great Moravia (Latin: Regnum Marahensium; Greek: Μεγάλη Μοραβία, Megálī Moravía; Czech: Velká Morava [ˈvɛlkaː ˈmorava]; Slovak: Veľká Morava [ˈʋɛʎkaː ˈmɔraʋa]; Polish: Wielkie Morawy), the Great Moravian Empire, or simply Moravia, was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in the area of Central Europe, chiefly on what is now the territory of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland (including Silesia), and Hungary. The only formation preceding it in these territories was Samo's Empire known from between 631 and 658 AD. Great Moravia was thus the first joint state of the Slavonic tribes that became later known as Czechs and Slovaks and that later formed Czechoslovakia.
Its core territory is the region now called Moravia in the eastern part of the Czech Republic alongside the Morava River, which gave its name to the kingdom. The kingdom saw the rise of the first ever Slavic literary culture in the Old Church Slavonic language as well as the expansion of Christianity after the arrival of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in 863 and the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet dedicated to a Slavonic language, which had significant impact on most Slavic languages and stood at the beginning of the modern Cyrillic alphabet.
Moravia reached its largest territorial extent under the king Svätopluk I, (Svatopluk in Czech), who ruled from 870 to 894. Although the borders of his empire cannot be exactly determined, he controlled the core territories of Moravia as well as other neighbouring regions, including Bohemia, most of Slovakia and parts of Slovenia, Hungary, Poland and Ukraine, for some periods of his reign. Separatism and internal conflicts emerging after Svätopluk's death contributed to the fall of Great Moravia, which was overrun by the Hungarians who then included the territory of the now Slovakia in their domains. The exact date of Moravia's collapse is unknown, but it occurred between 902 and 907.
Moravia experienced significant cultural development under King Rastislav, with the arrival in 863 of the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius. After his request for missionaries had been refused in Rome, Rastislav asked the Byzantine emperor to send a teacher (učitelja) to introduce literacy and a legal system (pravьda) to Great Moravia. The request was granted. The missionary brothers Cyril and Methodius introduced a system of writing (the Glagolitic alphabet) and Slavonic liturgy, the latter eventually formally approved by Pope Adrian II. The Glagolitic script was probably invented by Cyril himself and the language he used for his translations of holy scripts and his original literary creation was based on the Slavic dialect he and his brother Methodius knew from their native Thessaloniki. The language, termed Old Church Slavonic, was the direct ancestral language for Bulgarian, and therefore also referred to as Old Bulgarian. Old Church Slavonic, ...
Byzantine | Wikipedia audio article
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Byzantine
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The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
- Socrates
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The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, which had been founded as Byzantium). It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Both Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are historiographical terms created after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire simply as the Roman Empire (Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων, tr. Basileia Rhōmaiōn; Latin: Imperium Romanum), or Romania (Ῥωμανία), and to themselves as Romans.Several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empire's Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I (r. 324–337) reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, and legalised Christianity. Under Theodosius I (r. 379–395), Christianity became the Empire's official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius (r. 610–641), the Empire's military and administration were restructured and adopted Greek for official use instead of Latin. Thus, although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians distinguish Byzantium from ancient Rome insofar as it was centred on Constantinople, oriented towards Greek rather than Latin culture, and characterised by Orthodox Christianity.The borders of the empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Justinian I (r. 527–565), the Empire reached its greatest extent after reconquering much of the historically Roman western Mediterranean coast, including North Africa, Italy, and Rome itself, which it held for two more centuries. During the reign of Maurice (r. 582–602), the Empire's eastern frontier was expanded and the north stabilised. However, his assassination caused the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, which exhausted the empire's resources and contributed to major territorial losses during the Early Muslim conquests of the seventh century. In a matter of years the empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. During the Macedonian dynasty (10th–11th centuries), the empire again expanded and experienced the two-century long Macedonian Renaissance, which came to an end with the loss of much of Asia Minor to the Seljuk Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia.
The empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. However, it was delivered a mortal blow during the Fourth Crusade, when Constantinople was sacked in 1204 and the territories that the empire formerly governed were divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small rival states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were progressively annexed by the Ottomans over the 14th and 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire. The last of the imperial Byzantine successor states, the Empire of Trebizond, would be conquered by the Ottomans eight years later in the 1461 Siege of Trebizond.