Jovan and Mishel Pavlovski’s Macedonia: Yesterday and Today is a useful short introduction to Macedonia, its history, culture and people. The Macedonians are an ancient tribe, with notable influence and involvement in the history of the region, regardless of what government held sway over the land. On every page, the authors strive to demonstrate the continuity and significance of the Macedonian people. At times the tone is unnecessarily strident, but the reader familiar with either the historical oppression of Macedonian national consciousness or modern efforts to deny them any heritage at all should be able to excuse the occasional exaggeration.
The book begins with an introduction to the geography of the region and its history and culture up to the arrival of the Slavs beginning in the 5th century C.E., followed by a description of Slavic arrival including claims to an “epic fusion” which merged the Slavic newcomers and the ancient Macedonians into a single people. This phenomenon conveniently permits Macedonians to claim the heritage of Alexander the Great.
The next section describes the development of Macedonian literacy and the resulting religious, cultural and ultimately political development of Macedonia in the Middle Ages. Here the historical claims get confusing because of frequent changes in political rule and the affiliations of important personalities of the era. At the very least, it is interesting to see how people such as Clement of Ohrid and Tsar Samuil can be completely absorbed into the idea of a Macedonian state and religion at a time when no state or Church of that name existed.
Discussion of the long period of Ottoman rule is limited to only a few pages focused on local resistance to the oppressors.
Much more attention is granted to cultural development, religion and ethnic awareness through the centuries. The authors do some of their best work organizing significant Macedonian references and describing lists of noteworthy structures, writings, developments and accomplishments. A quick glance provides enough references in major categories to lend considerable direction to additional investigation elsewhere.
More than a third of the book is dedicated to the period following the Treaty of Berlin. The authors address the making of the treaty, its effects in Macedonia, subsequent struggles for freedom, political developments, and cultural development in the 20th century.
As an introduction to Macedonia and the Macedonian people, Macedonia Yesterday and Today serves up many topics worthy of deeper study. It also gives one a good idea of how Macedonians view their world, and some of the harmless interpretive eccentricities likely to be encountered even in casual conversation.
The chronology and appendix listed in the contents are missing from the fourth edition of the book. The comprehensive name index is a useful feature for quick reference.
Reviewed by Bob Faber
Macedonia: Yesterday and Today
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Geographical Location: Europe, the Balkans, Macedonia
The Pre-Slavic Period
Pre-Slavic Culture in Macedonia
The Slavs in the Balkans
Slavic Literacy
Bogomilism in Macedonia
The Empire of Samuil…
…And After
Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire
The Macedonian Church
The Terms Macedonia and the Macedonians from the Middle Ages and Beyond
Macedonia on Coats of Arms and in Itineraries
The Cultural History of Macedonia
The Berlin Treaty
The Ilinden Uprising and the Krushevo Republic
The Partition of Macedonia
Uprising!
Contemporary Macedonian Culture
Education
Chronological Date summary
Index of Names
Appendix
