James Baquet

The only thing some people know about Macedonia is that one of history’s greatest people came from there.

I’m talking, of course, about Alexander the Great, more formally called Alexander III of Macedon, who lived from 356 to 323 B.C. Conqueror of what was then called “the known world” (though there was much more to it than they knew), he became king at age 20 when his father, Philip II, was assassinated. Under the tutelage of the philosopher Aristotle he learned about Homer’s “Iliad” and carried a copy with him on campaigns.

But the Macedonia of that illustrious past is not quite the same as today’s. What we call the Republic of Macedonia is occupied primarily by Slavs. It, like Bosnia and Herzegovina, is part of the former Yugoslavia. Meanwhile, Alexander’s Macedon is primarily located in the modern Greek region of Macedonia (though it covers parts of other countries too) and its people — including Alexander’s dynasty — had migrated north from central Greece.

So there is a century-old dispute about the use of the name, based on historical, geographical, demographic, linguistic and political grounds. It’s complicated.

Meanwhile, the country which claims the name the “Republic of Macedonia” (though others insist it call itself “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”) is located southeast of Kosovo (another disputed territory), south of Serbia, west of Bulgaria, north of Greece and east of Albania. It is a landlocked country.

Macedonians now, as in Alexander’s time, speak Macedonian, a south Slavic language. Alexander and his father prided themselves on speaking Greek, though with Macedonian influences. Other languages spoken in the Republic of Macedonia include Albanian, Turkish, Serbian and Romani (not Romanian, but the language of the Romani who, perhaps pejoratively, are known as “Gypsies” in much of the world). Ethnic Macedonians are around two-thirds of the population; Albanians are another quarter; and Turks, Romani, Serbs and a scattering of others constitute the balance.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. pertaining to land forms, political boundaries, etc.

2. the study of languages

3. small, varied amount

4. moved from one country or region to another

5. organized military operations

6. killed for political reasons

7. famous; distinguished

8. rudely; in an insulting way

9. based on the study of populations

10. instruction, guidance