AD 1800-2000 Modern

South-east Europe changed dramatically in the 19th century AD as many of the Christian communities under Ottoman rule struggled for their independence. Some went through a stage of autonomous rule under notional Turkish sovereignty, but often great violence and brutality accompanied these movements – particularly in the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s and the Bulgarian revolt in the 1870s. Russian influence was important in establishing the independence of Orthodox peoples, such as the Serbians and Bulgarians.

The resulting new states were initially western-style kingdoms and they fostered a strong sense of national pride and identity. However, state-building was not straightforward, and many regions had very mixed ethnic and religious populations. Also the independent settlements, often affected by the interference of the great powers, produced some dissatisfaction, leading to the ‘Balkan Wars’ of 1912-13, in which Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria were involved. Further regional reconstruction followed the end of the Ottoman empire in the early 20th century. Most of these states experienced some sort of occupation under the Nazis during World War II (although some were German allies). In the later 20th century the whole region, apart from Greece, formed Soviet-style republics under the hegemony of the Soviet Union, until the collapse of the Warsaw Pact.