The Early Medieval Balkans A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century JOHN V. A. FINE, JR, Ann Arbor ue ‘The University of Michigan PressTo Gena, Sasha, and PaulPreface ‘This book i genera survey of eatly meena Balkan history. Geo- eaphicaly i¢covers the repion that now is cued inthe water of| ‘Yugoslavia (Croats, Boma, Serbia, Montenegro, and Macedo), Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania. What se now Slovenia and Romania are treated only peripberally. The book covers the period fom the tial ofthe Slavs Inthe stcond al ofthe sich at ery seventh ‘teres op t0 the 118s. A second volume wil contin the sary from this point tothe Turkish conquest a process arid out oer the Tne fourteemth and through much ofthe teenth entries ‘This Book i, to the Best of my knowledge the fst of Ii ind in any language. There are many works devoted 10 the history ofthe Byzantine Empte (which encompassed moch ofthe Balt). How rer, thse works have sessed the history of Byzaatiam and is inst futons; when the Slave regions were not imperial provinces these works have treated the Slave sates only fom the pot of view of fovegn relasons. The varios Balkan nations have proce 9 wide awortment of histrie of their own indvidaa states (or of rion “Sthin those states) in the Mile Ages, and foreign historians have also produced monographic surveys of specie regions (eg. of Bub tari Serbia, or Cros in the dle Apes). However, no wor hat Yet dealt wih the various medieval Blkan peoples ata whole. Such a Work seems necessary, partly for hs erty period when much of the area was in esate of Bux and the rotates borders di not ‘cocde wih ater sate boundaries, Since the eatiy medieval peiod ‘vas an er of both atonal and state formation, dy ha ets the Fepion as whole may beter tae and explin development than & study focused on only one area. Tiss partially to the pol the repons that have usually been chosen for sty by hitorins ave ‘been defined by what etme later namely by being ncaded in sabe quent national sate “The carly medieval period ia crcl on for Balkan history. Eno