The Balkans are generally considered a European region in which the peoples are always ready to engage in conflicts with one another.

The distinguished historian Andrew Wachtel redefines this geographical space in positive terms. Starting from historical, social, and cultural elements, he examines the Balkans as a unified whole.

In the Balkan Peninsula, the great civilizations of ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire, and Catholic Europe thrived and clashed. The result of this interaction was the creation of a multilayered local culture that makes the Balkans one of the most complex and interesting areas of the earth.