ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores issues of identity and perception within the region as well as the patterns and the extent of cultural encounters in which Greek language and culture were major players. It also explores what happened to this rich cultural interaction in the Balkans during the pre-nationalist era, particularly during the eighteenth century, after the rise of nationalism and the erosion of the common "mentality" of Balkan Orthodoxy. The book highlights the fluidity of identities and raises questions of conflicting loyalties by looking at a number of case-studies concerning the pre-modern history of the region. It explains Ottoman perceptions of Greek language and culture during the Tanzimat period and how Greek historians of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries perceived other Balkan peoples and prospects for the region.
