ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the sacralization of history from the fin de siècle to the present, focusing on Balkan state (Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria) policies in relation to Macedonia, encompassing its historical context under the Ottoman Empire as well as its later iterations as Yugoslavia, FYROM, and North Macedonia. The study argues that despite the increasing secularization of these states, sacred beliefs have played a central role in nation-building processes. Statesmen, educators, and clergy contribute to the sanctification of national narratives, depicting their nations as chosen and policies as sacred. Drawing on various archives and news media sources, this chapter aims to analyze the state policies of these Balkan states throughout the late nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries and their meta-narratives concerning the territories known as (Ottoman, Yugoslav, FYROM, and North) Macedonia.
