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Quiz about FYR Macedonia Modern is the New Ancient
Quiz about FYR Macedonia Modern is the New Ancient

FYR Macedonia: Modern is the New Ancient Quiz


A quiz on the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, aka FYROM or FYR Macedonia. It became the Republic of North Macedonia in February 2019.

A multiple-choice quiz by stuthehistoryguy. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
327,355
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
2873
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: Guest 92 (10/10), pixiecat (4/10), Guest 86 (7/10).
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (aka FYROM) is named for the ancient Kingdom of Macedon, which conquered the area in the fourth century BCE. What famed conqueror and father of Alexander the Great annexed what is now Macedonia? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. In the sixth century CE, Macedonia's Thracian, Illyrian, and Roman peoples were largely displaced by a new group of migrants from around present-day Ukraine. Who were these new settlers? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The people now known as Macedonians were called "Sklavines" by early Greek Byzantine chroniclers, but they were subsumed in the ninth century by another ethnic nation that would be a dominant power in the Balkans. What national group was this? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Macedonia was conquered in the fourteenth century by Tsar Stephen Dushan, who may have been the most powerful figure in Europe at the time. What nation was Dushan the ruler of? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Perhaps the defining turn of Balkan history came toward the close of the middle ages when most of the region came under the rule of a Muslim empire, and Macedonia is no exception. What empire was this? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. During the nineteenth century, the movements toward national independence in the Balkans were a thorny issue in "great power" politics, and the eventual fate of these countries, including Macedonia, was referred to as the "Eastern Question". After the Balkan Wars and World War I in the 1910s, a new state emerged grouping many Balkan nationalities, including Macedonia. What did this state come to be known as? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The period between World War I and World War II was marked by great tolerance of Macedonian distinctiveness by the Serb-dominated administration. Macedonia enjoyed its own independent Orthodox Church, and teachers were encouraged to instruct students in the unique vernacular of that nation.


Question 8 of 10
8. Which of these most accurately describes Macedonia's economic development during the Cold War (1945-1991)? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What momentous event occurred on September 8, 1991? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In 2001, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia faced an insurrection by an ethnic minority demanding constitutional recognition of language and other cultural--and civil--rights. What ethnic group was this? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 25 2024 : Guest 92: 10/10
Mar 22 2024 : pixiecat: 4/10
Mar 20 2024 : Guest 86: 7/10
Mar 17 2024 : DeepHistory: 10/10
Mar 14 2024 : mazza47: 10/10
Feb 11 2024 : Guest 15: 9/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (aka FYROM) is named for the ancient Kingdom of Macedon, which conquered the area in the fourth century BCE. What famed conqueror and father of Alexander the Great annexed what is now Macedonia?

Answer: Philip II

Alexander himself was born in Pella, which is now in modern Greece, though the bulk of Alexander's ancestral kingdom was in present-day FYROM.
2. In the sixth century CE, Macedonia's Thracian, Illyrian, and Roman peoples were largely displaced by a new group of migrants from around present-day Ukraine. Who were these new settlers?

Answer: Slavs

The most-accepted theories hold that the South Slavs originated in present-day Ukraine and migrated into the Balkans both to pillage the dominant but lightly-defended Byzantine Empire and to farm new lands, as the soil of their homelands was easily depleted by their farming methods. Though the initial Slavic incursions into the Balkans were bloody raids (Greek chronicles tell lurid tales of invading "Slavic hordes"), Slavs and other ethnic groups eventually reached a kind of homeostasis, with Slavs farming in rural areas and Greeks remaining as merchants in the cities.
3. The people now known as Macedonians were called "Sklavines" by early Greek Byzantine chroniclers, but they were subsumed in the ninth century by another ethnic nation that would be a dominant power in the Balkans. What national group was this?

Answer: The Bulgars

Byzantine Emperor Basil II (often referred to as "The Bulgar Killer") launched numerous offensives against Bulgaria in the late tenth century, and Bulgaria's capital was moved from Sofia to Skopje, the present-day capital of Macedonia. In 1018, Basil subjugated Bulgaria completely in a marked demonstration of cruelty (blinding thousands of captured soldiers while leaving 1% with one eye to lead the rest home) and statesmanship, integrating many Bulgarian elites into the Byzantine aristocracy.
4. Macedonia was conquered in the fourteenth century by Tsar Stephen Dushan, who may have been the most powerful figure in Europe at the time. What nation was Dushan the ruler of?

Answer: Serbia

Dushan was a remarkable leader, establishing a concise Serbian legal codex and more than doubling his territory. Amateur historians love to play the game of "what if...", and many muse over what Eurasia would look like today if Dushan had not died aged 46 in 1355. Serbs today speculate that Serbia would have assumed a leading role in world history, similar to that of France, instead of being overrun in the next generation by the most dominant power in the region.

A note to purists: Dushan's name is usually rendered "Dusan" (with an accented "s" that doesn't show very well on some browsers). This is entirely proper, but in the interests of correct pronunciation by English speakers, I transliterate it phonetically here.
5. Perhaps the defining turn of Balkan history came toward the close of the middle ages when most of the region came under the rule of a Muslim empire, and Macedonia is no exception. What empire was this?

Answer: The Ottoman Turks

The remnants of Dushan's empire fell in 1389 at the battle of Kosovo. The Ottomans dominated the area into the nineteenth century, when revolutions in Serbia and Greece began a national reawakening. The Ottoman system of governance allowed local peoples to continue their religious practices, and the majority of Macedonian Slavs continued as Orthodox Christians. Governors of the region, however, were chosen from Slavic slaves who converted to Islam.
6. During the nineteenth century, the movements toward national independence in the Balkans were a thorny issue in "great power" politics, and the eventual fate of these countries, including Macedonia, was referred to as the "Eastern Question". After the Balkan Wars and World War I in the 1910s, a new state emerged grouping many Balkan nationalities, including Macedonia. What did this state come to be known as?

Answer: Yugoslavia

The Balkan Wars concluded in 1912 with Serbia annexing Macedonia. In the aftermath of World War I, the former Austrian territories of Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia joined with Serbia to create the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929.
7. The period between World War I and World War II was marked by great tolerance of Macedonian distinctiveness by the Serb-dominated administration. Macedonia enjoyed its own independent Orthodox Church, and teachers were encouraged to instruct students in the unique vernacular of that nation.

Answer: False

Quite the opposite. Macedonian language and culture was much closer to Bulgarian than Serbian analogues, and Serb nationalists took great pains to address this. Bulgarian schools were closed, Bulgarian priests were expelled, and only Serbs could teach in Macedonian schools.

This process of "Serbianization" rankled most Macedonians, and many of them joined the anti-Serb (but pro-Axis) Bulgarian forces during World War II--though, it must be added, many Macedonians fought in the anti-fascist Partisan forces as well under eventual Yugoslav president Josef Broz Tito.
8. Which of these most accurately describes Macedonia's economic development during the Cold War (1945-1991)?

Answer: It was one of the least-developed areas of Eastern Europe, lagging behind peer republics like Croatia and Slovenia

Despite President Tito's efforts to the contrary, economic development broke down along national lines within Yugoslavia's six republics. Slovenia was probably the gold standard, with perhaps the most thriving economy in Eastern Europe; Croatia was just behind, with well above-average economic performance among Eastern European areas.

The three "southern republics" of Bosnia, Macedonia, and Montenegro, however, did not do as well, while Serbia, though probably the most influential politically, was somewhere in the middle economically. For more detailed examination, see John Allcock's 'Explaining Yugoslavia' from Columbia University Press.
9. What momentous event occurred on September 8, 1991?

Answer: Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia

Amid the dissolution of the USSR and the opening of many Eastern European countries in its aftermath (usually referred to as the "fall of communism"), increasingly nationalist sentiment within Yugoslavia reached a fever pitch, with wealthier republics Slovenia and Croatia wanting closer ties with the West, while more traditionally communist Serbia, which had dominated the executive branch since Tito's death in 1980, wanted to keep Yugoslavia together. On June 25, 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared independence, sparking a civil war that eventually led to mass ethnic cleansing and rape among other human rights abuses. Macedonia's path to independence was more sedate; though 500 United States troops soon arrived to secure the new country's border, it soon became clear that no major incursions were coming Macedonia's way. Neighboring Greece refused to recognize its name, the "original" Macedonia having been Greek instead of Slavic.
10. In 2001, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia faced an insurrection by an ethnic minority demanding constitutional recognition of language and other cultural--and civil--rights. What ethnic group was this?

Answer: The Albanians

The Albanian 'National Liberation Army', composed largely of insurgents who had fought in neighboring Kosovo, began commandeering villages along the Macedonia/Kosovo border. Though they were subject to FYROM reprisals, total deaths on both sides were, thankfully, limited to a few dozen. Following 2001's Ohrid Agreements, the FYROM government agreed to extend "second official language" status to Albanian, the native tongue of a quarter of its population.

The Ohrid Agreements also allowed for more local autonomy, another move to placate the Albanian minority.
Source: Author stuthehistoryguy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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