Makedonya

Makedonya is a historical and geographical region in the Balkans. It covers parts of present-day North Macedonia as well as portions of Greece and Bulgaria. The term has been used for both a broad geographic area and for political units at different times, leading to overlapping identities and boundary changes over the centuries.

Historically, the region is associated with the ancient Kingdom of Macedon, the state that produced Alexander the Great. It later formed part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and for centuries was under Ottoman rule. In the modern era, the region was divided among the Balkan states after the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. The area now largely corresponds to the Republic of North Macedonia, which declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The country changed its constitutional name to North Macedonia in 2019, under an agreement with Greece that resolved a longstanding dispute over the use of the name Macedon/Macedonia.

Demographically, the area now represented by the nation includes ethnic Macedonians as the largest group, with significant Albanian, Turkish, Romani and other communities. The official language is Macedonian; Albanian is also widely used and recognized in government and education. North Macedonia has a parliamentary system with Skopje as its capital.

Notable geographical features include the Vardar River and Lake Ohrid, the latter shared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region—across North Macedonia and Albania. The region also includes the Greek region of Macedonia and Bulgaria’s Pirin Macedonia, reflecting historical and cultural ties rather than single political borders.