Read a large element of this while in Serbia last spring. I grew self conscious and reticent as some close friends drew exception to the erudition, especially if I related that Serbs originally came from Persia, specifically Northern Iran. Equally as unsettling was my pronouncement that the Albanians are the indigenous people of the Balkan Peninsula. Not so cool, Jon.

This volume ends in the early 12C and what we know today as the former YU were then but very unstable entities swaying in the wake of larger forces notably the Byzantines, Hungarians and Venetians. The first of those anchoring powers collapsed, aided by the god fearing crusaders and then the Crescent will begin its long ascent in the next volume. ( )