The Balkan War

The Balkan War BY HAMILTON GARDNER

On the deserts of Arabia, over twelve hundred years ago, — there lived a camel driver less ignorant, simple-minded, and super" stitious than his fellows, but doubtless wholly unaware of the tremendous influence he was to exert on the subsequent history of man. Much meditation in the desert stillness gave him a decided religious turn of mind, and this, combined with an acquaintance with Jewish and Christian doctrines, impressed upon him the and shallowness of existing ecclesiastical institutions. artificiality So thoroughly was he imbued with this idea that he believed him- self possession of prophetic powers in and began teaching his acquaintances. The name of this camel driver was Mohammed, and he announced this creed *" — "There is no God but God, and Mo- {m -y hammed is his prophet." a i4il 1 From such a beginning has arisen El ; I 1

Islam, the Mohammedan religion. The followers of the desert prophet soon be- £ Itr came known for their intense fanaticism 1 7 and the jihad, or Holy War, was em- ployed as the favorite method of prose- RULGARiAN laborers lyting_ Tq a besieged city they delivered the ultimatum "Accept the Koran or the Scimitar." The new religion, aided by the masterly military tactics of Mohammed and his successors, spread with unbelievable rapidity. The peninsula of Arabia was soon overrun, and from there the cohorts of the

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Crescent flowed triumphantly into Palestine, Asia Minor, and Africa. The conquest of Christian lands continued during the following centuries until southeastern Europe had been annexed and Spain subdued by the Moors. Even when the advance of Moslem arms was checked, the work ot conversion went on, until today El Islam outnumbers many of the great world re- ligions. Since the first ad- vance of the new cult out of Arabia, there has existed a contin- All the photos by the author. uous conflict between A BULGARIAN RAILWAY STATION the Crescent and the Cross. For centuries the Christians could not withstand the onsweeping rush of the Moslems. But finally, in 1683, John Sobieski, a Polish prince, in aiding besieged Vienna, put the first effectual check upon the infidels. Subsequent history is a mere recital of the effort to drive the Mohammedans out of Europe, and the present war is a mere continuation of this policy. This is borne out by a brief survey of the preceding conflicts. First the Moors were expelled from Spain, during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. During medieval times Hungary also succeeded in freeing herself, and somewhat later Roumania. The same thing is true of the Balkan countries. In 1878, Bulgaria finally was successful in severing herself from Ottoman rule, although a Turkish autonomy over that country still existed, and it was not until 1908 that the Bulgars proclaimed their absolute independence. The various titles of Ferdinand, the reigning monarch, show this. THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA Built by the Christians prior to the Coming from the German Turkish Conquest ducal house of Saxe-Coburg- Gotha, he has been called successively Prince, King and now Tsar. In 1804, the Serbs waged their first effective war for freedom, and from 1830 to 1879 they were under a Turkish autonomy. Since that time Servia has been an independent kingdom, Mon-

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tenegro has maintained a free position since the fourteenth century, and Greece since 1830. The modern tendency of Christian nations is not only to free themselves from Ottoman rule, but to annex Ottoman territory as well. England's seizure of Egypt, Russia's encroachment upon Turkey from the north, France's occupation of Tripoli, and Italy's acquisition of Morrocco, prove this. The same cause lies behind the present war. The avarice of the Bulgars to possess all or part of that strip of land lying between their borders and Constantinople —called European Turkey — made them seek any pretext to begin hostilities. That pretext came in the reputed persecutions of Christians by Turks in Dalmatia and Albania, and upon this the Balkan allies made a religious appeal to their people. Other interests were also involved, notably those of the European powers, because of their extensive commercial, territorial and polit- ical ambitions in the near East. But fundamentally, it is the old conflict between the Cross and the Crescent. Of an acquaintance with the belligerent nations through a personal visit, but little can be said here, and that only of the Balkan states. Bulgaria is by far the most important of the three and the real leader in the alliance. This country has a population of 4,085,000, of whom 23% are literate. Agriculture is the principal vocation, but only primitive methods are used. Although of Slavic origin, the Bulgars are noted for their thriftiness, in- dustry and thoroughness— three striking characteristics of the Teutons. In Servia are 2,750,000 people, of whom only 17% are literate. The Serbs are more nearly Slavs than their Bulgarian cousins. Their nature is poetic, emotional, and unstable, and their history shows a marked lack of progress. In many parts of the coun- try the zadringa system is still to be I found. This is a communistic plan whose government is vested in a village father a street in constanti- and v iu a e mother. Farming methods g nople are f t he most ancient type. Montenegro is a little kingdom of 230,000. bordering on Servia. Only 13% of the Montenegrins can read or write. The people as a whole live in the mountains, and are not far removed from the savage stage. warfare is their most pronounced charac- A desire for teristic. . „_i, present war is onl> . , f

Preceded by a movement of centuries the a step in driving Mohammedan sovereignty out of Europe, it

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their desire not accomplished now, doubtless other conflicts is

Turk will be compelled to remain will be incited, until finally the in Asia. The Balkan states, as the seat of this and possible future wars, and as the power of European politics, can well be called the gunpowder keg of Europe. UNIVERSITY OF UTAH

GREEK CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL IN SOPHIA