Southern Balkans Research Articles

Kandaulos. The testimony of select sources

The current study attempts to trace the history and retrieve the recipe of a specific dish called kándaulos/kándylos. It was a Greek delicacy developed in Lydia and named after a Lydian ruler, known by the name Candaules. The dish was (by means of the Greek Ionians in habiting Asia Minor) borrowed by the Greeks to have been established in the areas of the southern Balkan Peninsula by the 5th c B C. It became especially popular in the Hellenistic period. The testimony of the sources provides us with the information on two specific varieties of kándaulos/kándylos. The first was savoury and included such ingredients as cooked meat, stock, Phrygian cheese, breadcrumbs and dill (or fennel). The other recipe included milk, animal fat, cheese and honey. The dish is reported by the authors of the sources to have been costly and indicating the social status of its consumers. Although there is enough evidence indicating its popularity in antiquity, we lack reliable evidence showing that kándaulos/kándylos was still served in Byzantine times. However, Byzantine authors preserved the most detailed literary evidence on the delicacy.

Professional characteristics of the Jewish guild in the Muslim world: Thessaloniki dockers at the end of the Ottoman era

This article focuses upon the Jewish dockers of Ottoman Thessaloniki. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the loading and unloading of merchandise between ships and docks in the port of Thessaloniki was dominated by Jewish manpower. This dominance should be considered, first of all, in relation to the pre-industrial regulations of the Ottoman labour market. Work on the Thessaloniki docks was operated by veteran guilds of Jewish labourers (registered according to ethnic or family affinity) who managed to distribute all the specific spheres of work among themselves (the gedik principle). They demonstrated a high standard of professionalism (the hisba value) and created a well-organized welfare system. These outdated regulations still maintained their validity in spite of the legal abolition of the guild system (1860), and the emergence of the industrial labour market. The second reason for Jewish prosperity derived from the political turmoil of that period. Against the background of the Macedonian Question and the Western semi-colonization of Macedonia, the Jewish dockers should be seen as part of an ethnic group which clearly defined itself as supporting the preservation of the Ottoman regime in the Southern Balkans. As such, the Ottoman regime counted them as a loyal and useful element in maintaining its interests in the docks, and in exchange came to their aid when modernization of the infrastructures might have thrown many of them out of work in the port.

Genetic divergence among native trout Salmo trutta populations from southern Balkans based on mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite variation

The genetic structure and the phylogenetic relationships among five Balkan populations of trout Salmo trutta that have been classified earlier into five different taxa were studied, using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analyses. The pattern of population differentiation observed at microsatellites differed to that depicted by mtDNA variation, yet both methods indicated a very strong partitioning of the genetic variation among sampling locations. Results thus suggest that conservation strategies should be directed towards preserving the genetic integrity and uniqueness of each population.

Allopatric divergence and secondary contacts in Euphorbia spinosa L: Influence of climatic changes on the split of the species

Euphorbia spinosa, a perennial xerophilous shrub naturally distributed across the Italian peninsula, was selected for examination of the role of the Ligurian Alps and Apennines in glacial survival. The Italian Peninsula is considered to be one of the principal glacial refugia in Europe, but few plant population genetic and phylogeography studies have been undertaken in this region. The combined analysis of chloroplast and nuclear loci (ITS, cpSSR and ISSR) enabled us to detect extensive DNA variation and proved to be a very powerful tool for the reconstruction of the phylogeography. Molecular data support the hypothesis of a long-term separation of the Northwestern (Maritime Alps, Sardinia, Corsica, Northern Apennines) and Southeastern (Southern Apennines and Balkan area) lineages in glacial refugia. The existence of allopatrically fragmented lineages is most probably the result of isolation in different glacial refugia, possibly due to the Last Glacial Maximum cooling and the topographic complexity of the Italian peninsula. The most plausible hypothesis assumes the formation of two migration paths during more recent periods: the first one starting with southward migration and the second one moving northwards. The Central Apennines should be considered the confluence of migration routes radiating from separate refugia according to this hypothesis.

The Macedonian Question: Britain and the Southern Balkans, 1939–1949, by Dimitris Livanios

Given the nationalist hysteria in contemporary Greece that surrounds the Macedonian Question, one in which a large part of the Greek intellectual class is complicit, it is refreshing to read a historical monograph about the subject written by a Greek historian based at a university in Greece—in Thessaloniki, the principal city of Greek Macedonia, no less—that is not only erudite and thoughtful but scrupulously dispassionate. Based primarily on research conducted in British archives, Dimitris Livanios’ masterful study of Britain and the Macedonian Question, centring on the decade ending in 1949, is a delight to read. More for better than for worse, the book extends considerably beyond the topic of its title, meandering to focus alternately on local conditions in Macedonia, regional Balkan politics and British views regarding both the Macedonian Question and the Balkans. The somewhat imprecise focus may have been dictated by the book’s particular reliance on British Foreign Office documents: the region is necessarily perceived through British lenses, but the author allows Britain (and, indeed, the Macedonian Question itself) to drop out of the picture when his narrative, his interest or his sources take him elsewhere. This is a minor criticism, for the reader can only finish the book with a better understanding of all its principal topics.

Nuclear and mitochondrial phylogeography of the European fire‐bellied toads Bombina bombina and Bombina variegata supports their independent histories

Exact location and number of glacial refugia still remain unclear for many European cold-blooded terrestrial vertebrates. We performed a fine-scaled multilocus phylogeographic analysis of two Bombina species combining mitochondrial variation of 950 toads from 385 sites and nuclear genes (Rag-1, Ncx-1) from a subset of samples to reconstruct their colonization and contemporary variation patterns. We identified the lowlands northwest of the Black Sea and the Carpathians to be important refugial areas for B.bombina and B.variegata, respectively. This result emphasizes the importance of Central European refugia for ectothermic terrestrial species, far north of the Mediterranean areas regarded as exclusive glacial refugia for the animals. Additional refugia for B.variegata have been located in the southern Apennines and Balkans. In contrast, no evidence for the importance of other east European plains as refugial regions has been found. The distribution of mtDNA and Ncx-1 variation suggests the presence of local refugia near the Black Sea for B.bombina; however, coalescent simulations did not allow to distinguish whether one or two refugia were present in the region. Strong genetic drift apparently accompanied postglacial expansions reducing diversity in the colonization areas. Extended sampling, coupled with the multilocus isolation with migration analysis, revealed a limited and geographically restricted gene flow from the Balkan to Carpathian populations of B.variegata. However, despite proximity of inferred B.bombina and B.variegata refugia, gene exchange between them was not detected.

Winter convective precipitation variability in southeastern Europe and its connection to middle tropospheric circulation for the 60-year period, 1950–2009

The inter-annual variability of winter convective precipitation rate (CPR) in southeastern Europe and its connection to 500 hPa geopotential height (GH) is examined for the period 1950–2009 by using factor analysis and canonical correlation analysis. Two GH centers of action for CPR are found. The first one is located over Italy and it is associated with the typical winter depression activity regime over the Mediterranean Sea, controlling CPR in southern Italy, the southern Balkans, west Asia Minor, and the adjacent seas. The second one is located over the British Isles and it is associated with blocking activity over western Europe being responsible for a CPR seesaw teleconnection between (1) northern Italy, the Alps and the northwestern Balkans and (2) the south central Mediterranean Sea, south of Sicily. A CPR decrease in most of the areas under study and a CPR increase in the south central Mediterranean Sea are found.

Secular variation of the Earth's magnetic field in the Balkan region during the last eight millennia based on archaeomagnetic data

SUMMARY The first archaeomagnetic secular variation (SV) curves for the whole Southern Balkan Peninsula are presented. These are based on all data within a 700 km circle centred at Thessaloniki (40.60oN, 23.00oE). This data set consists of 325 directional and 625 intensity data mainly from Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and southern Hungary. Some data from southern Italy are also included. The sliding moving window technique, was used to calculate a continuous SV curve for intensity while the directional SV curves were calculated using the bivariate extension of the Fisher statistics. These curves are well constrained and clearly show the main features of the geomagnetic field variation in this region during the last eight millennia. Comparisons with the predictions of the SCHA.DIF.3K and SCHA.DIF.8K regional and the CALS7K.2 and ARCH3K.1 global geomagnetic field models show a good agreement for the last 3000 years but differences for older times. The Balkan SV curves identify several rapid changes of the geomagnetic field in eastern Europe and can be used as reference curves for archaeomagnetic dating in the Balkan Peninsula.

A karyological study ofGenistasect.SpartocarpusSpach (Cytiseae-Fabaceae)

Summary Genista sect. Spartocarpus includes about 20 taxa distributed in the Mediterranean region, with one species (G. radiata) extending into the Alps. Two main diversity centers can be identified: one in the East (Balkan Peninsula and Anatolia) and one in the West (Southern Spain and Northwestern Africa), with various species occurring in the Tyrrhenian area. A karyological study was carried out on 30 wild populations of 7 taxa; a comprehensive evaluation of the section is presented. In the G. radiata group (East-Alpine Balkan), both varieties of G. radiata (radiata and sericopetala) and G. holopetala have the same secondary basic chromosome number x = 12, but different levels of ploidy: 4x (2n = 48) in var. radiata and G. holopetala; 8x (2n = 96) in var. sericopetala of Southeastern France; both 4x and 8x (2n = 48 and 2n = 96) in the examined population of Piemonte; G. hassertiana (2n = 52) may be considered as the result of ascending aneuploidy derived from x = 12. The G. sessilifolia group (Central Southern Balkans and Anatolia) appears karyologically homogeneous, displaying the basic number x = 11: G. nissana (2n = 22) is diploid, while in G. sessilifolia, ssp. romanica (Southeastern Europaean, 2n = 22) is diploid and ssp. sessilifolia (Anatolian, 2n = 88) octoploid. In the Western Mediterranean region, G. spartioides and G. haenseleri (Southern Spain and Northwestern Africa) display n = 20 and 2n = 40 (rarely n = 22), with x = 10. In G. aetnensis, endemic to Sardinia and Sicily, the numbers n = 26 and 2n = 52 were found, with x = 13. For the Tyrrhenian species of the G. ephedroides complex (incl. G. dorycnifolia) the number 2n = 48 (with x = 12) has been constantly counted. Sect. Spartocarpus is thus karyologically heterogeneous, displaying four secondary basic numbers (x = 10, 11, 12, 13), that have different geographic patterns and probably diversified following geographical isolation. Besides, more levels of ploidy (2x, 4x, 8x) and some cases of aneuploidy were observed: the level 4x is the most frequent and prevails in all the range of the section, 2x is found only in Southern Balkans (G. sessilifolia group) and 8x is limited to peripheral areas of Turkey and France.

14C Dating of a Final Neolithic-Early Bronze Age Transition Period Settlement at Aghios Ioannis on Thassos (North Aegean)

The transitional period known as the Final Neolithic-Early Bronze Age in Greece, falling in terms of absolute dates within the 4th millennium BC, is an obscure and enigmatic period. Few sites in northern Greece or the southern Balkans have produced evidence of 4th millennium BC occupation, and the sites that do are mainly concentrated in the last third of the 4th millennium toward the beginning of the EBA. This paper presents archaeological evidence and radiocarbon dates from a site that covers part of the gap, Aghios Ioannis on Thassos, the northernmost Aegean island. It is a coastal site of seasonal occupation and most probably depended on organized animal husbandry plus hunting and fishing activities. From the first excavations in 1996, there was evidence that the site was occupied during the Final Neolithic to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age. The 14C dates obtained fall towards the end of the 4th millennium if not closer to the middle. The presence of human activity in this last part of the 4th millennium “gap” on Thassos is by itself an interesting discovery that enlarges our knowledge for this obscure period and is of environmental and cultural significance.

The dialect of the Mitrovica Roma

The Mitrovica Roma have been scattered across Europe since the ethnic conflict in Kosovo. Their dialect was identified as a Gurbet variety, but has not yet being exhaustively documented. This article aims at filling this gap by presenting the grammar of the dialect. Data have been collected in Palermo, Italy, and are presented following the Romani Morpho-Syntax database format. Phonological, morphological and syntactic features are described, highlighting those helpful in classifying the dialect in a geographic-historical perspective. Many features are shared with Vlax dialects of Romani, originating in Walachia and Moldavia, which is taken as an indication of the origin of the Mitrovica dialect in Vlax territories. Mitrovica Romani participates in innovations originating in the south-western Balkans but not reaching Vlax territories, suggesting a relatively early migration of the community to the southern Balkans.

Tephrostratigraphy and tephrochronology of lakes Ohrid and Prespa, Balkans

Abstract. Four cores from Balkans lakes Ohrid and Prespa were examined for recognition of tephra layers and cryptotephras, and the results presented along with the review of data from other two already published cores from Lake Ohrid. The six cores provide a previously unrealised tephrostratigraphic framework of the two lakes, and provide a new tephrostratigraphic profile (composite) for the Balkans, which spans from the end of the Middle Pleistocene to the AD 472. A total of 12 tephra layers and cryptotephras were recognised in the cores. One is of Middle Pleistocene age (131 ka) and correlated to the marine tephra layer P-11 from Pantelleria Island. Eight volcanic layers are Upper Pleistocene in age, and encompass the period between ca. 107 ka and ca. 31 ka. This interval contains some of the main regional volcanic markers of the central Mediterranean area, including X-6, X-5, Y-5 and Y-3 tephra layers. The other layers of this interval have been related to the marine tephra layers C20, Y-6 and C10, while one was for the first time recognised in distal areas and correlated to the Taurano eruption of probable Vesuvian origin. Three cryptotephras were of Holocene age. Two of which have been correlated to Mercato and AD 472 eruptions of Somma-Vesuvius, while the third has been correlated to the FL eruption from Mount Etna. These recognitions provide a link of the Ohrid and Prespa lacustrine successions to other archives of the central Mediterranean area, like south Adriatic, Ionian, and south Tyrrhenian seas, lakes of southern Italy (Lago Grande di Monticchio, Pantano di San Gregorio Magno and Lago di Pergusa) and Balkans (Lake Shkodra).

Morphological, chorological and ecological plasticity of Cistus incanus in the southern Balkans

Two subspecies of Cistus incanus L. occurring in the southern Balkans were studied: C. incanus L. ssp. incanus and C. incanus ssp. creticus (L.) Heywood. After studying the morphological differences, the communities dominated by these two subspecies were sampled according to the central European method. The localities of the relevés show the distribution pattern of the two subspecies. The typical subspecies can be found in the area of distribution of thermophilous deciduous forests of Carpinion orientalis, whereas the subspecies creticus grows in the area of the evergreen broad‐leaved forests of Quercetea ilicis. The communities were classified as Diantho–Cistetum incani Micevski et Matevski ex Čarni, Matevski et Šilc ass. nova hoc loco and Calicotomo villosae–Cistetum cretici Oberdorfer 1954. Analyses of traits (life span, life form, proportion of certain families, bioindicator values and chorotypes) reveal that the harshest site conditions prevail within Diantho–Cistetum incani, which appears as an initial stage of the vegetation succession. Calicotome–Cistetum cretici is a subsequent stage of succession, since the extreme degradation of vegetation on these sites results in ephemeral communities dominated by Poa bulbosa assigned to Romulion.

Disentangling phylogeography, polyploid evolution and taxonomy of a woodland herb (Veronica chamaedrys group, Plantaginaceae s.l.) in southeastern Europe

Southeastern Europe is a centre of European biodiversity, but very little is known about factors causing the observed richness. Here, we contribute to fill this gap by reconstructing the spatio-temporal diversification of the cytologically variable and taxonomically intricate complex of Veronica chamaedrys (Plantaginaceae s.l.), growing in open forests, forest edges and grasslands, with flow cytometry, molecular markers (AFLPs, plastid DNA sequences) and morphometry. Our results show that both diploid and tetraploid cytotypes are widespread, but diploids predominate on the southern Balkan Peninsula. Plastid sequences suggest a first split into three main lineages in the mid-Pleistocene and a continuous diversification during the last 0.4my. Two of the identified plastid lineages coincide with geographically distinct AFLP clusters. Altogether, the genetic data suggest forest refugia on the southern-most Balkan Peninsula (Greece), in Bulgaria, Istria (Croatia and Slovenia) and maybe the southeastern Carpathians (Romania). Morphometric and genetic data show little congruence with current taxonomy.

Linking Italy and the Balkans. A Y-chromosome perspective from the Arbereshe of Calabria

Background: The Arbereshe are an Albanian-speaking ethno-linguistic minority who settled in Calabria (southern Italy) about five centuries ago.Aim: This study aims to clarify the genetic relationships between Italy and the Balkans through analysis of Y-chromosome variability in a peculiar case study, the Arbereshe.Subject and methods: Founder surnames were used as a means to identify a sample of individuals that might trace back to the Albanians at the time of their establishment in Italy. These results were compared with data of more than 1000 individuals from Italy and the Balkans.Results: The distributions of haplogroups (defined using 31 UEPs) and haplotypes (12 STRs) show that the Italian and Balkan populations are clearly divergent from each other. Within this genetic landscape, the Arbereshe are characterized by two peculiarities: (a) they are a clear outlier in the Italian genetic background, showing a strong genetic affinity with southern Balkans populations; and (b) they retain a high degree of genetic diversity.Conclusion: These results support the hypothesis that the surname-chosen Arbereshe are representative of the Y-chromosome genetic variability of the Albanian founder population. Accordingly, the Arbereshe genetic structure can contribute to the interpretation of the recent biological history of the southern Balkans. Intra-haplogroup analyses suggest that this area may have experienced important changes in the last five centuries, resulting in a marked increase in the frequency of haplogroups I2a and J2.

Y-STR variation in Albanian populations: implications on the match probabilities and the genetic legacy of the minority claiming an Egyptian descent

Y chromosome variation at 12 STR (the Powerplex® Y system core set) and 18 binary markers was investigated in two major (the Ghegs and the Tosks) and two minor (the Gabels and the Jevgs) populations from Albania (Southern Balkans). The large proportion of haplotypes shared within and between groups makes the Powerplex 12-locus set inadequate to ensure a suitable power of discrimination for the forensic practice. At least 85% of Y lineages in the Jevgs, the cultural minority claiming an Egyptian descent, turned out to be of either Roma or Balkan ancestry. They also showed unequivocal signs of a common genetic history with the Gabels, the other Albanian minority practising social and cultural Roma traditions.

Noninvasive genetic studies of brown bears using power poles

One difficulty in the conservation of endangered wildlife is the lack of reliable information on its status. This lack of knowledge can often be attributed to financial and logistic constraints as well as the lack of trained personnel to collect data. We test a simple method to study bears in the southern Balkans by inspecting power poles, which are used by bears for marking and rubbing purposes. We created a network of barbed-wire fitted poles for the collection of hair samples, evenly distributed throughout six study areas. During 87 sampling sessions in the main study area, we collected 191 samples and identified six microsatellite loci that were variable enough for individual bear identification. The most and best-quality hair samples were collected during the mating period, and DNA was most successfully extracted from samples remaining <4 weeks in the field. In the six study areas, we identified 47 bears. An advantage of using power poles for hair sampling is their availability and accessibility; no bait is required, and the network can be easily set up. A drawback may be an unequal capture probability of sex and age classes of bears. Despite this limitation, using power poles proved to be a simple and cheap method for the noninvasive genetic study of bears that did not require any prior knowledge on habitat use and activity patterns. The method is suitable for large-scale surveys to estimate distribution and relative densities of bears and could also be applied for studying other species.

Molecular phylogeny of the Mediterranean species ofPhilaenus(Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Aphrophoridae) using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences

The phylogenies of all eight European species of Philaenus were estimated from cytochrome oxidase subunit I, cytochrome B and internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) fragments of DNA using phylogenetic reconstruction methods: maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI) analyses. Based on the topologies of all obtained phylogenetic trees, the monophyly of Philaenus is well supported, being congruent with morphological, ecological and chromosomal data. Three phylogenetic lineages were distinguished in the mitochondrial and combined (mtDNA with ITS2) trees. The first lineage is represented by only one species, Philaenus maghresignus, which inhabits Maghreb and southern Spain. Clade A includes three species: P. tarifa (Southern Iberia), P. italosignus (Sicily and Southern Italy) and P. signatus (the Balkans and Middle East). In clade B two subclades were recognized: B1 represented by P. loukasi (Southern Balkans) and P. arslani (Middle East), and B2 comprising P. spumarus (the most widespread Palaearctic species) and P. tesselatus (from Southern Iberia and Maghreb). These clades were also retrieved in trees reconstructed from nuclear sequences. However, four species (P. maghresignus, P. tarifa, P. italosignus and P. signatus) showed unresolved polytomy at the base of the nuclear tree. Clade A together with P. maghresignus clustered with the ‘signatus’ group defined from morphology, and clade B with the ‘spumarius’ group; these might be considered separate subgenera. Genetic distances in mitochondrial DNA between ingroup species ranged from 14.0% between P. signatus and P. spumarius to 2.4% between P. tesselatus and P. spumarius. By contrast, genetic divergence of ITS2 between ingroup species was very low, at most 2.1%. The divergence of Philaenus species is estimated to have occcurred between 7.9 and 0.6 Ma. Possibly three main speciation events occurred: the first at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary (c. 5.5 Ma) for deeper splits; the second between 4.2 and 2.5 Ma in the Pliocene, when pairs of more closely related species diverged; and the most recent during the Pleistocene glaciations, when the separation of P. tesselatus and P. spumarius took place. The species status of all Philaenus species is confirmed except for P. tesselatus.

Slow worm, Anguis fragilis (Reptilia: Anguidae) as a species complex: Genetic structure reveals deep divergences

Phylogenetic relationships of the Western Palearctic legless lizard genus Anguis were inferred based on a fragment of mitochondrial DNA and two nuclear protein-coding loci, C-mos and PRLR. A. cephallonica from the Peloponnese was confirmed as a valid species. It is the sister taxon to a clade comprising all other evolutionary lineages, which were shown to represent three distinct species: (1) A. fragilis sensu stricto occurring in Western and Central Europe, the north-western Balkans, with possibly isolated populations in the eastern Balkans, and presumably also in western Scandinavia and Italy; (2) A. colchica distributed from the eastern Czech Republic and the Baltic region eastward to northern Iran, presumably also in eastern Scandinavia, and the north-eastern Balkans; (3) A. graeca restricted to the southern Balkans, and partially sympatric with A. cephallonica. According to the more variable mitochondrial marker, A. graeca appears to be the sister species to A. colchica, and these taxa together form a sister clade to A. fragilis, whereas the less variable nuclear markers show A. colchica to be closer to A. fragilis. The C-mos gene has not provided substantial variation within this species complex, while the PRLR gene, which was used for the first time in phylogeographic study in a reptile, distinguished all species successfully. Intra-specific differentiation of A. colchica is discussed, and subspecific status of the Caucasian and Caspian populations is proposed. The uncovered genetic differences should be taken into account in all future biogeographical, morphological and ecological studies, as well as in conservation.

Grave 22 of the Belgrade necropolis in Karaburma: Retrospective and perspective

Keltska nekropola nađena na beogradskoj Karaburmi i dalje je jedno od znacajnijih nalazista za interpretaciju povijesnih, ekonomskih i kulturnih procesa koji su se zbivali na podrucju srednjega Balkana u vremenu od pocetka 4. do konca 1. stoljeca. Ispred svega, predstavlja najobimniji izvor za pojasnjenje kronologije najstarije keltske prisutnosti na tom prostoru, te pruža mogucnost ilustracije kulturnih i ekonomskih razmjera u mreži u koju su sami bili ukljuceni. Naime, prostor je spoja Save i Dunave bio prostorom gdje su se koncentrirale i razvijale tehnoloske inovacije i ujedno prostorom gdje su se filtrirali politicki, vojni i gospodarski kontakti. Na nekropoli, nedvojbeno pripadajucoj regionalnoj vojnoj eliti, istupa nekoliko grobova u kojima su, pored standardnih priloga iz okvira regionalne materijalne kulture, svoje mjesto nasli i predmeti podrijetlom iz sireg prostora, kako latenskog tako i južnog balkanskog svijeta. Među njima, narocito istupa grob broj 22 kod kojega je bilo moguce prepoznati i pojasniti ispreplitanje tradicija i inovacija, te kulturnih ispreplitanja i međusobnih prožimanja.