A multi-author historical survey that examines the peoples, states, and shifting borders of the Balkan peninsula across successive eras. It traces migrations and the formation and decline of medieval polities, centuries of imperial domination, and the rise of national movements and regional conflicts that reconfigured territory and diplomacy. Organized by region, each section combines chronological narrative with thematic analysis and maps, and the contributors acknowledge differing perspectives that reflect the contested and rapidly changing nature of the subject.