North Macedonia — books & literature

The story of North Macedonia

The region that is now North Macedonia has been settled since antiquity, sitting at the crossroads of the ancient kingdom of Macedon to the south and Illyrian and Thracian lands, later absorbed into the Roman and then Byzantine empires. Slavic tribes settled the area from the 6th century CE, and in the late 10th century Tsar Samuil made Ohrid the capital of his empire, turning the city into a major centre of Slavic learning and church life, building on the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius' disciples Clement and Naum. Byzantine rule returned in 1018, followed by Ottoman conquest in the mid-14th century, which lasted roughly five centuries. The Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 ended Ottoman control and split the wider Macedonia region among Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria; the northern part became part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and, after 1944, a constituent republic of socialist Yugoslavia. It declared independence in 1991 as the Republic of Macedonia, weathering a brief 2001 ethnic conflict resolved by the Ohrid Framework Agreement. In 2019, the Prespa Agreement with Greece renamed the country the Republic of North Macedonia, clearing its path to NATO membership in 2020 and ongoing talks to join the European Union.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 500s

   Slavic tribes settle in the region.

2. 976-1014

   Tsar Samuil rules from Ohrid, making it a capital of church and learning ("Samuel's Empire").

3. 1018

   Byzantine Empire reconquers the region after Samuil's death.

4. mid-1300s

   Ottoman conquest of the region begins, lasting nearly five centuries.

5. 1912-1913

   Balkan Wars end Ottoman rule; Macedonia is partitioned among Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria.

6. 1944

   Socialist Republic of Macedonia established within Yugoslavia.

7. 1991

   Independence from Yugoslavia declared (referendum 8 September, declaration 25 September).

8. 2001

   Ohrid Framework Agreement ends armed conflict and expands rights for the ethnic Albanian community.

9. 2019

   Prespa Agreement with Greece renames the country the Republic of North Macedonia (effective 12 February).

10. 2020

    North Macedonia joins NATO (27 March).

Top 10 things to know about North Macedonia

1. North Macedonia is a landlocked Balkan nation bordered by Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Albania.
2. Skopje is the capital and largest city, home to more than a quarter of the population.
3. Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest and deepest lakes in Europe and a dual UNESCO World Heritage Site for both nature and culture.
4. The country was renamed from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia in 2019 to resolve a decades-long naming dispute with Greece.
5. North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020 and is a candidate for European Union membership.
6. Macedonian, written in Cyrillic script, is the official language; Albanian is co-official in many municipalities.
7. Ohrid was the seat of a medieval Slavic literary school founded by Saint Clement of Ohrid, one of the earliest centres of Slavic literacy.
8. Mother Teresa was born in Skopje in 1910.
9. Roughly a quarter of the population is ethnic Albanian, alongside Macedonian, Turkish, Roma, and other communities.
10. Tavče gravče, a baked-bean dish, is widely considered the national dish.

Famous people from North Macedonia

Say it in North Macedonia's language

Did you know?

• ★Lake Ohrid is estimated to be over a million years old, making it one of the oldest continuously existing lakes on Earth.
• ★The country's name changed twice in writing within a decade of independence-related disputes, ending with "North Macedonia" in 2019.
• ★Skopje was largely rebuilt after a devastating 1963 earthquake that destroyed much of the city.

North Macedonia culture

• The Ohrid Summer Festival brings music, opera, and theatre to the shores of Lake Ohrid each year.
• Orthodox Christianity is the majority faith, with a significant Muslim minority concentrated among ethnic Albanians and Turks.
• Tavče gravče (baked beans) and Šopska salad are everyday staples of Macedonian home cooking.
• Traditional folk dances such as the "Teškoto" and polyphonic village music remain part of festival and wedding life.

Why read North Macedonia's books

North Macedonian literature traces back to the Ohrid Literary School's medieval Slavic manuscripts and carries through to the 20th-century poets who shaped the modern Macedonian language after it was formally codified. Its shelves reflect a small nation's determined effort to write, name, and preserve its own story.