Similarities between ancient Macedonian and today's' Macedonian Culture (Linguistics and Onomastics)

The Ancient Macedonians are among the most famous nations in the history. Probably the most famous of all in the row of renown ancient Macedonians is Alexander The Great of Macedon, who was driven by his idea of a World State where all the people will live together in equality. His father, Philip II of Macedon is also very well known. Aristotle1), one of the greatest philosophers of all times was also a Macedonian (by father), and so was the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII (she was a distant grand-daughter of the Macedonian general Ptolemy, friend of Alexander The Great since their childhood)2). The members of the Seleucides and Ptolemais dynasties were also Macedonians, and a few of them are mentioned in the Bible3). There are views within the scientific community that The Holy Evangelist Luke4), as well as a number of Byzantine tzars5) all carried the Macedonian genes. The contribution of ancient Macedonians to the world civilization is large and of great importance6).

What was the ethnic origin of the ancient Macedonians?

Despite the views in some parts of the scientific community today that the ancient Macedonians were part of the Hellenes, the idea that ancient Macedonians were a separate nation is becoming increasingly accepted among the scientific circles around the world7). The ancient Greek historians clearly stated that the Macedonians were a separate people from the Hellenes. The Greek historian Arrian (I AD) wrote that there was a "racial rivalry" between the ancient Macedonians and the Greeks8).
There are a certain number of arguments and strong indications in support of the existence of (at least partial) ethno-cultural links between the ancient Macedonians and Veneti.
Before presenting some of these arguments, it is required to affirm that the Veneti were among the oldest nations in Europe. Narratively the Veneti were initially mentioned as people from Asia Minor, and later on as Balkan people as well. Furthermore, there are number of testimonials and evidences that the ancient people Veneti were the ancestors of the so called "Slavs"10). This practically means that the ancient Macedonians and the so called "Slavs" should have (at least partial) common ethno-cultural background. Following are only some of the arguments in support of this as a wider elaboration is required to fully cover this topic and the space on this occasion is limited.
The ancient Macedonians used their own vernacular, Macedonian language. There are number of testimonials from the ancient historians in support of this fact. For instance, the Greek historian Plutarch (I AD), describing a quarrel between Alexander The Great and one of his friends wrote that Alexander "jumped on his feet and in Macedonian called on his shield-bearers"11).
In his biography of Marc Anthony, Plutarch mentioned that Macedonian was the mother tongue of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII and of her ancestors from the Macedonian dynasty Ptolemais12).
The Latin historian Quintus Curtius Rufus (I AD) also testified that the ancient Macedonians spoke a separate, Macedonian language. He described the trial of the Macedonian Philotas for contriving a plot to murder Alexander The Great. The plot was discovered and Philotas was publicly interrogated by Alexander. Describing this event, Quintus Curtius Rufus clearly stated that the Macedonians spoke separate, Macedonian language13).
An evidence about the distinction of the Macedonian language was found on fragment of a papyrus which was thought to be a part of the lost work "History of the successors" by the ancient Greek historian Arrian. In this papyrus (PSI XII.1284) an episode from the history of ancient Macedonia has been described where the distinction of Macedonian language has been clearly emphasized. It has been described in this text how the secretary of Philip and Alexander of Macedon, Eumenes was: "…sending forth a man called Xennias who was Macedonian in speech…" to negotiate with the Macedonian army of Neoptolemeus. This event took place around 321 BC.14)
That the Macedonian was a distinct vernacular characteristic to the Macedonians confirm the anti-Macedonian speeches given by the great orator from Athens, Demosthenes. In his work "Philippic" Demosthenes gave the following insulting remark about the Macedonian King Philip II of Macedon:
"That man Philip, not only he is not a Greek, but also he does not have anything in common with the Greeks. If only he would have been a barbarian from a decent country - but he is not even that. He is a scabby creature from Macedonia - a land that one can not even bring a slave that is worth something from".15)
The question why Demosthenes named Philip as a barbarian becomes imminent. Majority of the scientists believe that the term "barbarians" in the ancient period was used to refer mainly to people that spoke language that Greeks could not understand, usually accompanied by a dose of disregard towards the culture of the people speaking that language. It is well known that all the people that did not speak Greek were named "barbarians", whereas the Greeks from the city-states used the word "xenoi" when referring to one-another.16)
Demosthenes was not alone in naming the Macedonians "barbarians". Ancient Greek historian Isocrates also called the Macedonians "barbarians".17)
The Greek Trasymachus, in his speech before the Larisians in V BC named the Macedonian king Archelaos "barbarian" in relation to the Greeks Larisians.18)
However, it stands for a fact that the elites in power in ancient Macedonia at a certain stage of the development of Macedonia took up the Greek literary language and some elements of the Greek culture (religion, onomastics etc). It needs to be emphasized that this does not mean at all that the Macedonians were Hellenes. First thing to be said in relation to this is that the Greek literary language at the time was also used by many other nations that were not Hellenes: Thracians, Jews, Ilyrians, even the Romans, all these people at some stage in the ancient period wrote in old Greek language. Such examples can be witnessed even today: the Irish speak and write in English and are not English; Brazilians speak and write in Portugese and are not Portugese etc.
As far as adopting the Old Greek language by the Macedonian royalty is concerned, it is a fact that this occurred at a certain stage of development of the Macedonian state. Supporting this fact is the non-existence of not even a single inscription in Greek on the territory of Macedonia to be dated from and before V BC, which matches with the period prior to the partial adoption of the Greek culture in Macedonia. The fact that many of the inscriptions in Greek found (from a later date though) contain many grammatical errors, is by itself a proof in support of the truth, that is the Old Greek language was foreign to the Macedonians.


What was like the ancient Macedonian language?

There are only a certain number of preserved words, and from the current knowledge the structure of the ancient Macedonian can not be fully synthesised. Most of the ancient Macedonian words are different to the ancient Greek language words, however there are a few that are similar. For the words from the ancient Macedonian language that are similar to the ancient Greek language words are believed to be taken on from Greek.19) In fact, this occurrence was and still is characteristic for all languages in the world. In the Macedonian language today terms are adopted from foreign languages mainly where there is no authentic terminology or analogy. For instance: antena (antenna); satelit (satellite); mobilen telefon (mobile/cellular phone); kompjuter (computer) etc. These foreign words are being adapted in accordance with the modern Macedonian phonetic system. This needs to be taken into account when analysing the ancient Macedonian language. The authenticity and the nature of a language can not be possibly determined only by the words that language adopted from another language.
One needs to bear in mind that almost all the preserved ancient Macedonian words reached modern age through their Greek transcript which makes it more difficult to identify their true meaning. It is important that the phenomenon "Interpretato Graeca" is mentioned here, that is greekifying of all the foreign words: nouns, verbs, and especially names. A specific characteristic of this process is adding the suffix "os" or "s" to the foreign words, and this will be discussed later in this paper.
Despite all this, it is very interesting to note that many of the authentic ancient Macedonian words, according to their etymology and pronunciation, have a striking resemblance to the appropriate words used in the modern Macedonian language (and other so called "Slav" languages).
For instance, the word "tshelniku" which translated in English means foremost is a very interesting case. The British historian Hammond mentioned its etymology and said that the word "tshelniku" in the ancient Macedonian language had a meaning of "leader of a group". Hammond says that this word was translated into Greek only in the 14th century as "phylarchos".20)
The word "tshelnik" with completely identical etymology and pronunciation has been registered in the so called "old Slavic language" in Macedonia as early as 11th century! Proof of this is the entry of Byzantine chronicle writer Kekavmen where he described the events surrounding the anti-Byzantine uprising of Petar Deljan in 11th century. He said that in the language of the rebels "the strategist is called tshelnik"!21) It is known that Kekavmen was fluent in the "language of the Slavs" in Macedonia therefore he could translate the Greek word "strategist" as "tshelnik" (the strategist was a high military rank in Byzantine). It is even more interesting that the word "tshelnik" with identical etymology and pronunciation is being used in todays' Macedonian language and in other "Slav" languages, as well! This can not be a coincidence, especially considering the fact that there could be hundreds of thousands etymological meanings that a single word can represent, and in this instance there is an identical etymological meaning for a word that has also an identical pronunciation.
The remark that the middle age Macedonians simply borrowed this word from the language of ancient Macedonians and used it in 11th century is not valid. Assuming that it is so, becomes impossible to explain the fact that this word is present in the contemporary Croatian literary language. Have they inherited this word from the ancient Macedonians as well? It is the same with the contemporary Serbian and Bulgarian literary languages where this word is also present with the same pronunciation and etymology.
It is highly likely that through analysis of the word "tshelniku" some other characteristics of the ancient Macedonian language could be identified, considering the fact that in the contemporary Macedonian language this word is deducted from the noun "tshelo" - forehead.
As mentioned previously, the non-Greek words were recorded by the ancient Greeks on as-heard basis without analysing the form of the word. Due to the fact the word "tshelniku" had been recorded inclusive of the vowel "u" at the end, it is anticipated that "tshelniku" was recorded by the ancient Greeks in its vocative form. The vocative form of the noun "tshelnik" in the contemporary Macedonian language is precisely "tshelniku". Is it maybe that the Greeks used to hear the word "tshelniku" every time a Macedonian addressed the leader, therefore recorded this word without realising that they were recording its vocative form?
Another word that is also very interesting in this regard is the word "phoinikos", which is related to the warfare22). Indubitable this word is very much alike the contemporary Macedonian word "voinik" meaning "soldier". There could be a little doubt that these words have a common origin. Why is this so? In the ancient Greek language the consonant "v" did not exist23). The conclusion is imminent that the true pronunciation of the word "phoinikos" would be "voinikos" ("ph" replaced with "v"). In addition to this, as established earlier in this text, ancient Greeks added the suffix "os" to a lot of non-Greek words they recorded. If the word "phoinikos" had been subjected to the "Interpretato Graeca" phenomenon i.e. if the suffix "os" had been added to this non-Greek word, by taking out the Greek suffix we arrive at the contemporary Macedonian word "voinik" (soldier). Not only the pronunciation, but also the etymology of the word "voinik" is very similar to that of the word "phoinikos" and is located in the domain of warfare.
An abundance of water is described with the word "vodi" in contemporary Macedonian language. The corresponding ancient Macedonian word for this is the word "vedy". The Greek archaeologist Aliki Stuyanaki in the periodical "Edesaika Hronika" (Edessa, may-august, 1972) advised that the Macedonian city of Voden, to which the Greeks gave the name "Edessa", was originally a Brygian city and its old name was Vedy which means abundance of water24). Furthermore, St. Clement of Alexandria wrote that ancient Macedonians had a great respect towards the water (springs, wells, rivers) and they worshiped the Macedonian divinity they called Vedy25). In this instance as well, the similarity between pronunciation of a contemporary Macedonian and an ancient Macedonian word is undeniable, and again their etymology is identical.
The contemporary Macedonian verb "pesh" (walk) in ancient Macedonian would have been pronounced "pez"26).
"Pella"27) is another ancient Macedonian word. The etymology of this word is "a stone". The corresponding word in contemporary Macedonian language is "spila", which is similar in pronunciation with the ancient Macedonian word "pella".
The ancient Macedonian word recorded through its Greek interpretation as "skoidos" bears the meaning of judges. In contemporary Macedonian this meaning is conveyed using the word "sudii"28).

There are number of ancient Macedonian words with undetermined etymology which in their pronunciation undeniably resemble contemporary Macedonian words, as well as words from other so called "Slavic languages".A very good example is the word "arotos" which ancient Macedonians used as an epithet to the god Heracles29). Its etymology is undetermined to-date, however if the suffix "s" is deleted this word is practically identical with the adjective "aroto" - "the old one" (archaism to a degree) from the present Macedonian language. According to a legend Heracles was considered to be the oldest ascendant of the Macedonians. Can the answer for the etymology of the word "arotos" be located in this legend, by referring to Heracles as "the old one" or "aroto(s)"?
It is inevitable that the Macedonian Phalanx is mentioned in this discussion. The strongest weapon of the phalanx was the long spear called "sarissa". It is very interesting to analyse the etymology of the word "sarissa". The first and obvious question is whether the first letter of this word, the letter "s", is authentic or perhaps there should be the letter "z" instead? It is well known that the name of the Brygian (ancient Macedonian) goddess was recorded as both "Semela" and "Zemela". If this is applied to the word "sarissa" i.e. the letter "s" is replaced with the letter "z" it will transform into the word "zarissa". An exciting assumption emerges regarding the etymology of this word. The reflexive verb in its dialectical form "zari se" in the contemporary Macedonian is identical in pronunciation with the word "zarisa" (thrust itself in, pierce itself into). This is of course an assumption, which nevertheless has a solid base in the information presented in relation to the pronunciation and etymology of the words discussed previously.
By analysing ancient Macedonian words that have a determined etymology, it is possible to make some assumptions and even draw some conclusions regarding certain grammatical forms of the ancient Macedonian language. This forms are identical with the forms of the contemporary Macedonian language.
It is worth to mention that there were words in the ancient Macedonian language that (at least without performing a deeper analysis) appear to have a little in common with the contemporary Macedonian language. However, the presence of these words does not deny the existence of words from the contemporary Macedonian language in the ancient Macedonian language. In fact, for some of these words it is more than obvious that they had existed in the ancient Macedonian vocabulary.
We should also turn attention to a portion of the ancient Macedonian onomastics. At the same time it is necessary to keep in mind two things. First, there is no doubt that the ancient Macedonians (mainly those from the highest circles) accepted part of the Hellenic onomastics. But in fact a large number of Macedonian names were different than those in the Hellenic onomasticon, while a considerable number of these are reminiscent of the later Macedonian onomasticon, or are derived from words of Macedonian or from so called "Slavic" (Venetic) origin.
A second thing that needs to be kept in mind is the fact that ancient Macedonian personal names up to our own time mainly achieved written form through their Greek (and in a smaller number Latin as well) transcription. We can surmise that a considerable number of these names were given the added Greek suffixes "os" and "s", and more rarely "us". There are a lot of proofs for this, but here for lack of space we shall only mention that, in our research we have noted over 350 personal names written by ancient Greek authors, which names belonged to various non-Greek peoples. The overwhelming number of these Persian, Thracian, Illyrian, Egyptian, Scythian, Brygian, Libyan, Indian, and other personal names (but also toponyms and other words) were artificially Hellenized by the old Greek authors, adding the Greek suffix "os", and where appropriate "s". Sometimes the old Greek authors went to such lengths that the foreign name was totally changed in the process. Thus, for example, the Egyptian Pharaoh Khu-fu in Greek sources became written as CheopS (with the attached Greek suffix "s"). Later the Indian King Chandragupta was written by Greeks as SandroticOS, and so forth. Sometimes the only change to the name would be the Greek ending "os" or "s". Thus, for example, the name of the Egyptian King Psamtic was written by Greeks as PsametihOS. The Macedonian name Ata, as well, became written as both Ata and AtaS (Hellenized by addition of the suffix "s"), etc.
We've said that we have identified hundreds of such examples of artificially Hellenized non-Greek names (but also other non-Greek words) by old Greek writers, which for lack of space here, will not be mentioned. According to such practices of that time it happened that peoples from quite disparate cultures, ethnic origins (and even races) such as the Persians, Egyptians, Illyrians, Arabians, Libyans, Thracians, Ethiopians, Scythians, Indians, Macedonians, and others, all had identical (Greek) endings on their names. This is so unlikely as to be unbelievable. Therefore, in the following discussion particular attention will be paid to the roots of personal names, given the extensive artificial use of the Greek suffixes "os" and "s" (as well as "us").
In the ancient Macedonian onomasticon we will include several Brygian names (most of them found in Macedonia) as well. This is for the simple reason that Brygians played a major role in the ethnogenesis of the ancient Macedonians30). But to pass on to concrete instances. We will mention a portion of the ancient Macedonian names which are the same or very similar to later Macedonian names or words, as well as names and words of the other so called "Slavic languages". Most of these names are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon 31) .
Ata(s). The root of this name contains the noun "at", which in the so called "Old Slavic language" meant "a horse". We note that the ancient Macedonians were great horsemen and horses were very importaint for them. Such names allready exsists in onomasticons of other peoples (for example Bulgarians have their popular name Asparuh, which means "speed horse" in Old Bulgarian language). The same name "Ata" is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Apell(es). The root of this name contains the noun "apel" (a call) which we have in the present day Macedonian language.
Atarhi(as). The root of this name contains the noun "atar". This is a Macedonian archaism for the word "love". Names that contain the word "love" exist in a majority of lexicons. 
Bere(s). The root of this name contains the verb "bere" (to pick up) that exists today in the Macedonian language and in other "Slavic" languages. Also in the present day Macedonian onomasticon there are names derived from verbs. The name "Bere" is present In todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Crater(us)32). The root of this name contains the word "krater" (crater) which exsists in the present day Macedonian and other "Slavic" languages. In todays' Macedonian onomasticon is present the name "Krate". 
Caran(us)33). This name might be connected to the present day Macedonian noun "kruna" (a crown). The name "Karanche" is present In todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Dada. The noun "dada" in the present day Macedonian language means "older sister". The name "Dada" is present In todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Daron. This is a name for the ancient Macedonian god of healing. Its etymology is known, and it means "he that gives health." This means that the name of this god contains the Macedonian noun "dar" (a gift). The names Darun, Dare, Dara and others are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Del(us). The verb "dela" (to work) exists in the so called "Old Slavic language", as well as in several present day "Slavic languages". The name "Dele" is present In todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Dimno(s). The adjective "dimno" exists in the present day Macedonian language and still means "steamy The names Dimna, Dimon, Dimnak and others are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Diplai(os)34). A name of an upper Macedonian (Payonian) ruler. In his name is the noun "dipla" that in dialectal form in the present day Macedonian language means a bouquet of flowers. The noun "dipla" is also used as a designation for a type of old Macedonian instrument. 
Dita. The noun exists in Slavic languages as "dite" or "dete", which means "a child". In 19th century Macedonian onomasticon was recordered the same name "Dita". 
Dita(s). This is an obvious form of the preceding name Dita, but it has been Hellenized with the suffix "s". 
Dud(es). The noun "dud" (a type of wood) exists in several "Slavic" languages. The names Dude and Duda are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Glaukia(s)35). Could this name be derived from the noun "glava" (a head)? In 19th century Macedonia one finds the male name Glavko.36) 
Gauan(us). This is an old originally ancient Macedonian name, first mentioned by Herodotus. It has obvious similarities to the noun "gaval", that represents an archaism for the "kaval" (a short Macedonian wind instrument). In 15th century Macedonia one finds the male names: Gavale and Gavala. 
Kopria. This name has possible connections to the noun "kopra" (a dill). It is a well-known practice to derive personal names from those of the plant world. In 16th century Macedonia one finds the female name Kopra. 
Lasten. This name may be connected to the noun "lastovica" (in Serbian: "lasta"), which means "a swallow". The name Laste is present in today's Macedonian onomasticon. 
Lyka. This female Macedonian name, which exists in the present day language, is possibly derived from the noun "lika" (a face, pretty face). The name Lika is present in today's Macedonian onomasticon. 
Milo. This name was mentioned by Plutarch as a name of a Macedonian military leader in the Macedonian-Roman conflicts. This name exists to the present day in the Macedonian onomasticon. It has an obvious identification with the present day Macedonian adjective "milo" (dear), from which a number of names are (Milosh, Milko, Milka). 
Mesti(us). The root of this name contains the noun (archaism) "mesti" (small childrens' shoes made from wool). In later Macedonian onomasticon there were also names derived from pieces of clothes. 
Mamina. This name fully corresponds to the present day Macedonian adjective "mamina" (the one who belongs to her mother). In 18th and 19th century Macedonia one finds the female name Maminka. 
Mama. This is identical to the present day Macedonian noun "mama", which in any case, exists in other languages. In 15th century Macedonia one finds the female name Mamica (deminutive for Mama). 
Mama(s). It is obvious that this is a Hellenized variant on the previous name.
Manta. The noun "mantija", that exists in the present day Macedonian language represents a type of long garment. In 19th century Macedonia one finds the same female name Manta. 
Mantyes. This is probably a variant of the previous name. The spoken form of this word (without the suffix "s") is still closer to the noun "mantija". 
Med(es). The root of this name contains the noun "med" (honey), which exists in todays' Macedonian language as well in most other "Slavic" languages. The name Mede is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Myrcin(us). Name of a king of an ancient Macedonian tribe Edoni, mentioned by Herodotus. If we remove the Greek "us", we get the name Myrcin (Mirkin). To the present day in the Macedonian language there is the female name "Mirka" (derived from the noun "mir", which means peace), while "Mirkin" is an adjective which means "The one who belongs to Mirka". Among the Macedonians, right up to the 20th century, men frequently received names derived from their mother's name (Kanin son of Kana; Mirkin son of Mirka and etc.). Could that be the case with this name? The names Mirkan, Mirin and so on are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Mucati. The verb "mucati" exists in a number of the "Slavic" languages. In the Macedonian language the verb "mucna" means "to speak". Maybe this name can be connected to the noun "mucka" (snout). If we read "c" as "k", then maybe the root of this name can be connected to the noun "mukach" (which means a cry baby). The names Mucan Muce, Mucko, Mukan, Muko are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Nana. The noun "nana" in the Macedonian language today is used to signify an older female relative. In dialectal form "nana" takes the form of the verb, to sleep. The name Nana is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Pita. The noun "pita" (a type of food), can be found in a number of "Slavic" languages. In todays' Macedonian onomasticon is present the name Pito. There are other Macedonian names derived from the food: Piroshka, Pituluca and others. 
Pittak(os). Could this be a variant of the previous name? The noun "pitach" exists in the present day Macedonian language, with the meaning, "one who begs". The names Pito and Pitako are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Plator. The noun "plat" exists in the present day Macedonian language as a type of high quality cloth. The suffix "or" is encountered in other male personal names, which means that it is independent of the root "plat". The name Platin is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Pyri(as).The root of this name could be connected to the noun "pir" (merriment). The name Piri is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Pyrh(os). This is probably a variant of the previous name. 
Perustae. The noun "perustija" in the present day Macedonian language means an iron spit for cooking meat over a fire, an item that had great significance in the preparation of food in the past. The name Peruska is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Rumi37). A female name that could possibly be connected to the adjective "rumena" (ripe red). In todays' Macedonian onomasticon there is name "Rumi", which is short form of the name "Rumena" (ripe red). 
Sita. A name that is identical to the present day Macedonian adjective "sita" (eating to satisfaction). The male name Sitko is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Sopol(is).This ancient Macedonian name is mentioned by the Greek historian Arrian as the name of a Macedonian officer in the army of Alexander the Great. It obviously contains the root "sopol" (a strong spring) from the so called "Old Slavic language". The name Sopol is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Stasanor. This name contains the present day Macedonian adjective "stasan" (ripe). We've said that the suffix "or" can be found in other male names, which means that it is outside of the root "stasan". The names Stasin, Stase and Staso are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Silen(us). Name of a forest demon in Brygian mythology. The root of this name contains the present day Macedonian adjective "silen" (that which has spiritual or physical strength). In middle age Macedonia one finds the names: Silan, Silano and Silane. 
Stamen(os)38). The root of this name contains the present day Macedonian adjective "stamen" (reliable, firm). The name Stamen is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Sever(os). The root of this word contains the noun "sever" (north), which exists in in a number of present day "Slavic" languages. The name Sever is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Sipa. In the Macedonian language there exists the noun "sipa" (a type of fish), which lives in Macedonian lake waters. It is a well known practice to derive personal names from the names of animals. The name Sipe is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Sipa(s). This is obviously a Hellenized variant of the previous name. 
Scritia39). The adjective "skrita" (secret) is apparent in this name that exists in "Slavic" languages. 
Tata, Tato, Tataia. These are obvious variations of a name derived from the noun "tato" i "tata", which means "a father" and can be found in several "Slavic" languages. The name "Tataia" probably is a variant on these two names. In middle age Macedonia one find the names: Tato, Tate, Tatko, Tatka, Tatin. 
Temen(os). The root of this name contains the present day Macedonian adjective "temen" (dark). 
Traizina. The root of this word may contain the present day Macedonian adjective "trazena" (expected, sought). 
Tip(as). The root of this name contains the noun "tip" (type), which is a word found in several Slavic languages. The names Tipa and Tipe are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Vitel(is). The root of this name contains the noun "vitel", which is found in the present day Macedonian and still means (whirlpool). The name Vitol is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Zaika. This is one of the most interesting ancient Macedonian female names. It may represent a female form of the present day Macedonian "zajak" (rabbit). In any case, there are numerous examples of names taken from names of animals. The names Zaia (Zaja) and Zaiko (Zajko) are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon. 
Zaimina. The present day Macedonian language contains the adjective "zemjina" (in dialectal form "zemina") which means "the one who belongs to Earth". There is also the adjective "zimna" (the one who belongs to the winter"). The name Zemko is present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon.
We would also add to this list the name of the well-known Brygian goddess Zemela, who was goddess of the earth. There is an obvious similarity to the Macedonian noun "zemja" (in dialectal form: "zemla"), which is similar in other "Slavic" languages.
We would also mention the name of a Brygian tribe, the "Mushki", who lived in the 9th century before Christ. Their name is identical to the noun "mushki" (men), which exists in other "Slavic" languages. Their king was called Mita a name which remains unchanged in a number of "Slavic" languages. 
There are other personal names of ancient Macedonians which in their spoken form have associations with present day Macedonian words, but only some of the more obvious examples have been mentioned.
Regarding the above mentioned names, few things require some explanation. Although it is obvious that in their spoken form they are completely or to a great extent analogous to the Macedonian words that we have cited, as well as those from a number of other "Slavic" languages, the question remains: is this merely chance and is the etymology of these names consistent enough to satisfy logic? For example, is it possible that someone really would name their child "Perustija" (an iron tool for a hearth fire)? In order to answer this question we can say that the criteria which was used in earlier times to create personal names is not quite the same as the present day criteria (at least in regard to the Macedonian onomasticon, and certainly in others as well). Concretely, for names derived from household items we can say that in 19th century Macedonia there is evidence of the female name "Masa" (a table) as well a male name "Lambe" (a lamp). This means that even in the near past there existed personal names connected to items for household use that may justify the claim that the female name "Perustae" was derived from the noun "perustija" (an iron tool for a hearth). Concerning the names that we have dealt with that are derived from verbs, we can say that there also exist today Macedonian names connected to specific activities that are names derived from verbs. Thus, for example, there is the name "Gone" (to hunte, to chase). Regarding the names connected to various items (mantija, plat, mesti and etc.) we can say that in the 19th century there is documentation for the name "Vuna" (dialectal form of the wool), which means that names connected to items existed even in the recent past. There is even evidence in the 19th century of the rare female name "Valkana" (Dirty). Although such a name appears quite strange to present generations, that doesn't deny the fact that our ancestors sometimes created personal names based on different criteria than we use today, and that fact must be taken into account when discussing their etymology.
There is plenty of ancient, middle age and modern age narrative evidence concerning the analogy between the culture of the ancient Macedonians and the culture of the Veneti (ancestors of the "Slavs").
The Latin historian Quintus Curtius Rufus in his biography of Alexander The Great wrote that the Veneti from Asia Minor region of Paphlagonia took part in the army of Alexander The Great. Quintus Curtius Rufus mentioned an interesting piece of information. He wrote that Philotas, a Macedonian who was a naturilised Hellen, teased his fellow Macedonians by calling them "Phrygians or Paphlagians"40). He also wrote that the Macedonians were unhappy about this and complained to Alexander The Great. Two very important points to note here: Philotas equated the terms Phrygians and Paphlagonians. It is well known that the Phrygians (in the Balkans were known as Brygians) became the constitutional ethno-cultural core of the ancient Macedonians, whereas the term Paphlagonians represents a geographic name for Veneti, i.e. for the ancestors of the "Slavs". What this means actually is that Philotas equated the ancient Macedonians and the Veneti, and this happened before IV BC.
Even earlier than this, Herodotus wrote that Phrygians (ancient Macedonians) and Paphlagonians (ancestors of the "Slavs") wore very similar clothes41).
There is narrative evidence regarding the analogy between the "Slav" and ancient Macedonian culture from a later period as well. The Byzantine historian and writer Nichephore Gregoras during his visit to the Macedonian town of Strumica in 1326, recorded that there he heard a large number of Macedonian folk songs. He affirms that, although he did not understand the language of the local population, the folk songs from Strumica definitely resembled - the Phrygian folk songs!42)
Also in the later periods a lot of foreign and Macedonian activists declared that the "Slavs" were the same people as the ancient Macedonians!
Mauro Orbini, in his book "The Kingdom of the Slavs" (1601), wrote about the presence of the "Slavs" during the period of Alexander The Great, even as a part of his army. In this book, Orbini published a document, which represents a Charter, that was sent to the "Slavs" by Alexander The Great as a gesture of gratitude for taking part in Alexander's battles43). It is important to note that Alexander's biographer Quintus Curtius Rufus also wrote that the Veneti were a part of the Macedonian army.
The renowned Croatian historian from XVI century Vinko Pribichevich, in his book "About the Origin and the Adventures of Slavs" (Venice, 1532) asserts that ancient Macedonians are "Slavs". Middle-age Croatian reformists H. Lucich, D. Zatarich, I. Gundulich, J. Palmotich and others, also shared this belief and they all considered Alexander The Great a Slav. Matijan Alberti of Split (1561-1623) also supported this theory.
Ancient Macedonians were considered to be "Slavs" (Veneti) by a number of poets from Dubrovnik, and also a number of Russian historians: Butkov, Saveljev, Rostislavich and Chertkov, as well as archimandrites Leonid and Filrot. Mickevich from the Chair at the French College in Paris, in 1844 declared that the "Slavs are the oldest nation in Europe"44).
The German scholar Kuno, as well as the scholars Lelev and Bjeloski, put forward their assertion that not only the Hellenes but also the "Slavs" always lived on the Balkan peninsula, together with the Hellenes. The same was maintained by the highly distinguished Pavle J. Shafranich (who published a few books on this subject), as well as the Russian consul in Bitola, Hitrov. This theory was represented by some Serbian activists at the time45).
Renown Croatian folklorist from Bosnia Stefan Verkovich during his extended visit to Macedonia in the 19th century recorded a large number of Macedonian folklore deeds and in his letter to the newspaper "Dragoljub" in Zagreb published in 1868 wrote: "The Slavs, and not the Greeks, are the forefathers of the civilisation"46).
In his work "Veda Slovena" (1874) Verkovich wrote:"Our Slavs had a lively tradition even in the times of Alexander The Great".
Bulgarian writer Stefan Zahariev claimed that the "Slavs" are the oldest inhabitants of the Balkans and their literacy dates prior to the brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius47).
In an Albanian history book from the 19th century has been stated that the Macedonians are the indigenous people of the Balkans and that Alexander The Great was a "famous Macedonian-Slav tzar". These views were shared by renown Macedonian intelectuals from the 19th century: Isaija Mazhovski, Gjorgji Pulevski, Nikola D. Chuparov and others, who believed that the ancient Macedonians and the "Slavs" are in fact the same people48).
Although the official Macedonian historiography (especially during the totalitarian regime in the period after the World War II until its indepence) mainly considered such articulations as national-romanticism, the future research will show whether there is any truth to the above claims.
Notes:
1) Aristotle's mother was born in the Macedonian city of Stagira, however this city at the time was an Athenian colony. This is why it is believed that she was Hellen. However his father, Nicomachus was most probably a Macedonian. He was a personal doctor of the Macedonian tzar Philip II (the father of Alexander The Great). It is known that both Philip and his son Alexander always appointed Macedonians in their immediate vicinity, especially in very sensitive positions such as doctors, trusted generals, bodyguards etc. This fact leads to a conclusion that Aristotle's father was a Macedonian, a view supported by many contemporary historians.
2) There are many historical deeds about the famous Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII describing her pure Macedonian origin. She was a daughter of Ptolemy XII, and a distant granddaughter of Ptolemy I (Ptolemy I was a friend of Alexander The Great since their childhood and a general in the Macedonian army).
3) After the death of Alexander The Great the great Macedonian empire fell apart, but the pieces consequent to the breakdown of the empire were still ruled by Macedonians. Alexander's general Ptolemy set out to rule Egypt, whereas the general Seleucus ruled Siria and southern Asia. These Macedonian dynasties retained a lot of their Macedonian heritage in their tradition. Later on their states were taken over by the Romans. A number of members of these Macedonian dynasties were mentioned in the Bible (especially The Old Testament). For more detail on this subject refer to the book "Jesus Christ and the Macedonians" by A. Donski (Centre for Cultural Initiative, Stip, Macedonia, 2000).
4) For information about the possible Macedonian descent of St. Luke refer to: "The Apostle Paul's Visit to Philippi, History of Philippi", by Dr. Clint Arnold and his class at Talbot Theological Seminary, The Biblelands Project (copyright 1999 by Musterseed Media Inc., website: www.musterseed.net). The likelyhood that St. Luke was from a Macedonian origin is indicated even in the world renown encyclopaedia Microsoft Encarta 98 (Encyclopaedia Deluxe Edition, USA, 1998; "Luke Saint"). More detail on this topic can be found in the book "Jesus Christ and the Macedonians" by A. Donski (Centre for Cultural Initiative, Stip, Macedonia, 2000).
5) Refers to the members of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Byzantine in the period IX to XI century AD. These tzars exercised a certain number of customs that were practised by the ancient Macedonian tzars, and they even promoted the Phalanx as a distinct component of the Byzantine army. A lot of historians believe these tzars carried the genes of the ancient Macedonians.
6) For extensive detail about the contribution of the ancient Macedonians to the world civilisation refer to "Contribution of the ancient Macedonians to the World Civilisation" by A. Donski, that will become available by December 2001.
7) The fact that the ancient Macedonians were a separate nation has already been widely accepted and indications in this regard can be found in a number of encyclopedias. As an illustration, following infromation has been taken from the encyclopedia Encarta (title: Europe): "Macedonia, to the north of Greece, had not originally been part of the Greek wold". This veracity has been confirmed by a row of international researchers and experts on ancient Macedonia, and the list of names is very long.
8) Arrian: "The Campaigns of Alexander", translated by Aubrey De Selincourt, Penguin Books, USA, 1987, page 119.
9) Homer (VIII BC) identified Veneti as people from Asia Minor, whereas Herodotus (V BC) identified them as Balkan people under the name of Eneti.
10) In support of the fact that Veneti were the same people as the "Slavs" there are number of testimonials. The German historian Jordanes (VI AD) wrote that Veneti and Slavs are the same people. The most convincing arguments regarding the common identity of the Veneti and Slavs were presented in the brilliant book "Veneti - First Builders of the European Community" by Joshko Shavli, Matej Bor and Ivan Tomazich, translation in English by Anton Skrebinc (Editions Veneti; A-1080 Wien, Bennogasse 21, Austria; Co-published by Anton Skrebinc; Boswell, British Columbia, Canada). In this book on over 500 pages are presented indisputable evidences from various fields and it is demonstrated that the Veneti and Slavs had identical cultures, i.e. they were the same people.
11) This is written in chapter 51 in Plutarch's biography of Alexander The Great (Macedonian Translation, Plutarh: "Aleksandar Makedonski", Skopje, 1994, p. 70).
12) Anthony by Plutarch, translated by John Dryden
13) Quintus Curtius Rufus: "Istorija na Aleksandar Makednoski", translation by Dr. Ljubinka Basotova (Skopje, 1998, p. 272)
14) Borza Eugen: "In the Shadow of Olimpus, The Emergence of Macedon" (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, ISBN 0-691-05549-1, USA, 1990, p. 92)
15) The statement of Demosteness can be found in any publication of his speeches called Philippics.
16) For detailed explanation regarding the meaning of the term "barbarians" in the ancient world refer to Synthia Syndor Slowikowski: "Sport and Culture in the Ancient Macedonian Society" (The Pennsylvania State University, 1998, p. 30)
17) Synthia Syndor Slowikowski: "Sport and Culture in the Ancient Macedonian Society" (The Pennsylvania State University, 1998, p. 30)
18) Thycidides 2,8,1. Isocrates 5.108 and Clement of Alexandria 6.2.17
19) In relation to the presence of borrowed Greek words in the ancient Macedonian language more information can be found in the article "The Ancient Macedonians And Their Language" (Council for Research into South-Eastern Europe of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, 1993). Also in Eugen Borza: "The Shadow of Olimpus, The Emergence of Macedon" (Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, ISBN 0-691-05549-1, USA, 1990, p. 93)

20) N.G.L Hammond: "The Macedonian State, Origins, Institutions and History" published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc, New York, 1989, ISBN 0-19-814927-1, p. 6)
21) Makedonia - Sbornik ot dokumenti i materiali (BAN, Sofia, 1978, p. 44)
22) This word is supplied by Dr. Nade Proeva in her book: "Studii za Antickite Makednoci" (Skopje, 1997, p. 58). She asserted that the word "phoinikos" was used for the first time in the period of Alexander The Great.
23) Explanation regarding pronunciation of the letter "v" instead of "f" in the ancient Macedonian and Brygian language is available in the book: "Brigi" by Dr. Eleonora Petrova (Muzej na Makedonija, Skopje, 1996, p. 207)
24) Andonovski Hristo: "Juzna Makedonija od antickite do denesnite Makedonci" (Skopje, 1995)
25) Gjorgji Pop-Atnasov: "Biblijata za Makedonija i Makedoncite" (Menora, Skopje, 1995, p. 57)
26) N.G.L. Hammond: "The Macedonian State, Origins, Institutions and History" published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc, New York, 1989, ISBN 0-19-814927-1, p. 6)
27) This was the name of the capital of ancient Macedonia
28) and 29) These two ancient Macedonian words were supplied by Dr. Nade in her book: "Studii za Antickite Makednoci" (Skopje, 1997)
30) A number of authors have written about the Brygians as the main ingredient in the ethno-genesis of the ancient Macedonians. Results of the research carried out by some of these authors have been conveyed in the study "Brigi" by Dr. Eleonora Petrova (Muzej na Makedonija, Skopje, 1996, on various occasions throughout the book). Detailed elaboration regarding the domination of the Brygian component in the ancient Macedonians is available in the book "Studii za Antickite Makedonci" by Dr. Nade Proeva (Skopje, 1997)
31) All given names presented herewith have been obtained for use from the above mention books by Dr. Nade Proeva and Dr. Eleonora Petrova, unless specified otherwise. That most of these names are present in todays' Macedonian onomasticon see at Dr. Ljubica Stankovska "Rechnik na lichnite iminja na Makedoncite" (Skopje, 1992). In this book more that 30.000 names from Macedonian middle age and modern age onomasticon are presented.
32) The name "Craterus" has been recorded by the ancient biographers of Alexander The Great
33) "Caranus" was the name of a legendary Macedonian sovereign
34) This name has been taken on from the edition "Macedonia acta archeologica", br. 11, 1987-1989 (Skopje, 1990). This was the name of a local Macedonian tribal leader from IV BC.
35) The name "Glaukas" has been recorded by the biographers of Alexander The Great
36) Miladinovci: "Zbornik" (Skopje, 1983, chapter: "Sopstveni narodni iminja", p. 506)
37) The name "Rumi" is taken from Aleksandar Matkovski's "Makednoija vo delata na stranskite patepisci 1778-1826" (Skopje, 1992, p. 54)
38) The name "Stamenos" has been recorded by the biographers of Alexander The Great
39) This name was taken on from the book: "Travels in Northern Greece" by William Martin Leake, London, 1835, vol. III (Nacionalna biblioteka Pariz, signatura J.12345-12348)
40) Quintus Curtius Rufus: "Istorija na Aleksandar Makednoski", translation from Latin in Macedonian by Dr. Ljubinka Basotova (Skopje, 1998, p. 276)
41) The similarity between the apparel of the Phrygians and Paphlagonians was recorded by Herodotus: "The dress of the Phrygians closely resembled the Paphlagonian, only in a very few points differing from it"
42) Nichephore Gregoras: "Corespondance" (Paris, 1927, p. 30)
43) Prof. Angelina Markus; Also "Makedonsko Sonce" (11.07.1997, p.18)
44) For more information refer to: "Veda Slovena" by Gane Todorovski (Makedonska Kniga, Skopje, 1979, p. 17)
45) For more information refer to: "Makedonija i makedonskata nacija" by Dr. Blaze Ristovski (Skopje, 1995, p. 131)
46) For more information refer to: "Zivotni put Stjepana Vjerkovicha (1821-1894)" by Ljubisha Doklestich (Zagreb, 1982, p. 304)
47) For more information refer to: "Zivotni put Stjepana Vjerkovicha (1821-1894)" by Ljubisha Doklestich (Zagreb, 1982, p. 285)
48) For more information in relation to the Albanian history and the work of Mazovski, Pulevski, Chuparov and others refer to: "Makedonija i makedonskata nacija" by Dr. Blaze Ristovski (Skopje, 1995, on various occasions throughout the book)
          

Devil's Wall - the biggest Macedonian mystery

Beauties of Macedonia can not be enumerated quickly and to describe with ease.


Through their wealth this beautiful country hides many secrets and mysteries that are interesting to the world, and significant for the Macedonians.

Interesting geomorphologic natural occurrence on the right bank of Bregalnica called Devil's Wall.

Legend says that the devil bet with God that the Bogoslovec locality in the district of Sveti Nikole for only one night to build a wall that will redirect Bregalnica from its natural bed, its waters will be sent to Ovcepolie and will completely flooding. God accepted the wager, and the devil are obliged to build the wall until the first zakukurikaat roosters. The same night the devil began to build the wall and it did so quickly and skillfully as a place ceased to doubt that the work will finish on time. The Lord has used shrewdness - before dawn klocnal a sleeping cock zakukurikal so that once announced the arrival of the day. The devil failed in its intention, Ovcepolie was saved from a flood, the wall is named Devil, and huge stones remained to this day to witness the legend that is not known when occurred.

The interesting legend remained among the people, who to this day tells whenever you mention this wonderful place.



Another legend says that on this space is hiding a wealth of great conquests of Alexander of Macedon, and this myth was very challenging for buried treasure seekers to try their luck.

These are rocky izdanoci ie rock bands that are clearly evident in the relief and extend fragmented east-west-northwest, the length of several hundred meters. The phenomenon is a consequence of rapid erosion of the Eocene sediments erodibilnite-sands, and other pesochnici in terms of tectonic poremetenite, stronger vertical rock bands. These rocks stronger as compared to the relatives and friends behind in relief in the form of a natural wall. Thus the appearance is not a direct consequence of human activity or construction, unless they are considered human impact on the acceleration of erosion processes through ogoluvanjeto pitch.



Dr. Aleksandadr Balabanov, a famous classical philologist and university professor in Leipzig said that the Devil's Wall wonder what does not exist in the world.

When the already distant 1970, the famous archaeologist from Belgrade, Milutni Garashanin, accidentally hit a wall this admiringly said:

- This is amazing! This is brilliant work, whether of nature or man! This is the wonder of the world! This wall is distinctively imponzanten significant length of five hundred feet in the direction of extension of "Bogoslvoec" and DES-tive along the coast of Bregalnica and its traces can be seen even five miles to the west. Traces of the wall can be seen on the left bank of Bregalnica edinsvenost that associated with the wall. Average height ranges from 10 to 12 feet wide and about 2 meters. The building is constructed with stone blocks with an average intake - to 4 cubic meters, and cause-tions between the stones is thin, reddish binder material skillfully done by expert grditel.



For seekers of gold by a story that this is a wall from the Roman period, that it hides a tunnel with incredible wealth. The tunnel is designated and certain topographic maps naive seekers of fortune sell them adept fraudsters from nearby countries. The tunnel, according to them is the main reason that last year the illegal diggers treasure more visit the wall and damage. The last two years subject to such observation activities and the wall was some NATO troops with helicopters often unfold near the Wall. Also, repeatedly observed wild diggers from neighboring countries so that they become the biggest threat to the status of this rare feonomen.

Devil's Wall creates unrest and peace simultaneously. The man carries risks, but shining with all its beauty, grandeur and mystery as breathtaking and awe real cause.

Macedonian Language

Introduction
Bulgarian and Greek propagandists insist that Macedonian is not a language, that it is only a western Bulgarian dialect, despite the fact that Macedonian is an internationally recognized language and taught at several prestigious universities throughout the world. (See below). Here are some quotes, by non-Macedonians, regarding the Macedonian language:

• "The decision to establish Macedonian as the official language of the Republic of Macedonia in 1944, therefore, 'confirmed what was already de facto practice. It did not create a language out of the air, rather it granted recognition to a literary language whose modern development began in the 19th century."(Friedman 1985:35).
• "In the world of Horace Lunt, a distinguished Slavic linguist, Bulgarian scholars who argue that the concept of a Macedonian language was unknown before World War II or who continue to claim that a Macedonian language does not exist 'look not only dishonest, but silly,' while Greek scholars who make similar claims are displaying 'arrogant ignorance' of their Slavic neighbours". (Lunt 1984:110, 120).
• "The Macedonian language is accepted by linguists everywhere in the world except in Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece. It is recognized as a distinct language by various international authorities such as the Encyclopedia Britannica and The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. It is one of the recognized 88 world languages, spoken by close to 1.5 million people in the Republic of Macedonia, 250,000 people in Aegean Macedonia, 250,000 people in Pirin Macedonia, and around 500,000 people in other parts of the world, particularly North America and Australia.
• "Modern Greece has often recognized its Slav minority and its language as Macedonian Slav, Bulgarian, or just Slav: in the official map circulated in the post -World War I negotiations (Soteriadis, 1918); in at least one official Greek Foreign Ministry document of 1924 (the language was mentioned as Macedonian, Divani, 1995:228); in interwar newspapers (Margaritis, 1993:27) or official notary documents (GHM and MRG-Greece have copies of them); in its publication of the 1920, 1928, 1940 and 1951 census results (Lithoxoou, 1995). For the 1920 census, the language is mentioned simply as Macedonian and is distinguished from Bulgarian.
• "Krste Misirkov, considered 'the founder of the modern Macedonian literary language (Nurigiani 1972:160-161) was an outspoken and unambiguous advocate of Macedonian linguistic and national separatism. In his book On Macedonian Matters, published in 1903 in Sofia and immediately suppressed by the Bulgarians, Misirkov wrote, 'I am a Macedonian. I write in the central Macedonian dialect, which from now on I shall always consider the Macedonian literary language.' He not only advocated 'completely separating our (Macedonian) interests from those of other Balkan states and independently continuing our own cultural and national development,' but he also called for the 'recogntion of the Slavs in Macedonia as a separate nationality - Macedonians.' He stated plainly and simply that the Macedonians are 'a separate and independent Slav people.'"

Macedonian and Neighbouring Languages
Language is one of the most important features of a people. As for the Macedonian people and its state are concerned, language is of extreme significance and offers confirmation of their historical continuity. Apart from being the official language in the Republic of Macedonia, Macedonian is spoken and cherished in many European countries, the United States, Canada and Australia, wherever Macedonians live. It is also the mother tongue and a language of everyday communication in those parts of the Balkan states populated by ethnic Macedonians.
As the official language of the Republic of Macedonia, Macedonian is written using its Cyrillic alphabet. The Macedonian literary standard is a modern European language, which according to its characteristics is different from the neighboring and other Slavic and non-Slavic languages.
Macedonian is an Indo-European language from the family of Slavic languages belonging to the South-Slavic group. At the same time, it is a Balkan language. It is interesting to mention that there are instances in the world when two or more nations have a common language, and vice versa, when some nations have two languages. The Macedonian nation, however, is in this respect like the majority of nations in the world - its members have a separate language. This fact creates a feeling of independence in every member of the Macedonian nation and represents a significant contribution in the construction of Macedonian national consciousness.

Normative Structure
The historical development of the Macedonian language dates back to the 9th century AD when Slavonic literacy began with a standard Macedonian language. The modern codification of the Macedonian literary language was as late as 1944, although from the 1860s onwards, attempts were made at creating a general Macedonian literary standard.
The Macedonian language has a rich history and has played a key role in the development of the spiritual culture, creative activity and the preservation of the distinctive national identity of the Macedonians. It developed from the dialect of the South Slavs who deeply penetrated the Balkan Peninsula. It has common features with the Bulgarian dialects to the east and Serbian dialects to the north. Located in the Slavic linguistic periphery within the sphere of Greek-Byzantine civilization and Roman-Balkan culture, Macedonian preserves numerous archaic features, such as the use of imperfect and aorist, and has made a number of innovations.


Macedonian Studies in the World
Today it occupies a central position on the Balkan Peninsula. It has common borders with Albanian, Greek and the Turkish spoken in Thrace, which makes possible the inclusion of a large number of Balkan characteristics into the Macedonian language. Some of the more characteristic Balkan features of Macedonian are the postpositive article, analytic declination (the loss of case forms), double object, da-constructions, kje-constructions, constructions with ima/nema, constructions with sum + deverbative, etc.
The grammatical structure of Macedonian was chiefly stabilized during the 15th century. The modern Macedonian literary standard is based on the central variants of the western dialect, west of the River Vardar, even though it contains features from the eastern dialect, to the east of the Vardar. A characteristic feature of the Macedonian literary standard is the three-syllable accent (the accent always falls on the third syllable from the end in words of three syllables or more), and the clear pronunciation of unaccented vowels.
As we have already mentioned, starting from the 9th century and the foundation of the well-known Ohrid Literary School, the standard Macedonian language was used in written documents for a long period: until the 11th century in the Glagolitic, and after that in the Cyrillic script. Of old written documents (until the 13th century), we should mention Dobromir's Gospel, the Ohrid Apostle (Work of the Apostles), the Slepche Apostle, Dobrejsho's Gospel, the Macedonian Gospel of Priest John, the Dechani Gospel, the Vraneshnica Apostle, Pogodin's Psalter, the Bologna Psalter, Radomir's Gospel and the Strumica Apostle.
The phonetic principle has been applied in contemporary orthography, which means that there is a separate letter for each sound, so that the Macedonian alphabet has 31 letters. The period since 1944 has led to a swift development and comprehensive affirmation of the Macedonian literary language within the country and abroad. The first grammar was published by Krume Kepeski in 1946. A detailed grammar in two volumes was published by Blazhe Koneski in 1952 (Volume 1) and 1954 (Volume 2), while the first Macedonian grammar by a foreign scholar was published by H. Lunt in 1952. An abundant literature has been written in Macedonian in all fields, while in the fields of linguistics, a comprehensive Dictionary of the Macedonian Language and many bilingual dictionaries have been prepared. A large number of works, from classical literature up to the contemporary literature of many people, have been translated into Macedonian.
There are a number of institutions in the Republic of Macedonia where the Macedonian Language has been studied. Macedonian is taught as a subject in several university centres in the world, at the appropriate faculties in Moscow, Voronyezh, Minsk, Ivanovo, Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice, Lodz, Krajova, Prague, Vienna, Halle, Lund, Paris, Naples, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Bradford, Portland, Budapest, Istanbul and Toronto. Munich, Regensburg, Zurich, Cologne, Cannes, Brno, Bucharest, Harvard, Chicago, New York, Nanking, Klagenfurt, Trieste, Bratislava, St. Petersburg, Kansas, Syracuse, Ohio and Canberra. Macedonian is being taught in all universities of the former Yugoslavia.
Findings from the study of the Macedonian language have been published in specialized editions. A large number of scholarly papers from the field of Macedonian studies have been published by Macedonian and foreign authors.


Languages of the Minorities
The languages of the minorities within the Republic of Macedonia are used freely. Albanian, Turkish, and Serbo-Croatian have been taught at the pre-school, elementary, and secondary level. Albanian and Turkish are studied at the University of Skopje, and newspapers, magazines, and books are published and radio and television programs prepared in the languages of the minorities.
The Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia determines the right to the official use of the languages of the minorities. According to the Constitution, "in the units of local self government where there is a considerable number of inhabitants belonging to a nationality, their language and alphabet are also in official use, in addition to the Macedonian language and Cyrillic alphabet, under conditions and in a manner determined by law." (Article 7)
The newly-adopted Local Self-Government Act stipulates the use of the languages and scripts of the minorities in the units of local self government with populations of mixed ethnic affiliation. The Act defines the categories of units of local self government where a majority or a considerable number of the inhabitants belong to a minority. The respective numbers are, 50% and 20% of the total population according to official data from the 1994 census.

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle  is a national museum of the Republic of Macedonia located in the capital city of Skopje. Construction of the museum began June 11th 2008 and it was opened to the public on the 20th anniversary of the declaration of independence on September 8th, 2011. The building is located between the Museum of Archaeology (under construction), the Holocaust Museum of Macedonia, the Stone Bridge and the Vardar River.

The exhibit covers the fight for Macedonian statehood from the days of the Hajduks against the Turkish occupation during the Ottoman Empire until the declaration of independence from Yugoslavia on 8th September 1991. The guided tours take the visitors through 13 exhibits ending in front of the original copy of the 1991 Declaration of Independence.

Archaeo-astronomical Site Kokino

The archaeo-astronomical site, the megalithic observatory "Kokino" is located in the north-eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, at 19km to the northeast of the town Kumanovo and in the vicinity of the village Kokino. Administratively it belongs to the municipality Staro Nagorichane. It comprises an area with a surface of 100m in the direction east-west and 50m in the direction north-south, at the peak of the imposing rocky hill called Tatichev kamen. It is at an elevation of 1013 m.

The hill had been formed from volcanic rocks. It has a conical form with a saddle at the top and it belongs to the volcanic area Kratovo-Zletovo.  The volcanic cone, the lateral secondary parasite effusions and volcanic neck (petrified lava in the lower volcanic channel) are preserved from the extinct volcano. The erupted lava is of an intermediate character with an andesitic composition, with clearly columnar (prismatic) emission and accentuated cracks.

The natural predisposition of these andesite rocks to crack vertically and horizontally caused forming of almost ideal cubic rock blocks that could be easily shaped and wisely used by the prehistoric dwellers as areas/positions for observing the movement of the Sun and the Moon and for performing religious rites.  

All crucial features of the ancient observatory are situated at two platforms, an upper and a lower one, at an elevation difference of 19m. The shapes of four stone seats ("thrones") placed in a row dominate the lower, western side. They are oriented in the direction north-south, thus enabling the one seating on the throne to observe the apparitions on the upper platform, while the tops of the rocks had the role of an eastern horizon. According to the archaeo-astronomical analysis, the main role of the thrones was the performing of the bonding ritual of the Sun God with his "representative" on Earth - the ruler, who sat on one of the thrones (the second one) during the ritual.  A testimony for that is the distinct stone block with a separate marker cutting on its top, placed right under the highest elevation of the site. The ritual was performed in mid-summer (today in the last day of July) when the Sun rises exactly in the opening of the stone marker. The marker cutting was made with great precision, in such a way that the distance of its external vertical sides fully corresponds with the diameter of the Sun, when observed from the second throne. In order to enable the sun ray to fall on one of the thrones, the people had made a separate trench (incision) in the vertical rock that separates the upper from the lower platform of the site. In the day of the ritual the sun ray passes exactly by the right edge of the trench and falls only on the second throne, i.e. on the place where the most powerful member of the community sat. The day when the rite was performed corresponded with the time of the ending of the harvest - the end of the annual cycle of the plants, and in the same time end of the energy of the ruler. By reuniting with the Sun God, through the light that fell on its face during the ritual ceremony, the energy and the power of the ruler were renewed. This meant hope for a peaceful life for the community and rich crops in the year to come. Twenty hand grinders found in the proximity of the room at the base of the ritual mark are a testimony for the performing of the rite that marked the end of the harvest.    

The central space of the ancient observatory was to the south-west from the thrones. It was used for observing the eastern horizon. All nine marker cuttings at the eastern horizon used by the ancient "astronomers" for daily marking of the rising of the Sun and the Moon can be seen from here. Three of the marker cuttings were intended to mark the rising of the Sun in the day of the summer solstice, the autumn and the spring equinox and the winter solstice. The six remaining marker cuttings marked the spots of the rising of the full Moon in the days when it has the smallest and the biggest declination during winter and summer. The two marker cuttings that were used for measuring the length of the lunar months can be seen from here. They were utilized for the making of a calendar for a periodic cycle of 19 lunar years.

In the "Kokino" calendar 12 lunar years contained 12 lunar months each. Six of them were winter months of 29 days and six summer months of 30 days. The remaining 7 lunar years contained 13 lunar months: six winter months of 29 days and seven summer months of 30 days. These „excessive" lunar years were at each 2^nd, 5^th, 8^th, 10^th, 13^th, 16^th and 18^th year in a period of 19 years.  

The making of the calendar was one of the basic functions of the megalithic observatory "Kokino". Most probably, the announcement for the days when the most important events start was made by lighting fire on the mountain top located behind the thrones. This spot opens a view in a radius of more than 30km, and hence the fire could be seen by the inhabitants of all surrounding places.         

The archaeological investigations at this area unearthed of one of the richest Bronze Age sites in the Republic of Macedonia. Its boundaries are much wider than the boundaries of the ancient observatory that is situated at the mountain top. The observatory has a surface of 0,5 hectares, while the archaeological site spreads on a surface of about 30 hectares. The investigated area is quite small, having in mind that there have been continuous archaeological investigations for only couple of years (since 2001). 

The largely abundant archaeological movable material is comprised of fragments of ceramic vessels, whose shapes (versions of cooking vessels, many types of cups,kantharoses), determine the period of Bronze Age in Macedonia. The earliest ones date in Early Bronze Age (19^th - 17^th century BC), while the ones from Late Bronze Age (14^th - 11^th century BC) prevail. It is monochromatic ceramic encountered in different versions in the wider Central Balkan and South Thracian area, but with elements of local evolution.  Especially significant is the mould for casting bronze axes and a pendant, for the first time discovered in Macedonia, but also in the wider region.

The archaeological artefacts from the eastern side of the highest part of the site also speak of one of the mountain rites related with the fertility cult. Namely, fragments of vessels were discovered in several natural cracks on the rocks, sometimes remodelled in almost circular form in the upper part. The small pits formed this way were closed with earth and small stones upon the introducing of the vessels filled with offerings. The essence of the cult is in the belief that the rocky mountain top is the body of the Great Goddess Mother and the cracks in the rocks - the openings in her womb.   

   

A settlement that existed from the prehistoric period (Bronze Age) until the protohistoric period (the passage to Iron Age and Iron Age), i.e. from 19^th to 7^thcentury BC was formed at the southeast slope of the hill. Its precise location and more complete identification will be determined by the continuous archaeological investigations.

The megalithic observatory "Kokino" represents a unique outstandingly well preserved site from Bronze Age in South East Europe, testimony for the human creative genius in the usage of a specific natural resource for satisfying the vital needs and beliefs.  It is significant as:

The ancient observatory "Kokino" represents an exceptionally well structured and organized area on the two hanging platforms united in the performing of their joint function: observing the movement of the Sun and the Moon and marking of the extreme positions. The existence of the three stone marker cuttings for marking the spots of the rising of the Sun in the days of the summer solstice, the winter solstice, the spring and autumn equinox, unarguably shows that Bronze Age people were familiar with the movement of the Sun in the course of the year. The four precise marker cuttings for marking the spots of the rising of the full Moon on the eastern horizon, when it has a maximum and minimum declination in winter and summer, also confirm that the ancient observers of the sky above "Kokino" knew about the cycle in a period of 19 years when the full Moon rises at the same spot in the same day of the calendar. In the same time, the megalithic observatory "Kokino" has two marker cuttings, that so far are the only ones in the world, and which measured the length of the lunar months and made the lunar calendar. This represents the peak of the human creative thought from that time. The calendar in "Kokino" is greatly in accordance with the tropical year, i.e. with the vegetation cycles. For the inhabitants from this age it meant precise dating of the beginning and the end of farming and stock-breeding, thus undertaking activities for good crops and offspring that provided peaceful and stabile life for the community.   

Especially significant is the stone block with a separate marker cutting on its top. It was made for ritual function with an explicit solar character. In mid summer (end of July) a sun ray from the sunrise that penetrated through the opening of the stone marker cutting and passed by the right edge of the artificially formed trench, illuminated the ruler alone, who set on one of the four stone thrones, made especially for rite needs. The illumination of the face of the ruler signified ritual union with the Sun God and returning/renewing of his ruling power.

The megalithic observatory "Kokino" represents an original and integral complex formed 3900 years ago. Its role as a distinctly shaped space for the most important rites in the life of the people from that time and as a place where the lunar calendar was made and applied, speaks of the creative potential and the organization level of the early farmers community on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, but also wider in the Balkans. The artefacts that had been discovered so far show an occupancy continuity of at least 1200 years in the period between the 19^th and the 7^thcentury BC.  

The dominant location and the monumental appearance of the stone seats (thrones), the distinctly made stone markers, trenches, access paths and formed rite spaces - are a testimony of one original monumental art expressed through the skill of designing a space in a rocky area.  

The archaeological excavations had additionally shed light on the performing of two important rituals in the life of Bronze Age people in this area. The excavation of the ritual pits filled with offerings vessels on the eastern slopes of the mountain, confirmed the existence of the rites connected with the fertility of the land, i.e. the cult devotion of the Great Goddess Mother. Along with the specific spatial organization and the shaping of certain stone forms that served for the performing of the rites for the end of harvest and for the ritual bonding of the ruler with the Sun God, speak of the role of this site as a holy mountain.    

The determining of the age of the observatory, the homogeneity of the structure, the manner of spatial shaping and its proven purpose, are a testimony of the fact that it is an exceptional and rare, and according to many features - unique site of the so-called megalithic culture in the world.

 The scientific methods of, mainly, two sciences: astronomy and archaeology are applied in the analysis of the values of the site "Kokino". The precise measurements and the application of the astronomic methods in the argumentation and documentation of the positions of the marker cuttings for the rising of the Sun and the Moon in astronomically precisely determined time, do not allow any doubt for the authenticity of the marker cuttings and their purpose, as well as for the overall design of the observatory.   

The great number of artefacts showing integrity in the forms, the material and the production manner also confirm their authenticity. The most important ones are exhibited in the National Institution - Museum Kumanovo.  

The archaeo-astronomical site is preserved in its original condition. The permanent damaging occurs due to natural factors, but this does not undermine its integrity. The dominant position that offers a view towards other archaeological sites (settlements of Neolith and Bronze Age) on the surrounding hills, confirms the crucial role of this site in the life of the prehistoric dwellers from these areas.  

Protection status : 

For reasons of securing the features of the site Kokino, where the investigations started in 2001, it had received the status of a property under temporary protection, according to a Decision (nr. 08-1935/6 of 13.11.2008) issued by the Cultural Heritage Protection Office, a body within the Ministry of Culture, and based on the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage for the category of immovable cultural property - cultural landscape. In this regard, beside the general information on the location of the site and the evaluation of the features of the site, its boundaries, contact zones and the regime of protection are preliminary determined. In the meantime,  a procedure for gathering and analysing the data for obtaining a protection status of highest rank was initiated and it has to be finalized within the legally determined  period  of one year. In this way, the site/cultural landscape "Kokino" will be proclaimed protected property of highest category - cultural heritage of especial significance with subcategory - exceptional significance. Having in mind that there already are sufficient data that confirm the exceptional significance of this site (as an integral archaeo-astronomical property / cultural landscape), from protection aspect, the researchers will have to concentrate on the precise determination of the boundaries of the property and the measures of the protection regime in the  separate zone for permanent securing of the site and its immediate surrounding from unlawful actions and also for its proper presentation and popularization.  

A draft Management Plan (Kumanovo, 2008) was prepared for the site Kokino. It was commissioned and adopted by the National Institution Museum Kumanovo and it will become a strategic document of the Republic of Macedonia, in accordance with the information for the rest of the legal procedure.   

The United States Space Agency (NASA) recognized the megalithic observatory "Kokino" as a significant heritage of this type in its "Timeless knowledge" project in 2005. "Kokino" is listed side by side with ancient observatories as Stonehenge (Great Britain), Abu Simbel (Egypt), Angkor Wat (Cambodia), Machu Picchu (Peru) etc.