What Language Do People Speak in the Balkans, Anyway?

Starting in the 14th century, huge neighboring empires moved into the Balkans to annex it, piece by piece. The Byzantines, and later the Ottomans, controlled most of Serbia and Bosnia from their base in what is now Turkey. The Austro-Hungarian Empire took Croatia and Slovenia. The Ottomans promoted a multiethnic society (albeit with bonuses for anyone who converted to Islam; many, especially in Bosnia, did) (View Highlight)