Where Does The Word Balkan Come From?

This is a short explanation of where the word Balkan first appears.
Othervise The Balkans, also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in Southeastern Europe with different geographical and historical definitions.Show more

Balkan Peninsula

The Balkan states
The Balkan Peninsula using the Danube–Sava–Soča border

Political communities that are often included in the Balkans
The Balkan Peninsula is bounded by the Adriatic Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea (including the Ionian and Aegean seas) and the Sea of Marmara to the south and the Black Sea to the east.
Its northern boundary is often given as the Danube, Sava and Kupa Rivers. The Balkan Peninsula has a combined area of about 470,000 km2 (181,000 sq mi) (slightly smaller than Spain). It is more or less identical to the region known as Southeast Europe.

From 1920 until World War II, Italy included Istria and some Dalmatian areas (like Zara, today's Zadar) that are within the general definition of the Balkan Peninsula. The current territory of Italy includes only the small area around Trieste inside the Balkan Peninsula. However, the regions of Trieste and Istria are not usually considered part of the Balkans by Italian geographers, due to their definition of the Balkans that limits its western border to the Kupa River.

Share of total area in brackets within the Balkan Peninsula by country, by the Danube–Sava definition, with Bulgaria and Greece occupying almost the half of the territory of the Balkan Peninsula, with around 23% of the total area each.

All countries within the Balkan Peninsula are listed below.

Albania: 28,749 km2 (100% of total land)
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 51,180 km2 (100%)
Bulgaria: 110,993.6 km2[38][39] (100%); according to another source, 110,372 km2[40] (100%)
Kosovo[a]: 10,908 km2 (100%)
Montenegro: 13,810 km2 (100%)
North Macedonia: 25,713 km2 (100%)

Mostly within the Balkan Peninsula:

Greece (mainland): 110,496 km2 (83.7%); according to another source, 106,247 km2[41] (80.5%); including islands adjacent to the Balkan Peninsula, 126,023 km2 (95.5%)[citation needed]
Serbia (Central Serbia) 51,000 km2 (65.8%)

Partly within the Balkan Peninsula:

Croatia (southern mainland): 24,013 km2 (42.4%)
Slovenia (south-western part): 5,000 km2 (24.7%)
Romania (Northern Dobruja): 11,000 km2 (4.6%)
Turkey (East Thrace[b]): 23,764 km2 (3%)
Italy (Monfalcone and Trieste): 200 km2 (0.1%)