Историята на един балкански град или как се раждат българският и гръцкият национализъм
The History of a Balkan town or How Bulgaria and Greek Nationalism were born

Summary/Abstract: The review looks at the Bulgarian translation of an important book on the history of the town of Plovdiv in the 19th century – “The Revival Plovdiv: Transformation, Ideology, Nationalism” by Andreas Lyberatos (Greek edition appeared in 2009: “Economy, Politics and National Ideology: The Formation of the National Parties in Plovdiv in the 19th century”, University of Crete Press). Analyzing the deep economic, demographic and social transformations the city and the surrounding province underwent during the Tanzimat period, the author managed to successfully go beyond the limitations of the Bulgarian and Greek historical narratives and to show how the association with one or other national party within the unstable political, and social climate was not predetermined by belonging to one or another culture, but rather the opposite: a choice that went hesitantly and slowly and was associated with social and economic ties, with declines in political influence and positions won by each party, with danger and predictions of who would prevail in the conflict.

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