Macedonia
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Macedonia. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
in ancient geography, a territory lying to the N. of Greece, which first became powerful under its king Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, and conqueror of Greece. Alexander the Great added immensely to the empire of Macedonia, and made what had only been a petty province mistress of half the world. After his death the empire was divided; dominion was lost over Greece; and the result of the battles of Cynoscephalæ (197 b. c.) and Pydna (168 B. C.) was to reduce the ancient kingdom to a Roman province. Macedonia, previous to the World War, formed a part of Turkey in Europe, and is inhabited by Wallachians, Turks, Greeks, and Albanians. Following the Balkan Wars in 1912 and 1913, a large part of Macedonia was partitioned among the victorious countries-Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. Greece received the larger portion, including Saloniki, Seres, Drama, Kozani, and Florina. Macedonia suffered greatly in the World War. In 1916, after a fierce struggle, the greater part of the country was in the hands of the Austro- Germans and a half civil and half military administration was established. In August, 1917, of that year an attempt was made on the part of the Allies under the leadership of General Sarrail to conduct an offensive in Macedonia as a diversion against threatened Bulgarian attacks. This, however, failed. In 1918, however, an offensive was carried on chiefly by the Serbian army, which resulted in the capture of Monastir and was the beginning of the collapse of Bulgaria. By the conditions of the treaty of peace Macedonia practically ceased as a separate entity. The greater part of its former territory was absorbed by Greece.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
mas-e-do'nia, an ancient kingdom northwest of Greece proper. The people were of Grecian blood, but were not recognized as such at the Olympian games and other national festivities. About 346 B. C., Philip, king of Macedon, forced his way into Grecian affairs despite the patriotic protests of the orator, Demosthenes. His son, Alexander the Great, practically made ancient Greece a province of the Macedonian empire. Macedonia is now divided into provinces or villayets of Turkey. It is inhabited largely by a mixed people, Greeks, Jews, Bulgarians, Servians, Wallachians, Albanians, and Turks. They differ in language, in customs, and in religion, but are practically united in a desire to throw off Turkish rule. Numerous uprisings have taken place. It is only a matter of time until the region joins the sisterhood of small nations about the mouth of the Danube, or is absorbed by one of the greater powers. See Thrace
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's concluded in 1921 that "Macedonia practically ceased as a separate entity," its territory absorbed chiefly by Greece; Aiton's in 1910 could only guess that the Turkish vilayets would either "join the sisterhood of small nations" or be swallowed by a great power. The 1913 partition largely held: the southern half remains Greek Macedonia, the small Bulgarian share (Pirin) remains Bulgarian, but the Serbian portion became a republic within Yugoslavia and declared independence in 1991 — the one outcome neither writer expected. A long quarrel with Greece over the name ended with the Prespa Agreement of 2018, and the country has been the Republic of North Macedonia since February 2019; it joined NATO in 2020. Of Aiton's list of peoples, the Jews of Salonica, tens of thousands strong, were deported to Auschwitz in 1943 and the community was all but annihilated.
Written for this edition, 2026.