also plays a major factor in understanding the history of this region. The word Balkans actually comes from the Turkish word meaning 'a chain of wooded mountains'. The first effect that these mountain ranges has had on the region has been to divide it into small units wherein distinct ethnic groups could live in near isolation from outside influences. Second, the mountains created a physical obstacle and prevented attempts to combine larger areas into nation states or regional governments. Those ethnic groups that settled in mountainous regions of the Balkans tended to be politically autonomous and preserved their distinct cultural ways and religious beliefs. In general, the mountain features of the Balkans have contributed to the continued fragmentation of human groups in the area. Rather than unify as some physical features can do, the features of the Balkans acted to maintain differences and defy national unification. This becomes evident as we
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