ence; but in the course of time a strong
religious difference arose. Along the Croatian and Dalmatian coast there
existed a well-developed Latin civilization, which was sustained by
constant intercourse with Italy; and, under its influence, the
Serbo-Croatian immigrants were converted to the Roman Catholic Church. In
the wild and mountainous interior, however, the Byzantine Church had few or
no rivals and the Orthodox creed prevailed. The Orthodox Serbs inhabit the
kingdom of Servia, Old Servia (or Novibazar and north-western Macedonia),
Montenegro, Herzegovina and parts of Bosnia. The Roman Catholic Croats
predominate in Dalmatia, north-western Bosnia and Croatia-Slavonia.
Montenegro, like the other mountainous regions, adhered to the Greek
Church; it received a number of Orthodox Servian refugees at the beginning
of the 15th century, when the Turks occupied Servia. The numbers of the
Serbo-Croats may be estimated at about 5,600,000. The Bulgars, who descend
from a fusion of the Slavonic element with a later Ugro-Finnish
immigration, inhabit the kingdom of Bulgaria (including Eastern Rumelia),
parts of the Dobrudja and the greater part of Macedonia, except Old Servia
and the Aegean littoral. Apart from their colonies in Bessarabia and
elsewhere, they may be reckoned at 4,400,000. Only a portion of the
widely-spread Ruman or Vlach race, which extends over a great part of
Transylvania, south Hungary and Bessarabia, as well as the Rumanian
kingdom, falls within the limits of the Peninsula. It is found in numerous
detached settlements in Macedonia, Albania and northern Greece, and in
colonies of recent date in Servia and Bulgaria. The nomad Vlachs or
Tzintzars of these countries call themselves Arumani or "Romans"; they are
a remnant of the native Latinized population which received an increase
from the immigration of Daco-Roman refugees, who fled southwards during the
3rd century, after the abandonment of Dacia by Aurelian. (See VLACHS.) The
entire Ruman population of the Balkan countries may be set down
approximately at 600,000. The Albanians, who call themselves _Shkupetar_ or
_Arber_, are the representatives of the primitive Illyrian population; they
inhabit the Adriatic littoral from the southern frontier of Montenegro to
the northern boundary of Greece, in which country they are found in
considerable numbers. They have shown a tendency to advance in a
north-easterly direction towards the Servian frontier, and the moveme