“Illyrian myth” as a factor of the balkan nations' national identity: history and modernity
This article attempts to trace the roots how a protochronistic political myth about the “Illyrian origin” of the modern Balkan nations was formed. It shows how the ideology of “illyricism” appeared and how the myth that grew up around it has not gone into the past, but continues to be a signi cant factor in modern politics in the Balkans. The appeal to the “Illyrian myth” is an argument in numerous “wars of memory” between the young Balkan states, helping them to build their own policy of memory and national identity.