Северна Македонија: Историски истражувања

Northern Macedonia: Historical Researches is a book by Jordan Ivanov, a university lecturer, published in Sofia in 1906. The author originally intended to write a history of Kyustendil and its surrounding areas. However, his research revealed that the city was a significant administrative and spiritual center for a large part of the land along the upper Struma and Vardar rivers and shared a common history with this broader region. This led him to expand his initial goal and write a more extensive historical investigation into the past of Northern Macedonia.

The author discusses the boundaries of Macedonia, defining it as all the land south of the Shar, Skopje Black Mountain, Kraishka, Vitosha, Rila, and Rhodope mountains, watered by the Vardar, Struma, and Mesta rivers. He notes that this naturally separated part of the Balkan Peninsula required a common name, and despite political upheavals and the official Turkish name "Rumeli," the name "Macedonia" did not disappear. According to Ivanov, the preservation of the name was helped by old literary traditions, such as the frequent use of the title "Macedonia" by the Ohrid patriarchs.

The book's content, as outlined in its table of contents, is divided into several sections. It includes a study of the ancient Pautalian and its surroundings, medieval Velbuzhd, and the spread of Christianity in Northern Macedonia. Ivanov also dedicates sections to the Velbuzhd kingdom and the Kyustendil sanjak, which cover topics such as land ownership, mining under Turkish rule, and the Kyustendil eparchy. The book also features historical findings, images, and maps to support its research.