<DIV><P>From the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottomans to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia; Eastern Europe has been a battleground between the East and the West for centuries. Here, Irina Marin focuses on the territories on the edges of these historical empires, analyzing the complex ethnic and historical history of the people caught between the great empires of history. With the coming of the Ottomans under Selim II, a new bureaucracy and population flooded into the region - a pattern which would be repeated under the Hapsburgs. The effect of these successive rulers on key Balkan regions - or "banats" - is explored through archival documents and a transnational historical approach. The first history of its kind, this will be an important study of Serbian and Romanian ethnicity, culture and influence, as well as providing new insights into the major empires of modern and early-modern European history.</P></DIV>