The Balkan Peninsula has many physical features, but there are three main ones, they are the fact that it is a peninsula, its mountains, and its rivers. Within the Balkan Peninsula there are a good majority of ethnicities. There will be a majority of instances that the geography has helped or hindered certain peoples in the Balkans history.

             The mountains had a few of different effects on the early people living in the Balkan Peninsula. The mountains of this area, helped certain ethnic groups, and hurt others. The mountain made certain divisions among the land and caused the region to be split up into small units where distinct ethnic groups have been able to sustain themselves. These small units are not much bigger than the British Isles or the state of Texas, and homes a little over a dozen of prominent ethnic groups. The mountains are also considered a physical obstacle, because they obstruct regional combination, whether it be political, economic, or cultural. And the last effect it had on these people is that of the land. The land near the bottom of these mountains is a lot better then that of the top of it, so the groups that have been beaten in battle usually would take refuge up at the top, or it would be a punishment.

             The rivers in the Balkan Peninsula are basically short so there only use is from local inhabitants. If anything these rivers are a menace, because they cannot carry water traffic and they cut ravines which then in turn block travel along the coast. The one exception of this is the Danube river, which enters from the west, passes through the Hungarian plain, then flows to the south of the Slavic states, and finally exits out of Romania and into the Black sea on the east. Though this is a great help it also can also go the other way, due to the fact that in the summer the water becomes low and there are marshes that obstruct access to the rivers banks.