macedonia - history and politics (society for macedonian studies)

7/28/2019 Macedonia - History and Politics (Society for Macedonian Studies)

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It isworthnotingthatduringtheOttomanperiodtherewasnoadm inistrativeareacalled"Macedonia".Foreigntravellersanddiplomatsdidtendtorefertosomesanjaks(Turkishadministrativedivisions)asMacedonian;buttheseincludedareaswhichhad neverbeenpart of histori-calMacedonia,suchasKjustendilandSkopje .

Greco-Slavicrivalryover MacedoniaAfterthefoundation,in1870,ofanindependentBulgarianchurch

knownastheExarchate ,openrivalrybrokeoutbetweenGreeceandBul-gariaoverwhichofthetwowastodominateMacedonia.Inreality ,thisrivalryfocusedonthequestionofthenationalconsciousnessamongtheSlavic-speakingmassesinhabitingthecentralzoneofMacedonia.Accord-ingtoconsularreportsofthetime ,thiszonelaybetweentheKastoria-Ptolemai,da-Yannitsa-Zichni-Serreslinein thesouthand theOhrid-Prilep-Strumitsa-Melnik-Nevrokoplineinthenorth.AftertheGreco-Turkishwarof1897,whichprovedadisasterfor

Greece ,theBulgariansmanagedtowinoveraconsiderableproportionoftheSlavic-speakinginhabitantsof Macedonia.Thusitcameabout thatonthefeastof theProphetElijah(20July)in1903therewasaBulgarianrising,knownastheIlindenrising,whichtheTurkisharmysoonbloodilysup-pressed.ThisrisingledalsotothedestructionofnumerousGreekcom-munit iesandtownsinWesternand NorthernMacedonia,includingthatofKrushevo .Therising,however ,madeplainthedangerthatMacedoniamightbelostforever ,whichstimulated ageneralmobilisationonthepartof theGreeks .Soitcameabout ,in1904,thatthearmed"M acedonianStruggle",whichhad begunin1870,now intensifiedanddidnotenduntil1908.Duringthisperiod ,unitsmadeupof volunteersfromthefreeGreekstate ,fromCreteandfromotherasyetunredeemedareaspouredintoMacedoniainsolidaritywiththelocalGreekMacedonianfighters .Togethertheymanagedtocheckthespreadof BulgarianinfiltrationandtomaintainthepredominantlyGreekcharacterofthecentralandsouthernpartsofMacedonia.ItshouldnotbeoverlookedthatinmanyareasthevolunteerunitsweremadeupprincipallyofSlavic-andVlach-speakingguerrillas,fightingonthesideoftheGreekcause .TheirdevotiontotheGreekna-tionalcauseledtheBulgarianstocallthem"Grekomans",that is ,fanatica lG reeks .WhentheGreco-Bulgarianrivalrywasatitsheight ,varioussetsof

statisticsclaimingtoshowtheethnologicalcompositionofMacedoniawerepublished .Thenumericaldatapresented variedwildly,since thesta-

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It isworthnotingthatduringtheOttomanperiodtherewasnoadm inistrat iveareacalled"Macedonia".Foreigntravellersanddiplomatsdidtendtorefertosomesanjaks(Turkishadministrativedivisions)asMacedonian;buttheseincludedareaswhich had neverbeenpart of histori-calMacedonia,suchasKjustendilandSkopje .


knownastheExarchate ,openrivalrybrokeoutbetweenGreeceandBul-gariaoverwhichofthetwowastodominateMacedonia.Inreality,thisrivalryfocusedonthequestionofthenationalconsciousnessamongtheSlavic-speakingmassesinhabitingthecentralzoneofMacedonia.Accord-ingtoconsularreportsofthetime ,thiszonelaybetween theKastoria-Ptolemai,da-Yannitsa-Zichni-Serreslinein thesouthand theOhrid-Prilep-Strumitsa-Melnik-Nevrokoplineinthenorth.AftertheGreco-Turkishwarof1897,whichprovedadisasterfor

Greece ,theBulgariansmanagedtowinoveraconsiderableproportionoftheSlavic-speakinginhabitantsof Macedonia.Thusitcameabout thatonthefeastof theProphetElijah(20 July)in1903there wasaBulgarianrising,knownastheIlindenrising,whichtheTurkisharmysoonbloodilysup-pressed.ThisrisingledalsotothedestructionofnumerousGreekcom-munitiesandtownsinWesternand NorthernMacedonia,includingthatofKrushevo .Therising,however ,madeplainthedangerthatMacedoniamightbelostforever ,whichstimulated ageneralmobilisationonthepartof theGreeks .Soitcameabout ,in1904,thatthearmed"M acedonianStruggle",whichhad begun in1870,now intensifiedanddidnotenduntil1908.Duringthisperiod,unitsmadeupofvolunteersfromthefreeGreekstate ,fromCreteandfromotherasyetunredeemedareaspouredintoMacedoniainsolidaritywiththelocalGreekMacedonianfighters .Togethertheymanagedtocheckthespreadof BulgarianinfiltrationandtomaintainthepredominantlyGreekcharacterofthecentralandsouthernpartsofMacedonia.ItshouldnotbeoverlookedthatinmanyareasthevolunteerunitsweremadeupprincipallyofSlavic-andVlach-speakingguerrillas,fightingonthesideoftheGreekcause .TheirdevotiontotheGreekna-tionalcauseledtheBulgarianstocallthem "Grekomans",that is,fanaticalG reeks .WhentheGreco-Bulgarianrivalrywasatitsheight ,varioussetsof

statisticsclaimingtoshowtheethnologicalcompositionofMacedoniawerepublished .Thenumericaldatapresentedvariedwildly,since thesta-

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Below :theMacedonianstateattheheightofitsglory .4thc .B.C .Right:AmapofmodernGreece

i

EnidEPfD


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.sAnSh ft '/KOUtOTHNV\3nrKO\xmsi >

fT'n fMA K2AON f Asa tgxe-MACEDONIA/)/\ iV,


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It isworthnotingthatduringtheOttomanperiodtherewasnoadm inistrativeareacalled"Macedonia".Foreigntravellersanddiplomatsdidtendtorefertosomesanjaks(Turkishadministrativedivisions)asMacedonian;buttheseincludedareaswhich had neverbeenpart of histori-calMacedonia,suchasKjustendilandSkopje .



Greece ,theBulgariansmanagedtowinoveraconsiderable proportionoftheSlavic-speakinginhabitantsofMacedonia.Thusitcameabout thatonthefeastof theProphetElijah(20 July)in1903there wasaBulgarianrising,knownastheIlindenrising,whichtheTurkisharmysoonbloodilysup-pressed.Thisrisingledalso tothedestructionofnumerousGreekcom-munitiesandtownsinWesternand NorthernMacedonia,includingthatofKrushevo.Therising,however ,madeplainthedangerthatMacedoniamightbelostforever ,whichstimulated ageneralmobilisationonthepartof theGreeks .Soitcameabout ,in1904,thatthearmed"M acedonianStrugg le",whichhad begun in1870,now intensifiedanddidnotenduntil1908.Duringthisperiod ,unitsmadeupofvolunteersfromthefreeGreekstate ,fromCreteandfromotherasyetunredeemedareaspouredintoMacedoniainsolidaritywiththelocalGreekMacedonianfighters .Togethertheymanagedtocheckthespreadof BulgarianinfiltrationandtomaintainthepredominantlyGreekcharacterofthecentralandsouthernpartsofMacedonia.ItshouldnotbeoverlookedthatinmanyareasthevolunteerunitsweremadeupprincipallyofSlavic-andVlach-speakingguerrillas ,fightingonthesideoftheGreekcause .TheirdevotiontotheGreekna-tionalcauseled theBulgarianstocallthem "Grekomans",that is ,fanaticalG reeks.WhentheGreco-Bulgarianrivalrywasatitsheight ,varioussetsof


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It isworthnotingthatduringtheOttomanperiodtherewasnoadm inistrativeareacalled"Macedonia".Foreigntravellersanddiplomatsdidtendtorefertosomesanjaks(Turkishadministrativedivisions)asMacedonian;buttheseincludedareaswhich had neverbeenpart of histori-calMacedonia,suchasKjustendilandSkopje .



Greece ,theBulgariansmanagedtowinoveraconsiderable proportionoftheSlavic-speakinginhabitantsofMacedonia.Thusitcameabout thatonthefeastof theProphetElijah(20 July)in1903there wasaBulgarianrising,knownastheIlindenrising,whichtheTurkisharmysoonbloodilysup-pressed.Thisrisingledalso tothedestructionofnumerousGreekcom-munitiesandtownsinWesternand NorthernMacedonia,includingthatofKrushevo.Therising,however ,madeplainthedangerthatMacedoniamightbelostforever ,whichstimulated ageneralmobilisationonthepartof theGreeks .Soitcameabout ,in1904,thatthearmed"M acedonianStrugg le",whichhad begun in1870,now intensifiedanddidnotenduntil1908.Duringthisperiod ,unitsmadeupof volunteersfromthefreeGreekstate ,fromCreteandfromotherasyetunredeemedareaspouredintoMacedoniainsolidaritywiththelocalGreekMacedonianfighters .Togethertheymanagedtocheckthespreadof BulgarianinfiltrationandtomaintainthepredominantlyGreekcharacterofthecentralandsouthernpartsofMacedonia.ItshouldnotbeoverlookedthatinmanyareasthevolunteerunitsweremadeupprincipallyofSlavic-andVlach-speakingguerrillas ,fightingonthesideoftheGreekcause .TheirdevotiontotheGreekna-tionalcauseledtheBulgarianstocallthem "Grekomans",that is,fanaticalG reeks.WhentheGreco-Bulgarianrivalrywasatitsheight ,varioussetsof


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Oneofthetombstonesfromthe"GreatMound"("GreatToumba").

Inthe14thcentury,theSerbianempireofStefanDushanspreadintoMacedonia .However ,thisshort-livedempire ,whichprecededtheOtto-manconquestoftheBalkans ,hadnoeffectiveimpacton theethnologicalnatureofM acedonia ,asexplainedbyProfessorA .VacalopoulosinhisHistoryofMacedonia .SerbianruleleftinitspassageafewmoreSlavenclaves,whichreinforcedthestrataofSlavpopulationalreadythere.Moreimportantly,however,Serbianruleleftbehindittalesof agreat ,thoughtransient ,empire .Itshouldbenotedthatthesem istyrecollectionsofagloriouspastplayedtheirpartinincitingthenationalawakening of theSerbsinthe19th

centurytoputforwardclaimsonMacedonia .Asimilarprocessoccurred11


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Thelargegoldsarcophagusfoundinthemainchamberof"Philip ,stomb".inthecitiesofthosecountr ies,foundingtownsand villagesorinjectingnewbloodintoveryancientnucleiofpopulation.TheSouthSlavsand,aboveall ,theBulgars,movedsouthinsearchofwork ,revitalisingtheremnantsof theoldSlavcoloniesof theM iddleAgesinsomepartsof Macedoniaorformingnewsettlementsoftheirown".

Inthisway,theSlavelementgainedinstrengthwhiletheSlavic-Bulgarianlanguagega inedgroundinthenorthernzone(whattodayisformerYugoslavMacedonia)andinthecentralarea.Afterthe18thcen-tury ,however ,theGreekelementflourishedinamultitudeofwaysintheeconomic,socialandeducationalsectors ,thusleadingtothecompletedominationoftheareabyGreekintellectualandculturalinfluences.WiththesupportandguidanceoftheGreekclergy ,theChristianmassesofMacedoniaacquired aconsciousness of theirGreekidentity.Itischaracter-isticthatnumerousSlavic-speakingChristianssent theirchildrentoGreekschools ,foughtagainsttheOttomanEmpireduringtheGreekWarofIndependenceof1821-28andlatertookpart ,throughout the19thcentury ,inalltheGreek risingsinMacedonia,fightingfortheunificationof Mace-don iaw iththefreeGreekState.

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macedonia - history and politics (society for macedonian studies)

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