Macedonian Struggle
Encyclopedia
The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between Greeks
and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia
between 1904 and 1908. Gradually the Greek bands gained the upper hand, paving the way for the annexation of large parts of Ottoman Macedonia by Greece during the Balkan Wars
in 1912-1913.
, an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism, dominated Greek politics. The Megali Idea project called for the annexation of all ethnic Greek lands, including Macedonia, parts of which had participated in the Greek War of Independence
in the 1820s, but remained under foreign rule. There was a rebellion in 1854 aiming to unite Macedonia with Greece, but it failed.
As Ottoman rule in the Balkans crumbled in the late 19th century, competition arose between Greeks and Bulgarians (and to a lesser extent also other ethnic groups such as Serbs, Aromanians and Albanians) over the multi-ethnic region of Macedonia
. Initially the conflict was waged through educational and religious propaganda, with a fierce rivalry developing between supporters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
, who generally identified as Greek, and supporters of the Bulgarian Exarchate
, which had been established by the Ottomans in 1870. In 1894, an organization known as the as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was founded by Bulgarian anti-Ottoman revolutionaries in Thessaloníki, with the aim of liberating Macedonia and Thrace from Ottoman rule. Initially IMRO was declared as a Bulgarian organization, but later it was opened to all ethnic groups in Macedonia and IMRO's claimed that it was fighting for the autonomy of Macedonia and not for annexation to Bulgaria. In practice, most of the followers of the IMRO were Bulgarians, though they also had some Aromanian supporters (for example Pitu Guli
). Many of the members of the organization saw Macedonian autonomy as an intermediate step to unification with Bulgaria, but others saw as their aim the creation of a Balkan federal state, with Macedonia as an equal member. Serbia
and especially Greece
opposed the IMRO movement. The Greeks of Macedonia had no interest in autonomy, but desired enosis (union) with Greece, which cause was supported by the Greek government. A vicious guerrilla war broke out between Bulgarian and Greek armed bands within Ottoman Macedonia in 1904, ending in 1908 when the Young Turks
movement came into power in the Ottoman Empire with its initially democratic and modernization agenda.
The defeat of Greece in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 was a loss that appalled Greeks. The Ethniki Eteria was dissolved by Prime Minister Theotokis. In order to strengthen Greek efforts for Macedonia, the Makedoniko Komitato (Μακεδονικό Κομιτάτο, meaning "Macedonian Committee") was formed in 1903, under the leadership of wealthy publisher Dimitrios Kalapothakis; its members included Ion Dragoumis
and Pavlos Melas
.
As noted above , the guerrillas of the IMRO were fighting against the Ottoman authorities with the slogan "autonomy for Macedonia". IMRO had declared as its intention the uniting of all "disgruntled elements in Macedonia and the Adrianople region, regardless of their nationality". But gradually, increasing tensions emerged between the followers of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (the Patriarchalists, mostly, but not only, Greeks) and those of the Bulgarian Exarchate
; the Greeks of Macedonia had no interest in autonomy, but desired enosis (union) with Greece. There were also great social differences between the ethnic groups in Macedonia; Greeks generally were urban businessmen and Bulgarians were mostly rural farmers.
The situation in Macedonia became heated and started to affect European public opinion. In April 1903, a group called Gemidzhii with some assistance from the IMRO blew up the French ship Guadalquivir and the Ottoman Bank in the harbour of Thessaloniki
. In August 1903, IMRO managed to organise an uprising (the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
) in Macedonia
and the Adrianople Vilayet. After the forming of the short-lived Krushevo Republic, the insurrection was suppressed by the Ottomans with the subsequent destruction of many villages and the devastation of large areas in Western Macedonia and around Kırk Kilise
near Adrianople.
The Bishop of Kastoria
, Germanos Karavangelis
sent to Macedonia by the ambassador of Greece Nikolaos Mavrokordatos and the consul of Greece in Monastiri
, Ion Dragoumis
, realised that it was time to act in a more efficient way and started organising Greek opposition.
As Ion Dragoumis wrote in his calendar "I am thinking how these communities of Greece outside of the Greek Kingdom can affiliate in our state. Why wait their liberation only from Greece? Let them work as Greece didn’t exist and then she will help them." Dragoumis later called, in his book Martyron kai Iroon Aima (Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Blood), for Greeks to follow the example of Basil II: "Basil II, instead of blinding so many people should have better killed them instead. On one hand this people would not suffer as eyeless survivors, on the other the sheer number of Bulgarians would have diminished by 15 000, which is something very useful."
While Dragoumis concerned himself with the financial organisation of the efforts, the central figure in the military struggle was the very capable Cretan officer Georgios Katehakis (Γεώργιος Κατεχάκης in Greek). Katehakis later became a war hero in the Balkan Wars
and World War I
, and was Defense Minister in the interwar years. Bishop Germanos Karavangelis animated the Greek population against the IMRO and formed committees to promote the Greek national interests. Taking advantage of the internal political and personal disputes in IMRO, Katehakis and Karavangelis initially succeeded to recruit some IMRO former members and to organize guerilla groups, that were later reinforced with people sent from Greece and thus were mainly composed of ex-officers of the Hellenic Army
, volunteers brought from Crete
, from the Mani
area of the Peloponnese, as well as Macedonian Greeks, such as Vangelis Strebreniotis from the village of Asprogia and Christos Kottas from the village of Rulya, a former adherent of the IMRO.
The fighters for the Greek cause labelled themselves Makedonomachoi (Μακεδονομάχοι - Macedonian Fighters) and were portrayed by Greek writer Penelope Delta
in her novel Τά μυστικά τοῦ Βάλτου (Ta Mystiká tou Váltou - The Secrets of the Swamp), as well as in the book of memoirs Ὁ Μακεδονικός Ἀγών (The Macedonian Struggle) by Germanos Karavangelis, while on the other side, the fighters of IMRO and their activities are depicted in the book Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars, written by Albert Sonnichsen, an American volunteer in the IMRO during the Macedonian Struggle.
The Greek state became concerned, not only because of Bulgarian penetration in Macedonia, but also due to the Serbian interest, which was concentrated mainly in Skopje and Bitola area. The rioting in Macedonia and especially the death of Pavlos Melas
in 1904 (he was the first Greek officer to enter Macedonia with guerrillas and was killed in battle with the Ottoman army) caused intense nationalistic feelings in Greece. This led to the decision to send more guerrilla troops in order to thwart Bulgarian efforts to bring all of the Slavic-speaking majority population of Macedonia on their side.
The Greek General Consulate in Thessaloniki
, under Lambros Koromilas
, became the centre of the struggle, coordinating the guerrilla troops, distributing military materiel and nursing the wounded. Fierce conflicts between the Greeks and Bulgarians started in the area of Kastoria
, in the Giannitsa Lake area, and elsewhere; both parties committed cruel crimes at points. The greatest bloodshed was the massacre in the village Zagorichani (was predominantly populated by Bulgarians) near Kastoria
on 25 March 1905, when 79 villagers were executed by Greek andartes at nighttime.
Both guerrilla groups had also to confront the Turkish Army, though the Ottoman administration often ignored the activity of the Greek guerrillas. These conflicts ended after the revolution of "Young Turks
" in July, 1908, as they promised to respect all ethnicities and religions, and to provide a constitution.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
between 1904 and 1908. Gradually the Greek bands gained the upper hand, paving the way for the annexation of large parts of Ottoman Macedonia by Greece during the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
in 1912-1913.
Background
Since the creation of the modern Greek state in 1830, the Megali IdeaMegali Idea
The Megali Idea was an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism that expressed the goal of establishing a Greek state that would encompass all ethnic Greek-inhabited areas, since large Greek populations after the restoration of Greek independence in 1830 still lived under Ottoman rule.The term...
, an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism, dominated Greek politics. The Megali Idea project called for the annexation of all ethnic Greek lands, including Macedonia, parts of which had participated in the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
in the 1820s, but remained under foreign rule. There was a rebellion in 1854 aiming to unite Macedonia with Greece, but it failed.
As Ottoman rule in the Balkans crumbled in the late 19th century, competition arose between Greeks and Bulgarians (and to a lesser extent also other ethnic groups such as Serbs, Aromanians and Albanians) over the multi-ethnic region of Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
. Initially the conflict was waged through educational and religious propaganda, with a fierce rivalry developing between supporters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, who generally identified as Greek, and supporters of the Bulgarian Exarchate
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953....
, which had been established by the Ottomans in 1870. In 1894, an organization known as the as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was founded by Bulgarian anti-Ottoman revolutionaries in Thessaloníki, with the aim of liberating Macedonia and Thrace from Ottoman rule. Initially IMRO was declared as a Bulgarian organization, but later it was opened to all ethnic groups in Macedonia and IMRO's claimed that it was fighting for the autonomy of Macedonia and not for annexation to Bulgaria. In practice, most of the followers of the IMRO were Bulgarians, though they also had some Aromanian supporters (for example Pitu Guli
Pitu Guli
Pitu Guli was an Aromanian revolutionary in Ottoman Macedonia, a local leader of what is commonly referred to as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization ....
). Many of the members of the organization saw Macedonian autonomy as an intermediate step to unification with Bulgaria, but others saw as their aim the creation of a Balkan federal state, with Macedonia as an equal member. Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...
and especially Greece
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece was a state established in 1832 in the Convention of London by the Great Powers...
opposed the IMRO movement. The Greeks of Macedonia had no interest in autonomy, but desired enosis (union) with Greece, which cause was supported by the Greek government. A vicious guerrilla war broke out between Bulgarian and Greek armed bands within Ottoman Macedonia in 1904, ending in 1908 when the Young Turks
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
movement came into power in the Ottoman Empire with its initially democratic and modernization agenda.
Causes
Ion Dragoumis
Ion Dragoumis was a Greek diplomat, writer and revolutionary.Born in Athens, Dragoumis was the son of Stephanos Dragoumis who was foreign minister under Charilaos Trikoupis. The family originated in Vogatsiko in Kastoria...
and Pavlos Melas
Pavlos Melas
Pavlos Melas was an officer of the Hellenic Army, and he was among the first who organized and participated in the Greek Struggle for Macedonia....
.
As noted above , the guerrillas of the IMRO were fighting against the Ottoman authorities with the slogan "autonomy for Macedonia". IMRO had declared as its intention the uniting of all "disgruntled elements in Macedonia and the Adrianople region, regardless of their nationality". But gradually, increasing tensions emerged between the followers of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (the Patriarchalists, mostly, but not only, Greeks) and those of the Bulgarian Exarchate
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953....
; the Greeks of Macedonia had no interest in autonomy, but desired enosis (union) with Greece. There were also great social differences between the ethnic groups in Macedonia; Greeks generally were urban businessmen and Bulgarians were mostly rural farmers.
The situation in Macedonia became heated and started to affect European public opinion. In April 1903, a group called Gemidzhii with some assistance from the IMRO blew up the French ship Guadalquivir and the Ottoman Bank in the harbour of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. In August 1903, IMRO managed to organise an uprising (the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August 1903 |Macedonia]] affected most of the central and southwestern parts of the Monastir Vilayet receiving the support mainly of the local Bulgarian peasants and to some extent of the Aromanian population of the region...
) in Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
and the Adrianople Vilayet. After the forming of the short-lived Krushevo Republic, the insurrection was suppressed by the Ottomans with the subsequent destruction of many villages and the devastation of large areas in Western Macedonia and around Kırk Kilise
Kirklareli
Kırklareli is the capital of Kırklareli Province in Eastern Thrace, on the European part of Turkey. The province has a coastline on the Black Sea. There is a Jewish community.-Name:It is not clearly known when the city was founded, nor under what name...
near Adrianople.
Early stage
Kastoria
Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...
, Germanos Karavangelis
Germanos Karavangelis
Germanos Karavangelis was born in Stipsi, Lesbos.He was a metropolitan bishop of Kastoria, in communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, from 1900 until 1907, appointed in the name of the Greek state by the ambassador of Greece Nikolaos Mavrokordatos and was one of the main...
sent to Macedonia by the ambassador of Greece Nikolaos Mavrokordatos and the consul of Greece in Monastiri
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
, Ion Dragoumis
Ion Dragoumis
Ion Dragoumis was a Greek diplomat, writer and revolutionary.Born in Athens, Dragoumis was the son of Stephanos Dragoumis who was foreign minister under Charilaos Trikoupis. The family originated in Vogatsiko in Kastoria...
, realised that it was time to act in a more efficient way and started organising Greek opposition.
As Ion Dragoumis wrote in his calendar "I am thinking how these communities of Greece outside of the Greek Kingdom can affiliate in our state. Why wait their liberation only from Greece? Let them work as Greece didn’t exist and then she will help them." Dragoumis later called, in his book Martyron kai Iroon Aima (Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Blood), for Greeks to follow the example of Basil II: "Basil II, instead of blinding so many people should have better killed them instead. On one hand this people would not suffer as eyeless survivors, on the other the sheer number of Bulgarians would have diminished by 15 000, which is something very useful."
While Dragoumis concerned himself with the financial organisation of the efforts, the central figure in the military struggle was the very capable Cretan officer Georgios Katehakis (Γεώργιος Κατεχάκης in Greek). Katehakis later became a war hero in the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and was Defense Minister in the interwar years. Bishop Germanos Karavangelis animated the Greek population against the IMRO and formed committees to promote the Greek national interests. Taking advantage of the internal political and personal disputes in IMRO, Katehakis and Karavangelis initially succeeded to recruit some IMRO former members and to organize guerilla groups, that were later reinforced with people sent from Greece and thus were mainly composed of ex-officers of the Hellenic Army
Hellenic Army
The Hellenic Army , formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece.The motto of the Hellenic Army is , "Freedom Stems from Valor", from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War...
, volunteers brought from Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, from the Mani
Mani Peninsula
The Mani Peninsula , also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a geographical and cultural region in Greece. Mani is the central peninsula of the three which extend southwards from the Peloponnese in southern Greece. To the east is the Laconian Gulf, to the west the Messenian Gulf...
area of the Peloponnese, as well as Macedonian Greeks, such as Vangelis Strebreniotis from the village of Asprogia and Christos Kottas from the village of Rulya, a former adherent of the IMRO.
The fighters for the Greek cause labelled themselves Makedonomachoi (Μακεδονομάχοι - Macedonian Fighters) and were portrayed by Greek writer Penelope Delta
Penelope Delta
Penelope Delta was a Greek author of books for children. Practically the first Greek children's books writer, her historical novels have been widely read and influenced Greek popular perceptions on national identity and history...
in her novel Τά μυστικά τοῦ Βάλτου (Ta Mystiká tou Váltou - The Secrets of the Swamp), as well as in the book of memoirs Ὁ Μακεδονικός Ἀγών (The Macedonian Struggle) by Germanos Karavangelis, while on the other side, the fighters of IMRO and their activities are depicted in the book Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars, written by Albert Sonnichsen, an American volunteer in the IMRO during the Macedonian Struggle.
Official Greek involvement
Pavlos Melas
Pavlos Melas was an officer of the Hellenic Army, and he was among the first who organized and participated in the Greek Struggle for Macedonia....
in 1904 (he was the first Greek officer to enter Macedonia with guerrillas and was killed in battle with the Ottoman army) caused intense nationalistic feelings in Greece. This led to the decision to send more guerrilla troops in order to thwart Bulgarian efforts to bring all of the Slavic-speaking majority population of Macedonia on their side.
The Greek General Consulate in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, under Lambros Koromilas
Lambros Koromilas
Lambros Koromilas was a Greek economist and diplomat, and one of the leading figures in the Macedonian Struggle during his tenure as Greek Consul-General to Thessaloniki in 1904–1907...
, became the centre of the struggle, coordinating the guerrilla troops, distributing military materiel and nursing the wounded. Fierce conflicts between the Greeks and Bulgarians started in the area of Kastoria
Kastoria
Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...
, in the Giannitsa Lake area, and elsewhere; both parties committed cruel crimes at points. The greatest bloodshed was the massacre in the village Zagorichani (was predominantly populated by Bulgarians) near Kastoria
Kastoria
Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...
on 25 March 1905, when 79 villagers were executed by Greek andartes at nighttime.
Both guerrilla groups had also to confront the Turkish Army, though the Ottoman administration often ignored the activity of the Greek guerrillas. These conflicts ended after the revolution of "Young Turks
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
" in July, 1908, as they promised to respect all ethnicities and religions, and to provide a constitution.
Consequences
The success of Greek efforts in Macedonia was an experience that gave confidence to the country. It helped develop an intention to annex Greek-speaking areas, and bolster Greek presence in the still Turkish-ruled Macedonia.See also
- Macedonian Question
- History of Modern GreeceHistory of modern GreeceThe history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition of independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1832 after the Greek War of Independence to the present day.- Background :In 1821, the Greeks rose up against the Ottoman Empire...
- History of modern MacedoniaHistory of modern MacedoniaIn the 19th century, the national revival in the Balkans began; national and religious antagonism flared, and conflict was heightened by the Ottoman policy of playing one group against the other. Meanwhile the Ottoman Empire lost control over the major sections of Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria, each...
- MacedoniaMacedonia (region)Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
- Greek MacedoniaMacedonia (Greece)Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
- Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization