1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Macedonia
MACEDONIA, the name generally given to that portion of European Turkey which is bounded on the N. by the Kara-Dagh mountain range and the frontier of Bulgaria, on the E. by the river Mesta, on the S. by the Aegean Sea and the frontier of Greece, and on the W. by an ill-defined line coinciding with the mountain chains of Shar (ancient Scardus) Grammus and Pindus. The Macedonia of antiquity was originally confined to the inland region west of the Axius, between that river and the Scardus range, and did not include the northern portion, known as Paeonia, or the coast-land, which, with the eastern districts, was inhabited by Thracian tribes; the people of the country were not Hellenic. In modern Macedonia are included the vilayet of Salonica (Turk. Selanik), the eastern and greater portion of the vilayet of Monastir (sanjaks of Monastir, Servia [Turk. Selfije], and part of that of Kortcha), and the south-eastern portion of the vilayet of Kossovo (sanjak of Usküb). The greater part of Macedonia is inhabited by a Slavonic population, mainly Bulgarian in its characteristics; the coast-line and the southern districts west of the Gulf of Salonica by Greeks, while Turkish, Vlach and Albanian settlements exist sporadically, or in groups, in many parts of the country.
Geographical Features.—The coast-line is broken by the remarkable peninsula of Chalcidice, with its three promontories of Athos (ancient Acte), Longus (Sithonia) and Cassandra (Pallene). The country is divided into two almost equal portions by the river Vardar (Axius), the valley of which has always constituted the principal route from Central Europe to the Aegean. Rising in the Shar mountains near Gostivar (Bulgarian Kostovo), the Vardar, flowing to the N.E., drains the rich elevated plain of Tetovo (Turk. Kalkandelen) and, turning to the S.E. at the foot of Mt Liubotrn, traverses the town and plain of Usküb, leaving to the left the high plateau of Ovchepolye (“the sheep-plain”); then flowing through the town of Veles, it receives on its right, near the ruins of the ancient Stobi, the waters of its principal tributary, the Tcherna (Erigon), which drains the basin of Monastir and the mountainous region of Morichovo, and after passing through the picturesque gorge of Demir-Kapu (the Iron Gate) finds its way to the Gulf of Salonica through the alluvial tract known as the Campania, extending to the west of that town. The other important rivers are the Struma (Strymon) and Mesta (Nestus) to the east, running almost parallel to the Vardar, and the Bistritza in the south, all falling into the Aegean. (The Black Drin, issuing from Lake Ochrida and flowing N.W. to the Adriatic, is for the greater part of its course an Albanian river.) The Struma, which rises in Mt Vitosha in Bulgaria, runs through a narrow defile till, within a short distance of the sea, it expands into Lake Tachino, and falls into the Aegean near the site of the ancient Amphipolis. The Mesta, rising in the Rhodope range, drains the valley of Razlog and forms a delta at its entrance into the Aegean opposite the island of Thasos. The Bistritza, which has its source in the eastern slope of Mt Grammus, receives early in its course the outflow from Lake Castoria on the left; it flows to the S.E. towards the frontier of Greece, where its course is arrested by the Cambunian mountains; then turning sharply to the N.E., and passing through the districts of Serfije and Verria, it reaches the Campania and enters the Gulf of Salonica at a point a few miles to the S.W. of the mouth of the Vardar. The valleys of most of the rivers and their tributaries broaden here and there into fertile upland basins, which were formerly lakes. Of these the extensive plateau of Monastir, the ancient plain of Pelagonia, about 1500 ft. above the sea, is the most remarkable; the basins of Tetovo, Usküb, Kotchané, Strumnitza, Nevrokop, Melnik, Serres and Drama furnish other examples. The principal lakes are Ochrida (Lychnitis) on the confines of Albania; Prespa, separated from Ochrida by the Galinitza mountains, and supposed to be connected with it by a subterranean channel; Castoria, to the S.E. of Prespa; Ostrovo, midway between Prespa and the Vardar; Tachino (Cercinitis) on the lower course of the Struma; Beshik (Bolbe), separating the Chalcidian peninsula from the mainland, and Doiran (probably Prasias), beneath the southern declivity of the Belasitza mountains; the smaller lakes of Amatovo and Yenije are in the alluvial plain on either side of the lower Vardar. Lake Ochrida (q.v.) finds egress into the Black Drin (Drilon) at Struga, where there are productive fisheries. The lacustrine habitations of the Paeonians on Lake Prasias described by Herodotus (v. 16) find a modern counterpart in the huts of the fishing population on Lake Doiran. The surface of the country is generally mountainous; the various mountain-groups present little uniformity in their geographical contour. The great chain of Rhodope, continued to the N.W. by the Rilska and Osogovska Planina, forms a natural boundary on the north; the principal summit, Musalla (9031 ft.), is just over the Bulgarian frontier. The adjoining Dospat range culminates in Belmeken (8562 ft.), also just over the Bulgarian frontier. Between the upper courses of the Mesta and Struma is the Perim Dagh or Pirin Planina (Orbelos) with Elin (8794 ft.), continued to the south by the Bozo Dagh (6081 ft.); still further south, overlooking the bay of Kavala, are the Bunar Dagh and Mt Pangaeus, famous in antiquity for its gold and silver mines. Between the Struma and the Vardar are the Belasitza, Krusha and other ranges. West of the Vardar is the lofty Shar chain (Scardus) overlooking the plain of Tetovo and terminating at its eastern extremity in the pyramidal Liubotrn (according to some authorities, 10,007 ft., and consequently the highest mountain in the Peninsula; according to others 8989, 8856, or 8200 ft.). The Shar range, with the Kara Dagh to the east, forms the natural boundary of Macedonia on the N.W.; this is prolonged on the west by the Yaina-Bistra and Yablanitza mountains with several summits exceeding 7000 ft. in height, the Odonishta Planina overlooking Lake Ochrida on the west, the Morova Planina, the Grammus range, and Pindus with Smolika (8546 ft.). The series of heights is broken by the valleys of the Black Drin and Devol, which flow to the Adriatic. Between the Vardar and the plain of Monastir the Nija range culminates in Kaimakchalan (8255 ft.); south-west of Monastir is Mt Peristeri (7720 ft.) overlooking Lake Prespa on the east; on the west is the Galinitza range separating it from Lake Ochrida. Between Lake Ostrovo and the lower Bistritza are the Bermius and Kitarion ranges with Doxa (5240 ft.) and Turla (about 3280 ft.). South of the Bistritza are the Cambunian mountains forming the boundary of Thessaly and terminating to the east in the imposing mass of Etymbos, or Olympus (9794 ft.). Lastly, Mt Athos, at the extremity of the peninsula of that name, reaches the height of 6350 ft. The general aspect of the country is bare and desolate, especially in the neighbourhood of the principal routes; the trees have been destroyed, and large tracts of land remain uncultivated. Magnificent forests, however, still clothe the slopes of Rhodope, Pirin and Pindus. The well-wooded and cultivated districts of Grevena and Castoria, which are mainly inhabited by a Vlach population, are remarkably beautiful, and the scenery around Lakes Ochrida and Prespa is exceedingly picturesque. For the principal geological formations see Balkan Peninsula.
The climate is severe; the spring is often rainy, and the melted snows from the encircling mountains produce inundations in the plains. The natural products are in general similar to those of southern Bulgaria and Servia—the fig, olive and orange, however, appear on the shores of the Aegean and in the sheltered valleys of the southern region. The best tobacco in Europe is grown in the Drama and Kavala districts; rice and cotton are cultivated in the southern plains.
Population.—The population of Macedonia may perhaps be estimated at 2,200,000. About 1,300,000 are Christians of various churches and nationalities; more than 800,000 are Mahommedans, and about 75,000 are Jews. Of the Christians, the great majority profess the Eastern Orthodox faith, owning allegiance either to the Greek patriarchate or the Bulgarian exarchate. Among the Orthodox Christians are reckoned some 4000 Turks. The small Catholic minority is composed chiefly of Uniate Bulgarians (about 3600), occupying the districts of Kukush and Doiran; there are also some 2000 Bulgarian Protestants, principally inhabiting the valley of Razlog. The Mahommedan population is mainly composed of Turks (about 500,000). In addition to these there are some 130,000 Bulgars, 120,000 Albanians, 35,000 gipsies and 14,000 Greeks, together with a smaller number of Vlachs, Jews and Circassians, who profess the creed of Islam. The untrustworthy Turkish statistics take religion, not nationality, as the basis of classification. All Moslems are included in the millet, or nation, of Islam. The Rûm, or Roman (i.e. Greek) millet comprises all those who acknowledge the authority of the Oecumenical patriarch, and consequently includes, in addition to the Greeks, the Servians, the Vlachs, and a certain number of Bulgarians; the Bulgar millet comprises the Bulgarians who accept the rule of the exarchate; the other millets are the Katolik (Catholics), Ermeni (Gregorian Armenians), Musevi (Jews) and Prodesdan (Protestants). The population of Macedonia, at all times scanty, has undoubtedly diminished in recent years. There has been a continual outflow of the Christian population in the direction of Bulgaria, Servia and Greece, and a corresponding emigration of the Turkish peasantry to Asia Minor. Many of the smaller villages are being abandoned by their inhabitants, who migrate for safety to the more considerable towns—usually situated at some point where a mountain pass descends to the outskirts of the plains. In the agricultural districts the Christian peasants, or rayas, are either small proprietors or cultivate holdings on the estates of Turkish landowners. The upland districts are thinly inhabited by a nomad pastoral population.
Towns.—The principal towns are Salonica (pop. in 1910, about 130,000), Monastir (60,000), each the capital of a vilayet, and Usküb (32,000), capital of the vilayet of Kossovo. In the Salonica vilayet are Serres (28,000), pleasantly situated in a fertile valley near Lake Tachino; Nevrokop (6200), Mehomia (5000), and Bansko (6500), in the valley of the Upper Mesta; Drama (9000), at the foot of the Bozo Dagh, with its port Kavala (9500); Djumaia (6440), Melnik (4300) and Demir Hissar (5840) in the valley of the Struma, with Strumnitza (10,160) and Petrich (7100) in the valley of its tributary, the Strumnitza; Veles (Turk. Koprülü) on the Vardar (19,700); Doiran (6780) and Kukush (7750); and, to the west of the Vardar, Verria (Slav. Ber, anc. Beroea, Turk. Karaferia, 10,500), Yenijé-Vardar (9599) and Vodena (anc. Edessa, q.v., 11,000). In the portion of the Kossovo vilayet included in Macedonia are Kalkandelen (Slav. Tetovo, 19,200), Kumanovo (14,500) and Shtip (Turk. Istib, 21,000). In the Monastir vilayet are Prilep (24,000) at the northern end of the Pelagonian plain, Krushevo (9350), mainly inhabited by Vlachs, Resen (4450) north of Lake Prespa, Florina (Slav. Lerin, 9824); Ochrida (14,860), with a picturesque fortress of Tsar Samuel, and Struga (4570), both on the north shore of Lake Ochrida; Dibra (Slav. Debr) on the confines of Albania (15,500), Castoria (Slav. Kostur), on the lake of that name (6190), and Kozhané (6100). (Dibra, Kavala, Monastir, Ochrida, Salonica, Serres, Usküb and Vodena are described in separate articles.)
Races.—Macedonia is the principal theatre of the struggle of nationalities in Eastern Europe. All the races which dispute the reversion of the Turkish possessions in Europe are represented within its borders. The Macedonian probably may therefore be described as the quintessence of the The Turks. Near Eastern Question. The Turks, the ruling race, form less than a quarter of the entire population, and their numbers are steadily declining. The first Turkish immigration from Asia Minor took place under the Byzantine emperors before the conquest of the country. The first purely Turkish town, Yenijé-Vardar, was founded on the ruins of Vardar in 1362. After the capture of Salonica (1430), a strong Turkish population was settled in the city, and similar colonies were founded in Monastir, Ochrida, Serres, Drama and other important places. In many of these towns half or more of the population is still Turkish. A series of military colonies were subsequently established at various points of strategic importance along the principal lines of communication. Before 1360 large numbers of nomad shepherds, or Yuruks, from the district of Konia, in Asia Minor, had settled in the country; their descendants are still known as Konariotes. Further immigration from this region took place from time to time up to the middle of the 18th century. After the establishment of the feudal system in 1397 many of the Seljuk noble families came over from Asia Minor; their descendants may be recognized among the beys or Moslem landowners in southern Macedonia. At the beginning of the 18th century the Turkish population was very considerable, but since that time it has continuously decreased. A low birth-rate, the exhaustion of the male population by military service, and great mortality from epidemics, against which Moslem fatalism takes no precautions, have brought about a decline which has latterly been hastened by emigration. On the other hand, there has been a considerable Moslem immigration from Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria and Greece, but the newcomers, mohajirs, do not form a permanent colonizing element. The Turkish rural population is found in three principal groups: the most easterly extends from the Mesta to Drama, Pravishta and Orfano, reaching the sea-coast on either side of Kavala, which is partly Turkish, partly Greek. The second, or central, group begins on the sea-coast, a little west of the mouth of the Strymon, where a Greek population intervenes, and extends to the north-west along the Kara-Dagh and Belasitza ranges in the direction of Strumnitza, Veles, Shtip and Radovisht. The third, or southern, group is centred around Kaïlar, an entirely Turkish town, and extends from Lake Ostrovo to Selfijé (Servia). The second and third groups are mainly composed of Konariot shepherds. Besides these fairly compact settlements there are numerous isolated Turkish colonies in various parts of the country. The Turkish rural population is quiet, sober and orderly, presenting some of the best characteristics of the race. The urban population, on the other hand, has become much demoralized, while the official classes, under the rule of Abdul Hamid II. and his predecessors, were corrupt and avaricious, and seemed to have parted with all scruple in their dealings with the Christian peasantry. The Turks, though still numerically and politically strong, fall behind the other nationalities in point of intellectual culture, and the contrast is daily becoming more marked owing to the educational activity of the Christians.
The Greek and Vlach populations are not always easily distinguished, as a considerable proportion of the Vlachs have been hellenized. Both show a remarkable aptitude for commerce; the Greeks have maintained their The Greeks and Vlachs. language and religion, and the Vlachs their religion, with greater tenacity than any of the other races. From the date of the Ottoman conquest until comparatively recent times, the Greeks occupied an exceptional position in Macedonia, as elsewhere in the Turkish Empire, owing to the privileges conferred on the patriarchate of Constantinople, and the influence subsequently acquired by the great Phanariot families. All the Christian population belonged to the Greek millet and called itself Greek; the bishops and higher clergy were exclusively Greek; Greek was the language of the upper classes, of commerce, literature and religion, and Greek alone was taught in the schools. The supremacy of the patriarchate was consummated by the suppression of the autocephalous Slavonic churches of Ipek in 1766 and Ochrida in 1767. In the latter half of the 18th century Greek ascendancy in Macedonia was at its zenith; its decline began with the War of Independence, the establishment of the Hellenic kingdom, and the extinction of the Phanariot power in Constantinople. The patriarchate, nevertheless, maintained its exclusive jurisdiction over all the Orthodox population till 1870, when the Bulgarian exarchate was established, and the Greek clergy continued to labour with undiminished zeal for the spread of Hellenism. Notwithstanding their venality and intolerance, their merits as the only diffusers of culture and enlightenment in the past should not be overlooked. The process of hellenization made greater progress in the towns than in the rural districts of the interior, where the non-Hellenic populations preserved their languages, which alone saved the several nationalities from extinction. The typical Greek, with his superior education, his love of politics and commerce, and his distaste for laborious occupations, has always been a dweller in cities. In Salonica, Serres, Kavala, Castoria, and other towns in southern Macedonia the Hellenic element is strong; in the northern towns it is insignificant, except at Melnik, which is almost exclusively Greek. The Greek rural population extends from the Thessalian frontier to Castoria and Verria (Beroea); it occupies the whole Chalcidian peninsula and both banks of the lower Strymon from Serres to the sea, and from Nigrita on the west to Pravishta on the east; there are also numerous Greek villages in the Kavala district. The Mahommedan Greeks, known as Valachides, occupy a considerable tract in the upper Bistritza valley near Grevena and Liapsista. The purely Greek population of Macedonia may possibly be estimated at a quarter of a million. The Vlachs, or Rumans, who call themselves Aromuni or Aromâni (i.e. Romans), are also known as Kutzovlachs and Tzintzars: the last two appellations are, in fact, nicknames, “Kutzovlach” meaning “lame Vlach,” while “Tzintzar” denotes their inability to pronounce the Rumanian cincĭ (five). The Vlachs are styled by some writers “Macedo-Rumans,” in contradistinction to the “Daco-Rumans,” who inhabit the country north of the Danube. They are, in all probability, the descendants of the Thracian branch of the aboriginal Thraco-Illyrian population of the Balkan Peninsula, the Illyrians being represented by the Albanians. This early native population, which was apparently hellenized to some extent under the Macedonian empire, seems to have been latinized in the period succeeding the Roman conquest, and probably received a considerable infusion of Italian blood. The Vlachs are for the most part either highland shepherds or wandering owners of horses and mules. Their settlements are scattered all over the mountains of Macedonia: some of these consist of permanent dwellings, others of huts occupied only in the summer. The compactest groups are found in the Pindus and Agrapha mountains (extending into Albania and Thessaly), in the neighbourhood of Monastir, Grevena and Castoria, and in the district of Meglen. The Vlachs who settle in the lowland districts are excellent husbandmen. The urban population is considerable; the Vlachs of Salonica, Monastir, Serres and other large towns are, for the most part, descended from refugees from Moschopolis, once the principal centre of Macedonian commerce. The towns of Metzovo, on the confines of Albania, and Klisura, in the Bistritza valley, are almost exclusively Vlach. The urban and most of the rural Vlachs are bilingual, speaking Greek as well as Rumanian; a great number of the former have been completely hellenized, partly in consequence of mixed marriages, and many of the wealthiest commercial families of Vlach origin are now devoted to the Greek cause. The Vlachs of Macedonia possibly number 90,000, of whom only some 3000 are Mahommedans. The Macedonian dialect of the Rumanian language differs mainly from that spoken north of the Danube in its vocabulary and certain phonetic peculiarities; it contains a number of Greek words which are often replaced in the northern speech by Slavonic or Latin synonyms.
The Albanians, called by the Turks and Slavs Arnauts, by the Greeks Ἀρβανῖται, and by themselves Shkyipetar, have always been the scourge of western Macedonia. After the first Turkish invasion of Albania many of the chiefs or beys adopted Mahommedanism, but the conversion The Albanians, Circassians, &c. of the great bulk of the people took place in the 16th and 17th centuries. Professing the creed of the dominant power and entitled to bear arms, the Albanians were enabled to push forward their limits at the expense of the defenceless population around them, and their encroachments have continued to the present day. They have not only advanced themselves, but have driven to the eastward numbers of their Christian compatriots and a great portion of the once-prosperous Vlach population of Albania. Albanian revolts and disturbances have been frequent along the western confines of Macedonia, especially in the neighbourhood of Dibra: the Slavonic peasants have been the principal sufferers from these troubles, while the Porte, in pursuance of the “Islamic policy” adopted by the sultan Abdul Hamid II., dealt tenderly with the recalcitrant believers. In southern Macedonia the Albanians of the Tosk race extend over the upper Bistritza valley as far west as Castoria, and reach the southern and western shores of Lakes Prespa and Ochrida: they are also numerous in the neighbourhood of Monastir. In northern Macedonia the Albanians are of the Gheg stock: they have advanced in large numbers over the districts of Dibra, Kalkandelen and Usküb, driving the Slavonic population before them. The total number of Albanians in Macedonia may be estimated at about 120,000, of whom some 10,000 are Christians (chiefly orthodox Tosks). The Circassians, who occupy some villages in the neighbourhood of Serres, now scarcely number 3000: their predatory instincts may be compared with those of the Albanians. The Jews had colonies in Macedonia in the time of St Paul, but no trace remains of these early settlements. The Jews now found in the country descend from refugees who fled from Spain during the persecutions at the end of the 15th century: they speak a dialect of Spanish, which they write with Hebrew characters. They form a flourishing community at Salonica, which numbers more than half the population: their colonies at Monastir, Serres and other towns are poor. A small proportion of the Jews, known as Deunmé by the Turks, have embraced Mahommedanism.
With the exception of the southern and western districts already specified, the principal towns, and certain isolated tracts, the whole of Macedonia is inhabited by a race or races speaking a Slavonic dialect. If language is adopted as a test, the great bulk of the rural population The Slavonic Population. must be described as Slavonic. The Slavs first crossed the Danube at the beginning of the 3rd century, but their great immigration took place in the 6th and 7th centuries. They overran the entire peninsula, driving the Greeks to the shores of the Aegean, the Albanians into the Mirdite country, and the latinized population of Macedonia into the highland districts, such as Pindus, Agrapha and Olympus. The Slavs, a primitive agricultural and pastoral people, were often unsuccessful in their attacks on the fortified towns, which remained centres of Hellenism. In the outlying parts of the peninsula they were absorbed, or eventually driven back, by the original populations, but in the central region they probably assimilated a considerable proportion of the latinized races. The western portions of the peninsula were occupied by Serb and Slovene tribes: the Slavs of the eastern and central portions were conquered at the end of the 7th century by the Bulgarians, a Ugro-Finnish horde, who established a despotic political organization, but being less numerous than the subjected race were eventually absorbed by it. The Mongolian physical type, which prevails in the districts between the Balkans and the Danube, is also found in central Macedonia, and may be recognized as far west as Ochrida and Dibra. In general, however, the Macedonian Slavs differ somewhat both in appearance and character from their neighbours beyond the Bulgarian and Servian frontiers: the peculiar type which they present is probably due to a considerable admixture of Vlach, Hellenic, Albanian and Turkish blood, and to the influence of the surrounding races. Almost all independent authorities, however, agree that the bulk of the Slavonic population of Macedonia is Bulgarian. The principal indication is furnished by the language, which, though resembling Servian in some respects (e.g. the case-endings, which are occasionally retained), presents most of the characteristic features of Bulgarian (see Bulgaria: Language). Among these may be mentioned the suffix-article, the nasal vowels (retained in the neighbourhood of Salonica and Castoria, but modified elsewhere as in Bulgarian), the retention of l (e.g. vulk “wolf,” bel “white”; Servian vuk, beo), and the loss of the infinitive. There are at least four Slavonic dialects in Macedonia, but the suffix-article, though varying in form, is a constant feature in all. The Slavs of western Macedonia are of a lively, enterprising character, and share the commercial aptitude of the Vlachs: those of the eastern and southern regions are a quiet, sober, hardworking agricultural race, more obviously homogeneous with the population of Bulgaria. In upper Macedonia large family communities, resembling the Servian and Bulgarian zadruga, are commonly found: they sometimes number over 50 members. The whole Slavonic population of Macedonia may be estimated at about 1,150,000, of whom about 1,000,000 are Christians of the Orthodox faith. The majority of these own allegiance to the Bulgarian exarchate, but a certain minority still remains faithful to the Greek patriarchate. The Moslem Bulgarians form a considerable element: they are found principally in the valley of the upper Mesta and the Rhodope district, where they are known as Pomaks or “helpers,” i.e. auxiliaries to the Turkish army.
The Racial Propaganda.—The embittered struggle of the rival nationalities in Macedonia dates from the middle of the 19th century. Until that period the Greeks, owing to their superior culture and their privileged position, exercised an exclusive influence over the whole population professing the Orthodox faith. All Macedonia was either Moslem or Orthodox Christian, without distinction of nationalities, the Catholic or Protestant millets being inconsiderable. The first opposition to Greek ecclesiastical ascendancy came from the Bulgarians. The Bulgarian literary revival, which took place in the earlier part of the 19th century, was the precursor of the ecclesiastical and national movement which resulted in the establishment of the exarchate in 1870 (see Bulgaria). In the course of the struggle some of the Bulgarian leaders entered into negotiations with Rome; a Bulgarian Uniate church was recognized by the Porte, and the pope nominated a bishop, who, however, was mysteriously deported to Russia a few days after his consecration (1861). The first exarch, who was elected in 1871, was excommunicated with all his followers by the patriarch, and a considerable number of Bulgarians in Macedonia—the so-called “Bulgarophone Greeks”—fearing the reproach of schism, or influenced by other considerations, refrained from acknowledging the new spiritual power. Many of the recently converted uniates, on the other hand, offered their allegiance to the exarch. The firman of the 28th of February 1870 specified a number of districts within the present boundaries of Bulgaria and Servia, as well as in Macedonia, to which Bulgarian bishops might be appointed; other districts might be subjected to the exarchate should two-thirds of the inhabitants so desire. In virtue of the latter provision the districts of Veles, Ochrida and Usküb declared for the exarchate, but the Turkish government refrained from sanctioning the nomination of Bulgarian bishops to these dioceses. It was not till 1891 that the Porte, at the instance of Stamboloff, the Bulgarian prime minister, whose demands were supported by the Triple Alliance and Great Britain, issued the berat, or exequatur, for Bulgarian bishops at Ochrida and Usküb; the sees of Veles and Nevrokop received Bulgarian prelates in 1894, and those of Monastir, Strumnitza and Dibra in 1898. The Bulgarian position was further strengthened in the latter year by the establishment of “commercial agents” representing the principality at Salonica, Usküb, Monastir and Serres. During this period (1891–1898) the Bulgarian propaganda, entirely controlled by the spiritual power and conducted within the bounds of legality, made rapid and surprising progress. Subsequently the interference of the Macedonian committee at Sofia, in which the advocates of physical force predominated, and the rivalry of factions did much to injure the movement; the hostility of the Porte was provoked and the sympathy of the powers alienated by a series of assassinations and other crimes. According to the official figures, the Bulgarian schools, which in 1893 were 554, with 30,267 pupils and 853 teachers, in 1900 numbered 785 (including 5 gymnasia and 58 secondary schools), with 39,892 pupils and 1250 teachers. A great number of the schools were closed by the Turkish authorities after the insurrection of 1903 and many had not been reopened in 1909; the teachers were imprisoned or had fled into exile.
The Rumanian movement comes next to the Bulgarian in order of time. The Vlachs had shown greater susceptibility to Greek influence than any of the other non-Hellenic populations of Macedonia, and, though efforts to create a Rumanian propaganda were made as early as 1855, it was not till after the union of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in 1861 that any indications of a national sentiment appeared amongst them. In 1886 the principal apostle of the Rumanian cause, a priest named Apostol Margaritis, founded a gymnasium at Monastir, and the movement, countenanced by the Porte, supported by the French Catholic missions, and to some extent encouraged by Austria, has made no inconsiderable progress since that time. There are now about forty Rumanian schools in Macedonia, including two gymnasia, and large sums are devoted to their maintenance by the ministry of education at Bucharest, which also provides qualified teachers. The Rumanian and Servian movements are at a disadvantage compared with the Bulgarian, owing to their want of a separate ecclesiastical organization, the orthodox Vlachs and Serbs in Turkey owning allegiance to the Greek patriarchate. The governments of Bucharest and Belgrade therefore endeavoured to obtain the recognition of Vlach and Servian millets, demanding respectively the establishment of a Rumanian bishopric at Monastir and the restoration of the patriarchate of Ipek with the appointment of a Servian metropolitan at Usküb. The Vlach millet was recognized by the Porte by iradé on the 23rd of May 1905, but the aims of the Servians, whose active interference in Macedonia is of comparatively recent date, have not been realized. Previously to 1878 the hopes of the Servians were centred on Bosnia, Herzegovina and the vilayet of Kossovo; but when the Berlin Treaty assigned Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria, the national aspirations were directed to Macedonia, the Slavonic population of which was declared to be Servian. The strained relations existing between Russia and Bulgaria from 1886 to 1895 were to the advantage of the Servian propaganda, which after 1890 made remarkable progress. Great expenditure has been incurred by the Servian government in the opening and maintenance of schools. At the beginning of 1899 there were stated to be 178 Servian schools in the vilayets of Usküb, Salonica and Monastir (including fifteen gymnasia), with 321 teachers and 7200 pupils.
The Albanian movement is still in an inceptive stage; owing to the persistent prohibition of Albanian schools by the Turks, a literary propaganda, the usual precursor of a national revival, was rendered impossible till the outbreak of the Young Turk revolution in July 1908. After that date numerous schools were founded and an Albanian committee, meeting in November 1908, fixed the national alphabet and decided on the adoption of the Latin character. The educational movement is most conspicuous among the Tosks, or southern Albanians. Notwithstanding the encroachments of their rivals, the impoverishment of the patriarchate, and the injury inflicted on their cause by the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Greeks still maintain a large number of schools; according to statistics prepared at Athens there were in 1901, 927 Greek schools in the vilayets of Salonica and Monastir (including five gymnasia), with 1397 teachers and 57,607 pupils. The great educational activity displayed by the proselytizing movements in Macedonia, while tending to the artificial creation of parties, daily widens the contrast between the progressive Christian and the backward Moslem populations.
Antiquities.—Macedonia, like the neighbouring Balkan countries, still awaited exploration at the beginning of the 20th century, and little had been learned of the earlier development of civilization in these regions. The ancient indigenous population has left many traces of its presence in the tumuli which occur on the plains, and more especially along the valley of the Vardar. The unquiet state of the country went far to prevent any systematic investigation of these remains; excavations, however, were made by Körte and Franke at Niausta and near Salonica (see Kretschner, Einleitung in die Geschichte der griechischen Sprache, pp. 176, 421), and fragments of primitive pottery, with peculiar characteristics, were found by Perdrizet at Tchepelje, on the left bank of Lake Tachino. The oldest archaeological monuments of Macedonia are its coins, for which the mines of Crenides (the later Philippi), at the foot of Mt Pangaeus, of Chalcidice, of the island of Thasos, and of the mountains between Lake Prasias and the ancient Macedonian kingdom (Herod. v. 17), furnished abundance of metal. From the reign of Alexander I., in the epoch of the Persian wars (502–479 B.C.), the Macedonian dynasty issued silver coins of a purely Greek style. The Thracian communities around Mt Pangaeus also produced a variety of coins, especially at the beginning of the 5th century. The great octodrachms of this period were perhaps struck for the purpose of paying tribute to the Persians when the country between the Strymon and the Nestos was in their possession; most of the specimens have been found in Asia Minor. These large pieces present many characteristics of the Ionian style; it is evident that the Thracians derived the arts of minting and engraving from the neighbouring Thasos, itself a colony from the Ionian Paros. The monarchs of Pella were enthusiastic admirers of Hellenic culture, and their court was doubtless frequented by Greek sculptors as well as men of letters, such as Herodotus and Euripides. At Pella has been found a funerary stele of the late 5th or early 4th century representing a Macedonian hetaerus—a beautiful specimen of the best Greek art, now preserved in the Imperial Ottoman Museum at Constantinople. To the Hellenic period belong the vaulted tombs under tumuli discovered at Pella, Pydna, Palatitza, and other places; the dead were laid in marble couches ornamented with sculptures, like those of the so-called sarcophagus of Alexander at Constantinople. These tombs doubtless received the remains of the Macedonian nobles and hetaeri: in one of them a fresco representing a conflict between a horseman and a warrior on foot has been brought to light by Kinch. Similarly constructed places of sepulture have been found at Eretria and elsewhere in Greece. At Palatitza the ruins of a remarkable structure, perhaps a palace, have been laid bare by Heuzey and Daumet. Unlike Greece, where each independent city had its acropolis, Macedonia offers few remnants of ancient fortification; most of the country towns appear to have been nothing more than open market-centres. The most interesting ruins in the country are those of the Roman and Byzantine epochs, especially those at Salonica (q.v.). The Byzantine fortifications and aqueduct of Kavala are also remarkable. At Verria (Beroea) may be seen some Christian remains, at Melnik a palace of the age of the Comneni, at Serres a fortress built by the Servian tsar Stephen Dushan (1336–1356). The remains at Filibejik (Philippi) are principally of the Roman and Byzantine periods; the numerous ex voto rock-tablets of the acropolis are especially interesting. The Roman inscriptions found in Macedonia are mainly funerary, but include several ephebic lists. The funerary tablets afford convincing proof of the persistence of the Thracian element, notwithstanding hellenization and latinization; many of them, for instance, represent the well-known Thracian horseman hunting the wild boar. The monastic communities on the promontory of Athos (q.v.), with their treasures of Byzantine art and their rich collections of manuscripts, are of the highest antiquarian interest.
History.—For the history of ancient Macedonia see Macedonian Empire.[1] After its subjugation by the Romans the country was divided into four districts separated by rigid political and social limitations. Before long it was constituted a province, which in the time of Augustus was assigned to the senate. Thenceforward it followed the fortunes of the Roman empire, and, after the partition of that dominion, of its eastern branch. Its Thraco-Illyrian inhabitants had already been largely latinized when Constantine the Great made Byzantium the imperial residence in A.D. 330; they called themselves Romans and spoke Latin. Towards the close of the 4th century the country was devastated by the Goths and Avars, whose incursions possessed no lasting significance. It was otherwise with the great Slavonic immigration, which took place at intervals from the 3rd to the 7th century. An important ethnographic change was brought about, and the greater part of Macedonia was colonized by the invaders (see Balkan Peninsula).
The Slavs were in their turn conquered by the Bulgarians (see Bulgaria: History) whose chief Krum (802–815) included central Macedonia in his dominions. The Byzantines retained the southern regions and Salonica, which temporarily fell into the hands of the Saracens in 904. With the exception of the Byzantine and Bulgarian Domination. maritime districts, the whole of Macedonia formed a portion of the empire of the Bulgarian tsar Simeon (893–927); the Bulgarian power declined after his death, but was revived in western Macedonia under the Shishman dynasty at Ochrida; Tsar Samuel (976–1014), the third ruler of that family, included in his dominions Usküb, Veles, Vodena and Melnik. After his defeat by the emperor Basil II. in 1014 Greek domination was established for a century and a half. The Byzantine emperors endeavoured to confirm their positions by Asiatic colonization; Turkish immigrants, afterwards known as Vardariotes, the first of their race who appeared in Macedonia, were settled in the neighbourhood of Salonica in the 9th century; colonies of Uzes, Petchenegs and Kumans were introduced at various periods from the 11th to the 13th century. While Greeks and Bulgarians disputed the mastery of Macedonia the Vlachs, in the 10th century, established an independent state in the Pindus region, which, afterwards known as Great Walachia, continued to exist till the beginning of the 14th century. In 1185 southern Macedonia was exposed to a raid of the Normans under William of Sicily, who captured Salonica and massacred its inhabitants. After the taking of Constantinople in 1204 by the Franks of the fourth crusade, the Latin empire of Romania was formed and the feudal kingdom of Thessalonica was bestowed on Boniface, marquis of Montferrat; this was overthrown in 1222 by Theodore, despot of Epirus, a descendant of the imperial house of the Comneni, who styled himself emperor of Thessalonica and for some years ruled over all Macedonia. He was defeated and captured by the Bulgarians in 1230 and the remnant of his possessions, to which his son John succeeded, was absorbed in the empire of Nicaea in 1234. Bulgarian rule was now once more established in Macedonia under the powerful monarch Ivan Asen II. (1218–1241) whose dynasty, of Vlach origin, had been founded at Trnovo in 1186 after a revolt of the Vlachs and Bulgars against the Greeks. A period of decadence followed the extinction of the Asen dynasty in 1257; the Bulgarian power was overthrown by the Servians at Velbuzhd (1330), and Macedonia was included in the realm of the great Servian tsar Dushan (1331–1355) who fixed his capital at Usküb. Dushan’s empire fell to pieces after his death, and the anarchy which followed prepared the way for the advance of the Turks, to whom not only contending factions at Constantinople but Servian and Bulgarian princes alike made overtures.
Macedonia and Thrace were soon desolated by Turkish raids; when it was too late the Slavonic states combined against the invaders, but their forces, under the Servian tsar Lazar, were routed at Kossovo in 1389 by the sultan Murad I. Salonica and Larissa were captured in Turkish Rule. 1395 by Murad’s son Bayezid, whose victory over Sigismund of Hungary at Nicopolis in 1396 sealed the fate of the peninsula. The towns in the Struma valley were yielded to the Turks by John VII. Palaeologus in 1424; Salonica was taken for the last time in 1428 by Murad II. and its inhabitants were massacred. Large tracts of land were distributed among the Ottoman chiefs; a system of feudal tenure was developed by Mahommed II. (1451–1481), each fief furnishing a certain number of armed warriors. The Christian peasant owners remained on the lands assigned to the Moslem feudal lords, to whom they paid a tithe. The condition of the subject population was deplorable from the first, and became worse during the period of anarchy which coincided with the decadence of the central power in the 17th and 18th centuries; in the latter half of the 17th century efforts to improve it were made by the grand viziers Mehemet and Mustafa of the eminent house of Koprülü. The country was policed by the janissaries (q.v.). Numbers of the peasant proprietors were ultimately reduced to serfdom, working as labourers on the farms or tchifliks of the Moslem beys. Towards the end of the 18th century many of the local governors became practically independent; western Macedonia fell under the sway of Ali Pasha of Iannina; at Serres Ismail Bey maintained an army of 10,000 men and exercised a beneficent despotism. For more than two centuries Albanian incursions, often resulting in permanent settlements, added to the troubles of the Christian population. The reforms embodied in the Hatt-i-Sherif of Gulhané (1839) and in the Hatt-i-humayun (1856), in both of which the perfect equality of races and religions was proclaimed, remained a dead letter; the first “Law of the Vilayets” (1864), reforming the local administration, brought no relief, while depriving the Christian communities of certain rights which they had hitherto possessed.
In 1876 a conference of the powers at Constantinople proposed
the reorganization of the Bulgarian provinces of Turkey in two
vilayets under Christian governors-general aided by
popular assemblies. The “western” vilayet, of
which Sofia was to be the capital, included northern,
European Intervention.
Treaties of San Stefano and Berlin.
central and western Macedonia, extending south as
far as Castoria. The projet de règlement elaborated
by the conference was rejected by the Turkish
parliament convoked under the constitution proclaimed on the
23rd of December 1876; the constitution, which was little more
than a device for eluding European intervention, was shortly
afterwards suspended. Under the treaty of San Stefano (March
3, 1878) the whole of Macedonia, except Salonica and the
Chalcidic peninsula, was included in the newly formed principality
of Bulgaria; this arrangement was reversed by the Treaty
of Berlin (July 13) which left Macedonia under Turkish administration
but provided (Art. xxiii.) for the introduction of reforms
analogous to those of the Cretan Organic Statute of 1868.
These reforms were to be drawn up by special commissions, on
which the native element should be largely represented, and the
opinion of the European commission for eastern Rumelia was to be
taken before their promulgation. The Porte, however, prepared
a project of its own, and the commission, taking this as a basis,
drew up the elaborate “Law of the Vilayets” (Aug. 23, 1880).
The law never received the sultan’s sanction, and European
diplomacy proved unequal to the task of securing its adoption.
The Berlin Treaty, by its artificial division of the Bulgarian race, created the difficult and perplexing “Macedonian Question.” The population handed back to Turkish rule never acquiesced in its fate; its discontent was aggravated by the deplorable misgovernment which characterized The Macedonian Question. the reign of Abdul Hamid II., and its efforts to assert itself, stimulated by the sympathy of the enfranchised portion of the race, provoked rival movements on the part of the other Christian nationalities, each receiving encouragement and material aid from the adjacent and kindred states. Some insignificant risings took place in Macedonia after the signature of the Berlin Treaty, but in the interval between 1878 and 1893 the population remained comparatively tranquil, awaiting the fulfilment of the promised reforms.
In 1893, however, a number of secret revolutionary societies (druzhestva) were set on foot in Macedonia, and in 1894 similar bodies were organized as legal corporations in Bulgaria. The fall of Stamboloff in that year and the Bulgarian Conspiracies. reconciliation of Bulgaria with Russia encouraged the revolutionaries in the mistaken belief that Russia would take steps to revive the provisions of the San Stefano treaty. In 1895 the “Supreme Macedo-Adrianopolitan Committee” (Vrkhoven Makedoni-Odrinski Komitet) was formed at Sofia and forthwith despatched armed bands into northern Macedonia; the town of Melnik was occupied for a short time by the revolutionaries under Boris Sarafoff, but the enterprise ended in failure. Dispirited by this result, the “Vrkhovists,” as the revolutionaries in Bulgaria were generally styled, refrained from any serious effort for the next five years; the movement was paralysed by dissensions among the chiefs, and rival parties were formed under Sarafoff and General Tzoncheff. Meanwhile the “Centralist” or local Macedonian societies were welded by two remarkable men, Damian Grueff and Gotzé Delcheff, into a formidable power known as the “Internal Organization,” founded in 1893, which maintained its own police, held its own tribunals, assessed and collected contributions, and otherwise exercised an imperium in imperio throughout the country, which was divided into rayons or districts, and subdivided into departments and communes, each with its special staff of functionaries. The Internal Organization, as a rule, avoided co-operation with the revolutionaries in Bulgaria; it aimed at the attainment of Macedonian autonomy, and at first endeavoured, but unsuccessfully, to enlist the sympathies of the Greeks and Servians for the programme of “Macedonia for the Macedonians.”
The principle of autonomy was suspected at Athens and Belgrade as calculated to ensure Bulgarian predominance and to delay or preclude the ultimate partition of the country. At Athens, especially, the progress of the Greek Action. Bulgarian movement was viewed with much alarm; it was feared that Macedonia would be lost to Hellenism, and in 1896 the Ethniké Hetaerea (see Greece and Crete) sent numerous bands into the southern districts of the country. The Hetaerea aimed at bringing about a war between Greece and Turkey, and the outbreak of trouble in Crete enabled it to accomplish its purpose. During the Greco-Turkish War (q.v.) Macedonia remained quiet, Bulgaria and Servia refraining from interference under pressure from Austria, Russia and the other great powers. The reverses of the Greeks were to the advantage of the Bulgarian movement, which continued to gain strength, but after the discovery of a hidden dépôt of arms at Vinitza in 1897 the Turkish authorities changed their attitude towards the Bulgarian element; extreme and often barbarous methods of repression were adopted, and arms were distributed among the Moslem population. The capture of an American missionary, Miss Stone, by a Bulgarian band under Sandansky in the autumn of 1901 proved a windfall to the revolutionaries, who expended her ransom of £T16,000 in the purchase of arms and ammunition.
In 1902 the Servians, after a prolonged conflict with the Greeks, succeeded with Russian aid in obtaining the nomination of Mgr. Firmilian, a Servian, to the archbishopric of Usküb. Contemporaneously with a series of Russo-Bulgarian Troubles in 1902: Intervention of the Powers. celebrations in the Shipka pass in September of that year, an effort was made to provoke a rising in the Monastir district by Colonel Yankoff, the lieutenant of General Tzoncheff; in November a number of bands entered the Razlog district under the general’s personal direction. These movements, which were not supported by the Internal Organization, ended in failure, and merciless repression followed. The state of the country now became such as to necessitate the intervention of the powers, and the Austrian and Russian governments, which had acted in concert since April 1897, drew up an elaborate scheme of reforms. The Porte, as usual, endeavoured to forestall foreign interference by producing a project of its own, which was promulgated in November 1902, and Hilmi Pasha was appointed Inspector General of the Rumelian vilayets and charged with its application. The two powers, however, persevered in their intention and on the 21st of February 1903 presented to the Porte an identic memorandum proposing a series of reforms in the administration, police and finance, including the employment of “foreign specialists” for the reorganization of the gendarmerie.
At the same time the Bulgarian government, under pressure from Russia, arrested the revolutionary leaders in the principality, suppressed the committees, and confiscated their funds. The Internal Organization, however, was beyond Bulgarian Insurrection in 1903. reach, and preparations for an insurrection went rapidly forward. In March a serious Albanian revolt complicated the situation. At the end of April a number of dynamite outrages took place at Salonica; public opinion in Europe turned against the revolutionaries and the Turks seized the opportunity to wreak a terrible vengeance on the Bulgarian population. On the 2nd of August, the feast of St Elias, a general insurrection broke out in the Monastir vilayet, followed by sporadic revolts in other districts. The insurgents achieved some temporary successes and occupied the towns of Krushevo, Klisura and Neveska, but by the end of September their resistance was overcome; more than 100 villages were burned by the troops and bashi-bazouks, 8400 houses were destroyed and 60,000 peasants remained homeless in the mountains at the approach of winter.
The Austrian and Russian governments then drew up a further series of reforms known as the “Mürzsteg programme” (Oct. 9, 1903) to which the Porte assented in principle, though many difficulties were raised over details. Two officials, an Austrian and a Russian, The “Mürzsteg Programme.” styled “civil agents” and charged with the supervision of the local authorities in the application of reforms, were placed by the side of the inspector-general while the reorganization of the gendarmerie was entrusted to a foreign general in the Turkish service aided by a certain number of officers from the armies of the great powers. The latter task was entrusted to the Italian General de Giorgis (April 1904), the country being divided into sections under the supervision of the officers of each power. The reforms proved a failure, mainly owing to the tacit opposition of the Turkish authorities, the insufficient powers attributed to the European officials, the racial feuds and the deplorable financial situation. In 1905 the powers agreed on the establishment of a financial commission on which the representatives of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy would sit as colleagues of the civil agents. The Porte offered an obstinate resistance to the project and only yielded (Dec. 5) when the fleets of the powers appeared near the Dardanelles. Some improvement was now effected in the financial administration, but the general state of the country continued to grow worse; large funds were collected abroad by the committees at Athens, which despatched numerous bands largely composed of Cretans into the southern districts, the Servians displayed renewed activity in the north, while the Bulgarians offered a dogged resistance to all their foes.
The Austro-Russian entente came to an end in the beginning of 1908 owing to the Austrian project of connecting the Bosnian and Macedonian railway systems, and Great Britain and Russia now took the foremost place in the demand for reforms. After a meeting between King The “Reval Programme.” Edward VII. and the emperor Nicholas II. at Reval in the early summer of 1908 an Anglo-Russian scheme, known as the “Reval programme,” was announced; the project aimed at more effective European supervision and dealt especially with the administration of justice. Its appearance was almost immediately followed by the military revolt of the Young Turk or constitutional party, which began in the Monastir district under two junior officers, Enver Bey and Niazi Bey, in July. The restoration of the constitution of 1876 was proclaimed (July 24,1908), and the powers, anticipating the spontaneous adoption of reforms on the part of regenerated Turkey, decided to suspend the Reval programme and to withdraw their military officers from Macedonia.
See Lejean, Ethnographie de la Turquie d’Europe (Gotha, 1861); Hahn, Reise von Belgrad nach Salonik (Vienna, 1868); Yastreboff, Obichai i pesni turetskikh Serbov (St Petersburg, 1886); “Ofeicoff” (Shopoff), La Macédoine au point de vue ethnographique, historique et philologique (Philippopolis, 1888); Gopchevitch, Makedonien und Alt-Serbien (Vienna, 1889); Verkovitch, Topografichesko-ethnographicheskii ocherk Makedonii (St Petersburg, 1889); Burada, Cercetari despre scoalele Romanesci din Turcia (Bucharest, 1890); Tomaschek, Die heutigen Bewohner Macedoniens (Sonderabdruck aus den Verhandlungen des IX. D. Geographen-Tages in Wien, 1891) (Berlin, 1891); Die alten Thräker (Vienna, 1893); Berard, La Turquie et l’Hellénisme contemporain, (Paris, 1893); La Macédoine (Paris, 1900); Shopoff, Iz zhivota i polozhenieto na Bulgarite v vilayetite (Philippopolis, 1894); Weigand, Die Aromunen (Leipzig, 1895); Die nationalen Bestrebungen der Balkanvölker (Leipzig, 1898); Nikolaides, La Macédoine (Berlin, 1899); “Odysseus,” Turkey in Europe (London, 1900); Kunchoff, Makedonia: etnografia i statistika (Sofia, 1900); La Macédoine et la Vilayet d’Andrinople (Sofia, 1904), anonymous; L. Villari, The Balkan Question (London, 1905); H. N. Brailsford, Macedonia: its Races and their Future (London, 1906); J. Cvijić, Grundlinien der Geographie und Geologie von Mazedonien und Altserbien (Gotha, 1908). For the antiquities, see Texier and Pullan, Byzantine Architecture (London, 1864); Heuzey and Daumet, Mission archéologique en Macédoine (Paris, 1865); Duchesne and Bayet, Mémoire sur une mission en Macédoine et au Mont Athos (Paris, 1876); Barclay V. Head, Catalogue of Greek Coins; Macedonia (London, 1879); Kinch, L’Arc de triomphe de Salonique (Paris, 1890); Beretnung om en archaeologisk Reise i Makedonien (Copenhagen, 1893); Mommsen, Suppl. to vol. iii. Corpus inscript., latinarum (Berlin, 1893); Perdrizet, Articles on Macedonian archaeology and epigraphy in Bulletin de correspondance hellénique, since 1894. (J. D. B.)