|
|
|
|
|
Macedonia -The
Biblical land |
AN OUTLINE
OF MACEDONIAN HISTORY
FROM ANCIENT TIMES
TO 1991 |
Macedonia is a historical region that originates from the
ancient period.
The zenith of the Macedonian kingdom, its unity, independence and predominance – political, military and economic – reached
its apogee in the 4 th
century BC when the
famous Philip II ( – 336 B.C.) and Alexander III
(356 - 323 B.C.) ruled
the prestigious Kingdom of Macedonia the Great.
After the dissolution of the Empire, the territory of
Macedonia fell first under Roman and later under Byzantine rule. In the
course of several centuries, the ancient Macedonians mixed with other ethnic
groups such as Roman colonists.
The penetration of Slavic tribes towards the Balkans ended
at the beginning of the seventh century and created a new situation –
Macedonia’s population mixed with the Slav newcomers but retained the
Macedonian name, traditions and culture. At the beginning of this period the Macedonians were organized independently in their own tribal communities
(sklavinas). Later, they fell under Byzantine and Bulgarian rule,
alternatively.
The history of the ancient Macedonian kingdom begins with Caranus, who was the first known Macedonian King (808-778 BC). By the 5th
century BC the Macedonians expanded and forged a unified kingdom under Alexander I (498-454
B.C.) Also known as Alexander the Great.
T HE
REPUBLIC
OF MACEDONIA:
History
After the death of Bulgarian czar Peter (969), an uprising
started intended to overthrow central Bulgarian rule. The Macedonian brothers David, Moses, Aaron and Samuel 3
headed the uprising. Historical sources indicate that later there were uprisings
against the Byzantine Empire as well. When three of the brothers, David,
Moses and Aaron, were killed in the battles against the Bulgarians
and Byzantines, Samuel (976 – 1014) took over all power.
Applying similar battle tactics as Alexander the Great in his numerous
quests, Samuel managed to liberate the entire territory of ethnic Macedonia
and even expand his kingdom through neighbouring territories reaching
Danube in Bulgaria, Peloponnesus in current day Greece, Epirus and
current day Albania, Zeta and Srem current day Serbia. At the peak
of his kingdom, Samuel moved the seat of his kingdom from the
island St. Achilles, Prespa to Ohrid where he was crowned king. In the
period from 969 until 1018, a vast empire of the Macedonians
emerged, second empire of the Macedonians after the empire of
Alexander the Great, the Empire of King Samuel with its capital in Ohrid. Testimonies to this empire are the castles he built, of
which the most well known is located above Ohrid, which exists even today. This Empire was destroyed by strong assaults of the
Byzantine army headed by the emperor Basil II. The last crucial battle
was the battle at the mountain of Belasica (current day eastern
Macedonia) in the year 1014. In this battle over 50,000 Macedonian
soldiers were killed, whereas 15,000 captured soldiers were blinded. The
Byzantines left one eye to every hundredth soldier to lead the others
back to their king4.
When king Samuel learned of the fate of his army, he suffered a heart attack and died on his throne in the Prilep castle.
The tradition of King Samuel’s state remains deeply rooted in the minds of
the
Macedonian
people, praised in numerous folk tales and folk songs fueling the fantasies of Macedonian patriots striving
towards the future creation of an independent state.
The period of expansion of medieval states on the Balkan and
in Macedonia was followed by the occupation of the Ottoman
Empire in the 14 th
century. Macedonia
remained a part of the Ottoman Empire for 500 years, i.e. until 1912.
By 1870, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia, with the help of their
patrons France, Russia and Austro-Hungary, liberated themselves from
the Ottoman Empire. 5
In 1870, peace was
declared between Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia on one side and Turkey on the other. In the
period of the Eastern Crisis and the Berlin Congress (1878), Macedonia was
left under the Ottomans although some concessions were granted to the
people.
During the rule of the Ottomans, the Macedonians organized a number of uprisings against the Turkish yoke headed by
leaders called "voivodas".
Some of the most famous uprisings were the Mariovo - Prilep uprising (1564-1565), Karposh uprising (1689), the
Kresnen Uprising (1878) and many more local uprisings.
The greatest uprising in Macedonian history occurred on
August 2, 1903 7,
on St. Elia’s Day, when Macedonian revolutionaries8
organized the Macedonians and the entire population to a rebellion against
Ottoman rule. Large parts of Macedonia were liberated. The largest
free territory was the town of Krushevo and the territory around it. The
Krushevo Republic was declared, the first republic on the Balkans
with a President and Parliament with representatives of all ethnic
communities. However, the Republic existed only 10 days, because the Ottoman
Empire sent a large army that crushed the uprising and put an end to the
Republic and demolished the town and the surrounding villages.
Even after the destruction of the Republic, the Macedonians continued to resist, and the Ottoman rule weakened. Soon
after the 3 Sons of Macedonian Prince Nikola. All carry biblical names
indicating that Christianity had already spread to Macedonia.
The famous monastery of Vodocha in Strumica, Republic of
Macedonia, was built on the site where the soldiers were blinded. (Vodocha –
take eyes out, transl.)
In the liberation wars, the Greek, Bulgarian and Serb
armies did not proceed onto Macedonian territory because it was not theirs.
The Greek armies stopped at the mountain Olympus, the Bulgarian at the mountains Rila and Kitka, whereas the Serb
armies stopped advancing near Vranje.
Famous leaders were Karposh, Goce Delchev, Jane Sandanski,
Nikola Karev, Damjan Gruev, Pitu Guli, Lazo Trpovski, Parapunov, Dimitar
Pop-Gjorgjiev, Nikola Petrov-Rusinski and others.
This year Macedonia is celebrating the 100 year jubilee
from the uprising.
Organized in TMORO – Secret Macedonian - Odrin
Revolutionary Organization, which was formed in 1893 in Thessalonica
(current day Greece).
Vinica Uprising, the Revolution of the Young Turks began in
1908.
Macedonian soldiers headed by Jane Sandanski from the organization VMRO
took part in the
revolution. After the revolution, the Ottoman Empire was taken over by the Young
Turks (one of their leaders was Mustafa Kemal Attaturk10
who managed to establish the Republic of Turkey after the First World
War). The newly formed Parliament of Turkey included in its
composition two Macedonians as representatives of Macedonia. In this period, Macedonia was granted the right to national Macedonian
self organizing, more precisely autonomy.
However, in 1912 and 1913 three Balkan states – Bulgaria,
Serbia and Greece, waged the Balkan wars intending to conquer and
divide ethnic Macedonia between them. The Balkan Wars between
Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia ended with the treaty of Bucharest in
1913, with which, in spite of the protests of the Macedonians, ethnic
Macedonia was divided into three parts. 50% of Macedonian territory
fell under the Kingdom of Greece 11,
39% under the Kingdom of Serbia (later Kingdom of Yugoslavia)12
and 10% under the
Kingdom of Bulgaria. 1% of Macedonian territory went to Albania.
During World War II (1941-1945), Macedonians from all three parts took part in the anti-fascist coalition for creating
their own state Macedonia, respecting the promise from the Atlantic charter
that all nations who take part in the struggle against fascism shall
choose their own form of government and shall be afforded "the means of dwelling in safety within their own boundaries, and which
will afford assurance that all the men in all lands may live out their
lives in freedom from fear and want".
As a result, in 1941 in the Vardar part of Macedonia there
was simultaneous uprising against the fascist occupation in
Prilep and Kumanovo, whereas in 1942 there were uprisings in the Aegean
part of Macedonia (in Lerin and Kostur) headed by Lazo Trpovski
and in the Pirin part of Macedonia (in Dupnica) headed by Parapunov.
In spite of the lack of coordination, the intention was clear –
liberation of the entire territory of Macedonia. However, only the people in
the Vardar part managed to create a state in the face of the People’s
Republic of Macedonia within the framework of then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Macedonians in the Pirin part of Macedonia
were granted autonomy and certain cultural and ethnic rights in
1946, but these rights were revoked at the end of the decade at the
height of the cold war. In the Aegean part of Macedonia there was a
civil war in which the Macedonians took part hoping to acquire certain
ethnic and cultural right, however at the end of the civil war hundreds
of thousands of Macedonians were exiled and any show of ethnic Macedonian identity was banned.
The Republic of Macedonia was proclaimed at the first
session of the Antifascist Assembly for the People’s Liberation of
Macedonia (on St. Elia’s Day – August 2, 1944 14).
Later, by special Act, it became a constitutive part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The first multi-party elections for representatives in the
Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia were held on November 11 th,
1990, establishing parliamentary democracy in Macedonia.
In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
concerning self-determination and equal rights, the Assembly of the
Republic of Macedonia adopted the Declaration for International
Recognition of the Republic of Macedonia on September 17 th,
1991, which
confirmed the will of the citizens to live in a sovereign
and independent state. According to the Constitution adopted
November 17 th,
1991, the Republic of Macedonia is a sovereign, independent, democratic and social state. April 8, 1993, Macedonia becomes a UN member state.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|