UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.

SAN DIEGO

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3 1822 02600 5017

GEISa LIBRARY

LA JOLLA,

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MACEDONIA

A BULWARK AGAINST

GERMANY

The

Fight of the Slovenes, the Western

Branch of the Jugoslavs, for National
Existence

By BoGUMiL VosNJAK,
of

Translated by

Crown

late

Zagreb

Lecturer of the University

(Croatia).

Fanny

S.

Copeland.

8vo, 4s. 6d. net.

Postage

5rf.

" Not only a piece of powerful propaganda, but a

literary production of high quality.
Full of illumination on Near Eastern questions."
Pall Mall Gazette.

A DYING EMPIRE
By BOGUMlL VOSNJAK.
With a Preface by
Crown

T. P.

O'Connor, M.P.
Postage Sd.

Svo, 4s. 6ci. net.

In this account of the Dying Empire of Austria the

author has tried to describe the sociological factors in
the breakdown of the Hapsburg Empire, and to show
that in the fabric of a "'Central Europe" is closely
woven the idea of a predominating Pan-Germanism.
Either Germany must stretch from Hamburg to
Trieste and Salonika, or Austria-Hungary must be

dismembered.

There

is

no

alternative.

London: George Allen & Uxwin Limited

MACEDONIA
BY

T. R.

GEORGEVITCH

LONDON GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD.

NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
:

^.

'h-

First published in 2918

(Ail right* r4*rved)

PREFACE
Traditions and accepted opinions die hard, no matter
what their origin. Even the most erroneous view, once
has taken root, can only be disproved with great
It has become a matter of conviction, or
difficulty.

it

and these are really feelings, and have no direct

people
connection whatsoever with logic and truth
helief,

be as firmly convinced

will

in their belief

in

a false-

In course of time,
both material
interests,
national
and
individual,
and moral, become so firmly bound up with the existing

hood as

in their belief in a truth.

social,

belief

they render

t^iat

all

it

more immune

the

to

criticism.

In

scientific questions

as great a prestige as one

interests

of

an accepted opinion possesses

which bears upon the material

The number

an individual or nation.

trouble to go to the fountain-head and get

those

who

their

information at

first

the rest perforce accept

without verifying them.

hand

is

very small indeed

and conclusions

information

By

dint of constant repetition

a given information gains universal

belief, as for

majority of people the repetition of an

much

of

the

assertion has as

value as an argument, and one which they are

least able to oppose.

In

this

book the author has

and publish them

tried to collate his facts

as a contribution to the elucidatioa

PREFACE

vi

of the
facts

Macedonian question.
is

still

the best

wherefore the reader

way
is

After

all,

arriving

of

asked

the adducing of
at

the truth;

independently

author's conclusions, and passing over

have a polemical tone in the text

all

kindly

that

of

the

might

to give his

attention to the facts which are marshalled in this book,

and to form his own opinion, independent of his own

preconceived ideas and independent of the author's
opinion.
T. R.

G.

LoNDOK, January 1918.

SERBIAN ORTHOGRAPHY

= sh in English " ship.'"

''cats."
c = ts
"
church."

c = ch
in
c = (the same, softer =
s

,,

"nature").

= y in English " yof."

= in French ''jour.''
nj = n in English "new.''*
"got
g=g
j

CONTENTS
1

3UTR0DUCTI0N

Confusion as regards definition of Macedonia Correct

conception of Macedonia Origin of confusion Subject
of this book Historical and literary sources consulted

by the author.
II

12

THE SOUTHERN SLAVS

The Southeni Slavs and

their

arrival

in

their

present

Ethnographic

changes brought about by their

arrivalEthnical unity of the Southern Slavs The
Bulgars and their invasion of the Southern Slav lands
between the Danube and the Balkan mountains Con-

territory

between the Bulgars and the conquered Slavs

Their gradual fusion into the present Bulgarian nation
Traces of old Bulgarian qualities in the modem Bulgars
Territory in which the present Bulgarian nation was

trast

evolved.

Ill

22

THE MACKDOKIAN STATE

The Macedonian Slavs Bulgarian invasion of Macedonia

Contrast between the Bulgars and the Macedonian
Slavs Adverse conditions under the Bulgars Revolt of
the Macedonian Slavs and emancipation from the Bul-

gars Renewal

of Byzantine domination in ISIacedonia

Revolt and emancipation from Byzantium The Macedonian State Its rise Frontiers Name of the Mace-

'donian State.


CONTENTS

Hi

IV
Vkoa

BULGARIAN BULE

IN

MACEDONIA

.29^

Subjugation of the Macedonian State by Byzantium in

1018 Bulgars shake ofif the Byzantine yoke in 1186
Second Bulgarian invasion of Macedonia
Macedonia
under the Latins and Epirotes Fresh Bulgarian invasion
of Macedonia
Macedonia under the Byzantines and
Epirotes Bulgars possess i\facedonia once more for a
brief period and then lose it for good in 1256.

V
SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

.33

Systematic unification of Serbian territory under the

Nemanjici Part of Macedonia won by King Uro5 in 1258
Macedonia added to Serbia under King Milutin and
King Stephan Decanski Bulgaria makes war upon
Stephan Decansld in 1330 Macedonia's fate permanently
decided in favour of Serbia by the Serbian victory over
the Bulgars Subsequent insignificance of Bulgaria
Serbian magnanimity towai'ds Bulgaria King (afterwards
Tear) Du.san unites the whole of Macedonia with Serbia
Bulgars no longer interested in Macedonia Bulgars
conscious of having no claim on Macedonia Bulgars
recognize the legitimacy of the Serbian rule in Macedonia
Macedonia considered a Serbian country Macedonians
never called anything but " Serbs " in historic records
Dismemberment of the Serbian Empire
Macedonian
States always referred to as " Serbian " Turks conquer
Macedonia as a Serbian country This fact recognized
by all historic sources, including Bulgarian Serbian influence in Macedonia under the Turkish rule Serbian
princes in Macedonia under Turkish suzerainty Serbian
Sultana Marija and her importance for the Macedonian

'

Serbs.

VI
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN
IN MACEDONIA
.

RULES
.

Comparative duration of Bulgarian and Serbian rules in

Macedonia Bulgars and conquered Slavs in Macedonia


CONTENTS

ix

vkum

Bulgars are masters, and Macedonians slaves

of
why they never mhigled No traces

two nations

Reasons

left

Bulgarian rule in
regards civilization

Macedonia, either ethnically or as

Misconceptions concerning Bulgaria's

creation of Slav letters and literature The

Macedonians pioneers of Christianity among the Slavs

role in the

The

first

Slav apostles natives of Macedonia

Bulgars also

Language of earliest
Second Bulgarian
tyrannical, and obnoxious.

receive Christianity from Macedonia

Slav books merely called ' Slav "

rule in Macedonia, short,

Serbs and Macedonians are but one nation Serbian rulers

the liberators and uniters of the Serbian nation into one
Serbian rule in Macedonia represents the
state entity
Building of monasteries
zenith of Serbian civilization
and intellectual progress in Macedonia Serbian literature

Macedonia Dusan's Code originated in Macedonia

Macedonia the heart and focus of the Serbian Empire
Serbian capitals situated in Macedonia State CouncUs,
at which the fate of the nation was decided, held in
Macedonia It was in Macedonia that Serbia was elevated
to the rank of an Empire and the Serbian Church to that
Byzantine influence reaches Serbia
of a Patriarchate

in

through Macedonia.

VII
TURKISH RULE IN MACEDONIA
Complete

disappearance of

.70

Bulgars under Turkish

the

not arrested by Turkish con Serbian national

quest Macedonians remain Serbian under Turkish rule
Significance of the independent Serbian Patriarchate
for the Serbian nation during the Turkish rule Mace-

rule

life

donia an integral part of the Serbian Patriarchate.

VII {Continued)
MACEDONIA FROM THE LOSS OF HER INDEPENDENCE TO
THE SUPPRESSION OF THE SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE
(1413-1459)

The

role of the Serbian State devolves

Patriarchate

Character

Serbian sentiment

among

of

the

upon the Serbian

Serbian

Patriarchate

the Macedonian clergy

Serbian

-75

CONTENTS

PAGE

sentiment among the Macedonian people The Macedonians seek refuge only among Serbs They feel among
kinsmen with the Serbs Part played by Macedonians
among the Serbs as a whole.

VII {Continued)
MACEDONIA

FROM

THE

SUPPRESSION

OF

PATRIARCHATE TO ITS RESTORATION

THE

SERBIAN

(1459-1557)

80

Suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate mid its superby the Archiepiscopate of Ochrida Greek character of the Archiepiscopate; Slav and Serbian clergy
in it
Detriment caused to the Serbian nation by the
suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate Vitality of the
Serbian nation The Archiepiscopate of Ochrida " Serbicized "
Sad plight of the Serbian people in those days'
Serbian literature barely kept alive in Macedonia Serbian
sentiment of the clergy in Macedonia Serbian historic
records and sources call the Macedonians ' Serbs "
Other historic sources do the same.
session

VII {Continued)

THE RESTORATION OP THE SERBIAN

PATRI.\RCHATE TO ITS SECOND SUPPRESSION (1557-

MACEDONIA
1766)

FROM

.90

Restoration of the Serbian Patriarchate Jurisdiction of

the restored Serbian Patriarchate based on the principle

Reorganization of the Church the standard

and national
raised within the
jurisdiction of the Serbian Patriarchate Increased importance of the Serbian Patriarchs Their relations with
foreign Powers Hard lot of the Serbs in Macedonia
Macedonian missions
help in Russia for Serbian
Churches These missions
themselves "Serbian"
The Serbian migrations Macedonian emigrants everywhere
themselves "Serbian" Relations between Macedonian emigrants and Macedonian Serbs Migrations en
masse from Macedonia to Austria under Patriarch
Arsenije III Serbian sentiment of Macedonian emigrants
of nationality

of religion, literature,

life

solicit

call

call

hn

Austria

Bole of Macedonians among the

Serbs

in


CONTENTS

xi

PAGB

Austria Serbian historic records speak of Macedonians

as " Serbs "
So do all non-Serbian historic records
Suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate Protest by the
Metropolitan of Montenegro against this crime against

the Serbian nation as a whole, of which the Macedonians

also

form

part.

VITI
MACEDONIA AND THE SERBIAN STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION 109
Serbian sentiment of the Macedonians after the suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate Sad plight of Macedonia after the suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate

Macedonian aspirations
Participation of Macedonians in Austro-Turkish War (1788-1791) for
liberation of the Serbs from the Turks Participation of
Serbian sj^mpathy for Macedonia

to emancipate Serbian nation from the Turks

Macedonians in the Serbian insurrection tmder Karageorge

and Milos Obrenovie at the beginning of the nineteenth
century Moral support for Serbia from Macedonia Mace-

donian national poetry celebrates the struggle of the Serbian

nation against the Turks.

IX
BULGARLIN

PROPAGANDA

BESUBRECTION

IN

MACEDONIA.

BULGARIAN
.

.119

Europe after the fall of

the Bulgarian Empire in the Middle Ages Bulgars in
Bulgaria without national consciousness Attempts at
national awakening The Ruthenian G. Venelin forms an
Bulgars,
idealistic picture of the Bulgars and rouses them
inspired by Venelin's fables, begin to dream of Great
Bulgaria The romantic enthusiast George S. Rakovski
Stephan Verkovic and
fosters Bulgarian megalomania
Bulgars completely forgotten in

Bulgarian antiquities All Bulgars united in

the conception of their unlimited greatness Education
of the rising generation in this spirit Biilgarian ideas
take hold in Russia Committees for the propaganda of
the Bulgarian idea in Russia Russian scholars, infected
by Bulgarism, become its pioneers Sympathy for the
Bulgars spreads from Russia to the rest of Europe.
his forged


CONTENTS

xu

IX
BULGARIAN ACTION

IN

....

{Continued)

MACEDONIA

PAOR

134

The Greek Church abuses its power over the Shivs in the
Empire Slav dissatisfaction Inability of the
Serbs to fight the Greek Church The Bulgars, assisted by
Russia, open their campaign The Uniate Church (Greek
Catholicism) among the Bulgars The Russians, alarmed

Turkish

the progress of the Uniate Church, increase their

help to the Bulgars The Greek Patriarch, alarmed at
the growth of the Uniate Church, yields to the Bulgars
The Porte, taking the part of the Bulgars, interat

venes with the Greek Patriarch, and the Sultan declares

the independence of the Bulgarian Church in Turkey
Significance of the creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate
Detriment caused to the Serbs in Turkey by the
Attitude of the
creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate
Greek Church towards the Macedonian Serbs Macedonians begin to turn Uniate Russia advises them to
join the Bulgars in their struggle against the Greek Church
Macedonians help Bulgars, but only to free themselves
from the Greek clergy The Macedo-Roumanians do the
same The Bulgarian Exarchate and Macedonia Turks
side with Bulgars in Macedonia ^New Bulgarian bishoprics

Forcible Bulgarization of the Macedonians

Creation of independent Bulgaria Propaganda in Macedonia from Bulgaria Many Macedonian Serbs refuse to
join the Bulgars Bulgarian terror among Serbian population of Macedonia Bulgarian comitadjis in Macedonia
Destruction of Serbian records and monuments in
in Macedonia

Macedonia.

.....
X

SEBBIA AND MACI':D0NTA

Serbia the refuge for the Macedonians Macedonians

accepted as Serbs in Serbia Macedonians always considered foreigners in Bulgaria Serbian public opinion
looks upon Macedonians as formmg part of the Serbian
nation So
do Serbia's statesmen So does Serbian
science Non-Serbian science takes the same view
Serbia welcomes Bulgarian immigrants and assists the
Bulgarian Church movement so long as Bulgaria does not
lay claim to Macedonia also Serbia's inability to check

160'


CONTENTS

xiii

PAQK

Bulgarian encroachment in Macedonia Serbian interest

Serbian schools opened Assistance of the
in Macedonia

Macedonians
Serbian Church movement in Macedonia
as guardians of Serbian nationality Serbian schools in
Macedonia Macedonians petition for a restoration of the
Serbian Patriarchate Failing in this request, they ask for
Serbian bishops Insurrection in Macedonia in favour of

annexation to Serbia Macedonians appeal to Prince Milan

of Serbia and to the Congress of Berlin to be permitted to
belong to Serbia, and not to Bulgaria Macedonians' brave
Bulgarian
fight against Bulgarian comitadjis In spite of

all

propaganda the better part

The

of

Macedonia remains Serbian

rest ostensibly sides with the Bulgars.

XI
MACEDONIAN DIALECTS OF THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE
Language

of the

Macedonian Slavs

188

merely called

originally

No mention of Bulgarian language in Macedonia up

to the beginning of the nineteenth century Language of
literary records in Macedonia Serbian throughout the Middle
Ages Serbian also in the nineteenth century imtil the
" Slav "

advent of the Bulgarian propaganda Difference between

Macedonian and Bulgarian languages noticed at a very
early date Macedonian idiom not identical in all districts
Insufficiency of linguistic material for thorough study
All Macedonian dialects belong to
of Macedonian idiom
one type Macedonian dialects are Serbian Morphology
Etymology The article as it appears in Macedonian
dialects is not a Bulgarian characteristic.

......
XII

NATIONAL CUSTOMS
Old Slav

tribal

system completely broken up by Old Bul-

garian State system Tribal system preserved in Macedonia

and other Serbian lands Hence the identity of social

Typically Serbian custorae

Macedonia The "Slava" Bulgarian campaign against
"Slava" in Macedonia "Preslava" Village "Slava

conditions

and customs

in

"

Custom

of pilgrimage to Serbian monasteries

to the Monastery of Decani.

Pilgrimages

200


CONTENTS

xiv

XIII
PAOB

POPULAR TRADITION

.210

Beauty and wealth of Serbian popular tradition Ethnographic element and historic memories enshrined in it
Macedonia considered a Serbian country by non-Mace-

donian Serbian popular tradition National tradition of

Macedonia shows a purely Serbian character Example
from beginning of eighteenth century Examples from the
nineteenth century
Folk poetry in Macedonia purely
Serbian Bulgarian collections of Macedonian national
poetry reveal purely Serbian characters in spite of touching
and editing Eeference to none but Serbian historic events,
places, and characters
No reference to Bulgarian historic
.events, places, and characters
Serbian monasteries famous
in Macedonian folk poetry
Serbian names in Macedonian
poetry Language in Macedonian poetry- pure Serbian
According to national tradition the liberation and unification

of all Serbia

is

bound up with Macedonia.

.......
XIV

CONCLUSION

22S-

SUPPLEMENTS
I.

STORY OF THE PROGRESS OF THE BULGARIAN CHURCH

MOVEMENT, TOLD BY
II.

OF THE
PROPAGANDA

STOUY

OF
IV.

HAD2I MISEV, OF VELES

235

THE STORY OF JOVAN VELJIC, OF DEBAR, TELLING

HOW THE BULGARIAN TEACHERS MADE HIM A
BULOAR BY FORCE
238
.

III.

T.

BITOL.T

DEVELOPMENT OF THE

BULGARIAN

......
IN

MACEDONIA, TOLD

BY A CITIZEN
240

PETITIONS OF MACEDONIANS TO THE SERBIAN PRINCE

....

MILAN AND TO THE CONGRESS OP BERLIN TO BE

UNITED WITH SERBIA
245
A.

From

the districts of Kicevo, Prilep and Veles, with the

signatures of
etc.,

170 mayors, priests, archimandrites,

seals of 44 communes.

appended and bearing the

CONTENTS

XV

B. Petition addressed to Prince Milan, signed by 520

parish councils, etc., from 'the districts of Kumanovo,
Kratovo, Palanka, Istip, Petric, Strumica and Kocani,
with the seals of 220 communes affixed, drawn up on,
June 2, 1878, at Kozjak.
C. Petition addressed to the British Consul at Vranje, as
Envoy of the Berlin Congress, signed in Vranje, on
June 11, 1878, by 20 natives of Gilane (from the
towns and villages of Gilane, Pasijan, Petrovac,

Banilug, Kopotovo, Domorovac, Kufedze, Koretiste,

Stanisor, Budrig, Partes, Grizimi, Mocar, Miganovac,

and Busrnac).
500 distinguished citizens, archimandrites,
etc., of the districts of
Kicevo, Ochrida, Debar, and Elbasan, with the seals
of 308 communes affixed, dated from the Monastery of

D. Petition

priests,

of

teachers, mayors,

Cista Precista in Skrzava at the Sabor (meeting) of

June

15, 1878,

and addressed

to the "

King

" of Serbia.

E. Petition addressed to the British Consul (Envoy of the

Berlin Congress), dated Gilane, Jime 18, 1878, and
signed by 375 distinguished inhabitants from the
A footnote
districts of Gilane, Skoplje, and Tetovo.
accounts for the absence of parish seals by explaining
that plundering Circassians and Albanians had taken

them away.
F. Petition to the " King " of Serbia, dated Skoplje, June
20, 1878, with the seals of more than 50 communes
Nobody had dared to sign, as of the signaaffixed.
tories to the Bozince petition 250 had been arrested
in Skoplje alone, of whom only 50 had come out of
prison alive. In the face of such intimidation it is
truly amazing that the mayors of 50 communes yet

had courage

to affix their seals.

G. Petition to the Berlin Congress, dated " On the Gjerman

Planina, July 1, 1878," bearing 800 signatures and the
seals of 196 communes and monasteries from the
districts of Kumanovo, Kratovo, Kocani, and Palanka.
(An almost identical but far more explicit petition,
bearing 350 signatures and 145 seals, was presented to
the Prince of Serbia.)

CONTENTS

xvi

PAOX
V.

INCOMPLETE

LIST

OF

BULGARIAN

SERBIAN SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS IN

VI.

UPON
MACEDONIA
254

ATTACKS

LIST OF SERBS MURDERED BY THE

BULGARS OR AGENTS OF THE BULGARIAN COMMITTEE IN MACEDONIA BETWEEN 1881 AND 1909 256

INCOMPLETE

VII.

INCOMPLETE LIST OF ATTEMPTED MURDERS PERPETRATED BY BULGARS ON SERBS BETWEEN 1897

AND
Tin.

1901

BULGARIAN PROCLAMATION

THE

INHABITANTS

AGAINST

THE

OF

TURKS

IN

1879,

CALLING

.282
UPON

....
MACEDONIA

TO

RISK

284

MACEDONIA
I

INTBODUCTION

Confusion as regards definition of Macedonia Correct conception

Origin of confusion Subject of this book
of Macedonia
Historical and literary sources consulted by the author

ALTHOUGH
donia,

it

is

much has been

written about Mace-

not until recent years that any one

has succeeded in attaching a correct conception to the

term.

Hence every

extended his

own

writer on the subject of Macedonia

definition to such territorial area as

seemed convenient or expedient

her borders.

The widest

to

him

to include within

definition of

been furnished by the Bulgars.

This

is

Macedonia has
because in the

eyes of the Bulgars the frontiers of Macedonia proper

are too narrow for their extensive

pretensions in the

writers have
Several
Balkan Peninsula.
even gone so far as to include practically the whole
of the Turkish Empire in Europe under the head of
Non-Bulgarian writers on the subject
Macedonia.
have likewise enlarged the definition of Macedonia,

Bulgarian

either from ignorance, or out of political consideration

for this country or that, or because they took their cue
2

MACEDONIA

from the Bulgars, or because

it

did not occur to

them

to

devote special study to the definition of what ought to be

understood under Macedonia, and to estabhsh this by

critical investigation.

It is

only within recent years that Dr. J. Cvijic, Pro-

Geography

fessor of

at the University of Belgrade, has,

many

as the result of

exhaustive study of

years' travelling in

all

Macedonia and

the literary records in the country,

established beyond

all

Macedonia extends

to the

doubt that the central part of

middle (below Skoplje) and

lower reaches of the Vardar

that her territory extends

westward to the great lakes of Ochrida and Prespa, and

eastward to the River Struma and, in places, to the Eiver
Mesta. Consequently the territorial unit of Macedonia
would include the regions around Ochrida, Bitolj, Voden,
Salonica, Dojran, Strumica, Seres,
to the north of this

is

and Kavala.

In order to make the matter quite clear

some

by Mr.

of the reasons given

deprecate

to

Mr.

Cvijic's

sibly

be

criticism,

we

will

we

shall quote

But

Cvijic.

quote

arguments, touching which

laid to his

All else

not Macedonia.

in order

only those
it

charge that they are the biassed expres-

sion of a Serbian patriot of the present day, and

are consequently beyond cavil.

torial extent of

first

which

In establishing the

terri-

Macedonia, Mr. Cvijic has among other

material consulted the old

the

of

cannot pos-

maps published up to within

when there

decades of the nineteenth century,

were as yet no nationalist discussions over the frontiers

of the Balkan peoples and when the statements of
scientific

"From

geographers rested on facts alone.

the time," says Mr. Cviji6,

"when

in the six-

teenth century better and more complete geographical

maps

of

the European countries began to appear, and

INTRODUCTION

up to the eighteenth century the most rehable

the Balkan Peninsula are the Italian. After

right

maps

of

these

come Mercator's map and

French Geographers.

On

all

maps by the Koyal

maps the name of
south of the Sar Mounthe

these

Serbia extends over the regions

tain

and the Skoplje Crna Gora.

On

map drawn by

the

the Italian geographer Giac. Gastaldi, in 1566, Serbia

includes not only Kosovo Polje and

around Skoplje.

also the regions

Skoplje

itself

On many maps

but

draw^n

by the official Geographer of the Republic of Venice,'

the famous V. Coronelli, in 1692 (in the Corso Geogra'

'

fico

Serbia

'),

is

show^n as extending south of the ^ar

Mountain and the Skoplje Crna Gora.

we

practically always find the

legend

In those maps
'

Metropoli della

name of Skoplje. On many French

seventeenth-century maps drawn by the Royal GeograSerbia

beside the

'

'

phers/ Serbia includes not only Novi Pazar and Prizren,

but also the surroundings of Skoplje in the wider sense.
Similar frontiers are also assigned to Serbia in the

maps

by F. de Witt, in the maps in the atlases by Blaeu and

H. Moll, and in many others of the second half of the
In numerous maps by the well-

seventeenth century.

known
the

cartographer, Joh. Bapt.

first

Homann,

dating from

half of the eighteenth century, the districts of

Skoplje, Kratovo, and Custendil are included in Serbia,

and the

frontier of

Macedonia runs considerably south

In the maps published in Nuremberg by

Homann's Successors at the beginning of the nineteenth
century (in 1802, 1805, etc.) Serbia includes not only the
of

Skoplje.

regions of Novi

Pazar and Kosovo, but

Skoplje and Kratovo.

also those of

Similarly wide frontiers are also

assigned to Serbia in the books of the Serbian historian

J.

Rajii (eighteenth

century),

by the

geographer

P.

MACEDONIA

4
Solaric,

and by the father

Serbian literature, Vuk.

of

In

Karadzic (nineteenth century).

S.

Hshed by

S.

up

Serbia, as understood

shown

are

the

Tekelja in 1805, the wider

pubof

to the time of the Hberation,

Serbia

in detail.

PriStina, Vucitru (the

map

frontiers

whole

made

is

to include Prizren,

of Kosovo), Skoplje, Kratovo,

Geography of
Serbia,' by Baron Eotkirch, translated into Serbian and
the map copied by Stephan Milosevic in 1822, we find the
wider frontiers of Serbia, as also in the map by Fried of
Vienna in which the Serbian frontier runs south-east
Oustendil, Pirot, and

In the

Caribrod.

of Custendil.

" These

remarks

apply to

all

the more

geographical handbooks in which Serbia

and

her frontiers

is

mentioned

Similar instances

given.

are

important

and

proofs from the earlier cartographers could be tripled.

well-known

It is a

of

fact,

moreover, that this definition

Serbia was not merely a cartographic and literary

conception,

but

one that lived

in

the minds of

the

inhabitants, since persons from those regions (Kratovo,

Skoplje,
as

'

Ovce

Polje, etc.) described their native districts

Serbian countries.'

Thus

it

is

natural that

quite

after the Hberation of Serbia these regions

were called

Old Serbia, in order to distinguish them from the Principality.

...

know

tion of Serbia in

of

no map drawn prior

to the libera-

which the above-mentioned regions are

and this applies even to those

included in Macedonia;

which the name of Serbia is not indiIn many of the above-mentioned maps the name

districts across

cated.

Macedonia

is

indicated

across

the

counties extending

from the Skoplje southern frontier of Serbia, along the

Macedonia therefore
Vardar and up to Salonica.
includes mainly the middle and lower reaches of the

"

INTRODUCTION
and as

as the

Struma and

the east."

From

Struma and

far as the
(in

Lakes

the Great

Vardar, the regions around

west,

places) as far

the

in

(in places) as far

as the

Mesta

in

the foregoing

understood under the

it

clear

is

name

of

what was formerly

Macedonia.

The

con-

fusion of ideas with regard to her territorial extent

a thing of recent growth.

Greece has entailed

The

many changes

is

and

liberation of Serbia

in the geographical

conceptions of the Balkan Peninsula.

"Cartographers

names have
new States. Even

are confused because the old geographical

ceased to tally with the names of

the Balkan Peninsula has been without a

name

then, for the whole of its extent had been called

Ottoman Empire in Europe,' 'European Turkey,'

because with small exceptions

it all

since
'

the

etc.,

belonged to Turkey.

In 1808 the German geographer Zeune, writing in the

periodical Gaea, gave the Balkan Peninsula the name
Hamushalbinsel,' which term was subsequently
of
'

At that time,
the Balkan
began
cartographers
the
Peninsula and its countries,
gradually to eHminate from the map the broader conception of Serbia and to apply this name only to the
modernized

liberated
tion of
.

'

Balkan

names were being

when

into

political

Serbia.

Peninsula.'

invented

for

Simultaneously the indica-

to be extended on the maps.

however, the broader conception of

Macedonia began

Sporadically,

Serbia was preserved throughout the earlier half of the

nineteenth century."

" Geografski Polozaj Makedonije i Stare Srbijc

Cvijic,
J.
("Geographical Conditions of Macedonia and Old Serbia"), " Srpski
Knjizevni Glasnik," vol. xi., 1904, pp. 208-212.
'

"

J. Cvijic, ibid., pp.

210-211.

MACEDONIA

With such

confusion prevaiHng in the ranks of the

professional cartographers with regard to the definition

of Macedonia,

it is not to be wondered at that the

"
Bulgarian
patriots," pohticians with an axe to grind,

and others imperfectly acquainted with the facts, put

forward the most extravagant claims as regards the
conception of Macedonia.

territorial

matters had

If

simple to apply that

name

her true

frontiers,

frontiers,

not forming part

enter

the

into

merely

thus

stood

Macedonia,

physical area of

since

would

it

regards the

still

that

all

of

outside

as

by the enlarged
else
it, it

included in

has become

necessary to deal with everything together.

why

in this

these

Macedonia, would not

But

discussion.

lies

Macedonia everything
conception has become involved in

only reason

be quite

only to the territory within

conception of
this

as

This

book the term Macedonia

is

the

is to

be understood as applying not only to Macedonia proper,

Old Serbia to which the

but also to a great part of

enlarged definition of Macedonia has been extended, and

which the Bulgars have claimed like everything else

wherever possible as coming within the scope of their

aspirations.

In writing
incorrectl)^

this

for

book

the

Macedonia according

we have

nonce

therefore

although

adopted the conception of

to the Bulgarian definition, viz. as

the territory extending from the Bulgarian State frontiers

*****

to the Sar

Mountain, to the Biver Drim, to the Gulf of

Salonica, and to the Eiver Mesta.

The

object of this book

is

to furnish a trustworthy

account of what the Macedonians are as to their origin,

what they were

in the past,

what they are

to-day,

and

INTRODUCTION
how

the present confusion arose, until the true position

"

of affairs

was forgotten and the

created.

In collecting material concerning

Macedonian Question"

I did my best to consult only the most

and the best authorities on Macedonia.

this

Question

reliable sources

Historical sources conveying information on the subject

are limited

number.

in

sources I have been

specially

cautious in

have restricted myself to

such as are unquestionably

careful

my

Doubtful historical

reliable.

to

reject.

attitude

notes of foreign travellers

in

the

have been

towards the casual

Balkan Peninsula.

Ignorant of the history, ignorant of the circumstances,

ignorant of the language, they have included statements
in their books

which are amazing in

Already in 1857, G.

their inaccuracy.

Eakovski, one of the greatest

S.

Bulgarian chauvinists, called the notes of such travellers

"poetic imaginations," and "tales from the 'Arabian
Nights,' " whenever he found their contents unfavourable
to

But the Bulgars soon forgot these

and whenever the notes of foreign traveller-

the Bulgars.

strictures,

authors are favourable to

them

at

the expense of the

Serbs and Greeks, they quote them abundantly.

travellers

have gone so

Kosovo

far as to say that

Some
Polje,

Prizren, and Novi Pazar are in Bulgaria, and the Bulgars

have greedily seized upon these statements and backed

them up with their own assertions that Macedonia is
Bulgarian.
level,

I desired

my

statements to be on a different

and have therefore been on

my

guard against

similar misstatements, although I have frequently found

it

asserted in books of travel that not only

inhabited by Serbs, but that Phihppopolis

oldest Serbian cities " ("
l^

Servie

")

is

is

Macedonia

" one of the

une des plus anciennes

villes

de

Historic data of this type prove nothing

MACEDONIA

They

in favour of either Serbs or Bulgars.

are utterly

valueless.

Much

has been written about Macedonia, and out of

material I have striven to use only the best.

this

all

The Bulgars
the subject

especially have w^ritten voluminously

it

was necessary

for

them

upon

to convince the

world by hook or by crook that Macedonia

is

Bulgarian,

and they have been indefatigable in writing about her.

Bulgarian literature dealing with Macedonia falls into
two categories.

The

first

of these consists of a host of

insignificant

small books and pamphlets, printed on vile paper in bad

type, written in a

style

and

padded

comprehension

of sane

criticism

and form which are beneath

arguments

with

priests,

teachers,

and

townships buried away in the

is

is

unlettered Bulgarian

clerks
interior,

from

and
and their purpose
villages

to convince the Bulgarian lower classes that

This

Bulgarian.

the

They have been written

men.

and published by half-educated,

small

beyond

literature

Macedonia

does not merit

serious

consideration.

The second category

consists of large volumes, printed

in superior type on superfine paper, written in pretentious

style

and form

and

aggressive

in

argument.

These

books bear on their title-pages the names of University

professors,
scientific

members

and

of academies, doctors of philosophy,

political

men, and they

are written some-

times in Bulgarian and sometimes in a foreign tongue.

Those written

how

in Bulgarian pursue the object of

showing

deeply the Bulgarian "high circles" are interested

Those written in a foreign tongue have

enhghtening public opinion in Europe on the

in Macedonia.

the task of

subject of Bulgaria's rights to Macedonia.

Hence these

INTRODUCTION

books are furnished with references, illustrations, and

maps. Very often more than one-half of the book

These

supplements.

consists of

Ever mindful

interesting.

knowledge

to a sufficient extent, their authors

ments

made

in everything that could be

claim

Bulgaria's

reinforce

to

books include not only the

the

state-

The

better

Macedonia,

to

the

of

have ladled

effective.

latter,

In their pages

"Bulgaria."

distinctly

are

aim and
check their

cannot

foreigners

that

books

their

of

these

but half Serbia in

heroes

of

Serbian

"

Bulgars
so are the liberators of Serbia,
and the present population of Serbia as well. These
volumes, too, abound in irrelevancies and puerilities. In
*'

history are

one
it

of'

the most recent of them,^ for instance,

1878

asserted that in

the

we

find

Serbs in extending the

Serbia encroached upon Bulgarian rights,

"
and subsequently in their new provinces " Serbicized

frontiers of

the Bulgarian

Leskovec

is

As an example

place-names.

which

quoted,

the

of

this

Serbs are accused of

having renamed Leskovac.

In the meantime the texts

dating from 1836 to 1838,

1841, 1858, and 1861, and

quoted as supplements in the said book, and

maps from between 1853

invariably

given,

give

the

to

name

of

the town in

Serbian form of Leskovac, and not once in

form

of

Leskovec.

allegations

It

the

courage

to

its

its

Bulgarian

make

these

The supplements and notes to these books

are likewise interesting.

text is

takes

all

1878, which are likewise

favourable

to

If

even a single word of their

Bulgarian pretensions, they are

'
A. Ishirkov, Docteur es lettres, Professeur de Geographic a
rUniversit^ de Sofia, Membre dc I'Academie Bulgare dcs Sciences,
" Les confins occidentaux des Terres Bulgarcs," Lausanuc,
etc.

1916, pp. 119, 183, 189, 194, 202.

MACEDONIA

10

quoted to the public as gospel truth, regardless of their

authorship,
of

meaning,

their

correctness

their

(or

lack

and whether they contain statements such as that

it),

" the Morava rises in Bosnia," that "Nish is the capital

of Bulgaria," that " Custendil is not far from Prokuplje

near the Morava valley," or that " Prizren and Novi

Pazar arc in Bulgaria "

This

literature, too, does not

merit serious consideration.

Non-Bulgarian

literature dealing

In

likewise extensive.
writers on

Russian

Russia's children.

the

the

first

with Macedonia
place

The

subject.

The Russians

at

garian

nation,
it,

revealed

and spoiled

it

it

as

to

the

Bulgars

are

the beginning of

the nineteenth century discovered the

reared

is

we have

moribund Bul-

the world, fostered

it,

a parent spoils a sickly and

wayward child. Of Russian sympathies for the Bulgars

more will be said in another part of this book. Here
I

will

merely mention that

beside and

behind these

sympathies for the Bulgars there was also the question

of

Russia's

Russia

interests.

political

looked

upon

Bulgaria as a lever and an annexe for her political aims

in the

Balkan Peninsula.

Balkans

The

went hand

territory

hand with Russian

in

the stronger

greater Bulgaria,

the Balkans.

Hence

Bulgarian pretensions in the

in

Russian literature,

the limits claimed for

extends to

interests.

Russia's lever in

Bulgarian
it

by the

Bulgars.
Finally,

donia.

other foreigners have written

This

literature, too, is

books in which
spicuous by
inspired

its

all

knowledge

of

There are

the subject

is

con-

There are some which are

sympathy for the small and
the Bulgars. In some cases th^

absence.

by weak-kneed

insignificant nation of

about Mace-

very varied.

INTRODUCTION

11

wake

authors have been misled by following in the

to order for Bulgaria or the authors

Very few

pay.

of

been written with

books upon Macedonia have

knowledge of the subject, impar-

the

real

have endeavoured to be as careful

literary data as I

sources.
I

were in Bulgarian

independently, and honestly.

tially,

of

In others the books have been written

other writers.

in selecting

my

have been in choosing

my

historical

Of the huge mass of literature on Macedonia

have consulted only such works as are above reproach.

my work

Throughout

me

to be

disarm

have had but one aim before

set forth the truth so

unbiassed, to

criticism

even

from

Bulgarian

the

as

side.

to
I

have therefore made some concessions to the Bulgars.

In the
tion

first

place I have

extended

ture so far as

my

personal convic-

the territory of Macedonia to the limits

claimed by the Bulgars

my

against

it

have consulted their

was possible

to

do so

and

litera-

finally in

chapter on national tradition in Macedonia I have

consulted no collections of Macedonian national tradition,

but such as have been compiled by the Bulgars themselves in Macedonia.

This

book

is

written

centres and libraries.

far

from Serbian

scientific

There remain, therefore, some

books and references I was not able to consult for

my

work, and which would have thrown the statements in

this

light

book into stronger

upon

Bulgars

the

with

Macedonia.

relief,

malpractices

regard

to

and have shed a clearer

and

their

dishonesty
seizure

of

of

the

Serbian

II

THE SOUTHERN SLAVS

The Southern Slavs and

their arrival in their present territory

Ethnographic changes brought about by their arrival Ethnical

unity of the Southern Slavs The Bulgars and their invasion of
the Southern Slav lands between the Danube and the Balkan
mountains Contrast between the Bulgars and the conquered
Slavs Their gradual fusion into the present Bulgarian nation
Traces of old Bulgarian qualities in the modem Bulgars
Territory in which the present Bulgarian nation was e-solved

THE

Southern

Slav

group

Slavs are
of

a branch

On

nations.

the

great

leaving the

main

of

body of the Slav community the Southern Slavs first

a long time in Central Europe in the
Beginplains between the Carpathians and the Alps.

remained for

Emperor Justinus

ning in the reign of the Byzantine

(518-527) and continuing up to that of Heraclius (610641), they gradually crossed the

into the Balkan

provinces of

Save and the Danube

Byzantine Empire,

the

until they finally spread over the

whole territory from

the Alps to the Carpathians in the north, to the

in the south, the Adriatic in the west,

and Black Seas

Morea

and the ^Egean

in the east.

With

the arrival of the Southern Slavs great ethno-

graphic

changes took place in the Balkan Peninsula.

The

ancient Greek inhabitants

the eastern and southern parts

13

who

lived principally in

of the

Balkan Peninsula


THE SOUTHERN SLAVS

13

were pressed to the eastern and southern extremities of

The remnant of the ancient Illyrians

the Peninsula.

who

inhabited the western part of the Peninsula, were

driven farther into the mountains and intermingled with

The Roman

the numerous Slav settlers there.

colonists

remaining in the Peninsula were gradually absorbed

by the Slav masses or survived to any great extent
only in those regions where the Slav tide of invasion
was less strong, as in Thessaly and South Macedonia
(Tsintsars or Macedo-Roumanians)
and
in
Dacia
(Roumanians). Thus throughout the Balkan Peninsula
and far to the north of it the Southern Slavs became
still

the principal ethnic element.

This whole group of Slavs, extending from the Alps

the

to

Carpathians

whole

across the

Peninsula, went by this

common name

of

the Balkan

of Slavs.

Thus

they are so called by the Greek and Latin writers both

at the

time of their immigration and for a long time

afterwards.

The

territory in

called Slavinia (SKXa/3tvia<,

rarely

Sclavinica).

and that

which they

The name

settled

Sclavonia,

Sclavinia,

was
or

of Slavs for the nation

was retained by
There is a
province between the Rivers Drave and Save which is
called Slavonia to this day.
Apart from the Southern
the

of Slavinia for their country,

Southern Slavs for a very long time.

^lavs themselves, the

Southern Slav

name

nation has

of Slavs as applied to the

survived

also

among

the

Roumanians and Albanians to this day.^

The Southern Slavs were in every respect one nation.
Besides having the name in common, they bore also
every other sign of being one nation. They spoke one
'

,114.

C. Jirecek, "Geachichte der Serben,"

t. i.,

Gotha, 1911, pp. 113-

MACEDONIA

14

language, they

all

possessed the same type of civilization,

the same religion, the same customs.

was

villages

their occupations

rearing.

Urban

unknown

to them.

civilization

Their social

They

everywhere the same.

also

were

and

life

lived mostly in

farming and
social life

cattle-

were as yet

Their social structure was in keep-

mode of life, and was organized

system.
Each Southern Slav tribe or
separate body bearing its own special

ing with their primitive

on the

tribal

clan formed a

The head

name.

of

the clan

assisted

by the

tribal

council conducted the internal affairs of the clan and

regulated the relations between his

own

clan and

its

They had nothing resembling a State or

commonwealth as yet. The southern and more numerous
neighbours.

division of the Southern

Slavs acknowledged the suze-

rainty of Byzantium, the northern and

owned the sway

princes
State,

were

and

its

of the

Avars.

The

lesser division

chiefs

tribal

semi-independent towards

the

power was not greatly

by the

The organized
same time among

felt

or

suzerain
tribes.

State did not arise everywhere at the

the Southern Slavs.

Their

first

native

State arose during the second half of the seventh century

and among the northern branch of the Southern Slavs,

the ancestors of the Slovenes of to-day, under the leadership of the native tribal princes.

Towards the end

of

the eighth century and in the beginning of the ninth the

Croatian State emerged on the shores of the Adriatic.

About the same time the Serbian State appeared in the

mountainous regions around the Rivers Drina, Ibar, and
Lim. The Macedonian Slavs, as we shall see, built up
their State rather later.

All these States the Southern

Slavs built up unaided, under the leadership of native

princes and chieftains, free from

all

foreign influence.

THE SOUTHERN

SLAVS.

15

Only one branch of the Southern Slavs met with a

different fate.
It was doomed, soon after its immigration, to fall under the sway of an ahen people, to link its
fate

with

it,

modify

to

and the whole

its civilization, its social

of its existence.

structure,

This was that branch of

the Southern Slavs which took possession of the Balkan

country bounded by the Danube in the north and the

Balkan mountains in the south, the River Iskar in the
west, and the Black Sea in the east.

Southern Slav clans had

In that area eight

They formed

settled.

the rest of the Southern Slavs, with

whom

part of

they shared

the same language and civilization, religion, and social

system. In the year 679 they were invaded by a nomad
people with a martial organization and of Turanian origin,

Like a hurricane the Bulgars overran the peaceful Slav tribes settled between the Danube
and the Balkan mountains and established their State in
called the Bulgars.

that territory.

While the ethnological problem

Slavs

is

of all other

Southern

and straightforward as we have

those Southern Slavs who were invaded by

quite simple

seen, that of

It is therefore necesfar more complex.

some further explanation concerning this
last-named branch of the Southern Slavs. These remarks
will at the same time explain the huge difference between

the Bulgars

is

sary to add

the Bulgars of to-day and

all

the rest of the Southern

Slavs.

Between the Bulgarian conquerors and the Slavs who

had to submit to them there was a vast difference. The
Bulgars were Mongols. The conquered Southern Slavs
were Indo-Europeans.
also

possessed

radically

they belonged to

two

Differing as regards race, they

differing
totally

In

fact,

nations,

with

languages.

different

MACEDONIA

16

forms

different

nomads

of

The Bulgars were

Southern Slavs were settled

civilization.

the conquered

farmers and keepers of

cattle.

The Bulgars were

nation of conquerors with a martial organization with

the central authority in the hands of the ruler

quered Southern Slavs were

the con-

pacific, divided into clans,

a nation loosely knit together without political unity.

The Bulgars possessed a

State structure

to the con-

quered Southern Slavs the self-contained State was yet

unknown.
The Bulgars owned a despotic rule the
;

conquered

Southern

had a

Slavs

democratic,

tribal

administration, in which the tribal assemblies took part.

The

religion

and customs

of the Bulgars differed

those of the conquered Southern Slavs.

burned their

dead

with

together

buried

or

their

living

them

wives

from

The Bulgars
grave-mounds

in

and

slaves

the

Southern Slavs, although they sometimes burned their

dead, never sacrificed the family and slaves of the

The

Bulgars

(princes)

had

deceased.

Boyards

their

polygamy
harems
among

practised

whole

Southern Slavs polygamy was very

rare.

the

Bulgarian

was barbarous in the extreme. If one of the

boyards rebelled and was defeated, then not only was
he deprived of his life and possessions, but his children

justice

and

all

his

kinsfolk

were

put to death

among

the

Southern Slavs the penalties were humane, and sentence

had to be passed by the assembl5^ The Bulgars lived

war and for war; the Southern Slavs only went to

war when they were attacked. The war customs of the
in

Bulgars were cruel

they

made

the skulls of their con-

quered enemies into goblets from which they quaffed

wine

at their

nanimous

banquets

the Southern Slavs were mag-

to their foes both

during and after the war.


THE SOUTHERN SLAVS

17

In time of peace with Byzantium the Bulgars sold Slav

boys and

girls in

the slave market

held such a trade in abhorrence.

the Southern Slavs

The Bulgars and the

conquered Southern Slavs represented two distinct races,

and two totally distinct

The vast difference between the Bulgars
civilizations.
and the Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula in the sixth and
seventh centuries, as described by the Byzantine historians Procopius and Maurikios, has also been emphatiwith two distinct languages

cally insisted

on by Const. Jirecek, the best Bulgarian

historian.!

The Bulgars were

greatly inferior in

They owed

conquered Southern Slavs.

numbers

to the

their victory over

the Southern Slavs solely to their martial organization

and brute

force.

The conquered Southern

conquerors.

Their hatred

Slavs had no love for their

is

easy to understand

An

one considers the contrast between them.

sian chronicler of

the eleventh century

knows

Bulgars " terrorized the conquered Slavs."

old

when
Rus-

that the

Many

of

the Slav tribes opposed a determined resistance to the

Bulgars.

When

the Bulgars attacked the

Slav tribe

by the Eiver Timok, these Slavs abandoned their

home by the Timok rather than submit to the Bulgars.
But in spite of all divergencies and all hates, closer
living

gradually supervened between the Bulgars

and the conquered Slavs mutual influence, adaptation,
and finally the fusion into one nation. The old name
relations

Turanian conquerors

of

Bulgars

became

name for this mixed Turano-Slav nation.

The Bulgars gradually settled down
'

Const.

Jirecek,

" Geschichte

pp. 131-134.

der

the general

their

new

Prague,

1876,

in

Bulgaren,"

MACEDONIA

18

among the conquered Southern Slavs. From

being nomads they became a settled people like the
territory

As the Bulgars were

Slavs.

were

many

in

the Slav majority.

suits of the Slavs.

selves

in

the

minority,

they

things compelled to adapt themselves to

They took up the agricultural purThe Bulgars also familiarized them-

with the customs and civilization of the Slavs.

Finally, the Bulgarian language gradually disappeared,

until

The

was completely ousted by the Slav tongue.

it

fusion of the Bulgars and the conquered Southern

Slavs

was

fairly rapid

years the process

who were

within two hundred and

The Bulgarian

was complete.

fifty

nobility,

very exclusive, of course amalgamated less

number of Bulgarian commons who

among the conquered Slavs but even the

easily than the small

lived scattered

Bulgarian nobility yielded

little

by

little.

Already in

812 we find a Bulgarian envoy to Constantinople bearing

the Slav name of Dragomir, and about the middle of the
ninth century Slav names occur even

among members

of the princely families.

Such was the influence of the Southern Slavs upon the

Bulgars. But the Bulgars, too, have left traces of their
Physical and moral
influence upon the conquered Slavs.
qualities are not so easily modified as the manner of
Hving, occupation, custom, and language of a race.

physique of the modern Bulgars

are, as a

Mongol

matter of

fact,

is

very striking.

The
They

no longer Mongols, but certain

features appear at the first glance.

Their short

stature, their well-built but thick-set figure, their very

pronounced roundness of face all are features which

distinguish the Bulgars from the true Southern Slavs.
They are the survival of the Mongolian type in the
Bulgarian physique. The moral qualities of the Turanian

THE SOUTHERN SLAVS

19

Bulgar can also be traced in the Bulgars of to-day.

These quahties are no longer unalloyed, as among the

ancient Bulgars, but in the main they are still there.

The

insatiable

still

lust

of

possession

when they

the Bulgars

first

came

which characterized
to the Peninsula

equally strong in the Slavicized Bulgars.

difference

is

is

The only

that whereas the Turanian Bulgars were an

intrepid warrior horde, the Slav Bulgars are insatiable

grabbers only

The

risk.

when

there

is

a prospect of profit without

and brutality towards

old Turanian cruelty

all

mixed descendants only

those who are weaker than themselves

and sundry has persisted in

for the benefit of

their

towards their superiors in streogth these qualities are

toned

down even

The

to servility.

traces of the mental

and moral qualities of the Turanian Bulgars we find

and consistently expressed through the whole of
AVe can
Bulgarian history, both remote and recent.
recognize them in every description of the modern
clearly

Bulgar, no matter whether the description be furnished

by the Bulgars themselves or by foreigners. We can

trace them finally also in the Bulgarian attitude during
the great World War.
There is one more legacy from their Turanian antiquity,
which distinguished the Bulgars from the Southern Slavs
from the very first day of their life in the Balkan
Turano-Slav

Southern

which

and

Peninsula,

Slavs

that

distinguishes

completely

descendants

this

to
is

their

day from
social

the

their

true

organization.

Their State structure, which the Bulgars brought with

them

and

transplanted

among

the conquered

Slavs,

destroyed for good every trace of the Slav tribal organization.

During the course

of

their

history the State

organization of the Bulgars sometimes declined, but the

MACEDONIA

20

destroyed tribal organization of the

the

With

Bulgaria
all

those

customs which have their origin in the

clan,

never revived.
social

Slavs in

gens,

Bulgaria.

and the
While in

the tribal organization

family
all

disappeared

likewise

other Southern

Slav

in

countries

there are preserved to this day either the remains of the

.old

division

into

clans or tribes, and even the tribal

organization or at least recent memories of them, together

with the customs which refer to the clan, the gens,

and family, in Bulgaria all this disappeared very early

and left no trace. But whereas in Bulgaria the very
names of the clans have been lost, in Macedonia there
were not only clans in olden times,^ but they can be
The difference between
traced there to this day.^
Bulgaria and

Macedonia

in

this

respect

was already

pointed out in 1848 by the Kussian savant V. Grigorovic.

After quoting the names of clans which exist to-day in

Macedonia, he adds that the Bulgars " have no tribal

names."

Such are the Bulgars, and such are the differences

between them and the rest of the Southern Slavs. The
Slav language, which the Bulgars adopted from the
conquered Slavs, is the only feature on the strength of
Concerning the Slav tribes in Macedonia after the immigration of
the Southern Slavs, see B. Prokic, " Postanak jedne slovenske carevine u Makedoniji " ("Rise of a Slav Empire in Macedonia "), " Glas
Srpske Kraljevske Akadenije," vol. Ivi. pp. 294-297, quoting from
Byzantine sources the following names of Slav clans in Macedonia
Brsjaci, Dragovici, Sagudati, Velegostici, Vojinici, Rinkini, Strumljani, and Smoljani.
To this day the districts are accurately known in Macedonia
'

="

which

are inhabited by the following clans

Brsjaci, Mrvaci,
Sopovi, Polivaci, Babuni, Keckari, and Mijaci (V. Grigorovic, " Ocerk
putesestviji, po evropejskoj Turciji " (" Sketches by a Traveller in
:

European Turkey"), Kazan, 1848,

3

V. Grigorovic, " Ocerk,"

p. 196.

p. 196.

THE SOUTHERN SLAVS

21

which thpy have been included in the Slav group of

nations.
As far as other things are concerned, there
would be no place for them there.
The territory which saw the process of the evolution of
the Bulgarian nation was the very same as that which
the Turanian Bulgars occupied
to the

when they

first

came

It did not extend farther west

Balkan Peninsula.

than the Kiver Iskar in Modern Bulgaria, nor farther south

than to the Balkan Chain. Until the year 800 Bulgaria

by the River Iskar, and before

861 it did not extend beyond the Balkan Chain. At first
the Bulgarian capital was PHskov, to the north-east of
Sumen of to-day in Bulgaria. Later on it was Preslav,
on the northern slopes of the Balkan Chain. ^ There was

was bounded

the

Bulgarian State, and there the assimilation

first

between

in the west

Bulgars

and

Slavs

took

place

Bulgarian nation was created, and there

this

day, clearly distinct

rest of the

in

Southern Slavs.

all

The

its

there

qualities

difference

the

remains to

it

from the

between the

Bulgars within their well-defined frontiers and the Slavs

beyond those frontiers was observed very early by the

Byzantine writers.
territory

They speak

of the

Southern Slav

between the Adriatic and the Rhodope moun-

tains as Slavinia (2KXa/3/v/a), in order to distinguish

from Bulgaria, and they

former country as

it

refer to the inhabitants of the

Slavfs, in

order to distinguish

them

from the Bulgars.

'

"

C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Serben," i. pp. 189-190.

B. Prokid, " Postanak jedne slovenske care vine u Makedoniji,"

pp. 299-300.

C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Serben,"

i.

p. 194.

HI

TSE^ MACEDONIAN STATE

tfhe

Macedonian Slavs Bulgarian invasion of Macedonia Contrast

between the Bulgars and the Macedonian Slavs Adverse conditions under the Bulgars
Revolt of the Macedonian Slavs and
emancipation from the Bulgars Renewal of Byzantine domination in Macedonia
Revolt and emancipation from Byzantium
The Macedonian State Its rise Frontiers Name of the
Macedonian State

Macedonian
THE branch

we have

seen, are merely

Southern Slavs.

But while the

Slavs, as

of the

Southern Slav States of Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia

were being built up in the countries north of Macedonia,

and the Bulgarian State and nation resulted from the

amalgamation of the Southern Slavs between the Danube

and the Balkan Chain with their conquerors, the Macedonian Slavs still remained under the domination of the
Byzantine Empire, The Byzantine writers invariably
refer to

them

as " Slavs," or the "Slav

'^KXnldivdw t^vog)

They still

lived

nation"

{to tojv

mainly in villages they

;

were an agricultural people, and retained their primitive

tribal organization.
The Byzantine writers say that the
territories occupied by the individual tribes in Macedonia
were called " Slovenia" (SKAaj3tvtat), and that each tribe

had a semi-independent prince

of

these princes

was

hereditary,

{apxov).

The

dignity

and they were quite

independent as regards the internal management of the

THE MACEDONIAN STATE

tribe.

23

They acknowledged only the suzerainty

Greek Empire, and they paid a

Beside the above-mentioned
in Macedonia, the

name

fixed tribute.

common name

Serbs "

*'

is

Slavs of Macedonia

"
of " Slavs

mentioned at

also

Serbs are also mentioned

a very early date.

Rivers),

of

of the

among

the

(between the Struma and Vardar

the Byzantine

who were subdued by

Constantin III in 649 and sent to Asia Minor.

of Gordoserba, in Bithynia,

was named

after

Emperor
The town

them, and

it

used to be the seat of a Bishopric.'^ Some time about 950

the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus

wrote that the town of ra

SfjojSXta,

in

the district of

Salonica, at the foot of Olympus, derives its

the Serbs

who

name from

originally settled there.^

Towards the middle of the ninth century the

Bulgars began to attack Byzantium in the direction
About the year 861, under their Tsar
of Macedonia.

Boris

By

(852-888),

they conquered

part

of

Macedonia.

the wars waged by the Bulgarian Tsar Simeon (893-

927)

Byzantium,

against

the

succeeded

Bulgars

in

gaining possession of the whole of Macedonia.

Coming

in this

manner under the sway

the Macedonian Slavs maintained the

of the Bulgars,

same

relations

towards them which they had hitherto observed towards

The Slav

under the rule of their

native princes or chieftains, retained their independent

Byzantium.

tribes,

domestic organization, only their allegiance was transferred to their

did

not,

new

therefore,

masters.
interfere

The change

of allegiance

with the domestic

St. Stanojevic, " Vizantijai Srbi " ("

life

Byzantium and the Serbs

of

"),

N. Sad, 1896, pp. 41 and 215.

* Const. Porphyrogenitus, " De adniinistrando imperio," cap. 32,
p. 152, ed. Bonn.
t. ii.,

MACEDONIA

S4

the Macedonian Slavs.

Likewise it exercised no influence

on the ethnical evolution of the Macedonians either.
The Bulgars did not come as settlers, but as conquerors.

As only the towns

in

which the whole

came under

strength was concentrated

they never
Slavs

came

into

of their military

their direct rule,

with the

contact

Macedonian

because in the towns the population was preponderantly Greek and not Slav.
;

The lot of the Macedonian Slavs under the Bulgars

was not a pleasant one. The Bulgars and the Macedonian Slavs represented not

only two social

classes

one of which was the ruHng and the other the ruled,
but also two nations, two religions, and two civilizations.
It is true that the

themselves

Bulgars had already approximated

considerably

Bulgarian territory, but

to

to

conquered

the

intents

all

Slavs

in

and purposes

they were in the main Bulgars.

Although they were

nominally converted, they were far from being really
Christians.

Even

in 9G8

a Bulgarian envoy in

Con-

stantinople wore his hair cut in the Barbarian style like

an "Ungar";

he wore an iron chain, and he was a

catechumen not yet baptized.

influence of
ties,

still

Brought up under the

unsoftened barbarous Turanian quali-

the Bulgars were not popular masters with the

peaceable Slavs of the cultivated and prosperous Mace-

donian

provinces of Byzantium,

lectual

centres

other

very early

the

among

insurrections, one in 929

'

Prima,

intel-

and

cities.

Dissatisfaction with
itself

whose ancient

were Salonica, Justiniana

Bulgarian

and a second

manifested

rule

the Macedonian

Slavs.

Two

in 931, although

B. Prokic, "Postanals jedne slovenske carevine u Makedoniji"

(" Rise of a Slav

Empire

in

Macedonia

"),

pp. 287-288.

THE MACEDONIAN STATE

unsuccessful,

show

clearly

what were the

Macedonian Slavs towards

conquerors.

The

leaders

of

Slav

were four brothers, sons of a

This insurrection was finally

this insurrection

prince

feelings of the

the Bulgarian

third insurrection broke out in 969.

25

Macedonia.

in

and the Macedonian Slavs drove out the

Bulgars and established an independent State of their
own. In 973 the young Macedonian State fell once
successful,

more under the domination of Byzantium; but already

in 976 the same four brothers who freed Macedonia
Bulgars

from the
the Greeks.

succeeded

liberating

in

her

from

Macedonia once more became independent,

Samuel by name, proThus by the end

claimed
of the tenth century the Macedonian Slavs had like-

and one

of

the four brothers,

Tsar

himself

(976-1014).

wise established their State.

Young, fresh and full of energy, the new Southern

Slav State expanded rapidly. In 986 Tsar Samuel
successfully deprived Byzantium of Bulgaria, which
the Byzantine Emperor John Zimisces had added to
Hereafter Samuel conquered
empire in 971.
his
Albania, and then the Serbian States of Duklja, Zeta,

and eventually Travunia, Zahumlje, Neretva, Ras^ka, and

Bosnia. The frontiers of Samuel's State comprised
all the Serbian principalities and the whole of Bulgaria.
Over so vast an empire Samuel failed to maintain
his

Bulgaria

hold.

fourteen years
it

remained

ruler

(986-1000).

Serbian

deposed
giving

over

the

hands only

for

Then Byzantium wrested

from Samuel and reconquered

As

his

in

it.

greater part of- the

conquered

States Samuel appointed Jovan Vladimir, the

Serbian

him

his

Prince

of

Zeta

daughter to wife.

and Duklja, after

Samuel retained only


MACEDONIA

26

Macedonia and

the

countries

directly

adjoining

the

principaHty.

The

Bulgars, as

we have

masters of Macedonia

seen, were for a certain time

but on the strength of this rule

of theirs the Bulgars are scarcely entitled to lay claim to

Macedonia,

On

the contrary, the Macedonians always

looked upon the Bulgars as foreign conquerors;

rebelled against

them and drove them

they

The Mace-

out.

donian Empire which the Macedonians built up after

emancipating themselves from the Greeks by their

efforts

own

has no connection whatever with the Bulgars

except that Bulgaria also was subject to

After that Bulgaria

it

for a time.

came under Byzantium, and Mace-

donia remained a purely Southern Slav native State.

Between Bulgaria and this independent Macedonian

Empire there is no connection at all. They are
two distinct States as regards population and origin,
capital towns, and tendencies.
The population of Bulgaria

is

a mixture of Turanian Bulgars and Slavs, and

that of Macedonia

is as purely Southern Slav as that of

and the Slovene lands. The Bulgarian
State was founded by the Bulgarian conquerors, that of
Macedonia by the Slavs who desired to emancipate themselves from both Bulgaria and Byzantium.
Bulgaria
had her capitals in Pliskov and Preslava, north of the
Balkan Chain the capitals of the Macedonian Empire
were Ochrida and Prespa on the lakes of Prespa and

Serbia, Croatia,

Ochrida.

But the Macedonian Empire was

is

called Bulgaria.

necessary to explain this seeming paradox.

from a special cause and has

a legacy of the Bulgarian

It

was
Macedonia

its logical justification.

Empire name

in

It

arose
It

the legacy of a bygone mastery and an historic tradition.

THE MACEDONIAN STATE

27

In 971 the Byzantine Emperor John Zimisces subdued

the whole of Bulgaria, whose empire at that time included Macedonia.

immediately afterwards Mace-

When

donia, without Bulgaria, freed herself from Byzantium,

she assumed the name of Bulgaria, because she aspired

Before her

to take over the heritage of fallen Bulgaria.

downfall Bulgaria ranked as

an Empire

her rulers bore

and were the upholders of an imperial

This heritage was vacant. Macepolicy and tradition.
donia required immediate recognition and respect, and
so took over the Bulgarian name and claims; she
assumed even before conquering Bulgaria, and retained
the imperial

title,

them later on after having lost her.

Thus it came about that the Macedonian Empire
The name of the State is always
styled itself Bulgaria.
stronger than the name of the nation.^ In this case also
This is
it was transferred from the State to the nation.
refer
to
began
onward
time
that
why foreign writers from
to the Southern Slavs of

Instances of

young

Macedonia

as Bulgars also.

the

usurping

states

other, older states are not

heritage of

name and

infrequent in

At the very same time when the Macedonian

Empire was founded the German Emperors were
building up a German Empire in outlying provinces of
what had been the ancient Empire of Kome. They,

history.

too,

appropriated

They named

the attributes of a former

styled themselves "

Empire was
nevertheless,

"

Roman

State the

their

"Roman Empire"

down

Empire,"

to

the ancient

its

and

fall
its

it

and

The Byzantine

Roman Emperors."

only part of

empire.

Roman Empire

styled

emperors

itself

called

the

them-

'
" Starker alg der Volksname war und ist imraer der Name dea
Staatea " (C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Bulgaren," p. 1'38).

""

MACEDONIA

28

Koman Emperors." The Greek inhabitants

of this "Koman Empire" called themselves "Romans"
And just as the Roman name of the German
(Pofxaioi).
"

selves

and Greek Empires has no connection with the Romans,

so the Bulgarian name in Macedonia has nothing to do

names are only a memento

the empire whose heritage was assumed by those who

with the Balgars.

of

All these

bore them.

In the meantime a distinction has always been drawn

between the population of Bulgaria and that of MaceDukljanin, the priest

donia.

who wrote

his Chronicle

Bar (Antivari) in the eleventh century, calls the

Macedonians of Samuel's Empire " Bulgarini" ^ and
at

refers

to

the Bulgars by their proper name oi '' BulIn the German chronicles and elsewhere the

garia
Macedonians are often
2

called " Bulgarii " (Bulgariorum)

and the Bulgars " Bulgari " (Bulgarorum).3

Finally, the Macedonians never in olden times called
themselves Bulgars. Dr. V. Gjeric, Professor at the University of Belgrade, after an exhaustive study of all the
records referring to the Macedonian Slavs from the earliest
times, came to the conclusion that " from the oldest
times
there

down
is

to the beginning of the nineteenth century

not one reliable instance of the Macedonians

call-

ing themselves Bulgars or their language the Bulgarian.4

'

"Samuel Bulgarinorum Imperator"

I.

Crncid,

"Popa Dukljanina

Letopis " (" Pop Dukljanin's Chronicle "), Kraljevica, 1874, p. 41.
" Eo tempore (968) defunctus est Bulgarorum Imperator Petrua
-

nomine"

(Ibid., p. 38).

B. Prokic, " Postanak jedne slovenske carevine u Makedoniji

("Rise of a Slav Empire in Macedonia"), p. 320.
* Dr.
V. Gjeric, " O srpskom imenu u Staroj Srbiji i Makedoniji
3

("
p.

The term Serbian

'

4-2.

'

in Old Serbia

and Macedonia"), Belgrade, 1904,

IV

BULGARIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

Subjugation of the Macedonian State by Byzantium in 1018 Bulgars

shake off the Byzantine yoke in 1186 Second Bulgarian invasion of Macedonia Macedonia under the Latins and Epirotes
Fresh Bulgarian invasion of Macedonia Macedonia under the
Byzantines and Epirotes Bulgars possess Macedonia once more
for a brief period and then lose it for good in 1256

SAMUEL'S vast Macedonian

duration.

Empire was not

of long

Already under his immediate successors

began to decay, until finally in 1018 it fell completely

under the domination of Byzantium. Of all the extensive territories that had formed the Macedonian Empire
it

only the central Serbian tracts of Kaska on the Drina,

Lim and

Tara, and Zeta on the coast remained free.

These lands were destined

future liberation and unity

of the

to preserve the seed

of the

Southern Slavs.

The

abortive insurrections in 1040 in the county of Vardar

which aimed at liberation from Byzantium,

While the Serbian States were
proved unsuccessful.
laying up their strength for the great historic role of
the Serbian nation in the Balkan Peninsula, Macedonia

in Macedonia,

came

yet again for a short time under Bulgarian rule.

From

about

domination
until 1186.

the

of

a.d.

1000,

when she

fell

under

the

Byzantium, Bulgaria remained under

it

In that year the Bulgars revolted against

Byzantine

supremacy.

With

the

help

of

the

MACEDONIA

30

Kumans

(Kussian Polovci) from the steppes of Pontus,

they succeeded in freeing themselves and in once more

The capital of this new Bulwas Trnovo. As their power gradually

estabhshing their State.

garian

State

increased the Bulgars

for

upon

embarking

arrived

in

This

conquests.

In that year

1202.

Constantinople.

awaited a suitable opportunity

While the

opportunity

Latins

the

besieged

was proceeding the

siege

Bulgarian Tsar Kalojan " took advantage of the general

confusion and overran the western part of the Byzantine

Empire from
the

towns

Prizren."

Sofia to the frontiers of Thessaly, taking

of

Not

Skoplje,

and Bar,

Ochrida,

and

feeling secure in the territory they

conquered, the Bulgarians expelled

even

had

the Greek bishops

all

and replaced them by Bulgarian ecclesiastics. They likewise transported all Greek suspects to the Danubian
Serbia was at the time powerless to prevent

regions.

Bulgarian aggression and violence in Macedonia.

The

was fomented by Hungary,

absorbed all Serbia's strength and attention. This Bulgarian domination in Macedonia did not last long, only
struggle for the throne, which

until the death of Kalojan in 1207.

sensions broke out

among

Bulgaria was divided.

Then

internal dis-

the Bulgarian princes, and

Part of Macedonia came to be

ruled by a relative of Kalojan, Strez by name, but under

Serbian suzerainty.

Strez died in 1215

part of his lands

was taken by the Latins of Salonica, and part by the

Greeks of Epirus. Thus every trace of Bulgarian rule
in Macedonia was obliterated once more.
In 1223 Macedonia was ruled by Theodore Komnenus,
Despot

of

Emperor.
'

Epirus,

who

His lieutenants

presently

proclaimed himself

Greeks, Slavs, and Albanians

C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Serben,"

i,

p. 288.

BULGARIAN RULE

administered

MACEDONIA

IN

31

the provinces of Macedonia and Albania

up to the Serbian frontier, which ran north of

Arban, Debar, and Skoplje.^ Towards the east, Theodore
Komnenus extended his power even over Thrace with
its capital of Adrianople.
Theodore ruled over Macedonia
for seven years in all. In 1230 he was suddenly attacked,
defeated, ,and made prisoner by the Bulgarian Tsar
Asen II, near the village of Klokotnica (now Semisdze),
on the road from Philippopolis to Adrianople.
The
Bulgars now without any difficulty occupied the
right

country

west

Adrianople,

of

Ochrida as far as Durazzo.^

beyond

It

iSkoplje

and

important to note

is

that Tsar Asen says that by this victory he conquered

Serbian lands.

In gratitude

Komnenus, Asen

II

built

for his success over

the Church

Martyrs in his capital of Trnovo.

of

Theodore

the Forty

In an inscription in

church he gives a brief account of his war with

this

There he describes how he captured Theodore

Theodore.

with

all

nobles

his

even

Adrianople

to

and

subdued

Durazzo

Albanian and the Serbian.^

all

the

the lands from

Greek,

then

the

This Bulgarian domination

in

Macedonia extended over a period of sixteen years

in

all.

In 1246, Michael, the son of Asen

'Jl,

ascended the

That same year the Greek Emperor

John Vatatzes succeeded in retaking from the Bulgars
all the Macedonian provinces from Adrianople to the
Michael II, Despot of Epirus, on his part
Vardar.
Bulgarian throne.

'

C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Serben,"

'

Ibid., p. 303.

The former
"

Und

i.

p. 300.

translation of this passage from the inscription runs

Lander habe ich erobert von Odrin (Adrianopel) bis

nach Durazzo: das griechische, dann das albanische und serbische
thus

Land"

alle

(C. Jirecek, "

Geschichte der Bulgaren," pp. 148, 252).

MACEDONIA

32

occupied the Macedonian

districts

lying

west of the

Vardar, with the towns of Veles, Prilep, and Ochrida.

In 1252 John Yatatzes overcame Michael II, and all

Macedonia as far as the frontiers of the Serbian

contemporary State became a Greek province.
There was one more Bulgarian invasion of Eastern
Macedonia as far as the Vardar, which lasted from the
end of 1254 until 1256, and was also " carried out
but I hardly know whether it is
without difficulty "
;

worth mentioning.
Weak and insignificant as are these
of

Macedonia with

recur no more.

Bulgaria,

From

historic linkings

such as they are they

that time Bulgarian history has

no further connection with Macedonia. Soon afterwards began the henceforth uninterrupted historic
connection of Macedonia with Serbia. This connection
has bequeathed to Macedonia imperishable and ineradiIt has also brought the ethnic unity
cable memories.
of the

Macedonians and Serbs into better and clearer

relief.

It is interesting to note that the Bulgars never ran any risks for
the sake of Macedonia, nor did they ever conquer it heroically and at
the cost of great sacrifice. All their invasions of Macedonia occurred

either at a time of " general confusion,',' or were accompUshed

" without any difficulty " (C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Serben," i.

pp. 288, 303, 315).

V
SERBIAN BULE IN MACEDONIA
Systematic unification of Serbian territory under the Nemanjici
Part of Macedonia won by King Uros in 1258 Macedonia added
to Serbia under King Milutin and King Stephan Decanski
Bulgaria makes war upon Stephan Decanski in 1330^Macedonia's
fate permanently decided in favour of Serbia by the Serbian
Subsequent insignificance of Bulgaria
victory over the Bulgars

Serbian

magnanimity towards Bulgaria King (afterwards

Tsar) Dusan unites the whole of Macedonia with Serbia
Bulgars no longer interested in Macedonia Bulgars conscious
of having no claim on Macedonia Bulgars recognize the
legitimacy of the Serbian rule in Macedonia Macedonia
Macedonians never called
considered a Serbian country

anything but " Serbs " in historic records Dismemberment

Macedonian States always referred to
of the Serbian Empire
as " Serbian " Turks conquer Macedonia as a Serbian country
This fact recognized by all historic sources, including Bulgarian
Serbian influence in Macedonia under the Turkish rule
Serbian princes in Macedonia under Turkish suzerainty
Serbian Sultana Marija and her importance for the Mace-

donian Serbs

WHILE

Macedonia after losing her independence

in 1018 was first under Byzantium and then
for a short time under Bulgaria, two young and vigorous
Serbian States grew up and developed to the north of her
RaSka and Zeta. In the second half of the twelfth
century they were united to form the one State of Serbia,
which then entered upon the most brilliant epoch of the

Serbian past.

new

Slowly but surely, the native rulers of the

Serbian State emancipated the Serbian nation from

4

33

MACEDONIA

34

Byzantium and united the Serbian

Serbian ruler

who

set

lands.

The

first

about to Eiccomplish the systematic

lands into one polity was

Grand Zupan Stephan Nemanja (1169-1196). His
successor went far beyond him. The complete union
of the Serbian lands was especially apparent during the
reigns of King Milutin (1282-1321) and Tsar Dusan
During these reigns Macedonia was
(1331-1355).

union of

all

the

Serbian

the

also incorporated with Serbia.

We

have already said that under Strez (1207-1215)

Macedonia was for a short time under Serbian suzerainty.

In 1258 King Uro of Serbia took Skoplje, Prilep, and
Ki5evo from Byzantium, but lost them again shortly
afterwards in 1261.^
But this was only the prelude to
the complete union of Macedonia with Serbia. In 1282,
King Milutin, the son of Uros, took Skoplje from
Byzantium, together with the districts of Gornji and
Donji Polog, in the upper Vardar valley, and subsequently Ovce Polje, Zletovo and Pijanac, round about
the Bregalnica. No sooner had Milutin taken Skoplje
than it became the capital and chief city of all Serbia.
In 1283 King Milutin made further progress in liberating
Serbian lands from Byzantium.
territory as far as Ser

(the

He

(Krestopolje, or Kavala of to-day),

of

Mount

conquered the entire

Seres of to-day),

Morunac

and the neighbourhood

Athos, and afterwards added Porec, Kicevo,

and Debar

Macedonia to these conquests. Milutin's

son Stephan Decanski (1321-1331) took the town of
Prosek on the lower Vardar.
During the whole of this Serbian progress in Macedonia,
in

the Bulgars did not appear as Serbia's rivals nor did they

attempt to hinder the Serbian advance in Macedonia.

'

C. Jirecck, " Geschichte der Serben,"

i.

p. 317.

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

They

35

waited, as before, for a convenient opportunity of

Such an opportunity was

given them when trouble arose between Stephan Decanski
and the Emperor Andronikos III of Byzantium. Thinksuccess without difficulty.

ing that this was a propitious

moment

for

an attack

upon Stephan, the Bulgarian Tsar Mihajlo Sisman, who

was married to Stephan's sister, put away his wife,
married the

Andronikos in her stead, concluded

sister of

an alliance with his new brother-in-law and attacked

Stephan.

Stephan begged Mihajlo to avoid war, but

Mihajlo was obdurate.

Trusting finally to defeat Stephan,

Mihajlo, in the words of a contemporary, boasted that " he

would

set

up his throne

pelled to go to war.

" in Serbia.

The Bulgars and

Stephan was comthe Byzantines ad-

vanced against him simultaneously, but their forces

Andronikos was

to establish a junction.

late,

failed

and the

Bulgars were defeated ere he could come to their rescue.

This war was of great importance, because

it

decided

not only the question of the supremacy of Serbia over

Bulgaria during the rest of the Middle Ages, but also

the fate of Macedonia.
attack from

to

The Serbs expected

the Bulgars

the east, but they turned southwards,

Where the frontier between Serbia

and Bulgaria follows the course of the river Struma,
north-east of Velbuzd (now called Oustendil), the
towards Macedonia.

Bulgarian forces crossed the frontier into Serbia and

went

as far as Velbuzd, "

1330,

evil

deeds in

Velbuzd took place on July

The Bulgarian army was completely over-

that district."^
28,

The

committing many

battle of

thrown and Tsar Mihajlo himself slain in the

Serbs were left victors and masters of the

battle.

The

situation.

St. Novakovic, " Zakonik Stefaua Dusana" ("Stephan Dusan's

Code"), Belgrade, 1898, p. 3,
'

MACEDONIA

36

After the victory Stephan intended to subdue Bulgaria,

but he was met on his

way by

the envoys of Belaur,

brother of the fallen Tsar, and the Bulgarian nobles

who

tendered him

their

How

submission.

important

was the Serbian victory and how great the Bulgarian

defeat can be seen from the humble demeanour of the
Bulgarian envoys towards

Empire

Bulgaria "

of

the

thus the
"and the

towns and

their wealth

to

the
as

Kingdom
one,

and

of Serbia
let

of

of

these events.^

it

you

Henceforth

let

Bulgaria be

These words were

recorded by the Serbian Archbishop Danilo,

contemporary

them be

slaves, hail

and the Empire

there be peace."

its state,

though

as

this

all

and mighty King.

of

glory, let

We, your

you by God.

as our overlord

whole

and their

to-day in your hand to dispose of

were given

envoys

Bulgarian

addressed King Stephan

its

" This

Serbian King.

who was

Thus was

solved the

problem of the relations between Serbs and Bulgars in

the Middle Ages.

Thus was the

fate

Macedonia

of

decided at that time.

King Stephan showed himself magnanimous towards

the Bulgars. Directly after the battle he caused the body
of the Bulgarian Tsar to be interred in the Monastery
of Nagoricino, near Kumanovo, " in our country," as his
son Tsar Dusan used to say in after-years. ^
interfere with the Bulgarian polity,

He

did not

which was reduced

to the frontiers of the Bulgarian people.

He

confirmed

the Bulgarian nobles in their former privileges, and on

the Bulgarian throne he placed his banished

Dj. Danicic, " Zivoti Kraljeva

'

St.

Code"),

Tsar

arhiepiskopa srpskih "

the Serbian Kings and Archbishops"),

Zagreb, 1866, pp. 193-195.

of

sister.

("Lives
by Archbishop Danilo,

Novakovid, " Zakonik Stefana Dusana " (" Stephan Dusan's

p. 3.

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

Mihajlo's widow, with her son Jovan Stephan,

37

who was

not yet of age. On the spot where he had invoked the

help of God before the battle the pious Serbian King
erected a church to Our Blessed Saviour, which,

although in ruins to-day,

original beauty.

To

this

shows clear traces of its,

victory the King also dedicated
still

the Monastery of Decani, which was then being built,

the finest example of Serbian ecclesiastical architecture

the Middle Ages.

in

Stephan's son DuSan,

who soon

afterwards succeeded to the Serbian throne, continued

his father's policy towards

the Bulgars, and concluded

an alliance with thein which lasted until the fall of the

mediaeval Empires of both Serbia and Bulgaria.

Dusan's

reign

marks an

Macedonia, one more

brilliant

epoch

the

in

history

of

and prosperous than any

At the very outset of

his reign he took Ochrid, Strumica, Kostur, and many
other towns in Macedonia from Byzantium, right up to
In Salonica there was already a considerable
Salonica.
party prepared to open the gates and surrender the city
to him; but the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos III
she had hitherto passed through.

arrived with a large army and prevented the Serbs

from entering Salonica. Later on, in 1342, DuSan took
Voden and Melnik in 1345 he took Ser (Seres), Drama,
;

(now called Orfauo). Thus the

Macedonia became a Serbian province. The
eastern frontiers of Dusan's empire extended from the
crest of Mount Rilo along the slopes of the Dospat
Hristopolje

Philippi,

whole

of

and the

left

basin of the River Mesta

down

to the sea.^

Novakovic, " Strum ska Oblaat u XIV veku" "The Province

(" Glas Srpske Kraljevske
in the Fourteenth Century "
" Srbi i Turci u
Akademije," vol. xxxiv). By the same author
Srednjem Veku " ("Serbs and Turks in the Middle Ages"), p. 129.
'

of

St.

Struma

MACEDONIA

38

During

whole

the

time

Duan's

of

Macedonia, the Bulgars showed no

progress

in

After

dissatisfaction.

the battle of Velbuzd, Bulgaria was to a certain extent

DuSan was constantly

dependent upon Serbia.^

first

at war,

Had

with Byzantium and then with Hungary.

the

Bulgars been conscious of a right to Macedonia, these

would have been suitable opportunities for allying themselves to either of these two Powers, and not only to rise
in defence of Macedonia, but also to emancipate themfrom the Serbian supremacy. In the meantime
they did neither, but remained on the best of terms with
selves

Dusan, even

at a

time when the throne of Bulgaria was

not occupied by Dusan's kinsman.

important with

reference

to

But what

Macedonia

is

is

that

most
the

by the Serbian conquest

Macedonia their rights were in no way encroached

Bulgars took
of

it

for granted that

upon, and that they plainly recognized Serbia's right

to that country.

When

1346 the Archbishop of Serbia

in

Macedonia raised to the rank of " Patriarch of the Serbs and Greeks" the expression used
the Bulgars
at that time to define the Serbian Empire
would certainly have protested had they looked upon the

was

precisely in

Macedonian population

as

fact they did nothing of

of the Archbishop

carried

As a matter
the

of

promotion

Serbia to the Patriarchate was

of

out " with the

Patriarch of Trnovo."

Bulgarian.

the kind, but

full
=

approval of the Bulgarian

When

subsequently on Easter

'
On October 15, 1345, Dusan, King of Serbia, addressed a letter to
Andrea Dandolo, Doge of Venice, beginning as follows " Stephanus,
Dei gratia Servise, Diocliae, Chilminise, Zentae, Albaniae et MaritimiE
regionis rex, nee non Bulgarice imperii partis non modice particeps
(" Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog
et fere totius Romanise Dominus "
:

xi. pp. 262-263).

C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Serben,"

Dnii^tva,"
^

i.

p. 887.

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

Sunday

the same year the Serbian King solemnized

of

second

his

39

coronation

Serbian

as

Tsar,

Hkewise

in

Macedonia, there was even greater opportunity for a

Byzantium

Bulgarian protest.
establishment

the

and

canonical

of

protested.

Serbian

the

coronation

the

The Greek Patriarch

non- valid.

of

She declared

Patriarchate

Serbian

the

un-

Tsar

Kallistos anathematized

new " uncanonical" Patriarch and

Tsar. The Greeks would not hear of a

the

the "unlawful"

Serbian Empire

which was proclaimed on territory which they had once

owned and to which they still claimed to have rights.
The Emperor John Kantakuzenos, in his " History,"
never once refers to Duan as " Tsar," always as " King."

And
The

we

thus

find

it

also

other Byzantine sources.

in

Bulgars, however, did not consider that the Serbian

Patriarch and Tsar had usurped their rank, and they

took no steps against them

but Duan's coronation as

Tsar was solemnized in Macedonia on the strength of the

conquest of Macedonia, and moreover " with the blessing

and consent

hands) of the Bulgarian Patriarch and

(lit.

the consent (hands) of

Synod."

By

By

great.

claiming

all

the Bishops of the Bulgarian

the conquest of Macedonia, Serbia became

conquest she became worthy of

this

an

herself

pro-

The Bulgars not only

Empire-

acquiesced in this without taking offence, but they even

added their blessing.

Bulgaria did this consciously.

upon

as Serbian territory.

after the

Ever

Macedonia was looked

since the earliest times

Slav immigration into the Balkan Peninsula

Serbs have been mentioned as inhabiting Macedonia.

Novakovic,

St.

San's

Code

p. 387.

"),

p.

"
4.

Zakonik
C.

Stefana

Jirecek,

Dusana

"

" Geschichte

("

der

Stephan DuSerben,"

i.

MACEDONIA

40

The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus

wrote some time about 950 that the town of
in the district
foot

"to. Se/o/iXta,"

of Salonica near the River Bistrieca, at the

Olympus, derives

of

originally

settled

its

frequently mentioned.

name from

the Serbs

Subsequently

there.
It

was

the

also

who

town

this

seat

is

the

of

Bishop; in an old Serbo-Slav translation of the Greek

Zonaras

writer Johannes

small

number

completely and

is

it

called

SrpSiSte.*

The

of Bulgarian conquerors had disappeared

no

left

Writing in the middle

Greek historian Nicephorus

trace.

of the fourteenth century, the

Emperor

the Byzantine

Gregorae says that

Basil

II

destroyed the Bulgars, at that time masters of Macedonia, in many battles, and that " he banished those

who remained
on

the

in

the Danube."

(Macedonia)

land

As we have

seen,

to

Moesija

the Bulgarian

Tsar Asen, after conquering Macedonia in 1230, expressly

states in an inscription in the church of the Forty

Martyrs in Trnovo that he had conquered "the Greek,

This was a
the Albanian, and the Serhian lands."

hundred years before the Serbian conquest of Macedonia.

The Serbs conquered Macedonia as a Serbian country.
Neither in connection with the conquest of Macedonia
nor later are the Bulgars mentioned
tants.

King Milutin

quests

in

Macedonia.

counties, and refers to

among

the inhabi-

times mentions his con-

several

He

mentions

them by

their

the
local

conquered

names

or

by the names of their towns but nowhere do we find

In Milutin's biography, which
a word about Bulgars.
;

'

Const. Porphyrogenitus, "

p. 152, ed.
^
*

De

administrando Imperio," chap, xxii

Bonn.

" Starine Jugoslovenske Akademije," Zagreb, vol. xiv. p. 163.

N. Gregorae, " Histor. Bizant.," ii. 2. p. 15a, ed. Bonn.

Serbian rule in Macedonia

was

Danilo,

all

enumerated
is

by

compiled

Archbishop

the

contemporary,

his

41

Milutin's Macedonian conquests are likewise

;

the counties are mentioned, and again there

no mention

of Bulgars.

Writing about the year 1318,

the Serbian Archbishop Nikodim chronicles all the deeds

of the Serbian King Milutin " in his own native country,

the

in

Serbian

land,"

Afterwards

he speaks of the

Serbian Council, in which the bishops and

Among

also included.

the Serbian bishops

monks were
is

mentioned

among the Serbian monks

monks of Tetovo, Gostivar, Nagori6ino,
MS. of the Monastery of Lesnovo, in

the Bishop of Skoplje, and

are mentioned the

and Skoplje.^

Macedonia, dating from 1330, says of Milutin's successor

Stephan De6anski that "he inherited the kingdom, i.e.
all

the Serbian maritime regions, those by the

and the
Bulgarian

Ovce Polje."^
attack upon

Eelating
the

Serbs

the
in

history

1330,

Danube
of

the

Stephan

De5anski, in a deed to the Monastery of Decani, says

that the Bulgarian Tsar went
to conquer " Serbian territory."

to

Macedonia

in

order

In the Appendix to his

Code, Tsar Du^an says that the Bulgarian Tsar went
against "

Our country, against the land

of our fathers."

Under DuSan's reign the Serbs conquered the whole of

Macedonia.

In a deed to the Monastery of Treskavac,

is styled " Stephan, King

near Prilep, in 1336, in which he

and the Maritime Regions," Dusan says

"
that
with the help of God Almighty, the Preserver and
of all Serbian

His immaculate Mother, and the prayers of his forbears

Simeon and Sava, he had taken many towns over which
'

Lj. Stojanovid, " Stari Srpski zapisi

natpisi "

("

Old Serbian

Inscriptions and Notes "), Nos. 301-304.

* " Glasnik Srpsrog Ucenog Dru^tva," vol. xvi.
pp. 34-35.
St. Novakovid, " Zakonik Stefana Duana "
(" Stephan DuSan'a

Code

"), p. 3.

MACEDONIA

42

But not a word about

MS. of the Four Gospels

the Greeks had formerly ruled."

In a note in a

the Bulgars.

written at Mount Athos, about 1347, we are told that

" by God's grace and the prayers of his ancestors, it was

Dusan

given to

whole of the Serbian

Morunac, which is called

to rule over the

land, as far as the

town

of

Kristopolje (the Kavala of to-day), and as far as Salonica,

and

over

Dioclitia

all

as

as

far

Drac."^

In a deed

presented by Tsar DuSan about 1350 to his Monastery

of the Blessed Archangels St.
at Prizren, the gifts

are enumerated.

Michael and

he bestowed upon

Among

other

gifts,

this

St.

Gabriel

monastery

he also endowed

with a church in Veles with " men, mills, and vine*'

men,
yards," and with a church in Strumica with
In assessing the rights and
lands, vineyards, and mills."

it

duties of these

men whom he

assigned to the monastery,

he refers to them as Serbs, Albanians, and Vallachians.

No Bulgars are mentioned.3 In the Code which he
compiled

for

the whole

of

his

empire at the State

Councils of Skoplje in 1349 and of Seres in 1354,

Duan

nowhere mentions Bulgars, although he omitted none

of the nationalities represented in his country, viz. Serbs,

Greeks, Albanians, and Germans.4

It is impossible that

the Serbian legislators of that time,

at

two Councils,

both held in Macedonia, should have remained ignorant

in
if it existed
of the existence of a Bulgarian element

Macedonia.
"

St.

If

even the small national populations in

Novakovic, " Balkanska Pitanja"

pp. 290-293.
"
Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari srpski zapisi

("

The Balkan Question"),

natpisi " (" Old Serbian

Inscriptions and Notes "), No. 89.

3 " Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol. xv. pp. 264-310.
St. Novakovid, " Zakonik Stefana Dusana" {" Stephan Dusan'g

Code

"),

Arts. 32, 39, 77, 82. 173.

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

43

Serbia are mentioned in the Code, as in the case of the

sroall

German mining

population, the

have been omitted.

certainly not

Bulgars would

In the decree issued

by Dusan at the Council of Skoplje in 1347, whereby he

made the Monastery of Lesnovo, in Macedonia, the seat
of the bishopric, he is styled " Stephan, the God-fearing

Lord and autocrat of the Serbs and

Greeks and the whole of the Western Regions." ^ This
decree concerns some of the most important institutions
in Macedonia.
It was approved by the first Serbian
Tsar

in Christ our

Council convoked after the proclamation of the Serbian

Empire, and

it

deals not only with the establishment of

the bishopric, but also with

the duties of the subject.

many

Here,

other matters, such as

also, there is

not a word

about Bulgars. DuSan's usual signatm*e as Tsar ran

" Tsar of the Serbs and Greeks," and when signing in
:

Latin he styled himself, "Imperator Rasciae

Neither of his

titles

makes mention

et

Romanise." ^

of Bulgars.

Nor are Bulgars mentioned in books written in

Macedonia during the Serbian rule nor are they menOn the contrary, it
tioned in any notes in these books.
is recorded in these books merely that they were written
at such and such a place, in such and such a country,
during the reign of such and such a Serbian sovereign.
;

The Serbian

sovereigns are praised in these books

the

monasteries they built in Macedonia, the gifts they be-

stowed upon these monasteries, their successes are extolled

victories commemorated.
Some of these books
commemorate the Serbian victories over the Bulgars.

and their

" Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol. xxvii. pp. 288, etc.
Grigorovic, " Ocerk putesestvija po Evropciskoj Toirciji,"
C. Jirecek, " Geschichte der Serben," i. p. 386.
pp. 49-50.
3 Lj. Stojanovi6, " Stari
srpski zapisi i natpisi " (" Old Serbian
'

'

V.

Inacriptions and Notea

"),

Nos. 34, 43, 56, 75, 108, 4944.

MACEDONIA

44

Even

On

anywhere.
these

which have
no mention made

in those Serbian records

Macedonia there

in

books

is

the contrary,

that

it

their origin
of

Bulgars

clearly transpires

from

Macedonia

was

the population

of

Serbian.

Foreign records in this respect absolutely corroborate

the Serbian.

C. Jirecek says that according to the

historian N.

Gregoras,

who

lived during

Greek

DuSan's reign,

there were at the time of Dugan's conquests in South

Macedonia " Greek and Serbian parties in every town." ^

N. GregoraB relates how the Byzantine Empress Irene

kinsman Manuel Tarhaniot to seek the fugitive

Kantakuzen, and how starting from Dimotik he crossed
the Balkan mountains (the Hsemus) and entered the
Serbian land.^
John Kantakuzenos, who waged long
wars on Macedonian territory against John, the lawful
Emperor of Byzantium, against the Empress Anna and
the Serbian Tsar Duan, had every opportunity of
becoming well acquainted with Macedonia and of
sent her

thoroughly exploring
to Serbs in

Even

after

in his " History."

Du^an's reign there

Geschichte der Serben,"

'

C. Jirecek,

'

" Relicto igitur ob

'

There are frequent references

it.

Macedonia

metum

i.

is

no

mention

of

p. 382.

recto traraite, sinistrum versus per

ovia contendere arduisque ac difficultibus locis applicare se perrexit,

donee Htemo monte superato, in Tribalorum terrain, illa'sus furtiro

delapsus

est "

" Hist.

(Nicephori Gregorse,

Bizant.,"

xiii.

4,

8,

Bonn).
3 He mentions them as living near
Prosek (Prosaecum, a town on
the Vardar at the eastern opening of the Demir Kapija gorge now
p. 623, ed.

Interea pecuarius quidam Tribalus, iuxtra Prosacum in

vico Davidis nuncupato habitans Zimpanus (Zivan, a typical Serbian
in ruins)

*'

."
name), nomine auditis quae Cantacuseno
(Joannis Cantacuseni
Imperatoris Historiarum, iii. 394, vol. ii. p. 256)
near Philippi
(between Seres, Drama and Kavala, now in ruins) " Pauci enim
." (Ibid., iv. 45, vol. ii. 329;.
Tribali ex proximis vicis concurrentes
.

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

Macedonia.

Bulgars in

45

Dusan was succeeded on the

throne of Serbia by his son Tsar Uros (1355-1371). His

" Stephan Uros, Tsar of the Serbs
official title was
^
In a document dating from 1365 the
Serbian Governor of the
Mladenovic,
Branko
sons of
county of Ochrid, call Tsar Uro "Autocrat of ail
Serbian, Greek, and the Maritime Regions." ^
Under the feeble reign of Tsar Uros, the division and
dismemberment of the Serbian Empire soon set in.

and Greeks."

Macedonia,

was divided

too,

into several parts, the

men

who had acted as governors under Dusan setting themselves up as independent princes in the districts over
which they

ruled.

This was an excellent opportunity

The
showing to whom Macedonia truly belonged.
new Macedonian sovereigns, who had broken away
from the Serbian Empire, were no longer in any way
They were independent and could style
bound to it.

for

themselves

as

they

pleased.

Had

their

Macedonian

subjects been Bulgars, there would have been no reason

why they should not have proclaimed themselves BulHereby they would not only have
garian sovereigns.

increased the loyalty of their subjects, but they would

have eliminated from Macedonia even the shadow of

the Serbian domination. But we find no trace of this.
All

parts of

and

their

Macedonia continued
sovereigns

continued

to
to

remain Serbian,
style

themselves

Serbian princes.

In Dusan's reign his half-brother (on his mother's

side) Simeun (Sinisa) was Governor in Epirus and part
Macedonia.

of

reign,

Simeun

in 1356

V. Grigorovie, " Ocerk putesestvija," p. 51. C. Jirecek, " Gesch.

Serben," i. p. 414.
' "Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," vol. iii. p. 31.

d.

During Uros's

MACEDONIA

46

an army composed

" Serbs,

Greeks, and
Albanians," and proclaimed himself independent " Tsar

gathered

Serbs and

of the Greeks,

signed his

name thus

all

of

Albania."^

In 1361 he

"

Simeun Palaeologos, god-fearChrist the Lord and Autocrat of the Greeks

ing Tsar in

On another occasion he styled himUros Palaeologos, god-fearing Tsar in

Christ the Lord and Autocrat of the Greeks and Serbs
and all Albania." 3
In Dusan's reign Vukasin Mrnjavic was Zupan in
and Serbs.
self

." ^

" Simeun

At the beginning

Prilep.

of his reign

Uros created him

a Despot, but Vukasin was not satisfied with this.

In

1366 he proclaimed himself an independent King and

ruled

over

the

territory

on either

side

of

Sar

the

Mountain with the chief towns of Prizren, Skoplje,

Prilep and Bitolj. In all these regions he was acknowledged by the inhabitants as King.
himself

"Lord

He

officially styled

of the Serbian land, of the Greeks,

the Western Regions."

In a

letter to the

and

Republic of

Ragusa on April 5, 1370, King VukaSin says of himself,

" and He (Christ) appointed me lord of all the land of
Serbia, of the Greeks and Western Regions." s
Vukasin's brother Ugljesa proclaimed himself inde-

pendent ruler of the neighbouring Macedonian counties

towards the

east.

In Serbian and Greek records he

spoken of as "Despot of Serbia."^

'

C. Jirecek, " Gesch. d. Serben,"

Fr. Miklosich

sBvi,"

iii.

and Jos.

i.

Miiller, "

is

Both Vukasin and

p. 415.

Acta

et

diplomata Grseca medii

p. 129.

"Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol. xviii. p. 201.

St. Novakovic, " Srbi i Turci " (" Serbs and Turks
C. Jirecek, "Gesch. d. Serben," i. pp. 423, 430, 433.
3

p.

"),

144.

Fr. Miklosich, " Monumenta Serbica," p. 180.

Fr. Miklosich et Jos. Miiller, " Acta et diplomata graeca medii sevi,"
St. Novakovic, " Srbi i Turci " (" Serbs sind
pp. 553, 558, 559, 571.
5

i.

Turks

"),

pp. 153, 155, 166.

C. Jirecek, " Gesch. d. Serben,"

i.

p. 431.

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

47

Ugljesa are referred to as "Serbian lords" also in a

contemporary Bulgarian chronicle

was penned
tongue, and from an

chronicle

view.''

in

altogether

in

the

Bulgarian

Bulgarian
point of

The author knew what he was writing

and his testimony

is

This

(1296-1413).

Bulgaria,

about,

perfectly reliable.

In the north-east of Macedonia, after having renounced their allegiance to him, two cousins of Uros,
the brothers Despot Jovan Dragas and Konstantin
Dejanovic ruled independently in the territory around
Istip,

Strumica, Kumanovo, Kratovo, and Velbuzd.

Oustendil.
in 1395 as

the

It

was renamed
Konstantin's daughter Helen speaks of him
"the most pious and the most illustrious of

was after this Konstantin

Serbian lords."

that Velbuzd

an

In 1401

envoy arrived in

Venice from "Konstantin (Dejanovic), lord of Serbia,

of that territory which surrounds our own territory of

Durazzo "

("

Constantini domini Serviae,

est circa territorium

Besides

the

nostrum Durachii

aforesaid

princes

territorii,

quod

").3

there

were also

in

Uros's time several lesser territorial lords in Macedonia,

such as Srbin Novak, the "Kesar" (treasurer) around

Lake Prespa, Branko Mladenovic of Ochrid, and Bogdan,
lord of the territory

between Salonica and Seres.4

Of

'
J. Bogdan, " Ein Beitrag zur bulgarischen und serbischen Geschichtschreibung " (" Archiv fiir slavische Philologic," iii. 1891,
The Chronicle is " ohne Zweifel in Bulgarien und von einem
p. 527).

Bulgaren geschrieben wurden, aussordem

ist

sie

in mittel-bulgar-

ist ganz vom

Standpunkte eines Bulgaren geschrieben " (p. 492).
"
Fr. Miklosich et Jos. Miiller, " Acta et dijilomata Grscca medii
sevi," ii. pp. 260, 201. St. Novakovic, " Srbi i Turci " (" Serbs and
Turks"), p. 190.
3 ' Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol. iii. p. 198.

ischer Recension

<

erhalten "

(p. 490).

C. Jirecek, " Gesch. d. Serben,"

i.

"Die Chronic

pp. 415, 4o4.

MACEDONIA

48

none

of these

is

it

anywhere

said

that they were in

any way akin to Bulgars.

The Turks conquered Macedonia as a Serbian country.
Contemporaneously with the breaking-up of the Serbian
Empire after Dusan's death came the spreading of the
Turks in Europe. Already during Dusan's lifetime the
Turks took Gallipoli from the Greeks (1354) and thence
began to attack both Byzantine and Serbian territory.

During the

feeble reign of Tsar

Uros they had already

In 1365 Adrianople was

overrun a considerable part.

already the Turkish capital, and the whole territory

from the Sea of Marmora to the Balkan Mountains and
from the Black Sea to the Rhodope Mountains was in
the hands of the Turks.
The focus of the Turkish
power was consequently transferred from Asia to Europe.
In face of the Turkish peril the Serbian princes were
compelled to think of serious measures to defend themselves and their lands.
During the summer of 1371

Uglje^a Mrnjavic

from Thrace.

The advance

made

preparations to expel the Turks

He was

joined by his brother Vukasin.

against the Turks began in the

On September

that year.

autumn

26th a decisive encounter took

place between the Serbs and Turks on the left

the River Marica, to

Palanka
Cirmen).

of

to-day,

the

north

The Serbs

of

east
of

of

Cernomen (now

were defeated

VukaSin perished on the field.

Turks conquered Macedonia.

bank

of

the Mustafa-Pasha

After

called

and Ugljesa and

this

battle

the

Serbian and foreign historical sources agree in stating

was the Serbian army which was defeated on

the Marica, that Serbian princes perished, and that,
after the battle, Serbian lands were conquered.
Serbian historical sources look upon the disaster on
that

it

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

49

the Marica as an event of the Serbian past, and they

include

it

in

the category of Serbian historic events.^

contemporary

Monk

Serbian

the

of

who

Jsajija

on

battle

in

lived

the

Marica,

the

not

Seres,

far

from the spot where the bloody encounter took place

between

and

Serbs

the

Despot UgljeSa raised

Turks,

his

chiefs,

expel the Turks."

half

army

its

the

of

the

other

Vladislav Gramatik,

second

writer

beaten to

many

brother King VukaSin and

century, says that "the Serbian

Serbian

how

Serbian and Greek fighting

all

men and
to

"

relates

of

the

fifteenth

Macedonia was
which is called the

knees by the river

The Serbian Patriarch

of

writing in

Marica."

the

half of the seventeenth century, says that the

first

Turks

Pajsej,

after taking Adrianople " tried to enter

Serbian

and that they were opposed by Ugljea and

VukaSin with the Serbian forces.4

territory,"

The

Western Europe absolutely

historical sources of

agree with the

Serbian records as regards the battle

The news
not reach Pope Gregory XI
on the Marica.

May

of the
at

Serbian disaster did

Avignon

until the spring

King Loui3
Hungary, to inform him of the situation in the
Balkan Peninsula after the battle on the Marica, the
Pope says that in that battle several magnates of the
of 1372.

Writing

in

of

that year to

of

Kingdom

were defeated (" subactis quibusdam

magnatibus regnii Ptasciae"). That same year in the
of Serbia

autumn the Archbishop

"

of

Neopatra, in the duchy of

" Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," vol.

131, 139, 149, 151, 154.

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Natpisi " ("Old Serbian

Inscriptions and Notes "), No. 4944.

3 " Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol.
*

" Ibid.,

p. 222.

pp. 95, 126,

iii.

xxii, p.

287.

MACEDONIA

50

Athens, wrote to the Pope telhng him that " the Turks

had gained a

brilliant

victory over

sundry magnates

and the Kingdom of

of
Serbia," and that after subduing these lands the Turks
had advanced up to the frontiers of the duchy of Athens
Greece, Vallachia (Thessaly),

and the principality

The

of Achaia.^

records of the nearest neighbours of the Serbians,

the Roumanians, likewise speak of the disaster on the

Marica as

In a Eoumanian

of a Serbian defeat.

MS.

dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century,

Murat with the Turks

attacked UgljeSa and Vukain. They gathered together
a great Serbian army and accepted battle with the
the Turks were finally victorious, and
Turks

we

are told

that

in

1371

''

UgljeSa and Vukasin were slain in the valley of the

Marica in 1371." ^

And

opponents of the Serbs in

also the Turks, the

the battle of the Marica, and therefore intimately con-

Their annals,

nected with these events, wrote similarly.

which Zinkeisen drew upon

in

compiling his Turkish

History, say that " the Serbian infidels had gathered

together

Adrianople," but

attack

to

that

they

were

routed.3

Finally, the Bulgarian historical sources agree with the

rest.

The contemporary Bulgarian

referred

(1296-1413)

to

relates

chronicle

how

already

Vukain

and

Ugljesa "gathered a great Serbian army and went up

against the
to
'

"

oppose them,

of Serez,

how

how

there

the Turks
was a great

sallied forth

battle

and

C. Jirecek, " Gesch. d. Serben," vol. i. p. 440.

v. Grigorovic, " O Serbiji v ea otnoaeniah k sosednim derzavam,"

Kazan, 1859,
'i

town

J.

W.

Hamburg,

p. 17.

Zinkeisen,
1840,

i.

" Geschichte

p. 224.

des

oamanischen

Reiches,"

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

bloodshed on the

how

Marica, and

the

51

Turks slew

Ugljesa and Vukasin while the Serbs were in flight." ^

The Turkish historical sources, from which Zinkeisen takes his description of the battle on the Marica,

those of Negri,

viz.

and the

Sead-Edin,

Irdis-Bitlisi,

Turkish chronicler of Leunklav only have

of this battle, and were compiled a hundred
traditional

knowledge

the

years after

them the

to

battle

site of

had

taken

According

place.

the battle was called at that time

Sirb Zandughi, which signifies the Serbian peril.

place was always referred to by that name.
this

It

The
is

to

day called /Sr6-Sindigi (Serbian downfall), Srh Sidi

(the Serbian feared), or Srh

Hududi (Serbian

As there were no Serbs engaged

frontier)

.^

the battle on the

in

Marica save those from Macedonia, this Serbian peril

can only refer to the Serbs of Macedonia.

on the Marica did not yet put an end to

King VukaSin who
rule in Macedonia.
perished on the Marica was succeeded by his son, King
Marko (1371-1394), and his brothers Dmitar and Andrija.

The

the

battle

Serbian

the

Turkish

death the

Serbian

While acknowledging the suzerainty

Sultan,

King

of

Marko remained

his

until

Macedonia with his

of

Like-

capital in Prilep.

wise as a Turkish vassal Jovan DragaS Dejanovid ruled,

for

some time

afterwards
'

as

Konstantin and

jointly with his brother

sole

J. Bogdan, " Archiv

ruler,
fiir

over

the

around

territory

slavische Philologie,"

xiii. p.

528.

See the following references for the foregoing J. W. Zinkeisen,

" Geschichte des osmanischen Reiches," i.
225 N. Jorga, " Geschichte des osmanischen Reiches," i. 1908, Gotha, p. 241 Le Vte
de la Jonquiere, "Histoire de I'Empire Ottoman," i. Paris, 1914,
" Srbi i Turci," pp. 176-177; J. Miskovid,
p. 70; St. Novakovi6,
" Jedan PriloScic Marickom Boju "
"A Contribution to the Battle
on the Marica" (" Glas Srpske Kraljevske Aiademije "), vol Iviii.
*

p. 111).

MACEDONIA

52

Kumanovo,

Strumica,

Istip,

and

Kratovo

Velbuzd.

Finally, south of that, in the district between Salonica,

and Lake Dojran, lay Bogdan's

Seres,

state.

These

Serbian princes paid tribute to the Sultan and had to

him with

furnish

auxiliary contingents

were quite inde-

to war, but in all other respects they

pendent.

They

carried

when he went
of the Serbian

on the traditions

and restored
churches and monasteries, endowed them handsomely
and protected the Serbian people. King Marko (Kraljevic Marko) is to this day the most popular hero of

kings

in

their

territories

they

the national ballad poetry in

built

Serbian lands.

all

Fight-

King Marko and Jovan

ing as Turkish vassals both

Draga perished in the Battle of Rovine in 1394 against

the

Rqumanian Duke Mirce.

Turks

definitely

subjugated

After their
their

lands.

the

The

last

who can be

Serbian ruler in Macedonia was Bogdan,

up to the year 1413.

But the Serbian influence

death

traced

then.

extended

It

far

Turkish domination in

Macedonia did not end

in

into

the

days

dark

The

Macedonia.

of

influence

the
of

Serbian ruling and noble families persisted for a long

time

in

Macedonia, and disappeared

only

with

the

death in 1487 of the Sultana Marija, the daughter of

the Serbian Despot Djuradj Brankovic.

This princess

When she
was married to the Sultan Murat
became a widow in 1451 she at first returned to what
was left of free Serbia in those days but in 1457 she
quitted Serbia and took up her residence in Macedonia
at Jezevo near Seres, where she lived until her death.
Her life and work may be looked upon as a continuaII.

tion

of

the

Macedonia.

Serbian

rule

and

Although the spouse

Serbian
of

influence

in

a Turkish sultan,


SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

53

she supported the Christian Churches, priests and

monks, and bestowed her charity upon the world of
the Christians. In her widowhood, highly respected

and generously treated by the

Sultan

Mehmed

II,

she enjoyed an ample and quasi- royal maintenance in

But what matters

Macedonia.
that

in

this

connection

is

she occupied the position of a kind of Serbian

sovereign in Macedonia.

In her

letters she writes like

a reigning Tsaritsa, assuming the royal

titles of the
Serbian kings in the days of their independence, " Carica

Mary).

She

Serbian

nationality

"

(Empress and Autocrat Lady

even more distinctly on her

samodrzica Kira Marija

insists

when

in

her

she

letters

clearly

indicates her connection with her Serbian kin (" Sultana

Cara

Murata,

Carica

Tsaritsa Mara,

Mara, kci

Djurdja Despota"

spouse of the Sultan Tsar Murat and

On

daughter of the Despot Djuradj).

her letters she

always employed her father's seal with the inscription

" Gospodin Despot Djuradj" (Lord Despot Djuradj).

The Sultana Marija went even

in

the spirit of

She worked

further.

Serbian kings of old.

the

She,

like

them, endowed churches and monasteries, and protected

them. She not only compelled the Turks to fulfil their
towards

obligations

the

Serbian people,

real sovereign, entered into relations

The Eagusan

besides Turkey.
letters

but,

like

with other States

archives contain

many

from her addressed to the Republic of Ragusa.

In these letters she arranged that the tribute which

the Bagusans were compelled to pay to the

Church

in

Serbian

Jerusalem at the time of the Serbian kings

should henceforth be given to the Serbian Monasteries

of Hilendar

" which

were

and

St.

built

Paul

by

at

our

the

Mount

ancestors

of

St,

Athos,
Simeorj

MACEDONIA

54

Nemanja, the Archbishop St. Sava, and others who

have succeeded them unto this day." In her letters
she refers to the Serbian laws, " which were compiled

my

by

imperial

Tsar

forbears,

Dusan

and

Tsar

Uros."

The Serbian kings had always paid special respect

to the memory of those godly men who first preached
Slavs.
There were many
Macedonia during the tenth
century. Because of their godly work they were canonized and popular legends about them grew up among
the people. After conquering Macedonia the Serbian
kings and nobles abundantly honoured the memory of
these preachers of Christianity by erecting monasteries

the Gospel to the Balkan

such

missionaries

in

over their graves or in places connected with their work.

Thus were founded

Macedonia the monasteries of

which were built by
King Milutin and dedicated to St. Jo van Sarandaporski,
the Monastery of the Blessed Archangel in Lesnovo,
Sarandapor

and

which was

built in

in

Nagoricino,

honour

of St. Gabriel

Lesnovski by

the Serbian Despot Oliver, and the Monastery of Eilo

which was built by the noble Hrelja in honour of

The Sultana Marija followed in the
St. John Bilski.
footsteps

of

the

Serbian kings

with regard to these

She restored the Monastery of Rilo. The body

John of Bilo, which had been worshipped as a
holy relic in the Eilo Mountain near this monastery
had since then been moved from one place to another
until it reached the Bulgarian capital of Trnovo.
Not
saints.

of

St.

wishing

it

to

remain in a foreign land, the monks of Rilo

begged that the remains

of St.

John

transferred to the Monastery of Bilo.

efforts

of

might be
Thanks to the

Bilski

the Sultana Marija the wish of the

Serbian

SERBIAN RULE IN MACEDONIA

monks was

fulfilled

with great

pomp and amid

55
a great

Thus the Serbian

concomrse of Serbs from Macedonia.

people of Macedonia realized the presence of a Serbian

Empress among them even

in the midst of the

Turkish

rule.

Before the end of her

life

the Sultana Marija brought

her sister Kantakuzina to live with her, and both together

Serbian people and the Christian faith

protected the
in

The Sultana

Macedonia.

1487, and

near

was

Seres.

laid to rest

Her

sister

on September 14,
in the Monastery of Kosanica
died

was buried

at

Konca, above

Stnimica.

Because of her devotion to the Christian

to

the

Sultana

Serbian

Marija

people

faith

and

an abundant tradition of the

has survived.

strip

of

the

coast

between Salonica and the Peninsula of Kasandra has

been named Kalamarija after her Mary the Good.

Only with the death

did the influence

of

Macedonia

come

finally

in

1487 of the Sultana Marija

the tradition of Serbian rule

to an end.

in

VI

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULES IN MACEDONIA

Comparative duration of Bulgarian and Serbian rules in Macedonia-^
Bulgars and conquered Slavs in Macedonia two nations Bulgars
are masters, and Macedonians slaves Reasons why they never
mingled No traces left of Bulgarian rule in Macedonia, either

Misconceptions concerning
The

Slav apostles natives of Macedonia Bulgars also receive Christianity from Macedonia Language of earliest Slav books merely
called " Slav Second Bulgarian rule in Macedonia, short,
tyrannical, and obnoxious
Serbs and Macedonians are but one nation Serbian rulers
the liberators and unifiers of the Serbian nation into one
state entity Serbian rule in Macedonia represents the zenith
of Serbian civilization Building of monasteries and intellectual
progress in Macedonia Serbian literature in Macedonia
Dusan's Code originated in Macedonia Macedonia the heart
and focus of the Seicbian Empire Serbian capitals situated in
Macedonia State Councils, at which the fate of the nation was
ethnically or as regards civilization

Bulgaria's role in the creation of Slav letters and literature

Macedonians pioneers of Christianity among the Slavs The

first

"

decided, held in Macedonia

was elevated

It

to the rank of

to that of a Patriarchate

was in Macedonia that Serbia

an Empire and the Serbian Church
Byzantine influence reaches Serbia

through Macedonia

BULGAEIAN
seen,
A.D. 1204,

from

rule in
a.d.

and from

Macedonia

lasted, as

we have

861 to a.d. 969, from a.d. 1202 to

a.d.

1230 to

and twenty-nine years in

all.

a.d. 1246,

one hundred

The Serbian

rule,

not

counting the reign of the Sultana Marija, lasted from

56

'

SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULE

57

1282 to A.D. 1413, or one hundred and thirty-one

A.D.

years in

As regards length, there

all.

practically

is

nothing to choose between the Bulgarian rule and the

Serbian

in

Macedonia,

except,

perhaps,

in

so

far

was interrupted, whereas the

Serbian was continuous.
There is, nevertheless, a
great and real difference between the Bulgarian rule
the

as

Bulgarian

rule

and the Serbian in Macedonia.

The Bulgars and

the conquered Macedonians were two

different nations as regards origin, race,

Special conditions were required

Such

fusion into one nation.

to

and

civilization.

bring about their

in

was out
Macedonia

represented an infinitesimal layer, which kept

itself aloof

from the nation

with

it.

fusion, however,

The Bulgarian conquerors

of the question.

at large

When

and refrained from intermingling

the Bulgars took Macedonia for the

first

time from Byzantium they established their garrisons in

the cities and thence ruled the nation at large as the

Greeks had previously done.

Under these conditions

Macedonian populace, which was mostly rural,
merely exchanged one master for another. The Macethe

donian clans continued to

live

under their

tribal chief-

tains under the Bulgarian rule as they

had formerly done

under the Greek, only instead of paying tribute to the
Greeks they now paid it to the Bulgars.
Keliable
Byzantine sources actually mention that such relations
did subsist between the Macedonians and the Bulgars.

Between the Bulgarian masters and the conquered Macedonians there was no intermingling. And in Macedonia
the Bulgars represented only a superficial layer which

never penetrated the depths of the nation at large.

Macedonia the Bulgarian

J.

rule

was the same

Cameniata, cd. Bonn, 496,

p. 6.

In

as later on

MACEDONIA

58

the Turkish, which in more than five hundred years

failed

produce

to

The

population.

on

influence

changes in the indigenous

ethnical

no ethnical
remained

Bulgars, too, exercised

body

the

people

the

of

it

entirely unchanged.

The

period of Bulgarian rule in Macedonia falls

first

when

into the time

The population
civilization

For

was

Macedonia

of

still

was impossible

it

barbarians.

then,

concerned, far ahead of

is

reason

this

the Bulgars were

its

as

as

far

conquerors.

the Bulgars to

for

leave traces of a Bulgarian civilization in Macedonia.

To

the

Macedonian

Slavs

falls

middle

the

ninth

towards the

of

Slav Christian books and

From

dialect.

the

honour

MSS. were

that,

the

centm-y,

first

written in their

has arisen a misapprehension, as

this

had been written in

the Bulgarian tongue and as though the Bulgars were
though the

earliest Slav writings

responsible

for

this

achievement.

The very

stage

at

which Bulgarian civilization was at that time gives the

Positive facts which we will
lie to such an assumption.
go into definitely exclude any theory in favour of the
Bulgars.

Immediately after the immigration

of the Slavs into

the Balkan Peninsula, Christianity began gradually to

spread

among them.

Greek and
to

Roman

accept

isolated

but

in

oflicials,

missionaries induced the pagan Slavs

Among

Christianity.

mountain

smoothly,

Assisted by the imperial

tribes

the

matters

more

the

less-frequented,

not always

did

accessible

parts

of

go
the

Macedonia and
far
more
satisfactorily.
At
they
progressed
Thessaly,
a very early date new bishoprics were created whence
country, where there were

Christianity

cities,

as in

was propagated among the

Slavs,

Presently

SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULE

Slavs were even ordained to the priesthood.

59

It is true

that divine service continued to be celebrated in Greek,

but the priests had to preach and to impart instruction to

the people in the Slav tongue. By adapting the words
of

their

native

priests laid

tongue to Christian ideas these Slav

the

foundations of Slav Christianity.

first

Thus the definite conversion of the Slavs to the Christian

Macedonia is
faith was largely prepared in Macedonia.
the cradle of Slav Christianity. But all this movement
no way connected
took place generations before any

towards converting the Slavs

with the Bulgars.

Bulgar
This

It

set foot in

was only the prelude

conversion of the Macedonian Slavs

This, too,

the Bulgars.

was

conquered

Method, natives

and complete adoption

was quite unconnected with

of their final

of Christianity.

ever

in

Macedonia.

first, jfartial

It

is

fully prepared before the

The

Macedonia.
of Salonica,

among

Bulgars

brothers Cyril

and

were the true apostles of

Being highly accomplished, they were also well acquainted with the Macedonian dialect.
Method was for many years Greek
Governor of a Slav province in Macedonia, before^the
Christianity

the

Slavs.

beginning of the Bulgarian conquest.

In 862 the Moravian princes, Rastislav and Svetopluk,

sent envoys to the Byzantine

Emperor Michael

III,

asking for missionaries acquainted with the Slav tongue

and the Christian

faith,

who would

in the Slav language in Moravia.

Method were chosen

translated the

introduce Christianity

For

this task Cyril

and

they invented the Slav alphabet,

most needful

liturgic writings into the

of the

Holy Scriptures and

language of the Macedonians,

and undertook the charge entrusted to them in Moravia.

The mission

of the

Moravian princes

falls into

the year

MACEDONIA

60

862, and the Bulgars began their conquest of Macedonia

in 861.

Long

Method were
knew was
translating the Holy

before that date Cyril and

The

in Constantinople.

Slav language they

Their labours in

the Macedonian.

Scriptures are outside any connection with the Bulgars.

In

all

records, both contemporary

language

is

The

Bulgarian.^

the

their

great achievement of the foundation

of Slav letters is in

Likewise

and subsequent,

simply the Slav, and nowhere the

called

no way connected with the Bulgars.

systematic

spreading

of

Christianity

among the Balkan Slavs by the disciples of Cyril and

Method was also undertaken independently of the
Bulgars.

The time when

the Bulgars were establishing themMacedonia coincides with the beginning of the
persecution of the followers of Cyril and Method in
selves in

Some of them sought refuge in Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian Tsar Boris (852-888) received them well,
but did not keep them in Bulgaria, sending them on to
Moravia.

Macedonia

instead.

Bulgaria was not a suitable

field for

the Slav preachers of Christianity.

Towards the end

of the seventh century the

Bulgars had destroyed the

first

Turanian

harvest of the Gospel

which Christian missionaries had sown among the Slavs

before the arrival of the Bulgars in those countries which
they subdued.

'

all

long time elapsed before

we

find fresh

V. Djeric, Professor at the University of Belgrade, has studied

history sources from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, in which

the language of the Slavs of the Balkan Peninsula of that period is

mentioned, and found nowhere that the language of the earliest Slav
books is called anything but Slav. There are no traces at all of the
Srpskom imenu u Staroj
Bulgarian designation (V. Djeric, "
Srbiji i Makedoniji" ("The term 'Serbian' in Old Serbia and
Macedonia"), Belgrade, 1904, pp. 32-38.

SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULE

among

attempts to introduce Christianity

As with

all

barbarians, the

fraught with

Even

difficulty.

frequently reverted

work

to their

the Bulgars.

of converting

who were

those
old

faith.

61

them was
baptized

Neither were

who adopted ChrisTsar Boris, who became a

such of the Bulgarian sovereigns

tianity

reliable

converts.

Christian, abdicated about a.d. 888 in favour of his son

Vladimir, but soon found himself compelled to resume

the reins of government because the

new Tsar renounced

Christianity and reverted to paganism.

Boris defeated

him, blinded him for punishment, and placed his younger

son Simeon upon the throne.
time taken considerable root

Islam, too, had by this

among

the Bulgars.

Pope

Nicholas mentions in a letter that Saracen books were

found among the Bulgars.

cenis

vos

abstulisse

{Libri profani, quos a Sara-

apud

ac

vos

Neither did the Bulgarian people,

many Turanian

qualities

present a suitable
Finally,

field

in

their

who

still

preserved

pristine

savagery,

growth

for the

of Christianity.

Bulgaria had not

the Slav language in

assumed a

habere perhibetis.)

yet

definite form.

In Macedonia, the cradle of Slav Christianity, conditions

of

were altogether

Christianity

among

different.

the

Slavs

There the spreading

was not

in

any way

its progress was constantly maintained.

There no Bulgarian influence interfered with the lan-

impeded, but

The Holy Scriptures could be understood by

everybody.
The race was pure and of settled habits.
guage.

These were suitable conditions

for the lofty mission of

the persecuted Slav ministers of the Gospel from Moravia.

For

this reason

Tsar Boris directed them to Macedonia,

Macedonia that the new era of Slav Christianity

then began, with the Holy Scriptures no longer in
It is in

MACEDONIA

62

Greek, but in the Slav tongue, and with divine service

celebrated in Slav.

There were compiled fresh transand there were laid the

lations of the Christian writings,

first

foundations of Slav literature.

tianity

made

a vigorous

beams spread in
Bulgaria, and to Eussia.
radiant

This

is

all

This Slav Chris-

From Macedonia

start.

directions

to

Serbia,

its

to

the substratum of fact in the great legend of

the part played by Bulgaria in the

first

introduction

and letters among the Slavs.

As uncivilized foreigners and invaders, the Bulgars
could only be hated in Macedonia.
That is why the
Macedonian Slavs rebelled against them, drove them out,
freed themselves and established a state of their own.
Thus ended the first Bulgarian rule in Macedonia, nor
did there remain in Macedonia either ethnical traces of
of Christianity

it

or the legacy of a civilization.

The second Bulgarian rule

easily won success during an
was short

only twenty-one

in

Macedonia represents an

auspicious opportunity.
years in

all

It

far too short a

time to alter the ethnic character of a large country.

Moreover, this time also the Bulgars only garrisoned the

towns without having intercourse with the native popumingling with it. Lastly, the Bulgarian rule

lation or

was

so barbarous that

among

it

inspired nothing but loathing

The Bulgarian rulers were cruel and

tyrants.
They knew no moderation in deal-

the nation.

bloodthirsty

ing with a conquered populace.

Theii pri?icipes imperii

(Princes of the Empire) were mere savages.

Frankish

and Byzantine historians describe the disgusting cruelty

of the Bulgarian Tsar Kalojan (1197-1207).
Ivanko, the
nephew and assassin of Tsar Asen I, used to have Greek
prisoners executed during his banquets in order to add

SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULE

and enjoyment.

zest to his revelry

who was governor

Strez,

a sample of

of part of

Macedonia during

a fair representative of Bulgarian

is

rule in Macedonia.

is

Bulgars brought to Macedonia.

the kind of rule the

the Bulgarian rule,

This

63

In his castle at Prosek, perched on

a rock high above the Vardar, he had a wooden platform

where it was his custom, when he was in his cups,

condemn men to death for the shghtest offence,
causing them to be cast from the platform into the
built,

to

torrent of the Vardar far

below.

" While the poor

wretches were being dashed to pieces on the rocks, he

used to shout in mockery
skin

!
'

'
:

There was no place

Mind you do not spoil your

for those cast down to fall,

man was

not rescued thence by

by godfearing men, or washed
ashore by the waves, he remained in the river, and was
devoured by the fish."
except the river.

some

If a

of his kinsfolk, or

Thus a contemporary, who was perhaps an eye-witness

Bulgarian rule in Macedonia.^
Such are the memories of the second Bulgarian
of these horrors, describes the

rule in Macedonia.

Serbian rule
character

it

in
is

Macedonia bears quite a

bound up with altogether

different

different

memories.

The Serbs and

the Macedonians are one and the

nation as regards origin, race, and

were

no

them that had to be

The Serbs were not conquerors

Macedonia, but liberators.

records refer to the

same
There

between

differences

adjusted or equalized.
or aggressors in

civilization.

Mediaeval

Serbian rulers as the "liberators"

"^ivot Svetoga Save" ("Life of

St.

ed. Dj. Danicid, Belgrade, 1860, p. 106.

Sava"), by Domentijan,

MACEDONIA

64

and "gatherers"

(osvoboditelji)

(savakupitelji) into

one

realm of the whole Serbian nation.

The Serbs in Macedonia did not represent a ruling

who had brought

but the sons of a brother nation,

class,

They

freedom.

Maceand prosperity.
Macedonia, Serbia had

did not seek riches and booty in

donia, but themselves imported wealth

At the time

of her acquisition of

attained a high level of material prosperity.

in minerals, agricultural

neighbours had so enhanced

even Bulgars

The

left their

effects of the

Her

Serbia's reputation

that

country and emigrated to Serbia.

wealth of King Milutin were

beyond the borders

trade

produce, and cattle with her

Serbia,

of

felt far

Constantinople, in

in

Salonica and Jerusalem, where he built churches and

hospitals for the poor.

In Duan's time Serbia was the

Balkan Peninsula.
DuSan
endowed monasteries " on a golden scale," and showrichest

ered

country

gifts

in

all

in

the

On

directions.^

their

entrance into

Macedonia the Serbs caused the Macedonians to share

in their freedom, prosperity, and wealth.

While the Bulgarian rule in Macedonia marked the

acme of barbarity, the Serbian rule brought a golden era
of Serbian civilization.
Upon their entrance into Macedonia the Serbs destroyed and abolished nothing.

was the opposite that was the

case.

It

During the short

time that he ruled in Skoplje, King Uro confirmed the

Church in all its old privileges which had been granted to

it by the Bulgarian Tsar Asen II.
Tsar DuSan overwhelmed the Monastery of St. Jovan PreteSa founded
by the Greek Emperor Andronikos and situated near

Serez

with

and

endowed
'

his
it

generosity,

by

granted

patents

it

specially

C. Jirecek, " Geseh. d. Serben,"

i.

certain

drawn

pp. 338, 391.

rights

up

in

SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULE

All monasteries

Greek. I

respected by the Serbs.

which enjoyed

65

and holy places in Macedonia were

The Greek cities of Macedonia,
under the Greek

special privileges

rule,

were confirmed in these privileges by special decree.

By acquiring Macedonia the Serbs merely extended to
her the

field for

developing their civilization.

While

of

Bulgarian rule in Macedonia there remains not

one typical church, nor painting, nor literary record, the
the

mementoes

of the rule of the

Serbs in Macedonia are

cogent proof of their presence there.

The

list

Serbs have

endowed

By
'

in

of

churches

either

built

Macedonia,

is

and
or

monasteries which
or

restored,

the

handsomely

a long one.

the consensus of expert opinion

all

these churches

V. Grigorovic, " Ocerk putesestvija," p. 145,

C. Jirecek, " Gesch. d. Serben," i. p. 386.

We

cannot refrain from mentioning at least some of the principal

among those which the Serbian kings either built or
restored in Macedonia, viz. the Church of Our Blessed Bedeemer
near Custendil, which Stephan Decanski built to commemorate
his victory over the Bulgars and to which we have already
King Milutin built the Church of Our Blessed Lady
referred.
3

monasteries

Trojerucica (with the three hands) at Skoplje the Church of St.

the Church of St. John
George Nagoriiinski near Kumanovo
Sarandaporski in the same neighbourhood the Church of St. George
on the River Spreva in Skoplje St. Constantine's in Skoplje the
Church of St. Nikita Martyr near Skoplje. Dusan built the Chm-ch
the Monastery of Treskavac near
of Our Blessed Lady in Tetovo
the Monastery of Zr::e near Prilep the Church of St. John
Prilep
Preteca near Serez. Tsar Uros built the Church of Our Blessed Lady
;

King Vukasin and his sons built the Church of St.

Skoplje.
Demitrius (Marko's Monastery) near Skoplje. Tsar Simeon (Sinisa)
built the Churches of the Holy Archangel and St. Elias in Kostur and
the Church of Our Blessed Lady in Janjina. Uglesa built the Monastery of Samotrepa. Constantine Dejanovic built the Monastery of
Osogovo near Kriva Palanka. Despot Oliver built the Monastery
Hrelja built the Monastery of Eilo and the
of Lesnovo near Istip.
Chnrch of the Holy Archangel in Istip. Novak built the Church of
Our Blessed Lady on the Isle Mali Grad in Lake Prespa, and so oh,
in

MACEDONIA

66

are classified as examples of Serbian architecture, Just the

same

as the monasteries in other Serbian countries.

of these edifices are to-day in ruins

Many

but so far as they

have been preserved they bear witness to the high level

of Serbian architecture and artistic taste at the time.

them

The images
And they bear

in

sentations

Serbian

of

are

also

Serbian in character.

yet another Serbian sign, viz. the repre-

kings

and

w^orthies,

and

the

Serbian legends on those pictures.

When

building churches

and monasteries

in

Mace-

donia, the Serbian kings and princes liberally endowed

them with money and other property, such as villages

and tolls on produce, thus affording them facilities for
becoming centres of education and learning. They were
the seats of schools and literary studies.

Many

Serbian

books on various subjects were penned within their walls.

' The
Bulgarian agents have destroyed many of the paintings
representing Serbian kings and princes and the legends referring
Of those
to them in the churches and monasteries of Macedonia.

which have been preserved we

will mention the paintings representSerbian Archbishop of Serbia those of Tsar

Uros and King Marko in the Church of St. Demitrius neai* Skoplje
that of King Milutin in the Church of St. George Nagoricinski repre-

ing St. Sava, the

first

Queen Jelena, and the Kraljevic Uros in

the Monastery of St. Nicholas near Skoplje; paintings of Tsar Uros
and King Vukasin in the Church of St. Nicholas in Psaca (near
Kumanovo)
paintings representing Tsar Dusan, Tsaritsa Jelena,
Despot Oliver and his wife Marija in the Monastery of Lesnovo
those of Tsar Dusan, Tsaritsa Jelena, and their son Uros in the
Monastery of St. John Preteca near Serez
painting representing
King Vukaein in the Church of the Holy Archangel in Prilep, and
the picture of King Marko iu the church near Prilep. Paintings
representing Stephan Nemanja, St. Sava, Stephan Decanski, King
sentations of King Dusan,

MUutin, Tsar Uros, Milos Obilic, etc., have been preserved in the
churches and monasteries in Skopska Crna Gora (Montenegro).
" Everywhere these pictures were given the most prominent positions " (Srpska Kraljevska Aliademija, " Naselja Srpskih Zemalja ")
(" Settlement of the Serbian Lands"), vol. iii. pp. 500-507.

SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULE

67

Besides those written in the Macedonian monasteries,

many contemporary Serbian books written elsewhere

have also been preserved.

In

of

all

these

it

is

men-

tioned that they were written during the reign of such

and such a Serbian ruler, or prince of the Church, and

on Serbian territory. Not one of them mentions Bulgars,
except in so far as some of these books commemorate
victories over the Bulgars.

Speaking of the Serbian

donia,

we must not

literary

forget

important among them,

Dusan's

Serbian

Code.

literature

This

and

mention

in

the

Macemost

perhaps the most important

of all the Serbian literary records

viz.

monuments

to

the Middle Ages,

of

celebrated

civilization

achievement

was

compiled

of

in

Macedonia, in Skoplje and Serez, at the State Counof 1349 and 1354.
Under the Bulgarian rule Macedonia was a mere
province of secondary importance, a march of the
Bulgarian Empire. Under the Serbian rule Macedonia
was the centre of the life of the Empire. As soon as
cils '(Sabor)

King Milutin had taken Skoplje he made it the capital

Dusan spent nearly the whole of his reign
of Serbia.
in Macedonia, where he had many royal residences.
In Prilep he built an Imperial palace for himself. The
winters of 1354 and 1355 he spent in his palace at
Serez was the residence of Tsaritsa Jelena,
Serez.
Dusan's wife. She continued to Uve there even after
she had taken the veil. Serez was subsequently the
Prilep was the permanent
capital of Jovan UgljeSa.
King Marko. Branko
and
King
Vukasin
capital of
Mladenovic made Ochrid his capital, and all the other
'

See Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi i Natpisi " (" Old Serbian
"), Nos. 34, 43, 56, 76, 102, 103, 4944.

Inscriptions and Notes

MACEDONIA

68

Serbian princes

who

ruled

in

Macedonia likewise had

their capitals there.

Most important events

took place

in

and the

life,

in

Serbia's

domestic history

Macedonia, the heart of Serbian State

fate

of

the Serbian nation was decided

In

within her borders.

Macedonia were held those

Serbian State Assemblies or Councils (Sabor= Assembly,

Council

Srpske

Sabor Srpski

Council

Serbian
of

Serbian Council

Land Council

the Fatherland,

actually called in old historic

Sabor otacastvija

as

Sabor Zemlje

these

assemblies

records)

at

are

which most

decisions were taken.

We have already
two of these Councils, those of Skoplje and
which Dusan's Code was compiled. At the

far-reaching
referred to
Serez, at

Council of Skoplje in 1346, Serbia was proclaimed an

Empire, and Dusan crowned the

first

Serbian Tsar.

At the same Council the Archbishopric of Serbia was

raised to the rank of a Patriarchate.

The Bishopric

of

Lesnovo was created at the Council of Skoplje in 1347.

At the Council of Serez in 1354 a new Patriarch was
appointed. A Council was held in Krupiste, south of
Kostur, in 1355.

In 1357 there was another Council

in Skoplje, and so forth.

It

her

was
full

in

Macedonia that Serbia not only achieved

strength and significance, but also her complete

development. It was there that on Easter

Sunday, April 17, 1346, Serbia proclaimed herself an

external

Empire

at the State Council in Skoplje.

The

greatest

day in Serbia's past was celebrated in Macedonia, when

Serbia became an Empire and the Serbian King and

Queen were proclaimed Tsar and Tsaritsa. There the

new Serbian Imperial Palace became the equal of that
in

Constantinople

attendant nobility.

in

splendour,

ceremonial,

and

its

SERBIAN AND BULGARIAN RULE

69

Such are the memories bequeathed to Macedonia by

the Serbian rule. While national tradition in Macedonia
does not

retain

Bulgarian

rule,

memento

even the slightest

it

the

of

cherishes naught but events from the

Serbian past, and none but heroes of ^Serbian history.

Such was the Serbian

rule in Macedonia.
*

Macedonia undoubtedly also influenced Serbia. But

even here we find no trace of anything Bulgarian. It
was purely a Greek influence. Macedonia is an old
Greek province. Although after the immigration of
the Slavs the population became Slav in the majority,
yet Greek civilization remained strong within her. Very
frequently in the cities the Greeks were in the majority.

They

already possessed Christianity

commerce, and administration were

All

of

During the Serbian

Macedonia.

For

this

in their hands.

all

subsequently passed over to the" Serbs in

this

memory

power,

learned professions,

higher civilization, the

literature,

ecclesiastical

rule in

Macedonia the

quite fresh.
Greek domination was
reason Macedonia is sometimes referred to

of the

still

as the " Greek country " in old

were the Greeks or Greek

Nor

Serbian records.

literature in

any way

sup-

pressed by the Serbian sovereigns. The latter styled

themselves rulers of the " Serbs and Greeks." The State
ceremonial,

official titles,

usage of that

age

the

life of

the Court and Serbian

many ways

in

betray the

Greek

This was Serbia's experience in conquering

influence.
Macedonia, an experience which continued to gain
strength in time,

in

spite of

her being already under

the influence of Byzantine culture.

Of the Bulgars and

Bulgarian influence in Macedonia, Serbia felt nothing,

nor could she have felt anything, for indeed there was

none

left in

Macedonia.

VII

TURKISH RULE IN MACEDONIA

Serbian
of the Bulgars under Turkish rule
not arrested by Turkish conquest Macedonians
remain Serbian under Turkish rule Significance of the independent Serbian Patriarchate for the Serbian nation during the
Turkish rule Macedonia an integral part of the Serbian

Complete disappearance
national

life

Patriarchate

WITH

Macedonia under the Turkish

domination, every connection between her and
Serbia was severed. Surely this was the moment for
the Macedonians to prove what they truly were. And
they proved it. During the whole time of the Turkish
rule in Macedonia, the Macedonians have remained Serbs.
Meantime there were no causes at work- which might have
the

fall

of

wrought changes to the advantage of the Bulgars. The

Bulgarian Empire was conquered by the Turkish during
the Turkish invasion of 1393, before the final

Macedonia.

Turkish

known

of

Bulgaria disappeared completely under the

rule,

as

fall

and

for centuries she

though she did not

exist.

was as utterly un" Under the Turks,

the Bulgars ceased to exist as a nation

they were only

a host of individuals, oppressed, vanquished,

to abject misery.

Even

the designation

'

and reduced

nation

'

(jazik)

had disappeared, and its place was taken by the word

khora, which means a multitude, a rabble of ignorant
Such
folk, condemned to labour and to forced labour."
70

TURKISH RULE IN MACEDONIA

71

the description of the Bulgars during the Turkish

IB

by the Bulgarian historian M. Drinov, a Bulgar

rule,

by nationality, Professor

and the

first

Harkow

at the University of

Minister of Public Instruction in resusci-

tated Bulgaria.^

How

could a Bulgaria in this condition

have had any power to Bulgarize the Serbian people of

Macedonia under the Turkish rule
'?

As regards the

was

Serbs, the case

Therefore

different.

the Serbian sentiment of the Macedonians never flagged.

The Serbian
the

fall of

Macedonia survived

principalities north of

Macedonia

for

many

3^ears (Serbia until 1459,

Bosnia until 1463, Hercegovina until 1482, Zeta until

So long as these States survived, Macedonia
1499).
looked upon them as a pledge of

hope for liberation

from the Turks and the return of the conditions which
prevailed before the Turkish conquest.
The story of the
fall of

the Serbian States teems with glorious examples

of heroic fighting

and

self-sacrifice,

which have enriched

the popular traditions of Macedonia even as they enriched

Nor

those of every other Serbian country.

disappear under the Turks.

Turkish Empire in the Balkan Peninsula

woven with

did the Serbs

Tlie entire history of the

Serbia's share, in

is

strongly inter-

which the Macedonians

always played a thoroughly Serbian part.

staunch guardians of

their

national

They were

Serbian

feeling,

and monasteries, Serbian culture

Finally, they were also warriors for the

their Serbian churches

and

history.

liberation of the Serbian people

from the Turkish yoke.

Under the Turkish rule it was an accepted fact

the nation which possessed an autonomous Church
retained

its

status and significance as a nation.

who had no autonomous Church were simply

'

" Periodiceskoe Spisanie,"

iv. p.

(in

that
also

Christians
so

Bulgarian).

many

MACEDONIA

72

Turkish subjects, without any nationahty or status of

The Bulgars had no autonomous church

own.

their

under the Turkish

When

rule.

the Turks conquered the

Bulgarian Empire they likewise abolished the Bulgarian

autonomous Patriarchate

in

Trnovo, and

affiliated it to

the Greek Patriarchate in Constantinople.

of the chief reasons

fatherland

why

"had no

This

is

the Bulgars even in their

one

own

existence as a nation" under the

Turks, but only as a " host of individuals."

Even under

the Turkish rule the Serbs retained their autonomous

The Serbian autonomous

Church.

whose

spiritual

continued in

Patriarchate of Ipek,

powers extended over Macedonia

many

respects to

embody the

role

formerly by the Serbian State.

Herein

why

everywhere,

Serbian

the

nation

has

also,

played

the reason

lies

including

Macedonia, preserved the national Serbian consciousness.

The autonomous Churches

possessed a vast significance

They were,

under the Turkish regime.

so far as Turkish

abuses permitted, a kind of imperium in imperio.

They

were absolutely independent as regards the religious and

national affairs of their adherents. In all the autonomous
Christian Churches in Turkey the election of the Patri-

arch and

all

other dignitaries of the Church was free.

The Sultan was merely entitled to confirm them in their

The Patriarch was the highest spiritual

dignities.

authority,

and the supreme guardian

He was

interests of his people.

freedom to exercise his

protect

national

so long as

spiritual functions,

traditions,

these did

the Turkish State.

of

the national

not only allowed

full

but also to

customs, and institutions,

not clash with the interests of

The

ecclesiastical

entitled to administer justice.

Not only

and the clergy came under their

authorities were
religious matters

jurisdiction, but they

TURKISH RULE IN MACEDONIA

were the
arisinjr

temporal courts of justice in

real

from the

rites

and

73

matters

all

Church.

ordinances of the

All

questions pertaining to marriage and divorce were dealt

Even

with by the spiritual courts.

the question of the

dowry, the maintenance of a divorced wife, and the care

of the children of divorced parents were dealt with by

They were empowered

these courts.

also to administer

the laws dealing with wills and bequests, the question of

inheritance, the adoption of children, and everything else
in

The

any way connected with religious observance.

Church was

also the authority

in educational matters.

Schools, letters and literature were the exclusive province

of the clergy.

nation possessing no Church autonomy

under the Turks was also without the means of

guarding

its

everywhere

existed

The Church

civilization.

under

Turkish

the

parish,
rule,

safe-

which

was an

whose scope the nation was entitled

and national needs. Through
it the higher dignitaries of the Church were in touch
with the common people. From the patriarch on his
institution within

to minister to its spiritual

throne to the poorest of the poor

and

all

all

were in

direct touch,

were imbued with the same religious and national

spirit.

The Serbian

prelates

were

the

chiefest

and most

eloquent representatives of the unity and solidarity of

the nation.

its

natural envoys and

relations

with the Turkish

As such they were

representatives in

Government and

all

its

its officials.

On

behalf of their people

they concluded treaties with the Turks, protested against

acts of injustice, offered themselves as hostages for the

sake of the people, and exposed themselves to endless

dangers.

The

lesser clergy

and the people obeyed them

they submitted to the guidance of the princes of

the

1i

MACEDONIA

Church and every notable act was connected with them.

church were built, if a picture were painted in a
church, if a book were written, copied or transcribed, or
a well constructed, there was always inscribed upon them
that this was work done during the reign of such and
such a Patriarch or Bishop. The names of the Serbian
prelates, as inscribed in these legends, seem as though
they were the names of temporal sovereigns.
So great was the part played by the autonomous
Churches under the Turkish rule. Such a p^rt devolved
also upon the autonomous Church of Serbia, whose
domain at all times included Macedonia also.
If a

VII {Continued)

MACEDONIA FROM THE LOSS OF HER INDEPENDENCE TO THE SUPPRESSION OF THE

SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE (1413-1459)
The roh

of the Serbian State devolves

Character
among

Serbian

the

of

upon the Serbian Patriarchate

the Macedonian clergy

Serbian

Serbian sentiment
sentiment among the

Patriarchate

The Macedonians seek refuge only among

among kinsmen with the Serbs Part played
by Macedonians among the Serbs as a whole
Macedonian people
Serbs

They

feel

MACEDONIA'S
was not
about 1413.

from

the

independence,

totally

as

we have

seen,

Turks

until

destroyed by the

After the Turks had wrested Macedonia

Serbs,

the

of

role

the

Serbian

State

in

Macedonia was taken over by the autonomous Patri-

Not until
on the Morava and

archate of Serbia, whose seat was in Ipek.

the

fall

of

the

Danube

in

1459

Serbian
did

State

Turks

the

also

dissolve

the

Serbian Patriarchate.

During the time

of

the

Serbian Patriarchate, none

but Serbs occupied the Patriarchal throne.

All episcopal

thrones dependent upon the Patriarchate See, were

wise occupied by

like-

who were Serbs. All the

monks were Serbs. In all Serbian

bishops

parish priests and the

countries, as well as in Macedonia,

all

the churchmen

taught and upheld the religious, intellectual, and national

traditions of the old Serbian State
75

life.

With

the help

MACEDONIA

76
of the

populace they built

new churches and

and restored the old ones.^

monasteries,

Within these churches and

monasteries, divine service continued to be celebrated in

the same tongue as

age, carried
to

had been

it

The

Serbian Empire.

in

the days of the

clergy, the only scholars of that

on their Old Serbian

literary tradition,

adding

and transcribing the extensive material of Old Serbian

Serbian literary records of those days are to

literature.

be found in Skoplje, Mlado Nagoricino, and elsewhere.^

Hov/ strong was the Serbian sentiment of the Macedonian

scribes and chroniclers of those days may be shown by an
example. In 1434 a monk of Skoplje who lived in the
village of

made

Vitomirci, near Skoplje,

of the Gospels.

a copy of one

In dating his work he mentions that

"in the seventh year after the death of the

Honourable Despot Stephan (Stephan, son of Lazar,
Despot of Serbia, 1389-1427), in the Empire of the infidel
he wrote

it

What

Emperor Murat."3
after the fall of

caused this monk, so long

Macedonia, and so

far

from the

free

Serbian States, to remember the Serbian Prince, and to

mention the death

work?

of

Despot

Stephan in dating his

Does he not give expression

to

the general

popular feeling of the Macedonians towards the Serbian

princes ?

Side by side with the Serbian sympathies of the

Macedonian clergy we find records of similar feelings
among the mass of the people. The Serbian people did
not fare well in "the Empire of the mfidel Emperor
'

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Natpisi "

("

Old Serbian

Inscriptions and Notes "), i. Nos. 254, 273.

J. H. Vasiljevic,
" Pritep i nijegova Okolina " (" Prilep and its Environs "), p. 84.
^

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari

Inscriptions and Notes

3

Ibid.,

No. 261.

"),

i.

Srpski Zapisi

Nos. 261, 313,

Natpisi " (" Old Serbian

etc.

HER INDEPENDENCE

THGE LOSS OF
That

Murat."

emigration

of

why

is

so

Turkish conquest

Serbian

of

proceeded

afterwards
of Bulgaria

many

from

fled

began during the

in

in

is

and

1371,

Until

uninterruptedly.

Bulgaria

the

fall

the

deciding

Under

and Serbia.

such circumstances the chance of refuge

people

days of the

1393 there were two countries open to

the Macedonian refugees

own

The stream

it.

earliest

territory

77

among

There

factor.

emigrants from Macedonia to Bulgaria

one's

were

they

no
fled

all

One of the first notable refugees was the

Lady Jefimia, widow of the Serbian Despot Ugljesa
whose throne was in Serez, as we have said before.
Serbia.

to

Vuk

Brankovic, the son of Branko

Ochrida and

of

its

neighbourhood,

Mladenovic, lord
is

mentioned

sub-

sequently to 1371 as living in Serbia as lord of part of

Kosovo Polje and the surrounding

What

applies to

applies also to the nation at

likewise fled to Serbia, or in

After the battle on the Marica in 1371,

Serbs.

numbers

of

men from Macedonia

plain

and household

families

Some

of the refugees

negro,

and others

goods

and

of

its

were

with

took refuge in

great
their

Serbia.

from Macedonia went to Monte-

to other Serbian countries.

ever they went they were received

party

territory.^

we have mentioned,
large.
The common people
any case took refuge among

the refugees

Macedonians

as

"Wher-

true Serbs.

who emigrated from Kratovo

surroundings and fled to the Serbs in Bagusa,

once received as Ragusan citizens,3 and this was

a privilege never extended by the Ragusans to aliens.
at

"Vuk Brankovic," Belgrade, 1888, p. 15.

G. S. Rakovski, " Gorski Putnik " ("A Traveller through the
Mountains "), Novi Sad, 1857, pp. 267-268 (in Bulgarian).
'

Lj. Kovacevid,

St.

Novakovic,

pp. 184-185,

" Srbi

Turci "

("Serbs

and

Turks"),

MACEDONIA

78

The descendants

of

emigrants very

Macedonian

quently distinguished themselves and became

of the Serbian nation.

one

of

the greatest

fre-

the pride

ancestors of Dinko Zlataric,

The
of the

Serbian poets of Kagusa,

emigrated from Macedonia to Eagusa in those days.^

All this happened while the Bulgarian Empire still
existed.

It

due merely to chance that

emigration from Macedonia was in spite
surely not

is

the stream of

of the existence of a free Bulgaria

directed exclusively

towards Serbia and the rest of the Serbian countries.

This trend of the stream of emigrants from among
the Serbs of Macedonia towards Serbia and Serbian
countries,

which

was due

persisted equally after the

It

is

noteworthy

also a

to

the

fall of

or

the Bulgarian Empire.

Eoumania

Serbian countries,

to

kinship,

fact that after the fall of their

Empire the Bulgars themselves

Serbia

national

and, later on,

did not

emigrate

to

but went mostly to

from the eighteenth century

onward, to South Bussia.^

In their new home among the Serbs, the Macedonian

emigrants felt as though they were in their own country.

During the

Turkish

domination

Serbs of

the

other

Serbian countries, too, found themselves compelled to

emigrate elsewhere, especially to

Hungary.

Wherever

they went, the emigrants from Macedonia and those

from other Serbian lands felt as though they were
one nation. Possessing the same language, the same
customs, a

common

P. Budmani,
Dominic Zlataric
'

" Djela

past,

common

historic

Dominika Zlatarica

"

("

traditions

The Works

of

Zagreb, 1899, p. ix.

^
G. S. Rakovski, " Gorski Putnik " (" A Traveller through the
Mountains "), p. 271. A. N. Pipin and V. D. Spasovic, " Istorija
Slavjanskih Literatur" ("History of Slav Literature"), Petrograd,
"),

1879, p. 139 (in Russian).

THE LOSS OF HER INDEPENDENCE

and
their

common
common

79

aspirations touching the preservation of

nationality, they established their Serbian

parishes jointly

jointly

they built churches, opened

schools and jointly they faced every danger.

This fact

was noted long ago even by the Bulgars.^

Among the emigrant Serbs some of those who had
originally
emigrated
from Macedonia distinguished
themselves

considerably.

After

the

death

of

the

King Marko of Macedonia in 1394, his

Dmitar and Andrejas left Macedonia and
settled
among the Ragusan Serbs. The Ragusans
received them cordially and delivered to them a certain
treasure which their father, unknown to them, had
Serbian

brothers

in former years entrusted to the care of Eagusa.

From

Kagusa the Macedonian princes proceeded to Hungary,

where there were already large numbers of Serbian
emigrants from Macedonia and other Serbian territories.
Historic records of 1404 and 1407 mention Dimitrije
(Dmitar) as Grand Zupan of Zarand and Royal
Commandant of the city of Villagos, where there were

many

Serbian emigrants.^

G. S. Rakovski, one of the greatest Bulgarian chauvinists,

mentions that the Macedonian emigrants in Srem and South
Hungary called themselves Serbs and Greeks (G. S. Rakovski,
" Gorski Putnik," pp. 267-268).
' St, Novakovic, " Srbi i Turci " (" Serbs and Turks
"), p. 247.
'

VII {Continued)

MACEDONIA FROM THE SUPPRESSION OF THE

SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE TO ITS RESTORATION

(1459-1557)

Suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate and its supersession by the

Archiepiscopate of Ochrida Greek character of the Archiepiscopate Slav and Serbian clergy in it Detriment caused
to the Serbian nation by the suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate Vitality of the Serbian nation The Archiepiscopate
Sad plight of the Serbian people in
of Ochrida "Serbicized"

Serbian literature barely kept alive in Macedonia

Serbian sentiment of the clergy in Macedonia Serbian historic
records and sources call the Macedonians " Serbs " Other
historic sources do the same
those days

the Turks suppressed the Serbian Patriarchate

IN and transferred
the administration of the Church to
14:59

the self-governing Archiepiscopal See of Ochrida.

The Archbishopric

of

Ochrida was founded by

St.

Clement {oh. 916), a disciple of SS. Cyril and Method,

who had come to Macedonia from Moravia. At the
time of

its

foundation the Archiepiscopal See received

the rank of a Patriarchate.

the

Bulgarian rule

in

Bulgarian Patriarchate.

As

it

was founded under

the
it was called

Macedonia,

The

official title of

the Arch-

bishop of

Ochrida was "Patriarch (afterwards

bishop) of

Justiniana Prima and

the Bulgarians

Ochrida

ruled

in

was the head

all

Bulgaria."

Arch-

While

Macedonia the Patriarch

of

the

Bulgarian

of

Church.

THE SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE

When

Macedonians

the

expelled

the

81

from

Bulgars

Macedonia in 969, Ochrida remained the independent

Church of the Empire of Samuel and his successors.
When the Emperor of Byzantium in 1018 overthrew
Samuel's State, he respected the self-governing Patriarchate of Ochrida and maintained
rights

and

territories,

an archbishopric.

it

in its autocephalous

merely reducing

it

to the

rank of

The contemporary Patriarch John, a

Slav from Debar, from being a Patriarch was reduced

to being

Right up to his death in 1037

an Archbishop.

this autonomous Archbishopric

was maintained. After his death the See of Ochrida
assumed the character of a Greek Church. The Emperor
Michael IV Paphlagonian of Byzantium, even deprived

the Slav character of

the people and clergy of the diocese of Ochrida of the

right of electing their archbishop,

ment dependent upon the throne

From
century,

and made

of

his appoint-

Byzantium.

that time until the second half of the eighteenth

when

the Archbishopric

was

abolished,

all

its

archbishops were Greeks, with the exception of a few

who were

Serbs.

was Greek. I

The

From 1018

were under the See

retained

its

official

Greek

of

language of the prelacy

to 1219 all Serbian territories

Ochrida, but

character.

When

nevertheless

it

in

1219

the

independence of the Serbian Church was proclaimed,

the Archbishop of Ochrida protested, as head of

Greek Church.

The See

of Ochrida preserved

its

the

Greek

character also during the time of the Serbian rule in

Macedonia.

Moreover, the Serbian Tsar Dusan respected

B. Prokic, " Prvi ochridski arhiepiskop Jovan " " Jovan, first
Archbishop of Ochrida" (" Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije,"
vol. Ixxxviii. pp. 268, 284, 296).
P. Popovi6, "Serbian Macedonia," London, 1916, pp. 22, etc.
'

MACEDONIA

82
its

autonomy and

all

rights

its

and

Arch-

privileges.

bishop Nicholas of Ochrida assisted at Dusan's coronation

as Tsar,

and

also took part

the Serbian

in

State

Councils, like the other Serbian prelates, but his

continued

This

to

be

" Hierarch of

Greek character

Ochrida

was

the

of

maintained

Greek throne."

the

See

Archiepiscopal

also

title

during

of

Turkish

the

rule.

The Archiepiscopal See

of

Ochrida had no further

connection with the Bulgars after their expulsion from

Macedonia

in 969.

Archbishop's

title

attribute " Bulgarian "

The

a relic, preserved like

all

the

in

a faded tradition,

represented only

other similar relics in

titles,

epithet " Bul-

without significance or importance. ^

The

garian " was retained in the

the Archbishop of

title

of

Ochrida equally when Ochrida became a recognized Slav

See,

when

it

became Greek, and when

received a Greek character.

definitely

it

In 1186 the Bulgars received

an independent Patriarchate

of their

own

in

Trnovo

in

Bulgaria, but nevertheless the Archbishop of Ochrida

continued to style himself "Primate of

Thus he

all

Bulgaria."

styled himself during the Serbian rule, during

the Turkish rule,

at a

time

when

Serbian archbishops

were occupying the archiepiscopal throne

of

Ochrida,

and all the time until it was suppressed.

In speaking of the Greek character of the See
Ochrida,

we

are

referring

archbishops and bishops.

'

i.

only

to

The minor

its

prelates

clergy,

of
its

who were

C. Jirecek, "

p. 53.

Staatund Gesellschaft im mittelalterlichen Serbien,"

B. Prokic, " Prvi ohridski arhiepiskop Jovan," p. 279.

- The Byzantine historian N. Gregoras says that after the Bulgars

were expelled from Macedonia the epithet " Bulgarian " was retained
in the title of the Archbishop of Ochrida merely as a relic
(N. Gregoras, ed. Bonn, p. 27).

THE SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE

83

the people and attended

in direct contact with

to the

were not Greek,

formed the
immedialmost
Slav
compact population. They were
ately after the arrival of the Slavs in Macedonia even

religious ministrations in the parishes,

but

Slav,

in

all

parts where

Slavs

the

before the foundation of the Patriarchate of Ochrida.^

When

Christianity

Slavs and the Slav

.

Archbishopric

first

St.

spread

the Macedonian

among

Clement established the Slav

of Ochrida,

the majority of

the clergy

were Slavs. During the Greek rule in Macedonia, the

archbishops of Ochrida persecuted the Slav clergy and
letters,

but without success, because both were favoured

by the people. ^ During the Serbian rule in Macedonia

Under the
the minor clergy of Ochrida were Serbian.
as it had
just
remained
simply
Turkish rule all this
been under the Serbian rule. Many legends and infrom the immediate vicinity of the archiepiscopal diocese of Ochrida, dating from the time of
scriptions

the Turkish rule, are in Serbian.3

was an Archiepiscopal See of Ochrida with Greek

prelates and a Slav minor clergy to which the Turks
It

subjected the Serbian Patriarchate in 1459.

By

the loss of the Patriarchate the Serbian people

sustained a grievous blow.

The head

of

the

Serbian

Church, the guardian of the national conscience and

had ceased to exist. The Archiepiscopal

Ochrida was merely a religious institution, in-

civilization,

See of
dependent as regards administration, finance,
civilization of which was Greek.
'

'

It

etc.,

C. Jirecek, "GeBch. d. Serben," i. pp. 174-175.

B. Prokid, " Prvi ohridski arhiepiskop Jovan " ("Jovan,

Archbishop of Ochrida

"),

the

did not represent

first

p. 296.

3 Lj,
Stojanovic, " Stari srpski zapisi i natpisi "
Inscriptions and Notes"), Nos. 300, 4G1, 522, etc.

("Old Serbian

MACEDONIA

84

Greek national claims. Greek national interests were

represented by the Greek Patriarchate in Constantinople, and between the two there was never-ending

The

friction.

Greek Patriarchate

Constantinople

in

was hostile to the See of Orchrida as well as to the

In

Patriarchate.

Serbian

intrigues

its

the

against

Archiepiscopal See of Ochrida the Greek Patriarchate

was finally successful in having it suppressed by the

Turks in 1767. Still, the Patriarchate of Ochrida had

much

been

not

aspirations.

with

it.

The

protector

of

Serbian

In 1531

were

bishop

Serbian

Serbian

of

people

national

not

satisfied

endeavoured

to

restore the Serbian Patriarchate.

After the Serbian Church was deprived of

pendence, the nation was

and only to
it

left

own moral

its

owe the preservation

of

adverse

Greek

The

times

its

character

of

the

consciousness.

national
so

impairing

in

Archiepiscopacy

had even

extended

Patriarchate,

Serbian.

The

its

over

the

territory

population

natural

result

of

By

been

having

the

of

the

Ochrida.

in former times

in the very heart of Serbian territory.

power

even in

that

great

succeeded

it

diocese of Ochrida

absolutely unprotected,

strength and vitality did

That strength, however, was

those

inde-

its

its

Serbian

became

overwhelmingly

this

was that even

of

around the archiepiscopal throne of Ochrida the breath

Already
of Serbian influence began to make itself felt.
in 1466, only seven

years after the dissolution of the

Serbian Patriarchate, Archbishop Marko of Ochrida

caused a Serbian translation to be made of the "Canon
of

far

the great

not
'

been

Archiepiscopal
transcribed

Church,"
into

which

had so

but

existed

Serbian,

" Glas Srpake Kraljevske Akademije," vol.

Iviii.

p.

282.

THE SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE

Why

only in Greek. ^
require the

"Canon

85

should the Archbishop of Ochrida

of the

Great Church" in Serbian

in Greek?
when he already possessed
But this is not all. From this time forward we
it

Archbishop

find Serbia represented in the titles of the

Already in 1466 we
theus of Ochrida styled prince " of the Serbian land,"
and "Archbishop ... of the Serbs." ^ This style was
find

of Ochrida.

Archbishop Doro-

likewise adopted by succeeding archbishops of Ochrida.

Moreover, the Archbishops of Ochrida were perfectly

acquainted with the Serbian language. In 1548, as
Archbishop Prohor of Ochrida was staying in Janjevo

own hand,

in Kosovo, he with his

language of

literary

" Tetraevangel "

he

that

certain

the period,

was

(The
the

at

tailor,

presented this

Four
time

have

positive

more.

The

bishop

of

the

archate of

entry in a
the

to

Janjevo

but not

and

effect

that

records

one

Ochrida in

two.

of
is

He was

We

there

were

who became Arch-

after

having

The second was

previously

nephew

Serbian Patriarch of the restored

Serbia.

find

throne.

Perhaps

Simeon,

1550,

we

least,

upon the archiepiscopal

first

first

Gospels)
in

Last,

been Metropolitan of Eoska.

of

made an

Peter by name, had on that occasion

Evangel to the Church of the Blessed

Archangel in Janievo.4
Serbs installed

in the purest Serbian

Patri-

appointed Archbishop

of

Ochrida in 1574.S
Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi i Natpisi " ("Old Serbian
Inscriptions and Notes"), No. 328.
' " Glasnik
Srpskog Ucenog DruStva," vol. vii. pp. 177, 178

vol. xlvii. p. 271.

3

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Inscriptions and Notes

*

Ibid.,

No. 547.

Natpisi" ("Old Serbian

Nos. 547, 552, etc.

P. Popovic, "Serbian Macedonia," pp. 27-28.

"),

MACEDONIA

86

Thus,

instead

of

protection from the

deriving

See

of Ochrida, the Serbian people created a protection for

itself

out of

its

own

was not interrupted

tradition

national

In this way the Serbian

strength.

Macedonia

in

even during the time while the Serbian Patriarchate

was suppressed. The churches built by the people
during

that

were

period

decorated with pictures

of

Simeon (Stephan Nemanja)

Sava (Stephan Nemanja's son, first archbishop

Serbian saints, especially St.

and

St.

Serbia).^

of

The Turks were at this time at the zenith of their

power. The Serbian people without leaders, without

Church or any other national

national

spiritual and
through a grievous time.

intellectual Hfe,

her

waste,

laid

overthrown

with

centre

of

without directive passed

Deserted

inhabitants

driven

weeds this

is

villages,

into

churches

exile,

the picture of

fields

Serbia

Learning and letters had practically

Only in the recesses of the mountains,
and in sequestered spots removed from the trail of the
Turks, do we still find a few feeble remnants of

during that age.

disappeared.

The

both.

during

this

the Macedonian

output of

literary

period

is

represented

insignificant transcriptions,

only

by

Serbs
a

few

mostly of sacred writings,

that the literary contact

and
From the year 1515
might not be lost altogether.
"
Troparnik " (collection of sacred songs)
we have a
" book
in
transcribed
Prayer,"
of
a
in iStip

these

made only

so

in

1526,
in

the

John
in
'

Monastery

Zlatousti

the
P.

Kratovo;

(St.

Monastery

" Mineos,"

transcribed in 1545,

and the Sermons of

Slepce
Chrysostom), transcribed in 1547

of

of

St.

John Preteca, and

Kondakov, " Makedonija," Petrograd,

p.

186

(in

Russian).

few

THE SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE

more

similar works.

The

scribes

were

all

87

Macedo-

nians. *

much

This was as

wretched
sentiment.
of that
for

hand

it

sufficient

to

The scanty notes

in

reveal

their

Serbian

the books and

MSS.

time sorrowfully, as from a living grave, sigh

the glories

the

of

the

of

though laconically
spirit

if

state of

other

the

as the Serbian nation could achieve

was not enough to improve the

the Macedonian Serbs, it was on

But

in that age.

Serbian

past

in

Macedonia

brief they clearly reveal the Serbian

nation in

Macedonia.

"

O most

pious

Tsar Stephan, where art thou now ? " is the cry of a

short entry penned by a sixteenth-century monk of
the Monastery of Treskovac, near Prilep, on the margin
of

an original diploma from the hand of the Serbian

Tsar Dugan.3

Thus

Macedonians give expression to their

did the

Serbian sentiments in those dark days.

Serbian writers of that age, no matter whence they
hailed,

Macedonia

considered

Serbian

country.

Vladislav Gramatik, a Serbian writer of the second half

of the fifteenth century, looks

upon Macedonia

Kef erring

the Marica, he says that

to

the battle of

as Serbian.

"the Serbian army was beaten to its knees (lit. feet) on

the river which is called the Marica."4
In a short
history of the Serbian Tsars, dating from 1503, we find
"

Srpski Zapisi i Natpisi " (" Old Serbian

Nos. 425, 455, 532, 546, 573, 5611, etc.
- Some
of the scribes say that they are from Debar (Serb.,
" Rodom iz Debra ") some say they are from the region of Debar
(Serb., "iz debarskog predela") " Stari Srpski Zapisi i Natpisi,"
Nos. 546, 573; one says he is from IStip (Serb., "iz Stipa"), ibid,,
'

Lj. Stojanovi6,

Sfcari

Inscriptions and Notes

"),

No. 425.
3 I. H.
<

Vasiljevic, " PrUep," p. 89.

" Glasnik Srpskog Uccnog Drustva,"

vo^. xxii. p. 287.

MACEDONIA

88

"the Serbs

On February

Serez''^ mentioned.

of

11,

1515, a pious Serbian youth from Kratovo was burned

by the Turks, because he refused to renounce his

faith.
The Serbian Church canonized him under the
name of St. George Kratovac (St. George of Kratovo).
In vi^riting the life-story of this saint, his countryman
alive

the priest Peja says that he was a Serb (of " Serbian
stock

There was in those days a Serbian printingIn view of the decline of Serbian

").2

press in Venice.

and

letters

1546 by

in

literature,

Bosnia,

Serbia,

(starehiia) great

tongue"

Vuk

Bukovic, the owner, appealed

letter to all notable Serbs of

Srem, and other

writers

and

elders

this (the Serbian)

him "old Serbian books written

the Serbian lands so that he

Foreign

Princes

and small who write in

to send

" Macedonia,

of

note

may

in

reprint them."3

and others who were

ac-

quainted with Balkan conditions at the time likewise

considered
fifteenth

Macedonia
century

Komnenos and

two

Serbian

monks

of

country.

Greek

In

the

nationality,

Prokles, wrote a history of the princes

Incidentally they mention that Dusan's halfSimeon was overthrown by Nikephoros his
brother-in-law, and exiled to Kostur.
Simeon settled
there, conquered several towns and made himself strong.
" When he had been joined by many Greeks, Serbs, and
Albanians " he gathered an army of some four or five
of Epirus.

brother

P. I. Safarik, " Pamatky drevniho pismenictva Jihoslovanuv,"

Prague, 1873, p. 55 (in Czech).
^ "Glasnik Srpskog UcenogDrustva," vol. xxi.
p. 115. On February
11, 1915, in the midst of the miseries of the present war, the
martyrdom of St. George Kratovac was solemnly commemorated
by the Kratovo inhabitants.
'

'

Lj.

Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Inscriptions and Notes"), No. 534.

NatpiBi " ("Old Serbian

THE SERBIAN PATRIARCHATE

89

"proclaimed

In

thousand men, and

his

narrative of the

historian L.

himself

battle of the

Tsar.''^

Marica, the Greek

Chalcocondyla says of King Vukasin and

Ugljesa that they were "Serbian vojvodes."^ Speaking

of Macedonia; the Hungarian historian Ant. Bonfini,
writing towards the end of the fifteenth century, says
(" Macedoniam quam
that " it is now called Serbia "

Serbiam nunc appellant

After

the

Macedonia

dissolution

remained

")

-3

of

the

Serbian

Serbian Patriarchate,
country,

and

its

in-

habitants remained Serbs.

'

'
3

" Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol. xiv. p. 238.

" L. Chalcocondylae Atheniensis Histor.," p. 30, ed. Bonn.
"Aut. Bonfini rcrum Hungaricarum," dec. i., lib. ix., Viennse,

1744, p. 248a.

VII {Continued)

MACEDONIA FROM THE BESTOBATION OF THE

SERBIAN PATBIABC HATE TO ITS SECOND
SUPPBESSION (1557-1766)

Restoration of the Serbian Patriarchate Jurisdiction of the

restored Serbian Patriarchate based on the principle of
the standard of
nationality Eeorganization of the Church
religion, literature, and national life raised within the jurisdiction
Patriarchate Increased importance of the
of the Serbian
Serbian Patriarchs Their relations with foreign PowersHard lot of the Serbs in Macedonia Macedonian missions

Russia for Serbian Churches These missions

The Serbian migrations Macecall themselves "Serbian"
donian emigrants everywhere call themselves " Serbian "
Relations between Macedonian emigrants and Macedonian
Serbs Migrations en masse from Macedonia to Austria under
soHcit help in

Arsenije III Serbian sentiment of Macedonian

emigrants in Austria Bole of Macedonians among the Serbs in
Austria Serbian historic records speak of Macedonians as
" Serbs " So do all non-Serbian historic records Suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate Protest by the Metropolitan
of Montenegro against this crime against the Serbian nation as
a whole, of which the Macedonians also form part

Patriarch

FOEwere

nearly one hundred years the Serbian people

Towards
from
the middle of the
Hercegovina, who had been taken away by the Turks
in his childhood and brought up as a Moslem, attained
left

without

their

sixteenth

the highest dignity in the

Patriarchate.

century

Turkish

Serb

Empire, that

of

Grand Vizier. This was the great Mehmed Sokolovic.

At the request of his brother Makarije, a monk in the
90

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

Monastery

of

Milesevo

and moved

Hercegovina,

in

own

perhaps also by sentimental regard for his

Mehmed

seat in Ipek, as before.

its

Patriarch of the restored Patriarchate was the

first

Vizier's

origin,

Sokolovic in 1557 obtained the restoration of

the Serbian Patriarchate with

The

91

own

brother Makarije.

But whereas formerly the power

of

the

Serbian

Patriarchate extended only as far as the frontiers of

the old Serbian

Patriarchate em-

the restored

State,

In establishing the
jurisdiction of the restored Patriarchate, the Turks were
guided by the principle of nationality. In accordance
with this principle the new Patriarchate embraced not
braced the entire Serbian nation.

only contemporary Serbia but

other Serbian lands

all

within the Turkish Empire, viz. Bosnia, Hercegovina,

Dalmatia, Slavonia, and the rest of the Serbian territory

Macedonia, as an

to-day included in Austria-Hungary.

integral part of the old Serbian

State and also on the

strength of the principle of nationality,

was likewise

placed under the

The impres-

Serbian

Patriarchate.

sion which the Turks derived

period

was

that

it

between her and the

Macedonia

of

was impossible

cities,

of

Serbian

and

princes

that

discriminate

rest of the Serbian countries.

every step in Macedonia the Turks

the graves

to

at

came upon
nobles,

or

At

either
their

churches, monasteries, bridges, and other buildings

linked with their

names

or fields

where the Serbs had

which popular tradition

connected with them, such as DuSan's Bridge in Skoplje,
Marko's Cave in the Demir Kapija, Marko's Footstep,
etc.
In the monasteries of Macedonia the monks
copied old Serbian MSS. and taught the Serbian

waged

battles,

language.

or other

spots

The common people

in their traditions spoke

MACEDONIA

92

only of the Serbian past, and had never in their lives

followed other than Serbian customs.
fore,

To whom,

there-

could the Turks have assigned Macedonia, except

to the Serbian Patriarchate ?

Zletovo,

Only

southern

the

Monastir,

Tetovo, Skoplje, Kratovo,

and Badoviste

Istip,

Debar,

part

and

were placed under

Prilep

it.

of

Macedonia Ochrida,
remained under the

Archiepiscopate of Ochrida.^

With

the restoration of the Patriarchate the Serbian

nation renewed

its

strength and vitality.

The Serbian

Patriarchs strenuously set about the reorganization of

the Serbian Church, which had greatly fallen into decay,

and

that

This

is

of

the

already

exhausted

Serbian

people.

not a history of the Serbian Patriarchs, but of

the Serbian people as a whole, and therefore

into their magnificent

work

we cannot go

for the Serbian nation.

We

what concerns Macedonia.

had the new Patriarch taken over the
administration of the Serbian Patriarchate than he at
once reorganized the Churches in Macedonia. He
restored the old bishoprics and created new ones,
attended to the building and restoring of churches and
monasteries and the improvement of church literature.
His successors followed zealously in his footsteps.
will limit ourselves solely to

No

sooner

Patriarchs and bishops visited the eparchies and sent

their

exarchs to study the condition of the churches,

monasteries, priests, and people.

The catalogue

The Church expanded

in

Macedonia.

in

Macedonia assumed considerable dimensions.^

'

'

of

literary

productions

The

P. Popovic, " Serbian Macedonia," p. 16.

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi i Natpisi " (" Old Serbian

Inscriptions

and Notes"), Nos. 5611, 5614, 5618, 812, 900, 2234,

629, 752, 1001.

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

"

Patriarchs set the example in writing books.

93

With

" they presented

books to the Churches

their own hands
and Monasteries of Macedonia.^ The trade in books
Already in about 1570 Skoplje
began to flourish.
possessed a bookseller's store, the depot of the Serbian

books printed by the Serbian printing press in Venice.3

Serbian

produced

books

From

mentioned.4

Macedonia

in

likewise

are

the highest dignitary of the Serbian

Church to the lowest peasant, contact and unanimity were

The

established.

Serbian nation experienced a

entire

vigorous religious and national revival.

In the restored Patriarchate the rule of the Serbian

Patriarchs was greater and more important than

been before.

The Patriarchs

did not merely

themselves to fostering and cherishing

faith

and

farther.

They began

had

confine

the Christian

went much

name, but they

Serbian

the

it

to labour for the organization of

Not unlike the

became
a kind of
Prince-Bishops of Montenegro, they
Serbian temporal rulers within the Turkish Empire. At

national defence against

the

Turks.

their word, entire Serbian counties rebelled against the

Turks, and in peace negotiations they represented the

entire Serbian nation.

But the

activities of the

Serbian

Patriarchs were not confined to the boundaries of the

In

Turkish Empire.

beyond those

frontiers.

extended

far

The Patriarchs appealed

for

those

they

days

aid and support for the Serbian people to Russia, Spain,

Venice,

and

Austria,

and

became

thus

well-known

" Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol. xxii. " Zivot Cara
Urosa od Patrijarha Pajseja" ("Life of Tsar Uros by Patriarch
'

Pajsej
-

").

Lj. Stojanovic, "

Stan Srpski Zapisi

")i No. 441.

Natpisi "

("

Old Serbian

Inscriptions and Notes

3

Ibid.,

No. 683.

"

Ibid.,

No. 1534.

MACEDONIA

94

figures in international politics.

Everywhere the Courts

and

States

Governments

of

foreign

the

recognized

Serbian Patriarchs as the heads of the Serbian people.

Russian Tsars corresponded with them

was

when Spain

was.

war with Turkey it

she had to apply when she desired help from
the Serbs; Austrian Emperors wrote to the Serbian
Patriarchs, negotiated with them, and granted them

at

to

the Serbian Patriarch

to

whom

privileges

the whole

for

the

of

activities

Serbian

Patriarchs

were inseparably united with the

But

is

it

in

In

Serbian nation.

connection

with

of

rest

the

all

these

the Macedonians

the Serbs.

dealings

of

the

Patriarchs with Eussia and Austria that the Serbian

character of Macedonia comes out most clearly.

The

lot of

always hard
tions

the Serbian people under the Turks was

in the extreme.

of property,

Exorbitant taxes, confisca-

the persecution and devastation of

were the order of the day. Distress and

poverty pressed hard upon the Serbs from all sides.
*'
O poor, poor are we because of the Turks in these
days," laments a Serbian monk of the Monastery of
entire counties

Macedonia in an annotation. ^ With great

difficulty the impoverished and reduced Serbian population succeeded in repairing its churches and monasteries

Lesnovo

in

and supplying them with the bare

necessities.

This

caused the Serbian Patriarchs to think of applying for

help to their Russian brothers

in

race

and

religion.

"With the blessing and recommendation of the Patriarch,

Serbian missions travelled to Orthodox Russia and

returned thence with abundant

too,

gifts.

Macedonia formed no exception.

Lj. Stojanovid, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Inscriptions

and Notes

"),

No. 2922.

In this matter,

From Macedonia,
Natpisi" ("Old Serbian

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

went

as from other Serbian lands, missions

to

95

Russia

to collect alms and donations for their churches and

monasteries.

In this contact with Russia, the Serbian character of

comes out quite

Macedonia

All

clearly.

Macedonian

missions to Russia describe themselves simply as Serbian.

The

first of

these missions from Macedonia travelled to

Russia in 1585.

Visarion,

Kratovo,

Monastery

The

of
of

object

accompanied
and

Osogovo
their

by a monk

monk

journey was to

for the restoration of the

MetropoHtan

the

consisted of

It

Monastery

of

in

of

of

the

holy orders.

solicit

donations

Osogovo, " which

by the great Serbian Vojvode

Constantine Dejanovic."i In 1641, the Metropolitan
Simeon of Skoplje travelled to Russia to collect donations, and there recorded his signature as " Simeon,
MetropoHtan, of the land of Serbia."^ In 1666, Ananiji,

had been

built aforetime

Metropolitan of Kratovo, addressed a petition to the

Russian Tsar to help the Monastery of Lesnovo, " which

and deceased Tsar Stephan,

In

had been

built

who was

formerly a Tsar in the land of Serbia. "3

by the

late

1687 a petition was presented to the Russian Tsars

Ivan and Peter Alexievitch by " Jeftimije, by the grace

God Orthodox Metropolitan

of

of the Serbian lands of

the Church of Skoplje," soliciting help for the Metro-

In 1688 there came to Russia

land of Serbia," who hailed
"from
the
certain monks
from the Monastery of St. John Prete6a near Skoplje.

politans

of

Skoplje. 4

" Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," vol.

'*

Iviii.

Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije,"

pp. 222-224.

vol. xxxviii. p.

" Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," vol. Iviii. p. 228.

" Spomenik," vol. xxxviii.
3 " Glas," vol. Iviii. p. 261
;

'

"

"Glas,"

Spomenik,"

vol. xxxviii. p. 71.

vol. Ix. p. 156.

p. 66.

60

"

MACEDONIA

96

We

need not assume that these missions described

themselves as Serbian merely because they came from

under the Serbian Patriarchal See. On the

they did so because it was at that time

territories

contrary,

unquestionably received that Macedonia was a Serbian

country.

The mission which came from

territories

the Serbian Patriarchate,

from the

lying outside
territory

belonging

the Archbishopric of

to

described themselves similarly.

suffered

Eussia to ask

Greben

and

who were under

too, missions travelled

they,

too,

described

In 1625, Sergius, Metropolitan

themselves as Serbian.
of

Thence,

help,

for

Ochrida,

There, too, the Serbians

the same hardships as those

the Serbian Patriarchate.

to

e.g.

in the southernmost part of Macedonia,

went
There

to Russia for the purpose of collecting alms.

he stated that " he had been consecrated Metropolitan

Greben by Nektarije, Archbishop of Ochrida in the

land of Serbia"^ In 1628 Bishop Kalinik travelled to
Russia. He stated that he came "from the country of
Salonica, which is in Serbia.''^ In 1634, Archbishop
Avram of Ochrida went to Russia with his suite. On
of

being asked
of the

they were, they replied that " they were

who

Orthodox

faith,

the town of Ochrida."

from the Serbian country, from

In 1643 the Archimandrite of

the Monastery of Kremenec, German, during his stay in

Russia, described himself as being " from the Serbian
country, from the
'

" Snosenija Rosiji

town
s

of

Kostur."4

In 1648 we find

vostokom po djelam cerkovnim,"

ii.

Petro-

grad, 1860, p. 29.

^

Ibid., p. 62.

V. Djeric, "
Srpskom Imenu u Starvj Srbiji i Makedoniji
("The term Serbian in Old Serbia and Macedonia"), Belgi'ade, 1904,
3

'

'

p. 18.
*

" SnoSenja Rosiji s vostokom," p. 238,

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

97

the "Serb Dimitrije Nikolajev," from Kostur,' in Russia.

In 1704 "the Serb Bratan Jvanov "came to Russia"

from the land of Macedonia." ^ In 1706 a certain
Dimitrije Petrov went to Russia for the purpose of

Church

collecting contributions for the completion of the

he subscribed himself as "from the

St. Dimitrije;

of

country of Serbia, for the eparchy of Ochrida," of the

town of Krcava. A Russian document concerning this
Dimitrije states that upon his departure "for the land of

Serbia " the " Serb Dimitrije Petrov " was presented with
a

gift.

Owing

unhappy

their

to

lot

under the Turks, the

From Macedonia,

Serbian people continued to emigrate.

numerous Serbs fled to foreign parts. No matter

whither they went they invariably described them-

too,

selves as Serbs.

mony

And

this

is

valuable additional testi-

Serbian nationality of the Macedonians.

find in Krajova in Roumania, the " protopop

to the

In 1580 we

(Archpresbyter) John, a Serb of Kratovo," as he styles

himself

in

Turkish

an MS. from his hand.4

persecutions,

which had become

Simeon, Metropolitan of
1641
self,

to

settle

that he

town

of

is

Because

went

Skoplje,

He

there permanently.

of

the

intolerable,

to

Russia in

says

of

him-

"from the country of Serbia, from the

With him were a monk in holy

Skoplje."

In 1651, the Metropolitan

Michael of Kratovo, accompanied by the Archimandrite
Dionisij and the deacons Damaskin and Nikodim, fled

orders and three servants. s

V. Djeri6, "

Ibid., p. 27.

Ibid., p. 23.

Lj.

p. 27.

Stojanovid, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

and Notes

No. 752.
" Glas Srpske Kraljevake Akademije,"

Inscriptions
5

O Srpskom Imenu,"

Natpisi" ("Old Serbian

"),

vol. Iviii. p. 229.

MACEDONIA

98

In a

to Russia because of Turkish persecutions.

letter

the Russian Tsar the Metropolitan Michael states

to

that "his fathers and his forefathers were princes in

the la?id of Serbia, in the town of Kratovo."^ In 1687

" the Venerable Jeftimije, by the grace of God Orthodox

the Church of

Metropolitan of the Serbian lands of

Kratovo," came to Russia with the purpose of settling

was in a sad plight, and

had
become intolerable. He
Turks
the

there as his metropolitanate

the outrages of

was accompanied by Antinogen, a monk in holy orders,

the deacon Antonije, and an old man, Marko.^ In 1688
the

monk in

holy orders, Petronije, and the deacon Joseph

"from the land of Serbia," from the Monastery

John Prete5a near Skoplje, to Russia to settle
because their monastery had been destroyed by

travelled
of

St.

there,

the Turkish soldiery.

Although these Macedonian emigrants

their

native

Serbs,

land,

they

Everywhere

never forgot

they worked

benefit of their people, and their

lived far

zealously

Church

from

they were

that

in

for

the

Macedonia

and elsewhere. While living as an emigrant in Russia,

"Michael, Metropohtan of Banja, Kratovo, and IStip,"
in 1653 despatched thence copies of the sacred writings
to the Serbian Patriarchate at Ipek.

has been preserved,

the

Metropolitan

with his own hand that he

Patriarchate at Ipek, where

Fathers

Arsenij,

In a psalter which

Evstatij,

" sends
rest the

and

it

Michael wrote
to

the

Serbian

bones of the Holy

Nikodim,

aforetime

" Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," vol. Iviii. p. 233. The

signature of this Metropolitan used to run " Metropolitan of Banja,
Kratovo, Istip and Radonir" (Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi
'

Natpisi" (" Old Serbian Inscriptions and Notes"), Nos. 1494, 1547).
' " Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," vol. Ix. p. 155.
3

Ibid., p. 156.

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

Serbian Patriarchs."

99

In 1660 that same Metropolitan

Michael petitioned the Russian Tsar for aid for the

" Serbian Monastery of Lesnovo " in Macedonia, " which

was a foundation
of the

of the Serbian

Tsar Stephan."

Serbian population as remained in

country looked upon the

Such

their

own

Serbian emigrants as their

natural representatives and ambassadors

abroad.

The

former therefore appealed to the latter on every occasion

and intervention. In 1653 the monks of the

Serbian monastery of Hilendar on Mount Athos applied
to the Metropolitan Michael for his intervention so that

for help

monastery might receive subsidies.3

their

But apart from these

individual emigrants, the whole-

sale emigrations of

Macedonians equally bear a purely

Serbian character.

The main current

of the stream of

Serbian emigration en masse continued to set

north-

wards, as before, to the lands under Austria.

There

Serbian emigrants had lived in large numbers ever since

the

Turkish invasion.

grants from Macedonia.

en

masse

were

largely

There,

At

the emi-

with

the

political

Seeing that in obedience

Serbs had risen in

to the call of their Patriarchs the

revolt

find

epoch the emigrations

connected

activities of the Patriarchs.

we

too,

this

and joined a foreign nation in fighting against

the Turks, the Serbian people, thus compromised, dared

not remain any longer under the Turks, but were comfly.
In Budapest, in Komoran, and all other
Hungarian towns we now find emigrants from Macedonia.
In 1667 the Austrian Emperor Leopold I granted certain

pelled to

'

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Natpisi/' (" Old Serbian

Inscriptions and Notes "), No. 1500.

- " Spomenik Srpske Kraljevake Akadetuije," vol. xxxviii.
p. 64.
3

Ibid., p. 62.

MACEDONIA

100

and Greeks who

Upper
Macedonia
Hungary, and who were mostly natives of
(" prsesertim autem ex Macedonia advenientium ").i

privileges to the Serbs

The

greatest of these Serbian

took place in 1690.

migrations to Austria

It affords a specially striking proof

power and authority

the political

of

settled in

of

Serbian

the

Patriarchs.

Turks

After their failure before Vienna in 1683 the

In the

began to be thrust back towards the south.

hearts

of

the

Serbian

people the

Austrian

successes

aroused the hope of liberation from the Turks.

the Turkish defeat at

Mohacs

After

in 1687, the Serbs rebelled

At
that time the Patriarch Arsenije III Oarnojevic was
Wishing to take
head of the Serbian Church.

in earnest with

a view to regaining their liberty.

advantage of the dissatisfaction of the Serbs with their

Turkish masters, Austria negotiated with him, and

promised to help him in the liberation of the Serbian

people from the Turks.

At the

call of their

Patriarch

the people rose in arms against the Turks and helped

the Austrian forces to penetrate into the very heart of

The Turks, however, succeeded in

Austrians in 1690. The Patriarch, the

the Serbian lands.

beating back the

leading insurgents, and a multitude of the Serbian people

over 40,000 families dared not wait

Turks, but joined the Austrian army in

for the

advancing

its retreat.

The

Turks reconquered all Serbia as far as the Save and the

Danube, and the Serbian refugees were compelled to re-

main

in Austria.

By special charters,

Patriarch, the Austrian

political

and

issued to the Serbian

Emperor Lieopold

guaranteed

religious rights to these emigrant Serbs.

See docament in " Glagnik Srpskog Uceiiog Drutva,"

pp. 128, 131.

vol. Ixvii.

"

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

This " Great Migration," as
history,

people.

negro,

had a far-reaching

'

To

day popular tradition in

this

pitiful

time to be found emigrants from

at that

There were Cira Krajic

Macedonia.

Josipovic from Prilep

from Kratovo

Kuzman Dimic from

Danilo and

Bojkovic (native place unknown),

In Austria

same

felt

nation.

Stojan

monk

Dima

Aposto-

Salonica

Isak

etc.

these emigrants,

all

over

all

of Skoplje

Veljko Popovic and the

in holy orders, Grigorije,

they came,

depopulation of entire

In the town of Buda alone there

villages at that time.=

Serbian

the

provinces in Bosnia, Hercegovina, MonteSerbia, and Macedonia, " even to Salonica,"

were depopulated.

lovic

upon

effect

Whole

Macedonia remembers the

were

called in Serbian

is

it

101

no matter whence

themselves to be parts of one and the

The Macedonians were not kept

apart as

being different, but on the contrary often distinguished

themselves as
Serbs.

When

and representatives of
in October 1689 the Austrians, for
leaders

all

the

political

reasons, imprisoned George Brankovic, the leader of the

Serbian nation,

the Serbs in Austria elected

all

in

his

place as their lieutenant (" vice-ductor nationis Serbicae")

one Jovan Manastirlija, a Macedonian from

was confirmed
'

in his dignity

on April

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Inscriptions and Notes "), No. 2015.

" " Srpska
Kraljevska Akademija"

Bitolj.

11, 1691,4

He

by the

Natpisi" ("Old Serbian

" Naselja Srpskih Zemalja "

Settlements of Serbian Lands"), vol. iii. p. 453.
3 G.
Vitkovic, " Spomenici iz budimskog i pestanskog arhiva
(" Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva"), series 2, vol. iii. pp. 228-255.

("

Lj, Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Bcriptiona and Notes "), No. 2296.

* " Nos electum a
mcntionata

Natpisi " (" Old Serbian In-

communitate Rasciana vice directorem Joannem Manastcrly ad deinissam einsdem gentis instantion
."
benigne confirmasse
(" Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva,"
.

vol. Ixvii. p. 140).

MACEDONIA

102

Emperor Leopold

On

I.

being appointed head of the

Serbian nation, Jovan Manastirlija led the Serbs against

the Turks

and

he

the fate of the nation was in his hands,

left

memory behind him.

glorious

The

descendants of John Manastirlija played a distinguished

part

among

the

Serbs in

Several

Austria.

high

had

they

respect

during

enjoyed

them

of

were buried in Serbian monasteries, in token

the

of

their

hves.^

Other important positions among the Serbs in Austria

were also

at

one time and another held by Macedonians.

In 1696 Jefrem

Jankovic-Tetovac

was

Tetovo)

(of

of Mohacs.
Finally,
Macedonian emigrants
among the Serbs attained the highest distinction from
an intellectual point of view.
The ancestors of
Branko Radicevic, the founder of Serbian modern
poetry, came originally from the neighbourhood of

Serbian

some

bishop of the

eparchy

of the descendants of these

Skoplje.

Serbian

Macedonia
arch

during

writing
century,

Turks,

the

opposed

after

by

to

which

mentions

'

was ordained

life

Patriof

the

of

Vukasin

and
3

A MS.

the
to

this

dignity
i

with

the

has been pre-

dating

Metropolitan

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapiei

Inscriptions and Notes

half

first

of

(Macedonia)," and that "they

forces."

that

speak

Tsar Uros,
Adrianople, " tried to

us containing the entry

served

days

The Serbian

his

taking

Ugljesa

Serbian (Macedonia)

Greben

those

the

says in

enter the Serbian land

were

of

Serbian country.

as a

Pajsej,

seventeenth
that

records

literary

by

from 1625
Sergije

of

Nektarije,

Natpisi " (" Old Serbian

"), Nos. 2968, 3343, 5287.

D. Ruvarac, " Vladika Jegarski Jefrem Banjanin " (" Jefrem
Banjanin, Bishop of Jegar "), Sremski, Karlovici, 1904, p. 20.
3 " Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol. xxii. p. 222.
=

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

Archbishop

Ochrida in

of

land

the

1624 the Metropolitan Michael

from

Russia

Jerusalem.

to

103

In

Serbia^

of

of

Kratovo

He

relates

travelled

how

by

Roumania, and the Serbian land,

Likewise, he says, that
on his return he went by Mount Athos, through
"Serbian country,'' Roumania, and Poland, and thus
traversing Poland,

he

Mount Athos.

reached

Mount Athos

" Serbian land " lying close to

The

back to Russia.

could

be

only

From an

Macedonia.

entry in a book preserved in the Troicko-Sergievskaya

Lavra,

Moscow,

near

and

that in that year

Michael " of the Serbian

learn

from

dating

same

that
land,''

we

1659,

Metropolitan
the

of

town

of

Kratovo, performed the usual rites in connection with

the ordination of
residing for

Michael

many

and

certain priests

deacons.

years in Russia, this

finally declared

After

Metropolitan

that he desired to return "to

country,'" to his Monastery of Lesnovo.^

In 1682 the Serbian Patriarch Arsenije III Carnojevic
went to Jerusalem. On his way through Macedonia

his Serbian

Mlado Nagori6ino, Palanka, Dupnica, and

he was everywhere joyfully received by
bishops, priest, and people.
Many joined him

(Skoplje,

Samokov)
this

accompanied

and

specially

day's

walk

" Master

from

Raja,

house,

his

to

feasted them."
'

him.

mentions that

In
in

his

diary

the

the village of

Patriarch

Sestrima, a

Samokov towards Tatar-Pazardzik,

made a great banquet in

a Serbian,

which

he invited

all

the

Hadzis and

The only Bulgars mentioned by

" SnoSenija Bosiji s

vostokom po djelam cerkovnim,"

ii.

the
1680,

p. 29.
'

259.

"Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije,"

Lj. Stojanovid, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

InBcriptioDB and Notes ")< Nos. 1563, 1568,

vol. Iviii. pp. 233, 254, 258,

i

Natpisi" (" Old Serbiewj

MACEDONIA

104
Patriarch

he was not
merchants vied with

Tatar-Pazardzik

those of

are

but the Bulgarian

guest,

their

who should sell him goods at the

An entry, dating from the end of
century, relates how in 1683 the

each other as to
highest

price. ^

seventeenth
Austrians took " the Serbian country as far as Skoplje

the

and Sofia " from the Turks, ^ A chronicle of 1712

enumerates the Orthodox Metropolitans in the " land

Among

of Serbia."

Monastery

the

of

them

Skoplje and

politans of

Skander Bey

of

(George

included

are

In

Kratovo.3

Hilendar

copied

monk

history

Skanderbeg)

Kastriot

Metro-

the

1778 a

of

from an

In this history Macedonian is in many

passages spoken of as the " Serbian country," and its

MS.

old

inhabitants as Serbs.

This history also contains the

statement that in the towns of Debar and Sveti Grad

" Serbs

live

Albanians

of

of

Orthodox

the
the

Catholic

faith,

faith."

and

Latins

An

and

eighteenth-

century chronicle says that in the fourteenth century

"there were three Serbian kings; to wit, in Prizren

there

was Lazar,

in

Bosnia there was Stephan Tortko,

and in Prilep there was Marko Vukasinov." s

Foreign records of those days likewise speak of
Macedonia as being a Serbian country. On the map
of the Italian Geographer Giac. Gastaldi, dating from
1566, Serbia includes Skoplje and the surrounding
country.

On many

'

" Glasnik Srpskog

'

Lj.

*
5

by

Ucenog Drustva,"

Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

Inscriptions and Notes

3

maps

"),

V.

Coronelli,

vol. xxxiii. pp.

i

official

187-188.

Natpisi " ("Old Serbian

No. 5304.

Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije,"

vol. iii. p. 108.

" Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," vol. xxii. pp. 15-18.
S. Ristic, " Decanski Spomenici " (" Decani Records"), Belgrade,
'

1864, p.

7.


RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE
geographer

Besides

Skoplje.

On many

Servia).

"the

by

Serbia "

of

and

dating

(Metropoli

della

maps drawn
is
shown as

seventeenth-century

Geographer"

Eoyal

Venice,

of

shown as extending even beyond

Skoplje we practically always find
is

" Capital

legend

the

Republic

the

to

from 1692, Serbia

105

Serbia

including even the whole of the country surrounding

These

Skoplje.

maps

Serbia on the

H.

are

also

the

Witt and

of F. de

many

Moll's atlas as well as on

in

well-known

the

Homann's, dating from the

and in

maps

of the

On numerous

century,

Thus

also

is

it

Joh.

Bapt.

half of the eighteenth

first

Serbia includes the regions of

and Custendil.

tovo,

by

atlases

to

of Blau,

other

second half of the seventeenth century.

maps

assigned

frontiers

Skoplje, Kra-

shown on many

other maps.^

More

than

clearly

from

these

maps the

Serbian

of Macedonia transpires from certain MSS.

and other books in foreign languages. A Roumanian

character

MS.

of

beginning

the

of

" Sultan

and

Ugljesa
great

army

battle.

Murat went
Vukasin,
Serbs

of

..." -

subsidies

to

The

the

and
(in

century,

Marica says incidentally

in describing the battle of the

that

seventeenth

the

Turks

with

the

that

they

Macedonia)

Russian

Tsars,

against

assembled

and

accepted

when

granting

Serbian churches and monasteries in

call them Serbian, and speak

Macedonia as the Serbian land. When on August
1st,
1641, the Russian Tsar, Michael Feodorovitch,

Macedonia, invariably
of

J. Cvijic, " Geografski Tolozaj Makedonije i Stare Srbije "

" Geographical Conditions of Macedonia and Old Serbia " (" Srpski

Knjizevin Glasnik
"

V. Grigorovic,

zavam,"

p. 17.

"), vol. xi.

"

1904, p. 209.

Serbiji

v jcja otnosciiijah k soscdnim der-

MACEDONIA

106

made

a donation

to the

Serbian Patriarchate through

the Metropolitan of Skoplje, he addressed

"the Serbian land

as Metropolitan of

Skoplje. "I

the

of the

It is recorded in the annals of the

latter

town

of

Kussian

Court that in the year 1652 the " Serbian Metropolitan

Michael,"

Kratovo,

of

In an Imperial
dated

October

twice
to

letter

1660,

31,

dined

with

the

Tsar.^

the Monastery of Lesnovo,

the

Eussian

Tsar

Aleksije

Mihailovic speaks of the Metropolitan of Kratovo as

" the Metropolitan Michael of the Serbian land." 3

The Russian
refers

Tsaritsa Elizabeth in her letters invariably

as a " Serbian countrtj."
In her

Macedonia

to

messages of 1744, 1754, 1758, and 1766 she addresses

herself

" noble and

the

to

Serbian

the

countries

gentlemen

honourable

Macedonia,

of

of

Skanderia

Montenegro, the Maritime Eegion. ... "4

(Albania),

Writing about Serbia in 1685, the Catholic bishop of

"
Skoplje speaks of Skoplje as " the Capital of Serbia

(" Scopia

proceeds

to

metropoli

de

mention

Catholic,

Orthodox households in that

city.

he

After this

Servia").

Mohammedan and
Among the Ortho-

dox he mentions only "Greek and Serbian households"

("case

greche

testimony of
native of
of

Sofia,

'

'

"

serviane").s

we have

Finally

the

the Bulgarian, Peter Bogdani-Baksic,

Cliprova

Bulgaria,

in

who wrote

to

the

Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije,"

J. Sreznevski,

Catholic

some Cardinal

in

Bishop

1650 about

vol. xxxvii. p. 60.

" Filologiceskija nabljudenija A.

H. Vostokova,"

1865, p. 184.
3 " Spomenik," vol. xxxvii. p. 65.
S. Milutinovic, " Istorija Crne Gore " (" History of Montenegro"),

1835, pp. 76, 77, 83, 85.

5 A. Theiner,
"Vetera
1875, p. 220.

monumenta Slavorum Meridionalium," ii.

RESTORATION OF THE PATRIARCHATE

107

recommend him

for

his

cousin

He

Bagdani

Andreas

the appointment

to

Catholic Archbishop of

of

Ochrida.

says that his cousin " has been nominated for the

archiepiscopate of Ochrida up in

per

Serbia"
su

d'Ocrida

I'archivescovato

("

proposto

confini

in

della

").'

Servia

While the power

of the Serbian Patriarchate endured,

the Serbian character of Macedonia

was not

any way

in

overthrown or impaired.

In 1766 the Turks once more suppressed the Serbian

Patriarchate and

territories

its

were placed under the

administration of the Greek Patriarchate in Constanti-

The suppression

nople.
terrible

blow

to

bishops

were

stripped

of

the

Serbian

the

of

Patriarchate

The

nation.

their

was

left

protector,

was

their

in

they were
Greek bishops

The Serbian nation

places.

without a head, Serbian civilization

and

in the Christian

conducted

Greek.

in

that part of the

hved

the

outside

Turkish

lost

its

churches divine service

This misfortune

heavily upon

dignities,

expelled or went voluntarily into exile.

were appointed

was

Serbian

Serbian

Empire.

also

fell

nation which

Sava

Petrovic,

Metropolitan of Montenegro, as representative of the

free part of the Serbian nation, protested to Russia,

and

besought that this crime against the Serbs in Turkey

should find redress.

In a

letter

written on February

26th, 1767, to the Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, he

speaks " of the Serbian nation under the harsh and
intolerable yoke of Turkish slavery,"

and of the Serbian

bishops of " Samokov, Skoplje, Istip, Novi Pazar, Nis,
Uzice, Belgrade and Hercegovina,"
expelled and
'

all

of

whom

"are

deprived of their Sees, and are homeless

" Starine Jugoslovenske Akadeinije," vol. xxv. p. 172,

MACEDONIA

108

wanderers

while

others

are

exiled

to

strange

and not one eparchy has its native bishop, a

Serbian.
Greeks have been brought thither in their

parts,

stead.

Hereupon

."

Serbian bishops be

he

begs

reinstated,"

that

" the

deposed

and " the throne

of

the Serbian Patriarchate of Ipek freed from the Greeks,"

to " the joy of all Serbian Bishops and the whole Serbian
nation."

Even

in

this

epilogue to the history of the Serbian

Patriarchate, the Montenegrin

distinction

and

the

Metropolitan draws no
between the Serbian dioceses in Macedonia

rest

of

the

Serbian dioceses.

Serbian to him, and for

all

of

All are alike

them he begs

for " their

native Serbian Bishops."

'

" Glasnik Srpskop Ucenog Drustva,"

vol. xii. pp.

357-359.

VIII

MACEDONIA AND THE SERBIAN STBUGGLE

FOB LIBERATION
Serbian sentiment of the Macedonians after the suppression of the
Serbian Patriarchate Sad plight of Macedonia after the suppression of the Serbian Patriarchate Serbian sympathy for
Macedonia
Macedonian aspirations to emancipate Serbian
nation from the Turks Participation of Macedonians in AustroTurkish War (1788-1791) for liberation of the Serbs from the
Turks Participation of Macedonians in the Serbian insurrection vmder Karageorge and Milos Obrenovic at the beginning
Moral support for Serbia from
of the nineteenth century

Macedonia

Macedonian

national poetry celebrates the straggle

of the Serbian nation against the

THE

feeling of unity

the rest of

All

Serbs

between the Macedonians and

Serbian nation did not become

the

extinct even after the

Turks

fall

of

the Serbian Patriarchate.

Macedonia

outside

continued to

regard

Macedonia was then

in a wretched plight.
Left to the mercy of the Greek
The churches and
bishops, she had lost all her schools.
Macedonia

as belonging to

them.

monasteries were in Greek hands or else deserted.

Slav liturgy had practically become extinct.

monks
was

in those monasteries

less felt

regarded

such a time to do

it

all

The

The Serbian

where the Greek influence

as their duty to the nation at

they could to elevate Serbian

education and religion in Macedonia.

In 1780, the

monk

Teofil of the Monastery of De6ani, went to the Monastery

of the

Holy Archangel

in the
109

Skopska Crna Gora (Black

MACEDONIA

110

Mountain).

men

to read

There he opened a school, taught the young

and write, and prepared candidates for the

monk

In 1805, Teodosije, a

priesthood, I

Monastery
tery of Lesnovo
of the

in holy orders

Decani went to the deserted Monasin Macedonia; with the help of the

of

inhabitants of the neighbourhood he repaired

and

it,

reintroduced the forgotten Slav liturgy within its walls.

In the same year we find the " monk in holy orders

Mojseg Decanac

" in Tetovo.3

But the Serbian

difference either.

1789,

make any

Writing to the Emperor of Eussia in

governor Ivan Radonjic begins

the Montenegrin

his letter

negro,

..."

of

population did not

lay

as follows

Hercegovina

"

Now

we Serbs

all

Albania,

Monte-

of

Macedonia

beg

But more strongly than by any

fraternal

sympathy did

the Macedonians express their Serbian feeling in later

days; they expressed

most

it

positively

greatest sacrifices, and they did this

and by the

by the share they

bore in the struggle which the Serbian nation waged

for

liberation

from

struggle could not

the

The

Turks.

focus

of

that

Not on any

be in Macedonia.

of

her frontiers was Macedonia sufficiently near to a foreign

State whence she could be supplied with the necessaries
of war.

The Serbian

struggle for liberation began in

regions remote from her,

Europe was

accessible.

against

Turks

the

where the support

Yet from

was understood

the
as

first

of

free

the fight

the

common

S. Tomid, " Naselja Srpskih Zemalja" (" Settlement of the Serbian

Lands"), vol. iii. p. 509.
Lj. Stojanovid, " Stari Srpski Zapisi i Natpisi " (" Old Serbian
Inscriptions and Notes"), No. 3822.
'

3
*

Ibid., No. 3828.

" Glasnik Srpskog

Ucenog Drutva,"

vol. Ixxii. p. 297.

;:

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION

111

whole Serbian nation, as the germ of

Serbs from all the Serbian lands took

action of the

future freedom.

The Macedonians bore

part in the struggle.

with the

Already in those battles which, at the

Serbian Patriarch, the
the close

fighting

by the

Defeated together with the

numbers

of the

call

Serbian people fought

to Austria,

'

side

their

of

at

we have

the seventeenth century,

of

Macedonians
large

their share

rest.

the
seen

brothers.

other Serbs they fled in

and there, as we have seen,

strengthened the ranks of the Serbian emigrants.

In

the renewed struggle against the Turks the part played

by the Macedonians was even greater.

When in 1788 Austria went to war with Turkey, she
called also upon the Serbs for assistance.
As recompense for their help, Austria promised them liberation
from the Turks and a happier future. Desirous of
freedom, great hosts of Serbs enrolled themselves as
volunteers under the Austrian flag.
The more notable
of these volunteers

and

Austrians

The

volunteers.

were commissioned as
at the head of

list

by the

officers

placed

the

of these ofiicers, taken

Serbian

mainly from

the archives in Vienna, shows to what extent, in pro-

many

portion,

Serbian provinces were represented.

Of the Serbian leaders commissioned by Austria, 16

had come from Serbia, 2 from Bosnia, 9 from Croatia,
38 from Srem and Slavonia, 1 from the Backa, 1 from
the Banat,

Of these
Vlajko

last

from Old Serbia, and 9 from Macedonia.

there were commissioned as Captains

Stojanovic,

of

Leunovo

(district

Vode
Leunovo

of

Tetovo)

Deli Djordje Nikolajevic, of Bele

(Prilep district)

Petar Novakovid-Oardaklija, of

of

Mavrovo.

Commissioned

as

Kuzman

Lieutenants

Oiki6,

MiloS

MACEDONIA

112

Mavrovo Jovan Nikolajevic-Cardoklija, of

Commissioned as Sub-lieutenants
Trifun
Tenasevic, of Debar Vucko Cikic, of Mavrovo Trifun
Krajevic, of

Leunovo.

Trpkovic, of Debar,

These men who fought

for the

freedom of the Serbian

nation at the end of the eighteenth century are the best

proof of the Serbian sentiment in Macedonia at that
time.

The Serbian sentiment of the Macedonians is likewise

clearly shown by their taking part in the fights against
the Turks which broke out in Serbian territory at the

The two Serbian

beginning of the nineteenth century.

insurrections against the Turks at the beginning of the

nineteenth century were decisive events in the history

of the Serbian nation.

The Serbs regarded them

resurrection, as the opening-up of a

period of
part of

all

place

to

Serbian
the

its

histor3^

Therefore,

at

there

the Serbian

From

the last and

herd-boy to the most distinguished

Serbian insurgents.

men

Here,

was no

the disposal of

poets, philosophers of the nation

ing

as a

free, national

Serbian lands which did not hasten

services

insurgents and resuscitated Serbia.

least

new,

Some

they

the

writers,

stood by the

all

joined the ranks of the fight-

others gave their moral support.

also,

with

all

have

set their

we

find

their might.

Macedonians.

Many

mark upon the

insurrection against the Turks.

the most important

They,

heroes from

too,

history of the

We

will

helped

Macedonia
Serbian

mention only

among them.

Drag. M. Pavlovic " Srbija za vreme poslednjeg austro-turskog

rata" ("Serbia during the last Auatro-Turkish War, 1788-1791"),
p. 143, Belgrade, 1910. Lazar Arsenijevic-Batalaka, "Istorija srpskog
ustanka " (" History of the Serbian Insurrection"), i. p. 141, Belgrade,
'

1899.

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION

Vucko ^ikic,

Mavrovo.

of

officer

was under Turkish

Srem, where he was in receipt

country, which

but settled in

the

in

After the war, he would not return

Austro-Turkish War.
to his native

Served as

113

When

pension from Austria.

rule,

of

the Serbian insurrection

broke out in 1804, he at once sacrificed his pension

and comfortable existence, went

the ranks of the combatants.

an army which was

Serbia and joined

to

While

command

in

resisting the Turkish pressure

of

from

the south, he constructed the well-known Serbian fortress

While

Dehgrad.

of

defending

gloriously on April 3rd, in 1808.

old Serbian

Kusman

Monastery

him

Roman, near Deligrad.^

Vucko Cikic, also of Mav-

command

in the

also fought heroically for Serbia's

He

of Deligrad.

was an Austrian volunteer officer. He also

Srem and enjoyed an Austrian pension. He
up everything and accompanied his brother

He

died

Cikic

buried in the

of St.

Cikic, brother of

rovo, succeeded

Dehgrad

He was

in

settled
also

gave

Serbia.

to

independence from

the Turks.2

Janko Popovic,
agitated against

He went

of Ochrid.

the insurrection.

enemy

bitter

them even

to Serbia before

of

he

Turks,

the

No

before the insurrection.

sooner had the insurrection broken out, than he joined

the ranks of the combatants.

Owing

to

which he distinguished himself

way
became a leader {vojvoda) and is one
in

notable figures in the Serbian insurrection.

and

("

ability

M. Dj.

gallant

battle,

of

the

he

most

His courage

were specially in evidence in the battles of

Mili6evi<5, "

Pomenik znamenitih

Reminiscenced of Famous
-

the

in

Men

Ijudi

L. Arsenijevic-Batalaka, " Istorija Srpskog

of the Serbian Insurrection "),

i.

u srpskom narodu "

of the Serbian Nation"), p. 168.

Ustanka" ("History

pp. 4, 5, 59, 141.

MACEDONIA

114

He

MiSar, Belgrade, and Bijeljina.

was buried

at Eavanica,

died

1833, and

in

one of the most important of

the Serbian monasteries of the Middle Ages.'

Marko

Krstic,

the

before

He

Belica.

of

went

also

As soon

insurrection.

as the

to

Serbia

insurrection

broke out he joined the ranks of the combatants.

command

He

Kara George. As he
distinguished himself in every battle, Kara George took
note of him, and he soon became an independent
vojvoda (leader). He was one of the most important
army leaders in the second insurrection under Milos
Obrenovic, in 1815. Through exposing himself, he was
He died
severely wounded in the second insurrection.
was under the

direct

of

Sabac in 1822.2

at

He went

Djordje Zagla, of Blace.

Serbia with

to

three of his brothers after the outbreak of the insurrec-

and

tion,

immediately

soon became the chief military

under the

command

of

fighting-men.

the

joined

leader

He

Smederevo

in

Vujica Vulicevic, was distin-

guished for his gallantry and an enthusiastic fighter.

He was wounded frequently,

He died in Belgrade in 1847.3

several

times

seriously.

Vreta Kolarac, of Macedonia (his native place

he became an army leader

teer,

He

insurrection.

Ma6va

is

not

Conspicuous for his bravery as a volun-

exactly known).

distinguished

in

the Kara George

himself

especially

at

in 1806.4

Mica Brka,

of

Mavrovo,

son

of

Milos

Krajevic.

Lieutenant of Volunteers in the Austro-Turkish war.

He

fought bravely in every battle in the Kara George

insurrection,

and

Dj. Milicevic, "

'

M.

'

Ibid., pp.

796-799.

finally

Pomenik
3

found a hero's death on the

"

("Reminiscences

ibid,, pp.

169-170.

"),

pp. 196-197.

Ibid., pp. 60-61.

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION

battlefield

in

1813,

greatest hero of

together with

New

145

Hajduk-Veljko, the

Serbian history.'

Besides those distinguished Macedonians who, as leaders

up an epoch of liberty
there was also a host of heroes

of the Serbian insurgents, opened

modern Serbian

in

rank and

of the

history,
file

from Macedonia, who with their

blood and self-sacrifice helped to create a free Serbia.

But

in

donians

numerous
liberation
too,

we

joining the

offered

not

Serbian insurrection, the Maceonly

Macedonians

their

who

helped

were

There

blood.

morally

and the strengthening of Serbia, and

mention the most distinguished.

in

the

of these,

will

Petar Icko, born in Katranica. Upon the outbreak

of the insurrection under Kora George, he proceeded

Being an able and intelligent man, he was

employed on various missions. He was also entrusted
with the negotiations with the Turks. The peace which
to Serbia.

the

Serbian insurgents concluded with

the

Turks

in

1806 was concluded through his mediation, and to this

day

it

is

called

Ickov Mir

(Ichko's Peace).

He was

buried in the Monastery of Rakovica, near Belgrade.^

Petar Novakovic-Cardaklija, born in Leunovo.

He

held a captain's commission in the Austro-Turkish war.

After the war he enjoyed a pension from Austria.

When

the tidings of the insurrection reached him, he at once

sacrificed

his

experience, he

pension.

Being a

man

of

ability

and

was entrusted with various missions on

behalf of the Serbian insurgents

the

first

time in Petro-

grad in 1804 and subsequently in Constantinople in 1805

When the
also to the Russian General Staff in 1807.
;

'

L. Arsenijevic-Batalaka, " Istorija srpskoga

of the Serbian Insurrection "),

^

M.

Dj. Milicevic, "

i.

ustanka" ("History

p. 59.

Pomenik"

("

KeminiBcences

"),

pp. 186-189,

MACEDONIA

116

" Praviteljstvujusci Sovjet Srbski " (the

first

Government

Free Serbia) was established in 1805, he was one

of

the members.

He

of

died in 1810.^

Jovan Novakovic-Cardaklija,

the

brother

of

Petar

He

Navakovic-Cardaklija, also born in Leunovo.

held

commission in the Austro- Turkish war,

subsequently enjoyed an x4.ustrian pension. He

a lieutenant's

and

with

also sacrificed his Austrian pension and, together

He

his brother, crossed the Serbian frontier.

entrusted with various services which

also

was

the insurgents

required from this able and distinguished patriot.

Dimitrije

not

is

Djordjevic,

He

known.

exactly

Macedonia

of

served

his

birthplace

under

Milan

Obrenovic in the insurrection led by Kara George.

the

under

insurrection

Milos

Obrenovic

he

In

fulfilled

various duties as interpreter, clerk, treasurer, Governor

of

Jagodina District, and envoy in diplomatic missions

to

Constantinople.

From

every point of view he was

an upright man and a great patriot. For the services

he had rendered to renewed Serbia, Prince Milos decreed
that the names of Dimitrije Djordjevic and his wife
were to be mentioned in divine service in church
in the same way as those of Prince Milos and his
brothers.

He

died in Jagodin in 183G.

on his tomb says that

"He

The

inscription

was a man who deserved

greatly of his Serbian fatherland.

Dositije Novakovic, born in the village of Dabica, near
Prilep.

He was

Turkish horrors, he

monk.
fled to

As he could not endure

the.

newly liberated Serbia under

Milos Obrenovic and laboured actively for her extension towards the east.

Serbia was enlarged, he

L. Arsenijevic-Batalaka, " Istorija srpskog ustanka " (" History

the Serbian Insurrection "), i. pp. 141, 147, 161, 183, 242, etc.
' Ibid.
3 M. Dj. Milicevic, " Eeminiscences," pp. 151-153.
'

of

When

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION

117

became the first bishop in the new territories in 1834.

His kindness, generosity, and wise instruction to his
people endeared his

His

memory

He

to them.

died in 1854.

wish was that he might not be buried in the

last

church, as is usual for a bishop, but in the cemetery.

" I have lived with my people, and it is with them that

wish

to

was

in this

churchyard

the

in

my

grave."

the wish of

fulfilled

It

be

grow on

grass

the

let

young

grateful Serbian nation

patriotic bishop.^

its

manner

The

that the Macedonians expressed

their Serbian sentiments during the Serbian insurrection

for liberation at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

But
with

this

not

is

The whole

all.

While the men

liberation.

of

Macedonia has

taken part in the Serbian struggle for

soul

its

of

Macedonia, shoulder to

shoulder with the other Serbs were shedding their blood

for Serbia,

whom

to

they looked for the liberation of

Macedonia also, the progress of the Serbian insurrection

was followed with most ardent sympathy in every home
in Macedonia inhabited by the plain people of the land.
Everybody in Macedonia anxiously awaited the news
from the battlefields
they took the keenest interest
in every success, and composed ballads to celebrate
;

the

heroes

Many

the Liberation

of

of

the Serbian people.

songs have been composed in Macedonia in honour

of the Serbian insurgents.

celebrated in

The deeds

Macedonian ballads

of

just

ballads from other Serbian countries. =

child

in

Macedonia

who

ballads of " Ilija Delija."3

'

llija

know

Delija

is

the popular

a well-known

Dj. Milicevid, " Reminiscences," pp. 446448.

P. Draganov, " Makedonsko-slavjanski Sbornik " ("

M.

Slav Collection"),
'

does not

Kara George are

the same as in
There is not a

Ibid.,

i.,

St. i'etersburg,

Nos. 101, 102, 103, 104.

Macedonian

No. 96 (Song from Prilep).


MACEDONIA

118

hero of the Serbian insurrection.

Ilija Strelja.

He was

his

real

name was

born in GradiSte, near Leskovac.

After gathering together a large

from

His

number

of volunteers

He

neighbourhood, he proceeded to Serbia.

distinguished himself specially at Deligrad in 1806.

1809 he succeeded in invading his native

In

whence

district,

he was intended to organize incursions and to raise

Macedonia against the Turks.

all

Ilija Delija's

ardent

wish to free Macedonia from the Turks made him a

Macedonian national poetry. Hajduk

Veljko, the greatest hero of the insurrection under Kara
George, even during his lifetime became a legendary
hero and was celebrated in song and also in Macedonia
we find many songs in which Hajduk Veljko is honoured
and celebrated, just as there are songs about him in other

favourite subject of

In a popular ballad from Macedonia

Serbia. I

parts of

celebrating the insurrection under Milo Obrenovic, the

Macedonians sing thus

"

of the share they bore in

Enough have we gone, enough have we walked,

Enough have we walked on the plain of Sumadja

it

(Serbia)

'r-

:[;

J;

'V-

^'

To destroy the great army,

To free our poor children."*

In order to deprecate criticism, we beg to state that

we have quoted all Macedonian songs of the Serbian
Insurrection against the Turks solely from the collections
of

Macedonian

national

songs

and ballads made by

Bulgarian collectors.
Braca Miladinovci, " Bugarske Narodne Pesme " (" Bulgarian
National Songs"), Nos. 215, 216, 217 (Songs from the Neighbourhood
of Ochrid).
P. Draganov, " Makedonsko-slavjanski Sbornik," i.,
No. 73 (Song from tlie Neighbourhood of Debra), No. 74 (Song from
the Neighbourhood of Kostur), No. 75 (Song from Tetovo).
'

St.

I.

Verkovic,

"Narodne

pesme

Makedonskih

(^"National Songs of the Macedonian Bulgars"),

i.,

Bugara"

1860, No. 353.

IX

BULGARIAN PBOPAGANDA IN MACEDONIA

BULGARIAN RESURRECTION
Bulgara completely forgotten in Europe after the fall of the
Bulgarian Empire in the Middle Ages Bulgars in Bulgaria
without national consciousness Attempts at national awakeningThe Ruthenian G. Venelin forms an idealistic picture
of the Bulgars and rouses them
Bulgars, inspired by Venelin's
fables, begin to dream of
Great Bulgaria The romantic
enthusiast George S. Rakovski fosters Bulgarian megalomania
Stephan Verkovic and his forged Bulgarian antiquities All
Bulgars united in the conception of their unlimited greatness
Education of the rising generation in this spirit Bulgarian
ideas take hold in Russia Conmiittees for the propaganda of
the Bulgarian idea in Russia Russian scholars, infected by
Bulgarian!, become its pioneers
Sympathy for the Bulgars
spreads from Russia to the rest of Europe

in the nineteenth century, the

Bulgars arose from

which they were thrust by the
Turks ever since the end of the fourteenth century, they

IF,

the grave into

are indebted

for

this entirely to the sentimental devo-

tion of Slavophil Russia.

Without

ignorant to this day of their

If

own

this they

would be

existence as a nation.

during the course of the second half of the nineteenth

century they

attained

they owe

Russian blood and the humane sentiment

of

it

to

Europe.

of the

Turk

emancipation from the Turks,

Without these they would have been slaves

to this day.
But although they were re-

suscitated through the efforts of others, although their

MACEDONIA

120

emancipation was bought with the blood of others, the

Bulgars were

not

content

to

let

matters rest there.

The psychology of a nation is not changed so easily.

The old Bulgarian blood and the old insatiable and
truculent Bulgarian spirit came out from the very first
day of the renascence of the Bulgarian nation. The
first

New

over

all

Bulgar dreamed already of becoming master

his

neighbours and

much more

By

besides.

cunning and duplicity in their dealings with

those who were stronger than themselves and able
servility,

to help

them; by a

who have anything

ganda

for

cleverly organized appeal

to

those

by an indefatigable propaimaginary rights, the Bulgars have

their

to give

succeeded in creating the fable of a greatness of the

Bulgarian nation,

and
Macedonia

rights

the explanation
nation,

culture,

beyond Bulgarian

interests

as a

past and

its

Bulgarian country.

why

of

Bulgarian

frontiers,

and

Herein alone

of

lies

the Bulgars, a completely defunct

succeeded not only in obtaining their freedom

and independence but also in finding advocates

for their

insatiable demands.

" After the

fall of

the Bulgarian Empire at the end

of the fourteenth century, the Bulgars

forgotten in Europe.

nothing about them.

an extent, that

were completely

Even kindred Eussia knew next to

They were forgotten to such
.

the end of the eighteenth century

at

and in the beginning

of the nineteenth

even the most

well-informed and conscientious scholars had no clear

knowledge

of

them.

Thus, in 1771, Schlotzer hazarded

the opinion that a study of the neo-Bulgarian language

might throw

light

upon the nature

of the

Old Bulgars.

Dobrovski, the patriarch of modern Slavistic, believed the^

Bulgarian language, of which he was entirely ignorant,|^

"=

BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA
be

to

dialect

of

Serbian.

Kopitar in 1815 was

that

placed after the noun.

that

All

was known

in Bulgarian

The

earliest

Vuk.
skim

Karadzic in 1822 in his

S.

Uporednim

Recnicima

'

Petrograd Parallel Dictionaries')-

('

to

the article

data

Bulgarian language were furnished

the

121

is

concerning

by the

Serb

Dodatak PetrogradSupplement to the

'

AH

that Safarik

knew

was that the Bulgars live between the Danube

and the Balkan Mountains and that there are 600,000
of them ".
In these very words two distinguished
Russian scholars express their total knowledge of the
in 1826

Bulgars at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Even the Bulgars themselves knew nothing about

themselves.

As the Bulgarian

they had ceased to

exist.

historian

Drinov says,

Their one-time culture had not

only disappeared, but was forgotten even by themselves.

Educated Bulgarians
fingers

of

one's

who could be counted on

could not write their

hands

the

own

The most notable Bulgarians were merchants,

many of them were in business relations with Germany,
Russia, and Africa but not one of them knew a single
letter of Bulgarian.
They not only " carried on their
correspondence
in
neo-Greek or
the
Roumanian

language.

languages,

but they spoke only Greek and were proud

The man who occasionally for his

own convenience desired to make a note in Bulgarian
of their Hellenism.

as well,

would write Bulgarian with Greek characters.

Even towards 1830 the

'

"intellectual " class contained

A. N. Pipin and V. D. Spasovic, " Istorija Slavjanskih Literatur,

(" History of Slav Literature "), p. 104 (in Eussian).

1879 "

I. Veneliu, " Zaradi Voarazdenije Novobolgarskoj Slovesnosti

("Concerning the Renascence of Neo-Lulgarian Slavdom"), prevel
(edited by) M. Kifilov, Bucharest, 1842, pp. 11, 34, 35, .50 (in Bul-

garian)

S. Milarov, V. E. Aprilov, Odessa, 1885, p. 5 (in Bulgarian).

MACEDONIA

122

"not a

single

one

Biilgar, or

service in the
of

Bulgar who would confess to being a

who spoke Bulgarian or attended divine
Slav language. And after the fashion

renegades they hated and despised

all

all

Bulgarian more than did the real Greeks."

emerge from

All Bulgarian attempts to

The

condition proved unavailing.

ious

monk

Bulgarian

Pajsije,

who

was

that

this ignomin-

the

of

efforts

in 1762 tried to vindicate

nation by his "History of the Bulgarian Nation,"

his

among

remained unnoticed

His passionate reproaches

read and write in Greek
nationality

the

Bulgars

themselves.

to the Bulgars, because they

;

because they forgot

because they yielded to Greek

because they insulted their native tongue

their

customs

because they

were ashamed of calling themselves Bulgars, clearly

show how low the Bulgars had sunk. All attempts
made at the beginning of the nineteenth century by the
Bulgarian emigrants in Russia likewise remained unsuccessful.

Russia,

There were many Bulgarian emigrants

in

Many

of

especially

in

the

southern

towns.

these were merchants of considerable wealth.

Although

every one of them had received a Greek education, yet

there

were some

resurrection
vain.

of

among them who contemplated

defunct

their

The Bulgars were not

nationality.

But

all

a
in

able to raise themselves

from their grave.

The Bulgarian renascence came from abroad. It was
reserved for the youth Gjorgje Venelin, a Ruthenian,
(1802-1839),

Bulgarian
'

native

nation.

of

After

Lemberg,
studying

to

re-create

Slavistic

at

the
the

E. Golubinski, " Kratki Ocerk Istoriji Pravoslavnih Cerkvej "

Outline of Orthodox Church History "), Moscow, 1871,

(" Short

pp. 176-177

(in

Russian).

BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA
University of Lemberg,
KiSinjev he
fired

came

across

123

he proceeded to Kussia. At
some Bulgarian emigrants who

him with enthusiasm

for

the Bulgarian

cause,

and in 1829 he wrote a book in Kussian entitled " Old

and New Bulgars." Containing as it did something
so

far

unknown,

reception,

ardour

the

book

met

with

favourable

and Venelin devoted himself with increased

the cause of the Bulgars.

In 1830 the
Russian Academy commissioned him to explore Bulgaria.
Thus he was afforded the opportunity of seeing the
to

nation to which he had so lovingly devoted himself.

Although he had considerable trouble with the objects

who threatened and blackmailed him he

was even robbed by a Bulgar of the " Carostavnik," a
MS. of the Serbian Kings and Cars and placed the
most vexatious obstacles in his way, Venelin succeeded
of his affection,

several old MSS., national ballads, and a

amount of philological material. All this
material was utilized by Venelin in his subsequent works
in collecting

certain

on the Bulgars (description of his

ballads,

Bulgarian

day the

scientific

travels, the national

and language).
Although Venelin in his books furnished many details
and created many assumptions regarding the Bulgars,
his work does not possess great scientific value.
Venelin
was a great idealist, with a lively imagination. In his
literature,

history

material available on the subject of

the Bulgars was both poor and scanty,

material failed

and where

his

him he

supplied the deficiency from his

exuberant imagination, " which in a few lines created
so that he mistook for scientific results the
ardent wish of his soul and the dream of his spirit."
He himself admits that when he found his material
pictures,

deficient

he supplemented

it

out of his

own

head.

For

MACEDONIA

124
this reason "his

books are

soon became

scientific value,

cance

the

for

But

obsolete."

his vi^orks

if

Bulgarian

"

nation.

birth

they very
are

of

the

no

of

signifi-

His great merit

by himself created and

completely

re-

w&s responsible

suscitated the Bulgarian nation, that he

the

''

they are nevertheless of immense

consists in the fact that he

for

sometimes

of mistakes,

full

grave mistakes," and for this reason also

defunct

Bulgarian

nationality."

The romantically

Venelin appealed to the

fantastic

immature imagination of the Young Bulgars. He was

hailed with love and enthusiasm, as a Messiah come
rescue a lost nation.

to

praises,

his

all

All

his

observations,

were accepted

suggestions

all

like

his

com-

mands from heaven. He urged the wealthy Bulgars

of Russia and Eoumania to subscribe donations for
the support of the Bulgarian cause,

for

the opening

Bulgarian schools, for the printing of school books.

of

Two

Bulgarian merchants of Odessa, V. E. Aprilov

and N. Palauzov, who had been completely Hellenized

their

in

and

youth,^ by reading Venelin

the

first

the

apostles of

became

Bulgarian

Bulgars

awakening.

Aprilov began to write books in Bulgarian, in which

he

speaks

of

his

with

nation

fantastic

enthusiasm.

Palauzov conducted his propaganda by word of mouth

and collected contributions.

Both gave money

opening of the school in Gabrovac,

other Bulgars.

The sum

for the

1835, the

first

This work also influenced

the Bulgarian schools.

of

in

of donations contributed

not

only by pjulgars, but also by Russians and Roumanians

'

Pipin and Spasovic, p. 112.

Vasil Aprilov was treasurer

mittee in 1821.

of

the

Greel;

Insurgents'

Com-

BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA

Schools were

constantly assumed greater proportions.

opened, books published, young

European

schools

augurated

the

and

men

to study in

sent

Thus

universities.

appearance of

first

125

the

was

in-

Bulgars as a

nation and the foundation of the idea of their deliver-

ance from the Turks.

The whole

of

movement took

this

had not even begun

very

popular,

place within the

Macedonia the Bulgars

The movement was
to dream.

limits of Bulgarian territory

especially

of

Kussia,

in

who

considered

herself

the protectress of the conquered Slavs, and in

Serbia,

who

regarded the Bulgars as the broken nation

of a brother-country.

tent

with

In

this.

But the Bulgars were not conVenelin's

books

they found

the

stimulus towards a state of things which they had so

far not

even contemplated.

found

be

wrote

Venelin

Peninsula,

only

not

in

Before visiting the Balkan

that

the

Bulgaria,

were to

Bulgars
but

Rumelia,

in

Macedonia, Albania, Thessaly, South Morea, and Asia

Minor as well ^ that the Russians received Christianity

that it was the Bulgars who
from the Bulgars
that up to
of the alphabet
them
the
use
brought
the time of Lomonosov, divine service had been celebrated in Russia in Bulgarian, which had also been
the literary language, and that in ancient times not
one of the other Slav nations had been so rich in
;

MSS: and

so

forth. ^

even

the

The Bulgars were not slow

most

in

preposterous

of

Venelin's

statements and magnifying them out of

all

sense and

adopting

" Drevinje

Moscow, 1829,
"

Ninjesnije Bolgare "

vol.

i.

(in

("Old and

New

Bulgars"),

Russian).

" Zaradi Vozrazdenije " ("Concerning the Renascence

17 (in Bulgarian).

"),

pp. 5,

MACEDONIA

126

For whereas Venelin

proportion.

with the soul of a poet, an

him

the Bulgars carried

for

himself often admitted

idealist

the

was a good man

whose infatuation

to absurd

lengths

as

he

Bulgars grew restive under

criticism and went recklessly far beyond the limits

which Venelin in his infatuation had assigned to the

all

Bulgarian nation.

One

of Venelin's first

man who

followers, the

laid

the foundation of the Bulgarian idea of expansion and

the role of the Bulgarian nation in the world, was

of

Bulgar

the

Gjorgje

Venelin's fantastic
tion
of

Rakovski

S.

ideas

In

(1818-1868).

Rakovski found the inspira-

evolving a practical propaganda for the idea

for

the prehistoric claims of the Bulgars not only in

the Balkan Peninsula,

but far beyond

it.

Poet, his-

torian, ethnographer, archaeologist, publicist, social

and

much on

the

ecclesiastical

subject

extinguished

raise

own

Rakovski

But
every glimmer
nation.

his

of

faculty

critical

suffice

agitator,

violent

common

of

writings.

his

in

wrote
his

show what Rakovski is.

the Bulgarian nation, "high

sons,

and afterwards in those

the

way

in
of

Greek
of the
differ

the

'

which

is

its

he
not

denies the ancient

advent

of

Christianity

read

and

write

and

possessed a

Bulgaria was

" at

one

Bulgars

literature

the

the world,"

sources, and places the Bulgars as precursors

European nations the Bulgarian language does not
from the Sanscrit Bulgarian national mythology

Indian,^ even

is

the eyes of

tales,

He

of intelligent persons.

and

sense

few samples will

In his efforts to

to

has recourse to the realm of fairy

patriotism

Slav

before

could

nations,

Sofia paper Mir,

the

the mightiest

February

3,

1917.

time the chief

and
"

of

most extensive

Pipin and Spasovic.

BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA
Empire

Europe

in

olden

in

127

"moral

times;"

truth
"^

among

appeared

the Bulgars

first

of

the

all

Slavs,

"the most ancient relics of the old Slav customs

and language have been preserved in various parts
Bulgaria and among the Bulgars of to-day."
of
The Bulgars lived in the Balkan Peninsula before
Demosthenes was a Bulgar
the Greek immigration
so was Marko Botsaris, a hero of the Greek insurrecall
European languages and all European
tion I
;

culture

originated

Peons and

the

with

the

Bulgars.

Kelto-Kimbers were

The

ancient

Bulgars

Clovis

Christian

and Merovaeus were Bulgars; the first

Church in Europe was founded among the Bulgars
they helped to establish the other churches, and they
were the founders of Christian missionary activity the
Bulgars received Christianity earlier than the Greeks,
" because they believed in one God, in the immortality
;

of the soul,

were

and in recompense

converted

later,

because

Even the Olympic Zeus

Bulgars.

He was

after death "

they were

the Greeks
polytheists.

could not exist without

nursed

and reared

by

the

the

Bul-

garian Mountain Villa (fay) Neda.^

should specially be pointed out that Kakovski is

not a " vulgar Bulgarian enthusiast." He is one of the
most distinguished Bulgars of the nineteenth century.
It

No one

else looms so large in neo-Bulgarian political

The Sofia paper Mir of
and literary history.
February 3, 1917, while calling upon the Bulgars to

G. S. Rakovski, " Gorski Putnik" ("A Traveller through the

Mountains"), Novi Sad, 1857, pp. 164, 166, 175, 201, 231 (in
'

Bulgarian).
=
G. S. Rakovski, " Kljuc Bolgarskoga Jazika " ("Key to the
Bulgarian Language"), Odessa, 1880, pp. 109, 142-143, 94, etc.

(in Bulgarian).

MACEDONIA

128
celebrate

says that

the fiftieth anniversary of Rakovski's death,

" the first half of the modern period of

Bulgarian history

Rakovski's epoch," and proceeds to

is

add that the question

the celebration "has already

of

been taken up by the Bulgarian Academy of Science."

But Rakovski
could quote.

by no means the only example we

is

Bulgarian patriots of the nineteenth

All

century resembled him.

we must mention,

that

with Macedonia.

It

is

There
a

is

name

that of

one name, however,

connected

especially

Stephan

I.

Verkovic

As a schoolmaster in Macedonia, he
the most responsible, especially in Russia,

(1827-1893).
is

for

one of

having paved the way for the mistaken idea that

Macedonia is a Bulgarian country. He collected in

Macedonia the local "Bulgarian" national ballads and
wrote monographs upon them. Verkovic, too, can best
be judged by quoting his work. Among other amazing
troves he

ska,"

i.e.

collected

discovered in Macedonia the

national

hymns

poems

to

the

He

of pre-historic antiquity!

Macedonia

ballads of Alexander the Great

Slavs in

Sloven-

Orpheus, the Thracian singer, and

to the ancient Slav gods in

the

"Veda

Balkan

He

discovered

and the settlement

Peninsula

He

of

discovered

what other less privileged mortals had overlooked, viz.

that the "Bulgars " of Macedonia have preserved certain national songs or

development

of the

poems "referring

human

to the primitive

race," and the "

mythology

expressed in these traditions has a remarkable affinity

with the Rig Veda," so that

it

occurred to

him

that

"these poems must be, not only twin-sisters which

grew from the same spring and source, but what is
more that these poems of ours, judging by their simplicity and extreme antiquity, must be the model of

BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA
Big Veda, having

the
since

the

independently

developed

one direction and the other in another."

Before printing these

them

samples

like

to

hymns

ever

developing in

one version

separation,

first

129

or songs, Verkovic sent

quarters.

different

To

the

Ethnographical Exhibition in Moscow

an "Ancient Bulgarian Orphic Hymn" of which he
in 1867 he sent

down from an old man

The hymn, of course, sounded

declared that he had taken

one hundred and

of

merely

"a

like

but this did

ing

it

five.

it

fairy tale," as

Verkovic himself admits,

not prevent him from

printing and publish-

together with others, or even from maintaining

"that the contents of these songs are

based on historic truth and on facts which have really
taken place," and to point out "that there is more
truth in them than in any other similar products

in the preface

the

of

though

past,

whether European

or

Asiatic."

Verkovic's forgeries were exposed at once

all

and without

did not

difficulty, this

in

him from pubHshing the second volume

seven /years

Verkovic

Even

the least deter

of his "

Veda

"3

later.
is

not really remarkable in himself.

But

he,

an important figure in Bulgarian history. He was

time the chief and only authority in Russia on
matters Macedonian. In fact, one of his works is an

too, is

for a long

" Ethnography of Macedonia " written in Russian.

To-

day the Bulgars refer copiously to him over the Macedonian question to his songs, his treatises, and reports.

For them he
'

is

" well-known in the Slav world as an

" Veda Slovena, narodni pesni

doba, otkril

v.

Trakija

ofc

Makedonia

p. X.

Ibid., p. xii.

Petrograd, 1881.

10

predhistoricno
izdal Stefan

I.

predhristjansko

Verkovic," 1874,

MACEDONIA

130

and

ethnographer

archaeologist

he

especially

is

esteeraed for his perfect knowledge of Macedonia."

These ideas were held by all Bulgars of the nineteenth

They were shared also by the Bulgarian
century.
historian Gavril Krstovic, one of the chief agitators in
the Bulgarian Church Question. His " History of the
Bulgarian Nation"
tions

is

fables

full of

concerning the Bulgars and

and wild exaggeratheir

Even

past.

Mr. Drinov, the best of the Bulgarian historians,

from these

entirely free

By

ideas.

such ideas was the Bulgarian awakening accom-

panied.
all

not

is

They permeated

new

its

history,

the

whole

the

of

science, its policy,

its

and

nation,
all

its

programme, the rising generation of

all school and
Bulgaria is brought up on these ideas
instruction are imbued with them.^
Armed with ideas of this kind, then, the Bulgars began
Macedonia and their
their propagandist activity in
social

and

political

'

A. Ischirkov, " Les confins occidentaux des Terres Bulgares,"

Mr. lechirkov is Professor of Geography at
p. 231.

Lausanne, 1915,

Member

the University of Sofia and

of the Bulgarian

Academy

of

Science.
' In Bulgarian school-books we find it is stated that Alexander the
Great was a Bulgar, because he was born in Macedonia, and that
It is true that he wrote
Aristotle was a Bulgar for the same reason.
in Greek, but he did so only in order to educate the southern bar'
barians. He Wrote also in Bulgarian, but the Greeks destroyed'
the MSS. (see Morning Fast of Febrnary 8, 1916). AcccJrding to
Bulgarian school-books Cdnstantine the Great Was also a Bulgar, as
he was bom in Nil, which is according to them a Bulgarian town.

According to the same authority Cyril and Method are Bulgars,

Aleksa Nenadovic and Hajduk
because they were born in Salonica
;

Veljko, those heroes of the Serbian liberation, are likewise Bulgars,

and also the heroes of the Greek insurrection Botsaris, Karaiskis,

Kanaris,

kog

Miaulis,

Poluostrva,"

pp. 100-101.)

and others.
translated

{Cf.

from

" Dr^ave
the

narodi

Balkans-

Bussian, Belgrade,

1891,

BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA

131

Un-

opposition to the Serbian claims to that country.

By

Bulgars.

not remain confined to the

did

fortunately these ideas

and ubiquitous repetition

dint of constant

they had the good fortune to be heard of and taken

into

The first and most strongly to be

by them was Russia, who regarded the Slavs

consideration.

influenced

of Turkey as her oppressed brothers in blood and religion.

In Russia there were always Bulgarian refugees. For
whereas the refugees from Serbian countries under

Turkey always

the

to

fled

Serbs, the

Bulgars

the Russians heard of

Bulgaria.
sionate

It

was

misery that

to

these

prevailed

in

Russian that Venelin with pas-

in

devotion and fanciful idealism introduced the

Bulgarian nation and

and

the

fled

From

Wallachia, Moldavia, and South Russia.^

fictitious

its

Slavdom

value for

In their war with Turkey towards

for the world.

the end of the thirties of the nineteenth century, the

Russians had

at

the

last

opportunity

of

personally

observing the miseries of the nation of which Venelin

was just at that time writing with so much sympathy

and enthusiasm. Added to this came the agitation of
the " awakened " Bulgarian patriots in Russia and
Roumania. "Bulgarian Committees for the aid of the
Danubian Bulgars " were established in Odessa and
Bucharest, with the object of making propaganda in
Russia and elsewhere for the benefit of the Bulgarian
cause.

To Bulgaria

these Committees sent school and

liturgical books, crucifixes, vestments, chalices,

ecclesiastical

furniture.

Russia was the

a lively interest in the Bulgars.

and subscriptions
Pipha and Spaso\

("A

for the
ic,

p.

139

and other

first

to

take

She, too, sent books

Bulgarian schools and ecclesi;

G. S. Rakovaki,

Traveller through the Mountains

'),

p. 271.

^'

Gorski Putuik"

MACEDONIA

132

the Bulgarian churches. She was

to educate the Bulgarian younger
and
the
generation, which produced some of the most ardent
astical furniture for
first

to attract

who then either laboured in Russia

in the Balkan Peninsula.
propaganda
or else made
Finally, little by little, Bulgaromania became general in
Eussia. Even sober men of science were bitten with
Bulgarian patriots

the Bulgarian

craze

and

prepared

pronounce the

to

whole of the Balkans to be Bulgarian. The learned

V. Grigorovic, travelling in the Balkans in 1844, saw
only Bulgars wherever he went. Although he noticed
a prevailing difference between the speech of the Macedonians and that of the Bulgars, he could not get rid
of his

Bulgarophihsm, and so pronounced

to be Bulgars.'

He

also noticed

all

Macedonians

other differences, but

being completely fascinated by the Bulgars, he did not

think of discriminating between them and the MaceGrigorovid's

donians.2

unquestioned

authority

only

served to strengthen the Russian love for the Bulgars.

They were the favourite children of the Great Slav

The Russian

Mother.
voritelnoe

Obscestvo,"

Society,

" Slavyanskoe Blagot-

established

in

1858,

laboured

untiringly at the propagation of the Bulgarian cause.

The ethnographic maps

published by- the Society were

in complete accord with the most ambitious of Bulgarian

ideals.

In

1870 Russia created

nomous Church.

Finally,

when

the
in

Bulgarian

1878

it

auto-

became

necessary to estabHsh the Bulgarian State, all Russia

was carried away with excitement. Public opinion was
stronger than the Government.

V. Grigorovic, " Ocerk putesestvija po evropejskoj Turcii," 1848,

pp. 194, 195, 196 (in Russian).

^

Thus was created the

Ibid.

BULGARIAN PROPAGANDA
Great Bulgaria of San Stefano, on March

133
3,

1878

Bulgaria within whose frame, beside the real Bulgaria,

were included Macedonia and a great part of Old Serbia.

According to popular opinion

Russia at the time

in

Bulgaria was entitled to an area of 164,000

with a population of 4,500,000.

And

if

sq.

km.

there had been

which reduced Bulgaria to

her proper ethnical boundaries, the Bnlgars would long
ago have been masters of the Balkan Peninsula. But
although the Bulgaria of San Stefano was not realized,
no Congress

it

left

remained
goal.

It

of Berlin, 1878,

strong impression
for

them

has been

among

the

Bulgars.

It

a recognized and merely unrealized

the dream of

the whole

of

the

Bulgarian nation ever since.

From

Russia this sympathy for Bulgaria spread

over the world.

It

was

in

all

Russia that the fables of

the Bulgars were given wings.

Russia was the chief

authority on Bulgaria and her chief advocate.

the sympathy and help extended by

all

Thence

the world to

the unjust aspirations of Bulgaria, to the huge detri-

ment

of

the just interests of the Serbian nation.

IX {Continued)

BULGABTAN ACTION IN MACEDONIA

The Greek Church abuses its power over the Slavs in the Turkish
Empire Slav dissatisfaction Inability of the Serbs to fight
the Greek Church The Bulgars, assisted by Russia, open their
campaign The Uniate Church (Greek Catholicism) among the
Bulgars The Russians, alarmed at the progress of the Uniate
The Greek
Church, increase their help to the Bulgars

Patriarch, alarmed at the growth of the Uniate Church, yields to

The Porte, taking the part of the Bulgars, intervenes with the Greek Patriarch, and the Sultan declares the
independence of the Bulgarian Church in Turkey Significance
of the creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate
Detriment caused
to the Serbs in Turkey by the creation of the Bulgarian
Exarchate Attitude of the Greek Church towards the Macedonian Serbs Macedonians begin to turn Uniate Ptussia
advises them to join the Bulgars in their struggle against the
Greek Church Macedonians help Bulgars, but only to free
themselves from the Greek clergy The Macedo-Eoumanians do
the same The Bulgarian Exarchate and Macedonia Turks
New Bulgarian bishoprics in
side with Bulgars in Macedonia
the Bulgars

Macedonia
of

Forcible Bulgarization of the Macedonians Creation

Propaganda in Macedonia from Bul-

independent Bulgaria

Many Macedonian Serbs refuse to join the Bulgars

Bulgarian terror among Serbian population of MacedoniaBulgarian comitadjis in Macedonia Destruction of Serbian
garia

records and

DESPITE

monuments

in

Bnlgarian

sympathies

of

Macedonia

have prevailed in Macedonia

in

pressing

the

national interests.

Church

When

and in

zeal,

Europe,

the

of

the

Bulgars would

not

spite

had they not succeeded

into

the

service

of

their

speaking of the part played

134

BULGARIAN ACTION
by the
is

Serbian Patriarchate

IN

MACEDONIA

we

explained

how

135
great

the importance of an autonomous Church in Turkey.

The Bulgars

contrived to have Macedonia placed under

own autonomous Church, and then

drew every advantage from this circumstance that could
possibly be drawn from it, to the utmost limit.
Right up to the latter half of the eighteenth century
the greater part of Macedonia was from an ecclesiastical
the power of their

point of view under the

Serbian

the smaller part was under the

In

Ochrida.

Patriarchate,
archiepiscopal

1766 the Turks suppressed the

and

Patriarchate,

while
see of

Serbian

1767 they suppressed the archi-

in

All the powers and rights of

two independent Churches were henceforth transferred to the Greek Patriarchate in Constantinople.
In
this way not only the vast territories which had already
been under the Greek Patriarchate before, but also all
those regions in the Turkish Empire in which the Church
service was conducted in the Slav tongue, were placed
under the Greek Patriarchate.
The Greek Patriarchate is above all things a Greek
Church.
It was never friendly to the Slavs of the
Balkan Peninsula. While the Southern Slavs had their

Ochrida.

episcopate of
these

independent

States

in

the Middle

Ages, their

auto-

cephalous Churches were rivals of the Greek Patriarchate.

Under the Turkish

rule the independent Serbian

guarded the Serbian nation and

from the influence

of

the

guarded them

from that
Greek Patriarchate found
of being the chief

Turkey,

it

and

sole

looked upon

it

its

Greek Church,
of
itself

Church

national civilization
just

When

the Turks.
in the

as

it

the

proud position

Orthodox Church

in

European

as its duty to suppress every

non-Greek national feeling and to foster and strengthen

MACEDONIA

136

only Greek sentiment.

Only Greek
Greek civilization enjoyed its favour

was persecuted and crushed.

occupy high positions

in

the

nationality
;

and

everything else

None but Greeks

could

From

these

Church.

they everywhere- protected the Greeks alone,

positions

they introduced

an exclusively Greek intellectual life,

and they invested everything with an exclusively Greek

The

character.

no matter what their

Slavs,

ability,

were

never permitted. to rise beyond the dignity of a parish

and that they could attain only by heavy pay-

priest,

ments.

The Slav

office

was persecuted,

old Slav

MSB.

were destroyed, the legends in the churches coated over

with plaster and replaced by Greek inscriptions. Besides
all this the Greek Church was morally in a most corrupt

Robbery and venality prevailed

state.

in high places.

Preferment was given only to sycophants and to those

who were able to pay well. A bishopric cost about

T1,000 in

For

gold.

gold, ex-cooks

and innkeepers were

And

permitted to attain the dignity of a bishop.

of

the

Greek Church.

things, truckling to

other

were prevalent in the hierarchy

Standing by the Turks in all

vices of the vilest sort

them and bribing them with money,

the Greek Church with the help of the Turks exploited

the nation and treated

This state of
tion with the
this reason, in
itself

free

made

it

it

affairs

even as the Turks were doing.

produced a profound dissatisfac-

Greek Church among the

Serbia

Milos

one of his

as

Slavs.

For

soon as the country had set

Obrenovic, her prince at that time,

first

cares to separate

Church from the Greek Patriarchate and

the Serbian
to

render

it

independent.

Throughout Turkey, this dissatisfaction with the

Greek Church increased from day to day.
Nothing

BULGARIAN ACTION
was

lacking

open

an

were

far

suitable

against

more numerous

at

in

it.

opportunity

Although

to

the

137

begin
Serbs

Turkey than the Bulgars,

from rebel-

nevertheless practically debarred

against

Serbia

struggle

they were
ling

but

MACEDONIA

IN

the

Greek

Church.

the expense of Turkey

The
made

liberation

the

of

Serbian

people an object of- mingled hate and fear on the part of

the Turks. Any movement on the part of the Serbs in

Turkey was supposed to be instigated from Serbia. Every

Serb in Turkey was considered a rebel. The detachment
of the Serbian Church from the Greek Patriarchate
increased the hostility of the Greeks towards the Serbs,

The
Greek intrigue against them.
Turkish Empire and the Greek Patriarchate became
The Bulgars were (at
natural allies against the Serbs.
and

stimulated

that time) in a far better position to fight against the

abuses of the Greek Church.

They were

of Turkey, without political aspirations.

docile subjects

The Bulgarian

State did not as yet exist, and the Turks could not lay
it

to their charge, as they did to that of the

Serbs, that

they were agitating abroad tor the formation of a free

State.

had good reason to be discontented

For many years, ever
with the Greek Patriarchate.
since the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Trnovo was suppressed in 1393, the Greeks had cruelly oppressed the
Bulgars. They denationalized them and destroyed all
Very early in the day there
their native civilization.

The Bulgars,

too,

were voices raised among the Bulgars against the Greeks.

Already in the middle of the eighteenth century the
Bulgarian historian Pajsije complained bitterly of the
Greeks.

Venelin relates how, some time about 1794,

the Greeks burnt a

number

of old

Bulgarian

MSS.

at

"

MACEDONIA

138

how the Bulgarian

how the Bulgars write

Trnovo;

alphabet .had ceased to

exist

the words of their

own

language in Greek characters or carry on their corre-

how the Christian faith

among the Bulgars, how priests are scarce,
and one may find unbaptized young men of between
seventeen and twenty years of age.^ When, in 1823, the
spondence entirely in Greek

has declined

Metropolitan

of Sofia

discovered the presence of Bul-

garian books and antiquities in the village of Cerovina,

near Sofia,

he

the former

ordered

replaced by Greek books. ^

to

be burnt and

In 1825 the Metropolitan of

Trnovo ordered the burning

of the old

library of

the

Bulgarian Patriarchate during the Trnovo period, which

had been accidentally re-discovered shortly before. 3

provided sufficient

this

cause

for

the Bulgars

to

All

be

thoroughly dissatisfied with the Greek Patriarchate.

The

denationalized Bulgars, however, did

to consider

from

all

these matters

till

not begin

Venelin roused them

It was precisely through his influence

more notable Bulgars that the idea of

their torpor.

among

the

emancipation from the Greeks began

to

appear.

In

1840 the Bulgars begged the Greek Patriarchate that in

the Bulgarian counties the Greek

language might be

Bulgarian in the Church services.

was unsuccessful, the Bulgars in 1853
appealed to the Bussian Ambassador (in Constantinople),
Prince Menshikov, for intervention on their behalf in
this matter.
But even then they failed to succeed.

replaced

As

by the

this petition

J. Venelin, " Zaradi vozbuzdenie novobolgarskoj slovesnosti

Concerning the Renascence of Neo-Bulgarian Slavdom"), Bucharest,
1842, pp. 11, 27, 34-36 (in Bulgarian).
= G. Bousquet, " Histoire du Peuple Bulgare," Paris, 1909, p. 133.
3 J.
Eakovski, "Gorski Putnik" ("A Traveller through the
Mountains "), pp. 208, etc.
'

("

BULGARIAN ACTION
After

the

Crimean

IN

MACEDONIA

War, the Porte

by a

139

decree on

February 16, 1856, promised her Christian subjects that

their rights should be respected and their rehgion protected.

On

the strength of this the Bulgars

demanded

bishops and

that in the Bulgarian eparchies Bulgarian

priests should be appointed, and that in the churches the

Bulgarian language should be introduced in place of the

Although the Kussian Ambassador supported
Greek.
their petition in Constantinople, the Bulgars were again
unsuccessful.

In the meantime the Bulgarian agitation

from day to day, and the interest in the

emancipation of the Church was growing even among
the mass of the people. In December 1858, the Bulgars

increased

again presented a

demanding

to

the

Greek

Patriarch,

who were not acquainted with

Bulgarian language. The Holy Synod of the Greek

Bulgarian
the

petition

that no bishops should be appointed in the

eparchies

demand, but promised

Although four
that it would consider the matter.
members of the Holy Synod were actually Bulgars (from
Philippopolis, Vidin, Sofia, and Trnovo) the Bulgarian
request was in the end definitely refused in February
Patriarchate refused even

this

By
This was the signal for fresh agitations.
newspapers.
and
books
possessed
this time the Bulgars
1860.

Four Bulgarian printing presses (in Constantinople,

Trnovo, Sumen, and Philippopolis) were busily turning
out inflammatory books and newspapers.

The

nation

was aroused. In many places the populace, with newfound fanaticism, expelled the Greek priests from the
churches and refused the bishops their stipends. But
the whole of this Bulgarian Church movement has no
connection with Macedonia.
only,

It

concerned the Bulgars

and not the Serbs in Macedonia.

MACEDONIA

140

One contemporary circumstance

factor

favour

in

Bulgars

the

of

provecl

decisive

by winning them

and the Bulgars took every

In consequence of the dissensions between the Bulgars and the Greek Patriarchate,
Kussia's unlimited help,

possible advantage of

it.

a Uniate propaganda began to

make headway in

Bulgaria.

This propaganda offered the Bulgars what the Patriarchate had refused even to think of giving them.''
offered

them,

if

they went over to the Uniate

It

faith,

emancipation from the Greeks, divine service in the

Bulgarian language, bishops whom they need not pay,
help for intellectual requirements,
books,

and

everything

Bulgarian nationality.

Church does not

else

In

differ in

Moreover, the advantages

of the Bulgars.

sympathetically.

became frequent.

its

and church

school

needed

to

elevate

the least from the Orthodox.

it

offered

suited the needs

The common people took

Conversions
In

the

outer form the Uniate

order

to
to

the

to

it

dismay

very

Church

Uniate

Kussia,

the

Bulgarian leaders showed themselves especially enthusiastic supporters of the

make

many
One

of

them became converts to the Uniate Church.

was Cankov, a popular leader

time and subsequently one of the most prominent

of free Bulgaria.^

The news
the Bulgars
blue.

In order to

of the first converts

at that

men

Uniate movement.

the danger appear more pressing to the Russians,

of the spread of the Uniate faith

came

to the Russians like a bolt

Bigoted Orthodox Russia did not lose a

among

from the

moment

Uniates being inembers of any Eastern Christian Church acknowledging the Papal supremacy but retaining their own liturgy.
"

That this movement was really only intended to force Russia's

hand is proved by the fact that Cankov and the rest of the Bulgarian
leaders eventually all reverted to the Orthodox faith.
-

BULGARIAN ACTION

IN

MACEDONIA Ul

the Uniate movement.

Every Bulgarian wish received attention. From this
time forth Bulgarian demands, however extravagant,
and Russian support went hand in hand the Bulgars
proposed and the Russians disposed.
This spread of Uniacy was to the detriment of Orthodoxy in general.
The Greek Patriarch, too, became
in doing all she could to check

alarmed, and announced that he was prepared to meet

the Bulgars as far as possible, so that they would remain
in the

their

Orthodox

the Bulgarian

The Bulgars

fold.

and

demands,

Church.

only by

Bulgars

the

be in Constantinople

once increased
of

In other words, the Bulgars

demanded an independent head

elected

at

upon the autonomy

insisted

Church, to be

of their

and whose seat would

furthermore, that

bishops should be elected

all

Bulgarian

only by Bulgarian priests,

and that they must be confirmed in their dignity by

the

head of

administration

the
of

Bulgarian
the

Church
and that the
Church should be
;

Bulgarian

entrusted exclusively to the Bulgars.

was willing

to yield to

The Patriarch

the Bulgars, but only as regards

the truly Bulgarian counties, between the

the Balkan chain.

He

Danube and

therefore requested the Bulgars

to define the scope of their future

Church.

Having gained Russia's help and the acquiescence of

the Greek Church, the Bulgars now showed themselves
" Let us get what we can, no
in their true colours
matter if it belongs to others." The dream of a great
Bulgaria and of a hegemony over the nations of the
Near East began to appear as a realizable goal. The
:

Bulgars rejected the

proposal of the Patriarch, and

began with fresh agitations and threats. The Patriarch
endeavoured to allay the Bulgarian tempest by a letter

MACEDONIA

142

promising to accede to
all

all

the Bulgarian

eparchies that were truly Bulgarian.

were not

satisfied

with this either, but applied to the

Porte and began to negotiate with her

the Porte was

demands in
The Bulgars
While

direct.

considering the Bulgarian Church

still

question, the Bulgars presented their ultimatum

a free

Church or rebellion
Partly the Bulgarian unrest, but
vastly more the influence of the Russian x4.mbassador
prevailed with the Porte to submit a scheme for the
solution of the Grseco-Bulgarian imbroglio to the Greek
Patriarch in October 1868. In an accompanying letter
!

to the Patriarch the

Porte declared that this question

could no longer be permitted to remain open, and that

was a State necessity to satisfy the Bulgars. In this

scheme the Porte demanded that wherever the Bulgars
constituted the majority, it was they who should elect
the priests that their bishops should be Bulgars, and
that the head of the Bulgarian Church should reside
in Constantinople, whence he would w^ith his Synod
it

minister to the ecclesiastical needs of the Bulgars.

The

Greek Patriarchate had not yet fully considered this

scheme when the Bulgars announced it in all their
This was a decisive step

eparchies as a fait accompli.

in

the

detachment

Patriarchate.

of

the

them

question.

from the Greek

The Patriarch considered

quite illegal, and appealed to

inviting

Bulgars

all

their

attitude

the Orthodox Churches,

CEcumenical Council to deal with the

This Council never met. The Porte, thanks
to a

to Russia's endeavours, settled the matter herself instead.

Without paying any attention

to the

Greek Patriarchate,

the Porte in 1869 arranged, and on February 28, 1870,

by a firman from the Sultan announced the establishment

of an independent Bulgarian Church under the name of

BULGARIAN ACTION
Exarchate,

Bulgarian

the

IN

whose

MACEDONIA
was

See

to

143

b in

Constantinople.

The creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate gave a

new direction to the development of conditions in
the Christian territories of the Turkish Empire. The
establishment was a great blow to the Greeks. The

new Bulgarian Exarchate

not only deprived the Greek

Patriarchate of a great part of

its territory,

but became

from the Greek PatriSlavs

who were left under
archate even the remaining
As for the Serbs, they found a new enemy in the
it.
Bulgarian Exarchate, an enemy who was under Russia's
a danger, threatening to wrest

protection and enjoyed

and

solicitude

their

the favour of

the Porte.

By

the

creation of

the

success

in

Bulgarian Exarchate the Eussians established a great

prestige for themselves among the Slavs of the Turkish

Empire

as the all-pov/erful protectors of Slav Orthodoxy,

while in that same Exarchate they found a channel for

their

own

political activities in

The Turks

Turkey.

also

considered that by the creation of the Exarchate they

had scored a great

political success.

They imagined

that

of the Exarchate they had killed the

Greek Patriarchate, which had served as
the policy of Greece, that by it a focus was

by the establishment
prestige of the

a screen for
created
of

Serbs,
so

-in

Constantinople, towards which

Empire would

the Turkish

all

the Slavs

gravitate, including the

whose gravitation towards Serbia was considered

dangerous.

their Exarchate.

The Bulgars made the fullest use of

They not only received an autonomous

Church, but the incidental conditions established by

were also

Greek

all

to

their

Patriarchate

advantage.

and

the

The

weakening

it

defeat of the
of

the

ties

Jbetween Serbia aod the >Slavs under the Turks, Russia's

MACEDONIA

144

increased prestige and her policy in the Balkans, and

Slavs in Turkey tov^ards Con-

the gravitation of the

stantinople

this

all

was

greatly

in

favour

of

the

Bulgars.

These were the conditions under which the Bulgarian

The Bulgarian Exarch
its activities.

Exarchate began

was not only head

of the

Bulgarian Church and protector

of the Slav liturgy, but also the representative of

the

Bulgarian people with the Sultan and his ministers, the

protector of Bulgarian interests, and the inaugurator of

the improvement and revival of Bulgarian culture and

which the eparchies

readily contributed, were employed without delay in
Schools were opened
improving Bulgarian education.
throughout the extent of the Exarchate. Large numbers

Abundant

nationality.

funds,

students were sent to

of

Russia.

high

schools,

All Bulgaria pulsated with

new

life.

especially

The

to

people,

wearied of their ill-treatment by the Greeks and anxious

language in the Church

for the introduction of the Slav

around their leaders.

service, rallied enthusiastically

Already at the outset the Bulgarian Exarchate inflicted

a grave injury upon the
limit

itself

to

the

Serbian nation.

Bulgarian

counties.

It

did not

Besides

the

Bulgarian, several purely Serbian eparchies were included

in

its

jurisdiction,

(Sustendil,

the

viz.

Samokov and

the .Serbian

Eparchies of Nis, Pirot,

Veles,

Patriarchate until

which had been under

the latter half of the

Although in Macedonia only the

eparchy of Veles was assigned to the Exarchate, yet
eighteenth century.

this

*****

was the beginning

of Bulgaria's full-blown activity

in Macedonia.

The Serbs

in

Macedonia were

also greatly tyrannized

BULGARIAN ACTION
the Serbian Patriarchate

content in Macedonia with

Metropohtan
Serbian

given

hear of

to

heads of

the

He was

of Skoplje.

monk

of

Antim:

"A

of purely

the Monastery of
description

following

the

us

politan

we begin

dis-

Greek

the

In 1791 a priest named Antim was appointed

Church.

Urt

Immediately after the suppression

over by the Greeks.

of

MACEDONIA

IN

great

Greek origin.
Lesnovo has

of

Metro-

the

who

lover of lucre,

cares

canon because of his covetousness. The

monasteries are rank with simony, he cares neither for
the Church, nor the poor, nor the widows. He bestows

naught

for the

Elseno alms and exacts taxes from the monasteries."

"
Throughout Macewhere the position was no better
donia from Salonica to Ochrida, and from the frontiers
of Thessaly up to Skoplje and Melnik, not only in the
places where the Metropolitans have their residence,
^

but even in the village churches, divine service

celebrated

in

the Greek tongue."

is

being

The few Serbian

schools that remained were unable to counteract the

Plenty of people were in the habit of

Greek influence.

using the Greek alphabet even

in Serbian.

The

when they had

to write

national customs, to which the Serbian

The Greek

people are deeply attached, were persecuted.

priests particularly strove to eradicate the " Slava,"

universal

Serbian custom which

kept

it

perated the Serbian population of Macedonia.

Lj.

Stojanovic,

as a sign of

by Greek customs.
the Greek priests exas-

Serbian nationality, and to replace

This conduct on the part of

is

" Stari Srpski Zapisi Natpisi "

Inscriptions and Notes "), No. 3759.

"
V. Grigorovic, " 06erk putesestvija

("

Upon

the

Old Serbian

po Evropejskoj

Turcii,"

p. 136.
3

Iv. S. Jaatrebov, " Obifiai

pjesni tureckih Serbov," Petrograd,

1886, p. 3 (in Russian).

11

MACEDONIA

146

appearance of the Uniate propaganda, the Macedonians,

began to be converted by it. The centre of this

too,

propaganda was

at

Kuku

in Southern Macedonia,

the Uniates estabhshed a church in 1857.

where

The Bulgars

were not slow to turn this popular discontent and the

spread of the Uniate faith in Macedonia to their

own

In the dissatisfaction of the Macedonian

Serbs with the Greek rule the Bulgars found corroboration of what they themselves always alleged against the

advantage.

Greeks, and on the other hand

provided them with

it

While the Bulgars

a further field for their activities.

Russians to the
drawing the
activity of the Uniates in Macedonia, they were themselves doing their best to win over the Macedonians to
attention of the

were

join

the

Bulgarian

movement

against

the

Greeks.

Orthodox Russia likewise considered the presence of the

Uniate communities in Macedonia a danger to Slav
Orthodoxy, and so began to send her agents to dissuade
the populace from joining the former and to promise
that the Serbian question in Macedonia should be
solved together with the

Looking

upon

Bulgarian Church question.

Russia as

Orthodoxy, the Macedonians

protectress

the

of

Slav

listened to these counsels

and helped to further the Bulgarian cause, upon the

success of which their own cause was likewise to
depend. The Uniate movement weakened, and support
Thus began
for the Bulgarian movement increased.
the

rapprochement

Macedonian

the

between

Serbs

and the Bulgars.

When

the agitation against the Greeks and the con-

versions to the Uniate faith

nobody thought
of

first

of the Bulgars.

began in Macedonia
It

was only a question

emancipation from the Greek Patriarchate and the

BULGARIAN ACTION

IN

MACEDONIA

restoration of the national tongue in the

When
1857,

our

the Uniate Church in

than anything

faith.

to us."

else, this inscription reveals

Better

the motives

Macedonia when they went over

of the Serbs in

Uniate

mother tongue was restored

lost

When

against the Uniate

the

offices.

KukuS was consecrated in

" On March 1st, 1857,

received the inscription

it

Church

14*?

Russians

entered

movement the Serbs were

to the

the

lists

left

but

one way of attaining emancipation from the Greeks, and

This step
that was to join the Bulgarian movement.
Bulgarization, but only a joint struggle

did not imply

against the Greeks for the use of the Slav tongue in

the Church.

which the Macedonians had from

waged against the Greeks, did not bear
a Bulgarian character, nor prove that the Macedonians
wished to become Bulgars, is best shown by the
adherence of the Eoumanians of Macedonia to the
The Roumanians in Macedonia
Bulgarian cause.
suffered the same wrongs at the hands of the Greek
So the Roumanians,
priests as did the Slav Christians.
That the

the very

too,

struggle,

first

began

to

Like the Serbs, they too joined

rebel.

the Bulgars and

waged a

struggle

for

a native clergy

and use of the national tongue in the Church.

localities

Bulgars.

many

they for a long time acted jointly with the

When

they recognized
eighty

In

the Bulgarian Exarchate was created,

it

Roumanian

as

their

families

Exarchate until the nineties

own.

In

Ochrida,

about

were under the Bulgarian

But no
of last century. ^

'
Iv. Ivani6, " Iz crkvene istorije Srba u Turskoj " (" Church
History of the Serbs in Turkey in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth
Centuries "), p. 41.
P.
Balkanski, " Kroz Qroblje " ("Through the Graveyard"),
Belgrade, 1894, pp. 55-62.

MACEDONIA

148

one could say of these Roumanians,

who from

practical

movement, that
would be equally

considerations had joined the Bulgarian

they had done so as Bulgars, and

it

false to say so of the Serbs.

The

true epoch of Bulgarian influence

in

Macedonia

only dates from the creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate.

In the second clause of Art. 10

of the Imperial firman,

whereby the Bulgarian Exarchate was

occurs the following passage

established, there

" If the inhabitants of

any other places besides those enumerated above, and

professing the Orthodox faith, should wish unanimously,
or

if

them should wish

at least two-thirds of

to the Bulgarian Exarchate,

and

tion should prove this to be

be gratified."

The Bulgars

if

to be subject

subsequent investiga-

so, their

desire

did not lose a

ought to

moment

in

doing their very best to turn this clause to good account.

The new Bulgarian bishops

of these eparchies, one of

which was actually in Macedonia, while others were

in close proximity to

it,

inaugurated a spirited propa-

win the Serbian inhabitants to the

Bulgarian Exarchate. No one interfered with this agitation.
The bishops as well as their agents were Turkish
subjects.
Turkey not only trusted them, but she helped
them. It was to her interest to attach the Serbs to the
ganda in order

to

Bulgarian Exarchate in Constantinople, and to diminish

their inclination

Greek

priests

to

were

gravitate
still

towards Serbia.

As the

masters in Macedonia, and the

use of the Slav language in the Church was persecuted,

and Serbian schools and Serbian

intellectual

life

were

at the last gasp, the Bulgarian agents found no difficulty

in carrying on their propaganda.

Greek Patriarchate they

In place of the hated

offered the people the protection

of the Slav Bulgarian Exarchate, the

creation of

Slav

BULGARIAN ACTION

IN

MACEDONIA

149

Eussia; in place of the Greek language in the Church

they offered them the Slav language, the common
hieratic tongue of the Serbs, Eussians,

and Bulgars;

in

place of the Greek schools, they gave them to understand

Exasperthat there was a prospect of national schools.

ated

by

the

Greeks

and

cut

off

from Serbia, the

a dilemma. The

Macedonians were on the horns of

choice lay between three evils, viz. either to continue
under the Greeks or to abandon their faith and become

come under the Bulgarian Exarchate.

The decision was difficult. How difficult it was is best
shown by the fact that the nation was by no means

Uniates,

or to

unanimous

in

its

decision.

part remained true to

the Greeks, part clung to the Uniate faith, and a third

new Bulgarian movement.

The adherents of the Bulgarian movement

part joined the

sent in

estabHshment of Bulgarian bishoprics

A Turkish commission was
in Skoplje and Ochrida.
sent down from Constantinople, before which the
a petition for the

inhabitants had to declare whether they acknowledged

This commission, too, did much
the Exarchate or not.
to

further the Bulgarian cause in Macedonia.'

It

used

considerable pressure in order to induce the inhabitants

to declare themselves for the

of

It

Macedonians who should

be denounced as agents
would
join the F^ulgars

openly threatened that

refuse to

Bulgarian Exarchate.

Greece and Serbia.

all

By

these

means the necessary

and in 1872 Bulgarian bishops

were duly installed in the dioceses of Ochrida and Skoplje.
The two new bishops were great Bulgarian agitators.

majority was obtained,

and chiefest care was the obliteration of all

Serbian memories in Macedonia. A whole army of
priests and teachers was sent from Bulgaria to MaceTheir

first

MACEDONIA

150

emanating from the Church

and the denominational school communities became BulAll written matter

donia.

The

garian.

by the

birth, marriage,

priests to the people

garian.

All

and death

certificates issued

began to be written in Bul-

documents bore Bulgarian superscriptions and

who could not write were entered in the

Persons

seals.

osmanlie (papers giving a person's name, surname, religion

and occupation, and with which every Turkish

must be provided) as Bulgars by the Bulgarian
priests and schoolmasters.
On the strength of these
papers the Macedonians were then entered in the official
registers as Bulgars.
Thus Macedonia began gradually
nationality,

subject

outwardly Bulgarized.

to be

When

in

1876 war broke out between

Turkey, the Bulgars,

made

too,

from the Turks.

selves

move

Serbia and

to liberate

them-

Incensed at this conduct on

down the BulThe Bulgarian pro-

the part of the Bulgars, the Porte put

garian bishoprics in Macedonia.

Macedonia was not greatly impaired by

this step.
On the one hand the oppressions of the
Greek priests were still too fresh in men's memories, and
on the other hand the propagandist machinery set up by
paganda

in

the Bulgars in Macedonia continued to operate there.

The Kusso-Turkish war

stroke
that

of

1877-1878 was the greatest

luck ever vouchsafed to the

of

Bulgars.

By

war Russia presented Bulgaria with freedom and

State.

Beside

their

sympathies for

the oppressed

Slavs in general, the Russians had a special interest in

They believe^ that " gratitude would bind the

Bulgaria.

Bulgars to Russia for ever, and that

unite

them

in

find a devoted

Max

if

Russia were to

an independent State, the Russians would

and

Choublier,

faithful instrument in that State."

"La

question d'Orient," Paris, 1897,

p. 85.

BULGARIAN ACTION
It

was

quite natural to

IN

MACEDONIA

assume that Bulgaria's

151
grati-

tude would be in proportion to the size of the State

question and also that the greater this State, the

in

would

stronger

in

be

Russia's

support

in

the

Balkan

These were the reasons that moved Russia

Peninsula.

1878 to create the great Bulgaria of San Stefano, in

the frame of which were included not only Macedonia,

but

Serbian

other

provinces

as

well.

Although the

Congress of Berlin reduced the frontiers of the Bulgarian

State to the limits of the Bulgarian nation, yet a deep

impression was

upon the Bulgarian mind by the

left

The Bulgars felt as if the

Berlin had robbed them of something that

Bulgaria of San Stefano.

Congress of
belonged
Stefano

to

them.

has

been

Since then
their

ideal.

the Bulgaria of San

Many

Macedonians,

having been for months under the impression that

if

Russia had had her way they would have belonged to

Bulgaria, and that

it

was by the Congress

of Berlin

and

against Russia's wish, that they were being redelivered

into Turkish slavery, regretted the freedom they

recently enjoyed.
into

had so

Serbia was not only not even taken

consideration as a possible owner of Macedonia,

but she was actually expelled from those countries which

she had

won with her

blood.

The impression gained by

the Macedonians at the time was that they had nothing

to

hope from Serbia-

thing

else,

This impression, more than any-

caused the Macedonians to waver in their

Serbian feeling.

Meantime the Bulgarian propaganda in Macedonia

was pursued with relentless energy from the Bulgarian
State.
Those Bulgars who had been educated abroad
by the Russian Committees and had lived as emigrants
in Europe now returned to Bulgaria, fanatically devoted

MACEDONIA

152

Great Bulgarian ideas.

to

these

men was

to

One

of the

cares of

chief

reopen that agitation for a Great

Bulgaria which had been so successfully started before

and had received definite expression in the Treaty of

San Stefano. The Exarchate continued to remain in
Constantinople, but was now in closest touch with the

With money provided by

Bulgarian Government.

the

Bulgarian State budget, the Exarchate created a special

department called the " Skolsko Popeciteljstvo " (School

Department), which maintained a whole army of agents

The denominational

Macedonia.

in

donia became so

many

Mace-

schools in

branches of the School Depart-

ment of the Bulgarian Exarchate.

the war was over the Bulgars began

directly

Finally,
to

work not only

the return of the forfeited Bulgarian dioceses in

for

Macedonia, but also for the creation of new ones.

Thus were

established conditions under which the Ser-

bian population had to submit to the Exarchate

to

remain Slav and

know

if it

wished

All Macedonians

to live in peace.

many
unknown

that their ancestors were Serbs, and a good

remember

that in their youth the Bulgars were

in their country (see

Supplements Nos.

I,

II,

and

III).

show how
successful was the Bulgarian propaganda in Macedonia
In the days before the Bulgarian Exarchate there came

The

following example alone will suffice to

to Veles

as

Serbian schoolmaster George Miletic, the

brother of Svetosar Miletic, the Serbian national leader

in

Hungary.

He was

in

Macedonia

at the time of the

struggle for emancipation from the Greeks.

As

a good

Serb he also supported the struggle, but threw in his

lot

with those who, taking Eussia's advice, joined the Bulgarian movement, and he became a Bulgarian leader in

Macedonia.

To-day his son Ljubimir

Miletic

(whose

BULGARIAN ACTION
are both

name and surname

the

University

MACEDONIA

Serbian)

and

Sofia,

of

IN

one

is

professor at

the

of

153

bitterest

Serbophobes.
in spite of all hatred of the Greeks, in spite of

But
the

inducement

the

of

Slav

Bulgarian Church, and in

liturgy

spite

of

offered

by

the

the Bulgarian pro-

paganda, the Bulgarian success in Macedonia vv^as never

complete. A great part of the nation continued to

remain Serbian in

feelings.

Bulgarization,

fearing

habitants,

its

One-third of
actually

the in-

preferred

to

remain under the hated Greek Patriarchate rather than

go over to the Bulgarian Exarchate. Many of those

who

joined the Exarchate out of hatred for the Greeks

remained Serbs in their feeling. The best proof

of this is to be found in the pro- Serbian insurrection
against the Turks, in the appeals to the Congress of

still

Berlin not to hand

ment No.

them over

to Bulgaria (see Supple-

IV), and in the secret agitations in favour of

Serbia.

This positively expressed Serbian feeling on the part

Macedonians the Bulgars endeavoured to stifle

by espionage and denunciation to the Turkish
Nowhere and never have
authorities or by direct terror.
there been such espionage and denunciation as the Bul-

of the

either

The Bulgarian bishops,

and agents knew no bounds in
the Serbs. They falsely accused

gars practised in Macedonia.

priests, schoolmasters,

their

campaign against

the Serbs of high treason, conspiracy, and of the vilest

crimes.

Turkish justice was very summary, and

sentences

were

instance.

On

seventy-two

of

We

inhuman.
April
his

10,

1881,

friends

then^selves to be Serbs.

will

Spira

declared

the

but

one

Crncevic

and

quote

that

they

The Bulgars denounced

felt

theni

MACEDONIA

154

as traitors and handed Spira over to the Turks.

Turks put

death and exposed

to

Kumanovo

public at

number

Spira

warning

as a

The

head in

his

to others.

vast

Serbs paid with their heads or with incar-

of

Asia Minor, and

Salonica,

ceration in

the islands of

the Archipelago for their Serbian feeling.

The Bulgarian
attempt

to

opening

Serbian feeling in Macedonia.

The

Serbian

every

of

demonstrations

hostile

On

their

shrink

stifle

The

was even more appalling.

from any baseness in

terror

not

Bulgars did

school
attacks

or

was attended by
from the Bulgars.

these occasions there were bloodshed and murder.

The Turkish

authorities were

the Bulgars.

The Bulgars

assaulting

Serbian female

In 1899 they assaulted two

soon

Krstic

fell

In

afterwards.

Olga Vukojevic

Krusevo,

teachers in

and Zlata Krstic.

died

the side of

even shrink from

Serbian female teachers and inno-

helpless

Serbian schoolboys.

cent

always on

did not

(Monastir)

ill

from the shock and

raid

the

upon the

Serbian

Bulgarian pro-

local

school

in Bitolj

fessor

wounded George Vojvodic, a lad attending the

An incomplete
(or Boys' High School).
such assaults upon Serbian schools, churches,

Serbian Lycee
list

of

and teachers appears in the Supplement

this volume (see Supplement No. V).

The worst
donia set in
express

its

schools

and

the end of

at

period of the Bulgarian terror in Mace-

when
Serbian

Serbian

the

Serbian population

feeling

and

priests.

to

From

the systematic assassination of Serbs.

began to

demand Serbian
that

time

dates

Already in 1884,

Cvetko Popovid, schoolmaster in Lukovo, was murdered

by the Bulgars. After that, these murders became

more

frequent.

In

1885

the

Bulgars

founded com-

"

BULGARIAN ACTION
mittees in Eoumelia for

IN

MACEDONIA

making propaganda

in

155

Mace-

In 1886, inspired by these committees, began

secret ruffianly attacks upon everybody and everything
that hindered the Bulgars in Macedonia. Whole bands
donia.

were

despatched

by

suppress Serbian feeling.

At a general meeting

Bulgarian Committees in Sofia

the

called

" Spoljna

Government

Bulgarian

the

Organizacija "

in

1894,

of

to
all

the so-

organization)

(foreign

was formed for the purpose of bringing about the

autonomy of the Bulgarian regions in Turkey. In 1896
the Bulgars founded
(internal

organization),

mittee in Macedonia.

Macedonians

money and
Its

the

" Unutrasnja

which was an organizing comThis body even included several

who had been bought

but

both

purpose was to put an end to the Serbs.

will the Serbian population forget the

name

all

of " Bulgarian Comitadji "

world.

the

the guiding spirit proceeded from Bulgaria.

organization which ramified

the

Organizacija

branches of this

over Macedonia.
is

Never

The

notorious throughout

Threats, blackmail, incendiarism, murder,

the expulsion of whole village communities

these were
the
by
Bulgars.
the exploits perpetrated
Led by John Varnelija (from Varna) and Pan Arnaut,
a band of comitadjis from Bulgaria attacked the
inhabitants of the neighbourhood of Veles, with intent
who refused to declare themselves
to murder all
By 1900 the
Bulgars. The terror was appalling.
obstinately Serbian village of Orahovac was completely
depopulated and destroyed. There were many similar
Even an incomplete list of the murders
instances.
committed upon notable Serbs in Macedonia by ,the
Bulgars up to 1907 is appalling (see Supplement

wholesale

No.

VI).

In the

neighbourhood of

Kumanovo and

MACEDONIA

156

Kriva Palanka, the Bulgars in 1905, within

five
months,
murdered fifty-nine highly

than

less

respected

Serbian priests, schoolmasters, and citizens.^

But even this terror sometimes failed to achieve its

object.
The innate Serbian feehng of the Macedonians
be

not

could

completely

eradicated.

From

showed 'in unmistakable clearness.

manifestation was met by the Bulgars
time

it

ferocious

spirit.

We

of

duped and
their

the village of

Strumica
terrorized,

to

in

truly

In
Kabrovo in the
they had been

will quote a single instance.

1899 the peasants of

county

time

Any such

declared
*

that

by the Bulgars into signifying

adherence to the Exarchate, but that they

felt

that they were Serbs, that they could no longer hide

J. H. Vasiljevic, " Ustanak Srba u Kumanovskoji Palanackoj
Kazi u 1878" ("Insurrection of the Serbs in the Kumanovo and
Palanca Districts"), Belgrade. 1906, pp. l-lo. Some very characteristic
examples of the abominable action of the Bulgarian
Comitadjis in Macedonia may be gleaned from a report submitted
to the Bulgarian Government by a Bulgarian consular representative (" Le Brigandage en Macedoine, un rapport contidentiel au
gouvernement bulgare," Berlin, 1008). As a matter of fact, the
Bulgars themselves made no secret of the terror in Macedonia
In repelling the
and the slaughter of the Serb inhabitants.
attacks of the Serbian press on account of the Macedonian
murders, the Bulgarian paper Blgarija (1898, Nos. 103 and
104) openly commends the action of the assassins of the Serbs
'"
The Serbian press, by publishing news of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Committee in Macedoni?; and its purpose to overthrow
the Turkish rule, is playing the part of a spy. Eevolutionists,
wherever they are, punish spies by putting them to death. The
Macedonian secret revolutionary Committees are not more lenient
Had
than others to those who spy upon them in Macedonia.
the Serbs made this clear to their own agitators, it is possible
that the murders in Ochrida, Gevgeli, and Bitolj would not have
occurred. ..." The paper Rcforma (1899, No. 6), praising the
assassin of the Serbian priest Todor Pop-Antic in Prilep, says
that " with exceptional devotion and exemplary courage he carried
'

out a patriotic deed.

..."

BULGARIAN ACTION
theiu

feelings,

and that they wished

The

the Exarchate.

was

MACEDONIA

IN

to

and

his house,

Aleksa.

They

Under these appalling

of

two

children.

conditions, under the protection

Empire, the helpless Serbian inhabitant

Macedonia was compelled

comitadji,

set

first

then cut to pieces his wife, his

brother, his daughter-in-law, and

of the Turkish

Serbs

For this the Bulgars

took a horrible vengeance upon him.

fire to

secede from

leader of these victimized

their parish priest

157

bishop,

priest,

to yield

to the Bulgarian

and

schoolmaster,

agent

to

attend the Bulgarian church, send his children to the

Bulgarian school, and to obey orders from Sofia.

While the Bulgars were thus killing Serbian nationahty in Macedonia, they took care to destroy everything
else that could recall the Serbs.

The Serbian

relics in

Macedonia were a great stumbling-block to the Bulgars.

Every memento of the Serbs was to disappear, and they
spared nothing in their fanaticism.

The

MSS., the

old

pictures of Serbian kings and saints, the legends and

all were destroyed.
inscriptions in books and churches
We have not at this moment a list available of all
that the Bulgars have destroyed in Macedonia, but we

will

quote a few examples, which will amply serve as

illustrations.

Near Skoplje,

in the

Suhore^ka Zupa, stands to this

day the old Serbian monastery of

St.

Demitrius, built

by the Serbian king VukaSin (13G6-1371) and his sons

In this monas-

Marko, Andreas, IvaniS, and Dmitar.^

tery

many

old Serbian writings, both books

had been preserved.

was decorated with

and kings of the day

The whole

and MSS.,
monastery

interior of the

frescoes representing Serbian saints

of the Nemanji6i.

At the beginning

" Spomenik Srpske Kraljevake Akademije,"

vol.

iii.

p. 157.

MACEDONIA

158

of the Bulgarian propaganda in Serbia two strangers

from Bulgaria cajoled the local inhabitants into letting

them become custodians

monastery.

They then

employed a certain Bulgarian monk, named

Dionisiji, to

of this

destroy the Serbian relics in the monastery and appointed

him head
isiji

of the

had burned them

For a whole month Dion-

monastery.

used the Serbian

all.

MSS.

to light fires with until

But he

he
Being

did not stop there.

a painter of sorts, he plastered over the pictures of the

Serbian kings and the legends attached to them, and

on

the

coating of

plaster he

painted

fantastic

meaningless pictures of birds and snakes.

peasants found out what the
too late.

They were

monk was

When

doing

it

and
the

was

barely in time to save the picture

of King Marko, and to clean the pictures of

Nemanjic and Tsar Uro, which were not yet

St.

Sava

dry.

Be-

cause of this conduct the peasants procured the dismissal

of the

monk, but

gone past

recall.

did, Dionisiji

books and

for

all

MSS. were

the damage he

bequeathed to posterity his own portrait

on the outer wall

isiji,

of course the

To make up

Zoograf,

of the church, with the legend " Dion-

B'lgarin "

(Dionysius, painter,

Bulgar).

This outrage by the Bulgarian agitators was reported

by an eye-witness, P. Sreckovic,^ professor

the University of Belgrade.

of history at

The Russian academician

N. P. Kondakov, who traversed Macedonia in 1900 for

the purpose of studying old Macedonian art, speaks with
deep regret of this act of abominable vandalism in the

monastery

of

St.

Dmitar

"

which was perpetrated by

the hatred of the Bulgarian clergy upon the relics of

The frescoes representing

the founder of this monastery were destroyed " because
the old Serbian civilization."

'

" Glasnik

Srpskog Ucenog Drustva,"

vol. xlvi. p. 221.

BULGARIAN ACTION

MACEDONIA

IN

159

they constituted a record of the Serbian domination in

'
these parts, and out of Bulgarian patriotism."

In the Monastery of Mlado NagoriSino the Bulgars

destroyed an inscription dated from 1330, which referred
to the victory of the Serbs over the Bulgars in that year;^

On an

icon in the Monastery of St. Clement's in Ochrida

there were inscriptions and

recalling the Serbian

emblems

State in Macedonia. .The Bulgars destroyed them all.3

Two hours' walk from Zletovo, in the cliffs above
the Eiver Zletovo, is the old Serbian Monastery of

Uspenje

Svete

In

Bogorodice.

is

it

the

preserved

The legend
name and recaUing

picture of one of the old kings of Serbia.

attached to the picture, giving his

the days of the Serbian rule in Macedonia,

was

effaced

from Zletovo.4
and Prince
Alexander Karagjorgjvic (1842-1859), the father of King
Peter, each presented the monastery of St. John Bigorski

by the Bulgarian
Prince

Milo

priest Teodosije

Obrenovic

near Debar with a large

(1815-1839)

bell.

an inscription saying that this

Eound each

bell

runs

was presented by

gift

the Serbian prince in question to the Serbian monastery.

The Bulgars tried to obliterate these legends by hammering them. But the metal was too hard, and although
the letters are damaged they are still perfectly legible.
Such were the trials through which the Serbian nation
and its civilization in Macedonia were called upon to
pass.
If they have so far survived, it is only a proof
of the vitality of the Serbian people and its national
conscience in Macedonia.
N.

P.

Kondakov, " Makedonija," Petrograd, 1909,

p.

184

Bussian).
=

Ibid., p. 195.

Iv.

Ivanic,

Serbian).

" Macedonia and

Ibid., p. 262.

Macedonians,"

i,

pp.

87-88

(in

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

Serbia the refuge for the Macedonians Macedonians accepted as

Serbs in Serbia Macedonians always considered foreigners in

Bulgaria Serbian public opinion looks upon Macedonians as

forming part of the Serbian nation So do Serbia's statesmen

So does Serbian science Non-Serbian science takes the same

view Serbia welcomes Bulgarian immigrants and assists the
Bulgarian Church movement so long as Bulgai-ia does not lay
claim to Macedonia also Serbia's inability to check Bulgarian
encroachment in Macedonia Serbian interest in Macedonia
Serbian schools opened Assistance of the Serbian Church
movement in Macedonia Macedonians as
guardians of
Serbian nationality Serbian schools in Macedonia Mace-

donians petition for a restoration of the Serbian Patriarchate

Failing in this request, they ask for Serbian bishops Insurrection in Macedonia in favour of annexation to Serbia
Macedonians appeal to Prince Milan of Serbia and to the
Congress of Berlin to be permitted to belong to Serbia, and not
Bulgarian
to
Bulgaria Macedonians' brave fight against
comitadjis In spite of all Bulgarian propaganda the better
part of Macedonia remains Serbian The rest ostensibly sides
with the Bulgars

FREE Serbia was created by the united

whole Serbian nation from
this patriotic rally, as

we have

played a very prominent part.

creation Serbia not only

knew

all

efforts of

Serbian lands.

the

In

seen, the Macedonians

From

the day of her

herself to be the

common

heritage of the Serbian people, but realized that she had

been called into being to be the centre whence the

sufferings of the Serbian nation were to be allayed and

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

the liberation of

Serbs

all

161

remaining in foreign

still

bondage was to be prepared. By taking this view of

Serbia looked with equal and impartial

her position,

upon

interest

Macedonia was not

foreign yoke.

From

in the cold.
tion, the

parts of the Serbian nation under the

all

most

the very

first

cordial relations

in the least left out

day of Serbia's

libera-

were established between

her and Macedonia.

Macedonians who helped

All

remained in the country

them

in the creation of Serbia

to enjoy its freedom.

rose to high positions in Serbia

of her destinies and, in short, reaped the full

of

reward of

and devotion.

their labour

From the first, free Serbia was the refuge

who languished in foreign slavery. These
either

Many

they had charge

they were flying

because

of all Serbs

Serbs, too,

from persecution or

because they desired freedom, found a true motherland

We

in Serbia,

are not at present in possession of all

the particulars regarding the Macedonians

in Serbia after her liberation.
ticular

which

detail

indicates the

clearly

We

proportion of this immigration.

list

of the

members

dating from

alone

settled

par-

considerable

have before us a

of the Tailors' Guild in Belgrade,

the time

the reign

of

From

Obrenovic (1815-1839).'
there were

who

But we know one

Prince Milos

of

this list

we

learn

that

at that time in the tailoring trade in Belgrade

besides

Serbs from Serbia and from other unli-

berated regions

no fewer than twenty-five Macedonians,

as from Tetovo, Debar, Prilep, Bitolj, Kruevo, Ochrida,

Klisura, Blace, Kostur,

easy to guess

how

and

great

Seres,

From

this list

it

is

must have been the number

of

"We copied this list already in 1910 from the original in the
archives of the Tailors' Union (Terzijski Esnaf) in Belgrade.

12

MACEDONIA

162

Macedonians engaged

in various professions throughout

the whole of Serbia.

These Serbs from Macedonia not only found a home

in Serbia, but from the first day of their sojourn there,
they were regarded as

full

other Serbs, so that they

their

own

country.

felt

citizens

equally

all

themselves to be indeed in

Their ranks included labourers,

merchants, clerks, public men, and pohticians.

were not mere

with

settlers.

They contributed

But they

their quota

to the intellectual progress of Serbia from every point of

Together with the Serbs of Serbia we find them
view.

the founders of

public

institutions,

the improvers of

commerce and industry and patrons of letters and

Merejy among the subscribers for certain
literature.
books which were published during the reign of Prince
Milos Obrenovic, we have found hundreds of names of
Macedonian Serbs from

Skoplje, Veles, Kratovo,

novo, liazlog, Serez, Salonica,

Ochrida,

Bitolj,

kopolje,

places

Selce,

Prilep,

Kuma-

Krusevo,

Mecovo, Kostur, Blace, Klisura, Mos-

These people lived scattered in various

over Serbia, and followed widely different

etc.
all

professions.

Descendants of these Macedonians and fresh immigrants from Macedonia have arisen to positions of the
They have become
Serbia.
highest importance in
Ministers

They

of

State,

councillors,

politicians,

generals.

often held the fate not only of Serbia, but of the

entire Serbian nation in their hands.

All of

them were

pure Serbs and ardent patriots.'

We

will

in Serbia

name

only a few of the most distiaguished Macedonians

Nikola P. Pasic, the present Serbian Premier, and leader of the

His family originally came from Tetovo Br.
Badical Party.
Vladan Gjorgjevitch, at one time Serbian Premier, member of the
;

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

163

which might be answered by the statement

Macedonians have also migrated to liberated

All of

that

Bulgaria.

This

true

is

but there

between Macedonian emigration

donian emigration to

went

donians

as

to

MaceBulgaria.
To Serbia the Macetheir own country, for whose
Serbia and

They went

had fought.

liberation they

a great difference

is

to

there for the

advancement of Serbia, in
whose progress they saw their own advancement as
well.
To Bulgaria they went only after a great propaganda had exerted its influence after it had been
suggested to them they went as graduates of the Bul-

love of her, to labour at the

garian schools, to
Bulgaria,
agitators.

or

as

occupy

recipients

well-paid
of

appointments in

allowances, or

In Serbia

no difference
Macedonians both are

is

as paid

made between

Serbs and
but one nation.
In Bulgaria the difference between Bulgars and Macedonians persists for a long time because, in the words of
;

a Bulgarian professor, " the Macedonians find a difticulty

in acquiring the

we

modern Bulgarian idiom." ^ In Bulgaria

nickname " Makedonstvu-

find the special derogatory

Academy

and a well-known man of letters, a native of the

Dr. Lazar Patchou, at one time Minister of
Finance, likewise from the district of Bitolj Nikola Stefanovic,
a former Minister of Police, from Mavrovo, Gostivar district Kosta
Stojanovic, a former Minister of Commerce, and member of the
Skupstina, from Maloviste, near Bitolj
General Dindtrije CincarMarkovic, at one time Minister of War, from Ochrida Mihajlo G.
Bistic, Serbian Minister in Rome, from Prilep
General Lazar,
Lazarevic, from Moskopolje, near Bitolj
General Lazar Petrovic,
first aide-de-camp to the late King Alexander Obrenovic, from Basino
Selo, near Veles
Svetolik Popovic, ex-Under-Secretary of State for
Public Works, from Ljubinac, Skoplje district Branislav Dj. Nuaic,
Serbian poet and well-known author, from Bitolj, etc.
P. Draganov, " Makedonsko-Slavjanski Sbornik" ("Macedonian

district

of Science,

of

Bitolj

'

Slav Collection"),

i.,

Petrograd, 1894, p.

iv.

MACEDONIA

164
juSci,'"

which denotes a

and which

special party,

is

met

with constantly as a colloquial and journalistic expression.

In Serbia the Macedonians are loved as brothers, as

part of the Serbian people. In Bulgaria the Macedonians are disliked and only tolerated from consideraMr. Stambulov, one of Bulgaria's
tions of pohcy.
greatest

statesmen

and

patriots,

was

typical

of

the

ordinary feeling of the Bulgars towards the Macedonians

in his cordial dislike of the latter.^

Public opinion of the nation at large in Serbia has

always looked upon Macedonia as a Serbian country.

The

national

ballads

collected

among non-Macedonian

Serbs at the beginning of the nineteenth century sing

of Macedonia as a Serbian country and of the historic
sites

and personages

of

Macedonia

as

"Serbian"

sites

and personages. Every child knows

The
Salonica, Kostur and other places in Macedonia.
national
Serbian
of
whole
the
in
most popular hero
So
poetry, Kraljevic Marko, hailed from Macedonia.
of Prilep, Ochrida,

King Vukasin, Despot Ugljesa, Constantine-Bey,

and many others. But we will speak of Macedonia from

did

the point of view of national tradition in another chapter.

The men at the head of affairs in Serbia during the

nineteenth century have taken a keen interest so far

in the non-Hberated
as circumstances would allow

parts of

the Serbian

nation.

Macedonia was looked

upon as being the same as any other Serbian country

Serbian princes, Ministers of
under the foreign yoke.
men in general sent help
leading
and
councillors
State,
from Serbia to Macedonia for the building and repairing

" He also grew to dislike the Macedonians on account of their

"
treachery and want of a real sense of patriotism and honour

("

M. Stambulov," by A. Hulme Beaman, London,

1895, p. 40).

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

churches and

of

schools,

they subsidized

school-

tlie

masters, contributed school and church books, and so

forth.

Directly after the liberation

Prince

Serbia,

of

Milos Obrenovic presented the Monastery of Lesnovo

near Istip with a bell, and bestowed another upon the

His
Monastery of St. John Bigorski near Debar.
Monasthe
to
one
presented
Obrenovic
Jevrem
brother
tery of Treskavac near Prilep, Prince Alexander Karagjorgjevic bestowed a similar gift upon the Monastery of

John Bigorski near Debar, etc.

All Serbian Governments considered

St.

duty

to

Serbian children

admit

Serbian schools, and

the State.

to educate

their patriotic

it

from Macedonia to

them

Young men who wished

at the

expense of

to study for

the

profession were especially

priesthood or the scholastic

welcomed.

between Mace-

Serbian science never discriminated

donia and the rest of the Serbian lands.

J. Rajic,

Serbian historian (1726-1801), and P.

first

the

Solaric, the

Serbian geographer, used broadly to include Serbia

The map of Sava Tekelija, of the
with Macedonia.

first

year 1805, gives the frontiers

of Serbia in great detail.

Kosovo Plain, Skoplje, Kratovo, and

Rotkirch's " Geography of Serbia,"
In
Baron
Oustendil.
which was translated into Serbian and the map copied
by Stephan Milosevic in 18:22, we also find Macedonia

They

include, besides

included in the Serbian frontiers.'

In his " Serbian Dictionary " of 1852, which from an

ethnographic point of view

Encyclopaedia of

that

father of Serbian

modern

Macedonia

in
'

J. C\iji<5,

as

may

period,

Serbian.

be considered a veritable

Vuk

St.

Karadzic, the

literature, speaks of

There we

" Srpski^Knjiievni Glasnik,"

xi.

localities

find the

Vardar

(1904), pp. 209-210.

MACEDONIA

166

and the Crni Drim and Beli Drim figuring as rivers of

Old Serbia, the counties of Gornji Polog and Donji
Polog referred to as counties of Old Serbia and Kratovo,

Kumanovo and

Prilep,

Concerning some

towns

as

etc.,

Karadzic

localities

of

Old Serbia.

more

is

explicit.

Thus, for instance, he mentions under Tetovo that

a

town

speak

in Old Serbia, that the "

Turkish

and

Serbian," and that

(Kicevo)

Skoplje

Tetovo

about

we

speak

but

faith,

read that

it

is

that one-third of

whereas the
Serbian.

Christians

the

there

are

inhabitants of which are of the Turkish

villages the

(Moslem)

and

Albanian,
" round

it is

Turks (Moslems) there

rest are

Serbian."
" a

its

town

Under KrMva

in the pashalik of

inhabitants are Christians,

Turks (Moslems), but that

..." Under Gostivar we

find that "

all

speak

it lies

in the

and that " the Turks (Moslems) there

speak Turkish and Albanian, and the Christians Serbian."
Under Debar we find mentioned that in 1836 he
met two men from Debar in Cetinje who spoke Serbian,
and that " there are many villages there (in Debar)
where the inhabitants speak as they do, and that
they are called Serbs even as they themselves were
district of Tetovo,"

said to be."

Leading foreign scholars

teenth
part of

Serbian territory.

Nuremberg
of

of the first half of the nine-

century also considered Macedonia as forming

by "

Homann

In the maps published in

Nachfolger " at the beginning

century (1802,

the nineteenth

1805,

etc.),

Serbia

not only includes the regions of Kosovo and Novi Pazar,

but also Skoplje and Kratovo.

already referred

map by

Fried,

to,

we

On

find the

the

map by

same

iiotkirch,

thing.

On

the

published in Vienna, the frontiers of

Serbia are drawn

eiist

of Custendil.

It is the

same

in

^;

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

167

the better geographical handbooks in which Serbia,

all

from the Turks, is

Such examples and evidence might be
tripled.^
Dr. Joseph Miiller, who was for many years
a surgeon in the Turkish army and knew Serbian,
mentions at length where Serbs are to be met with in
Macedonia. He mentions them as being found in the
although not yet fully liberated
represented.

counties

of

Debar, Struga,

Kesan,

Ochrida,

Prespa,

and throughout the whole of Macedonia generally.

Where was the need for Serbia under these circum-

Bitolj

stances to set on foot a propaganda to bring about the

" Serbicization " of Macedonia? What was there that

coald possibly be Serbicized

In Macedonia, as in

all

other liberated Serbian countries, the Serbian national

consciousness was thoroughly awake.

There, too, even

as in other Serbian lands, the Serbian tongue was spoken,

the Serbian customs were upheld, the Serbian tradition

was handed down, and in both church and school the

knowledge of Serbian letters as steadfastly guarded.
Serbia, small, poor, and still under Turkish suzerainty
Serbia, who had just joined the ranks of European
states,

left

matters

the

in

non-liberated

develop naturally and normally.

her attention upon her

own

that

regions

to

She concentrated

all

intellectual,

economic, and

she might be ready for the

political

progress, so

moment

that would bring the great achievement of the

unification of the whole

Serbian race.

Towards the Bulgars and

teenth

century,

Serbia

herself

'

Serbia's

had but

their revival in the nine-

attitude
lately

was

most

friendlj'.

been a slave under the

J. Cvijic, " Srpski Knjizevni Glasnik," xi. (1904), pp. 208-212.

Dr. Joseph Miiller, " Albaaien Rurnelien, und die Oesterreich-

Moutenegrinische Grenze," Prague. 1844.

MACEDONIA

168

Turks and a martyr under the Greek clergy. Her kinsmeUj too, were still slaves and martyrs in Turkey.
Serbia fully understood the position of the Bulgars, and
tried to meet them and to help them to the best of
her

In the State Archives in Belgrade are the

ability.

records proving that Prince Milos Obrenovic cordially

agreed to Panta Had^i

Stoilov's proposal that

30,000

Bulgars from the interior of Bulgaria should emigrate

The Serbian Government assisted the Bulgars

The first Bulgarian books were printed
in every way.
The leading
gratis in the Serbian State printing works.
to Serbia.

young

men

of

reawakened

Bulgaria

expense of the Serbian Government.

patriots as Rakovski, Karavelov,

studied

at

the

To such Bulgarian

and many others Serbia

them in
with the Greeks, furnished them with

not only showed hospitality, but she helped

their

struggle

means

the

of subsistence

and intervened on their behalf

in the matter of amnesties.

one

Serbia never dreamt that

day Bulgaria's demands would become grasping,

extravagant, and hostile to herself.

When

the Bulgars began to push their propaganda

beyond the limits of their own territory, Serbia woke

up and immediately stood upon the defence of Serbian
rights.
She fully realized her duty towards the Serbs in
Turkey, but its fulfilment was fraught with the greatest
difficulties.

way.

Great indeed were the

They were

difficulties in Serbia's

decisive factors in Bulgaria's

success

in Macedonia.

and emancipation
represented the first, and a very shrewd blow at the
Turkish Empire in the nineteenth century. For this
1.

Serbia

by

her

insurrection

alone she was already hated in Turkey.

had become a centre

Moreover, Serbia

of attraction for the non-liberated

Serbia and Macedonia

i69

This further increased the feeling of hostihty

Serbs.

towards

conscious-

the sturdy national

Finally,

her.

suspicion of

ness of the Macedonian Serbs roused the

the Porte and led to the persecution of the Serbs within

her

prohibited.

Serb

might

Macedonia

in

" rayah "

himself as a

describe

" Serbian "

The very designation

borders.

(Christian

was

officially

subject),

Christian, a Greek, or even as a Bulgar, only not as a

Under these conditions every attempt to help

the Serbs in Turkey from Serbia was foredoomed to
Serb.

failure.
2.

proclaiming the independence of the Church

By

Serbia,

of free

Serbia had offended the Greek Patri-

Constantinople.

The

now viewed

archate

in

Serbia,

and

fore

was not favourably inclined towards them and

their

it

all

latter

where-

Serbs generally, with mistrust;

demands, but intrigued against them

all

the time.

from the sympathy with which the Bul3.

garians inspired the Eussians, there were also Russia's
Apart

political

Russian

calculations

diplomats

to

be

taken into account.

Petrograd

in

and

The

Constantinople

looked upon Bulgaria as within the sphere of Russian

political

To

interests.

put

it

mildly,

quite

they

reckoned that in free and great Bulgaria they would

have

tool

Balkans.

The

for

carrying

greater

this

out

their

policy

Bulgaria,

the

in

the

stronger

Wherefore ofticial Russia too

assisted the aspirations and propaganda of the Bulgarian
she furnished them
patriots with might and main
with means and advice and pledged herself to a great
would be their support.

Bulgaria.
4.

Serbia and Serbian territory were always assumed

by Russia

although

Serbia

herself

had

never given

MACEDONIA

170

any

cause

for

assumption

this

sphere

Austrian

the

Eussians

by

strove

the

much

sphere was to be restricted as

so

to

in

interest

of

helping

belong

as

the

to

This

Balkans.

and

possible,

the

Bulgars

to

reduce Serbia and to weaken her.

5.

Poor

by

hated

Serbia,

little

Turkey,

having

neither the sympathies of the Greek Patriarchate nor

Russia's protection, menaced by Austria as her constant

at her command to
among her kinsmen in Turkey.

enemy, had no material resources

further any propaganda

All this notwithstanding, Serbia did her best.

the

in

reign

Prince

of

Mihajlo,

through Russia and through her

Serbia

own

Already

endeavoured

representatives in

Constantinople to counteract the Bulgarian influence in

Macedonia. In view of the fact that the Bulgars were

emancipating themselves from the

Greek Patriarchate, and that they were already openly

likely to succeed in

agitating for the inclusion of

sphere,

Macedonia within

their

the Serbian Government took the position very

seriously..

On March
Foreign

diplomatic
is

1868, the then

11,

wrote

Affairs

representative

the duty of the

that

the

ancient

in

Serbian Minister for

letter

in

to

the

Constantinople

Serbian
that

"

Serbian Government to see to

ecclesiastical

prerogatives

of

it
it

that

whose head is the Serbian principality, are not

infringed by the emancipation of the Bulgarian Church.
This duty, which we have never lost sight of, has now
])een acutely abcentuated by the circulars of the Bulgarian leaders, which have been sent also- to purely

nation,

Serbian eparchies.
that the desire of

the

ritrhts of

You,

Sir, will readily

the Serbian Government

understand

to recognize

the Bulgars cannot go so far as to abandon

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

own

onr

national rights.

four Patriarchates in

... At one time

171

there were

Balkan Peninsula,

the

the

viz.

Patriarchate of Constantinople for the Greeks, that of

Ipek for the Serbs, that of Trnovo for the Bulgars,

and that

of

sometimes

Ochrida which by right of conquest was

under the Bulgars and sometimes under

the Serbs, but finally and this fact deserves special

attention fell under the Ottoman Empire as a Serbian
The Patriarchates of Ipek and Ochrida
possession.
.

century, but

last

are

to

this

the

in

abrogated

were not completely

latter

half

of

day referred to in the

Constantinople records as being merely annexed to the

Patriarchate of Constantinople, which now pays the

annual

tribute

behalf.

... As

these

the

to
it

is

Patriarchates,

Patriarchate

Imperial

now proposed
called

the

to

their

detach one of

Bulgarian,

Constantinople, nothing

of

on

Treasury

from

else

the

can

be

meant save what can be honestly imphed, namely, the

Patriarchate of Trnovo. By the cession of any other
Patriarchate to the Bulgarian Church, the question
would arise whether an old Serbian possession would
not thereby be transferred to such as have no claim
to

it

according to church history, nor yet because of

the vested rights of the Serbian nation in

Peninsula."

The Serbian Government took up

line.

Prom

the Balkan

exactly the

same

a letter written by the Serbian diplomatic

representative in

Constantinople

on

April

29,

1869,

it may be gathered that his work in Constantinople

consisted in endeavouring to obtain that, " by the

J. Ristic,

vol.

iii.

" Spoljni odnosaji Srbje " (" Serbian Foreign Relations"),

" Kako Je postala Bugarska Egzarhija
(" How

pp. 296-302

'

the Bulgarian Exarchate Arose

"),

Belgrade. 197, pp. '24-27.

MACEDONIA

172

restoration of the Bulgarian Church, the rights of the

Serbian Church should not be violated," "that the Serbian

eparchies should continue to remain in touch with the
CEcumenical (Greek) Patriarchate," and " that the Patri-

archate should appoint Serbian priests for the people."

But
weak

counteract the greatly

Constantinople.

fluence in
finally

Serbian Government were too

efforts of the

all

to

established

in

territory

also.

Serbian

'

superior

Russian

in-

The Bulgarian Exarchate,

1870,

The

deeply

cut

protests

of

Government received no attention.

The independent Church of Serbia was

purely

into

the

Serbian

likewise

ill-

pleased with the creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate,

When

in

reverse

1870 the (Ecumenical Patriarch, anxious to

the

Bulgarian Ex-

the

establishing

decision

archate, convoked an CEcumenical Council, so that the

question might be solved by the assembled Metropolitans

Orthodox

the

of

Serbia replied

to

Church,

Metropolitan

the

the Patriarch's invitation that

of

the

Porte could only be entitled to approve or confirm the

resolution
solve

the

of

Church

the Church.

Church,

but

could

by herself

not

with
" Consequently her decision possessed no
questions

except

consultation

in

By

canonical authority with the Church.

the decision of

the Porte the Church was greatly exposed to arbitrary

action,

and her continued existence would be rendered

impossible in a country where thoughts, actions, and

respect

are

subject

to

change, and

where

foundations of security are undermined."

'

"

Kako

je postala

Exarchate Ax'ose
' Jovan Ristic,
iii.

pp. 294-295.

"),

Bugarska Egzarhija

"

("

the

very

How

the Bulgarian

p, 30,

" Spoljni odnosaji" (" Serbian

Foreign Relations"),

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

When
were

the Serbian

useless,

could

Serbian

the

that

from

population

To

Bulgarian influence.

croachments of

protests

its

the task of doing what

itself

set

it

save

to

Government saw

173

committee was formed in Belgrade

it

the en-

end

this

look after the

to

education and intellectual progress of the Serbs in

Turkey and to " lay before the Government a proposal
to open schools, and to send teachers, books, and
Within rather less than five
other requirements."
years Serbia succeeded, not without great difficulty, in

opening schools in sixty-one

and above

localities, .over

kept up

which were already founded and

the schools

by the local population. The principal townships in

Macedonia suppHed with schools at that time were
Kicevo (girls' and boys'), Gostivar, Sveti Jovan Debarski,
Banajni (Skoplje district), Basino Selo, Beloviste, Bogumili

(district

of Veles),

Borovac

(district

Vencani (Ochrida), Veles (girls'

and boys'), Egri Palanka,
(girls'
Kocani

(girls'

and

(girls'

Lesani

and

Organci

(girls'

Books

(Skoplje).

existing

already

churches.

'Bells,

were sent

to

(Kicevo),

boys'),

moreover,

were,

Serbian
icons,

many

of

Precista

schools,

and

Debar
KHsura,

Zletovo,

boys'), Kuceviste (Skoplje),

and

Ochrida),

of

boys'),

boys'), Kratovo, Krusevo,

(Ochrida),

Tetovo

and

Kumanovo

Lesak (Tetovo),
Porec,

(Skoplje),

Cucer

(Kicevo),

supplied

to

congregations,

other

church

the

and

furniture

the Macedonian churches and

monasteries.'

Besides

what

it

these

efforts,

the

Serbian Government did

could in Constantinople.

The Serbian

matic representative in Constantinople

'

J.

Ristic,

tions"),

iii.

let

diplo-

no opportunity

"Spoljni odnosaji Srbije" ("Serbian Foreign Rela-

pp. 281-283, 284, 290.

MACEDONIA

174

"obtaining confirmations of appointments in Old

slip for

who would

Serbia and Macedonia, of Serbian bishops

be able to resist the Bulgarian tide and to counteract

the influence which the Bulgars hoped to exercise in
European Turkey."
Serbia's war with Turkey in 1876 was fraught with
^

disastrous consequences for the Serbian schools in Turkey.

The Serbian name,

already sufficiently feared in Turkey

since the creation of free Serbia,

Serbian teachers expelled,

All this the

was now loathed worse

were

All the Serbian churches

than before.

closed, the

and the Serbian books burnt.

Bulgars contrived to turn to good account.

Serbia was, of course, unable to resume her work in

Macedonia

the expense of Turkish

at

Enlarged by the war

directly after the war.

territory,

raised

from

the

position of a Turkish vassal to that of an independent

principality

and subsequently

kingdom,

to that of a

it

was natural that she should become, more than ever,

Turkey's hete noire. Moreover, Serbia was too exhausted
by two costly wars to provide further resources for
the moment. Not until 1885 did conditions somewhat
improve.

In this year the Bulgars, in defiance of the

treaty of

Berlin,

annexed Koumelia.

It

was already

moreover, to the whole world that the Bulgars

clear,

would not stop

alarmed

lest

there.

they,

The people

too,

should

Macedonia became
become the prey of
of

Bulgaria, and began to petition the Turkish authorities

for as

many more

ask Serbia

now
'

for

Serbian schools as possible, and to

stronger

support.

Turkey,

see through Bulgaria's intentions,

could

Letter from the Serbian diplomatic representative in ConstanDecember 6, 1872 (" Kako je postala Bugarska Egzarhija ")

tinople,
("

too,

and so became

How

the Bulgarian Exarchate Arose," p. 68).

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

somewhat more

liberally disposed

175

towards the Serbs in

By

private initiative the Society of St. Sava

was founded in

Belgrade in 1886 with the object of

Macedonia.

helping to preserve and educate the Serbian people in

Turkish

The funds

territory.

owing

rapidly, chiefly

to

to

permit

Serbian Consulates in

way

Serbs in

In 1887 Serbia prevailed

the non-liberated countries.

upon the Porte

of the Society multiplied

contributions from

the estabhshment

her

and Skoplje.

Salonica

In

the opening of national schools was greatly

tated for the Serbian inhabitants.

number

of Serbian schools in

From

of
this

facili-

that time the

Turkey began

to increase.

In 1891 there were 117 Serbian schools with an aggregate staff of 140 teachers open in the vilayets of Kosovo,

and Salonica; in 1896 there were 159 schools writh

an aggregate of 240 teachers in 1901 there were 226
elementary schools, four lycees (boys' high schools), one

Bitolj,

theological

college,

Subsequently

to

and

1900

three
there

high schools for

were

over

300

girls.

Serbian

schools in Turkish territor5\

In this way the preservation of the Serbian nationality

in

Turkey

which was

the Serbian
permit.

begun

Government

earlier

was

supported by

as Far as circumstances

would

Moreover, the Government assisted as far as

possible the

educational and intellectual labours of the

Serbs in Turkey by defraying the printing expenses of

Serbian books in Constantinople (which had been done

and by the publication of the " Carigradski

Glasnik " (since 1893) and the " Vardar " (in Skoplje,
since 1886)

1908).

The Serbian Church question in Turkey could not

be mooted for a long time. The Greek Patriarchate
was

ill

disposed towards the Serbs

Kussia was helping

MACEDONIA

176

Bulgaria to the prejudice of Serbia

Serbian

Finally,

people.

Macedonian Serbs

for

when

Turkey feared the

the demands

Serbian bishops and

the

of

priests could

no longer be refused, the Serbian Government acted as

In
mediator through its diplomatic representatives.
later
and
Skoplje
1896 a Serb was appointed Bishop of
on, again thanks to Serbia's mediation, a Serb was
appointed Bishop of Veles-Debar.
Serbia has never ceased to do what she could for

her land of

Macedonia.

she did not succeed

If

in

finally breaking up the Bulgarian propaganda, it was

because the circumstances responsible for her failure

were

all

the time too strong for her.

Serbia did for Macedonia the

Finally,

utmost that

She wrested Macedonia from

could be required of her.

Turkey at the cost of torrents of blood; she defended

her against Bulgaria, and to-day Serbia

is

sacrificing

the best of her sons for the liberation of Macedonia.

No;

*****
Serbia has indeed and to the very end

fulfilled

her duty towards Macedonia.

The Macedonians on
being good

their part

Serbs and

have never ceased from

from working

for

union

with

Serbia.

We

have said already that when the Macedonians

fought for the creation of free Serbia they did so in

the hope that freedom would
her.

they laboured

Therefore

either as good

citizens of

her enlargement.
feeling in

come
for

to

also

from

establishment

Serbia or as champions of

They gave expression

Macedonia as

them

her

to their Serbian

well.

Before the advent of the nineteenth-century schools

were scarce under the Turkish

rule.

Such schools as

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

existed were mostly in monasteries,

men

and

them young

in

were trained for the priesthood or the

177

cloister.

We

have already mentioned a school of this type as existing

There was a Serbian monastic

in 1780.
Monastery
of Treskavac in existence until
school in the
1780.^
There were similar schools in Lesnovo, Slepce,
and other Macedonian monasteries. These schools were
the last relics of Old Serbian civilization and letters,

Macedonia

in

and they were maintained by the people without help

from abroad. The first urban schools in Macedonia
were founded in the nineteenth century.
these were opened
as early as 1813

Prilep

in

in

first

of

and Kuceviste (Skoplje)

in Varos, near Prilep, in 1820,

and in

After that date the Serbian

Skoplje in 1830 and 1835.

schools

The

Macedonia increased

in

number.

Towards

the middle of the nineteenth century there were already

But this number was still insufficient, and the
thirty.

The

people urgently demanded more.

latter half of the

nineteenth century brought the Bulgarian propaganda in

Macedonia and the opening

of

Bulgarian schools.

But

this did not stop the progress of the Serbian schools.

They were opened

all

over the country

in

Kostur,

Fiorina, Sveti Jovan Melnicki, Petric, Kazlog, Banjska,

Bitolj,

Resan,

by the Serbs

of

Smiljevo,

Struga,

Debar,

Galicnik,

were opened
Macedonia on their own initiative and

Eadoviste, Ochrida, etc.

maintained at their

All these schools

own expense

or with the revenues

The curriculum and the books

of church endowments.
used in these schools were Serbian. They were never
'

J.

H.

Vasiljevic,

"Prilep

njegova okolina " ("Prilep and

its

Environs"), p. 109.
that in
= The Bulgarian achool in Skoplje was opened in
1863
Veles in 1872, that in Tetovo in 1876, and that in Kicevo in 1877.
;

i-ij

MACEDONIA

178
called anything

and

their

but

Serbian or Slavo-Serbian schools,

Some

Serbian teachers.

teachers,

of these

schoolmasters, although not great scholars, distinguished

One

efforts.

and

by their zeal

themselves

of the

most

even

by their

distinguished

was Jordan Hadzi Konstantinovic, a native

was accused of rebellion and banished to

literary

among them
of Veles, who
Asia, simply

because he openly resisted the abuses practised by the

Greek
in

He

priests.

He

Serbia.

wrote school books and printed them

used to collect old Serbian books and

He also tried his hand at

to Serbia.
The journal of the Serbian Scientific
the Serbian Academy of those days, published

MSS. and send them

scientific research.

Society,

contributions

several

from his pen on the history of

Macedonia.^

In 1876 the

Turks closed

Macedonia, and expelled

in

Serbian

the

all

the

all

schools

Serbian teachers,

But

because of the war between Serbia and Turkey.

soon

as

as

improved,

conditions

Macedonians
greater freedom

the

appealed to the Turkish Government for

from the Bulgars and for as many Serbian schools as

As, owing to the Bulgarian intrigues with
possible.
the Turkish authorities,

it

was

difficult

to obtain

per-

mission for the opening of Serbian schools, and as the

latter

were exposed to

as soon

as they

Bulgarian

were open,

opening and maintaining

raids

and attacks
took

the people also

schools

to

without the special

permission of the Turkish authorities or the knowledge

of the Bulgarian propagandists.

In this way

many

called "secret Serbian schools " -were opened

all

so-

over

the country.

"Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva,"

vol. viii. pp.

130-150.

vol. vii. pp.

170-177, and

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

when Serbian education had

Finally,

179

taken

fairly

hold in Macedonia, the Macedonians began to publish

the newspapers already referred
(1893) and one in

to,

Skoplje (1908).

one in Constantinople

The

editor of the

former came from Ochrida, and the editor of the latter

was a native of Skoplje. The Serbian calendar '* Golub "

was published annually in Constantinople and enjoyed
a wide circulation.

So

far

the

as

Turkish

censorship would

allow

it,

Serbian books were sold in the bookshops of Salonica,

Voden,

Skoplje, Bitolj, Ochrida, Prilep, Seres, Kostur,

Gevgelija, Veles,

and other Macedonian towns.

All the

booksellers were Serbs of the country.

In short

in

spite of the

Bulgarian propaganda, and

in spite of Turkish intimidation

the Macedonian Serbs

zealously guarded their national education.

was impossible, as we have seen, to broach the

Serbian Church question. Until the creation of the
Bulgarian Exarchate, the Macedonians followed Russia's
It

advice in supporting the Bulgars, hoping that with the

Bulgarian Church question their

solution of the

question would be solved also.

established Exarchate opened its

propaganda
whither

in

all

own

But when the newly

campaign of Bulgarian

Macedonia, the Macedonians soon reahzed

this

was

leading.

In

1872

the

Bulgars

received the two bishops already referred to, in Skoplje

and Ochrida, who inaugurated a vast propaganda and

fanatical

persecutions of the Serbian element, schools,

and education.
retahate

and

The people were roused and began

defend

themselves.

Finally,

in

to

1874,

the Serbian population throughout Macedonia, in the

eparchies of Samokov, Custendil, Veles, Debar, Melnik,

Ochrida,

and Seres, addressed a petition to the Sultan

MACEDONIA

180

and the Greek Patriarchate to restore the suppressed

Patriarchate of Ipek and to include them within its
jurisdiction.
"We are Serbs, and not Bulgars," ran
" the Exarchate would Bulgarize us,
these petitions
and this we do not desire, and therefore appeal to you
;

to save us from this calamity and to restore to us our

independent

Nobody knows what

Serbian Church."

the Sultan and the Patriarch did with these petitions.

In 1876 war broke out between Serbia and Turkey, and

nothing came of the wish of the Macedonian Serbs.

Handicapped by Greek intrigue, and by the reinforced

Bulgarian propaganda after the creation of the Bulgarian State, the Serbian Church question in Macedonia
could not be reopened for a

forwarded

petitions

and

long time.

sent

The people

delegates to appeal to

and the Patriarch for the restoration of

Church, but always without success.
Finally the Serbian Government intervened through
Ministers in Constantinople in this matter also.
its

the

Sultan

the

Serbian

The Patriarchs had promised, one

they

would

improve

the

after

position

of

another, that

the

Serbian

Church in Turkey, but the promise was never kept.

Nor was the other positive undertaking fulfilled that
upon the death of the Greek Metropolitan Metodije,
The
a Serb was to be appointed Bishop of Skoplje.
populace became uneasy and sent a deputation to
Constantinople. At last, after great efforts on behalf
of the national cause, the Holy Synod of the Greek
Patriarchate

appointed

in

the

Constantinople

Serb

on

Firmihjan

August

Drazic

30,

1897,

ecclesiastical

Although
Skoplje.
was but a very small success, the people saw that
they had gained something by it. Firmilijan was

administrator of the Bishopric of

this

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

enthusiastically

welcomed by the populace

181
of

Skoplje

and the surrounding country. Upon repeated petitions

from the Macedonians, Firmilijan was in 1899 appointed
Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Skoplje, but his ordination was delayed by Bulgarian intrigue and did not take

Day

place until St. Vitus'

(June 15/28), 1902.

After surmounting similar difficulties the Macedonian

Serbs finally procured the appointment of a Serb as

Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Veles-Debar.

But the Serbian

feeling of

the Macedonians in the

nineteenth century did not confine

itself

to efforts

to

maintain and strengthen the Serbian Church and schools

comes out even more strongly in the

the Macedonians for the sake of
Serbia.
When Serbia was at war with

in Macedonia.

union with

Turkey
numbers
its

It

made by

sacrifices

in

Serbian

the

1876,

army

included

large

of volunteers

from Macedonia who had joined

ranks in order to

help Serbia in her purpose of

freeing

Nor was

Macedonia.

this

all.

No

sooner had

the Serbian army begun to advance towards Macedonia

in 1877

and 1878, than a vigorous answering movement

in favour of Serbia

made

itself felt

among

the populace.

In the regions where the arrival of the Serbian army

was imminently expected, real risings took place in the
Serbian cause. The most serious of these was the
rising in the counties of Kumanovo, Kriva Palanka,
and Kratovo. It was headed by the chief men of the
district.

Leading

citizens of

Kumanovo swore

upon the Gospel that they would

the cause of Serbia.

strive to

in

church

the end in

In the appeals addressed by the

insurgents to the then

Prince of Serbia, Milan Obre-

novic, they protested their devotion and loyalty to him,

inqploring

him

to espouse the cause of the insurgeqts

MACEDONIA

182

strive with all his

might

their country with Serbia.

The

and to

to obtain the

command

to the generals then in

union of

insurgents also applied

of the Serbian

army,

begging them to supply them secretly with arms and

ammunition.
This Macedonian movement on behalf of Serbia the

Turks suppressed with

fire

and sword.

Several of

insurgent leaders succeeded in escaping to Serbia.

in the depopulated

settled

Toplica

and

districts of

Vranja, where

the counties of

numbers

large

refugees live even to this day.

the

They

terrible

of

these

vengeance

descended upon the heads of the captured leaders and

For a long

the populace which had remained behind.

time the appellation "Serbian" was prohibited. But

the memories of the Serbo-Turkish war of 1876-1878,

and of the Macedonian rising

for

union with Serbia,

on in the hearts of the nation. To this day the

war and the insurrection are commemorated by the
lived

Macedonians

in their poetry.^

Not even these

disasters

Macedonians
In

deterred the

from thoughts of liberation and union with Serbia.

1880 sixty-five of the most notable men of the districts

of Kumanovo, Kriva Palanka, Kocane, Istip, Veles,
Prilep, Bitolj,

an

appeal to M.S.

of the

Kicevo,

Ochrida,

and Skoplje addressed

Milojevic, the Serbian

Macedonian volunteers

in the

war

of

commander
1876-1878

The ballad of the Serbian Prince ^lilan Obrenovic and Sulejman

Pasha, which was composed by the native poets of Kumanovo, was
subsequently published by the Bulgarian professor P. Draganov in
1894 (P. Draganov, " Makedonsko-slavjanski sbornik " [" SlavoMacedonian Collection"], i., Petrograd, 1894, No. 172), and the
ballad on the Macedonian insurrection was published by J. H.
Vasiljevic in 1906 (J. H. Vasiljevic, " Ustanak Srba u Kumanovskoj
Palanackoj Kazi u 1878 " [" Insurrection of Serbs in the Kumanovo
'

and Palanka

Districts, 1878 "]

Belgrade, 1906, pp. 57-58).

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

183

him to contrive somehow to

smuggle arms through to them and to lead them, and
they would rise in insurrection. That same year saw
against Turkey, begging

the outbreak of the so-called " Brsjacka buna " (revolt

Oi

the Brsjaci

lation

The

Prilep.

an ancient tribal name)

the counties

of

of

among

the popu-

Kicevo, Force, Bitolj,

revolt extended over six

and

months, and ended

in failure.

All these revolts serve to illustrate the Serbian feeling

Macedonian population.
These revolts were
planned in the Serbian cause, and they bore a Serbian
character.
Unfortunately they have not only been
unsuccessful, but their results were disastrous to the
the

of

Macedonians.

In

consequence

of

these

revolts

the

Serbian element was increasingly persecuted, and the

Bulgarian increasingly favoured.

Nor was

this

all.

When

Stefano was announced,

it

all

the Great Bulgaria of San

Macedonia was in

should be placed under Bulgaria.

tion

of the

Kratovo,

counties of

Custendil,

Kumanovo,

Kocani,

The

terror lest

entire popula-

Skoplje,

Strumica,

Palanka,

Istip,

Veles,

Debar, Kicevo, and Prilep sent deputations and appeals

to Milan, the then Prince of Serbia, imploring him
not

to

abandon

intervene
Serbia.

so

Macedonia to the Bulgars but

that Macedonia might be assigned

When

the Congress

of

Berlin met, petitions

with numerous

signatures appended

from

of

all

parts

to
to

to

them

Macedonia, reinforcing

arrived

by cogent

argument the statement that the population of Macedonia is Serbian, and that it does not wish to belonsr
to any country but Serbia.
"As Serbs of true and
pure stock, of the purest and most intrinsically Serbian

country" so these

petitions are

worded

"we

for the

MACEDONIA

184

last time implore on our knees

that we may in
some manner and by some means be freed from the
.

slavery of five centuries, and united with our country,

the principality of Serbia, and that the tears of blood of

the Serbian martyrs

may become

may

be stanched so that they,

members

too,

European community
of nations and of the Christian world;" we do not
desire " to exchange the harsh Turkish slavery for the
vastly harsher and blacker Bulgarian slavery, which
will be worse and more intolerable than that of the
Turks which we are at present enduring, and will
compel us in the end either to slay all our own people,
or to abandon our country, to abandon our holy places,
and graves, and all that we hold dear. ..." (see
Supplement No. IV).
In the end the Macedonians took up arms to defend
useful

of the

themselves against the Bulgars.

When

in the eighties

of last century the Bulgars realized that with all

their

propaganda they would never succeed in eradicating the

Serbian feeling of the Macedonians, they resorted to
violence of the most

outrageous kind. This was the

campaign in Macedonia, to which we
have already alluded. Faced by this bloody terror of
the Bulgars, the people took up arms in self-defence.
Although they had neither arms nor ammunition, they
formed bands to resist the intruders. The leading men
of Macedonia placed themselves at the head of the
terrible comitadji

Men

Jovan Dovezenski from the Dovezence Zeglihovo district (Kumanovo), George Skopljance
populace.

like

of Skoplje, Grigor Sokolovic of Nebregovo (Prilep), Jovan

Babunski of Babuna (Babuna district), and many others
were celebrated and commemorated in song as the

leaders

and heroes

of

the national defence against the

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

185

Under the most desperate con-

Bulgars in Macedonia.

persecuted alike by Bulgarian bands and the

ditions,

Turkish

authorities,

these

defenders

Serbian

the

of

by
Macedonia kept up
their own love and sympathy for the conscious national
The
attitude of the Serbian population of Macedonia.

name

their

in

labours of these

helped

to

men were

preserve

They

not without success.

least

at

only

courage

that

part

third

of

the

Macedonia which had refused to join the

people
Bulgarian Exarchate, and which has remained Serbian
Had they had more resources at their
to this day.
they might perhaps have cleared Macedisposal,
of

donia of the intruders'.

confidential

report

Bulgarian Government by a Bulgarian consular

states that the Serbs

to

the

official

had no more than " sixteen bands

of one hundred and sixty to one hundred and seventy

men," working against the Bulgars, but that nevertheless "the successes of the Serbian element in the
and that " in
vilayet of Bitolj are considerable,"

*****

Salonica their position

From what we have

did

all

is

fairly

said

it is

good."

'

surely clear that Serbia

she could to the limit of her strength to save

Macedonia from Bulgarian intrusion and Bulgarization.

It is also likewise clear the Macedonian people made
every effort to preserve its Serbian character and to

become united with Serbia. Unfortunately adverse circumstance was too strong for both Serbia and the Serbs
of Macedonia.
Serbia was not strong enough to fight
Turkey and the abuses of the Greek Church, to oppose
the will of Kussia and to repel the Bulgarian propaganda
" Le Brigandage en Macedoine, un rapport
gouvernement bulgare," Berlin, 1908, p. 41.
'

confidentiel

av,

MACEDONIA

186

This, and this

and the armed terror of the comitadji.

only,

is

why

the reason

a large part of the population

an heroic struggle, great trials, and enormous sacrifices, was nevertheless compelled actually to
finally, after

Bulgarian.

call itself

The Bulgarian

success

v/hence

protection

of

Exarchate.^
to

the

villages

Bulgarian

towns

appeal.

did

not

relative.

in Macedonia,

under

agitation

diplomacy,

Eussian

The

however, only

Bulgarian

the

started

is,

of the larger

Only the population

adhered
all

According

the
the

to

respond equally
to

the

figures

compiled after several years of investigation by KosEussian Consul, in Botolj, there were in the

tovski,

vilayet of Bitolj 186,656 Serbs

Exarchate, and 93,694

Patriarchate.
did

who

joined the Bulgarian

who remained

faithful

to

the

One-half of the Christians in their region

not join the Bulgars.

In the Eparchy of Skoplje

20,000 families belonged to the Exarchate, and 10,000

belonged to the Patriarchate. Here, too, the numerical

Besides this there were some

is the same.
Macedonia where the Exarchate had no success
The whole of Skoplje Crna Gora, with only a
at all.
few exceptions, and many villages north of it remained
proportion
parts of

faithful

to

the

Patriarchate.

between Tetovo and

outside the Bulgarian influence.

large

proportion

of

The

villages

in

Porec

Bitolj kept themselves completely

the

Moreover, there

is

Serbian population through-

Eound
Macedonia which has remained Serbian.
Strumica, Drama, and Serez in Southern Macedonia
there are many Serbs who, unable to call themselves
out

Turks, and not desirous of calling themselves Bulgars,

'

St.

Novakovic, " Balkanska Pitanja" (" The Balkan Questions"),

1906, p. 118.

SERBIA AND MACEDONIA

although

Greek,

themselves

call

they

187

speak

only

Serbian.

An example

show how strong the Serbian

will

Macedonia despite the

is

in

it

has passed.

fierce trials

feeling

through which

Already in the early days of the open

the Greeks, the Serbian priest Jovan

struggle against

Burkovic in Skoplje distinguished himself especially in

For this the Greek Metropohtan
his opposition to them.

excommunicated him and caused

his books to be

thrown

In spite of this ill-usage neither

out of the church.

he nor his flock ever joined the Bulgarian movement.

Neither Bulgarian intimidation and blackmail nor Greek

him away from the

persecution could drive

He

hated

and

call

Patriarchate.

but he could not deny his Serbian feeling

himself a Bulgar. To the day of his death
it,

he and his parishioners adhered to the hated Patriarchate and remained Serbs. In his old age, and when

was already failing, Jovan Burkovic prayed

to live to
that God might grant him but one wish

his health

conduct

the

service

the

at

opening of

the

Lycee, which was at that time being founded

He was

spared to see the fulfilment of his wish.^

Macedonia
survived

Serbian

in Skoplje.

all

is

full

crises

of

and

there are yet more

who have
and remained Serbs. And

Serbian individuals

trials

who

are prepared

to

cry out

as

soon as they are delivered from the Bulgarian danger

"

We
'

St.

were, and

we

will be Serbs."

Novakovic, " Balkanska Pitanja "

pp. 89-90.

("

The Balkan Questions

"),

XI

MACEDONIAN DIALECTS OF THE SEBBIAN

LANGUAGE
Language of the Macedonian Slavs originally merely called " Slav "
No mention of Bulgarian language in Macedonia up to the beginning of the nineteenth century Language of literary records in
Macedonia Serbian throughout the Middle Ages Serbian also in

the nineteenth century until the advent of the Bulgarian propaganda Difference between Macedonian and Bulgarian languages
noticed at a very early date Macedonian idiom not identical

Insufficiency of linguistic material for thorough

study of Macedonian idiom All Macedonian dialects belong
to one type Macedonian dialects are Serbian Morphology
appears in Macedonian dialects
Etymology The article as

in all districts

it

is

not a Bulgarian characteristic

WE

have already mentioned in another connection

that Professor Djeric, after a thorough study of

all

records referring to Macedonia, established the fact

that the language of the Macedonian Slavs

simply called Slav, even as the people

language were called Slavs.

This term

was

who
is

originally

spoke that
also applied

Macedonian tongue into which Cyril and Method

and their disciples translated the Holy Scriptures in
the first centuries of Christendom among the Balkan
to the

Slavs.
all

Professor Djeri6, moreover, carefully investigated

historic sources in

which the language

donian Slav of the period

is

of the

Mace-

mentioned, right up to the

twelfth century, and nowhere did he find the language

""

DIALECTS OF THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE

than

otherwise

called

the

Of

Slav.'

189

Bulgarian

the

language in Macedonia there is at that time no trace,

although it was the time of the longest period of the
Finally, Professor Djeric

Bulgarian rule in Macedonia.

studied

records which refer to Macedonia, and upon

all

this evidence has established that

"from the

earliest

times right up to the beginning of the nineteenth century

there is not one reHable instance to prove that the

Macedonians ever

called

themselves Bulgars or their

language the " Bulgarian."

All literary records produced in

Middle Ages are composed

Macedonia during the

solely in

Already

Serbian.

in 1844, V. GrigoroviC, in his travels through Macedonia,

took note of a host of Serbian literary records.

MSS.

The

Catalogue of the National Library in Sofia (1910)

contains twenty-five

MSS. from Macedonia.

Twenty-

two out of the twenty-five are Serbian (from

Veles, Itip, Strumica, Debar, Prilep, Ochrida),

Skoplje,
as

the

author of the catalogue, the Bulgarian Professor Coneff

and only three are non-Serbian. Of

these three, two are Serbo-Bulgarian, and only one is

himself

admits,

last-named could only be the work

This

Bulgarian.3

Bulgar who had come by chance to Macedonia.

All marginal notes, legends attached to pictures and
a

of

inscriptions found

in churches, etc., in

many

Macedonia are

them the language is

In 1466, Archbishop Marko of
referred to as Serbian.
Ochrida ordered the " Canon of the Great Church
purely

Serbian.

In

of

(Zakonik Velike Crkve) in Ochrida to be translated into

'

("

V.

Djeric,

The term

'

"

srpskora imenu u Staroj Srbiji i Makedoniji

Old Serbia and Macedonia"), Belgrade, 1904,

Serbiaaa' in

pp. 32-38.
3

p. 42.
P. Popovid, " Serbian Macedonia,"

Ibid.,

London, 1916,

p. 4.

MACEDONIA

190

In

Serbian.^

sermons

the

containing

happens that a word

meaning

its

Serbian

(i.e.

MS.

seventeenth-century Macedonian

we

clear,

is

of

Damaskin

defined,

are told

and

what

Studita

make

in order to

"in the

signifies

it

Macedonian) language."

so

it

In the nineteenth century and up to the advent of the

Bulgarian propaganda the language spoken in Macedonia
called " Serbian."

is

dictionary)

Vuk

S.

In his " Srpski Rjecnik

" (Serbian

Karadzic speaks of the language of

As we have already

the Macedonians as ''Serbian.''

" that

in Tetovo the
Turks speak Turkish and Albanian, and the Christians
that "around Tetovo there are villages
Serbian''';
whose inhabitants profess the Turkish faith, but speak

he mentions

elsewhere,

stated

Serbian; that in Kicevo (Krcava) "about one-third of

the

inhabitants

Christians,

are

the Turkish faith, but that

all

of

and

the

profess

rest

them speak Serbian

"
;

that in Gostivar " the Turks speak Turkish and Albanian,

and the Christians Serbian

men from Debar

in

"

Cetinje

that in 1836 he

who

met two

spoke Serbiayi, and

that " in that locality (around Debar) there are

villages

as

many

where the inhabitants have the same speech

two men, and that they call themselves

these

Serbs."

The

difference

has

languages

between the Macedonian and Bulgarian

noticed long ago by scholars.

been

Already in 1844 V. Grigorovic drew attention to the

striking difference between the Macedonian and Bulgarian
'

languages, 3

and

was only prevented

Lj. Stojanovic, " Stari Srpski Zapisi

by

his

Natpisi " ("Old Serbian

Inscriptions and Notes"), No. 328.

V. Djeric, "O srpskom imenu u Staroj Srbiji i Makedoniji

The term Serbian in Old Serbia and Macedonia "), p. 27.

'

("

'

'

V. Grigorovic, " Ocerk puteSestvija," p. 194.

"

DIALECTS OF THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE

"Serbian"

from

Bulgars

the

partiality^ for

to the language

applying

191

term

the

spoken in Macedonia.

In

1872 a Bulgar, Prvanov by name, published ''Alphabet

Books" (Bukvars)
Macedonia, and

for use in the

object in so doing was, that

may

Bulgarian schools in

specially stated in these books that his

"our Macedonian brothers

lose the habit of the Serbian pronunciation of the

Bulgarian speech."

'

Djordje

M.

Puljevski, a native of

Galicnik in Macedonia, wrote in 1875 that the inhabitants of

those parts did

not

understand

Bulgarian.

P. Draganov, Bulgarian Professor in Salonica, mentioned

in 1894 that the

Macedonians experienced great

in learning the

modern Bulgarian idiom. 3

various Macedonian dialects

great

language and

the difference between the Bulgarian

is

difficulty

How

seen by the
Macedonian children are unable to study at
the Bulgarian Lycee without having previously learnt
Bulgarian. The Bulgarian Lycee in Skoplje had a
preparatory class attached, where Macedonian children,
the

best

is

fact that

after
still

having attended the Bulgarian elementary schools,

had

to study Bulgarian for at least six

months

enable them to follow the lessons at the Lyc6e.4

preliminary

study of

Serbian was

not

to

necessary for

students at the Serbian Lycee in Skoplje.

The language spoken

the same, but
lish correctly

is

in

Macedonia

is

not everywhere

divided into several dialects.

To

estab-

the areas over which these dialects are

P. Draganov, " Izvestija S.P. Slavjanskago Blagotvoritelnago

Obstestva," 1888, quoted in " Macedonia " by St. Protic, p. 13.
^ Djordje M. Puljevski, " Recnik od tri Jezika," Belgrade, 1875,
p. 1.
3 P. Draganov, " Makedonsko-slavjanski sbornik,"
Petrograd,
i.,
'

1894, p.

iv.

Srpska Kralje vska Akademija, " Naselja srpskik zemalja

ments of tbe Serbian Lands "), vol. iii. p. 508.
*

" ("

Settle-

MACEDONIA

192

spoken, and to give a detailed definition of their distinguishing features

is

quite impossible at the

present

moment.
The greatest difficulty lies in the fact that
not enough reliable linguistic material has been collected
so far.
There are districts in Macedonia concerning
which there is no philological material of any kind.

The bulk

of the

linguistic material is to be

collected

found in the traditional lore of the Macedonians, especithe national ballads.

ally in

On

the other hand, this

material has not always been compiled by reliable col-

Most

lectors.

have been collected by Bulgars

collected

do not

There

idiom.

from Macedonia

of the national ballads

;

but

correctly represent

are

many

reasons

the ballads so
the

for

Macedonian
For one

this.

thing, these collectors were unlettered Bulgarian priests,

teachers,

and agents, unacquainted with the Macedonian

dialects,

and too

characteristics.

ignorant to establish

For another,

it

their

was necessary

various
for the

Bulgars to publish the Macedonian ballads as quickly

and to proclaim them to be Bulgarian, and

so the collections were made too hurriedly and without
as possible

sufficient

Thirdly,

attention to
all

Bulgarian

linguistic refinement

ballad-collectors

of

were

detail.

merely

agents for Great Bulgarian aspirations whose chief aim

it

was

to exhibit as

many Bulgarian

characteristics as

Macedonian language, and so they introthey were obviously

Finally, the speech of the Macequite out of place.
donians has been sadly corrupted by Bulgarian propaganda and Bulgarian schools. The purest idiom in
Macedonia is spoken by the Serbs of Mahommedan faith,
whom for religious reasons the Bulgarian propaganda
could not influence.
In the meantime, however, no
possible in the

duced these even in cases where

DIALECTS OF THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE

193

drawn to their language. It

follows therefore from what we have said, that all that
has been written by philologists especially Bulgarian
on the language of the Macedonians, and
philologists
special

attention

was

based upon the philological and linguistic material collected by the Bulgars, cannot be either correct or reliable.

Mace-

of the

investigation of the language

Scientific

donians based on other material has been very limited

in extent and embraces only an insignificantly small

For these reasons,

part of Macedonia.

too,

we

find it

difficult to give a detailed philological study of the Serbian

dialects in

Macedonia, and we must confine ourselves to

pointing out their principal features.

They

plainly exhibit

only Serbian, and not Bulgarian characteristics as well.

All Macedonian dialects, no matter how great the
difference between them, belong to one type, and all of

them by

their characteristics are branches of the Serbian

language.

The main
Macedonian

which on the one hand

features
dialects

with

the Serbian

link the

language, and

on the other hand distinguish them from the Bulgarian,

are {a) the permutation of Old Slav individual sounds
(Morphology) and

(6)

the rules governing the inflection

words (Etymology).

of

1.

Morphology.

The Old

Slav vowel Tk (jus) pronounced like the nasal

Bulgarian
been replaced by the mute t C'dark,"
has
in
on,
In Serbian it has been replaced by the clear w,
jer).
,

and in the Macedonian dialects likewise by the clear

sounds u, a, o^ The tendency of Bulgarian is to darken
'

Examples: Old Slav pTfxti,, rjfifta := Bulgarian piit, r-^kazsf

Macedonian put, pat, pot, ruka, raka, roka.

Serbian put, ruka

14

MACEDONIA

194

the vowels, that of the Serbian and Macedonian dialects

pronounce them

to

Whether the

clearly.

clear vowels,

which moreover include u, of the Macedonian dialects

approach more nearly to the Serbian clear m, or to
the Bulgarian dark vowel

-l,

is

surely not difficult to

The Old Slav sound group

Z'B

has in Bulgarian been

decide.

replaced by tZ, and in Serbian and Macedonian by u.^

The Old Slav sound group chr

placed by

cer,

in Bulgarian

re-

and in Serbian and Macedonian by

cr.'^

In the opinion
permutation

of

of philologists

Old

group.

to

the

is

posite sounds zd and

according

the most important

Slav sounds in

Bulgarian languages

so far as to classify

is

Some

st.

all

comhave gone

of the

philologists

the Slav languages into groups

the permutation of this

According to

the Serbian and

permutation

this

Old Slav sound

classification

the

Serbian

language and the Macedonian dialects would unquestionably belong to

the same

group, because in Bulgarian

have remained the same as in Old Slav,

Macedonian and Serbian they appear permuted into dj and c. Already in 1835 the first Bulgarian
grammarian, Neofit Rilski, observed that the appearance
of the dj and c in the Macedonian dialects was a

the zd and

st

whereas in

Examples : The Old Slav words vl'bTc'h, plTtnTi, BlTigarinlt

Bulgarian vhlk-b, pTtlnly, BTslgariwh
Serbian and MatJedonian i)uk
pun, Btigarin. Owing to the permutation of the vowels Vh the
Macedonians, when they happen to call themselves Bulgars, always
employ the Serbian word Bugari, and never the Bulgarian word
BT^lgari.
This peculiarity was observed in 1844 by the Eussian
scientist V. Grigorovic (" Ocerk putesestvija," p. 196). Since thea
this observation has been repeated by many authors, among them
'

several Bulgars.

Examples: The Old Slav words

lern, Herven

= Serbian

ci.rn'b,

^brveni?

and Macedonian crn, erven.

= Bulgarian

DIALECTS OF THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE

There

Serbian feature.^

are

many examples

195

the

of

In
c in the Macedonian dialects.
book " Ogledalo " ("The Mirror") which appeared

occurrence of dj and
his

in 1816,
dialect,

and

is

written throughout in the Macedonian

Tetovo,

Pejcinovic of

Cyril

monk

of

the

Serbian Monastery of St. Dimitrius near Skoplje, true

to the usage of his day, invariably for both groups uses

the Serbian c and never the Bulgarian

Vuk

Karadzic brought

Macedonia
correctly

1822,

in

their

in

zcl

When

and U.

out the national ballads from

he employed the dj and

proper

In

places.

quite

1875

Dj.

M.

Galicnik in
Puljevski of
Macedonia compiled his
" Recnik od tri jezika " (Dictionary of three languages,

Macedonian,

viz.

countrymen.

Turkish)

for

his

a great scholar,

and

uses

Draganov, who

P.

not

was guided by feeling alone. But he, too,

the dj and 6 sounds.
The Bulgarian

in writing

regularly

and

Albanian,

Puljevski was

held

post

as

professor

at

the

Bulgarian Lycee in Salonica, asserts that the dj and

sounds are an intrinsic feature of the Macedonian

dialects.

In view of
the

Old

bearing

Slav

upon

dialects, St.

the

importance

composite
the

of

sounds

question

of

the

zd

permutation of

and

the

st

in

its

Macedonian

Novakovic, President of the Royal Serbian

Academy, wrote an extensive monograph on the

subject. 2
For his linguistic material he drew upon
the earlier writers who wrote in Macedonian dialects
upon the collections of national ballads compiled in
" Bolgarska Gramatoka," Kragujevac, 1835, pp. 180-181.
" Dj and 6 in the Macedonian National Dialects " (" Glas Srpske
Kraljevske Akademije," xii., Belgrade, 1889); " Ein Beitrag zur
Kunde der Macedonischen Dialekte " (" Archiv fiir Slavische Philo'

'

logie,

Ixii.,

1890, p. 78).

MACEDONIA

196

Macedonia by the Bulgars and their friends ' the

collection by I. S. Jastrebov,^ and finally upon the folktales related to him in the Macedonian dialect of the
country around Prilep by P. Kondovic, a pupil at
the Bulgarian Lycee who had at that time not yet
studied the Serbian literary language. In all this
linguistic material from Macedonia, Novakovic invari;

ably found the Serbian dj and c wherever they ought

to occur according to rule.

Etymology.

2.

In Bulgarian the nouns and adjectives are not inflected

at

all

The

they always retain the same form.

cases

are expressed by prepositions placed before the nominIn the Macedonian dialects, as in Serbian, both
ative.
nouns and adjectives have seven cases, which are formed

by added terminations.^
Verkovic, " Narodne Pesme Makedonskih Bugara, 1860 "
Dimitrije and Konstantin Miladinovci, " Bugarske
narodne pesme," 1861 ; " Periodiceskoe Spisanie " of the Bulgarian
'

St. I.

The Brothers

Literary Society.
I. S. Jastrebov, " Obicaj
=>

pjesni Tureckih Serbov," Petrograd, 1886.

Examples: Bulgarian words vezda, cuzd= Serbian and MaceSerbian and

donian vedja, tudj Bulgarian svesta, sresta, klista
3

Macedonian sveca, sreca, huca.

* Examples taken
from a Macedonian MS. Collection of the
eighteenth century (" Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije," xxxi.
p. 12):Genitive

ot vraga, radi hoUsti, Gaipoda, hriscanske vere, pre*tola Bozija.

Dative : vragu, Bogu, prarohu^ duhovniJcu.

Accusative : veru hristijamsku, Jcraaotu, prevarw, Bega.
Vocative : vraze luhavi, prelastena ieno.
Ablative : Svetim hrstenjem, s djavolom, s velikitn kemtmom,

dusom
Locative

telom.

na strainom sudu, prema miloati, prema velikom

veiru, na smrti.

'

DIALECTS OF THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE

There

no

is

197

infinitive of the verb in Bulgarian, but

both in Serbian and in the Macedonian dialects.

There is no present participle of the verb in Bulgarian,

there

is

whereas

it

and

exists both in Serbian

in the

Macedonian

dialects.2

Examples taken from Macedonian national poetry

Bulgars

Oenitive

Telal vice ot utra do

Do
Dative

Accusative

Vocative

Ablative

Locative

'

collected

tri

mraka,

furni vru6a leba.

Turcin Kalinki dumaSe

Devojka se Bogu pomolila
Svekru bela kosulja.
MozeS li konja da igras
Tebe stara ce zagubat.
Imala majka, imala
Jedjioga sina Stojana.
Stojane, sinko rodjene.
Tatko 6e recem, cerko nc

velit.

Braca de recem, sestro ne velet.

Naverzi mi, Bado, kiten bel testemel.
Udari ga cizma i mamuzom.
Pod Beligradom.
Djul, devojko, pod djulom zaspalo.

Na kuci slava, vo kuci

Da se sutra na divanii

slava.

nadje.

Examples from the eighteenth-century Macedonian MSS.

lection

by

Col-

liti,

gledati,izgovoriti, krstiti

pokajati, umoriti,
govoriti, etc. ("

sc, osinti,

iczeti, ciidti,

oprostiti, pricestiti,

postignuti, osuditi, lagati,

Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije,"

xxxi. p. 13).

Examples from Macedonian national poetry

Navest" cu ti, Pejo, kako ces go *^nosi"
:

'*

^'

Osvojit" cu ravnu Arbaniju.

Examples from the eighteenth-century Macedonian MSS. Col-

lection

cinecci, gledccci, znceci, etc.

Examples from Macedonian National poetry

Mene
Ili

bolan, sestro, gledceci,

dvorje, sestro, vieteeci,

U6te taka zborueci,

Kuse kose

pleteedi.

MACEDONIA

198

Some

of the tenses (present, imperfect, aorist, future)

of the verbs are not

formed in the same way in Bulgarian

as in Serbian and the.

Macedonian dialects.
same in Serbian
the Macedonian dialects, whereas in Bulgarian

The

accent

practically the

is

as
it

in
is

quite different.

The vocabulary
Macedonian
vocabulary

of

dialects
is

same,

the

is

the

Bulgarian

the

quite different.

we must mention one

Finally

and

language

Serbian

the

linguistic feature

which

outward appearance, common to the Bulgarian

language and to the Macedonian dialects and which
to all

is,

does not exist in

This

Serbian.

is

the article, which

placed after the noun both in Bulgarian and in the

is

Macedonian
It

is

dialects (suffix, post-position of the article).

interesting

European

from

the

view

point of

among

philology, that

Indo-

of

the Balkan languages

the article exists only in the Albanian, Bulgarian, and

Boumanian languages.

Among

the

Serbian

dialects

For these reasons

the Bulgars maintain that the suffix was developed

the Macedonian alone possess

it.

" independently of the internal organism of the Bulgarian

language "

Macedonian article
is a Bulgarian feature, and the Macedonian dialects are
branches of the Bulgarian. In the meantime, the most
that consequently the

distinguished

Slav philologists are not of the opinion

suffix

developed " independently of

the internal organism of

the Bulgarian language," or

that the Bulgarian

that

it is

a Bulgarian speciality, but hold

the old Thraco-Illyrian languages

of

it

to be a rehc

which

is

to

be

found throughout the whole of the Albanian zone, in

'

Lj. Milietic, "

Bulgarian Language

clanu u bagarskom jeziku " (" The Article in the

"), Zagreb, 1886, p. 2.

DIALECTS OF THE SERBIAN LANGUAGE

Macedonia,

and

Bulgaria

only in Bulgarian, but

also

Eoumania;

199

not

therefore

the Albanian, Serbian,

in

and Roumanian languages, which have no connection

with the evolution of the Bulgarian language.^

The Bulgarian and Macedonian

In Bulgarian the

suffix is invariably ^i> (masculine),

which

ta,

ta

In Macedonian we find, besides

also n'h, na, no, and v'h, va, vo,

(feminine), to (neuter).

the suffixes fh,

suffixes differ in kind.

to,

are non-existent in Bulgarian.

Finally,

according

to

the article

rule,

iJiust

variably employed in Bulgarian, whereas in the

donian dialects

it

occurs but rarely.

MSS.

be in-

Mace-

In the eighteenth-

the article is
Macedonian
used but seldom. In the first 105 pages of the collection it is employed only 37 times, and that very
Masculine nouns never appear with the
arbitrarily.
Feminine and neuter nouns frequently appear
article.
with the articles va and vo instead of ta and to.^ In 27
poems from Macedonia published in 1822 by Vuk
Karadzic, the article occurs only 25 times in the whole
340 verses, and then not always after the noun, but more

century

Collection

often after the possessive pronoun and the conjunction

kao

(as).

In 121 poems from Debar the

article

ti,,

ta,

to

and Vh,
occurs only 47 times
In about 150 ballads from Macedonia,
va, vo 22 times.
;

containing in
times

all

told

all
;

nt, na, no occurs 12 times,

2,600 verses,

and

this

we

number

find

the article 106

includes 34 cases which

do not belong to the Macedo-Bulgarian variety but to

the purely Macedonian form of the article.
'

Fr. Miklosich,

im Rumanisohen,"
'

"

" Syntaxis," p. 127.

" Die Slavischen Elemente

p. 7.

Spomenik Srpske Kraljevske Akademije,"

vol. xxxi. p. 12,

XII

NATIONAL CUSTOMS
Old Slav

system completely broken up by Old Bulgarian

tribal

Tribal system preserved in Macedonia and other

Serbian lands Hence the identity of social conditions and
customs Typically Serbian
customs in
Macedonia The
State system

" Slava " Bulgarian campaign against '* Slava " in Macedonia
" Preslava " Village " Slava " Custom of Pilgrimage to Serbian

monasteries

WHEN

Pilgi-images to the Monastery of Decani

speaking

of

the

difference

between

the

Bulgars and the Macedonians, we pointed out

that

the Bulgars with their State system, which they

brought with them and transplanted among the conquered Slavs in Bulgaria, crushed for ever every trace
of

the

old

Slav tribal organization there.

could never again be revived

it

even during the period when

state

The Slav

system and the customs which are connected with

social

was

The

lost

all

among

the Bulgars, not

trace of an independent

among them.^

tribal social

system survived for a very long time

Macedonia and in other Serbian lands. The nation,

which is identical in Macedonia and in other Serbian
lands, and has lived under identical social conditions,
in

has also preserved identical customs.

Already

before

two Macedonians, the brothers Miladinovci,

1861,
described some of the Macedonian customs.^ All their
'

See pp. 19-20.

The brothers Miladinovci, "Bugarske Narodne Pesme " ("Bulgarian National Ballads"), Agram, 1861, pp. 515-524.
*

200

NATIONAL CUSTOMS

throughout with the descriptions of

other Serbian countries. In 1886 the

descriptions

tally

customs

in

Russian

savant

Iv.

published an

New

Christmas,

volume on

with

Epiphany,

Year,

Sunday,

Great

Lazar,

Macedonia,

Macedonia.

connected

customs

their

in

extensive

authority

great

national customs of

the
of

and

Jastrebov,!

S.

201

His description
observance of

the
the

carnival,

St.

George's Day, the popular

St.

prayers for rain ("dodole"), their marriage, birth, and

funeral customs, the " Slava," etc., tally absolutely with

among
Academy

the descriptions of the same customs as practised

other

In

Serbs.

published

1907

the

Royal

customs

of

collectanea

great

Serbian

from

the

neighbourhood of Skoplje, compiled by At. Petrovic,^

which the foregoing remarks likewise apply. The

"
author is himself the editor of a series in the " Zbornik
(" Collectanea ") of Serbian national customs, which is

to

published by the Royal Serbian

MSS. he had

One

of the

the

war was

a lengthy

Academy

in Belgrade.

prepared for publication before

monograph on the customs

of

the neighbourhood of Gevgeli, compiled prior to 1912

by the schoolmaster Mr.

St.

Tanovic, a native of Gevgeli.

Here we have descriptions

throughout the year
birth,

marriage,

fishing,

cattle

of

customs

day by day

then the customs connected with

and

rearing,

funerals,
trade,

agriculture,

etc.

All,

hunting,

absolutely

these customs of the neighbourhood of Gevgeli, as

whole and in

detail, are neither

more nor

less

all,

than the

customs found also among other parts of the Serbian

Iv. S. Jastrebov, " Obicaj

pjesni Tnreckih Serbov " (' Customs

Turkish Serbs "), Petrograd, 1886 (in Russian).
* " Srpski Etnografski Zbornik"
("Serbian Ethnographic Collectanea "), vol. vii. pp. 333-528.
'

and Songs

of the

MACEDONIA

202

But not even a superficial view of the

Macedonian customs reveals any such similarity when
comparing them with Bulgarian customs.
nation.

It is not

an unimportant fact that the customs of the

Macedonians and the

rest of the Serbs should differ

are peculiar to the

from

There are many customs which

those of the Bulgars.

Macedonian and other Serbs, and the

And

Bulgars have nothing to resemble them.

precisely

because these customs have been observed by the Serbs

from ancient times, and other nations do not possess

them, the Serbs have come to consider some of them

The

as distinctive Serbian characteristics.

of this

best example

provided by the custom of the " Slava " (the

is

meaning of this word is " celebration," but it

has the meaning of "renown" and "glory"), or

literal

also

" krsno
" sveti
(the

ime"
dan "

day of

called

name), "sveti" (saint, holy),

"
day or holy day), or " dan svetoga

(Christian
(saint

the saint),

by the Serbs.

ancestor

worship,

as

This

which

this
is

with

Christian faith was transformed

some Christian

" slava "

is

variously

transition to

the

into

George,

St.

day dedicated to that saint

The

the

St.

the

worship of

Demetrius, or

Every Serb has a family patron

John).

is

saint (most frequently St. Nicholas, St.

Michael the Archangel,

St.

custom

a relic of the old pagan

attended by

are identical with

all

is

the

many minor

Serbs.

saint.

Serbian

The

"slava."

customs, which

According to the unani-

mous opinion of all scientific authorities, both Serbian and

foreign, who have studied the customs of the " slava,"
The Serbs have
it is an exclusively Serbian custom.^
a proverb " Gde je slava, tu je Srbin " (" Where there
:

'

The

' slava "

is

Bulgars (C. Jirecek.

unknown among the neighbouring Croats and

'

Geschichte der Serben,"

i.

p. 181).

NATIONAL CUSTOMS
is

there

'slava,'

is

" slava "

The

the Serb").

203

looked

is

handed down from father

and disappears only with
inheritance,
precious
as
a
to son

upon

as a sacred

custom

it is

the disappearance of the family

same

worship the

"slava"

a Serbian

the Catholic Serbs observe

who have ceased to

reasons, still know their "
Serbs,

akin.

who
The

custom that

even

All Serbs

itself.

considered

are

distinctly

so

is

saint

it.
Even the Mohammedan
observe " slava " for religious

slava " and bestow gifts

upon

Therefore it may be
with good reason assumed that the observance of " slava"

Christian Churches on that day.

marks the frontiers of the Serbian nation.

The Bulgars do
All Macedonians keep " slava."

not.

In describing the national customs in Macedonia, Iv. S.

Jastrebov, for many years Russian Consul in Macedonia,
says

"

'

Slava

'

is

observed by the Serbs not only in

Hungary, Bosnia, Hercegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Morava and the Prizren district, but
Serbia, Austria,

in the

also

and Ochrida

Skoplje, Veles,

counties of

in exactly the

same way

as

Prilep,
it is

Bitolj,

celebrated

Moreover, the
in the counties of Debar and Tetovo. "^
" slava " is designated by the same names in Macedonia
as in other

Serbian countries

"sveti," *'sveti dan,"

too,

it

is

'

Iv.

S.

"

Many

detailed

There,
descrip-

"slava" in Macedonia have appeared on

various occasions.3

and Songs

" krsno ime,"

"dan svetoga," "sluzba").^

kept by everybody.

tions of the

("slava,"

All the details attending the

Jastrebov, "Obicaj
of the

pjesni Tureckih Serbov"

Turkish Serbs"),

"slava"
("Customs

p. 2.

Ibid., p. 1.

Tomic, ' Naselja Srpskih Zemalja " (" SettleLands"), vol. iii. pp. 467-469. At. Petrovic,
" Srpski Etnografski Zbornik " (" Serbian Ethnographic Collectanea "J,
3

Ibid., pp. 1-22.

ments

S.

of the Serbian

vol. vii. pp. 436-438.

J.

H.

Vasiljevie, " Prilep," pp. 160-167.

MACEDONIA

204

Macedonia are the same as the details attending it

In Macedonia, too, it is
countries.
a sacred custom, which is not dropped under any
circumstances. The inhabitants of Skoplje Crna Gora
in

in other Serbian

"whoever

believe that
will

not

to

live

fails

next

see

keep 'slava' one year,

to

year's."

There, too,

the

" slava " is

handed down as a sacred heritage from father

to son until the family becomes extinct.
But as a
matter of fact the celebration of "slava" outlasts
even the family. A man who has no descendants will
see

to

it

with his death.

does not become extinct

"slava"

that his

wealthy but

childless

peasant of

the village of Cucar in the Skoplje Crna Gora

property

his

would keep
celebrate

it

on

neighbour

to

condition

every

Another important

year.^

the Churches, the

all

Macedonians,

he

fact

is

common

like the

Serbs

preference to Serbs

of other countries, frequently give

who have been

all

"slava" as well as his own, and would

his

that instead of worshipping the Christian saints

to

left

that

canonized, such as St. Simeon Miroto5ivi

(Stephan Nemanja, Grand Zupan of Serbia, February

13th), St.
first

Sava (Sava Nemanjic, son

of

Stephan Nemanja,

St. Stephan
Sometimes an entire

Archbishop of Serbia, January 14th),

Decanski (November 11th),

village

will

celebrate

For the sake

of

etc.

the same

example we

patron saint.

Serbian

merely

will

case of the village of Radibuz, between

Palanka, where everybody celebrates

quote

the

Kumanovo and

St. Sava's Day.'

Finally, I will mention that the earliest record of the

Serbian

"slava"

historian

Skylitzes has

"slava"

of

'

S.

the

is

from

Serbian

Tomi6, " Naaelja,

The

Macedonia.

Greek

given us a description of the

vojvode

etc.," vol.

iii.

by the Lake

Ivac

p. 469.

Ibid., p. 469.

NATIONAL CUSTOMS
Ochrida,

of

The

1018.

as

early

as

205

Mary on August

worshipped the virgin

Ivac

vojvode
15th.

It

is

interesting to note that the description of the "Slava,"

and observed by Skyhtzes,

features which still distinguish the

as kept by the vojvode Ivac

shows the same

customs incidental to the "slava."'
Of all Serbian customs in Macedonia we have
^

special stress

upon the "slava," because

it is

laid

a typically

Serbian custom. Moreover, the Bulgars have attached

No sooner had
special significance to the " slava."

they begun their agitation in Macedonia than they considered it their first duty to stamp out this Serbian

To

custom.

At

expedients.

masters told

pagan

they had

end

this

their

first

the populace
that

custom,

Church, and that

it

recourse

various

to

agents, priests, and school-

that

was a
sanctioned by the

the

was not

" slava "

ought therefore to be discontinued.^

it

Later on they resorted to threats, and the malediction

the Church

of

the

*'

slava."

recalcitrants
fined,

and

upon those who refused

Finally,

were

finally

Serbian Ministry

when

at

first

give up

warning, then

given strict

put to death.
of

to

the comitadji action began,

The

archives of the

the Interior contain

official

proofs

every case of persecution in connection with the

keeping of " slava " in Macedonia.

in

But

this

all

proverb:

was

of

no

(''Better the ruin of the

customs").
'

avail.

The Serbs have the

" Bolje da selo propadne, nego

The people

village,

selu obicaj,"

than of the village

faithfully continued to celebrate

B. Proki6: "Vojvoda Ivac, najstariji istorijski

spomen

o slavi u

Makedoniji" ("Vojvoda Ivac, Earliest Historical Record of the Slava

in Macedonia"), " Brastvo," vols, ix.-x., Belgrade, 1902, pp. 5, etc.
" Izvjestija Slavjanskog
' Iv.
S. Jastrebov, "Obicaj, etc.," p. 3.
Blagotvoritelnog Obstetva," 1887, Nos. 11-12, p. 566.

MACEDONIA

206

their " slava " in Macedonia,

and preserved

jealously

it

as a precious inheritance.

Another typically Serbian custom

" Preslava."

is

the keeping of

of the " preslava " are the

The customs

same
number
Every Serb keeps "preslava "as

as those of the " slava," only they are fewer in

and

complicated.
"
well as
slava."
In Macedonia, too, "preslava"
less

by whole towns and

remotely like

In the

kept

it.

last

place

when the entire

common god and

must

This

(seoska) "slava."

mention the village

from the times

also

festival is a relic

settlement of kinsfolk worshipped the

eventually the patron saint.

meeting in prayer

in the

is

The Bulgars have nothing

villages.^

of the

whole

It consists

village, a

common

banquet, festivity, and dance at a special, spot in the

This custom

village.

by no means to be confused

is

with the village gatherings at church festivals and the

processions
slava "

is

Serbs

all

common

The "village

Europe.

and consequently also

It is really the
village. 2

over

all

an exclusively Serbian custom, common

" slava,"

to

to

the Macedonians.

only extended to the entire

The Bulgars do

not

possess

this

custom

either.

We

could quote

this

onght to

other

several

Macedonians share with

all

other

customs
Serbs,

which the
but I think

In the meantime I will quote one

suffice.

mote custom, because

it

affords convincing proof of the

national identity of the Macedonian Serbs with those of

other countries.

pay great respect

All

no matter where they live,

monasteries, more especially

Serbs,

to their

'

Iv. S. Jastrebov, " Obicaj," pp. 22-23.

S.

Tomi6, " Naselja,

" Prilep,"

p. 167.

etc.,"

vol,

iii.

p.

467.

J.

H.

Vasiljevie,

NATIONAL CUSTOMS

207

which played a prominent

where
part in the culture and
lie buried the great and worthy men who have since been
canonized by the Serbian Church. To these monasteries
the Serbian people repair even from very great distances.
to those Serbian monasteries

politics of Serbia's past, or

Sometimes

it

In

a pilgrimage of ten days' journey.

is

olden times these pilgrimages to the Serbian monasteries

Every one who

duty to visit them at
respect and to present

took place more frequently than now.

was

able considered

once in his

least

them with
to go

Thus Serbs from

gifts.

on pilgrimage

Mount

a patriotic

it

to express his

life,

to

the

Serbian lands used

all

Monastery

on

of Hilendar

Athos, the oldest of the Serbian monasteries and

the earliest centre of Serbian literature and civilization.

Another

spot, visited particularly

by Serbs from Serbia,

Bosnia, Hercegovina, Vidin, and the

Sofia counties

the Monastery of Studenica, where

Stephan Nemanja

St.

is

Stephan Prvovencani He buried. The monasteries

in Srem, where rest the bones of Tsar Uros, Prince Lazar,

and

St.

Stephan

Stiljanovic,

and other Serbian

places of pilgrimage for the Serbs of

under Austria.

saints, are favourite

all

the Serbian lands

In the same manner the Serbian people

used to go on pilgrimage to the Monastery of

where the body

of

the

Serbs,

earliest

of

St.

John

preachers

and to the Monastery

that of Stephan Decatiski.

also in

of

Macedonia.

Eilski

is

preserved,

Christianity
of

Bilo,

one

among the

Decani, where rests

This pious custom prevails

The Macedonians,

too,

repair to

the monasteries to worship the relics there, and that

same monasteries as other Serbs. And because

they were the nearest at hand, the Macedonians most
frequently went to the Monasteries of De6ani, Hilendar,
Bilo, and the Patriarchal Monastery of Ipek.

in the

MACEDONIA

208

The

departure for the monasteries was a very solemn

custom in Macedonia. Every year, on appointed days,

from fifty to a hundred men from certain villages would
repair to one or other of the Serbian monasteries.
Besides their

own

they carried also the

gifts,

their kinsfolk, neighbours, fellow

On

the appointed day the

gifts

townsmen, and

pilgrims,

of

guild.

arrayed in their

went to the church to pray. After

accompanied by the priests in full
canonicals, bearing crosses and icons, and by the populace.
At the gates or confines of the town they took leave and
went on their way. Their reception at the monastery

Sunday

clothes, first

prayer they set forth,

was an equally solemn

The monks

affair.

in canonicals,

with crosses and icons, came out to meet them. At the

place of meeting a short prayer was said, and then,
singing hymns, the procession went on to the monastery.

On

the following day a solemn service

which the pilgrims would

kings and saints preserved
their gifts.

was

held, after

kiss the relics of the

in the

The departure from

monastery and present

the monastery and the

reception of the pilgrims on their return

likewise solemn occasions.

Serbian

The Bulgars,

home were

too,

have their

holy places and their relics, but the Macedonians

know

nothing about them.

Of

all

monasteries the Macedonians went most

quently to Decani,

where

is

the

tomb

of the Serbian

fre-

king

Stephan Decanski (1321-1331). This is the very king of

Serbia who defeated the Bulgars at Velbuzd in 1330

Macedonia in favour of Serbia

Stephan Decanski is
the Middle Ages.

and so decided the

for the rest of

fate of

the most popular saint in Macedonia.

anything else there but the

Bulgarian propaganda made

"Holy
its

He

is

King.''

never called
Before the

appearance in Macedonia,

NATIONAL CUSTOMS

209

every well-to-do Macedonian used to consider

a reli-

it

gious and patriotic duty to go at least once in his

life

to

worship at the tomb of the Holy King and to bear

gifts to his

monastery.

And

in every

house in Macedonia

could be seen the icon of the Holy King, beside that of

the patron saint of the house.

This

custom

of

going

on

monasteries shows the purely

Macedonians.

who

in

invasion,

The

pilgrimage

to

Serbian

Serbian feeling of

special respect for

the

Stephan Decanski,

Macedonia from a Bulgarian

shows how strong that feeling is.

1330

defended

15

XIII

POPULAR TRADITION

Beauty and wealth of Serbian popular tradition Ethnographic

element and historic memories enshrined in it Macedonia
considered a Serbian country by non-Macedonian Serbian
popular tradition National tradition of Macedonia shows
a purely Serbian character Example from beginning of
eighteenth century Examples from the nineteenth century
Serbian Bulgarian
purely
Folk poetry in Macedonia
of
Macedonian national poetry reveal purely
collections
and editing
touching
spite
of
Serbian characters in
Reference to none but Serbian historic events, places, and

No reference to Bulgarian historic events, places,

Serbian monasteries famous in Macedonian
folk poetry Serbian names in Macedonian poetry Language
in Macedonian poetry pure Serbian According to national
characters

and characters

tradition the liberation

and unification

of

Serbia

all

bound

is

up with Macedonia

has
IT that

long been

Serbian

matter

and

popular

exceptionally rich and beautiful.

recognized that

Vuk

St.

national
It

is

tradition

also

This

first

was honest and

what earned

is

is

generally

Karadzic (1787-1864), the

collector of Serbian national traditions,

expert in his work.

knowledge

general

of

for

Serbian

popular tradition such great EuropeJin renown at the

beginning
its

of

collector

men

as

the

the respect and

have

century,

and

friendship of

won

for

such great

Nodier,

Prosper

Bowring, Walter Scott,

right to be proud of their

"The

Goethe,

M^rimee, John
Serbs

nineteenth

Grimm,

Charles

etc.

910

nationa

POPULAR TRADITION

211

poems, but they ought to be even more proud of their

Vuk

Karadzid,"

St.

Bulgarian savant,

the

says

Dr.

SiSmanov.^

Iv.

What

known

less

is

national

tradition

is

teems

popular and

Serbian

that

with

Serbian

elements and Serbian historic memories.

ethnographic

mine

It is a

on the subject of Serbian national customs,

it is also full of
and national self-revelation

of information

culture,

references to historic events in Serbia's past, her historic

spots and personages.

If

any one

w^ere to conceive the

delimiting the frontiers of the Serbian nation

idea of

on the basis of the area over which Serbian popular

and national tradition extends, he would be well on the
side of truth.

Serbian national ballads from the Serbian lands outside

Macedonia always

land.

Vuk

a Serbian

refer to the latter as

from Srem, taken down

national ballad

by

Karadzic at the beginning of the nineteenth

St.

century, sings of the cities, princes, and vojvodes of the

Middle Ages.

Apart from

its

exceptional

distinguishing feature of this ballad

is

beauty,

that in

it

from Srem, giving voice to the general conviction

the Serbian nation as to

within

the

Serbian

mentions the following

Macedonia

thus

its

extent, includes

national
cities,

frontiers.

princes,

the

a Serb
of

Macedonia

The

ballad

and vojvodes in

In Eratovo the white-walled city

Had

his dwelling Kratovac Badonja

In the shining town of Kuinanovo

Had
*

of

his dwelling

Kostadin the Bey;

" Sbomik za narodni umotvorenia nauka

Folk-lore, Science

Bnlgarian).

and Literature"),

i.,

kniznina

" (" Collection

Sofia, 1889,

p.

15 (in

'

MACEDONIA

212

And
Had

in

But

in Prilep the white-walled city

Solun (Salonica) the white-walled

Dojcin

his dwelling the vojvode

city

There had Marho Kraljevic his dwelling.

*

=,-,

:;:

:i:

Hearken thou, sister Marghita, our vojvodos were they;

All of them were among us, and all have passed away.
Some died in their beds, sister, and some in battle were
To-day doth Rajko alone of them in Srijem remain
Like a dry tree in the mountain grove.
.

slain

Various other national ballads collected outside Macedonia

mention

importance
connected

as

with

every
well

Macedonian
as

the

city

and

historic

of

site

personages

They are, in fact, full

Kratovo, Kumanovo, Ochrida,

Macedonia.

references to Skoplje,

of

all

Kostur, Bitolj, Salonica, Serez, the Kivers Vardar and

Marica, and to Tsar Stephan (Duan), King VukaSin,
Ugljega, King Marko and his brothers, Mina of Kostur,
Bogdan, the Dejanovici, Mom6ilo, etc. Nay, more than
this, these are the most important spots and the most
favourite characters in Serbian national poetry.

Serbian national ballads glory in the Serbian

Macedonia and

in

in all

In a ballad published
S. Karadzic,^

known

we

the Serbian memories

for the first

are told

'

time in 1826 by

how one day two

past

there.

Vuk

of the best-

Marko Kraljevic and

Mount Miroc. Then
him and MiloS granted

heroes in Serbian romance,

Milo Obili6, were out riding on

Marko asked Milo to sing to

The national ballads lavish special
his request.
upon the singing of Milo and upon his beautiful

praise
voice.

So that the matter of the song might be worthy

of

the singing, the ballad-maker could think of no better

'
Vuk St. Karadzid, " Srpske narodne pesme " (" Serbian National
Ballads"), vol. iii., Belgrade, 1894, pp. 54-55.
" Danica " for 1826, Vienna, 1826. pp. 207-212.
'^

POPULAR TRADITION
than

subject
calls it

following

the

" beautiful

213
song,"

as

he

Of our elders and our betters

That held the kingdom long,
In famous Macedonia,

And

built the sacred shrines.

ballads strictly differentiate between the

The Serbian

people of Serbia and Macedonia

the people of Bulgaria

who

who

are not.

are

Serbs

Speaking

and

of the

Decani Church in the ballad of the building of

Monastery

of

Decani we

find the following verse

the

In it shall the liturgy be chanted,

There the Serbian nation will be gathered.
From all Serbia arid Macedonia,
And the sister nation from Bulgaria.'

Serbian national poetry shows

us

the Macedonian

heroes with the same customs as those observed

other

We

distinctive

have

already said that

Serbian custom is the " slava."

Serbs.

by

the most

Even

as,

tell us that Tsar Dusan and Prince Lazar

kept their " slavas," so we are told that

the ballads

Slava keepeth Kraljevic Marko,

his slava on St. George's Day
Many strangers came to feast with Marko,
Priests two hundred, holy monks three hundred,
And beside them ttoelve Serbian bishops." ^

Kept

Constantine Dejanovic,3 too,

" slava,"

is

shown

celebrating his

and so are other Macedonian heroes

of

the

national ballads.
'

S. Ristid, "

Decanski spomenici" ("Decani Kecords

1864, p. 71.
* V.
S. Karadzic,

Ballads"), vol.
3

ii.,

Ibid., p. 3u5.

"),

Belgrade,

" Srpske narodne pesme " ("Serbian National

Vienna, p. 215.

MACEDONIA

3U
But more than
acter

of

that of other Serbian lands, popular

Macedonia

tradition in

Macedonia.

in fact, has never

itself

reveals the Serbian char-

Popular tradition in Macedonia,

known her

to

be anything else but

Serbian,

In 1704, Jerotije Racanin, a monk

Belgrade, travelled to Jerusalem.

Eakovica near

of

On

his

way through

Macedonia he made notes of what he learnt about local

tradition from the inhabitants.
All he noted down goes
to show that at that time only Serbian memories survived
among the natives. A day's walk south of Vranja the
peasants showed him the site where "in the days of the
Serbian rule there was a big town " with forty churches,
so that the Turks still call it Krk-klisa (forty churches).
Not far from there is another spot called Satorista
(the place of the sa^or = tents), where Marko Kraljevic,
MiloS Obilic, Relja Omu5evic, and Novak Debelic pitched
All

their tents.

Serbian

these heroes are

From

there Eacanin

Polje,

where he spent the night.

went

to

characters.

Gorobinci in the Ov6e

The peasants

there

showed him the ruins of old cities and churches " which
once upon a time the Serbs had built, but which are

now

all

Serbs

deserted."

first

settled

They
in

the Ovce Polje and

him

also told

there built

copper, because they did not

when the
came first to

that

these lands " they

threshing-floor

know how

of

to thresh on

the ground." Of the Demir Kapija on the Vardar,

Eacanin says that the people called it " Kraljevc Marko's

Demir Kapija."

Popular traditions collected in Macedonia during the

nineteenth century reveal the Serbian character of the

country
f

still

more

clearly.

Macedonia

" Glasnik Srpskog Ucenog Drustva," vol.

is

xxii.

special!}^ rich
pp. 228-230.

POPULAR TRADITION
traditions

in

of

215

those Serbian historic characters

who

at one time lived in Macedonia, such as King Milutin,

Stephan DecanSki, Tsar DuSan, KraUevic Marko,^ etc.

But there

are also

many

persons in Serbian history

who

never had any connection at all with Macedonia and

whose memory nevertheless lives on in Macedonian
tradition, such as St. Stephan Nemanja and St. Sava.
Travelling through Macedonia about Easter-time, 1914,

by the natives that the village of Nemanjica,

Connear IStip, was called after Stephan Nemanja.
cerning the villages of Bresko and Bojilovce in the

was

told

ilegligovo district, I

made

a note of the local tradition

that St. Sava had stayed there once and. that he cursed

the former and blessed the

Better

character of the country

Macedonia.

of

later.

than in the prose tradition

still

shown

Already in 1822

is

the Serbian

in the poetic tradition

Vuk

S.

Karadzic said of

down from two merchants

they were Serbian poetry. The Russian

the ballads which he took

Razlog that

of

scholar

V.

Grigorovic also collected

national

ballads

Macedonia in 1844. Although an

enthusiastic Bulgarophile, and accompanied at the time
by Bulgars, he could say nothing more of the national
during his travels in

Macedonia that could be turned to Bulgaria's

advantage but that they were translations or imitations
When the Bulgar P. Draganov,
of Serbian ballads. ^

ballads of

professor at

the Bulgarian Lycee in Salonica, collected

national ballads in Macedonia, he

was charmed by

their

Brothers Miladinovci, "Bugarske Narodne Pesme," pp. 527-528.

Tomic, " Naselja," vol. iii. pp. 430-468, Iv. Ivanid, " Macedonija i
Macedonci," vol. ii. pp. 166-170. F. H. Vasiljevic, " Prilep," p. 61. Si.
Novakovi6, " Balkanska Pitanja " (" The Balkan Question "), p. 224.
* V. Jagic, " Enciklopsedija Slavjanskoj filologiji " (' P2ncyclopiBdia
of Slav Philology "), i., Petrograd, 1910, p. 533 (in RuBsiau).
'

S.

MACEDONIA

216

Serbian character and could not refrain from pointing

out that one cannot
of

many

Macedonia.^
ballads

fail

Any

reveals

collection

that

poetry

and

spots

historic

mentioned

never

are

by the presence

in

poems of
Macedonian national

of

glance

at

Macedonian national
Serbian

to be struck

Serbian elements in the national

the

the

are

subjects

Serbian

of

past,

The Bulgars
Whoever knows the

characters.
it.

Serbian national ballads will have noticed that there

no difference at all between the Macedonian ballads

and those collected in other Serbian countries.

is

Although the Serbian collectors of national ballads

were both accurate and honest in their work, we shall
purposely abstain from making use of their collection
in proving our contention that

Macedonia

is

the national poetry of

We

simply Serbian.

shall also refrain

from

using the excellent collection of national ballads from

Macedonia compiled by that great authority on Macedonia, Iv. S. Jastrebov, who was for many years Consul
there and is a scholar of recognized standing.
The
Bulgars have cast doubts upon the correctness and
authentic value of

made by one

not
base

my

all

of themselves.

firstly,

ballads

evidence
sufficient

collectors.

culled
to

Macedonian
'

Nevertheless, I shall

My

as

have been compiled

reasons

for

doing

so

that I wish to disarm criticism, even

come from Bulgarian

to

Macedonian ballads

proof solely upon such collections of Mace-

donian songs and

Bulgarian

collections of

the

are,

if it

were

quarters, and, secondly,

that

from Bulgarian collections

prove

by

purely

Serbian

is

already

character

of

folk-poetry.

P. Draganov, " Makecjousko-Slavjanski Sbornik" (" Macedonian:

Slav Collection"),

i.,

Petrograd, 1894, p.

viii (in

Russian),

POPULAR TRADITION
Speaking of

Bulgarian

the

ballads from Macedonia,

it

is

collections

necessary to

In the

important preliminary remarks.

popular

of

collections

tradition

217
of

national

make

first

a few

place, the

Macedonia

in

was

entrusted to half-educated Bulgarian teachers, priests,

and agents.
hurry to

Moreover, the Bulgars were in a desperate

lay before

many Macedonian

world as

the

ballads as possible under the

name

of Bulgarian ballads,

and the work done was hurried and unequal.

It

has

already been pointed out long ago that the Bulgars in

Macedonia actually collected more ballads

Macedonia than from the whole of Bulgaria and

their zeal for

frorn
all

the Bulgarian countries put together.^

scale the Bulgars

have been working ever

they deemed

necessary

it

to

And on

this

since.

Finally

press even the

national

Macedonia into the service of their political

aspirations and just as they ruthlessly persecuted the
Serbian element and destroyed all Serbian records in
tradition of

Macedonia, so they endeavoured to purge her tradition

of

all

that could recall the Serbs.

But

as without this

element there simply would have been no tradition, they

found

or

tradition

to

Veda

folk-lore

it

new

We have already had occasion to

what lengths Stephan Verkovic went in his
Slovenska," in faking popular tradition and
in Macedonia.^
In his review of Pipin and

Spasovic's " Bulgarian Literature,"

St. Protic, "

Makedoniji "

1886, p. 86.
'

to

Dr. V. Jagic, Pro-

fessor of Slavistic at the University of

'

invent

Serbian origin.

mention
"

either

up and edit that one already in

should no longer too obviously betray

touch

existence until
its

compelled

themselves

See pp. 128-129.

("

Vienna and the

Concerning Macedonia "), Belgrade,


MACEDONIA

218
greatest

the following criticism of

living Slavist, gives

collectors of popular

the work done by the Bulgarian

tradition

"

record of the

much

literature is not so
real

of

in a position to reveal products

sundry patriotic and

as

literature

new and newest Bulgarian

intellectual

achievements (establishment of schools, publication of

school books) and battles for the emancipation of the
Bulgarian Church from the Greek influence.
labour devoted

to

the

in

collection

field

The

national

of

most nearly to the standard of

Unfortunately precisely this branch of
includes a curious fraud ("ein merk-

ballad poetry approaches

real literature.

literary activity

wiirdiger Schwindel"),

whereby

fantastic speculations are

bolstered up with undeniable national treasures.

comment passed by

The

the authors (Pipin and Spasovic)

upon the conduct of Eakovski and Verkovic is fully

May their example not only find no imitation,
deserved.
but speedy correction in accordance with truth on the
part of

the Bulgars themselves."

collection

valuelessness

the
of

Even among

the

were some sober-minded scholars who

Bulgars there
recognized

popular

of

tradition.

such

work

in

Vuk

Praising

the
S.

Karadzic, the collector of the Serbian ballads, Professor

" Our
Iv. Sismanov of the University of Sofia says
:

collectors are far

from being

Vuk

Karadzic."

But no warning availed to prevent the Bulgars from

pressing Macedonian popular tradition into the service
How skilfully they went
of their political aspirations.
work

to
'

in this

v. Jagic,

may

"Archiv

be seen from the following example.

fiir

Slavische

Philologie,"

vol,

iv.,

1880,

pp. 471-472.
'
Dr. Iv. D. Si&manov, "Znacenije izadacananaaataetnografia"
"Importance and Task of our Ethnographic" (" Sbomik za narodni

axnotvorenia,"

i.,

1889, p. 15).

POPULAR TRADITION
In 1889 the Bulgarian Ministry
publication

umotvorenia"

much

*'

first

the editors,

allowed some

yet

which

clearly

features

betrayed

its

national

from

ballads

was published
a large

in Petrograd.^

number

of

ters not specifically

mostly

ballads of

although very

Macedonian

of

Serbian origin to

Macedonia,

at the Bulgaria

Draganov, Professor

narodni

za

This "Sbor-

In 1894 a collection

be included in the "-Sbornik,"^

of

Education began the

Sbornik

of the national tradition,

At

from Macedonia.
tradition

of

the

(" Collection of Folk-lore").

nik " gave very

cautiously,

of

Sofia

in

219

made

Lycee

by

P.

in Salonica,

This collection included

Serbian historic charac-

K. Sapkarov wrote a

Macedonian.

scathing review of this collection, and attacked Draganov

with the whole fury of an outraged Bulgarian patriot

for publishing ballads of characters

from Serbian history

he also endeavoured to prove that Macedonia possesses

no

traditions

of

Serbian past.3

the

From

that

time

the "Sbornik" ceased to contain Macedonian traditions

concerning
only

those

Serbian

and

characters

characters

who had

Macedonia and such events

as

events,

spent

their

excepting
lives

in

had taken place on her

soil

In spite of

all

precautions, however,

even in these

Macedonian ballads have

remained Serbian. We shall use them simply to show
the identity of popular tradition in Macedonia with that
Bulgarian

collections

of other Serbian lands.

the

We

have before us three

indis-

'
One of the first volumes of the '* Sbornik " even included the
Serbian ballad of the " Battle of Kosovo," which was taken down in
Macedonia (" Sbornik," iii. pp. 85-9-4).
' P. Draganov, " Makedonako-Slavjanki Sbornik " ("MacedonianSlav Collection "), Petrograd, 1894,
3 " Sbornik za narodni umotvorenia,'' vol. xii. pp. 51-53.

MACEDONIA

220

putably Bulgarian collections of national ballads from

Macedonia
Brothers Dimitrije and Constantine Mila(1) The
dinovci, "Bulgarian National Ballads," Zagreb, 1861.
The brothers Miladinovci were Serbs from Struga on
:

Lake Ochrida, but at an early date they joined the

anti-Greek movement in Macedonia, eventually joining
the Bulgarian party and remaining faithful to

contained

collection

Macedonia.

It

is

from

songs

various

it.

Their

parts

of

compiled in an amateurish manner,

but with a considerable bias in favour of the Bulgars.

Thence the title " Bulgarian National Ballads."

" Macedonian-Slav Collection," i.,
(2) P. Draganov,
Petrograd, 1894. Draganov is a genuine Bulgar, by
He was professor at the
birth a native of Bessarabia.
Bulgarian Lycee (College) in Salonica. Being an ardent

at the Bulgarization of the

Bulgar he worked zealously

Supplement No.

II).

Through

ballads and songs from

(3)

the Bulgarian Lycee

attending

Serbian students

all

his pupils

(see

he collected

parts of Macedonia.

Sbornik za narodni umotvorenia, nauka a kniznina

of

(Collection

folk-lore,

science,

publication of this collection

and

literature).

The

was begun by the Ministry

Education in 1889, and it is really an official publicaEighteen bulky

tion by the Bulgarian Government.

of

volumes
matter

of
it

it

also

have already
contains

appeared.

many

Among

other

national ballads, mostly

from Macedonia.
compare
If we

Macedonian ballads, which

these
were collected by Bulgarians, with the national ballads
of other Serbian countries,

we

observe the following

There is not
(1) The motives of both are identical.
one Macedonian song or ballad, except those which bear

POPULAR TRADITION
a purely local

221

character, variants of which

cannot

be

found among the ballads of other Serbian regions.

(2) The events commemorated in both are absolutely

most noticeable in ballads which

These events are taken only
events.

This, fact

identical.

sing of historic

is

from Serbian history

Battle of

(the

the city of Stalac, the

of

combats

of DeCani, the single

of the

fights

Kosovo, the

of Kraljevic

against

Serbian people

fall

the Monastery

building of

the

Marko, the
Turks, the

P. Draganov was amazed

liberation of Serbia, etc.).
by this phenomenon in Macedonian folk-poetry, and
felt constrained to remark upon it as follows in the
" In the

first place,

one

is

introduction to his collection

struck by the fact that of

the Tsars, Kings, Vojvodas,

all

heroes, and other characters of these

ballads,

leading

parts are assigned only to favourite characters and

famous events of Serbian mediceval, modern, and recent
history.''
(3)

The

localities

mentioned in both are absolutely

Whoever knows Serbian folk-poetry even

from translation knows that the Serbian countries most
identical.

frequently mentioned in

it

are Serbia, Bosnia, Herce-

and the towns

govina, Montenegro, Srem, Macedonia

of Kruevac, Stalac, Belgrade, Prizren,

Novi Pazar, NiS,

Vranje

(in

Serbia)

Bosnia-Hercegovina)

amen,

Varadin

inhabited by

Sarajevo,

Trebinje

(in

Janok, Temisvar, Slank-

Buda,
the

(in

Serbs)

Mostar,

regions

Prilep,

of

Bitolj,

Austria-Hungary
Skoplje,

Ochrida,

and the Kivers Danube,

Sava, Morava, Vardar, Sitnica. Other famous spots in
Serbian history are Kosovo, the Sar Mountain, Kacanik,

Kostur, Kratovo (Macedonia)

P. Draganov, " Makedonsko-Slavjanski Sbornik " ("Macedonian-

Slav-Collection "), p.

viii.

MACEDONIA

222

and the Monasteries of Hilendar, Decani,

etc.
These identical places are
also those most frequently mentioned in Macedonian
The place-names we have enumerated here
folk-poetry.
we have taken from collections of Macedonian national
Dukadjin

Kavanica, Gracauica,

ballads,

The heroes

(4)

the

compiled by Bulgarian collectors.

characters

celebrated in both are identical.

which

ballads

sing of

historic

personages,

In
the

belong to Serbian history, as Tsar Simeon

all

(Stephan Nemanja, 1169-1196), his son

Stephan

St. Sava,

De6anski (Serbian king, 1321-1331), Tsar Stephan Dugan

(1331-1355), Tsar Lazar
his wife Milica

(d.

(of

Kosovo fame,

1389) and

d.

1395), their son Lazarevic (1389-1426),

Milos Obilic, Toplica Milan, Kosancic Ivan, Jug Bogdan,

the nine

Jugovici,

Vuk Brankovic

Kraljevic

Marko

(1371-1394), Dete

Krilatica,

Todor

of

(Kosovo

Vojvode

Stalac,

heroes)

DukadjinCe,

Eelja

MomCilo, Bolani

Dojcin, Starina Novak, Gruja Novakovic, Deli Tatomir,

Pavle

Pletikosa,

the

Senkovici,

Montenegro), Krcmarica
(1804-1813),

(hostess)

Hajduk Veljko

(d.

Ivan

Crnojevic

(of

Mara, Kara-George

1813), Dija Strelja (Ilija

Dehja), Prince Milo Obrenovic (1815-1839 and 1859-

Milan Obrenovic (1868-1888).

1860), Prince
also

we have

Macedonia,

taken from collections

which

were

This Hst

from

of ballads

compiled by Bulgarian

col-

lectors.
(5)

Macedonian folk-poetry

is

quite ignorant of Bul-

garian historic sites and Bulgarian historical character.

Some
to

slight reference to Bulgars, such as the allusions

King Sisman and the Plain

insignificant

even

if

of

Sofia,

quite

are

are

not

deliberate

possess

the

word

they

inter-

polations.

The Bulgars do not

kralj

for

POPULAR TRADITION
" king."

The

It IS

a term that

223

only a Serb

Sofijsko Polje (Sofia Plain)

is

t^rould

tise.

not a Bulgarian, but

Serbian folk-poetry makes frequent

a Serbian county.^

mention of foreign lands such as

Hungary, Venice,

Italy,

Albania, Koumania, Russia, Turkey, and Bulgaria and

It is a very significant fact that Bulgaria

their heroes.

and the Bulgars are mentioned less in Macedonia folkpoetry than in ballads of other Serbian lands. Bulgarian
history, too, had its great events, its famous sites and
characters
but the Macedonians know nothing about
;

What

them.
(6)

The

know

they

purely Serbian.

is

old Serbian monasteries play a great part in

Special

Serbian folk-poetry.

fame in song

centre of Serbian intellectual

The Bulgars,

Middle Ages.

life

too,

is

Mount Athos,

to the Monastery of Hilendar on

had

Mount Athos, the Zoograf, which

is

accorded
the

first

the

and

letters in

their

monastery on

older than Hilendar,

and a very important focus of Bulgarian civilization in

the Middle Ages. Wherever Macedonian poetry mentions the monasteries of

Other

Macedonian

It

is

is

it

speaks only of

not even men-

famous in
but not one Bulgarian monastery
especially important that DeSani

Serbian

ballads,

mentioned.

is

Athos,

The Zoograf monastery

Hilendar.
tioned.

Mount

monasteries

should provide a favourite theme.

are

There

is

even a

ballad specially devoted to the building of the Monastery

'

The word

" kralj "

is

unknown

to the

Bulgars.

That

is

the

reason why the present King of Bulgaria is never called " King " in
The words "kralj" and "kraljica" (king
Bulgaria but "Tsar."
and queen) are as familiar in Macedonia as in other Serbian countries.
Both in poetry and in ordinary conversation Kraljevic Marko is
referred to as " Kralj Marko."

Serbian folk-poetry never looks upon Sofia and

anything but Serbian.

at!

its

surroundings

MACEDONIA

224

Decani was built by Stephan Decanski and

of Decani.

God

dedicated to

in gratitude for the victory over the

Bulgars in 1330.
(7)

The

grin,"

poetry.
is

terms

" Croat,"

**

Serb,"

" Bosnian,"

" Montene-

occur frequently in Macedonian

4 etc.,

The term "Bulgar"

occurs so rarely that

it

practically non-existent.
(8)

Finally the language of the Macedonian ballad

Serbian and not

the sounds
Serbian,

of

The

the

Macedonian

dialects

of

Macedonian

collectors,

and he has

collections

that

conclusively
is

" in the

by Bulgarian

ballads compiled

Macedonia

c}'

Novakovi6 drew upon the philological

St.

material contained in

proved

In writing his book on

Bulgarian.

dj" and "

''

is

language

the

spoken

in

Serbian.

favourite hero of

in general, of

all

Serbian

national tradition

Serbian folk-poetry in particular,

is

the

Macedonian king of old, Marko Kraljevic (1371-1394).

" There is no Serb who does not know the name of
Kraljevic Marko," said the greatest authority on the
Serbian nation,
the

of

Vuk

nineteenth

Karadzic in the earlier half

St.

Marko

century.

Kraljevic

is

the

most popular hero of Macedonia national tradition. He

famous in song and story everywhere among the
Serbian people. There is no end to the songs and

is

legends about his childhood, his heroism, his marriage,

his love of justice, his combats,

appearance
tradition,
'

from

Marko

world.

and

finally of his dis-

According

to

popular

did not die, but withdrew into a cave

P. Draganov, pp. 60, 155, 156,

Brothers Miladinovci, p. 355.
' Sbornik," iv. p. 69
xiv. pp. 92, etc.
P. Draganov, p. 200.

157, 158.
-

this

Ibid., p. 141.

Ibid., pp. 91, 141.

"Sbornik,"

xi.

pp. 35, etc.

POPULAR TRADITION
with

together
a

laid

little

cleaving
lay

it

his horse

225

Before the horse he

Sarac.

moss, he smote the rock with his sword,

and leaving the sword

down and

in the

and then

cliff,

Since that time

asleep.

fell

Marko has

His horse is slowly eating the

sword is gradually working its way out of
When the moss is all eaten, and the sword

continuously.

slept

moss, his
the rock.

comes out of the rock, then Marko will awake and come
forth from his cave, and deliver and unite all the
Serbian people.^
The cave where Marko sleeps, and
whence the Serbian people according to the popular
belief awaits its deliverance and unity, is in the Demir
Kapija on the Vardar in Macedonia.^ Already in 1704

monk

Jervotije RaSanin made a note of the fact

Demir Kapija on the Vardar is by the people
called " Marko Kraljevic's Demir Kapija." 3
The tradition that Marko will awake, free and unite

the

that the

the Serbian nation

When
its

is

familiar to every Serbian child.

army

in 1912 the Serbian

campaign

of liberation to

Turkish slavery,

it

flew as on wings on

Macedonia from

deliver

appeared to the

soldiers,

under the

suggestion of the national tradition they had

known

from childhood, as

though they verily saw Kraljevic

Marko riding in front of them.
Serbian national tradition

the expression of Serbian

is

national opinion.

The thought

Serbian nation

the thought of liberation and unity.

This

is

that

is

dearest

to the

dearest thought

is by the Serbian nation bound up

with the tradition of Kraljevic Marko and with Macedonia.
'

its

Vuk

see under

S. Karadzic,

Marko

" Srpski Rjecnik "

Kraljevic.

J.

H.

(" Serbian Dictionary "),

Vasiljevid, "Prilep," p. 78.

This

legend has been frequently published elsewhere as well.

'

Iv. Ivanic,

Macedonians
^

"),

" Macedonija
i.,

Macedonci

1906, pp. 230, 231

ii.,

"

" Qlasnik Srpkog Ucenog Drustva." vol.

16

("

Macedonia and the

1908, p. 168.
xxii. p. 230.

XIV
CONCLUSION

THEKE

remains but one question to be solved

the subject-matter of this book

clear,

their

agitation

in

made

quite

conscious

that

be

is to

v/hether the Bulgars were

viz.

if

Macedonia was a violation

of

the

rights of others ?

The answer to this question

Whoever has during this war
of

is

not

difficult

to j&nd.

followed the attempts

the Bulgars to convince the world of their rights

and frontiers has the reply ready to hand. No sooner

had the Bulgarian army entered Eastern Serbia than
announced, not the conquest of

the Bulgarian papers

Serbia,

but

the

" liberation "

of

Bulgarian

lands.

other Bulgarian savants

professors and
no time in writing bulky tomes in Bulgarian and
other languages explaining that all the land held by the

University
lost

Bulgarian army was Bulgarian, and that the Bulgarian

national frontier passes through the middle of Serbia.

men

In these assertions the

Bulgaria's

not one

there

is

that

Serbia

is

man

to

so

many

in Bulgaria

truly Bulgarian

the Bulgarian

the very same

respect

and

of the press,

leading personalities, were followed by the

Bulgarian masses like

Serbia

of science

and

who would
land.

to-day

not assert

After entering

army entered Koumania.

assertions

Eoumania.

apostles,

Now

are being put forward with

The Bulgarian
326

papers

have

"

CONCLUSION

227

immediately announced the "liberation" of Bulgarian

Boumanian

lands from

servitude,

and Bulgarian scien-

tists have immediately begun to " restore " the Bulgarian

place-names which the Koumanians had " corrupted,"

and

on the " Bulgarian past

to write

Djurdjevo,

Kalafat,

Braila,

in the villages

Galatz,

Ploesti,

round

Crajova,

Alexandria, Bucharest, and other places in Roumania."

No

matter

how young, how

the Bulgars are,

it

is

and uncivilized

uncritical,

obvious that they cannot

make

these assertions from conviction, but that they are consciously inculcating the robbery and violation of foreign
territory.

As they behaved to Serbia and to Roumania in this

war under our eyes, so they behaved formerly to
Macedonia.
to

In that case also there

show that the Bulgars,

full

consciousness, did

all

is

positive proof

and with
Macedonia

in the face of facts

they could to

filch

from the Serbs.

One

and staunchest friends

over the Macedonian Question was Stefan
of

the

first

of Bulgaria
I.

Verkovi6.

Already in 1860 he declared that the Macedonians are

"without any national''

(he

meant "Bulgarian,"

of

course) " conscience.'' " That these Macedonian Bulgars,"

he says, " were formerly called Slavs, is clearly proved

by the writings of the Holy Slav Apostles Cyril and

Method and their disciples, who all say that they
translated the Holy Scriptures into the Slav language.
It was only at a later date that thej^ received the name
This name is therefore
name than a national designa-

of their conquerors, the Bulgars.

rather a political and State

tion,"
'

St.

His better knowledge, however, did not deter

'

I.

Verkovic,

" Narodne

(" National Ballads of the

pesme Makedonskih Bngara

Macedonian Bulgars "), 1860, pp. 6 and 13

"

MACEDONIA

228

Verkovic from proclaiming

Turkey

to be Bulgarian,

the regions of European

all

and from becoming the leading

Bulgarian champion in Kussia.

by name, who had

been educated in Belgrade, although well aware of the
difference between the Serbian and Bulgarian languages,
and realizing that the language spoken in Macedonia is
Bulgarian

patriot,

Prvanov

Serbian, nevertheless did not scruple to bring out in 1872

his " Alphabets " for the Bulgarian schools in

Macedonia,

and to point out in their pages that his object in doing so

" that

was

our Macedonian brothers

may

discard the

Serbian pronunciation of the Bulgarian idiom." ^

As early as in 1888 the greatest of the Bulgarian
chauvinists, Ofeikoff (the
to

the Bulgarian

pseudonym

Exarch, and

of Sopov, Secretary

afterwards

Bulgarian

Consul in Salonica), wrote a book in French endeavouring

His
to demonstrate the Bulgarian claim to Macedonia.

book
is

is

thoroughly tendencious

nevertheless the author

compelled to confess that before the establishment of

the Exarchate the Macedonians " were devoid of national

(read " Bulgarian ") " consciousness " (" etaient prives de

conscience nationale").^

The well-known Bulgarian leader and statesman,

Stambulov, " did not like the Macedonians on account
of their treachery

and on account of

their lack of all real

sense of patriotism" (Bulgarian patriotism, of course).3

Of such instances showing that the Bulgars knew

that the Macedonians are not Bulgars we could quote
'
From P. Draganov's " Izvestija S.P. Slavjanskago Blagotvoritelnago ObScestva," 1888. Quoted in " Macedonia " by St. Protid, p. 13.
' Ofeikoff, " La Mac^doine," Philipopoli, 1888, p. 45.
a " He [Stambuloflf]
also grew to dislike the Macedonians on
account of their treachery and want of real sense of patriotism ..."
" M. Stambuloflf," by A. Hulme Beaman, London, 1895, p. 40.

CONCLUSION
many

more, but

we

will

229

confine ourselves to just one

more quotation from a Bulgarian book,

in

which the

Bulgarian point of view regarding Macedonia and the

Bulgarian programme there are expounded on the basis
of the

impression gained during a long time by the

The book in question appeared

Bulgars in Macedonia.

on the occasion of the thousand years' anniversary of

SS. Cyril and Method, and is entitled " Macedonia on
the Thousandth Anniversary of SS. Cyril and Method
or, The Present Condition of Bulgarism in Macedonia."
It is true that in this book, as everywhere else, we find
;

asserted that

it

it is

Macedonia

is

a Bulgarian country

but

very clearly pointed out that the inhabitants are not

" If

Bulgarian.

Macedonia

is

not to be Bulgarian,"

says this book, " then the Bulgarian State will not be

This must be borne in mind and never

But " we must aUo adynit a sad and
lost sight of."
The greatest part of Macedonia is
disgraceful thing.
established.

without that national conscience, which

a nation

if

it

is

categorically

to

is

necessary for

demand

its

rights.

Should Europe to-day ask the people of Macedonia to

they belong, I am afraid

declare to which nationality

that the greater part loould declare themselves against

In the meantime, " ten or even five years well
us."

employed would be

sufficient

tu

make

it

impossible for

any power to prevent the Bulgaria of San Stefan^

from becoming a reality."
Finally I would also mention an occurrence which
shows most clearly of all that the Bulgars fully realized
Aware of the
that Macedonia contains no Bulgars.
^

We

were unable to obtain this book in the original, but have

book " Le r61e et les aspirations de la
Grece dans la question d'Orient," by D. Bikelas, Paris, 1885, pp. 46-47.
'

utilized the quotations in the

MACEDONIA

230

Serbian national sentiment of the Macedonians and of

Turks and in favour of

their insurrection against the

Serbia, the Bulgars tried immediately

unification with

to promote a rising in
Macedonia which they could claim before Europe as

after the creation of Bulgaria

an insurrection in favour
Eventually the

of Bulgaria.

inducing the Macedonians

difficulty of

proved as great as Bulgaria's

to rise in Bulgaria's interest

This need was imperative, however,

and the Bulgars had recourse to stratagem. In 1879
they issued a proclamation to the people of Macedonia,
calhng upon them to rise for liberation from the Turks,

need of the

rising.

but in this proclamation

tions

and

omitted,
(see

all

allusions to Bulgarian aspira-

Macedonia were carefully

Bulgarian rights to

nor did the name of Bulgaria appear in it

This flagrant fact cannot be

Supplement No. VIII).

explained away.

It clearly

proves

how

conscious the

Bulgars were of the strength of the Serbian sentiment

of the Macedonians.

From

Nations, like individuals, have their qualities.

Bulgaria's whole history, past and present, one quahty,

I think, emerges

most

clearly,

and that

is

rapacity re-

garding foreign property. Only on the basis of this is

it possible to explain how the Bulgars, though fully
conscious that they have no right to Macedonia, nevertheless

made

their State a comitadji

of

they overran Macedonia to take

owners.

And

whilst

from

it

this

camp whence

away from
camp the

its

true

bishops,

by Cross,
book, money, and force of arms, duped, bought, and
terrorized the Serbian people of Macedonia, Bulgarian

priests, teachers,

journaHsts,

agents, and banditti have,

scientists,

and

poHticians,

on

the

other

hand, explained and protested to the world that the

CONCLUSION

231

Macedonians are Bulgars and dying

Bulgaria

To

to

add yet another

this comitadji-nature the Bulgars

quality,

and that

with

the world.

all

be united to

their positively indecent intrusiveness

is

This

trait is

very well

known

to all

who have come in contact with Bulgars. To demonstrate

this quality, we will borrow an illustration from Aleko
Konstadinov, the best Bulgarian writer of short

stories,

has sketched this failing of his countrymen in his

"tale of the contemporary Bulgar " called "Baya Gagno,"

who

In this story the typical Bulgar

shown up from every point of view

after its principal hero.^

of the present

day

is

as a family man, as a merchant, as a tourist in Bulgaria,

and as a representative of his nation abroad as a
;

politician and, of course, as a patriot

who on

way

his

through Serbia does not miss the opportunity of saying

to every porter and servant in Nis and Belgrade

are

all

of

you Bulgars, only you

One passage
Sofia

to

Prague

Baya Gagno

You

yourselves Serbs."

call

showing how great

Travelling from
intruding.

to

some

festival

or

other,

esconced with several travelling

in a second-class
ticket, of

"

in the tale is devoted to

the Bulgarian genius for

is

we

find

companions

compartment (without a second-class

After having eaten and drunk all
the company in the compartment and

course).

the provisions of
repaid them " with most fervent patriotism," he begins
to insinuate himself into a first-class compartment with
" At first he came under various
four other occupants.
pretexts,

mouthful

such as to borrow matches, or to beg for a

of

brandy because

presently he became
'

Al.

"Baya Gagno,

more

he

was

familiar,

feeling

ill

made himself

the Tale of a Coatemporary

Konstadinov, Sofia, 1895, pp. 25-28.

but
at

Bulgar," by

MACEDONIA

232

home, and did not leave our compartment any more.

He had forgotten all about his former travelling companions.
Of what further use were they to him
They had nothing left all their food and drink were
consumed, and we had plenty. Baya Gagno, as if out
of curiosity, missed no chance of sampling all the
provisions we had laid in at the stations."
'?

"What's that?
quite good

G-rapes?

Capital!

Give us a berry to

look, please!

Capital

Let's

H'm

taste.

have

They're

"
!

His ostensible curiosity urged him

to a closer acquaint-

ance with our food, our brandy, and our tobacco pouches.

"Is that case of Caucasian silver?" Baya Gagno's

awoke as soon as he saw one of us about
to smoke a cigarette.
" No, it was made in Vienna," replied the owner.
"Is that so? Let's have a look! Oh, oh, oh. Do
let's have a look, please
Why, there's tobacco in it.
interest

Is

it

Bulgarian

I have

a cigarette.

Capital
Wait till I roll
some cigarette-papers if you want

tobacco ?

them, here I am."

That he was indeed

of

by the smell

of

boots,

his perspiring body, and

occupy the whole of one

end
and

of the seat
finally

we were

there,

his

by

by the

distinctly
specific

his gradual

seat.

At

first

aware

odour of

manoeuvres to
he sat at one

then he began to seek greater comfort,

he obliged us to

sit

three on one side of

the compartment, and the fourth to squeeze into one

corner,

so

horizontally.

because

Baya Gagno might

that

We

we were

all

himself

him go on,
know how far Baya Gagno's
And indeed he amply satisfied

secretly agreed to let

curious to

requirements would go.

our curiosity.

stretch

!:

CONCLUSION
"

Move

Capital

H'm

other leg also.

E-e-eh

Grand.

into your

farther

little

my

can put up

Long may

333
corner, so that I

That's better

mother be spared

his

Listen to the engine thumping, toopa, toopa,

toopa, toopa

I do like to stretch myself like this.

the other compartment the seat was too narrow.

my companions

were rather a

can eat a pear lying down ?

"We

Also

What's

Let me see
Thanks
"Where
!

them?"

did you get

*'

sort.

Pears, did you say?

that you're eating'?

whether

common

In

bought them."

Splendid

Baya Gagno with

" said

mouth

his

full.

" I like pears."

Hypnotized by the monotonous thumping of the locofell asleep.

I began to wonder how

motive Baya Gagno

we

could possibly get rid of him.

with an idea.

"Let's make

my

gave

coffee,

Finally I was struck

companions a wink and said

gentlemen!

Give

me

spirit

and

matches."
" Coffee, did you say ? " cried Baya Gagno, and jumped
from the seat as if scalded. " I'm with you there."

"How
one of

shall

we make

without water?" asked

coffee

us.

Baya Gagno, " I'm the man to fetch

moment," and he dashed out of the com-

" Water," cried

it.

Wait

partment.

We were
back.

Baya Gagno came

us how much work and trouble
In his hand he carried
for us.

simply dying of laughter.

He had

to tell

he had been put

to

a jug.

"Here you are.

compartment for it.
bagged

it

at

once.

found

At

it.

last I

hunted through every

caught sight of a jug and

A woman

shouted

'

Oi

Leave

MACEDONIA

234

that alone, that

my

water for

is

child.'

considered

what story I should tell her, and then I had an idea, and
I said
Excuse me, madam, but somebody is feeling
'

over

faint

take

it

woman
we

only

shall

mind you

Bah
have

Violently

'Indeed?'

there.'

to

me

give

am

seize

back the

perspiration.
"

all

first-rate cofifee

'All

'Yes.'

right,

jug.'

Silly

And now

what belongs

to

others

there

To force oneself upon others and

In the
to " sponge " upon them that is Baya Gagno.
comitadji and in Baya Gagno all Bulgarian aims and
Bulgaria's programme are summed up. These aims and
the
this programme have made of Serbian Macedonia
spoke the comitadji.

Macedonian Question

SUPPLEMENTS

THE PROGRESS OF THE BULGARIAN

CHURCH MOVEMENT, TOLD BY T. HADZI MISEV,

STORY

OF

OF VELES.'
"

The

an interest in the Church

even then they might not

citizens of Veles did not begin to take

struggle until 1860.

It is possible that

have joined in the Church struggle but for the fact that at that
time the Suffragan-Bishop of Veles was a Greek, Antim by name,
known to be an overbearing man and obsequious to the Turks,
who during his residence in Nis and Ruscuk had sent many persons
into slavery and to the gallows, Antim the Greek made himself
so unpopular in Veles and in the eparchy of Veles-Debar, that the
agents of the Bulgarian propaganda won over the whole of Veles
to the Church struggle for the Bulgarian Exarchate. At that time
twopence) from
Antim annually received 300,000 gro (1 gros

the eparchy. The citizens of Veles offered him 50,000 gros per
annum purposely to get rid of him. This the Bishop did not agree
to, but consulted a certain Ismail-Effendi, a wealthy and well-educated Turk who possessed great influence not only in Veles but
Ismail-EfTendi
also in the most important circles in Constantinople.

was the good friend of the old Hadzi-Misevic, Djordje Hadzi

Drndarevic, and Janko Hadzi Kusevic, the wealthiest merchants of
Veles, who had up to that time provided the funds for the Serbian
school in Veles. But as the authorities began to look upon the
Serbian school with suspicion and the Bulgarian agitators were
working to close it in doing which they moreover succeeded the
three aforesaid leading citizens of Veles, believing the lies and

Todor Hadzi MiSev, born in Veles, was in his youth a very

and a benefactor of the Serbian schools in his birthplace.
He only became pro-Bulgarian after the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate. He eventually became a naturalized Russian,
and lived as a highly respected and wealthy merchant in Salonica,
where he died in 1911.
'

loyal Serb

935

MACEDONIA

236

promises of the Bulgarian propagandists, joined the ranks of the

Bulgarian party and hoisted the flag of Bulgarism in Veles and
in the whole eparchy of Veles-Debav.
" Therefore, when the Greek Bishop Antim came to Ismail to
lodge a complaint against the Bulgarian party of Veles, asserting
that they would start a rising in Veles, Ismail knew that it was
simply a case of denunciation, and therefore did not take up the

complaint of the Bishop. In the meantime the greater number of

the inhabitants of Veles had signified to the authorities that they
refused in future to recognize Antim as their Bishop. Ismail

summoned Antim and

advised

him

to subscribe dgTlOO (2,000 francs)

Greek school in Veles, which was attended by Tsintsar

(Macedo-Rumanian) children there are no true Greeks in Veles
and a similar sum to the new Bulgarian school, which was attended
by the Serbian chUdren of the Bulgarian party parents. He, moreover, advised Antim to leave Veles and to go to Constantinople.
Antim took his advice, and repaired to Constantinople, but the
Patriarch sent him back to Veles. In the meantime a telegram
from the Bulgarian representatives Comakov and Tapsilestov arrived
from Constantinople saying that the Bulgarian Church had been
separated from the Greek Patriarchate.
The population definitely
declared before the authorities that it would no longer recognize
to the

Antim

as Bishop.

had taken place

Antim telegraphed

to Constantinople that

'

a rising

had been shed,' etc. In Constantinople this telegram was believed, and Ahmed Pasha, Governor of
Bitolj (Veles was at that time under the government of Bitolj), was
in Veles, blood

ordered to proceed to Veles with his army to 'settle the rebels.'

This happened in January, during the coldest part of the year.
Ismail Effendi soon learnt of the impending arrival of the army, and
dispatched a bey as far as six hours' walk from Veles towards PrUep
to meet Ahmed Pasha.
The bey made as though he did not know
the reason of the Pasha's coming, and when the Pasha inquired
of him about the rising the bey replied that there was no rising,
and presently convinced the Pasha that the Bulgarian party of
Veles were in the right and that all the Turkish citizens there were
living on friendly terms with them.
" On the eve of Epiphany (January 5, 1870) Ahmed Pasha
arrived in Veles. He immediately sent for the most prominent
Turkish citizens, who declared that they could vouch for the leaders
of the Bulgarian party as being honest and loyal men who were
justified in their requests and that the real rebels were the Serbs
and Tsintsars (Macedo-Roumanians) of Veles, who were siding with
the Greek Bishop Antim. Such recommendation on the part of
the Turks ensured the victory in the struggle to the Bulgarian party

SUPPLEMENT

237

in Veles, who on the very same day declared to Ahmed Pasha that
they did not want Antim as their Bishop and that they did not
recognize the Greek Patriarchate, but recognized the Bulgarian
Exarchate instead, etc. The Pasha telegraphed to Constantinople
that all was quiet in Veles and that the Bulgarian party was justified
in its requests.

"

Next morning, on

St.

John's

Day (January

7th),

the Pasha

received a telegram from Constantinople to the effect that the Porte

had recognized the Bulgarian Exarchate, and there was no end to

the enthusiasm when the Pasha announced this intelligence to the

national leaders. The Pasha then sent for Antim and reprimanded
him for having sent a mendacious telegram to Constantinople.
Antim was so alarmed that he signed his resignation without further
ado and left at once for Constantinople.
."The Pasha was accompanied by his Mauvim (Sub-Pasha), the
Serbian Djordje Berovic of Skadar (the last of the Berovic Pashas,
Prince of Samos and Governor of Crete). Djordje Berovic was a man

upon the Bulgarian leaders and encouraged them

Greek Hierarchy.
" The Pasha was given an enthusiastic send-off from Veles. The
crowd accompanied him on foot for a considerable distance beyond
the town. At parting, a speech was addressed to him by the lady
teacher of Veles, a Serbian born in Austria and brought to Veles as a
Serbian lady teacher from Prizren by Janko M. Kusevic. The Pasha
replied to the teacher by exliorting her to continue to instruct the
children in learning and loyalty. The action of the lady teacher
of tact,

who

called

in their fight with the

all the inhabitants of Veles, but this did not

prevent them from very soon dismissing this Serbian teacher from
Veles and replacing her by a Bulgarian lady teacher. This was
"'
demanded by the interests of the Bulgarian propaganda.

greatly impressed

Iv. Ivanic, " Iz crkvene istorije Srba u Turskoj u XVIII i XIX

veku" ("Church History of the Serbs in Turkey in the Eighteenth
and Nineteenth Centuries"), Belgrade, 1902, pp. 90-93 (in Serbian).
'

'

II

THE STORY OF JOVAN VELJIC, OF DEBAR, TELLING

HOW THE BULGARIAN TEACHERS MADE HIM A
BULGAR BY FORCE
"

When

1886 I had passed the third class of the Bulgarian

Solun and went home for a rest during the school
holidays, I was taught and prompted by my professors of the
Bulgarian language and of chemistry, Messrs. Popov and Kulev,
and also by the Archimandrite Kozma Pricestanski to show and
demonstrate to my people and others that they ought not to go
on pronouncing dj and c, but ought to pronounce sd and st
instead, and that instead of saying Kuca, vedja, sveca, Djurdjevdan, gradjanin, etc., they ought to say K'sta, vezda, sveSta,
Oeorgiev-dan, grazdanin, etc. And when, in obedience to a
request from Mr. Draganov, another of my professors, I collected
and brought to him forty national ballads from the neighbourhood of Debar, he told me that these were Serbian ballads, and,
in front of me? he began to correct and to alter them according
to the Bulgarian pronunciation.
" I was really grieved at the time to hear from him that the
ballads from my home were Serbian, and that their language was
Serbian, because at the time I was already mad with Bulgarism
and with the continual impressing of Bulgarism upon me on the
part of Bulgarian teachers. I was even ashamed to speak as

Lycee

'

in

in

Mr. Jovan

Veljic,

bom

in Debar.

His family has been Serbian

As there was no lyc^e (secondary school) in Debar,

his parents sent him to study at the Bulgarian Lycee in Salonica,
where students from Macedonia were boarded and educated free
for generations.

When his parents realized that their son would

charge.
become a Bulgar in the Bulgarian school, thy removed him from
the latter and sent him to a Serbian school instead. He graduated
When the Serbian
at the Universities of Belgrade and Geneva.
Lycee in Salonica was opened, he was appointed one of the
At present he resides in Salonica as a retired Serbian
professors.
professor, and he is always mindful of his Serbian nationality.
of

338

"

SUPPLEMENT

239

II

they speak at home, and instead of saying ja and ce, I always

used the Bulgarian az and ste. Thus I was taught and persuaded
by my Bulgarian teachers, and I hated my sweet mother-tongue and
native speech. Now I can feel the purity and sweetness of my
Serbian mother-tongue. When I go home I will beg my mother
and father to forgive me if I have grieved them by my attempts
to induce

them

true teaching,

to study Bulgarian.
I can

their eyes because

induce them to lose

see

why they

had
it

too.

lost
.

my
."

Now, under the

looked at
native

me

speech

influence of

with tears in

and

tried

to

'

M. V. Veselinovic, " Srbi u Makedonji 1 u Juznoj Staroj Srbiji

("The Serbs in Macedonia and in Southern Old Serbia"), Belgrade,
1888, pp. 7-8 (in Serbian). A similar account is given by Mr.
Rista Ognjanovid, of Galicnik, Professor at the Serbian Lycee in
'

Skoplje,

who

also

began his studies at a Bulgarian school.

Ill

STORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BULGARIAN

PROPAGANDA IN MACEDONIA, TOLD BY A CITIZEN
OF BITOLJ
"It

only thirty years ago since the Bulgarian propaganda first

Formerly there were none but Serb and Greek schools
Old Serbia and in Macedonia. We were \inder the Greek
is

began.
in

Patriarchate, and

Bulgars

we

much under

suffered

the Greek clergy.

speculated upon this discontent

The

with the Greek clergy

when, in commencing their struggle for the Exarchate, they endeavoured to stir up the Serbian inhabitants of our Province also.
The Bulgarian agents and apostles came to us with honey on
their lips and money in their pockets.
They fell on our necka
as
brothers
although we understood our
brother
but imperfectly and promised us an end to our troubles if we would
join them in their struggle for the Exarchate.
" That we listened to the siren voices of the Bulgars must not
be laid to our charge
all the world had forsaken us, and the
hand of the Bulgars was the first to be stretched out to help us.
Our kinsmen in Belgrade did not trouble themselves about us at
all
our Serbian schools had been for the most part founded by
ourselves, and only a few patriotic Serbs were prepared to act as
teachers for us. Not until later, after the establishment of the
Exarchate, was a school for Old-Serbian students founded in Serbia
but it was closed again after a few years.
" But there was another circumstance which greatly assisted the
Bulgars in their propaganda. You know that we have become
used to calling ourselves
Bugari.'
Now this is something
different from Bolgari, but as the name signifies the same thing
as
Bulgars,' it was easy for the Bulgarian agents to persuade
us that we had been Bulgars of old. It is true that otir language,
our folk-songs, and history are directly opposed to this assumption
but necessity knows no law, and so we threw ourselves
into the arms of the Bulgars because nobody took our part, and
because they promised us deliverance from the Greek Church and
tventually even from the Turkish domvnation.
'

'

'

'

'

340

'

SUPPLEMENT
"At

III

241

the Bulgarian propaganda operated within modest limits,

naturally did not dispose of the means at its disposal
to-day.
Besides this, the Greek and Serbian schools hampered
its progress no less than the Greek clergy.
The latter ceased to
first

because

it

be an obstacle after the establishment of the Exarchate in 1870.

The Greek priests were replaced by Bulgarian, who immediately
inaugurated a brisk agitation. This naturally brought the Bulgarians a great step forward.
" In the 3'ear 1876 they made similar progress, and this likewise through the complaisance of the Turkish Government, as

immediately upon the Serbian declaration of war.

Serbian schools and expelled all the Serbian
teachers. Obviously the Bulgars at once made the most of their
opportunity and replaced the Serbian schools and teachers by

the

latter,

suspended

all

Bulgarian.
help, but in

The

fugitive Serbian teachers applied to Belgrade for

Otherwise the Serbian Government would at

have gained this advantage, that the teachers (who were
all well known and popular with us, and whom we should have
welcomed back with open arms) would have returned after the
war, and continued their labours, or at least would have kept
alive our sympathies for Serbia.
" Also after 1878 and until now the Serbs did not trouble about
us, and left us entirely to the Bulgars, who, less indolent than
the Serbs, lost no time in establishing themselves here and in
vain.

least

Bulgarizing the people.

" At the head of the whole propaganda stands the Bulgarian
Exarch in Constantinople, assisted by his Secretary, Sopov
(Ofeikoff).
He devotes T30,500 {nearly 700,000 francs) annually
solely
to
propaganda purposes.
Besides this, the Bulgarian
Sobranje decided, immediately upon the foundation of the Bulgarian Principality, to provide in their Budget 400,000 francs
annually for the erection and maintenance of Bulgarian schools

our countries, and Eastern Roumelia decided to devote 60,000

annually to the same object.
To-day united Bulgaria
spends fully 600,000 francs annually upon the Bulgarian schools
in Macedonia and Old Serbia.
In addition to this the Bulgarian
Government annually assigns ouer 2,000,000 francs from the
Treasury for propaganda work.
If this appears incredible to
in

francs

you, consult the Bulgarian Budget. There you will find that the
Foreign Ministry annually receives 2,800,000 francs, although it
has neither Embassies nor Consulates to maintain. The Serbian

Foreign

Ministry

only

receives

800,000

francs

per

annum

(of

which 100,000 are Treasury funds), out of which it has to maintain

ten Legations and four Consulates-General. Consequently the

17

MACEDONIA

242

Bulgarian Foreign Minister has at least 2,400,000 francs at his

disposal with which to carry on the agitation here, and to bribe
the European Press as well as individual authors. At first Russia
also provided

annual

assistance

believe

that

since 1885 this

no longer paid, but I may be wrong. Suffice it to say that

the Bulgarian Government and the Exarchate in all expend
3,700,000 francs on propaganda work each year.
is

*
t*
*
*
" I have mentioned above that the Bulgarian Church is the mainspring of the propaganda, and its focus. For a better understanding
I must add that it is the Porte ii-se?/ unintentionally, of course
that drove and still compels the Exarchate to propaganda.
"When the Exarchate was instituted it embraced, inter alia,
:.:

Jive Bishoprics in the

and eight in
Vraca, Vidin, Nis, Pirot,

Danubian Bulgarian region

Of these eight,

Old Serbia!

viz.

Sofija,

Custendil, Samokov, and Veles, the five last mentioned had previously belonged to the Serbian Patriarchate of Pec it therefore
points to a boundless stupidity on the part of the Porte, or to
gross venality on the part of the then Grand- Vizier, that at the
;

very outset Serbian territory was to be handed over to the Bulgars.

" But this was not enough
Article 10 of the firman in question
distinctly declares that those eparchies whose inhabitants unanimously, or even by a two-thirds majority, demanded it, should be
incorporated with the Exarchate.
"Hereby the Porte itself naturally opened bolt and bars to the
All of us Slavs were discontented with the Greek
Exarchate.
I

clergy

the prospect of hearing divine service in hierarchic Slav

and so the Bulgarian apostles had an easy task when

did the rest

they came to our village and collected signatures.

" Scarcely was the Exarchate established than the agitation was
begun in Ochrida and Skoplje. The Turkish Commission, which
was to ascertain the wish of the people, everywhere found a desire
in short,
for the Exarchate, a suitable baksheesh did the rest
already in 1872 Bulgarian bishops were appointed for Ochrida and

Skoplje
" At that time the Porte lived in constant fear of the plots and
intrigues of Serbia and Greece, while the Bulgarians appeared
This explains the benevolence
to them as harmless raja (slaves).
with which the Porte regarded Bulgarian intrigues. The poor dear
dreamt in its simplicity that the Bulgars would one day
little
!

become far more dangerous foes than Serbs and Greeks put together.
(And even to-day, after so many experiences, the Turks underrate
the political intrigue of the Bulgars, and fear Serbia,
rendered quite harmless.)

who has been

SUPPLEMENT

243

III

" The shameless Bulgarian agitation tempted not the Serbs, as

might have been assumed, but the Greeks to a counter-stroke. The
Greek Patriarch convened an Assembly of the Church, which proThe
claimed the Bulgarian clergy and their adherents 'heretics.'
Bulgars of course lodged a protest against this finding, and the

dispute is not settled to this day.

" The events of 1876 caused the Porte to cancel Article 10 and
Since then the
to depose the Bishops of Skoplje and Ochrida.

Bu'gars have

left

no stone unturned

to prevail

upon the Porte

to restore Article 10 and to re-appoint the Bishops of Skoplje and

Ochrida. But it seems that even the Sublime Porte has at last

begun to smell a rat, because the berats (appointments) of the

Bishops have not yet been drawn up.
" The Exarchate revenged itself in 1880 by declaring the Parish
School Boards in Macedonia and Old Serbia its representatives,
(sJcolsko popeciand establishing a special School Department
It is this School Department which
teljstvo) in the Exarchate.
maintains and governs the Bulgarian schools in our country, and
if you bear in mind the incredible activity of the Bulgars and their
unanimity when it is a question of the idea of a Great Bulgaria,
you can imagine how firmly rooted the propaganda is to-day.
" Side by side with the lawful Greek Bishops the Bulgars have set
up their own ecolesiastic authorities which counteract the activity
In Ochrida, Skoplje, Debar,
of the former and render it illusory.
Veles, Bitolj, and Salonica the Bulgarians have appointed rural
Every dean has his
(protojereji) with excellent salaries.
deans
Council, which attends to Church and school matters, and thus
these deems perform all the functions of bishops without assummg
the title. The Greek Bishops, whom they simply override, are
powerless against them. Fmrthermore, the deans have all the
'

'

'

ecclesiastic and disciplinary power over the clergy in their hands.

In Salonika^ for instance, this ofiice had been entrusted to the
Archimandrite Kozeljev.
"Each dean is also provided with a deputy {nixmestnih) who may
,

be a layman (lit. a member of the bourgeoisie). He is a

member of the Church School Council and assistant of the dean,
especially in his correspondence with the parishes concerned.
The deputies are paid by the Church School Council of the locality
in which the dean resides.
" Where there are intermediary schools, their director and the
governors also belong to the Church School Council.
*'
Only a few of the adherents of Greece and Serbia oiler any
also

'

Lit. archpresbyter.

MACEDONIA

244

the Bulgarian propagandists. The former consist

such as know that we are not Bulgars but Serbs,
and who are swayed by their national sentiment; and secondly,
of such who feel spiritually bound to Serbia by our folk-songs, or
in whom the memory of the former Serbian rule here has been

resiBtance to
first

of all of

kept alive by tradition, and finally by such as have been to Serbia,

or go there year by year to work.
" The adherents of Greece consist of Greek or Hellenized persons
or enemies of Bulgarism. As a rule they go hand in hand with
the adherents of Serbia."
'

S.

Gopcevi6,

pp. 307-311.

'

"Makedonien

imd Alt-Serbien,"

Wien,

1889,

IV

PETITIONS ADDRESSED BY MACEDONIANS TO MILAN

PRINCE OF SERBIA AND TO THE CONGRESS OF
BERLIN, PRAYING TO BE UNITED WITH SERBIA

From
of

the districts of Kicevo, Prilep, and Veles, with the signatures

170 mayors, priests, archimandrites, etc., appended and

bearing the seals of 44 communes.

petition is headed

The

The following was resolved upon at the meeting on Mount

Babuna, May 10, 1878, " and addressed to Prince Milan. It
"

is

worded as follows

A short time ago the Corbadzi (notables) of our city, who,

together with the Turks, have fleeced us ever since Kosovo, informed
us that we are to fall under the domination of a Bulgarian realm,
as if we were not true and pure Serbs, but some kind of BulgarsX
" All of us. Illustrious Prince, in the nahijas (districts) of Skoplje,
"

Tetovo, Debar, Kicevo, Veles, Prilep, Bitolj, Kostur, Gorica,

Solun, Seres, TikveS, Itip, Radoviste, Nevrokop, Melnik, Kocani,
Kratovo, Kumanovo, Banjska, Radomir, Sofija, Kriva Palanka,
Samokov, Dupnica, etc, are true Serbs of true Serb stocJc. This is
proved by the innumerable exclusively purely Serbian remains to be

found in

all

the said nahijas (districts).

"We

have but to look around to see in the said districts our

the Church of the
Metropolitan Church of St. Sava in Debar
Blessed Mother of God and the Holy Archangel (Sv. Bogorodica, Sv.
Arangjel) in Prilep, both founded by Kings Milutin and Marko
St. Jovan Slepcevacki and St. Nikolas in Prilep, also the Sv. Bogorodica (Blessed Mother of God) and St. Nikolas in Prilep, all founded
St. Jovan, St. Naum, and Cista Precista in
by King Decanski
Ochrida, founded by the Kings Vojislav and Vladimir; St. Nikola
St. Dimitrije in
Toplicki in Bitolj, founded by Milan Toplica
SS. Andrija and Vasilije,
Skoplje, founded by King Vukasin
St. Jovan's in Palanka (containing
founded by King AndrejaS
the grave of Despot George of Smederevo), founded by KingDragutin
St. Nikola's and the Archangel, Sv. Bogorodica and Spaa in litip,
;

S4&


MACEDONIA

ut

founded by King Decanski the tomb of the Blessed NemanjiJi in

Kratovo
that of Belja Krilatica in Rilo
Nemanica, the home
of the Nemanjici
St. Dimitrije in Veles, founded by Zupan Stracirrvir, brother of Nemanja
St. Pantelija's in Kocani, founded by
St. Simeon Nemanja
St. Antana's in Tetovo, founded by Car
Lazar
SS. Jovan and Gjorgje in Debrica, founded by Kings
Radoslav and Milutin
Sv. Cista Precista and Presveta Bogorodica
in Kicevo, founded by Kings Milutin and Dragutin
Sv. Presveta
Bogorodica Devica (Most Holy Virgin Mother of God), fotmded by
King XJros the Great, besides many others not mentioned in each
nahija, as well as the ruins of hundreds of monasteries and churches
built by Serbian Kings and Tsars.
Our assertion is further proved
by the relics of our sainted kings and tsars and other Serbian saints
such as King Milutin in Sofija; King Vladimir in Elbasan St.
Naum in Ochrida St. Prohor in Kumanovo, St. Jakim in Palanka,
St. Gavril in Kratovo, the Holy King in Gjakovica
(follows a
;

further list of saints).

"
therefore send to you, in the

We
names of the entire districts of
Kicevo, Veles, and Prilep, our accredited agents Hadzi Trajkovid
Mincik, Gj
N
and A
D
and on our knees implore
Your Serene Highness, Our August King, that you will unite us
together with our native land with Holy Mother Serbia, so that we
,

may

emerge from our bondage and become men and a useful

Europe but not to let us exchange the
harsh Turldsh yoke for the still harsher and blacker Bulgarian
servitude, which will be harder, more oppressive, and more unendurable
to us than the Turkish which we have endured hitherto, and would
leave us no way of avenging ourselves for this wrong, save either
to slay our whole households or to forsake our sacred soil, our
churches and graves, and all that we hold dear, the which will profit
neither Europe nor our own nation."
at last

member

of the people of

B
by 520 Parish Councils,
from the districts of Kumanovo, Kratovo, Palanka, Istip,
Petric, Strumica, and Kocani, with the seals of 220 communes
affixed, drawn up on Jvme 2nd, 1878, at Kozjak

Petition addressed to Prince Milan, signed

etc.,

" Having heard that we, after having so lavishly shed our blood
in concert with our brothers of Serbia in the struggle against our
hereditary enemy the Turk, are yet to remain under Turkish rule,
unless we subscribe to a Russo-Bulgaria, we on our knees implore
Your Highness, our only lawful. Gracious Sovereign, that you will
unite us with our

mother country.

For we are Serbs

in the districts

SUPPLEMENT
Kumanovo,

of

IV

247

Skoplje, Banjska, Radoinir, Melnik, Nevrokop, Kra-

tovo, Itip, Kocani, Strutnica, Velee, etc.,

and our country

and that

of the purest

and

purely Serbian,
even the very heart of Serbia, from which have sprung not only our
sauited Nemanjici, biit also our State and our literature, renown,
power, and greatness, and all that was and still is Serbian.
" This is proved to this day by hundreds of complete and thousands of ruined churches and monasteries, more especially by the
following ancient buildings In Matejce, the Church of the Blessed
Mother (Sv. Bogorodica), where King Milutin was crowned St.
Gjuragj Nagoricki, the foundation of King Milutin, built in gratitude
for the salvation of Serbia and Europe from the Tartar invasion
Sv. Bogorodica Zabelska, founded by Stephan Nemanja Sv. Bogorodica Korminska, founded by Kings Radoslav and Dragutin Sv. Otac
Prohor Pcinjski (Blessed Father Prohor of Pcinja), founded by Car
Lazar St. Jacim Osogovski, founded by King Dragutin Sv. Bogorodica Rilska (Our Lady of Kilo), founded by King Decanski;
St. Gavril Lesnovski, founded by the Despot Jovan Oliver, etc.'
"It is further proved by the many episcopal sees and Metropolitanates founded by St. Sava, such as those in Moravica, Custendil,
Samokov, Bregalnica, Morozvizd, and many other, of which the
best Old Serbian stock,

is the viost

records are

still

extant.

"Lastly, it is proved by our Old Serbian speech, preserved in all

its purity, the tongue in which the kings and tsars of Serbia conversed
it is proved by our ancient Serbian customs, dress, etc., and by much

we are Serbs, and naught else.

We, the undersigned, being pure Serbs of true Serbian

else as well, that

"

stock of
the most ancient and purest of Serbian territories, yet once more
implore Tour Highness on our knees by any means to deliver us from
our bondage of five centuries, and to incorporate us with your
principality of Serbia.
Otherwise the inhabitants of Kumanovo,
Palanka, and Kratovo, having fought shoulder to shoulder with their
brothers of Serbia against their mortal foe the Turk, may not dare
to thrust tlieir heads again beneath the yoke, but would rather slay

themselves with all their households.

" In the names of all the undersigned, we authorize
merchant V
P
C
peasant; V
C
P
and Petar Mitrovic." *
;

B
D

P
P

The foundations mentioned in the previous petition have been

omitted here.
' The
names of living persons, especially those of any of the
signatories, are obviously withheld, for fear of exposing their owners
to the vengeance of the Turks and Bulgars.

'

MACEDONIA

248

C
Petition addressed to the British Consul at Vranje, as Envoy of the
Berlin Congress, signed in Vranje, on June 11, 1878, by twenty

natives of Gilane (from the towns and villages of Gilane, Pasijan,

Petrovac, Ranilug, Ropotovo, Domorovac, Kufedze, Koretiste,

Budrig,

StaniSor,

Businac)

Partes,

Grizimi,

Mocar,

Miganovac,

and

"The compassionate and humane

disposition of Tour Majesty gives

your obedient servants, the undersigned, courage on our knees
to implore you and your Government to take pity upon us and to
rescue us from the horrible position in which we are placed, and
at the same time to unite us ivith our brothers in the Principality
of Serbia, from whom we have been separated for five hundred
years." (Here follow complaints that sympathy is extended to
the grievances of the Bulgars and other peoples enslaved by the
Turks, while the iinhappy Serbs of Old Serbia are ignored in spite
of their great sufferings.
Moreover a list is given of all murders
and other outrages, excesses lately committed by the Turks.)
The petition concludes
"We therefore most humbly pray your Government to free us
from our fetters and bonds and to unite us with our Serbian brothers,
the end that the sun of Justice and Freedom may arise for us also,
wherefore we should be eternally grateful to you. In this joyful
us,

hope we sign for the inhabitants

of

Gilane."

(Here follow the signatures.)

D
500 distinguished citizens, archimandrites, priests,
Petition
teachers, mayors, etc., of the districts of Kicevo, Ochrida,
Debar, and Elbasan, with the seals of 308 communes aflBxed,
dated from the Monastery of Cista Precista in Skrzava at
the Sabor (meeting) of June 15, 1878, and addressed to the
of

" King " of Serbia

"We

is

have heard

become subject

to

San Stefano we are

and that our native land

that by the treaty of

to a Bulgarian realm

This petition is in so far interesting as the population of Gilane

to be of Serbian Catholic origin.

known

SUPPLEMENT

IV

249

of Old Serbia is henceforth to be called 'Bulgtiria.'

Since we
neither arc Bulgars, nor ever were Bulgars, and not a single
Bulgar is resident among us with the exception of the Bulgarian
bishops and teachers who have been forced upon us by the

Turkish Government we as Serbs appeal to you our only Sovereign

and Lord, and beg you save us from this calamity and, as purest
Serbs of the truest and best Serbian stock, to imite us with your
principality of Serbia, our only mother and solace.
" That we of the districts of Kicevo, Debar. Ochrida, Elbasan,
etc., are purest Serbs of truest Serbian stock is proved not only
by our purely Serbian speech, but by those whom you and we
.' (Here again
worship, even our Saints and holy relics, such as
follows a list of the relics of the Serbian Kings Vladimir and
Petroslav, as also of those of the Serbian SS. Clement, Naum,
and Ilarion, who are buried in those parts of Old Serbia.)
" It is further proved by the former capitals of our sainted
kings, viz. Prespa, the capital of our holy King Petroslav
Ochrida,
Beograd and Cemernik, where King Vladimir had his residence
Papradnica (now Kodzadzik), the capital of King Vojislav
the
ruins of the residence of King Gjuragj on the Gjuragj Planina Hills
the archiepiscopal sees of our Serbian rulers before St. Nemanja in
BiskupStica below the Gjuragj Planina the ruins of the cathedrals
of Debrca and Budim (in Kostur), founded by St. Sava
the
foundations of King Milutin, viz. St. Gjuragj Orasacki and St.
George's (above Kicevo).
" It is further proved by the monasteries which have been
preserved complete, such as St. Jovan Slepcev (Bitolj), founded
by King Decanski Sv. Bogorodica in Porec and on the Babuna,
founded by King Uros the Great
Sv. Bogorodica Zlatovrh
Treskavacka and Sv. Arangjel (the Blessed Mother of God and
the Archangel) in Bucim, founded by King Milutin Sv. Bogorodica
near Bitolj, St. Ilija near Hlerin, and St. Gjuragj near Gjavat,
founded by our Nemanja Tsars
Sv. Bogorodica above Kostur,
founded by St. Sava St. Ilija above Kostur, and twenty-four monasteries at Meteora, founded by the sainted Nemanjici
St. Peter's
above Beograd, founded by King Petroslav the Holy Archangel's in
Prilep, founded by King Marko
Sv. Bogorodica of Zrze, founded
by King Vukasin the two monasteries of Cista Precista (above
Struga and above Kicevo) and Sv. Bogorodica (above Ochrida),
all three founded by King Vladimir, etc., etc.
" Hence we pay our respects to you in the name of all our
sainted Kings and Tsars, and of the whole Serbian population of
to-day in the regions aforesaid, begging you to liberate us and
take us under the wing of your protection and %niite us with your
.


MACEDONIA

250

principality of Serbia failing which we will all perish, for we

never have lived with the Btdgars, and cannot so live. In
that case we ivould rather continue to remain under the four
centuries' long domination of the Turhs, under whom we shall
at least be able to preserve our nationality, our language, and

our faith."

E
Petition addressed

to

the British Consul (Envoy of

the Berlin

Congress), dated Gilane, June 18, 1878, and signed by 375

distinguished inhabitants from the districts of Gilane, Skoplje,
and Tetovo. A footnote accounts for the absence of parish seals

by explaining that plundering Circassians and Albanians had

taken them away.

The

petition runs as follows

" Several weeks ago we presented a petition to His Highness

the Prince of Serbia, showing that we have been Serbs of old
and alivays shall be Serbs; that this is proved by our customs,
folk-songs, habits, dress, speech, and the numerous monasteries
and churches founded by Serbian rulers and to be met with at

every step in our country.

" Therefore we raised our voices in protest against those who
mould persuade us that we are Bulgars, falsely declaring that
our land was once Bulgarian, and we begged His Highness that
we being true Serbs of his, he would deliver us from servitude
and take us under the protection of the beneficent Serbian laws

We also
of our free brothers.
demonstrated that the Serbian element in the districts of Gilane,
PriStina, Skoplje, and Tetovo far outnumbers that of the renegade
Albanians, and we have enumerated the most recent outrages
and receive us into the bosom

>
committed by the Turks."
(Here the native hope is expressed that Europe, having inscribed
the device "Freedom and Progress" upon her banner, will take
pity also upon the Christians who are being oppressed by the Turks,
and create decent conditions, and worthy of humanity, which would
guarantee the peace of Europe. Thence it was expected of the
Congress of Berlin that it would give the Serbian army the
mandate as soon as possible to occupy Gilane, Skoplje, Tetovo, and
Pristina, whereby the atrocities of the Turks would be brought

to an end.

long

list of

by the request

these outrages follows.

to

The conclusion

submit the petition to the Congress.)

is

formed

SUPPLEMENT

IV

351

F
"King" of Serbia, dated Skoplje, June 20, 1878,
the seak of more than 50 communes affixed. Nobody
had dared to sign, as of the signatories to the Bozince
petition 250 had been arrested in Skoplje alone, of whom
only 50 had come out of prison alive. In the face of such
intimidation it is truly amazing that the mayors of 50 communes yet had courage to affix their seals. The petition runs

Petition to the

with

come

Having heard that under the terras of peace we

under a Bulgarian State, as if we were hulgars and not pure Serbs
of true Serbian stock, we on our knees implore you not to consent
We
to let us pure and true Serbs fall into Bulgarian bondage.
were never under Bulgarian rule; we never toere nor ever can
be Bulgars.
We citizens of Skoplje are of the purest and best
Serbian stock, as also are the inhabitants of the districts of
Tetovo, Debar, Kicevo, Prilep, Istip, Veles, Kratovo, Kocani,
Kumanovo, Palanka, Banjska, etc. Our pure Old Serbian speech,
the speech of our Kings and Tsars, our customs, usages, dress,
songs, etc., bear this out. Equally it is borne out by the ancient
Serbian buildings in our country, viz. the Holy Archangel and
Ilija's
on the Karadag, founded by Stephan Nemanja; the
Holy Archangel and Blessed Mother of God (Sv. Arangjel and
"

are to

Bogorodica), founded by Uros the Infant; St. Nikita's in Cucar,

founded by King Mulutin Sv. Bogorodica (Blessed Mother of God)
in Ljubinac, founded by the sister of Tsar Du&an, St. Dimitrije
in Susica, where the Kings Vukasin and Marko are buried
St. Vasilje, founded by King Andrejai^, and containing his tomb
St. Pantelija's in Porec, founded by Nemanja; St. Andrija's, founded
by and containing the tomb of Queen Simonida St. Athanasije in
LeSav, founded by Tsar Lazar.
" It is further proved by our city of Skoplje, once the capital
of Serbia; by the ruins of Kacauik, the stronghold of Starina
Novak." (Here follows a list of numerous ruined castles famous
connection with Serbian heroes and of sundry Metropolitan
in
;

sees, etc.)

" It is further borne out by many documentary monuments of

our past and literary history, all penned in this heart, centre, navel,
and storehouse of true and pure Serbia,
"We therefore beseech you on our knees to save us from other,
harsher and more, cruel oppressors and assassins, who are worse
than the Turks, and have already under the Turkish rule oppressed

MACEDONIA

252

UB through their bishops and teachers, have threatened and destroyed our language, our Slava, our nationality, and Serbian
antiquities.
Unite us as soon as possible with your principality
of Serbia, otherwise we shall be left no choice but to emigrate or
to perish in the conflict with the Bulgars.^^

G
Petition to the Berlin Congress dated "

On the Gjerman Planina,

1878," bearing 800 signatures and the seals of 196
communes and monasteries from the districts of Kumanovo,

July

1,

Kratovo, Kocani, and Falanka. (An almost identical but far

more explicit petition, bearing 350 signatures and 145 seals,
was presented to the Prince of Serbia.)
" Several

weeks ago we,

in concert with the inhabitants of the

H.H. Our Gracious Lord and King Milan

Obrenovic IV that, we being pure Serbs of true Serb stock, he would
tahe us under his protection and unite our true Serbian land, in
which the Serbian Kings have lived and laboured and made their
graves, with his Principality, and not permit us to be transferred
For
to the Bulgars, whose language and customs are alien to us.
neither ivill we live together with the Bulgars nor have our fathers
tip district, petitioned

We

could never form one people with the Bulgars, for

In our petition we
old, and naught else.
."
proved that we are truly pure and genuine Serbs, seeing that
(Here all the ecclesiastic foundations, ancient buildings, etc., are
"Our contention is
all enumerated as^in the previous petition.)

done

80.

we are pure Serbs of

also borne out by our speech, habits, and customs, which differ
greatly from those of the Bulgars, and furthermore by our ancient
mints where Serbian money was minted, especially that in the
village of Perperi,

history.
" But

"

we

and by our mines which are so famous

in Serbian

received no answer to our petition

it is not possible for us under any circum!

The best proof that

stances to live under either the Bulgars or the Turks

in the fact that the inhabitants

who

fled

from forty

is

to be found

villages in the

Palanka do not dare to return to their homes because

army these have been occupied
by the Turks and Bulgars."
(Here follows the definition of the conditions under which Mihail

district of

since the retirement of the Serbian

Abogovic, the last Despot of this region, surrendered in 1459 to the

Turks, who, however, disregarded the terms of the treaty.) After

SUPPLEMENT
further complaints

concerning

fche

IV

253

grievous plight of the people,

the petition proceeds

" If help is not soon forthcoming, no trace will be left of us ere
long." (Here follow renewed requests for incorporation with Serbia,
with urgent representations to Bismarck personally and an appeal
for a European Commission to investigate the true state of affairs
:

and the
" This

atrocities committed by the Turks.)

Commission will convince itself of the truth

of our statements, for we do not dare to lie like our step-brothers the Biilgars,
who have deceived our Russian and Serbian brothers, maintaining
that the Sandzaks of Vidin, Sofija, and Custendil are inhabited b}'
Bulgars."
(Then follows a long catalogue of all recent excesses, outrages
murders, etc., committed by the Turkish troops. The names of
several hundred Serbs who had been ill-used or murdered by the
Turks are given, with the names of the villages concerned and
occasionally those of the guilty Turkish officers and men. The

names

of

several hundred violated girls,

also published, together with the

names

women and children are

of many Turks who were

It is a heart-rendering and revolting

guilty of these outrages.
account, which, needless to say, made no impression upon the driedup diplomats of the Berlin Congress.)

INCOMPLETE LIST OF BULGARIAN ATTACKS UPON

SERBIAN SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS IN MACEDONIA
1.

On

of

Bitolj)

the opening day of the Serbian school in Dobnisevo (county

the Bulgars of Bitolj assaulted the peasants who had

assembled at the school

was twice

On

that occasion the teacher, Andjelko

with a rifle.
In Kicavo they likewise attacked the school and assaulted the
Serbian citizens.
3. In Ochrida they beat the Serbian teacher Djordje Tasic, and
L. Stavric, a Serbian bookseller.
4. In Kumanovo the Serbian church and school were attacked
times without number. There were frequent instances of bloodshed.
In one assault upon the Serbian school five Serbs were wounded.
attacked the
Serbian church one
5. In Gostivar the Bulgars
Christmas Day with the intention of seizing it from the Serbs.
The Bulgars discharged their revolvers inside the church and beat
Trajkovic,

fired at

2.

the Serbs.
6. On the occasion of the opening of the Serbian school in Velea,
the Bulgars assaulted the Serbs and beat them in the streets.
7. In Kukus they wrecked and looted the Serbian school, and
beat the teacher Jovan Jovicevic so severely that he all but

died.
8. In Zubovac they attacked the Serbian school and wounded
the teacher, Josip Bradic.
9. In Gornje Todoracevo (district of Kukus) they attacked and
looted the Serbian church.
10. In Prilep the Bulgars planned a great attack upon the Serbs
en masse, but it was discovered and frustrated by the police.
11. On the occasion of the opening of the Serbian school in

1897 the Bulgars attacked the school. The police with

succeeded in dispersing the aggressors and in arresting
some of them. But the attacks were repeated, and in one of them
a Bulgarian professor wounded Gjura Vojvedic, student at the
Bitolj

in

difficulty

Serbian Lycee,

3U

SUPPLEMENT V
12.

In KruSevo the Bulgars assaulted two Serbian female teachers

1899, Olga Vukojevic and

in

256

from shock and

Zlata Krsticka.

The

latter

fell

ill

but died.
13. In Skoplje the Serbian schools, teachers, and students were
attacked countless times. On Christmas Day, 1899, and in April
and in December 1900 the Bulgars assaulted the teachers and pupils
of the Girls' High School,
They beat them, pulled out their hair,
and otherwise ill-used them.
14. In Tetovo the Bulgars attacked the Serbian school and citizens
on the Feast of St. Sava, the Serbian patron saint, January 14,
all

1900.
15.

In Celopek they set

fire

to the Serbian school in

1901.'

Iv. Ivanic, " Iz Crkvene Istorije Srba u Turskoj " (" Church
History of the Serbs in Turkey in the f^ighteenth and Nineteenth
Centuries"), Belgrade, 1902, pp. 90-93. Iv. Ivanic, "Makedonija"
(" Macedonia "), Novi Sad, 1908, pp. 470-474.
'

MACEDONIA

256

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SUPPLEMENT
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257

MACEDONIA

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VII

Incomplete list of attempted murders perpetrated BY BULGARS ON SERBS BETWEEN 1897

AND

1901

The number

of

attempted

Macedonian Serbs

is

murders perpetrated by Bulgara on

than that of successful murders.

far greater

Unfortimately we have no statistics available. We give instead only

a few cases which occurred between 1897 and 1901, and this Ust,
though incomplete, throws some light upon the terror practised
by the Bulgars among the Serbian population of Macedonia.
According to the information at our disposal the Bulgars attempted
to murder the following persons
:

1.

Petar

Dimitrijevi(5,

head master

of

the

Serbian school in

Prilep.'
2.

Jovanka Hrnjicek, teacher

at

the Serbian

Lyc^e

for Girls

iu Skoplje.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.

8.

9.

10.

Jevdja Frtunic, schoolmaster in Skoplje.

Spirkovic, Serbian booksellor in Prilep.
Veljan, the most prominent peasant and Serbian headman
in Krivogastane (district of Prilep).
Dr. Ceda Djurdjevi6, Serbian physician in Skoplje.
Mihalilo Hadzi Popovic, president of the Serbian congregation in Bitolj, who was wounded in both hands with a
knife by the Bulgars.
The servant of Dr. Ceda Djurdjevic, Serbian physician in
Skoplje, also wounded with a knife.
Djordje Dimitrijevic, member of the Serbian congregation,
received severe knife and bullet wounds.
In Veles, after murdering the Serbian headman Petar Tasevid
and several other Serbs from the neighbourhood, the Bulgars assaulted numerous other Serbs with knives and
Ilija

firearms.
'

in

Petar Dimitrijevid's daughter was murdered

September 1897.

by

the Bulgars

SUPPLEMENT
11. Xlija Vucetic,

VII

283

Serbian professor in Skoplje, severely wounded

18.

on January 18, 1899.

Jovan Jovicevid, head master of the Serbian school in Kuku
shot by Bulgarian comitadjis on May 12, 1899.
Vanca Ili(S, Serbian bookseller in Bitolj, shot and severely

14.

Dimko

12.

wounded

in July 1899.

Petrusevic,

of the school in Orahovac

a bullet wound on September
was eventually murdered.

proprietor

(district of Veles), received

19, 1899.

He

15.

Dinko Pandovid,

16.

Naum

Nikolic,

wounded in September 1899.

was taken to the mountains
murder him, but was ransomed by

of Veles,
of

Tajmiste,

with the intention to

the village on September 21, 1899.
17. Dimo Dapcevid, Dan Burcevid and Damcevic received knife
18.

19.

wounds on September 28, 1899,

Jovan Milenkovid, a prominent Serb
a knife on September 28, 1899.

of Veles,

wounded with

Velimir Janidijevid, member of the Serbian school parish

and his mother, assaulted by the Bulgarian teachers in

October 1899.
proprietor of the Serbian school in Seres,
attacked one night in October 1899.
Stavrid, Serbian teacher in Jablanica (district of
21. Marko
Debar), wounded by a revolver shot on October 27, 1899.
22. Jovan Popovid, of Bela (near Kodani), assaulted by the
20. Govedarovid,

Bulgars on Christmas Day, 1899.

23. Teofil Djordjevid,
24. Stojan

of Veles),

25.

of

Gostivar,

wounded

in

December

Nastovid and two other Serbs from Orahovac

who were

in

wounded on January
Novo Selo (district of

in

May

severely

Laza Hid, Serbian teacher

wounded with a knife

1899.

(district
4,

1900.

Skoplje),

1900.

Anastas Milenkovid, priest, of Tehovo (district of Veles),

four times shot at with a rifle, finally with a revolver on
December 30, 1900, and eventually murdered.
27. Todo GaSevid, merchant, of Tetovo, wounded on Novem26.

ber
28.

1,

1901.

Samuilo Stojkovid,
in

December

of

1901,

Bresna (district of Tetovo), wounded

and robbed of 1,000 dinars.

founder of the Serbian school in Zrze

twice shot at with a ride, and
eventually 'murdered in 1901.'

29. Petar Konstantinovid,

(district

of

Prilep),

Iv. Ivanid, " Madedonija i Madedonci " (" Macedonia and the
Macedonians"), Novi Sad. 1909, pp. 471-475.
'

VIII

BULGARIAN PROCLAMATION IN 1879, CALLING UPON

THE INHABITANTS OF MACEDONIA TO RISE AGAINST
THE TURKS
Up, brothers (lit. to your feet, brothers I) The hour of deliverance
has struck.
Now the chains must and will be broken wherewith
cold diplomatic calculation would bind you.
The sun of liberty,
which is already shedding its warmth upon part of our nation, will
arise also upon the remainder, which is still torpid in slavery, and
awaken it to new Ufe. We have provided arms take them and join
the fighting lines. There is no other choice open to you. If you let
!

moment, you will for ever remain in

Already preparations are being made to deprive
you of your faith, together with your nationality. If you desire to
remain Orthodox as your fathers have been, you must no longer put
off the great and holy war.
You will be led by experienced soldiers,
sincere patriots, heroic men, and our cause will be victorious.
Our
oppressor is nearing his death. His seeming display of strength is
only the last spasm of a dying man, and we have no other enemies to
fear. Any foreign intervention in favour of our oppressor will provoke
an intervention likewise on our behalf. The moment is propitious,
as you see. Long live the War of Liberty
Let us fight until we
have won the frontiers which the Almighty has assigned to our
people.
Up To battle Our reward will be the freedom of ua all,
the heroic death of individuals our pride.'
slip

the present propitious

foreign bondage.

'

J.

H.

Vasiljevic, " Pokret

tion of the Serbs

and Bulgars

Srba i Bugara u Turskoj" (" InsurrecTurkey "), Belgrade, 1908, pp. 13-14.

in

Printed in Great Britain by

vynrm brothekb,

t.imtted,

the gbesbaju pbbss, wokdts

aitd

lokdok

Japan

Cross Roads

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at

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By a. M.

Editor of
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Memoirs of Count Hayathi," etc., etc.

Demy

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Three Aspects of the Russian

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Dying Empire
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