Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire
Encyclopedia
The territory of today's Republic of Macedonia
was part of the Ottoman Empire
for roughly five hundred years, from the late 14th century to 1912.
of 1371, the King of Prilep
Vukašin Mrnjavčević
and his brother Jovan Uglješa
led 70,000 men against the Ottomans. Despite having smaller numbers, the Ottomans managed to kill Vukašin and his brother and win the battle.
After the battle, most of Serbia broke into smaller principalities. One of those principalities is known as the Kingdom of Prilep
, led by Vukašin's son Marko
. Like most regional rulers in Macedonia, Marko accepted vassal
age under Sultan Murad I to preserve his position.
The Battle of Kosovo
of 1389 sealed the fate of Macedonia for the next 500 years. While both armies lost leaders and large numbers of soldiers, the Ottomans could easily assemble another army just as large while the locals could not.
Marko died alongside Konstantin Dragaš at the Battle of Rovine
in 1395.
All of Macedonia was under Ottoman control by the end of the 14th century, with Skopje falling under Turkish rule on January 19, 1392.
and Bitola
were dominated by minarets.
Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi
visited the city of Bitola in 1661. He wrote that of the seven mosques in the city at the time, six were built in the 16th century. Most of the mosques constructed in Macedonia were square in shape with a three-domed portico and a minaret on the building's right side.
The Balkan Wars consisted of two wars that occurred in 1912 and 1913. The first began on 8 October 1912 when the nations of the Balkan League
, who had large parts of their ethnic populations under Ottoman rule, attacked the Ottoman Empire. It lasted seven months with the Balkan League nations coming up victorious, ending 500 years of Ottoman rule in Macedonia and the Balkans.
of Rumelia
.
s.
. Sanjaks located in this vilayet that contained territory now within Macedonia include:
. Sanjaks located in this vilayet that contained territory now within Macedonia include:
. Sanjaks located in this vilayet that contained territory now within Macedonia include:
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
was part of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
for roughly five hundred years, from the late 14th century to 1912.
Conquests
In the Battle of MaritsaBattle of Maritsa
The Battle of Maritsa, or Battle of Chernomen, took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen on September 26, 1371 between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Murad I's lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa and the...
of 1371, the King of Prilep
Prilep
Prilep is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 citizens. Prilep is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.-Name:...
Vukašin Mrnjavčević
Vukašin Mrnjavcevic
Vukašin Mrnjavčević was a Serbian ruler in modern-day central and northwestern Macedonia, who ruled from 1365 to 1371. According to 17th-century Ragusan historian Mavro Orbin, his father was a minor noble named Mrnjava from Zachlumia, whose sons Vukašin and Uglješa were born in Livno in western...
and his brother Jovan Uglješa
Jovan Ugljesa
Jovan Uglješa Mrnjavčević was a 14th-century Serbian noble and brother of Serbian ruler Vukašin Mrnjavčević.-Life:Uglješa was the son of Mrnjava, a treasurer of Helen of Anjou, the queen consort of Stephen Uroš I of Serbia....
led 70,000 men against the Ottomans. Despite having smaller numbers, the Ottomans managed to kill Vukašin and his brother and win the battle.
After the battle, most of Serbia broke into smaller principalities. One of those principalities is known as the Kingdom of Prilep
Kingdom of Prilep
The Lordship of Prilep was one of the provinces of the Serbian Empire, held by Vukašin Mrnjavčević, the co-ruler of Serbia alongside child-less Uroš the Weak . Emperor Uroš and Lord Vukašin died at the Battle of Maritsa, and Prilep was obtained by Marko Mrnjavčević, the son of Lord Vukašin...
, led by Vukašin's son Marko
Prince Marko
Marko Mrnjavčević was de jure the Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while de facto he ruled only over a territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep...
. Like most regional rulers in Macedonia, Marko accepted vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
age under Sultan Murad I to preserve his position.
The Battle of Kosovo
Battle of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo took place on St. Vitus' Day, June 15, 1389, between the army led by Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I...
of 1389 sealed the fate of Macedonia for the next 500 years. While both armies lost leaders and large numbers of soldiers, the Ottomans could easily assemble another army just as large while the locals could not.
Marko died alongside Konstantin Dragaš at the Battle of Rovine
Battle of Rovine
The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395 between the Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea cel Bătrân against the Ottoman invasion led by sultan Bayezid I. The Ottoman army, numbering approximately 40,000 men, faced the much smaller Wallachian army, which was about 10,000 men...
in 1395.
All of Macedonia was under Ottoman control by the end of the 14th century, with Skopje falling under Turkish rule on January 19, 1392.
Five hundred years of Ottoman rule
During the Ottoman rule of Macedonia, cities experienced many changes with regards to the demographic makeup of their population and the look of their cityscapes. With laws that prohibited Christian buildings from being higher than Islamic ones, the skylines of cities like SkopjeSkopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
and Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
were dominated by minarets.
Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi
Evliya Çelebi was an Ottoman traveler who journeyed through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years.- Life :...
visited the city of Bitola in 1661. He wrote that of the seven mosques in the city at the time, six were built in the 16th century. Most of the mosques constructed in Macedonia were square in shape with a three-domed portico and a minaret on the building's right side.
Balkan Wars
Balkan League
The Balkan League was an alliance formed by a series of bilateral treaties concluded in 1912 between the Balkan states of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia, and directed against the Ottoman Empire, which at the time still controlled much of the Balkan peninsula...
, who had large parts of their ethnic populations under Ottoman rule, attacked the Ottoman Empire. It lasted seven months with the Balkan League nations coming up victorious, ending 500 years of Ottoman rule in Macedonia and the Balkans.
Administrative divisions
From the time that Macedonia first became part of the Ottoman Empire to the mid-19th century, it was located in the eyaletEyalet
Eyalets were a former primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The term is sometimes translated province or government. Depending on the rank of their commander, they are also sometimes known as pashaliks, beylerbeyliks, and kapudanliks.From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth...
of Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
.
Vilayets
After adminstrative reform in 1860s, the Ottoman Empire was divided into vilayets which were subdivided into sanjakSanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
s.
Kosovo Vilayet
The northern part of the Republic of Macedonia was located in the Kosovo vilayetKosovo Province, Ottoman Empire
The Vilayet of Kosovo was a vilayet of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkan Peninsula which included the current territory of Kosovo and the western part of the Republic of Macedonia...
. Sanjaks located in this vilayet that contained territory now within Macedonia include:
- Sanjak of Üsküp, which included Skopje, Kumanova (KumanovoKumanovoKumanovo is a city in the Republic of Macedonia and is the seat of Kumanovo Municipality which is the largest municipality in the country. Municipal institutions include a city council, mayor and other administrative bodies.-Name:...
), İştip (ŠtipŠtipŠtip is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2002 census, the Štip municipality alone had a population of about 47,796...
), Kratova (KratovoKratovoKratovo may refer to:*Kratovo, Macedonia, a town in the Republic of Macedonia*Kratovo, Russia, an urban-type settlement in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Kratovo, Serbia, a settlement situated in the Priboj municipality of southwestern Serbia...
), and Koçana (KočaniKocaniKočani is a town away from Skopje, situated in the Eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, with population of 28 330. The town of Kočani is the seat of Kočani Municipality.-Geography and population:...
) - Sanjak of PrizrenPrizrenPrizren is a historical city located in southern Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district.The city has a population of around 131,247 , mostly Albanians...
, which included Kalkandelen (TetovoTetovoTetovo is a city in the northwestern part of Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River.The city covers an area of at above sea level, with a population of 86,580 citizens in the municipality. Tetovo is home to the State University of Tetovo and South East...
)
Monastir Vilayet
The southwestern part of the country was located in the Monastir vilayetMonastir Province, Ottoman Empire
The Vilayet of Monastir was an Ottoman vilayet, created in 1864. The Monastir Vilayet was occupied during the First Balkan War in 1912 and later divided between Principality of Albania, Kingdom of Greece and Kingdom of Serbia.- Demographics :...
. Sanjaks located in this vilayet that contained territory now within Macedonia include:
- Sanjak of MonastirMonastir-Places:Italy* Monastir, Sardinia - a comune in the Province of CagliariOttoman Empire* Monastir Province, Ottoman Empire, a vilayet covering parts of modern Albania, Greece and the Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of Macedonia...
, which included Bitola, Ohri (OhridOhridOhrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
), Resne (Resen), and Pirlepe (PrilepPrilepPrilep is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 citizens. Prilep is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.-Name:...
) - Sanjak of Debre, which included Debar and Kiçevo (KičevoKicevoKičevo is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city of Kičevo is the seat of Kičevo Municipality.-Population:The municipality...
)
Salonika Vilayet
The southeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia was located in the Salonika vilayetSalonika Province, Ottoman Empire
The Vilayet of Salonica was an Ottoman province from 1867 to 1912. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of .The vilayet was bounded by the Principality , of Bulgaria on the north; Eastern Rumelia on the northeast ; Edirne Vilayet on the east; the Aegean Sea on the south; Monastir...
. Sanjaks located in this vilayet that contained territory now within Macedonia include:
- Sanjak of Selanik, which included Tikveş (KavadarciKavadarciKavadarci is a town located in the Tikveš region of the Republic of Macedonia. Situated in the heart of Macedonia’s wine country, it is home to the largest winery in south-eastern Europe, named after the Tikveš plain. The town of Kavadarci is the seat of Kavadarci Municipality...
), Usturumca (StrumicaStrumicaStrumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica River which runs through it...
), Köprülü (VelesVelesVeles may refer to:*Veles , Slavic deity*Veles , in the Republic of Macedonia*Veles municipality, in the Republic of Macedonia*Veles, singular of velites, a class of infantry in the early Roman Republic...
), Doyran (DojranDojranDojran was a city located on the western shore of Dojran Lake in the south-eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. Today, it is collective name for two villages that exist on the territory of the ruined city: Nov Dojran and Star Dojran, which contains both old ruins and recent construction,...
), and Gevgili (GevgelijaGevgelijaGevgelija is a town with a population of 15,685 located in the very southeast of the Republic of Macedonia along the banks of the Vardar River, situated at the country's main border with Greece , the point which links the motorway from Skopje and three other former Yugoslav capitals with...
)
External links
- The book on Marko Kraljevic - Marko, The King's Son - Hero of The Serbs by Clarence A. Manning, O. Muiriel Fuller, illustrated by Alexander KeyAlexander KeyAlexander Hill Key was an American science fiction writer, most of whose books were aimed at a juvenile audience. He became a nationally known illustrator before he became an author...