Principality of Pindus and Voivodship of Macedonia
Encyclopedia
The Principality of the Pindus (also Pindo or Pindos, sometimes Pindus and Moglena; ; ; ) was an attempt to establish an autonomous puppet state
set up under fascist Italian
and later German control in northwest Greece
in the regions of Epirus
, Thessaly
and West Macedonia
during World War II
. It was proclaimed during the Italian occupation of northern Greece in the summer of 1941 as the fatherland of ethnic Aromanians
, but was never able to assert itself over the local population until its de facto disbandment in 1944. The capital of the statelet was Metsovo
(Aminciu in Aromanian), but the national assembly sat in Trikala
.
area was initially promoted by Romania
from the 1860s onwards. The first attempt to realize this goal was undertaken by Alchiviad Diamandi di Samarina, who in 1917 founded the "Republic of the Pindus" in then Italian-occupied southern Albania
. Although the statelet survived for only a day, it signalled the beginning of Diamandi's association with the Italians in pursuit of his aims.
Aromanian nationalists desired the creation of an Aromanian state in the Pindus mountains, western Macedonia, and Thessaly
. A pre-war dossier for the Italian government on the subject of the Aromanians stated that they were descendants from the Ancient Romans and that the Aromanians had taken shelter in the Pindus mountains to take shelter against barbarian invasions.
After the fall of Greece
to the Germans in spring 1941 and the division of the country among the Axis powers, Diamandi created a separatist
organisation known as the Fifth Roman Legion, with the support of the Italian occupation authorities. Diamandi established himself as prince at Aminciu, and hoped for the creation of a state that would encompass all of north-western Greece. Diamandi also met the Greek collaborationist Prime Minister, Georgios Tsolakoglou
, but Tsolakoglou refused to accommodate his demands. In reality "military authorities refused to permit any form of self-administration by the Aromanians in the awareness that their irredentist aspirations, or appeals for annexation to Italy, were a masquarade by a minority movement seeking political and economic revenge".
In 1942 Ohrana
, a faction of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) offered the throne of Macedonia
to Alchiviad, but there is no evidence as to whether he accepted it; however, his last successor, Julius I, was always styled as Grand Voivode of Macedonia. Alchiviad eventually left the state in June 1942 and took refuge in Romania, because in the eyes of local Aromanians he was rather pro-Italian than pro-Aromanian, while the Italians considered him a Romanian agent. His successor for a very short time was Nicola Matushi
from Samarina
, who tried to find a modus vivendi with the Greek leaders, but without success. After the liberation of Greece in October 1944, Matushi also left for Bucharest
. From mid-1942 on, the armed Greek Resistance
also made its presence felt, fighting against the Italians and their collaborators.
In late 1942, the Italian occupation authorities, which previously had supported mostly Aromanian and Albanian
groups, changed their attitude towards the local Slavic
population. According to a source from the old pre-communist Bulgarian National Security Service, this change was due to the decisive intervention of the leader of IMRO Ivan Mihailov
through Ante Pavelić
in Rome
in early 1943. Then the vacant title was offered to the Cseszneky family, probably in recognition for their role in supplying the Italian Army
with cereals. Gyula Cseszneky was a Hungarian-Croatian aristocrat in Italian service, who only nominally reigned as Voivode Julius between August-September in 1943, but never actually assumed power, although some local pro - Bulgarian
autonomist leaders from Ohrana
governed in his name. Whatever authority the Principality exercised, it practically ceased to exist after the Italian capitulation in September 1943, when the area was taken over by the Germans.
Another important figure in the history of the state was the Aromanian Vasil Rapotika (Vasilis Rapoutikas). According to V. Papagianni, he was Minister of Defence in the autonomous government since its creation. After Matushi's departure Rapotika was not loyal to the Italians, but rather offered his services to the Germans, particularly after the Italian occupation forces had started to arm local Macedonians. He was killed by a Greek guerrilla group just outside Larissa
. The Greeks then tied his corpse on the back of a donkey and paraded him through the Aromanian villages of the Pindus. This was intended in order to scare the local population and as a final proof that the Principality had reached its end.
Another commander was M. Hatzi who was recognized by the Nazi German authorities
in 1944 as leader of their local supporters. In September 1944 the above mentioned Ivan Mihailov was offered by the Germans to head a future Independent State of Macedonia
but he declined favouring the occupation of Vardar Macedonia by Bulgaria
.
and not a hereditary monarchy
.
The state adopted certain anti-Greek policies but unlike other fascist régimes of the time was not anti-Jewish. Jews
from Kastoria
, Veria
, and Ioannina
held top positions in the hierarchy of the Principality.
Quarterly, I three moutons passant, Or; II a chèvre salient, gules; III Azure, a river in fess Gules bordered Argent; IV a loup guardant, vert; overall an escutcheon barry of eight Gules and Argent impaling Gules.
The system of nobility is not known. A couple of titles of count
and baron
were granted by the rulers. It was noted that Alchibiades had sold positions for 250 000 drachmas.
Puppet state
A puppet state is a nominal sovereign of a state who is de facto controlled by a foreign power. The term refers to a government controlled by the government of another country like a puppeteer controls the strings of a marionette...
set up under fascist Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and later German control in northwest Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in the regions of Epirus
Epirus (region)
Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë in the north to the Ambracian Gulf in the south...
, Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
and West Macedonia
West Macedonia
West Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the western part of Greek Macedonia. It is divided into the regional units of Florina, Grevena, Kastoria, and Kozani.-Geography:...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was proclaimed during the Italian occupation of northern Greece in the summer of 1941 as the fatherland of ethnic Aromanians
Aromanians
Aromanians are a Latin people native throughout the southern Balkans, especially in northern Greece, Albania, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, and as an emigrant community in Serbia and Romania . An older term is Macedo-Romanians...
, but was never able to assert itself over the local population until its de facto disbandment in 1944. The capital of the statelet was Metsovo
Metsovo
Metsovo is a town in Epirus on the mountains of Pindus in northern Greece, between Ioannina to the north and Meteora to the south. The largest centre of Vlach life in Greece, Metsovo is bypassed by GR-6 and also by Egnatia Odos Motorway....
(Aminciu in Aromanian), but the national assembly sat in Trikala
Trikala
Trikala is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala peripheral unit, and is located NW of Athens, NW, of Karditsa, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki, and W of Larissa...
.
History
The concept of an autonomous Aromanian (Vlach) state in the PindusPindus
The Pindus mountain range is located in northern Greece and southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km long, with a maximum elevation of 2637 m . Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epirus, the Pindus range is often called the "spine of Greece"...
area was initially promoted by Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
from the 1860s onwards. The first attempt to realize this goal was undertaken by Alchiviad Diamandi di Samarina, who in 1917 founded the "Republic of the Pindus" in then Italian-occupied southern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. Although the statelet survived for only a day, it signalled the beginning of Diamandi's association with the Italians in pursuit of his aims.
Aromanian nationalists desired the creation of an Aromanian state in the Pindus mountains, western Macedonia, and Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
. A pre-war dossier for the Italian government on the subject of the Aromanians stated that they were descendants from the Ancient Romans and that the Aromanians had taken shelter in the Pindus mountains to take shelter against barbarian invasions.
After the fall of Greece
Battle of Greece
The Battle of Greece is the common name for the invasion and conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany in April 1941. Greece was supported by British Commonwealth forces, while the Germans' Axis allies Italy and Bulgaria played secondary roles...
to the Germans in spring 1941 and the division of the country among the Axis powers, Diamandi created a separatist
Separatism
Separatism is the advocacy of a state of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. While it often refers to full political secession, separatist groups may seek nothing more than greater autonomy...
organisation known as the Fifth Roman Legion, with the support of the Italian occupation authorities. Diamandi established himself as prince at Aminciu, and hoped for the creation of a state that would encompass all of north-western Greece. Diamandi also met the Greek collaborationist Prime Minister, Georgios Tsolakoglou
Georgios Tsolakoglou
Georgios Tsolakoglou was a Greek military officer who became the first Prime Minister of the Greek collaborationist government during the Axis Occupation in 1941-1942.-Military career:...
, but Tsolakoglou refused to accommodate his demands. In reality "military authorities refused to permit any form of self-administration by the Aromanians in the awareness that their irredentist aspirations, or appeals for annexation to Italy, were a masquarade by a minority movement seeking political and economic revenge".
In 1942 Ohrana
Ohrana
Ohrana ; were armed collaborationist detachments organized by the former Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization structures, composed of Bulgarian in Nazi-occupied Greek Macedonia during World War II and led by Bulgarian officers. from Macedonia...
, a faction of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) offered the throne of Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
to Alchiviad, but there is no evidence as to whether he accepted it; however, his last successor, Julius I, was always styled as Grand Voivode of Macedonia. Alchiviad eventually left the state in June 1942 and took refuge in Romania, because in the eyes of local Aromanians he was rather pro-Italian than pro-Aromanian, while the Italians considered him a Romanian agent. His successor for a very short time was Nicola Matushi
Nicola Matushi
Nicola Matushi was an Aromanian lawyer, politician and Regent of Pindus....
from Samarina
Samarina
Samarina is a village and a former municipality in Grevena peripheral unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Grevena, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located on an eastern spur of Mount Smolikas, the highest of the Pindus range...
, who tried to find a modus vivendi with the Greek leaders, but without success. After the liberation of Greece in October 1944, Matushi also left for Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
. From mid-1942 on, the armed Greek Resistance
Greek Resistance
The Greek Resistance is the blanket term for a number of armed and unarmed groups from across the political spectrum that resisted the Axis Occupation of Greece in the period 1941–1944, during World War II.-Origins:...
also made its presence felt, fighting against the Italians and their collaborators.
In late 1942, the Italian occupation authorities, which previously had supported mostly Aromanian and Albanian
Albanians in Greece
After the fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a large number of economic refugees and immigrants from Greece's neighboring countries, Albania, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, as well as from more distant countries such as Russia, Ukraine,...
groups, changed their attitude towards the local Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
population. According to a source from the old pre-communist Bulgarian National Security Service, this change was due to the decisive intervention of the leader of IMRO Ivan Mihailov
Ivan Mihailov
Ivan Mihailov Gavrilov , was a Bulgarian revolutionary in Ottoman and interwar Macedonia, and leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization after 1924.-Early years:...
through Ante Pavelić
Ante Pavelic
Ante Pavelić was a Croatian fascist leader, revolutionary, and politician. He ruled as Poglavnik or head, of the Independent State of Croatia , a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany in Axis-occupied Yugoslavia...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in early 1943. Then the vacant title was offered to the Cseszneky family, probably in recognition for their role in supplying the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
with cereals. Gyula Cseszneky was a Hungarian-Croatian aristocrat in Italian service, who only nominally reigned as Voivode Julius between August-September in 1943, but never actually assumed power, although some local pro - Bulgarian
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
autonomist leaders from Ohrana
Ohrana
Ohrana ; were armed collaborationist detachments organized by the former Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization structures, composed of Bulgarian in Nazi-occupied Greek Macedonia during World War II and led by Bulgarian officers. from Macedonia...
governed in his name. Whatever authority the Principality exercised, it practically ceased to exist after the Italian capitulation in September 1943, when the area was taken over by the Germans.
Another important figure in the history of the state was the Aromanian Vasil Rapotika (Vasilis Rapoutikas). According to V. Papagianni, he was Minister of Defence in the autonomous government since its creation. After Matushi's departure Rapotika was not loyal to the Italians, but rather offered his services to the Germans, particularly after the Italian occupation forces had started to arm local Macedonians. He was killed by a Greek guerrilla group just outside Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
. The Greeks then tied his corpse on the back of a donkey and paraded him through the Aromanian villages of the Pindus. This was intended in order to scare the local population and as a final proof that the Principality had reached its end.
Another commander was M. Hatzi who was recognized by the Nazi German authorities
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1944 as leader of their local supporters. In September 1944 the above mentioned Ivan Mihailov was offered by the Germans to head a future Independent State of Macedonia
Independent State of Macedonia
The Independent State of Macedonia was a failed project for the creation of a puppet state of the Axis powers in the region of Macedonia in September-October 1944.Unlike the pro-Yugoslav Communist resistance the right-wing followers of the Internal Macedonian...
but he declined favouring the occupation of Vardar Macedonia by Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
Internal policies
Due to the chaotic political and military situation the succession rules were not set. Nevertheless, it seems that the Principality was an electiveElective monarchy
An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected rather than hereditary monarch. The manner of election, the nature of the candidacy and the electors vary from case to case...
and not a hereditary monarchy
Hereditary monarchy
A hereditary monarchy is the most common type of monarchy and is the form that is used by almost all of the world's existing monarchies.Under a hereditary monarchy, all the monarchs come from the same family, and the crown is passed down from one member to another member of the family...
.
The state adopted certain anti-Greek policies but unlike other fascist régimes of the time was not anti-Jewish. Jews
History of the Jews in Greece
There have been organized Jewish communities in Greece for more than two thousand years. The oldest and the most characteristic Jewish group that has inhabited Greece are the Romaniotes, also known as "Greek Jews"...
from Kastoria
Kastoria
Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...
, Veria
Veria
Veria is a city built at the foot of Vermion Mountains in Greece. It is a commercial center of Macedonia, the capital of the prefecture of Imathia, the province of Imathia and the seat of a bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church...
, and Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
held top positions in the hierarchy of the Principality.
Rulers
- 1941-1942: Prince Alchibiades I (Alchiviad Diamandi di Samarina)
- 1942-1943?: Regent Nicholas I (Nicola MatushiNicola MatushiNicola Matushi was an Aromanian lawyer, politician and Regent of Pindus....
) - 1943: Julius I. (count Gyula Cseszneky)
- 1944: M. Hatzi as military governor
Arms of HH the Prince Alchibiades
- See HeraldryHeraldryHeraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
Quarterly, I three moutons passant, Or; II a chèvre salient, gules; III Azure, a river in fess Gules bordered Argent; IV a loup guardant, vert; overall an escutcheon barry of eight Gules and Argent impaling Gules.
Nobility
- See NobilityNobilityNobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
The system of nobility is not known. A couple of titles of count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
and baron
Baron
Baron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman"...
were granted by the rulers. It was noted that Alchibiades had sold positions for 250 000 drachmas.
Sources
- Arseniou Lazaros: Η Θεσσαλία στην Αντίσταση
- Andreanu, José - Los secretos del Balkan
- Iatropoulos, Dimitri - Balkan Heraldry
- Toso, Fiorenzo - Frammenti d'Europa
- Zambounis, Michael - Kings and Princes of Greece, Athens 2001
- Papakonstantinou Michael: - Το Χρονικό της μεγάλης νύχτας (The chronicle of big night)
- Divani, Lena: - Το θνησιγενές πριγκιπάτο της Πίνδου. Γιατί δεν ανταποκρίθηκαν οι Κουτσόβλαχοι της Ελλάδας, στην Ιταλο-ρουμανική προπαγάνδα.
- Thornberry, Patrick und Miranda Bruce-Mitford: - World Directory of Minorities. St. James Press 1990, page 131.
- Koliopoulos, Giannēs S. (aka John S. KoliopoulosJohn S. KoliopoulosJohn S. Koliopoulos is a Greek historian, born in 1942.He is the author of Plundered loyalties : Axis occupation and civil strife in Greek West Macedonia, 1941-194, Brigands with a Cause and other books on Greek history, and co-author of Greece: A Modern Sequel with Thanos Veremis, Professor of...
): - Plundered Loyalties: Axis Occupation and Civil Strife in Greek West Macedonia. C. Hurst & Co, 1990. page 86 ff. - Poulto, Hugh: - Who Are the Macedonians? C. Hurst & Co, 1995. page 111. (partly available online: http://books.google.com/books?id=j_NbmSoRsRcC&pg=PA111&dq=Principality+of+Pindus&sig=tMNmnpiRes7y_IdqlRrRXtfVPJg)
- After the War Was Over: Reconstructing the Family, Nation, and State in Greece By Mark Mazower (partly available online: http://books.google.com/books?id=YAszKv6JfQUC&pg=PA53&dq=Principality+of+Pindus+Mazower&sig=uR7-Qfcy0ZO-_dts7MupGT9E_Ms)
- Kalimniou, Dean: - Alkiviadis Diamandi di Samarina (in Neos Kosmos English Edition, Melbourne, 2006)
- Horváth Mihály: A magyar nemzet története
- Seidl-Bonitz-Hochegger: Zeitschrift für Niederösterreichischen Gymnasien XIV.