Serbs in the Republic of Macedonia
Encyclopedia
Serbs
are the fifth largest, and one of the constitutional peoples of the Republic of Macedonia
. According to the 2002 census
, about 36,000 inhabitants of the Republic of Macedonia
declare themselves Serb. They are predominantly situated in the north.
The region was part of the Serbian Grand Principality
, Kingdom and Empire
, beginning in the 11th century. With the Battle of Kosovo
(1389), and subsequent fall of Serbia
(1459–1540), the region of Macedonia, as well as the other regions inhabited by Serbs, were conquered by the Ottomans. The South Slavic Orthodox people now lived under a foreign (Muslim) power, and were all regarded as one and the same people in Ottoman eyes, atrocities and tax increases prompted several mass migrations into the north, the Habsburgs. Minor revolts took place in Macedonia, although the liberation of these lands were to be organized in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the decades before the Balkan Wars, a struggle was fought between Greece
, Bulgaria
and Serbia
on the conquest and national assimilation of the region. During this time a Macedonian identity emerged in the local Slavs, who were divided by the Bulgarian
or Serbian Orthodox Church
. By 1913, Serbia had captured most of present-day Macedonia, which subsequently was unified in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
and Socialist Yugoslavia
with other South Slavic peoples. In 1991, with the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars
, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
became independent.
, and today a concentration of Serbs are found in the borderlands with Serbia, most notably in Staro Nagoričane
.
The Serb population of Macedonia is based of the medieval populations as well as later relocated or migrated ethnic Serbs. The Serbs of Macedonia follow the Serbian Orthodox Church
, with their see of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
, as opposed to Macedonians
who claim a different origin (disputed) who follow the unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church
.
site near Štip
suggest that the 6th and 7th century Slavic pottery bears the most resemblance to pottery connected to the Serbs on the Danube. The archeological evidence attest that Macedonia was settled with a later wave of Slavs, attributed to the Serbs, in 575-625.
Serbian sources from the period of 1282 to 1392, including the elaborate Dušan's Code
do not make mention of an Macedonian ethnos, nor does Bulgarian, Byzantine or any other contemporary or later sources.
. In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace
and Illyricum
, pillaging cities and settling down.
By the 580s, as the Slav communities on the Danube became larger and more organised, and as the Avars exerted their influence, raids became larger and resulted in permanent settlement. By 581, many Slavic tribes had settled the land around Thessaloniki, though never taking the city itself, creating a Macedonian Sclavinia. In 586 AD, as many as 100,000 Slav warriors raided Thessaloniki. In De Administrando Imperio
, the Serbs trace their origin to the migration of the White Serbs led by the Unknown Archont
, who took the protection of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
(610-641). The Serbs, who lived in Macedonia (around Servia, which derived its name from the Serbs) subsequently settled the lands that would become the early Serbian Principality. Constans II
conquered Sclavinia in 656-657, "capturing many and subduing them", he also resettled Serbs from the Vardar area to Asia Minor
, to a city named Gordoservon
.
The "Sclaviniae of Macedonia" (Sclavenias penes Macedoniam) were conquered in 785 by Constantine VI (r. 776–797), meanwhile, a Serbian Principality was established to the northwest. Almost a century before that, in 681, Bulgars formed Bulgaria
which subsequently annexed Slav territories. According to Serb authors, although the Slavs of the Bulgarian khanate were kin to the rest of the South Slavs, a distinction was made early on by Byzantine writers; the term Sclavinia comes to denote the Slavs from the Adriatic to the Rhodopes, distinguishing it from Bulgaria.
Almost the whole of Macedonia was incorporated in Bulgaria
in the mid 9th century during the rule of Khan Presian
and his first minister Isbul
. Between 929 and 931 the elder brother of Emperor Peter I
, Michael
, rebelled in Macedonia to take over the throne but was defeated. Serbian sources, however, speak of two unsuccessful uprisings against the Bulgarian overlords.
In 969, the Cometopuli manages to insurrect the western Bulgar realm, in the meantime in 971-972, Bulgaria (Catepanate of Bulgaria) and Serbia (Catepanate of Ras) is conquered by John Tzimiskes, Tzimiskes conquered and burned down Bulgar capital Preslav
, capturing Bulgarian Tsar Boris II. In 973 the Byzantines conquer Macedonia. In 976 the Cometopuli brothers again manages to take the region from the Byzantines. Tsar Samuel (976-1018) manages to take the Theme of Bulgaria and Serbia in 986 and continues to rule as the "Tsar of Bulgaria", although historians are in dispute over the ethnic and national affiliation of the Cometopuli and their state. The political center of the Bulgarian realm was moved to Macedonia, Ohrid served as capital and seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate
.
The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitos wrote in about 950 that the city of "Ta Serbia" situated north-west from Thessaloniki, derived its name from its Serbian founders in early 7th century. In 10th century the city is mentioned as "Srpchishte" in the manuscript by the Byzantine author John Zonara.
. Alexios I responded by sending a much larger army, but it was stopped by Serbian envoys wanting to negotiate. Peace was concluded, and Alexios returned to tackle the plundering Cumans
. Vukan however, immediately violated the treaty, launching an operation in the Vardar
region, conquering the cities of Vranje
, Skopje
and Tetovo
, with much loot. Vukan then sent messengers to Skopje
, attempting to justify his actions as a consequence of unjust administration by the Byzantines. Alexios once again accepted peace, this time with the promise of Serbian hostages (a sign of definite peace), he returned to Constantinople
and tasked the local leaders to repair the damaged structures on the border. Vukan did not send the hostages as promised, prompting Alexios to send John Komnenos
, his nephew and commander of Dyrrhachium, towards Serbia. Vukan bought time by once again promising peace and hostages, only to simultaneously prepare an attack against them. In the night the Byzantine camp was surprise-attacked, with the majority of Byzantine soldiers being killed. Vukan went on to loot Skopje, Gornji- and Donji Polog
, then ravaging Vranje
and finally returning to Serbia. Alexios sent a last army, entering Lipljan without resistance, Vukan's messengers offered a conclusive peace and the previously promised hostages, and as Alexios had more problems in other places of the Empire, peace was agreed in 1094, and Vukan surrendered twenty hostages, including his cousins (or nephews) Uroš
and Stefan Vukan.
In 1189 the regions of Skopje
and Tetovo
was conquered by Stefan Nemanja
.
In the late 1200s, Strez
, a Bulgarian royalty of the Asen dynasty
, fled to Serbia after a feud with Emperor Boril
, who had taken the throne. Strez was for a time a Duke under Stefan Nemanjic and had by 1209 conquered most of Macedonia; from the Struma
valley in the east, which bordered lands controlled by Boril, to Bitola
and perhaps Ohrid
in the west, and from Skopje
in the north to Veria
in the south. While Strez quickly gained the support of the local population and possibly inherited the remaining administration from Boril's rule, Serbian units nevertheless remained in his domains, either to guarantee his loyalty or with the intent to oust him and annex his lands. In 1215 the region is taken by the Latins
and Despotate of Epirus
. In 1223, Theodore Komnenos
ruled Macedonia as Despot of Epirus (proclaimed Emperor) with his Greek, Serb and Albanian lieutenants, who held lands to the Serbian border beyond Arban, Debar
and Skoplje.
In 1230, Theodore was defeated and captured by Emperor Ivan Asen II
in the battle of Klokotnitsa
, and lands west of Adrianople were once again part of Bulgaria; all the way to Durazzo, Ivan Asen wrote in a memorial column that he conquered "His [Theodore Komnenos'] whole land from Odrin (Adrianople) to Drach (Durazzo), also Greek, Albanian and Serb" after the victory. Between 1246 and 1265, John Vatatzes conquered Macedonia from the Adrianople to the Vardar, while the Bulgarian emperor Michael I Asen
had the towns west of the Vardar: Veles, Prilep and Ochrid. In 1252 John overcame Michael, and most of Macedonia towards the border of Serbia became a Nicaean province. After the 13th century, the Bulgarian empire lost Macedonia.
Demetrios Chomatenos
(Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236) registered the naming culture of the South Slavs
in Byzantine lands. In the 11th and 12th century, family names became more common and stable in Byzantium, adapted by the majority of people in Byzantine Macedonia, Epirus
and other regions (including women, sometimes even monks), not only aristocrats. The South Slavs, however, maintained the tradition of only giving a personal name, sometimes with a Patronymic
. There are only two cases of family names used by South Slavs during this time; Bogdanopoulos and Serbopoulos, both Slavic names with the Greek suffix -opoulos (όπουλος, originating in Peloponnese
in the 10th century)
In 1258, Uroš I of Serbia took Skoplje, Prilep
and Kičevo
from the Byzantines, but lost them shortly after in 1261. Serbia's conquest of the areas south of the Shara mountain chain, on the plains of Polog
, and in Byzantine
dominated places like Skoplje and later Serres
(Slavic: Ser) began with the expansion of Serbian King Milutin
in 1282. With the victory over the Bulgarian army near Velbazhd (today's Kyustendil
, Republic of Bulgaria) in 1331, the Morava and upper Vardar basins were secured for the Serbian state.
In a chrysobull dated 1294 of Andronicus II, the kataphrylax of Serres, "Jovan the Serb" was mentioned (Ἱωάννης ό Σἐρβος). A Byzantine Serb military family of Thessaloniki, Deblitzenos, produced several soldiers holding titles such as pronoia, tzaousios
, of which is also mentioned in documents of the Emperor
.
In 1330, the Bulgarians attacked Serbia to stop the Serb penetration in Macedonia but were defeated in the battle of Velbazhd and while Bulgaria did not lose territory to Serbia, it could not prevent the latter from conquering Macedonia from the Byzantine Empire which had descended into a disastrous civil war. Of the event, both Dushan and his father recall that the Bulgarian emperor went against "Our country, against the lands of our fathers" and "Serbian territory" in relation to Macedonia.
were under the newly-established Serbian Empire
. After these successes Dušan the Mighty proclaimed himself Emperor in 1345 at Serres
and was solemnly crowned in Skopje
on April 16, 1346 as "Emperor and autocrat of Serbs
and Romans" (Greek
) by the Serbian Patriarch
Joanikije II with the help of the Bulgarian Patriarch Simeon and the Archbishop of Ohrid, Nicholas.
Settling of Serb military and upper class citizens in Veria
is mentioned in 1350, after Dušan the Mighty had conquered the town in between 1343–47 and driven out all the inhabitants in fear of a revolt. Kantakouzenes asserts the Veria Serbs numbered 30 nobles and 1,500 soldiers, with their families.
invasion of Serbia was challenged at the river Marica
in 1371 by Serbian Macedonia-stationed noblemen Vukašin and Uglješa, both of whom led armies from their statelets, at the river Maritsa
(southeastern part of the Republic of Bulgaria) which ended in Serbian defeat (the place was named Sirf-Sindughi-"Serbian Defeat" by the invading Turks).
This defeat, which culminated with the fall of Skoplje (Skopje) in 1392, Trnovo in 1393, in combination with the consequences of Serbian defeat at Kosovo
Polje in 1389 led to large influx of Turks and Islam. The Turks converted Christian Serbs and Bulgarians who later became known as Torbeshi and Pomaks
. In the middle of the 17th century, grand vizier Mehmed Köprülü successfully converted peoples of the Danube region, notably the Serbs of Debar (Dibra) in Western Macedonia.
The Patriarchate of Peć
(Serbian Patriarchate, Serbian Orthodox Church) had spiritual power extending Macedonia which continued the Serbian consciousness in a part of the South Slavic people of the region.
In the second half of the 15th century, Serbian scribe Vladislav Gramatik consideres Macedonia "Serb land". On February 15, 1515, a Serb youth is burned alive by the Ottomans because he refused to renounce his faith (convert to Islam), the Serbian Orthodox Church venerate him as Saint George of Kratovo (Sveti Djordje Kratovac).
In 1557, Mehmed Sokolović, an Ottoman commander of Serb origin, restores the Serb Patriarchate, appointing his still Christian brother, Makarije, as the Patriarch. Tetovo, Skoplje, Shtip and Radovishte are placed under the Serb church, while Ochrid, Monastir, Debar and Prilep remains under the Archbishopric of Ochrid (Greek). All missions to Russia from Macedonia were described as "Serbian", the first of which was in 1585, by Visarion, the Metropolitan of Kratovo and his entourage of monks from other places. In 1641, the Metropolitan of Skoplje, Simeon, travels to Russia and signs himself as "of the land of Serbia". In 1687 a petition of Jeftimije, Metropolitan of Skoplje; "of the Serbian lands of the Church of Skoplje". Although, unquestionably, the preceding were all under the Serb see, similarly clergy from the southern, Ecumenical dioceses, too described themselves as Serbs. In 1625, Sergius of Greben mentions that he had been "consecrated by Nektarije, Archbishop of Ochrida, in the land of Serbia". In 1634, Archbishop Avram of Ochrid replies that they came from "the Serbian country, from the town of Ochrida", similarly, in 1643, German of Kremenec says he is from the Serbian country, from Kostur, In 1648, "the Serb Dimitrje Nikolajev" from Kostur. In 1704, "Serb Bratan Jovanov came to Russia from the land of Macedonia".
The great migration of Serbs in the 17th century after the collapse of Austrian
-led campaign also de-populated parts of Northern Vardar Macedonia (today's Republic of Macedonia). Vast numbers of Serbs from Macedonia left to accede into Habsburg
service in the Military Frontier
and Vojvodina
. The refugees took part and adapted themselves as an integral part of Serbians in Vojvodina, Hungary
and Austria
.
In 1766, the Serbian Patriarchate is abolished, the former dioceses becoming part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which had greek liturgy. In 1872 the Bulgarian Exarchate
, deemed schismatic, is recognized by the Ottoman Empire
, and subsequently two thirds of the population of Macedonia joins the Exarchate.
In the 19th century, the ethnic Serbian areas outside (south) of the Principality of Serbia were designated by Serbian cartographers as "Old Serbia", claiming that the inhabitants of this region (Kratovo, Skopje
, Ovche Polje) described their native districts as "Serbian lands".
Most schools in Macedonia had disappeared by the Serbo-Turkish wars in 1876. In the mid 1890s it was claimed that they were around 100 Serbian schools in Macedonia, though attendance was low. A school was opened in Skopje in 1892, but soon closed after Bulgarians complained that the required city quarters were lacking, the same happened in Kumanovo. Two new schools opened in 1893 and by 1896 the Serbian influence reached its peak but had declined by the turn of the century.
According to Serbian authors, after the Treaty of San Stefano
, the populations of the counties of Kumanovo, Skopje, Palanka, Kratovo, Chustendil, Kochani, Strumica, Ishtip, Veles, Debar, Kichevo and Prilep sent deputations and appeals to Prince Milan of Serbia, imploring him to not abandon Macedonia to the Bulgarians and to assign the region to Serbia. The Congress of Berlin saw petitions from around Macedonia: "As Serbs of true and pure stock, of the purest and most intrinsically Serbian country.... We for the 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 be stanched so that they, too, may become useful members of the European community of nations and of the Christian world; we do not desire to exchange the harsh Turkish slavery for the vastly harsher and darker 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...."
The newly-founded Serbian state started a campaign of educational patronage and propagandistic activity in Macedonia, but as the Macedonia became a Macciavelian ground for propaganda, various absurd forms of ethic conversion, helped by the propaganda of all south Balkan states soon made a the situation largely chaotic, promoting Serbian geographer Jovan Cvijić
to exclaim that "nationality for the Macedonian Slavs is understood like a political party affiliation".
After the Serbo-Turkish war in 1876-78, the assembling of 65 of the most notable men of the districts of Kumanovo
, Kriva Palanka
, Kochane, Ishtip, Veles
, Prilep
, Bitola
, Ochrid, Kichevo and Skoplje sent an appeal to the Serbian commander of Macedonian volunteers (Serbo-Turkish war) M.S. Milojevic, asking for the arming and leading towards an insurrection. In 1880, the populations of the counties Kichevo, Porech, Bitola and Prilep engaged in a 6-month long uprising that ended in failure, known as the Brsjak Revolt
.
. In the beginning, there were unarmed, propagandic, cultural and likewise activities. Later, the activities would transition into a revolt against the Ottoman Empire, and between the rebel bands. Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia claimed Macedonia as legitimate owners.
Greece pointed at its Antique and Roman/Byzantine province of Macedonia. Bulgaria pointed at its holding of Macedonia during Simeon I
and Asen II. Serbia pointed at its material heritage, endowments of the Nemanjić and Mrnjavčević eras, and the identity preserved in many regions; traditions such as Krsna Slava (Serbian Orthodox tradition) and linguistical bonds (see Macedonian language
).
In 1886, the Society of Saint Sava was formed, which aimed to aid the Serbian cause in Macedonia. Serbian consulates were opened in Skoplje (Skopje) in 1887, Pristina in 1889, Bitolj (Bitola) in 1889, and Prizren in 1896.
As of 1903, the Serbian Chetniks
, men like Jovan Stojković Babunski, Micko Krstić, Jovan Dolgač, Gligor Sokolović
, Vasilije Trbić
confronted Turkish, Albanian and Bulgarian (VMRO-led) military formations together with their squads called "Četa
"-mobile volunteer units strongly armed with personal weapons.
The Young Turks
Revolution of 1908 created slightly better conditions for the expression of Serbian cultural life in Geographic Macedonia. Serbian publishing of books, religious calendars, newspapers briefly flourished. The "Assembly of Ottoman Serbs" was held in Skoplje and Serbs had their deputies in the Ottoman parliament.
During the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) Serbia liberated most of the southern Serbs by taking over the vast land including todays Vardar Macedonia and northern Albania (its ally Greece initially winning over the lands immediately south), much at the grievances of the Bulgarian population in Macedonia. The period from 1913-1914 is a period of turmoil and the central government in Belgrade implemented plenty of unpopular measures, most of which were found to be oppressive to the Bulgarian majority in Vardar Macedonia.
120,000 Serbs were forced into exile by Josip Broz Tito
's Partisan
forces after they have opted for Serbian rather than Macedonian identity in 1944. The population of Serbs in Macedonia which did not lend itself to Macedonization, representing compact population in the region of Skopska Crna Gora
and having significant presence in Kumanovo
, Skoplje, Tetovo
, and surroundings was artificially separated from Yugoslav Serbia.
Immediately after the liberation from the occupying forces, in 1945, the requests to become a part of the newly formed federal unit of Serbia came from some regions of Macedonia in spite of the terror of the new Macedonian government. The typical example was the plea of the rural population in the Vratnica municipality, Tetovo district. In a letter to the minister for Serbia in the Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia the inhabitants of these villages stated: "We, the Serbs from the Vratnica municipality have never felt otherwise but as Serbs, the same as our ancestors, and it has been so for centuries. Because of that we suffered extremely during the occupation both in the last World War and in this one that ended recently. During the occupation in this war, 41 Serbs were executed by firing squads, some were Interned and there was not a single Serb between the age of 15 and 66 that was not beaten and molested to exhaustion." The inhabitants in the Vratnica municipality also complained about the new Macedonian officials and listed the main reasons such as: "In our district the administrative authorities are mostly constituted of the persons who were Fascist collaborators, the persons who welcomed the German army with delight, the persons who held religious service of thanksgiving when the German armada was victorious though the Germans never requested such things from the city dwellers." Even an example is given: during the occupation the village representative in the Vratnica municipality was Andra Hristov from Tetovo (in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia he was a clerk in the Tetovo district court, but then his surname was Serbian - Ristić), who is now said to be "...an official of the people's administration authorities in Skopje.
In September 1991, during the start of the Yugoslav Wars, SR Macedonia holds a referendum of which 72% eligible voters approved independence by 95%, the Albanians and Serbs in the country boycotted the referendum. In 1992 Serbs of Kumanovo organized themselves in associations and political parties and held demonstrations in support of the Serbian cause in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia. Serbian Radical Party sympathizers in Macedonia made an effort to establish a "Serbian Autonomous Region of Kumanovo Valley and Skopska Crna Gora". In January 1993, 500 Macedonian Serb nationalists gathered in the town of Kučevište, north of Skopje, to protest the police repression against ethnic Serbs on New Year's Eve when 13 Serbian youths were injured. Macedonian Serbs asserted they were mistreated by Macedonian authorities.
The post-war years were characterized by the loss of national institutions like the proclamation of the non-recognized Macedonian Orthodox Church
in 1958-1967, that would try to erase the Serbian Orthodox character of Macedonia. Several Serbian Orthodox monasteries have been seized by the MOC, however in the regions with prevailing numbers of Serbs, the Serbian Orthodox Church still has jurisdiction. Further problems between the two arose when Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid, the Serbian Orthodox Archbishop of Macedonia, was arrested and sentenced to prison, found Prisoner of conscience
by Amnesty. Jovan and other Serbian Orthodox clergymen have been physically attacked and several churches and monasteries in use by the SOC in Macedonia have been destroyed. Since World War II several educational institutions in the Serbian language and common cultural centers have been closed.
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During the medieval Serbian Empire and Serbian rule of Macedonia, the notable people were Serbs, Greeks, Vlachs (Aromanians), Arvanites (Albanians) and Bulgarians.
in the 19th century, several German and Austrian ethnografists showed a cluster of Serb people in the areas surrounding Bitola towards Albania. Serbian ethnografists claimed a larger Serb presence in north of Ohrid and Prilep. American researches show clusters of Serbs, ranging from Serbian border down to the Greek border.
The Serbs of the Republic of Macedonia are generally concentrated along the northern border with Serbia. They form substantial populations in Kumanovo
and Skopje
. Although there is another large concentration in south-eastern Gevgelija
and Dojran
regions. The population with the highest percentage of Serbs is the Čučer-Sandevo municipality
with 2426 Serbs or roughly 28.6% of the population.
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
are the fifth largest, and one of the constitutional peoples of the Republic of Macedonia
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...
. According to the 2002 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, about 36,000 inhabitants of the Republic of Macedonia
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...
declare themselves Serb. They are predominantly situated in the north.
The region was part of the Serbian Grand Principality
Serbian Grand Principality
The Serbian Grand Principality or Rascia was a medieval state that was founded in 1090, and ended with the elevation to Kingdom in 1217. During the reign of Constantine Bodin, the King of Duklja, Vukan was appointed to rule Rascia as a vassal, and when Bodin was captured by the Byzantines, Vukan...
, Kingdom and Empire
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
, beginning in the 11th century. With 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...
(1389), and subsequent fall of Serbia
Fall of the Serbian Empire
Following the death of child-less Uroš the Weak, the Serbian Empire was left without an heir and the military commanders obtained the rule of the past provinces and districts , continuing their offices with titles such as gospodin and despot etc., given to them during the Empire...
(1459–1540), the region of Macedonia, as well as the other regions inhabited by Serbs, were conquered by the Ottomans. The South Slavic Orthodox people now lived under a foreign (Muslim) power, and were all regarded as one and the same people in Ottoman eyes, atrocities and tax increases prompted several mass migrations into the north, the Habsburgs. Minor revolts took place in Macedonia, although the liberation of these lands were to be organized in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the decades before the Balkan Wars, a struggle was fought between Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, 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...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
on the conquest and national assimilation of the region. During this time a Macedonian identity emerged in the local Slavs, who were divided by the Bulgarian
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
or Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
. By 1913, Serbia had captured most of present-day Macedonia, which subsequently was unified in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
and Socialist Yugoslavia
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
with other South Slavic peoples. In 1991, with the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
became independent.
Background
The territory of today's Republic of Macedonia was part of the medieval Serbian EmpireSerbian Empire
The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
, and today a concentration of Serbs are found in the borderlands with Serbia, most notably in Staro Nagoričane
Staro Nagoricane municipality
Staro Nagoričane is a municipality in northern Republic of Macedonia. Staro Nagoričane is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found...
.
The Serb population of Macedonia is based of the medieval populations as well as later relocated or migrated ethnic Serbs. The Serbs of Macedonia follow the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
, with their see of the Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric
The Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric is an autonomous Eastern Orthodox archdiocese in the Republic of Macedonia...
, as opposed to Macedonians
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
who claim a different origin (disputed) who follow the unrecognized Macedonian Orthodox Church
Macedonian Orthodox Church
The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian...
.
Human Rights Watch
The Macedonian Serbs have no problems with the Macedonian people, rather with the government of Macedonia as well as minor discrimination from the Albanians. Many of the Macedonian Serbs that have origin from outside of the Republic have been denied citizenship, and a lack of education in the Serbian language is a cause of instability.History
Serb authors claim that the archeological findings at the BargalaBargala
Bargala was a fortified town constructed between the4th and 6th century, a period spanning Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium. It is located 20 km northeast of the modern city of Štip, Republic of Macedonia on the lower slopes of the Plachkovica mountain...
site near Štip
Štip
Štip 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...
suggest that the 6th and 7th century Slavic pottery bears the most resemblance to pottery connected to the Serbs on the Danube. The archeological evidence attest that Macedonia was settled with a later wave of Slavs, attributed to the Serbs, in 575-625.
Serbian sources from the period of 1282 to 1392, including the elaborate Dušan's Code
Dušan's Code
Dušan's Code was enacted by Tsar Dušan in two state congresses: in May 21, 1349 in Skopje and amended in 1354 in Serres. It regulated all social spheres, so it can be considered a medieval Serbian constitution. The Code included 201 articles. The original manuscript is not preserved, but around...
do not make mention of an Macedonian ethnos, nor does Bulgarian, Byzantine or any other contemporary or later sources.
Middle Ages
Early
The Sclaveni (South Slavs) pillaged the Balkans as early as the 520s. The South Slavic territories were called Sclaviniae (lit. Slav lands), and were from times independent from the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...
, pillaging cities and settling down.
By the 580s, as the Slav communities on the Danube became larger and more organised, and as the Avars exerted their influence, raids became larger and resulted in permanent settlement. By 581, many Slavic tribes had settled the land around Thessaloniki, though never taking the city itself, creating a Macedonian Sclavinia. In 586 AD, as many as 100,000 Slav warriors raided Thessaloniki. In De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
, the Serbs trace their origin to the migration of the White Serbs led by the Unknown Archont
Unknown Archont
The Unknown Archont is a conventional name given by historians to the Serbian leader who led the White Serbs from their homeland to settle in the Balkans after 610, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius ....
, who took the protection of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
(610-641). The Serbs, who lived in Macedonia (around Servia, which derived its name from the Serbs) subsequently settled the lands that would become the early Serbian Principality. Constans II
Constans II
Constans II , also called Constantine the Bearded , was Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. He also was the last emperor to become consul in 642, becoming the last Roman consul in history....
conquered Sclavinia in 656-657, "capturing many and subduing them", he also resettled Serbs from the Vardar area to Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, to a city named Gordoservon
Gordoservon
In records from Bithynia in the year 680, the city of Gordoservon or Gordoserbon was a Byzantine city inhabited by Serbs. The name is derived from the Serbs that resettled in Asia Minor by Byzantine Emperor Constans II , who came from the areas "around the river Vardar"...
.
The "Sclaviniae of Macedonia" (Sclavenias penes Macedoniam) were conquered in 785 by Constantine VI (r. 776–797), meanwhile, a Serbian Principality was established to the northwest. Almost a century before that, in 681, Bulgars formed 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...
which subsequently annexed Slav territories. According to Serb authors, although the Slavs of the Bulgarian khanate were kin to the rest of the South Slavs, a distinction was made early on by Byzantine writers; the term Sclavinia comes to denote the Slavs from the Adriatic to the Rhodopes, distinguishing it from Bulgaria.
Almost the whole of Macedonia was incorporated in 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...
in the mid 9th century during the rule of Khan Presian
Presian I of Bulgaria
Presian was the Khan of Bulgaria from 836–852. He ruled during an extensive expansion in Macedonia.-Origin:The composite picture of the Byzantine sources indicates that Presian I was the son of Zvinica , who was a son of Omurtag...
and his first minister Isbul
Isbul
Isbul was the kavhan, or first minister, of the First Bulgarian Empire during the reigns of Omurtag, Malamir and Presian I...
. Between 929 and 931 the elder brother of Emperor Peter I
Peter I of Bulgaria
Peter I was emperor of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969.-Early reign:Peter I was the son of Simeon I of Bulgaria by his second marriage to Maria Sursuvul, the sister of George Sursuvul. Peter had been born early in the 10th century, but it appears that his maternal uncle was very influential at...
, Michael
Mihail of Bulgaria
Mihail or Michael was the eldest son of Emperor Simeon I The Great. The date of his birth is unknown, but it is before 900. Mihail was born to Simeon's first wife....
, rebelled in Macedonia to take over the throne but was defeated. Serbian sources, however, speak of two unsuccessful uprisings against the Bulgarian overlords.
In 969, the Cometopuli manages to insurrect the western Bulgar realm, in the meantime in 971-972, Bulgaria (Catepanate of Bulgaria) and Serbia (Catepanate of Ras) is conquered by John Tzimiskes, Tzimiskes conquered and burned down Bulgar capital Preslav
Preslav
Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities of medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern Bulgaria, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a...
, capturing Bulgarian Tsar Boris II. In 973 the Byzantines conquer Macedonia. In 976 the Cometopuli brothers again manages to take the region from the Byzantines. Tsar Samuel (976-1018) manages to take the Theme of Bulgaria and Serbia in 986 and continues to rule as the "Tsar of Bulgaria", although historians are in dispute over the ethnic and national affiliation of the Cometopuli and their state. The political center of the Bulgarian realm was moved to Macedonia, Ohrid served as capital and seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
.
The Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitos wrote in about 950 that the city of "Ta Serbia" situated north-west from Thessaloniki, derived its name from its Serbian founders in early 7th century. In 10th century the city is mentioned as "Srpchishte" in the manuscript by the Byzantine author John Zonara.
Macedonia in the hands of Bulgaria and Serbia
In 1092, Grand Prince Vukan defeated an army sent by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I KomnenosAlexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
. Alexios I responded by sending a much larger army, but it was stopped by Serbian envoys wanting to negotiate. Peace was concluded, and Alexios returned to tackle the plundering Cumans
Cumans
The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...
. Vukan however, immediately violated the treaty, launching an operation in the Vardar
Vardar
The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
region, conquering the cities of Vranje
Vranje
Vranje is a city and municipality located in southern Serbia. In 2011 the city has total population of 82,782, while the urban area has 54,456...
, Skopje
Skopje
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 Tetovo
Tetovo
Tetovo 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...
, with much loot. Vukan then sent messengers to Skopje
Skopje
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...
, attempting to justify his actions as a consequence of unjust administration by the Byzantines. Alexios once again accepted peace, this time with the promise of Serbian hostages (a sign of definite peace), he returned to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and tasked the local leaders to repair the damaged structures on the border. Vukan did not send the hostages as promised, prompting Alexios to send John Komnenos
John Komnenos (governor of Dyrrhachium)
John Komnenos was a Byzantine aristocrat, the nephew of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and long-time governor of the strategically important city and theme of Dyrrhachium.-Early life:...
, his nephew and commander of Dyrrhachium, towards Serbia. Vukan bought time by once again promising peace and hostages, only to simultaneously prepare an attack against them. In the night the Byzantine camp was surprise-attacked, with the majority of Byzantine soldiers being killed. Vukan went on to loot Skopje, Gornji- and Donji Polog
Polog
Polog also known as the Polog Valley , is located in the north-western part of the Republic of Macedonia near the border with Serbia.It is divided into Upper and Lower Polog...
, then ravaging Vranje
Vranje
Vranje is a city and municipality located in southern Serbia. In 2011 the city has total population of 82,782, while the urban area has 54,456...
and finally returning to Serbia. Alexios sent a last army, entering Lipljan without resistance, Vukan's messengers offered a conclusive peace and the previously promised hostages, and as Alexios had more problems in other places of the Empire, peace was agreed in 1094, and Vukan surrendered twenty hostages, including his cousins (or nephews) Uroš
Uroš I of Rascia
Uroš I Vukanović was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from ca 1112 to 1145.-Origin:Uroš I was the son of Marko, the brother of Grand Prince Vukan, who had swore an oath of loyalty to Constantine Bodin, the Grand Prince of Duklja, becoming his vassals...
and Stefan Vukan.
In 1189 the regions of Skopje
Skopje
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 Tetovo
Tetovo
Tetovo 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...
was conquered by Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja was the Grand Prince of the Grand Principality of Serbia from 1166 to 1196, a heir of the Vukanović dynasty that marked the beginning of a greater Serbian realm .He is remembered for his contributions to Serbian culture and...
.
In the late 1200s, Strez
Strez
Strez was a Bulgarian sebastokrator and a member of the Asen dynasty. A major contender for the Bulgarian throne, Strez initially opposed the ascension of his close relative Tsar Boril...
, a Bulgarian royalty of the Asen dynasty
Asen dynasty
The Asen dynasty ruled a medieval Bulgarian state, called in modern historiography the Second Bulgarian Empire, between 1187 and 1280.The Asen dynasty and the Second Bulgarian Empire rose as the leaders of a rebellion against the Byzantine Empire at the turn of the year 1185/1186 caused by the...
, fled to Serbia after a feud with Emperor Boril
Boril of Bulgaria
Boril reigned as emperor of Bulgaria from 1207 to 1218. He was the son of an unnamed sister of his predecessor Kaloyan.-Biography:It is unclear whether Boril was party to the murder of Kaloyan in front of the walls of Thessalonica in 1207, but Kaloyan's intended heirs, his nephews Ivan Asen and...
, who had taken the throne. Strez was for a time a Duke under Stefan Nemanjic and had by 1209 conquered most of Macedonia; from the Struma
Struma River
The Struma or Strymónas is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymōn . Its catchment area is 10,800 km²...
valley in the east, which bordered lands controlled by Boril, to 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...
and perhaps Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid 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...
in the west, and from Skopje
Skopje
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...
in the north to 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...
in the south. While Strez quickly gained the support of the local population and possibly inherited the remaining administration from Boril's rule, Serbian units nevertheless remained in his domains, either to guarantee his loyalty or with the intent to oust him and annex his lands. In 1215 the region is taken by the Latins
Latins
"Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"...
and Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
. In 1223, Theodore Komnenos
Theodore Komnenos Doukas
Theodore Komnenos Doukas was ruler of Epirus from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica from 1224 to 1230.-Life:...
ruled Macedonia as Despot of Epirus (proclaimed Emperor) with his Greek, Serb and Albanian lieutenants, who held lands to the Serbian border beyond Arban, Debar
Debar
Debar is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, near the border with Albania, on the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality.-Geography:...
and Skoplje.
In 1230, Theodore was defeated and captured by Emperor Ivan Asen II
Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
-Early rule:He was a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria and Elena . Elena, who survived until after 1235, is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between various descendants...
in the battle of Klokotnitsa
Battle of Klokotnitsa
The Battle of Klokotnitsa occurred on 9 March 1230 near the village of Klokotnitsa . As a result, the Second Bulgarian Empire emerged once again as the most powerful state in Eastern Europe and the power of the Despotate of Epirus faded...
, and lands west of Adrianople were once again part of Bulgaria; all the way to Durazzo, Ivan Asen wrote in a memorial column that he conquered "His [Theodore Komnenos'] whole land from Odrin (Adrianople) to Drach (Durazzo), also Greek, Albanian and Serb" after the victory. Between 1246 and 1265, John Vatatzes conquered Macedonia from the Adrianople to the Vardar, while the Bulgarian emperor Michael I Asen
Michael Asen I of Bulgaria
Michael II Asen of Bulgaria , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1246 to 1256. He was the son of Ivan Asen II and his third wife Irene Komnene of Epirus , daughter of Theodore I Ducas of the Despotate of Epirus...
had the towns west of the Vardar: Veles, Prilep and Ochrid. In 1252 John overcame Michael, and most of Macedonia towards the border of Serbia became a Nicaean province. After the 13th century, the Bulgarian empire lost Macedonia.
Demetrios Chomatenos
Demetrios Chomatenos
Demetrios Chomatenos or Chomatian , Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236, was a Byzantine priest and judge.His comprehensive legal education allowed him to exert substantial influence as judge, arbiter, confessor and advisor to the Byzantine Imperial house...
(Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236) registered the naming culture of the South Slavs
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
in Byzantine lands. In the 11th and 12th century, family names became more common and stable in Byzantium, adapted by the majority of people in Byzantine Macedonia, Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
and other regions (including women, sometimes even monks), not only aristocrats. The South Slavs, however, maintained the tradition of only giving a personal name, sometimes with a Patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
. There are only two cases of family names used by South Slavs during this time; Bogdanopoulos and Serbopoulos, both Slavic names with the Greek suffix -opoulos (όπουλος, originating in Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
in the 10th century)
In 1258, Uroš I of Serbia took Skoplje, 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:...
and Kičevo
Kicevo
Kičevo 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...
from the Byzantines, but lost them shortly after in 1261. Serbia's conquest of the areas south of the Shara mountain chain, on the plains of Polog
Polog
Polog also known as the Polog Valley , is located in the north-western part of the Republic of Macedonia near the border with Serbia.It is divided into Upper and Lower Polog...
, and in Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
dominated places like Skoplje and later Serres
Serres
Serres is a city in Greece, seat of the Serres prefecture.Serres may also refer to:Places:* Serres, Germany, a part of Wiernsheim in Baden-WürttembergIn France:* Serres, Aude in the Aude département...
(Slavic: Ser) began with the expansion of Serbian King Milutin
Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia
Stefan Uroš II Milutin was a king of Serbia , and member of the House of Nemanjić.-Early:...
in 1282. With the victory over the Bulgarian army near Velbazhd (today's Kyustendil
Kyustendil
Kyustendil is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of Kyustendil Province, with a population of 44 416 . Kyustendil is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, 90 km southwest of Sofia...
, Republic of Bulgaria) in 1331, the Morava and upper Vardar basins were secured for the Serbian state.
In a chrysobull dated 1294 of Andronicus II, the kataphrylax of Serres, "Jovan the Serb" was mentioned (Ἱωάννης ό Σἐρβος). A Byzantine Serb military family of Thessaloniki, Deblitzenos, produced several soldiers holding titles such as pronoia, tzaousios
Tzaousios
The tzaousios was a late Byzantine military office, whose exact functions and role are somewhat unclear.The term is derived from the Turkish çavuş, meaning "courier" or "messenger", and was in use by the Byzantines perhaps as early as the late 11th century. In the 13th–15th centuries, it became...
, of which is also mentioned in documents of the Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
.
In 1330, the Bulgarians attacked Serbia to stop the Serb penetration in Macedonia but were defeated in the battle of Velbazhd and while Bulgaria did not lose territory to Serbia, it could not prevent the latter from conquering Macedonia from the Byzantine Empire which had descended into a disastrous civil war. Of the event, both Dushan and his father recall that the Bulgarian emperor went against "Our country, against the lands of our fathers" and "Serbian territory" in relation to Macedonia.
Serbian Empire
By 1345, the whole of Macedonia and parts of western ThraceThrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
were under the newly-established Serbian Empire
Serbian Empire
The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
. After these successes Dušan the Mighty proclaimed himself Emperor in 1345 at Serres
Serres, Greece
Sérres is a city in Macedonia, Greece. It is situated in a fertile plain at an elevation of about 70 m, some 24 km northeast of the Strymon river and 69 km north-east of the Macedonian capital, Thessaloniki. The Rhodope Mountains rise to the north and east of the city...
and was solemnly crowned in Skopje
Skopje
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...
on April 16, 1346 as "Emperor and autocrat of Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
and Romans" (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
) by the Serbian Patriarch
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
Joanikije II with the help of the Bulgarian Patriarch Simeon and the Archbishop of Ohrid, Nicholas.
Settling of Serb military and upper class citizens in 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...
is mentioned in 1350, after Dušan the Mighty had conquered the town in between 1343–47 and driven out all the inhabitants in fear of a revolt. Kantakouzenes asserts the Veria Serbs numbered 30 nobles and 1,500 soldiers, with their families.
Serbs in Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire
The OttomanOttoman 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...
invasion of Serbia was challenged at the river Marica
Marica
In Roman mythology, Marica was a nymph, the mother of Latinus. Latinus was fathered by Faunus, who was also occasionally referred to as the son of Marica. The sacred forest near Minturnae was dedicated to Marica. A lake nearby was also named after her....
in 1371 by Serbian Macedonia-stationed noblemen Vukašin and Uglješa, both of whom led armies from their statelets, at the river Maritsa
Maritsa
The Maritsa or Evros , ) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
(southeastern part of the Republic of Bulgaria) which ended in Serbian defeat (the place was named Sirf-Sindughi-"Serbian Defeat" by the invading Turks).
This defeat, which culminated with the fall of Skoplje (Skopje) in 1392, Trnovo in 1393, in combination with the consequences of Serbian defeat at Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
Polje in 1389 led to large influx of Turks and Islam. The Turks converted Christian Serbs and Bulgarians who later became known as Torbeshi and Pomaks
Pomaks
Pomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,...
. In the middle of the 17th century, grand vizier Mehmed Köprülü successfully converted peoples of the Danube region, notably the Serbs of Debar (Dibra) in Western Macedonia.
The Patriarchate of Peć
Patriarchate of Pec
The Patriarchate of Peć is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located near Peć. The complex of churches is the spiritual seat and mausoleum of the Serbian archbishops and patriarchs....
(Serbian Patriarchate, Serbian Orthodox Church) had spiritual power extending Macedonia which continued the Serbian consciousness in a part of the South Slavic people of the region.
In the second half of the 15th century, Serbian scribe Vladislav Gramatik consideres Macedonia "Serb land". On February 15, 1515, a Serb youth is burned alive by the Ottomans because he refused to renounce his faith (convert to Islam), the Serbian Orthodox Church venerate him as Saint George of Kratovo (Sveti Djordje Kratovac).
In 1557, Mehmed Sokolović, an Ottoman commander of Serb origin, restores the Serb Patriarchate, appointing his still Christian brother, Makarije, as the Patriarch. Tetovo, Skoplje, Shtip and Radovishte are placed under the Serb church, while Ochrid, Monastir, Debar and Prilep remains under the Archbishopric of Ochrid (Greek). All missions to Russia from Macedonia were described as "Serbian", the first of which was in 1585, by Visarion, the Metropolitan of Kratovo and his entourage of monks from other places. In 1641, the Metropolitan of Skoplje, Simeon, travels to Russia and signs himself as "of the land of Serbia". In 1687 a petition of Jeftimije, Metropolitan of Skoplje; "of the Serbian lands of the Church of Skoplje". Although, unquestionably, the preceding were all under the Serb see, similarly clergy from the southern, Ecumenical dioceses, too described themselves as Serbs. In 1625, Sergius of Greben mentions that he had been "consecrated by Nektarije, Archbishop of Ochrida, in the land of Serbia". In 1634, Archbishop Avram of Ochrid replies that they came from "the Serbian country, from the town of Ochrida", similarly, in 1643, German of Kremenec says he is from the Serbian country, from Kostur, In 1648, "the Serb Dimitrje Nikolajev" from Kostur. In 1704, "Serb Bratan Jovanov came to Russia from the land of Macedonia".
The great migration of Serbs in the 17th century after the collapse of Austrian
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
-led campaign also de-populated parts of Northern Vardar Macedonia (today's Republic of Macedonia). Vast numbers of Serbs from Macedonia left to accede into Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
service in the Military Frontier
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier was a borderland of Habsburg Austria and later the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which acted as the cordon sanitaire against incursions from the Ottoman Empire...
and Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
. The refugees took part and adapted themselves as an integral part of Serbians in Vojvodina, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
In 1766, the Serbian Patriarchate is abolished, the former dioceses becoming part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which had greek liturgy. In 1872 the Bulgarian Exarchate
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953....
, deemed schismatic, is recognized by 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...
, and subsequently two thirds of the population of Macedonia joins the Exarchate.
In the 19th century, the ethnic Serbian areas outside (south) of the Principality of Serbia were designated by Serbian cartographers as "Old Serbia", claiming that the inhabitants of this region (Kratovo, Skopje
Skopje
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...
, Ovche Polje) described their native districts as "Serbian lands".
Most schools in Macedonia had disappeared by the Serbo-Turkish wars in 1876. In the mid 1890s it was claimed that they were around 100 Serbian schools in Macedonia, though attendance was low. A school was opened in Skopje in 1892, but soon closed after Bulgarians complained that the required city quarters were lacking, the same happened in Kumanovo. Two new schools opened in 1893 and by 1896 the Serbian influence reached its peak but had declined by the turn of the century.
According to Serbian authors, after the Treaty of San Stefano
Treaty of San Stefano
The Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano was a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed at the end of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78...
, the populations of the counties of Kumanovo, Skopje, Palanka, Kratovo, Chustendil, Kochani, Strumica, Ishtip, Veles, Debar, Kichevo and Prilep sent deputations and appeals to Prince Milan of Serbia, imploring him to not abandon Macedonia to the Bulgarians and to assign the region to Serbia. The Congress of Berlin saw petitions from around Macedonia: "As Serbs of true and pure stock, of the purest and most intrinsically Serbian country.... We for the 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 be stanched so that they, too, may become useful members of the European community of nations and of the Christian world; we do not desire to exchange the harsh Turkish slavery for the vastly harsher and darker 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...."
The newly-founded Serbian state started a campaign of educational patronage and propagandistic activity in Macedonia, but as the Macedonia became a Macciavelian ground for propaganda, various absurd forms of ethic conversion, helped by the propaganda of all south Balkan states soon made a the situation largely chaotic, promoting Serbian geographer Jovan Cvijić
Jovan Cvijic
Jovan Cvijić was a Serbian geographer, president of the Serbian Royal Academy of Sciences, and rector of the University of Belgrade. A world-renowned scientist, Cvijić is considered the founder of geography in Serbia.-Early life and family:Jovan Cvijić was born on October 11 Jovan Cvijić...
to exclaim that "nationality for the Macedonian Slavs is understood like a political party affiliation".
After the Serbo-Turkish war in 1876-78, the assembling of 65 of the most notable men of the districts of Kumanovo
Kumanovo
Kumanovo 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:...
, Kriva Palanka
Kriva Palanka
Kriva Palanka is a town located in the northeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. It has 14.558 inhabitants. The town of Kriva Palanka is the seat of Kriva Palanka Municipality which has almost 21.000 inhabitants....
, Kochane, Ishtip, Veles
Veles
Veles 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...
, 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:...
, 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...
, Ochrid, Kichevo and Skoplje sent an appeal to the Serbian commander of Macedonian volunteers (Serbo-Turkish war) M.S. Milojevic, asking for the arming and leading towards an insurrection. In 1880, the populations of the counties Kichevo, Porech, Bitola and Prilep engaged in a 6-month long uprising that ended in failure, known as the Brsjak Revolt
Brsjak Revolt
The Brsjak Revolt refers to an uprising in 1880-1881, in areas of Demir Hisar, Porech and Kichevo in present-day Republic of Macedonia...
.
War of Macedonia and Balkan Wars (1903-1913)
Overview
At the end of the 19th century, the liberated countries started actively to process the christian population in European TurkeyEuropean Turkey
European Turkey may refer to:*Eastern Thrace, the European portion of Turkey*Rumelia, the historical Ottoman territories in Europe*the suggested Accession of Turkey to the European Union...
. In the beginning, there were unarmed, propagandic, cultural and likewise activities. Later, the activities would transition into a revolt against the Ottoman Empire, and between the rebel bands. Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia claimed Macedonia as legitimate owners.
Greece pointed at its Antique and Roman/Byzantine province of Macedonia. Bulgaria pointed at its holding of Macedonia during Simeon I
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
and Asen II. Serbia pointed at its material heritage, endowments of the Nemanjić and Mrnjavčević eras, and the identity preserved in many regions; traditions such as Krsna Slava (Serbian Orthodox tradition) and linguistical bonds (see Macedonian language
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
).
In 1886, the Society of Saint Sava was formed, which aimed to aid the Serbian cause in Macedonia. Serbian consulates were opened in Skoplje (Skopje) in 1887, Pristina in 1889, Bitolj (Bitola) in 1889, and Prizren in 1896.
As of 1903, the Serbian Chetniks
Chetniks
Chetniks, or the Chetnik movement , were Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organizations from the first half of the 20th century. The Chetniks were formed as a Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire in 1904, and participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, and World War II...
, men like Jovan Stojković Babunski, Micko Krstić, Jovan Dolgač, Gligor Sokolović
Gligor Sokolović
Gligor Sokolović was a Macedonian Serb Chetnik with the rank of Veliki Vojvoda . He was a deputy of the Serbian National Assembly in Skopje...
, Vasilije Trbić
Vasilije Trbić
Vasilije Trbić was a Chetnik fighter.He was of Croatian Serb origins, born in Bijelo Brdo near Dalj, Slavonia, present-day Erdut, Croatia. He went to school in his birthplace and then in Serbia. He wanted to be a monk at the Chilandar Monastery but in 1902 some Greek monks were murdered and he...
confronted Turkish, Albanian and Bulgarian (VMRO-led) military formations together with their squads called "Četa
Četa
Cheta was an armed band, organized by the Christian population on the territory of the Ottoman Empire, aiming at anti-Turkish activity. The cheta was usually led by a leader, called voivoda. The members of the chetas were called chetnik....
"-mobile volunteer units strongly armed with personal weapons.
The Young Turks
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
Revolution of 1908 created slightly better conditions for the expression of Serbian cultural life in Geographic Macedonia. Serbian publishing of books, religious calendars, newspapers briefly flourished. The "Assembly of Ottoman Serbs" was held in Skoplje and Serbs had their deputies in the Ottoman parliament.
During the Balkan Wars (1912–1913) Serbia liberated most of the southern Serbs by taking over the vast land including todays Vardar Macedonia and northern Albania (its ally Greece initially winning over the lands immediately south), much at the grievances of the Bulgarian population in Macedonia. The period from 1913-1914 is a period of turmoil and the central government in Belgrade implemented plenty of unpopular measures, most of which were found to be oppressive to the Bulgarian majority in Vardar Macedonia.
Yugoslavia; PR/SR Macedonia
The IMRO deported Macedonian Serbs; The Serbian community of Veles faced massive deportations, of the 25,000 Serbs of Skopje only 2,000 remained by the beginning of 1942. The IMRO was active in the deportation and punitive expeditions against ethnic Serbs.120,000 Serbs were forced into exile by Josip Broz Tito
Josip Broz Tito
Marshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's Partisan
Partisans (Yugoslavia)
The Yugoslav Partisans, or simply the Partisans were a Communist-led World War II anti-fascist resistance movement in Yugoslavia...
forces after they have opted for Serbian rather than Macedonian identity in 1944. The population of Serbs in Macedonia which did not lend itself to Macedonization, representing compact population in the region of Skopska Crna Gora
Skopska Crna Gora
Skopska Crna Gora , formerly called Kara-dagh also called simply Crna Gora, is a mountain range on the border between Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia, between the cities of Kačanik and Skopje.The Monastery of St...
and having significant presence in Kumanovo
Kumanovo
Kumanovo 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:...
, Skoplje, Tetovo
Tetovo
Tetovo 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...
, and surroundings was artificially separated from Yugoslav Serbia.
Immediately after the liberation from the occupying forces, in 1945, the requests to become a part of the newly formed federal unit of Serbia came from some regions of Macedonia in spite of the terror of the new Macedonian government. The typical example was the plea of the rural population in the Vratnica municipality, Tetovo district. In a letter to the minister for Serbia in the Government of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia the inhabitants of these villages stated: "We, the Serbs from the Vratnica municipality have never felt otherwise but as Serbs, the same as our ancestors, and it has been so for centuries. Because of that we suffered extremely during the occupation both in the last World War and in this one that ended recently. During the occupation in this war, 41 Serbs were executed by firing squads, some were Interned and there was not a single Serb between the age of 15 and 66 that was not beaten and molested to exhaustion." The inhabitants in the Vratnica municipality also complained about the new Macedonian officials and listed the main reasons such as: "In our district the administrative authorities are mostly constituted of the persons who were Fascist collaborators, the persons who welcomed the German army with delight, the persons who held religious service of thanksgiving when the German armada was victorious though the Germans never requested such things from the city dwellers." Even an example is given: during the occupation the village representative in the Vratnica municipality was Andra Hristov from Tetovo (in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia he was a clerk in the Tetovo district court, but then his surname was Serbian - Ristić), who is now said to be "...an official of the people's administration authorities in Skopje.
In September 1991, during the start of the Yugoslav Wars, SR Macedonia holds a referendum of which 72% eligible voters approved independence by 95%, the Albanians and Serbs in the country boycotted the referendum. In 1992 Serbs of Kumanovo organized themselves in associations and political parties and held demonstrations in support of the Serbian cause in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia. Serbian Radical Party sympathizers in Macedonia made an effort to establish a "Serbian Autonomous Region of Kumanovo Valley and Skopska Crna Gora". In January 1993, 500 Macedonian Serb nationalists gathered in the town of Kučevište, north of Skopje, to protest the police repression against ethnic Serbs on New Year's Eve when 13 Serbian youths were injured. Macedonian Serbs asserted they were mistreated by Macedonian authorities.
The post-war years were characterized by the loss of national institutions like the proclamation of the non-recognized Macedonian Orthodox Church
Macedonian Orthodox Church
The Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric or just Macedonian Orthodox Church is the body of Christians who are united under the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, exercising jurisdiction over Macedonian Orthodox Christians in the Republic of Macedonia and in exarchates in the Macedonian...
in 1958-1967, that would try to erase the Serbian Orthodox character of Macedonia. Several Serbian Orthodox monasteries have been seized by the MOC, however in the regions with prevailing numbers of Serbs, the Serbian Orthodox Church still has jurisdiction. Further problems between the two arose when Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid, the Serbian Orthodox Archbishop of Macedonia, was arrested and sentenced to prison, found Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience
Prisoner of conscience is a term defined in Peter Benenson's 1961 article "The Forgotten Prisoners" often used by the human rights group Amnesty International. It can refer to anyone imprisoned because of their race, religion, or political views...
by Amnesty. Jovan and other Serbian Orthodox clergymen have been physically attacked and several churches and monasteries in use by the SOC in Macedonia have been destroyed. Since World War II several educational institutions in the Serbian language and common cultural centers have been closed.
Republic of Macedonia
Today's number of Serbs, according to the 2002 census in the Republic of Macedonia, is 35,939.Documented presence of Serbs in Macedonia
During the medieval Serbian Empire and Serbian rule of Macedonia, the notable people were Serbs, Greeks, Vlachs (Aromanians), Arvanites (Albanians) and Bulgarians.
in the 19th century, several German and Austrian ethnografists showed a cluster of Serb people in the areas surrounding Bitola towards Albania. Serbian ethnografists claimed a larger Serb presence in north of Ohrid and Prilep. American researches show clusters of Serbs, ranging from Serbian border down to the Greek border.
Ottoman
Ottoman census of Hilmi Pasha in 1906 show a minority of Serbs spread over Macedonia, forming 1.39% or 13,150 of the population. Also, Ottoman censuses divided the population according to its religious adherence, so followers of the Serbian Orthodox Church were counted as Serbs.| Muslims (Turks and Albanians) | 423,000 (41.71%) | |
| Greeks | 259,000 (27.30%) | |
| Bulgarians | 178,000 (18.81%) | |
| Serbs | 13,150 (1.39%) | |
| Others | 73,000 (7.72%) | |
German, Austrian
Serb presence in Rumelia, estimations 1869, 1897 and 1904 :- Ovche Polje
- Debar
- Struga
- Eastern shore of Lake Ohrid
- Valleys of Prespa and Resan
- Novo Selo, Roskovica, Drenovica (Albania)
- Najichevo
- Bitola
- Tetovo (minority)
- Salonica (sporadically)
Population
The number of Serbs of Macedonia has fallen from the 1971 census, when they constituted 46,465 (2.85%). In the 2002 census there were 35,939 (1.78%).| Census Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 35,939 (1.78%) |
| 1994 | 39,620 (2.04%) |
| 1991 | 42,755 (2.1%) |
| 1981 | 44,613 (2.3%) |
| 1971 | 46,465 (2.85%) |
The Serbs of the Republic of Macedonia are generally concentrated along the northern border with Serbia. They form substantial populations in Kumanovo
Kumanovo
Kumanovo 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:...
and Skopje
Skopje
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...
. Although there is another large concentration in south-eastern Gevgelija
Gevgelija
Gevgelija 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...
and Dojran
Dojran
Dojran 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,...
regions. The population with the highest percentage of Serbs is the Čučer-Sandevo municipality
Cucer-Sandevo municipality
Čučer-Sandevo is a municipality in northern Republic of Macedonia. Čučer-Sandevo is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found...
with 2426 Serbs or roughly 28.6% of the population.
| Municipality | Population | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Kumanovo municipality Kumanovo municipality Kumanovo is a municipality in northern Republic of Macedonia. Kumanovo is also the name of the city where the municipal seat is found. Kumanovo Municipality is part of the Northeastern Statistical Region.-Geography:... |
9,062 | 8.6% |
| Aerodrom municipality | 3,085 | 4.3% |
| Čučer-Sandevo municipality Cucer-Sandevo municipality Čučer-Sandevo is a municipality in northern Republic of Macedonia. Čučer-Sandevo is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found... |
2,426 | 28.6% |
| Karpoš municipality Karpoš municipality Karpoš is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.-Geography:Karpoš borders Saraj Municipality and Gjorče Petrov Municipality to the west, Čučer-Sandevo Municipality to the north, Butel Municipality to the northeast, Čair... |
2,184 | 3.7% |
| Gazi Baba municipality Gazi Baba municipality Gazi Baba is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.-Name:The name of the municipality comes from the nickname of the Ottoman poet Aṣik Çelebi... |
2,097 | 2.9% |
| Centar municipality Centar municipality Centar is the central municipality of the ten municipalities that compose the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Centar is home to the Parliament and Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia.-Geography:... |
2,037 | 4.5% |
| Gjorče Petrov municipality Gjorce Petrov municipality Gjorče Petrov is one of the ten municipalities that compose the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. It is named after the revolutionary Gjorče Petrov.-Geography:... |
1,730 | 4.2% |
| Kisela Voda municipality Kisela Voda municipality Kisela Voda is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.-Geography:The municipality borders Karpoš Municipality to the northwest, Centar Municipality to the north, Aerodrom Municipality to the northeast, Studeničani Municipality to the... |
1,426 | 2.5% |
| Butel municipality Butel municipality Butel is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.A cemetery in Butel is where the grave of George Zorbas, the character upon whom Nikos Kazantzakis based the fictional Alexis Zorbas of his novel Zorba the Greek, is... |
1,033 | 2.9% |
| Staro Nagoričane municipality Staro Nagoricane municipality Staro Nagoričane is a municipality in northern Republic of Macedonia. Staro Nagoričane is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found... |
926 | 19.1% |
| Ilinden municipality Ilinden municipality Ilinden is a municipality in northern Republic of Macedonia. Ilinden is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. It is named after the Ilinden Uprising in the region of Macedonia in 1903... |
912 | 5.7% |
| Valandovo municipality Valandovo municipality Valandovo is a municipality in southern Republic of Macedonia. Valandovo is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Valandovo Municipality is part of Southeastern Statistical Region.-Geography:... |
630 | 5.4% |
| Negotino municipality Negotino municipality Negotino is a municipality in eastern Republic of Macedonia. Negotino is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Negotino Municipality is part of Vardar Statistical Region.-Geography:... |
627 | 3.3% |
| Čair municipality Cair municipality Čair is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. Skopje's old town is located in Čair.- Geography :... |
621 | 1% |
| Rosoman municipality Rosoman municipality Rosoman is a municipality in central Republic of Macedonia. Rosoman is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Rosoman Municipality is part of the Vardar Statistical Region.-Geography:... |
409 | 9.9% |
| Dojran municipality Dojran municipality Dojran is a municipality in southeastern Republic of Macedonia. Nov Dojran is the village where the municipal seat is found. Dojran Municipality is part of the Southeastern Statistical Region.-Geography:... |
277 | 8% |
Notable people
- Ivan Stoilković, President of DPSM
- Jovan Babunski, Chetnik guerilla
- Jovan Dovezenski
- Gligor SokolovićGligor SokolovićGligor Sokolović was a Macedonian Serb Chetnik with the rank of Veliki Vojvoda . He was a deputy of the Serbian National Assembly in Skopje...
, Chetnik guerilla - Đorđe Skopljanče
- Petar Dimitrijević
- Stojan Marković
- Serafim Krstić
- Janićije Đurić
- Jovan Č. Tomić
- Stojan Ristić
- Jovan Ćirković
- Rista Cvetković
- Gligorije Božović
- Rista Stavrić
- Đorđe Stamenković
- Isailo Hadžijevski
- Jovan K. Grošević
- Matija Šumenković
- Petar Novaković-Čardaklija
- Janko Popović
- Marko Krstić
- Vuča Živić
- Dositej Novaković
- Gedeon Jurišić
- Kraljević Marko, Medieval Serb king
- Saša ĆirićSaša CiricSaša Ćirić or Sasa Kirik is a former football player from the Republic of Macedonia of Serbian origin.- Career :...
, footballer - Miroslav GjokićMiroslav GjokicMiroslav Ǵokić is a retired Macedonian international Football player.-External links:* at National-football-teams.* at Macedonian Federation website....
, footballer - Saša IlićSaša Ilic (Macedonian footballer)Saša Ilić is a retired Macedonian goalkeeper.-Club career:...
, footballer - Milan IvanovićMilan Ivanovic (Macedonian footballer)Milan Ivanović is a Macedonian footballer who plays as a defender for FK Pelister in the Macedonian First League.-External links:* *...
, footballer - Stevica RistićStevica RisticStevica Ristić is a Macedonian football striker of Serbian origin, who plays for South Korean outfit Suwon Samsung Bluewings and the Macedonia national football team. He took Macedonian citizenship to be eligible for the national team.-Football career:...
, footballer - Goran StanićGoran StanicGoran Stanić or Stanik is a Macedonian professional footballer, currently without a club.-Domestic:He scored his first goal in Scottish League Football for St. Johnstone with a 35-yard strike against Hamilton in October 2005...
, footballer - Vujadin StanojkovićVujadin StanojkovicVujadin Stanojković is a former Yugoslav/Macedonian football coach and former player. He is of Serbian ethnic origin....
, footb - Blagoja VidinićBlagoja VidinicBlagoje Vidinić was a Macedonian football coach, former player, and former Olympic participant of Serbian origin....
, sportsman
See also
- Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia
- Serbian Progressive Party in MacedoniaSerbian Progressive Party in MacedoniaSNSM , is a legally recognized and conclusive to 2010, an active political subject in the Republic of Macedonia , which has a basic...