FAQs on Macedonia Part 4
Australian Macedonian Advisory Council
January 21, 2009
Greece claims that Slav-Macedonians, who are evidently non-Greeks, by using to identify themselves a Hellenic (greek) name that still identifies a region in modern Greece, the people living in that region, and their thousands year old heritage, implies territorial claims on behalf of Skopje. Such opinions were shared by US officials when the late Marshall Tito, in 1944, created a (now former) Yugoslav Socialist Republic of "Macedonia".
There are many Skopjan provocations supporting Greece's position.
The use of Slavic names for Greek cities instead of the Greek ones (they prefer to call Thessaloniki, Solun, to call Kastoria , Kostur, to call Florina, Lerin, to call Edessa, Voden etc), beyond the usual changes that the translation of various names from one language to another requires. The use of Slavic toponyms is intended to cast a doubt on the Greekness of the various places in Macedonia. This is also confirmed by the fact that the Skopjans never use the term say "Greek Macedonia" but speak of the "Aegean Macedonia" (see discussion below).
The use of the term "Aegean Macedonia" (a term invented and used by Skopjans and by people of similar desires) instead of say the more acceptable and less suspicious "Greek Macedonia" to identify Macedonia, Greece (that is the region called Macedonia in Greece). This can be interpreted as an attempt to present this part as a member of a whole (usually called "Greater Macedonia") yet "un-liberated". The Bulgarian oriented (terrorist) organization called IMRO (founded in the beginning of the 20th century) and the current political party VMRO of the Republic of Skopje expressed and express such claims quite often.
3) [From [7]]: A calendar for the year 1981 was published in Skopje and circulated around the world that had on its cover the word "macedonija" written in the Slavic script. Under this word a warrior appeared, like the old Commitadjis [Bulgar terrorists who in the late 19th and early 20th century intended to include Macedonia and Thrace of Greece, Rep of Skopje as well as areas of nowadays Bulgaria to then Bulgaria], with the bayonet fastened on his rifle. Under him the well known Statue of Liberty (yes! the one in New York!) was depicted. This statue is supported on a map of the Balkan Peninsula and largely on Macedonia, Greece. Under this picture it is written in English "Independent and Free Macedonia" (implying that Macedonia, Greece was not free at that time!!!).
Maps depicting Macedonia, Greece, as part of the Republic of Skopje have been published recently (November 1992) in Skopje according to various reports.
From [7]]: In 1973 a large size picture book was circulated in many languages which shows "the immigrants" from the other two sectors of "Macedonia" (supposedly the "Aegean Macedonia" of Greece, as Macedonia is euphemistically called by the Skopjans, and the "Pirin Macedonia" as the southwestern part of Bulgaria is also called by the Skopjans) "who have not been liberated yet", to "nostalgically" visit the "free" "Macedonia" of Skopje. This book, entitled MACEDONIAN VISTAS is still under circulation (at the time of the writing of reference [7], i.e. 1984) in the bookstores of Belgrade and Skopje.'
More recently maps found in various Skopjan cultural centers around the world include various areas of Greece in their Skopjan state (Thessaly is included in some cases).
In early 1992 a currency was printed in Skopje depicting the White Tower a landmark of Thessaloniki, the capital of Macedonia, Greece.
NOTE: This was not an officially sanctioned banknote but a souvenir banknote printed by some Skopje company. Still it is interesting why these things would be popular enough to make and sell in Skopje. - ce107]
This fall it was decided in Rep. of Skopje that the coat of arms of the Republic of Skopje would be the coats of arms of the royal family of Philippos II, father of Alexander the Great. The coat of arms, a sun, was depicted in a gold larnax found in the grave of Philippos II, in Vergina, Macedonia, Greece, by the late Professor Manolis Andronikos. There have been announcements recently in Greek newspapers by Greek archaelogists that the so-called Vergina-Star has also been found elsewhere in Greece (Attica) and these occurrences are dated around the early 5th century BC (470BC).
It is open to the reader to decide what the Slavs of Skopje, who descended in the Balkans in the late 7AD century that is 1000 years after the death of Philippos II, have to do with a greek tribe, the coat of arms of their Greek Kings, and their greek heritage. It seems that the Skopjans will never stop claiming other people's heritage.
The following are take from reference [8]].
June 1951: A book is published entitled '"Slavomacedonian" fighters'. The hero of the Greek war of independence Markos Botsaris is referred to as "Marc Botsar" allegedly a "Macedonian" of the Skopjan type.
September 2, 1951: The Interior Ministry (of Yugoslavia) gives a certificate to a person born in Agia Paraskevi, Macedonia, Greece. Macedonia is referred to as "People's Republic of Aegean Macedonia." (For your own information, Greece has never been a People's Republic, as this term is used by Communists).
November 1951: The Geography book for the third grade of High School for the students of the then Socialist Republic that is now Rep. of Skopje allegedly mentioned that "our borders with Greece are just physical and not national ones, since the Aegean Macedonia remains under the rule of Greece".
End of 1960: The Government in Belgrade adopted a law that officially recognized as time served to the Yugoslavian Armed Forces the time served by Greek Communist guerillas in Greek-communist organizations, other than EAM-ELAS, fighting against the Greek government during the greek civil war 1944-1949. Participation in EAM-ELAS (1941-1949) has been recognised since 1954.
February 1961: The filming of a movie entitled something like "Revolutionaries in Thessaloniki" began at that time in Skopje. The topic of the movie was a Bulgarian terrorist act in Thessaloniki in April 1903, when the city was under Ottoman rule. The Bulgars are depicted in the film as "Macedonians" (of the skopjan type), and the terrorist event is depicted as part of the "fight of Macedonians for independence".
This is just a small sample of the Skopjan provocations.
Q25) Was the Bulgarian King Samuel of Skopjan nationality as some Skopjans claimed he was?
Skopjans in order to by-pass the now established truths about the Greekness of the ancient Macedonians and build a future for their so-called "Macedonian nationality" and acquire historical rights to the Macedonian area claim that the infrastructure and population of the kingdom which Samuel established for a period of close to 18 years with the city of Achris as its capital was "Macedonian" (of the Skopjan type). They also claim that Samuel was also a "Macedonian" (of the Skopjan type) even though certain historians today believe that he was an Armenian. They also claim that Samuel as a ruler of a state that also included Macedonia was himself a Macedonian and that the state he established was the first "Macedonian state" (of the Skopjan type). Regarding Samuel, he was a Bulgarian king and not a "Macedonian" one, and the state he founded was a Bulgarian one as well. It is for this reason that the emperor Vasileios II of the Byzantine empire, who defeated Samuel, is known in history as Vasileios the Bulgar-slayer and not as Vasileios the "Macedonian"-slayer.
This fact is supported by historians such as Vasiliev and Levtchenko.
There is another piece of evidence which shows that the Skopjan claims that Samuel was a "Macedonian" are ridiculous. An inscription from the city of Monastirio dated 1017 has been preserved where John, nephew of Samuel and son of his elder brother Aaron is mentioned to be of Bulgarian descent. This inscription has been published in the book written by Gordana Tomovic "Morfologija Cirilickin Natpisa na Balkann", Belgrade, 1974, page 33.
It is worth mentioning that the area of Achris west inhabited in the Roman and Byzantine periods by Greeks. The book "The tombs of Trebenitse" by Keramopoullos (page 490) shows inscriptions from that period referring to persons with Greek names only. On one inscription the God of Lychnetis was Heracles Megistos.
Q20) What is the size of the Greek minority in the FYROM?
The size of the Greek minority in the FYROM is officially estimated to be close to 2,000 people. This figure is so reliable that recently a German official has asked the Skopjans to perform a new census. It wouldn't be surprising that Skopjans hide Greeks under such names as Vlachs. It is also noted that during the Greek civil war of 1944-1949 close to 28,000 Greek children were abducted by communists (including Skopjan ones) and transferred to Southern Yugoslavia that is today's Republic of Skopje. It is unknown under which label this population and their descendants are counted. Some Greek estimates raise the size of the Greek minority in Skopje to around 50,000.
Q27) Macedonia and the (Greek) War of Independence.
Macedonia, while under the rule of the Ottoman empire, was mainly inhabited by Greeks, Turks and Bulgars. There was also a significant Jewish population in the city of Thessaloniki most of whom arrived there from Spain in the late 15th century.
Macedonians [to mean only the Greek-nationality population of Macedonia] expected to be liberated and join the then newly founded Greek state as a compensation for their sacrifices and contributions to the (Greek) War of Independence. They were led in this effort by the enthusiastic but inexperienced leadership of Emmanuel Pappas, a member of Phillike Etaereia. The Macedonians of Chalcidice revolted in May 1821 and for a brief moment threatened to throw the Turks out of the city of Thessaloniki. Due to their inexperience they were easily suppressed by the Turks by November 1821. The countryside was ravaged and the Greek population of Thessaloniki was massacred and forced to move out of the city.
The second round of the revolt began in February 1822 when the kleftae and armatoloi of mountains Olympos and Vermion along with the inhabitants of the city of Naoussa declared that city free (of the Ottoman rule). The Turks deployed troops brought to Greece from Asia Minor, and by April the revolt was subdued. Naoussa was destroyed, the men were killed, and the women and children were taken as slaves. After this, many Macedonian fighters fled to Southern Greece to continue fighting the Turks alongside the Peloponnesians and the other Greeks.
The failure of the Macedonian revolt is mainly attributable to the inexperience of the rebels and the proximity of the area to Constantinople. Although the revolt failed, it provided great help to the rebels of Southern Greece because it tied a number of Turkish forces in Macedonia. The price paid by the Macedonians was heavy. The previously flourishing greek community of Thessaloniki was destroyed and the Greek population of the city was reduced by around 70%. The Jews took over the leading role among the communities residing in the city.
Once more in their long history, Macedonians sacrificed them- selves for the common good of all Greeks.
Q21)When was the first time the word "Macedonia" was defined to include lands of the nowadays FYROM?
After the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878 which ended with a Russian victory the two parties signed what became known as the treaty of San Stefano (1878).
The chief Russian negotiator was Count Ignatiev, the Panslavist Russian Ambassador at Constantinople between 1864-1877. The statistics used by Ignatiev during these negotiations, when he gave a new definition to the word "Macedonia", were provided to him by a Bosnian, Kerkovic. The San Stedano treaty provided for the creation of "Greater Bulgaria" that would include the then Bulgarian state [The Bulgarian State was FORMED then - ce107], Eastern Rumelia, parts of today's Albania as far to the west as the city of Koritsa, and "Macedonia" which was then first defined to include what is known nowadays as Republic of Skopje, the southwestern part of nowadays Bulgaria, and Macedonia (of Greece). It is interesting to note that the three Turkish vilaets covering this "Macedonia" were the vilaets of Thessaloniki, Monastirio and parts of the Vilaet of Kosovo. The city of Skopje was in the Vilaet of Kosovo.
Even the most extremist Bulgarian nationalists celebrated on the good news.
The other European powers objected to this settlement because they feared that it would give Russia the ability to seize easily Constantinople. One of these powers, Austria-Hungary, was displeased by the prospect of Bulgaria holding the port of Thessaloniki as this would have barred its own descent to this port through Bosnia.
In the Berlin Congress, held weeks later, in the summer of 1878, the arrangements of the San Stefan Treaty (regarding Bulgaria) were cancelled with the full agreement of Russia since Russia did not want to risk a war against the other European Powers.
The "Macedonia" of the San Stefano treaty thus remained under Ottoman rule divided into various vilaets and sandjaks. It is ironic that this new definition of "Macedonia", invented for the purpose of delivering lands of the Ottoman empire to Bulgaria on the occasion of the San Stefano Treaty, outlived that Treaty and is still used by some people to define Macedonia.
The end result of the San Stefano treaty was that it gave Bul- garia the pretext to actively interfere in "Macedonia", as it would become apparent from later events in the region.
Q22) What were the views of the Bulgarian Exarchate on the population composition of Macedonia?
One of the main events that helped increase the Bulgarian influence in the part of the Ottoman empire to be called "San-Stefano Macedonia" eight years later was the creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1870 which took over responsibility for the orthodox Bulgars living in the Ottoman empire.
The Greek War of Independence in the first half of the nineteenth century had its repercussions among the natives of Macedonia. Many Macedonians of joined their compatriots in Southern Greece in that War. Simultaneously a national awakening was observed among the Bulgars living at that time in Macedonia. It should be noted that the term "Bulgar" at that time was used to denote the laboring and illiterate masses living in Macedonia irrespective of ethnic origin. That awakening was mainly due to the Russian Panslavist. Russia supported the subsequent uprising of the Slavs against the Turks in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Around 1830, a scholar, Venelin explored Bulgaria and collected material but also invented other. He claimed that the Bulgars had taught the Russians the (Cyrillic) alphabet and were responsible for the conversion of Russians to Christianity. One of his followers, Rakowski claimed in 1859 that Zeus (the ancient Olympian God), Demosthenes (yes, the Athenian orator), Alexander the Great, and the Souliot hero of the Greek War of Independence Markos Botsaris were all Bulgars. He also claimed that St. Paul preached Christianity to Bulgars first and not to Greeks. Such claims quickly spread among the Bulgars living in Macedonia and beyond. Verkovic who wrote an ethnography on Macedonia and became the top Russian expert on Macedonia claimed that he had "discovered" Bulgarian (ancient) songs about Alexander the Great. Krstovic claimed that Aristotle spoke Bulgarian but wrote in Greek in order to educate the southern barbarians [Note:Krstovic seemed to believe that Aristotle, a Bulgar to him, was civilized, while the southern barbarians, i.e. the Southern Greeks such as the Athenians were not during the classic period. Such claims were made despite the obvious fact that Bulgars first appeared in the Balkans sometime in the 7th century AD]. Krstovic also considered Bulgars Constantine the Great, Cyril and Methodios, the hero of the Greek War of Independence, Karaiskakes and many other Greek and Serbian national heroes. Such ideas were believed not only in Russia (among the Bulgars they were a fact of life) but also in Western Europe, especially after the creation of the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1878 as it can be seen in the opinions expressed by various European politicians, scholars journalists and some scholars of that time also reflected in their belief that Macedonia was Bulgarian.
The Exarchate had the blessings of Count Ignatiev of Russia, who in 1878 would lead the Russians in their negotiations with the Turks leading to the San Stefano Treaty. The Bulgarian exarchate also became responsible for the education of the Bulgarian population and at the same time tried to strengthen the Bulgarian consciousness of those Bulgars living under the Ottoman rule. At the same time, through underground activities and the use of force, the Bulgars tried to force the Bulgar-speaking Greek population to declare themselves Bulgars and not Greeks.
In [9] the following excerpts appear from a report prepared in 1885 by the Secretary-General of the Bulgarian Exarchate describing the situation in Macedonia: [the writer of the report interprets Macedonia as the "Macedonia" of the San Stefano Treaty]
It is a sad fact but we must admit that the largest part of
the Bulgarian population of Macedonia does not have a Bulgarian
national conscience... If Europe were to demand today that the
Macedonian people decide on their fate and say to which nationality
they belong, we are certain that the largest part of the
Macedonian people and of Macedonia would slip away from our hands.
If we exclude two or three regions of Northern Macedonia, the
inhabitants of the other regions are ready to declare that they are
Greeks. If the Great Powers were to intervene and demand a
plebiscite to solve the Macedonian problem the Greeks would come out
as winners.
D. Missev-Obreikov "Report on the Present Situation of Bulgarism in Macedonia"]
The Bulgarians had thus realized that if they were to increase their influence in Macedonia they had to deal not with the Turkish or Serbian influence but with the Greeks. Many foreign travelers who journeyed Macedonia during the 19th century have attested the existence, not only of a Greek-speaking population but also a Slav-speaking (Slavophone) one which considered themselves Greek even though they did not speak Greek, except possibly a few words.
Q23) Did all the Greeks in Macedonia speak Greek only in the late 19th century?
No. As we have mentioned in the previous question, a number of Greeks living in Macedonia as well as Bulgaria, and the lands of Rep. of Skopje (the San Stefano "Macedonia") were Slav-speakers (Slavophone) speaking a Bulgarian idiom. Although this may seem strange, given the circumstances of that time was not. There were also a large number of Turk-speaking Greeks in Asia Minor at that time. Some of these Turkish-speaking Greeks were forced under the threat of death by the Turks to move to Russia (or better, ex-USSR) in the beginning of the 20th century.
These are nowadays Russian-speakers (i.e. Slav-speakers) living in Azerbaijan and other newly created republics. These Greeks have probably not spoken Greek for the past 5-6 centuries.
The existence of Bulgar speaking Greeks in Macedonia is attested in the book by James Baker "Die Turken in Europa", Stuttgart 1878,pp19-20, quoted by Djoko Slijepcevic in "The Macedonian Question: The struggle for Southern Serbia", Chicago, The American Institute for Balkan Affairs, 1958, pp87. According to Baker
I asked some Bulgarian peasants in Macedonia about their na- tionality, and they immediately replied 'Rum' which, indeed, is the name peculiar to the Greek population of Asia Minor. They in- sisted that they were Greeks. 'If this is so', I told them, 'why do you speak Bulgarian at home?' 'Because our forefathers did so', they replied. although we are Greeks'.
Compiled by Alexandros Gerbessiotis
NOTES
1] K. J. Belloch "Griechische Geschichte" I-IV (2nd edition) Berlin-Leipzig 1912-1917.
2] St. Casson. "Macedonia, Thrace and Illyria", Oxford 1926.
3] Ap. B. Daskalakis. "The hellenism of Ancient Macedonia", (In Greek) Athens 1960.
This text has also been translated into English. The English edition was published around 1964.]
4] Geyer Fr. "Makedonien bis zur Thronbesteigung Philipps II", Muenchen 1930.
5] O. Hoffmann "Die Makedonen, ihre Sprache und ihr Volkstum", Goettingen 1906.
6] M. Sakellariou, a chapter on the Macedonian dialect of Greek in "Macedonia: 4000 years of Greek history and civilization" edited by M. Sakellariou, EKDOTIKI ATHINON.
7] N. Martis "The falsification of Macedonian History". Ikaros Publications, Athens 1984.
8] D. Zagles "To Makedoniko Problhma kai oi Notioslayoi" (in Greek), Athens.
9] Evangelos Kofos "Nationalism and Communism in Macedonia" Institute for Balkan Studies (ETAIREIA MAKEDONIKON SPOYDON - IDRYMA MELETON HERSONISOY TOY AIMOY), THESSALONIKI, 1964.
10] Hammond, N. G. L. (Nicholas Geoffrey Lampriere). "The miracle that was Macedonia", [11] Sidgwick & Jackson great civilization series. London: Sidgwick and Jackson; New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991.
12] P. Hidiroglou "The Pomaks in Greece and their relations with Turkey" (In Greek), Herodotos Publications, 1989.
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