Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising (1903)
Sun Aug 02, 1903
Image: A map of the Balkans showing hots spots for uprisings of Ilinden, Preobrazhenie and Krastovden and also insurrectionary actions in Rhodope Mountains, in Macedonia and Thrace regions respectively [Wikipedia]
On this day in 1903, 800 Bulgarian rebels associated with the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) seized the North Macedonian town of Kruševo, beginning the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomon Empire.
The name of the uprising refers to Ilinden, another name for Elijah's Day (a Catholic commemoration of biblical prophet Elijah), and to Preobrazhenie which means "Transfiguration".
Organized by IMRO, a revolutionary organization dedicated to achieving autonomy for the regions of Macedonia and Adrianople from the Ottoman Empire, the revolt lasted from the beginning of August until the end of October, covering a vast territory from the eastern Black Sea to the shores of Lake Ohrid.
Although the rebellion was successfully planned in secret, taking the Ottomans by surprise, many of its potential leaders had already been arrested or killed by the Empire. The revolution was crushed by overwhelming military force, and Turkish forces slaughtered the civilian population. Anarchist historian Georgi Khadziev wrote that 201 villages and 12,400 houses were burned, 4,694 people killed, and approximately 30,000 refugees fled to Bulgaria.
The survivors waged a guerrilla campaign for a few years, but the greater effect of the rebellion was the creation of the Mürzsteg reforms, which provided for foreign policing of the Macedonia region, financial compensation for victims of the violence, and establishment of ethnic boundaries in the region. These reforms, however, did little to solve the crisis, and the Empire lost nearly all of its European territory in the Balkan Wars of 1912-13.
Today, August 2nd is a national holiday in North Macedonia, known as "Day of the Republic". There are towns named after the rebellion's leaders in both Bulgaria and North Macedonia.
When the uprising began, IMRO issued a statement on its revolutionary aims. Here is a short excerpt:
"We are taking up arms against tyranny and inhumanity; we are fighting for freedom and humanity; our cause is thus higher than any national or ethnic differences. Therefore we express our solidarity with all others who suffer in the Sultan's dark Empire.
Today it is not only the whole Christian population which suffers, but ordinary Turkish villagers as well. Our only enemies are the Turkish authorities, those who use arms against us, betray us, or who carry out acts of retaliation against helpless old people, women and children rather than against us, the rebels. We will fight these enemies and avenge all wrongs!"
- Date: 1903-08-02
- Learn More: en.wikipedia.org, www.savanne.ch.
- Tags: #Imperialism.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org