-- OTTOMAN ERA -- - Part 02

By November 26th Giray had subdued the rebels and taken over Kriva Palanka and the next day he made his presence in Kumanovo where he was confronted by Karposh and his rebels. Karposh fought back gallantly but was unable to stop the assault and the Kumanovo fortress fell to the enemy. Karposh and most of his fighters who fought in the meadows outside the fortress were all captured. All

those inside the fortress were killed and the fortress was burned down.

Giray afterwards divided some of his forces into three columns of about 10,000 fighters each and sent them in three different directions. One was sent to Tsrna Reka – Raets region to dislodge the rebels there, the second was sent to Tikvesh region and the third was sent to Shtip, Veles and Prilep regions where about 4,000 rebels lay in wait.

Giray and the main Ottoman army of about 10,000 soldiers, together with the captured rebels including Karposh, departed for Skopje on November 29, 1689.

On December 6, 1689 the Austrian command in Prishtina received information that the Tatars had burnt down all the villages they passed through and had taken 6,000 prisoners, mostly women and children. They had also massacred the entire Christian population in the villages Rashtak and Ljuboten, today known as “butcher's meadows”.

The Tatars entered Skopje unabated and settled there.

Upon finding out that a large Ottoman force was approaching, the Austrian army and the Macedonian rebel forces retreated, especially after learning that Karposh had been captured.

Given the new situation with the Ottomans, the Austrians decided to no longer assist the rebels, leaving them vulnerable to Ottoman attacks. The Tatars now stationed in Skopje Field continued their assaults on Tetovo, Veles and Mariovo, suppressing the rebellions and robbing the population. In the meantime Koja Halil Pasha from the Peloponnesus had arrived in Skopje and had met up with Giray. Although Halil Pasha did not participate in the suppression of the Karposh Uprising, because he arrived late, his Albanian mercenaries were allowed to acquire land in Skopje and Tetovo Regions in gratitude for the terror they had spread on their way to Skopje.

Most of the rebel prisoners, including Karposh, who were brought to Skopje were tortured and then executed. There are also two versions

as to how Karposh died. One version says Karposh was impaled by Tatar lances near the Vardar River Bridge in Skopje. The other version says that he was hung on an oak tree near the Vardar River Bridge. He was most probably executed near the end of November or probably in the beginning of December. News of his execution arrived in Odrin on December 13, 1689.

After putting down the Karposh Uprising, the Ottomans prepared to attack Kachanik and engage the Austrian army. 11,500 Ottoman soldiers were dispatched from Skopje to Kachanic on December 30th, 1689. Upon finding this out Holstein ordered Colonel Strasser and his forces in Prishtina to go to help the soldiers located in Kachanik. Strasser arrived in Kachanik fortress with 9,000 cavalrymen, 400 Hungarians and 1,500 Serbian and Albanian volunteers and was joined by the 600 Austrian soldiers already stationed there. A battle broke out on January 1st, 1690 and the Austrians suffered a devastating defeat with 2,000 soldiers killed including Colonel Strasser. When Holstein received news of the defeat and that now an Ottoman force was approaching Prishtina, he quickly gathered his forces and fled to Nish.

After occupying Kosovo, the Ottomans stopped the counteroffensive to let their forces rest for the winter. Giray was no longer needed and was ordered to return to Odrin while his Tatar army was ordered to leave for Crimea.

In the meantime, the Austrians realized that without the help of the oppressed Christian population they could not survive another battle. They also wanted to correct some of the mistakes they had made during their campaign. A decision was made to send an appeal to all Balkan nations on behalf of the Austrian Emperor Leopold I. The appeal was a call to continue the fight against the Ottomans and by doing so to help the Austrians win. The appeal was made on April 6, 1690 and sent to the Balkan nations on April 26, 1690. A special Letter of Protection was also issued but only to the Macedonian people (Gens Macedonica) as a result of a letter sent to the Emperor by Marko Kraida of Kozhani and Dimitri Popovich of Solun, two Macedonians who had left their homes and moved to Austria. The letter written by the Macedonians was a request to the Emperor Leopold I to take the Macedonian people under his protection.

On May 31, 1690 Emperor Leopold I issued another appeal extending his protection to the Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian and Albanian populations. He called on all these people to fight against the Ottomans, their mutual enemy, under Austrian colors.

Unfortunately in spite of all that was said and done the Austrian intervention turned out to be a big disappointment for the Macedonians and the promises and appeals were too little, too late. The people decided to side with the Ottomans and put pressure on them to deliver on tax cuts and amnesties which the Ottomans did.

After gaining the people’s support the Ottomans carried out new offensives against the Austrians winning back Nish and Smederevo and eventually Belgrade driving the Austrians back across the Sava and Danube Rivers.

1759 - Macedonian regiment created

On May 10th, 1759 Empress Elisaveta Petrovna issued orders to create two new maneuver cavalry regiments; one Macedonian and one Bulgarian. Major General Ivan Horvat was given the task of creating the Macedonian Regiment which consisted mostly of Macedonians with a small number of other people from the Balkans. Major Simeon Pishchevich was appointed in charge of the regiment while Aleksandar Dimitriev was given command of it. The regiment was given an official name “Macedonian Hussar Polevii Polk”, that is “Macedonian Cavalry Maneuver Regiment”. This regiment was created for the purpose of fighting wars outside of Russian territories. By Senate decision, the Macedonian Regiment was ordered to fight in Prussia, Poland and in the Ottoman Empire against Tatars, Cherkezes, Cossacks and others.

The organization and formation of the Macedonian Regiment was similar to the other cavalry regiments, consisting of 4,000 soldiers divided into 20 companies each with about 200 soldiers. It is interesting to note that on the personnel list under the column “nationality” the words “Macedonian” appeared with each individual’s name, rank and date of arrival.

There was however one difference between the Macedonian and other regiments. The Macedonian regiment had its own seal, coat of arms and flag. Also, considering most members of that regiment were once Austrian officers and soldiers, they were allowed to use their original weapons and uniforms which they brought with them after leaving Austria. This however gradually changed and the regiment acquired new weapons, uniforms and coats of arms. In the beginning the Macedonian Regiment’s coat of arms was a little lion without a crown, borrowed from the Stematography of Hristifor Zhefarovich. Then in 1776 the Macedonian coat of arms was changed and had a shield in French form. The base was red with various oriental ornaments, and the emblem was a Tatar shield with two crossed spears with golden picks. (Vanche Stojchev, “Military History of Macedonia”, page 162)

Soldiers and officers were allowed to wear whatever they wanted but on May 10th, 1763 the Russian Supreme Command issued a General Order to all cavalry regiments to upgrade their weapons and dress. Every soldier and officer was obliged to possess a mantle, a dolman, boots, a belt, a bag, a saddle, a saber, a carbine, a pistol etc. On October 3rd, 1775 another order was issued requiring all cavalry regiments to wear uniforms. The Macedonian Regiment was issued yellow jackets and trousers, ornamented with black braid and a red cap. On December 24th, 1776 a new order was issued with a more precise description of the uniform. According to that order the Macedonian Regiment was issued yellow jackets and trousers with red edges, ornamented with black braids. The Macedonian Regiment wore this uniform until it was disbanded. Each regiment also had its own bugle and a drummer.

Like all good things that come to an end, so did the immigrant colonies in Russia when Russian authorities decided to disband them and integrate them into Russian society. By Decree from the Empress Catherine II, on June 28th, 1783, the immigrant regiments were disbanded and new ones created. The regiment to which the Macedonians belonged was combined with the Dalmatian regiment and named the Alexandrian Regiment. In spite of the name change, the Macedonian people, unofficially of course, continued to call their regiment by its old name until it became fully integrated and began to lose its Macedonian identity.

Prior to being integrated the Macedonian regiment proved itself by demonstrating courage and success in battle for which it received various commendations from Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, Empress Catherine II and from the Russian Supreme Command.

During their participation in the Russian military a large number of Macedonian officers were promoted to the ranks of general. The highest known rank awarded to Macedonians was that of Major General proudly earned by Ivan Horvat and Todor Chorbe. Despite of all his merits however, Ivan Horvat was charged with severe obstinacy and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in Siberia where he died in 1780.

1767 - Ohrid archbishopric abolished. The powerful Macedonian Ohrid Archbishopric was active right up to the year 1767 when it was abolished by the Ottoman Sultan Mustafa III.

1789 - French Revolution begins

The French Revolution gave birth not only to new ideas and nationalism, but also to Napoleon Bonaparte. As Napoleon waged war in Europe and the Middle East, French shipping in the Mediterranean subsided only to be replaced by the Phanariot and British traders. French trade inside Ottoman territory also declined and never fully recovered. By land, due to the long border, Austria dominated trade with the Ottoman Empire exercising its own brand of influence on the Balkans, especially on the Serbian people.