References - Part 03

Confident, Marko tossed the water jugs and returned to the shepherds empty handed. When he was confronted, he gave each shepherd what they deserved and then took his horse and left. He traveled from village to village on a crusade helping those who needed help, righting the wrongs against the innocent and dishing out his own brand of justice against the villains.

Wherever there was a depression in the rocks that looked like a footprint or hoof-print, people said it was Marko Krale’s. The legendary Marko Krale and his mighty horse jumped from mountain to mountain dodging enemies and carrying out justice.

There are some who believe that Marko Krale never died and still lives, hiding up high on the mountaintops of western Macedonia. Marko Krale became heartbroken when the rifle was invented. Even with his mighty strength he could not stop a bullet. So, feeling his usefulness outlived, Marko retired high up in the mountains and disappeared forever.

Reference: Page 57, Macedonian Magazine # 560, October 1999.

Maleshevski - Ilo Markov Maleshevski (1803-1898)

Ilo Markov Maleshevski, affectionately known as Dedo Ilo, was born in 1803 in the village Berovo.

Dedo Ilo was one of the most popular Macedonian outlaws of the 19th century. He gave up ordinary life to become an outlaw in 1845 after the Turks killed his brother.

When he was a young man, Dedo Ilo was responsible for managing the Maleshevo seasonal workers who worked in the large fields of the Turkish chifliks (estates) in the Skopje and Seres Regions. From the workers and his own family he learned much about the pain and suffering of the Raja (Christian Turkish subjects without rights) under Turkish rule.

The conditions under which he lived and the different jobs he did helped Ilo develop his outstanding leadership abilities and good character.

According to one of his contemporaries, Dedo Ilo was a peace loving person who had “an inexhaustible love for his homeland and for his people”. That is why he found it hard to tolerate the Turkish tyranny. The last time he and his older brother Stanko were assaulted by their Turkish tormentors, Ilo took his revenge by killing Buliukpasha Gabo Parapun from Berovo and two of his gendarmes. After that he fled to the mountains and remained an outlaw, forming his own band.

His presence in the mountains gave the Berovo and Maleshevo communities encouragement to fight the Turkish injustice. If there was no justice from Turkish law then there was always Dedo Ilo and his brand of justice. Many who could not bear the Turkish tyranny joined Dedo Ilo’s band and fought back as outlaws.

Dedo Ilo’s actions paved the way for others, who were excessively exploited, to form their own bands which eventually became the backbone of the Macedonian revolutionary movement.

Ilo was an excellent vojvoda (leader) with a price on his head, sought by the Turkish authorities but no one could find him and no one dared challenge him. He fought many battles and survived them all. He was one of the leaders of the haiduk movement in eastern Macedonia and organized and led a company in the Razlog and Kresna Uprisings. He was a legend in his own time and died of old age in 1898.

References: Pages 38-39, Macedonian Magazine, # 510, October 1995.

Pages 138-140, Macedonian Almanac, 1985. Pages 113-116, Macedonian Almanac, 1972.

Mazneikov - Kostadin Mazneikov (1882-1903)

Kostadin Mazneikov was born in the city Strumitsa in 1882. He went to school in Strumitsa up to grade three and then transferred to Ser to a school in Pelagonia where he became a member of the student’s movement and a revolutionary. Unfortunately, before he could finish his schooling he had to return to Strumitsa. His father was captured by the Turks and sentenced to one hundred and one years imprisonment. He was taken to Adana Vilayet in Anatolia where he served as a labourer making wooden spoons, canes, small boxes and other items, which the Turks sold to the English. His father was eventually released as part of the general amnesty and went back home to Strumitsa.

As soon as Mazneikov returned to Strumitsa he joined the local revolutionary organization and began to tour and organized the local villages. On different tours he wore different clothing sometimes posing as a tourist, other times as a Turkish Beg, or as a businessman to dodge the Turks and avoid capture.

Upon his arrival in Strumitsa, Mazneikov was given a teaching job in the village Robovo, Strumitsa Region and later was transferred to the village Dobrentsi where he began to organize the community. When he finished he was again moved, to another teaching job in the village Presenikovo where he became a full member of the IMRO. His entry into IMRO unfortunately did not go unnoticed and after being discovered, in 1899, he was forced to flee to Bulgaria to avoid capture. After his return he joined Bozukov’s Cheta, roaming the Macedonian mountainside until he became ill. He then returned to Sofia to seek treatment but was arrested for terrorism.

In early 1902 he returned to Macedonia, joined-up with the Maleshevo District Cheta and began agitation in the region. Within three months he was promoted to regional vojvoda (leader) in Radovo Region. He fought many bloody battles and always came out victorious. He was a fearless and courageous vojvoda who fought for the liberty of the Macedonian people.

In 1903 he fought many bloody battles against the Turkish army. The first he fought on April 1st near the village Leski, Kozheni Region. On April 2nd he fought a battle near the village Shipkovitsa, Kozheni Region. On April 3rd he clashed with the Turkish army in the village Vladimirovo in Maleshevo Region. On April 6th a large column of Turkish troops appeared and surrounded the entire Goten Summit in Maleshevo Region. Three Cheti fought the encirclement but could not break it. Mazneikov used bombs in the dark of night to make his escape. This battle cost the Macedonians twenty-five fighters while the Turks lost more than two-hundred soldiers. On May 11th Mazneikov’s Cheta was discovered in Dedinsko Region near the village Radovish. It was a bloody battle which lasted the entire day. The Cheta fought heroically against the numerically superior and better equipped Turkish army but was no match for it and was defeated. Mazneikov was severely wounded twice and could not make his escape. To avoid capture, using his revolver, he took his own life.

Reference: Page 23, Macedonian Magazine, # 280, August 1976.

Miladinov - Dimitar Miladinov (1810-1862)

Dimitar Miladinov was born in 1810 in Struga, near the northern shore of Lake Ohrid.

Dimitar started his schooling at the St. Naum monastery and later went to the city of Ohrid where he continued his studies and became a teacher.

Dimitar spent the next two years teaching in Ohrid before deciding to go to Janina, Epirus to further his education. After three years of studying in Janina he returned to Ohrid and resumed his carreer as a teacher.

Dimitar was convinced that the Macedonian nation could liberate itself from political and spiritual slavery only through education and literacy. Having met the famous Russian Slavist, Victor Grigorovic, Dimitar became one of the prominent figures in the struggle against Greek spiritual influence. His aims were to eliminate the Greek

language from the schools and churches in Macedonia and replace it with Macedonian.

His aims unfortunately came into conflict with the Greek cause and the Greek clergy began to persecute him. His run-ins with the Greek bishop convinced him to leave Ohrid and continue his work in Struga and later in Kukush, Bitola, Prilep and other places.

As a teacher, Dimitar discovered a whole treasure of Macedonian folklore which he began to collect, document and teach.

By doing so Dimitar began the struggle to introduce the Macedonian language into schools and churches.

After a while Dimitar acquired enough literature to have the "Zbo rnikot na narodni pesni - The Collection of Folk Songs, Riddles and Costumes", published in Zagreb in 1861.

The Collection consists of 662 folk songs, mostly about love. There are also songs about heroes like Marko Krale, Momchilo Vojvoda, Bolen Dojchin, Dete Dukadinche and others. Undoubtedly one of the most important segments of this collection is the Macedonian-Croatian dictionary that has cultural and historical value. These, along with the works of his brother Konstantine, Konstandinov, Zogravski, Shapkarev, Tsepenkov and Verkovich, represent a major event in the cultural history of the Macedonian nation. They are testimony to the fact that the Macedonian nation became aware of its folk art as a national treasure and of the Macedonian language as a noble resource for the written expression and for the development of Macedonian literature and culture. Besides his literary contributions, Dimitar Miladinov also taught the esteemed educators: Partenija Zografski, Grigor Prlichev, Konstantin Miladinov (his brother), Kuzman Shapkarev and others. After being joined by his brother Konstantin and while working as a tutor in Struga, on the order of the Turkish authorities, the brothers were sent to Solun and later to Tsari Grad in defense of allegations made against them by some Greek clerics. The Miladinovs were charged with treason on the grounds that "some of the poems in their collection contained satirical allusions and attacks upon the Turks and Greeks". The song which caused particular offence was "Stoyan

and Patrick", celebrating the exploits of the national hero Stoyan against the Turks and Greeks. Because of these charges the brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Dimitar died in jail on January 23rd, 1862, in Tsari Grad (Istanbul), just two days after his younger brother Konstantin died.

Dimitar did not live to see his collection of works printed.

References: Pages 30-32, Macedonian Magazine, # 461, January 1992. Page 5, Macedonian Almanac, 1971.

Miladinov - Konstantin Miladinov (1830-1862)

Konstantin Miladinov was born in 1830 in Struga, just north of Lake Ohrid.

Konstantin started his education in Ohrid where he was taught by his brother Dimitar. Then he went to Epirus to study at the gymnasium in Janina and finally he enrolled in the faculty of philology in Athens. After that he went to Russia to further his study of philology at the Moscow University.

While in Russia he tried to find a publisher to publish the collection of Macedonian folklore but was unsuccessful.

Later he traveled to Vienna where he met Bishop Josip Strossmayer from Croatia who agreed to financially help Konstantine with the publishing expenses. As a result, " Zbo rnikot na narodni pesni - The Collection of Folk Songs, Riddles and Costumes" was published in Zagreb on June 24th, 1861. This publication did not go unnoticed and some of it appeared in foreign sources.

Morfill wrote in detail about the work of the brothers Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov and their Collection of Folk Songs, indicating and briefly commenting on various characteristics and elements of the songs, and quoting some of them in his own translation into English. As such he made them accessible to the Anglo-Saxon world only 22 years after they were first published in Zagreb.

Morfill paid particular attention to the oral folk tradition, devoting a great deal of space to the Miladinov brothers’ collection. He mentioned that the songs in it were collected by both men, but published by Konstantin in Agram (Zagreb).

Morfill’s reference to Konstantin’s preface to the Collection is brief: "In his preface, Konstantin Miladinov speaks of the great wealth of popular songs among his countrymen. He tells us that from one young girl alone, in Struga, he collected 150 beautiful songs".

Morfill was moved by the fate of the two brothers which he described as "very melancholy". He thought it necessary to acquaint the reader with it, to bring home the reality of Turkish rule. Noting that he owed much information on the Miladinovs to Veljo D. Stoyanov and his interesting articles published in Casopis Ceskeho Musea in1866, he wrote that Konstantin joined his brother Dimitar "in Struga, in Macedonia, at the Albanian frontier, where the latter was exercising the profession of a tutor", that later, on the order of the Turkish authorities, they were sent to Solun, and thence to Tsari Grad (Constantinople), after allegations had been made against them by some Greek clerics. He pointed out that the Miladinovs were charged with treason on the grounds that "some of the poems in their collection contained satirical allusions and attacks upon the Turks and Greeks", and the song which caused particular offence was "Stoyan and Patrick", on page 13 of the Collection, celebrating the exploits of the national hero Stoyan against the Turks and Greeks. Because of these charges the brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment. Morfill described Strossmayer’s efforts through the Austrian consul in Constantinople to get them freed, the endeavours of the Russian government and the secret murder before the order of release was issued.

Although Morfill sympathized sincerely and deeply with the two brothers on the tragic fate, he was not sufficiently acquainted with their teaching aimed at raising the Macedonian national consciousness, their uncompromising anti-Phanariot activities, or the complex political situation in Macedonia to recognize and set out the true reasons for their end. Because of this, his narration,

which was probably adapted from another source, acquired certain naively mystical and melodramatic overtones.

Konstantin and Dimitar Miladinov had a major role in the awakening of the Macedonian national consciousness in Macedonia. Their collecting of Macedonian folk art along with their teaching set the stage for modern Macedonian literature.

Hoping to free his brother Dimitar, Konstantin joined him on his trek to Tsari Grad, only to be arrested and jailed by the Ottoman police. Both brothers died within a span of a couple days in the Tsari Grad prison. Konstantin died on January 21, 1862.

References: Pages 30-32, Macedonian Magazine, # 461, January 1992. Page 5, Macedonian Almanac, 1971. Pages 24-25, Macedonian Magazine, # 422, June 1988.

Misirkov - Krste Misirkov (1874-1926)

Krste Petkov Misirkov was born on November 18th, 1874 in Postol, half way between Voden and Solun, in Greek occupied Macedonia. After attending Greek elementary school in Solun, Misirkov began to feel resentful towards the unscrupulous methods of Greek propaganda. Being from a poor family he could not afford to continue his education so he went to work with his father raising crops. When the Serbians started to preach their version of "Macedonianism," and began to recruit young Macedonians throughout Ottoman Macedonia, Misirkov left for Belgrade. When Bulgarian, Serbian and Greek nationalistic propaganda clashed violently in Macedonia, and when Macedonian students went from school to school and from church to church, a new ferment began among the students in Belgrade who had fled from Bulgarian and Greek schools in Macedonia. They realized that they had been deceived not only by the Greeks and Bulgarians but also by the Serbians. This was made obvious when they were pressured to declare themselves Serbs and their language Serbian. The students who had only just arrived in Belgrade refused to bend to Serbian pressure and insisted on being recognized as Macedonians. When the Serbs refused, the students left Belgrade en masse, as a

demonstration of protest, and went to Sofia. Misirkov was one of those students.

Dissatisfied with the conditions in Bulgaria, Misirkov went back to Serbia and was admitted in the third grade of a grammar school in Belgrade. There he discovered that Macedonian students were trained to carry out Serbian propaganda campaigns in Macedonia. They were also trained as priests, teachers and military cadres to serve the Serbian cause in the forthcoming subjugation of Macedonia. He did not stay there long.

At the end of the academic year students were taken on a tour inside Serbia, which gave Misirkov an opportunity to study and document the various Serbian dialects which he compared to the Serbian literary language and to the spoken languages in Macedonia and Bulgaria.

The next term during enrollment, a group of Macedonian students, including Misirkov, protested against the Serbian assimilatory policies towards the Macedonians. Their uproar resulted in the Serbian Foreign Minister closing the schools. After that, Misirkov continued his studies at Shabats, a small town not far from Belgrade. Not long afterwards he went back to the Serbian capital.

In 1892 Misirkov and associates founded a literary society and began to publish the magazine Loza (Vine) which immediately prompted the Bulgarian press to criticize the national ideology of its founders and editors.

In 1893 Misirkov founded the student society “Vardar”. Vardar’s aim, among other things, was to spread geographic, ethnographic and historical information about Macedonia and to promote the idea that Macedonia belongs to the Macedonians. The Serbs were totally against Vardar and in 1895 forced it to disband.

When they discovered Macedonians could not be trusted to do their dirty work, the Serbs began to send Serbian priests and teachers to Macedonia and the Macedonians were sent elsewhere. Even though Misirkov was a top student in his class, the Serbs refused to send

him to Macedonia. Scheduled to go to Prishtina, he secretly slipped out and fled to Odessa with hopes of continuing his studies. Russia, however, would not recognize his Serbian academic qualifications, so he had to upgrade his education by studying for two years in the Seminary at Poltava before entering the Faculty of Philological and Historical Studies at the University of St. Petersburg.

In 1897, during his enrolment at this Russian University, Misirkov did not declare himself Bulgarian, Greek, or Serbian, as other Macedonian intellectuals of that time usually did. He said he was Macedonian and thanks to the ethnographic and historical research he did of the Balkan Peninsula during his stay in Serbia, Misirkov was able to give his first scholarly lecture before the members of the Russian Imperial Geographical Society.

This showed a keen interest in what he wanted to learn and set the stage for the studies he would specialize in during the next thirty years.

As a student, Misirkov gave lectures on a variety of subjects including Marko Krale (a Macedonian national hero), ethnic patterns of the populations living in Macedonia and others.

One of Misirkov’s more important contributions to the Macedonian cause was the founding of the secret Macedonian Society at St. Petersbur, which was a branch of the Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Organization. This society, with Misirkov as its president, was responsible for providing moral and material aid to the Macedonian cause. Besides exchanging information with various organizations at home, the Society kept track of events in Macedonia and maintained contact with Macedonian emigrants abroad. As president of this society, Misirkov made contact with eminent men in Russian political, cultural and scientific circles and was able to obtain adequate aid from the various Charitable Societies for the Macedonian refugees.

When the newly founded Macedonian Society in Belgrade began to publish “Balkanski Glasnik” (Voice of the Balkans), in which fundamental principles of the Macedonian literary language and

orthography were employed, Misirkov happily made his own contributions. Unfortunately when the Society was closed the journal was suppressed and the editors were disbanded.

Expecting to find some freedom in Macedonia, Misirkov abandoned his studies in Russia and took a job in Bitola, where he was appointed assistant master in the academy of classics. Through his job, as tutor of his children, he met and became friends with the Russian Consul Rostkovski. Through Rostovski, Misirkov was able to enter into friendly relations with the various representatives of the diplomatic corps and closely follow Balkan and European politics with regard to Macedonia.

Misirkov’s dream, with help from Rostovski and his contacts, was to open Macedonian schools and publish textbooks in the Macedonian language. Unfortunately the Russian Consul was assassinated during the 1903, Ilinden Uprising. This not only killed Misirkov’s dream but it also changed his situation at home for the worse.

Life in Macedonia became so unbearable that he felt obliged to leave. After returning to Russia he published a number of articles on the causes of the Ilinden Uprising and the reasons why the Russian Consul was assassinated.

In 1905, when Misirkov was transferred to Berdiansk, Southern Russia and made assistant master in a grammar school, he resumed publication of the Macedonian journal “Vardar”. Unfortunately he began receiving threats to give up his struggle for Macedonia. But of course he ignored them and placed his life in jeopardy.

At the outbreak of the first Balkan War, Macedonians from everywhere flocked home to participate in the struggle to liberate their homeland. Misirkov came to Macedonia as a Russian war correspondent to report on military operations. He unfortunately suffered another disappointment when his worst fears were realized and the "liberators," actually became Macedonia’s occupiers. He published a number of articles in the Russian press highlighting the cruel destiny of the Macedonian people as a result of Macedonia’s partition.

In 1913 Misirkov founded and started publishing the journal “Makedonski Glas” (Macedonian Voice) in Petersburg, Russia both in Macedonian and Russian. This journal dealt openly with the Macedonian question and prompted the Macedonian community in Moscow to send a series of memoranda to the London Conference and the Balkan Governments.

In an article which appeared in the journal “Slavianskia izvestia” in 1914, Misirkov cleared up misunderstandings of whether or not Macedonians participated in the struggle to drive Turkey out of Macedonia in 1912. He stated four armies (Serbian, Greek, Macedonian and Montenegrin), fought in Macedonia and two (Bulgarian and Macedonian) fought in Thrace. While the other armies were subsidized, the Macedonians fought unpaid, as volunteers for the freedom of their country.

To keep himself from harm, Misirkov wrote many of his articles under the pseudonym K. Rilski.

Upon his return from the Balkan front, Misirkov was appointed assistant master of the grammar school at Kishinev. When Bessarabia became a republic, he was elected a member of its Parliament. Then as Bessarabia capitulated to Romania in November 1918, Misirkov was expelled and, unable to return to Macedonia, went to Bulgaria.

Misirkov arrived in Sofia just after the end of the First World War in the midst of a controversy over the Macedonian question. At the time all Macedonian immigrants were pressured to sign resolutions and petitions in favour of the Bulgarian cause in Macedonia, which greatly disturbed Misirkov.

A year later he was appointed assistant master of the grammar school at Karlovo.

In 1921, in a letter to the Serbian Minister in Sofia, Misirkov applied for a teaching position in Macedonia, or failing that in Belgrade or Zagreb. Two years later he was informed that his application was rejected. He then realized he would have to stay in Bulgaria indefinitely. He resumed his writing and continued to publish

articles on the Macedonian question in the Bulgarian press. In all he wrote some thirty articles, which will remain a testament of his work for future Macedonian generations.

Misirkov's assertion of the existence of a separate Macedonian culture aroused a storm of angry comments from Bulgarians, Serbs and Greeks. In September 1925 he was removed from Karlovo and sent to Koprivchitsa, threatened with death if he continued to write articles of this kind. Furthermore, the publishers and editors of the papers Mir and Ilinden, in which his articles appeared, were formally warned to cease publishing them. This was the end of the public life of a great Macedonian patriot.

Soon afterwards Misirkov became ill and on July 26th, 1926 died in a hospital in Sofia.

References: http://www.macedon.org/misirkov/misirkov.html Pages 178-180, Macedonian Almanac, 1988. Pages 2-4, Macedonian Magazine, # 259, November 1974. Page 38, Macedonian Magazine, # 488, November 1993.

Naumov - Stevo Naumov (Steve) (1920-1945)

Stevo Naumov was born somewhere in Lerin Region in 1920. He studied at the Bitola Gymnasium and later at the University of Belgrade. From youth he was involved in the Macedonian cause and as a result was imprisoned for six months before WW II broke out. He was released as a result of the occupation and immediately renewed his activities, this time even more vigorously, until he was again jailed. After his second release he went to Bitola as a seasonal worker and again began his clandestine activities organizing the workers.

After the occupation was over, together with Kuzman Josifovski, he organized the Ilinden demonstrations in Bitola.

In the spring of 1942 Stevo became a member of the Operational Headquarters of Macedonia and, together with Mirche Atsev, initiated the Partisan detachment for the region.

Stevo was also responsible for the execution of the Bulgarian Political leader Kiuchiev who tried to expose him and his activities. For his deeds, Stevo was tried in absentia and sentenced to death. He was also fined 200,000 leva.

Stevo Naumov, together with Mite Bogoevski, died on July 29th, 1945 near the village Bolno.

He was forced to take his own life to avoid being captured by the Bulgarian police.

Reference: Page 19, Macedonian Almanac, 1984.

Parapunov - Nikola Parapunov (1909-1943)

Nikola Parapunov was born on July 1st, 1909 in Razlog. Since he was a young boy he was involved with the worker’s movement and eventually became leader and organizer of the Partisan movement in the Pirin Region.

Nikola completed middle technical school in Sofia and was sent to work in the Gornodzhumaja Region building bridges, roads and water systems. While on the job there he secretly began to organize the regional committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party.

In the spring of 1931 he founded a youth organization in Razlog and worked hard to promote Marxist ideologies until he was discovered by the police, in the winter of 1933, and thrown in jail for eight years.

In the summer of 1941 Nikola organized the first Partisan group in Pirin Macedonia and was later appointed head of the fourth operative zone. In 1943 he formed and led the Razlov Partisan Detachment “Iane Sandanski”.

Nikola Parapunov lost his life during a police ambush on December 9th, 1943 near the village Barakovo, Gornodzhumaja Region.

References: Page 23, Macedonian Almanac, 1984. Page 26, Macedonian Magazine # 424, August 1988.

Petrov - Giorche Petrov (1864-1921)

Giorche Petrov was born in 1864 in the village Varosh, Prilep Region. He started his education in Prilep and continued it in Bitola and later in Solun, from where he and thirteen other students were expelled in 1885 for protesting the use of the Bulgarian language in Macedonian schools. After his expulsion he completed his education in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

After completing his education, Giorche became a teacher and taught in Shtip from 1885 to 1887, in Skopje from 1887 to 1891, in Bitola from 1891 to 1895 and in Solun from 1895 to 1897.

While teaching in Shtip, during the years 1885 and 1886, he was instrumental in forming a few revolutionary groups that would later fight for the liberation of Macedonia. During his time in Skopje he worked closely with Metropolitan Teodosi to study and preserve Macedonian history and culture. Later he met up with his associate and friend, Pere Toshev in Bitola and together they launched the underground newspaper “Na Oruzhie” (To Arms). The newspaper became an immediate success and the next year it started coming out in Solun.

Giorche Petrov was the founder of the revolutionary committees of the Secret (Tajna) Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (TMRO) in the Shtip, Bitola, Prilep, Resen, Ohrid, Krushevo, Kichevo, Lerin and Kostur Districts. He was well known and popular in all those regions and in 1895 he became member of TMRO’s Central Committee.

In 1896, together with Gotse Delchev, he drafted the new TMRO constitution for the Solun congress. Then from March 1897 until the spring of 1901, again together with Delchev, he was foreign representative in the Central Committee of TMRO in Sofia.

In 1898 he started publishing the newspaper “Buntovnik” (Revolutionary) and various brochures to inform, enlighten and stir the Macedonian population to revolt against the Turks, to oppose foreign interference and to fight for an independent Macedonia.

For his actions, in 1901, the Bulgarian Government sentenced Giorche, along with three hundred other Macedonian Revolutionaries to life imprisonment. He was released early 1903 as a result of a general amnesty.

Even though Giorche believed the 1903 Ilinden rebellion was premature, he actively participated by joining the Prilep and Moriovo District Chetas.

After the rebellion Giorche remained in Macedonia and worked very hard to uproot foreign elements from TMRO.

In May 1904 he took part in the Prilep Congress as a Bitola District delegate and drafted a new statute for TMRO. In August of the same year he took part in the Struma Congress.

In 1905 Giorche wrote a few articles for the Magazine “Makedonski Pregled” (Macedonian Review) expressing his political opinion on the Macedonian National Liberation Movement.

During the Rila Congress he fought to re-organize TMRO and, together with Pere Toshev and Iane Sandanski, greatly contributed to the victory of the left.

From 1905 to 1907, together with Stefanov and Poparsov, he again became a foreign representative in the Central Committee and again was jailed by the Bulgarian Government.

After the 1908 Young Turk Uprising, together with Strashimirov, between the years 1909 to 1910, he published the magazine “Kulturno Edinstvo” (Kultural Unity) in Solun.

From 1914 to 1918 Giorche was president of the permanent Bitola District committee.

In October 1918 he published "The Declaration for Solving the Macedonian Question", which in part sought an autonomous ethnic (geographical) Macedonia within the borders of a Balkan democratic federation. By this Giorche was trying to destroy the

“Greater Bulgarian” illusion and create conditions for an independent Macedonian state under international protection. In 1920 he tried to return to his hometown Prilep but the Yugoslav Government turned down his request.

In 1921 he became chief of the Bureau for the settlement of Macedonian refugees in Bulgaria.

Giorche Petrov died in Sofia in June 28, 1921. He was a victim of a paid assassin hired by the Bulgarian King Boris.

Reference: Pages 22-23, Macedonian Magazine, # 434, June 1989.

Philip II (382-336)

Philip II replaced his brother Perdiccas III as ruler of Macedonia in 360 BC. Philip II was born in 382 BC in Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia, and ruled Macedonia from 359 to 336 BC. Philip was the youngest son of king Amyntas III and Eurydice.

From what the ancient authors (Diodorus Liculus) tell us, Philip was no ordinary man. When he was taken hostage to Thebes he was only thirteen years old and yet at that young age he was more interested in the affairs of the Theban government and military than playing with his peers. At age fourteen, Philip studied the equipment and tactics of the Theban army including those of the elite Sacred Band. At age eighteen, in 364 BC, he was given a force of Macedonians to command.

After Perdiccas’s death, Philip was recalled to the Macedonian court where he was given the position of leader of the military. “Philip knew the Macedonians as soldiers and they knew him, when they elected him not as king (that office having been given to Amyntas IV, the infant son of Perdiccas) but as guardian and deputy of the king as commander-in-chief.” (Page 58, Nikolas G.L. Hammond, The Miracle that was Macedonia)

There is some disagreement between Hammond and Borza with regard to Philip’s appointment. Borza (and others) believe that Philip may have been appointed king, not guardian of Amyntas.

In any case, it was Philip who took over the reign from Perdiccas and who prepared his army to defend his kingdom. With the Illyrians, Paeonians, Thracians and Athenians poised to invade, no one would have predicted what was going to happen. But as Diodorus tells us, Philip dealt with all issues directly. Philip’s first act as ruler was to buy off the Paeonians and Thracians. To deal with the Athenians, however, Philip had to learn to use his famous diplomatic charm. Athens had a long-standing ambition to possess Amphipolis; its motives were made very clear. By reassuring that he would not interfere in its affairs, Philip bought himself some time to continue reorganizing his military and building his power base.

After some success in his reorganization, Philip got the chance to test his troops in action. During the spring of 358 BC the Paeonian king died and an opportunity to secure the northern frontier presented itself. A short campaign gave Philip a decisive victory and a secure northern frontier.

The invading Illyrians were next on his list as he approached them with a warning to vacate western Macedonia or else. Perched atop the western mountains of Lyncus, the fierce Illyrians were confident they could hold their own and ignored Philip’s warnings. In fact they were so confident of a victory that they made Philip a counteroffer “peace for status quo”. Philip was not amused and a battle ensued. Equally matched, the Macedonians fought bravely and decimated the Illyrian army giving Philip another victory. “The antagonists were equally matched, each side fielding about 10,000 foot, with the Macedonians maintaining a slight edge in cavalry, 600 to 500. More than 7,000 Illyrians lay dead on the field, according to our source, Diodorus.” (Page 202, Eugene Borza, In the Shadow of Olympus The Emergence of Macedon, New Jersey, 1990)

Was this overwhelming victory a result of Philip’s superior military training, his tactics, or simply Illyrian overconfidence? In my estimation, at this point in time, it was a combination of all three. This victory against a feared opponent not only saved Macedonia but also gave Philip and his military the needed confidence to take on more formidable foes.

Philip wasted no time and began his reorganization the day he took over running his kingdom. Despite what historians may claim, I believe Philip’s main motivation for rebuilding his military was to create a formidable and lasting defense barrier around his kingdom. The Macedonia Philip inherited was surrounded by warlike, aggressive tribes who desired conflict. Philip’s vision was to achieve peace through strong defense. To do that he had to subdue the aggressive elements all around his kingdom and ensure that they were kept down. There was also the matter of the greater powers who would not agree to a strong and large Macedonia and would challenge him just to safeguard their own interests and survival.

From what Diodorus Siculus tells us, while the Thebans held him hostage between 368 and 365 BC, Philip showed extraordinary interest in studying their military techniques and weapons. Philip was especially interested in understanding the fighting style of the elite Theban Sacred Band, which would become important to him later in his career while reforming his own military. After Philip was released from Thebes, at his brother’s (Perdiccas III) request, he immediately began to implement his reforms and reorganize the Macedonian military.

Unfortunately before Philip was finished, he lost his brother. While fighting the Illyrians in northwestern Macedonia, Perdiccas III was mortally wounded and died in battle. Worse yet, during the same battle, the Macedonians suffered a demoralizing defeat losing about 4,000 soldiers, which constituted most of the Macedonian army.

As problems presented themselves, Philip used his extraordinary talents to seek solutions. To fight a mightier opponent, Philip had to invent better military strategies and superior weapons. To keep a lasting peace Philip needed a well-trained, professional, full time army. To keep his opponents down, he needed to crush their military abilities and hinder them from rebuilding. All these factors were combined to produce the greatest military might the ancient world had even seen.

Up to Philip’s time, soldiers were selected from the nobility and usually lived and trained at home only to be called to duty before battle. Philip, on the other hand, raised and rigorously trained a full

time professional army. Additionally, Philip combined the use of infantry and cavalry in coordinated tactics in ways never before applied. In terms of weapons, Philip used his experience from Thebes to enhance his military techniques and created modern weapons for his army. The most effective weapon was the Macedonian Phalanx which employed sixteen to twenty foot spears or pikes known as sarissas. The body of the pike was made of dogwood (Dren) while the tip was made of a foot long, sharp metal blade. The Phalanx was employed in a rectangular or oblique battle array of soldiers each holding a pike underhand tipped at an angle. The first row held the pikes parallel to the ground while succeeding rows elevated them slightly. The twenty-foot long sarissas extended five rows beyond the first row of soldiers making the Phalanx an impenetrable fortress of very sharp pikes. The front and rear rows of soldiers wore body armour and heavy shields while all inside rows wore no armour and carried only light shields.

Despite popular beliefs otherwise, it took Philip a long time to transform his army into an efficient fighting machine. Much time was needed to recruit men, develop the administration, build up finances, train soldiers and gain field experience before his army would be ready for serious engagements.

“The new Macedonian army was marked by its great speed in movement, by versatility in tactics and weapons, and by the coordination of cavalry with infantry. Finally, there can be no doubt that unusual skills in personal and military leadership created, reflected, and depended upon excellence in the Macedonian army, as kings and men complemented one another”. (Page 205, Eugene Borza, In the Shadow of Olympus The Emergence of Macedon, New Jersey, 1990)

Determined to free northwestern Macedonia, in 358 BC Philip put his reformed army to the test and fought the Illyrians face to face in a fierce battle. Setting aside all fears from the previous battle, the mighty Macedonian army faced the legendary Illyrians and won an overwhelming victory. The Illyrians fled in panic leaving behind 7,000 dead, almost three-quarters of their entire army.

Northwestern Macedonia was now free, all the Upper Macedonia cantons, including Lyncestia, the birthplace of Philip’s mother, were now firmly under Macedonian control and loyal to their liberator Philip II.

Philip was aware that with a small army of 10,000 he could not defend his kingdom, not even against the defeated Illyrian chief who had even more reserve troops at his disposal. To secure his kingdom and create a pool of new recruits, Philip convinced the chiefs of the smaller kingdoms to join him. To those who did, he offered honourable positions in his court.

With his western frontier secure, Philip moved on to the east to secure the Struma basin north of Chalcidice. His presence there alarmed the colonies, especially Amphipolis, and sent them in panic complaining to Athens. But Athens, having problems of its own, was powerless to act and allowed Philip to conduct his operations unabated.

After unsuccessfully trying to secure an alliance by peaceful means, Philip amassed a larger army and attacked Amphipolis. By using his improved siege-train he was able to quickly break through the city’s heavily fortified barriers. “In 357, after breaking through the walls with his siege engines (Diod. 16.8.2), he took Amphipolis, thereby accomplishing in a few weeks what the Athenians failed to achieve in more than sixty years.” (Page 213, Eugene Borza, In the Shadow of Olympus The Emergence of Macedon)

As promised before the siege and true to his word, Philip, after occupying it, gave Amphipolis its independence under the supervision of Macedonian overseers.

During the same year (357 BC), Philip, in spite of Athenian opposition, acquired the city of Potidaea in Chalcidice. Turning northward Philip also conquered Pydna, another City State colony on the Macedonian coast.

With his army reorganized, full of confidence and equipped with modern weapons, Philip turned his attention south. He first went to Thessaly where he won an easy victory. By 352 BC he was in firm

control of a region extending as far south as the pass of Thermopylae. As part of the peace treaty with the Thessalians, Philip married Nicesipolis, a local woman of prominence. Nicesipolis bore Philip a daughter whom he named Thessalonika to commemorate his victory over Thessaly.

With Thessaly on his side Philip was now staring down at the northern gate of the City States, which at the time, was well guarded by powerful Athenian, Spartan and Achaean forces.

Up until 348 BC, even though Philip controlled virtually everything north of the Lamian Gulf, he was never a real threat to the powerful City States in the south. He may have annexed their colonies and cut off access to some of their markets but he was never a threat to their way of life or existence.

In 348 BC, however, things started to change. It began with Philip’s intervention, on Thessaly’s behalf, to free Delphi from rebel elements.

Philip was more than willing to oblige his Thessalian allies but at the same time he had to be cautious not to upset the Athenians and Thebans who opposed each other but also had vested interests in Delphi. At this stage, an Athenian-Theban alliance would have been catastrophic for Macedonia and had to be avoided at all costs.

Being already allied with Thebes, Philip considered a diplomatic move with Athens by offering the Athenians joint participation in removing the rebels that had occupied Delphi. Unfortunately, the Athenians in Athens, being suspicious of Philip’s motives, declined and among themselves proposed to take countermeasures to stop Philip from intervening altogether, even by force if necessary. Fortunately, before any damage was done, wisdom prevailed and the Athenians decided to talk to Philip before attacking him. Being a master of diplomacy, the wily Philip convinced his elder Athenians that he meant no harm and only wished to see this matter solved peacefully. To appease the Athenians he went a step further and personally offered guarantees of Athenian hegemony over several regions near Attica, something the Athenians had desired for a long time. Philip’s latest proposal was a success and gained full Athenian

acceptance. It even gained support from Demosthenes, Philip’s staunchest critic.