Front Matter - Part 07

at the top began to fade away. This was also the beginning of the end for the Slavonic (Macedonian) Churches in the Ottoman Empire. In addition to being a religious ruler, the Patriarch and his appointed Bishops became civil administrators of the Christian and non-Muslim people. Their authority included mediating with the Turks, administering Christian law (marriages, inheritance, divorce, etc.), running schools and hospitals and dealing with the large and small issues of life. There were no prescribed provisions on how to deal with criminal matters or the limit of authority on the part of the Bishops. In other words, there was no uniform manner by which Christian criminals could be punished or limits to how far a Bishop could exercise his authority. This opened the way for interpretation, neglect, abuse and activities of corruption such as nepotism, favouritism and bribery. In an attempt to create a stable political and social support system in conquered Macedonia, the Ottoman authorities introduced voluntary migration for Turks from Asia Minor. As a result, many Turkish settlements sprang up all over Macedonia and occupied strategic positions like valleys of navigable rivers and coastal plains. This increase in Muslim numbers, particularly in the larger towns, was at the expense of the Macedonian Christian population. The nomads of Anatolia were best suited for such migration because of their nomadic way of life. Migration into Macedonia was not restricted to Turks. Late in the 15th century Jews fleeing the western European Inquisitions in Spain and Portugal also settled in Macedonia. These migrations were of particular significance to Macedonia's economic development. Jewish colonies sprang up and flourished in important urban centers like Solun, Bitola, Skopje, Berroea, Kostur, Serres, Shtip, Kratovo and Strumitsa. The Jewish colony in Solun was one of the largest and most significant of all colonies in the entire Ottoman Empire. By the middle of the 16th century Solun was home to more than three thousand Jewish families. Besides the colonization of Macedonia by foreign elements, there was also the assimilation of Macedonians in the Islamic fold. The process of converting Christians to Muslims began as soon as Macedonia was conquered. At the outset, a fair number of the old nobility converted to Islam in the hope of protecting and even increasing their landholdings. Gradually greater proportions of the population were converted, sometimes whole villages and districts at once. Macedonians living among the Turks, especially in the larger towns, gradually began to assimilate into the Turkish fold. Even though they became Turks, a great majority of the Macedonians retained their mother tongue and continued to speak Macedonian, practicing their traditions and even their religious customs. Ever since its inception, the Ohrid Archbishopric extended its sphere of influence and dominated the neighbouring churches. In spite of Pravoslav attempts to curb its power, the Ohrid Archbishopric survived and began its revitalization. By the start of the 15th century it subordinated the Sofia and Vidin eparchies and by the middle of the same century it was in control of the Vlach and Moldavian eparchies. Shortly afterwards it took control of parts of the Pech Patriarchate including Pech itself. Even the Orthodox districts of Italy (Apulia, Calabria and Sicily), Venice and Dalmatia were subordinated to the Ohrid Archbishopric for a while. Unfortunately the more powerful the Macedonian Church became the more it attracted attention prompting the Sultan to break it up by establishing separate eparchies. In 1557 the Pech Patriarchate was reinstated and took Tetovo, Skopje, Shtip and Upper Ozumaya from the Ohrid Archbishopric. In 1575 the Orthodox Christians of Dalmatia and Venice were taken away from the Ohrid Church and moved under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate in Tsari Grad. At the start of the 17th century Ohrid lost all the eparchies from southern Italy.

After that Ohrid’s boundaries remained unaltered until the dissolution of the Macedonian Church in 1767. As mentioned earlier, the Archbishopric of Ohrid, since its inception, has been an autonomous church headed by an Archbishop who was elected by a Synod. The Synod consisted of archpriests from various eparchies and was summoned on various occasions to deal with the more important matters while the Church Convocation dealt with general matters. The majority of Archbishops who served the Ohrid Church were foreigners and most of them were greedy for money, succumbing to bribery. Some, however, worked hard to raise the standards of the Archbishopric and others including Prohor, Athanasius and Barlaam even worked secretly against the Ottoman yoke. Even though the Ohrid Church had lost a great number of its possessions to the Ottomans it still remained a feudal institution and, apart from the returns it received from its church lands, it also received considerable income from various taxes, from performing services and settling disputes. The Ohrid lower clergy were all Macedonian and were scarcely distinguishable economically from the general population. Even though foreigners occupied the leading positions in the church, the church itself supported a unique Macedonian culture and an independent Macedonia. During the second half of the 16th century there were obvious signs of a weakening Ottoman Empire. The successful campaigns that were waged earlier were coming to an end only to be replaced by a series of military defeats and territorial losses. Unable to expand or even hold onto existing territories, the Ottoman central government began to lose prestige and slowly fell into an economic crisis. The situation worsened when feudal lords decided to replace the Rajak's tax contributions in kind (finished products) with money, most of which they kept for themselves. In time, the feudal lords became less interested in taking part in unsuccessful campaigns and defied the weakening central government by refusing to supply the war effort with men or materials. The central government's inability to exercise authority over the feudal lords created a suitable environment for anarchy. More and more of the more powerful feudal lords began to take advantage of the situation and formed their own small military fiefs. By the middle of the 17th century life in the chifliks became so harsh that peasants left their villages for larger towns, adding to the influx of Muslims and Jews. Many, who could no longer bear the burden and had nowhere to go, turned to marauding and robbing. Bands of peasants left their hearths and fled to either join outlaw organizations (ajdutska druzhina) or live in larger towns where some of them succeeded in becoming factors of significance in the urban economy. During the 17th century western Europeans came to Macedonia and procured certain privileges from the Ottomans that allowed them to open consular agencies. In 1685 French merchants from Marseilles opened an agency in Solun and in 1700 they opened another one in Kavalla, through which they purchased cotton and wheat. Later Britain, Venice and the Netherlands also established consular agencies in Macedonia. At that time Solun was the gateway to the Ottoman Empire and the largest port for European goods destined for the Balkans. With the ascendancy of the Atlantic trade routes, Dubrovnik (Ragusa) and the Italian towns began to decline, particularly during the 17th century when western traders were being replaced by local ones, especially in central Europe. Catholic influence and propaganda, although somewhat disorganized, was present in Macedonia as early as the 16th century. In 1622 when the Papal Throne came under Jesuit control, a new organization called the Congregation for the Spreading of the Faith was established with aims at controlling all Catholic missionary activities throughout the world. It was not too long afterwards that the Catholic missions infiltrated Macedonia, including the Archbishopric of Ohrid.

By the first half of the 17th century four of the Archbishops of Ohrid (Porphyry, Athanasius, Abraham and Meletius) were secretly working for the Catholics. Links were established by eparchies where Church Congregations were discretely approached to switch to Catholicism. The missionaries from Rome were cautious, tactful and did not impose the Latin language upon the population. By doing so and by showing respect for the dogma of the Eastern Church, Catholic propaganda in Ohrid became very effective in gaining ground. In fact it became so effective that in 1630 the Unites attempted to take over the archiepiscopal church of the Assumption of the Virgin but the Archbishop, by handsomely bribing the Ottoman authorities, was able to halt the takeover. That unfortunately did not stop the Catholics from trying and by the middle of the 17th century they created a Catholic Archbishopric inside Ohrid. But as soon as it was created, conditions turned unfavourable for them and it had to be dissolved and subordinated to the Diocese of Skopje. In 1661 Archbishop Athanasius took a trip to Rome with a proposal to unify Rome and the Archbishopric of Ohrid. An agreement was reached and a missionary by the name of Onuphrius Constantine was elected as Bishop to serve at the Koine speaking College in Rome. The union, however, did not work out and Catholic propaganda in Macedonia began to lose its effect. A new hope was growing among the Balkan people that Russia, a Christian Orthodox country, would some day liberate them from their bondage. The Macedonian people were never content with being occupied and showed their displeasure at every opportunity. The first major uprising after the fall of Samoil’s empire occurred in the middle of the 15th century in the Debar region, where Macedonians, Albanians and Vlachs lived together. Led by George Castriot, the people rose up against the tyranny of the Turks. George Castriot, who took the name Scanderbeg after Iskander, more commonly known as Alexander the Great, came from an illustrious feudal family which at the time ruled part of present day central Albania and the greater Debar region in the present day Republic of Macedonia. During the Ottoman conquests in the region, John Castriot, George's father, managed to retain his title and holdings by acknowledging the supreme authority of the Sultan and fulfilling certain obligations as his vassal. As proof of his loyalty, John Castriot surrendered his sons to the Sultan to be held as hostages. One of those sons was George who quickly became fascinated by the energy and vigour of the Ottoman military and could not wait to join them. Having accepted Islam, George’s first act was to change his name to Scanderbeg. Scanderbeg quickly built a reputation as an able commander and gained the confidence of the Ottoman supreme authorities. When his father died in 1437, Scanderbeg took his father’s place as governor of the same district. Even though Scanderbeg was an ally of the Sultan, his real loyalties lay with his people. When war broke out in the region in 1442 and Janos Hunjadi’s armies penetrated the interior of the Ottoman Empire, Scanderbeg decided the time was right to renounce his allegiance to the Sultan and raise a rebellion. Scanderbeg was becoming a legend and a serious threat to Ottoman stability so it did not take long for the Ottoman military to amass a large force and after a long struggle, push Scanderbeg into Albania. Scanderbeg died of illness on January 17, 1468. Ten years later after the fall of Croia, the last bastion of rebel strength, on January 16, 1478 the rebellion was over. This however was not the first or last rebellion. In time, and with the breakdown of Ottoman rule, more and more revolts would take place in the future. The next local uprising took place in 1564/65, in the Moriovo region and spread to the Prilep plains and from there to the town of Prilep. Dubbed as the Moriovo and Prilep revolt, it is unknown why this revolt began but it is clear that three peasants and two priests from the Moriovo district started it.

No sooner had the trouble started than the Sultan, through a decree dated October 3, 1564, ordered that the leaders of the revolt be put to death while the followers were to be sent to serve as oarsmen on Turkish galleys. Before the decree could be enforced however, the perpetrators fled causing the Sultan to order another decree for their capture. Prilep soon became a hotbed of demonstrations when the Ottoman court ruled in favour of a Pasha in a dispute with the peasants. According to a document dated December 1565 a revolt broke out inside the town of Prilep when the Prilep Court, in settling a dispute between the peasants and Mustapha Pasha, ruled in favour of the Pasha. When the news hit the streets more than a thousand rebels from the surrounding villages, armed with sticks and stones, assembled and stormed the court. It is unknown how this revolt ended. Since Christians by law were not allowed to carry arms, they had no effective defense against maltreatment, especially from the corrupt legal system. The only recourse available to them was to become outlaws. Although unpopular, outlawry was one of the oldest forms of armed struggle expressed by the Macedonian people, which reached epidemic proportions over the course of the 17th century. The outlaws, or haiduks, lived secret lives known only to other outlaws or trusted friends. When it came to defending their homes and properties, they came together in bands or druzhini of twenty to thirty people. Occasionally, for defensive purposes a number of smaller bands combined together to form a large band usually numbering no more than three hundred people. The band leaders or vojvodi were elected members of their bands and were usually chosen for their military skills and leadership abilities. The ranks of the outlaws came mostly from the feudally tied peasants but it was not uncommon to find priests and monks among them. Women too were known to have joined outlaw bands. The oldest record of a woman outlaw dates back to 1636. Her name was Kira and she was from the village Chapari. Kira was a member of Petar Dundar’s band from the village Berantsi, near Bitola. There were also recorded cases of women who led outlaw bands. The main preoccupation of the outlaws was to defend the oppressed and in times of trouble come to their aid. In retaliation the outlaws were known to attack feudal estates and even burn down Spahi (tax collector) harvests. They also ambushed and robbed merchant caravans and tax collectors. Bands were known to have attacked some of the larger towns. On several occasions outlaws banded together and overran Bitola, Lerin, Ohrid and Resen. Twice they looted the bezesteen in Bitola, once in 1646 and again in 1661. To curb outlaw activities, the Ottoman authorities frequently undertook extreme measures by organizing posses to hunt them down, burning down villages that were known to be sympathetic to outlaws and imprisoning and sometimes executing relatives of outlaws. When all these measures failed to stop them, the Ottomans introduced the services of the derbendkis, to provide safe passage through the countryside to important functionaries such as merchants, tax collectors and travelers. Outlaws who were captured were tortured, sent to prison for life, or executed. The lucky ones were executed outright. Their dead bodies were then impaled on stakes or on iron hooks for everyone to see. Those less fortunate were skinned alive, had their heads split open and were left to die a slow and painful death. Those sent to prison were usually chained to galleys and spent the rest of their lives as oarsmen. Despite the extreme measures exercised against them, the outlaws were never stamped out and were always a part of every conflict. The outlaws were the nucleus of the armed forces and the experienced leaders and commanders of the revolts and uprisings. They were the first to raise the spirit of resistance and the first to stand up for the people. That is why the outlaws are so widely revered in Macedonian folklore.

Unwilling to yield, the Ottoman noose continued to tighten on the Macedonian peasants, Christian and Muslim alike. Their moment to strike back, however, came when the Ottomans became entangled with the Austrians in a war during the Austrian invasion of Macedonia. What came to be known as the Karposh Uprising, dubbed after its leader Karposh, was a Macedonian people’s revolt against the economic, social and political injustices perpetrated by the Ottoman overlords. In 1683 the Ottomans, for the second time, tried to take Vienna but failed after a two-month siege. The city was saved with the assistance of the Polish army led by King John Sobiesky. The Ottoman army suffered a catastrophic defeat resulting in enormous losses of territory, material and manpower. To prevent further expansion and keep the Ottomans in check, the Holy League of Austria, Poland, Venice and later Russia was created. Once they gained momentum the Austrians continued to drive the Ottomans southward reaching the northern boundaries of Macedonia. Led by General Piccolomini, the Austrians entered the Plain of Skopje on October 25, 1689 and were met by a jubilant crowd celebrating their triumphant arrival. The Austrians continued to march southward and came upon the town of Skopje only to find it empty. Skopje had been evacuated and left with plenty of food and all kinds of merchandise. Feeling that it may have been a trap, Piccolomini withdrew his forces at once and set the town on fire. The fires raged for two whole days and consumed the greater part of Skopje. The Austrians continued to move through the Macedonian interior and set camp in the village of Orizari, near Kumanovo. A detachment was sent to Shtip, which arrived there at dawn on November 10, 1689 only to be met with Ottoman resistance. A fierce battle broke out but the Austrians managed to force the Ottomans out, leaving about two thousand of their dead behind. After setting the town on fire, the Austrians left for camp but on their way ran into an Ottoman detachment of three hundred soldiers. Another battle ensued and the Ottomans disbursed. The destruction and mayhem caused by the Austro-Turkish War brought a sudden deterioration in the economic and political situation in the region. The need for further military operations forced the Ottoman state to increase its purchases of grain, fodder, livestock, timber and other agricultural products, far below normal prices. Also, to pay for the military campaigns, a host of new taxes were introduced. During this difficult period the Rajak also suffered violence at the hands of deserters from the Ottoman army and from the defectors of the central government. The military catastrophe and the chaotic situation inside the Ottoman Empire again created suitable conditions for widespread outlawry in all parts of Macedonia, especially in the Moriovo, Bitola, Tikvesh, Veles, Shtip and Mt. Dospat regions which led up to the famous Karposh Uprising. Sometime in the middle of October 1689 the famous outlaw Arambasha Karposh led an uprising which broke out in the region between Kustendil and Skopje. Immediately after declaring a revolt, Karposh attacked and captured Kriva Palanka. Kriva Palanka was an Ottoman stronghold built in 1636 to house Ottoman soldiers. After capturing the stronghold, Karposh declared it liberated rebel territory and made it his center of resistance. Among the items captured at the stronghold were six cannons, a real prize for the rebels. After securing Kriva Palanka the rebels built and secured a new stronghold near Kumanovo. It is not known whether or not the rebels were assisted by the Austrians but it is possible. According to contemporary Ottoman chronicles and local legends, Karposh was known as the "King of Kumanovo". This could have been a title conferred upon him by the Austrian emperor Leopold I who sent him a Busby (a tall fur hat worn by hussars and guardsmen) as a gift and a sign of recognition. Unfortunately for the rebels, the current situation did not last long and a reversal in military and political events played a decisive role in the fate of the uprising.

The Ottomans had by now had enough time to take countermeasures to stop the economic and military decline of their state. The first step taken in Macedonia was to put down the rebellion and drive the Austrian army out of Macedonian territory. To do that the Ottomans employed the services of the Crimean Khan, Selim Giray, along with his fierce detachment of Tartar warriors. The Turkish council of war met in Sofia on November 14, 1689 and decided to attack the Karposh uprising through Kustendil. But before they could do that they had to secure Kriva Palanka. Upon finding that they were about to be attacked, the rebels set fire to Kriva Palanka and concentrated their forces in the new fortress in Kumanovo. No sooner had they prepared their defenses than the Ottoman and Tartar detachments arrived. The rebels stood their ground and fought gallantly but were quickly overwhelmed by the numerically superior Ottoman force. A large number of rebels, including Karposh, were captured at the outset. When the battle was over, all rebels who resisted to the end were slaughtered. Karposh and the others were taken prisoner. After subduing Kumanovo, the Ottomans left for Skopje where they executed Karposh and the others. Karposh was brought before Selim Giray who at the time was standing on the Stone Bridge over the River Vardar. Selim used him for target practice and impaled him with his Tartar lances. He then had his body hurled into the Vardar River. Karposh died in early December 1689 and with him died the Karposh uprising. For the rebels who survived the battles there was no salvation from the Ottoman backlash except to leave Macedonia. Many fled north beyond the Sava and Danube Rivers. Some even went as far north as the Ukraine and Russia and joined the Russian military. There they formed the "Macedonian regiment" which became part of the regular Russian army. The failed Karposh uprising depleted the local population of northwestern Macedonia of people opening the way for large scale Albanian immigration. Just as the Karposh revolt was winding down in Macedonia, on April 6, 1690, Leopold I issued a manifesto inviting "all peoples of Albania, Serbia, Mysia, Bulgaria, Silistria, Illyria, Macedonia and Rashka to join the Austrians in taking up arms against the Turks." Then on April 26, 1690 he issued a letter making Macedonia and her people his protectorate. It has been said that Leopold acted on the advice of Macedonians Marko Krajda of Kozhani and Dimitri Georgija Popovich of Solun. Among other things the letter stated that "we graciously accept the Macedonian people, in its entirety in every respect, under our imperial and regal protection." Another letter was issued on May 31, 1690 extending Austria’s protection to Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania. Unfortunately, all these good gestures were too little too late for Macedonia which by 1690 was back under tight Ottoman control. The 18th century witnessed renewed conflicts with several new wars breaking out, resulting in more negative consequences for the Macedonian people.

Internally, the Ottoman Empire was plagued with feudal anarchy, perpetrated by the powerful feudal lords. Some were so powerful that they openly defied the central government by not submitting taxes and by using state money to bolster their own private armies and maintain their own independence. Besides the renegade begs, the 18th century also gave rise to a new breed of bandits who found it easier to rob innocent people than to work. At times these groups numbered as high as five hundred roaming the Macedonian countryside, robbing and looting entire villages at a time. Most of these marauding bandits were of Turkish and Albanian extraction. They often collaborated with the defiant feudal lords and corrupt state officials, doing their dirty work. By 1715 banditry had become a reputable profession and, for some, robbing and looting became a way of life. When complaints from Turkish merchants and businessmen began to arrive the Ottoman State had no choice but to intervene. At times even the martolozes, men hired to protect the population, also contributed to the anarchy. Instead of upholding the law, they held up villages, taking food and materials without paying. Some even committed atrocities under the pretext of pursuing outlaws. During the Ottoman war with Austria and Russia, which lasted from 1787 to 1792, a new group of bandits, known as the krcali, appeared in Macedonia. The krcali were a large group who used various mountains throughout Macedonia for cover. The krcali were organized in bands of about two thousand. Their ranks consisted of peasants, army deserters and women, people of all faiths and nationalities. They rode on horseback and were extremely mobile. They were known for their surprise attacks and lightening fast ability to loot whole villages and towns. Many districts were devastated by the krcali who were hunted down by the Sultan’s army for a decade before they were eradicated. The greatest victims of this anarchy were the defenseless Christians whose only way of getting justice was for themselves to become outlaws. As in the 17th century, outlawry exploded again in the 18th century forcing the Ottoman State into a crisis. Unable to deal with outlawry on its own, the central government made it the responsibility of the general population by imposing additional taxes on them. Unable to stop the outlaws by conventional methods, the Ottoman authorities proposed various different schemes including employing them as martolozes (protectors) with a regular monthly income. The bands that agreed to the terms were pardoned for their past crimes. Unable to deal with the outlaws on its own was a clear signal that the Ottoman central government was weakening which prompted a further escalation in anarchic activities.

Attacks on the Macedonian peasant population in both villages and towns were carried out on a regular basis. The pressure of violence caused people to leave the dangerous countryside for the safety of larger towns. Macedonians left their rural homes for the urban setting thus opening up opportunities for foreign influx, mostly Albanians, to fill the void. With more Macedonians flooding the towns the economy began to shift from agriculture to craftsmanship and commerce. Also, coincidental with the movement of people, craftsman trades were gradually set free from small individual commissions for local consumption to the large production of goods for export. With the majority of the trades operated by Macedonians, leadership in the guilds began to slowly change hands. Macedonian merchants began to venture further out to strengthen their links with the outside world. Ohrid merchants began to trade with those of Port Durazzo thus gaining access to cities in Italy. Also merchants from Kostur opened trade with Venice and Austria. Macedonian trading houses were opened in Solun, Kostur, Bansko, Serres, Voden and Ohrid with bureaus in Bucharest, Timisoara, Budapest, Vienna, Livorno, Venice, Odessa and Moscow. Christians were allowed to trade with the usual restriction both inside and outside of the Ottoman world but Muslims were prohibited to do so by law. According to Muslim law, ordinary Muslims were not allowed to handle money, speak foreign languages, or venture beyond Islamic held lands. Therefore, a select class of Christians known as the Phanariots was appointed by the Sultan to handle official trade, communication and contact with the outside world. The Phanariots were a group of wealthy Christians who got their name from the “Phanar” or lighthouse district of Tsari Grad where they lived. After the Sultan installed the Patriarch (highest religious leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church) in Tsari Grad (Constantinople), the Phanar became a thriving community of wealthy and educated Christians. The Sultan placed the Phanariot Patriarch in charge of the Christian Millet because he found him more agreeable than his other (poor) Christian counterparts. The Patriarchy functioned like a state within a state with its own administration and services. Having the Sultan’s favour, the Patriarch took the opportunity to expand his dominion over the entire Eastern Christian Church by replacing whatever legitimate bishoprics he could with his own corrupt people. For example, the Old Serbian bishoprics were abolished as punishment for helping the Habsburgs (Ausro-Hungarian Empire). At about the same time the Macedonian bishopric, including the powerful Ohrid bishopric, was also abolished. After becoming gospodars (lords), the Phanariots replaced all the Romanian bishoprics. As gospodars in Romania, the Phanariots abolished Church Slavonic (Macedonian) liturgy and replaced Macedonian speaking clergy with Romanians. The Romanians however, didn’t care much for the Phanariots and pursued Romanian ways. Eventually as more and more bishoprics were shut down the Phanariots redefined the old culture, Christian faith and Christian education to suit themselves and their corrupt ways. The Ottomans trusted the Phanariots well enough to give them a role in the central Ottoman administration. This included the office of the “Dragoman”, the head of the Sultan's interpreters’ service. Phanariots participated in diplomatic negotiations with outsiders and some even became ambassadors for the Ottoman Empire. Phanariots were put in charge of collecting taxes from the Christian Millet for the Ottomans and whatever they could pilfer from the peasants they kept for themselves. Many scholars believe that Romania’s peasants have never suffered more than they did during the Phanariot period. Phanariots also secured food and other services for the Ottoman court. The Phanariots, through the Dragoman, were largely responsible for providing “all kinds” of information to the outside world about the Ottoman Empire, including their own desires to rule it some day.

Some Phanariots were educated abroad in London and Paris and were responsible for bringing information into the Ottoman Empire. Towards the middle of the 18th century, the Phanariot dream was to replace the Ottoman Empire with a Christian Empire like the Russian model. In theory, they wanted to re-create a multi-cultural Pravoslav Empire (Byzantine) but with a Patriarch in charge. The Phanariots believed that with Russian or German help it was possible to achieve their goals. The power and money hungry Phanariots were not content with only running the Ottoman administration but sought to possess all the eparchies of the Pravoslav Churches. Pressured by the Phanariots, the Patriarchate of Tsari Grad increasingly began to interfere in the affairs of the various Archbishoprics including the Church of Ohrid. Using his influence with the Sultan, in May 1763, the Patriarch attempted to appoint a man of his choice, the monk Ananias, as head of Ohrid. Ananias, however, was rejected and the Archbishopric elected Arsenius, the Macedonian Metropolitan from Pelagonia. This unfortunately proved disastrous for the Archbishopric. The Patriarch retaliated and by means of bribery and intrigue, with the aid of the Ottoman authorities and his allies among the higher clergy in the Ohrid Church, he gradually did away with the Archbishopric. On January 16, 1767 Arsenius was forced to resign his office voluntarily, recognize the Patriarchate of Tsari Grad and personally request the abolition of the Ohrid Archbishopric. The Sultan issued a decree making the abolition legal and annexing its eparchies to the Patriarchate of Tsari Grad. The Ohrid Eparchy itself was abolished and the town came under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan of Durazzo. Aiming to eradicate every single trace of the once autocephalous Ohrid church, the Patriarchate even changed Ohrid’s name to Lychnidos. The local bishops

were replaced with Koine speakers throughout Macedonia and new ecclesiastical taxes were introduced. After the unfortunate loss of the Ohrid Church to the Patriarchate, monasteries were virtually the only cultural centers left in Macedonia. Having a large number of Slavonic (Macedonian) manuscripts in their possession, the monasteries took over the tradition of copying and reproducing liturgical, philosophical, educational and other ecclesiastical documents. Included among the most important of these monasteries were the Lesnovo Monastery near Kratovo, Matejche and St. Prohor Pchinski near Kumanovo, Slepche near Demir Hisar, Treskavets near Prilep, Prechista near Kichevo, John Bigorski near Debar and Polog in the Tikvesh district. The desire to continue in the Macedonian tradition was provided by Sveta Gora (Holy mountain or Mt. Athos) where the Macedonian culture and Slavonic language continued to be cherished and heard in the monasteries of Chilandar, Zograph and Panteleimon. Among the various documents kept by the clergy in Sveta Gora were monastic records of the names and donations of all visitors to the monasteries. Important documents of Slavonic literacy such as Clement's Charter, the Slepche Letters, the Macedonian Damascene of the 16th century, the Tikvesh Collection of the 16th and 17th centuries and the Treskavets Codicil of the 17th and 18th centuries were also preserved in Sveta Gora. Monasteries provided shelter for teaching cleric students to read and write in the Macedonian language. During the 17th and more so during the 18th century, Macedonian monks began to open schools in the towns near their churches where they taught basic literacy to willing students. Such schools were also operated in Veles, Skopje and Prilep. New churches, built mostly by villages in Macedonia during Ottoman rule, were far smaller and more modest than those built in the pre-Ottoman period. Architecturally their form was simple, to make them indistinguishable from the houses in the village. A fresco painting hanging on the interior wall and several icons mounted on wooden iconostases were the only things that distinguished churches from houses. Icon paintings were still painted in the old style but the quality of the work gradually declined. Original works became a rarity and artistic creativity boiled down to nothing more than imitations and copying the great works from previous epochs. The number of painters, journeymen and apprentices also declined and so did their field work. During the 18th century several painting studios existed, the most significant being located in the Ohrid and Prespa district, the Treskavets and Zrze monasteries in the Prilep district, Slepche, Lesnovo and the Skopje Tsrna Gora. Some of the works produced during this and earlier periods were of considerable artistic value and of importance to the churches. Examples of these include the paintings in the Church of the Holy Virgin located in a cave at Peshtani. The snake cross in the Church of St. Demetrius in Ohrid was painted at the end of the 15th century. The monk Makarios, from the village of Zrze, painted the icon of the Virgin of Pelagonia in 1422, and the portrait of Kupen, painted in 1607, was in the Church of the Holy Virgin at Slivnitsa Monastery in the village of Slivnitsa in the Prespa district. The influence of oriental elements in Macedonian woodcarving also increased during the same period. The double braid, carved in shallow and flat carvings, was a pure and exclusive motif right up until the 17th and early 18th centuries when more intricate carvings began to appear. Good examples of shallow carving are the doors of the old monastery, Church of St. John the Baptist at Slepche. Other exceptionally good pieces of woodcarving are the doors of the Treskavets Monastery, probably carved at the end of the 15th century. Shallow woodcarvings can also be found on icon frames from the same period. The most interesting is that of the baptism of Christ found in the Church of the Holy Virgin at the Slivnitsa Monastery.

Deep incisions began to appear at the close of the 17th century, showing superior beauty in contrast to the shallow carvings. Good examples of deep carvings are the iconostases of St. Naum Church near Lake Ohrid (1711) and St. Demetrius Church in Bitola (1775). On the subject of music, the necessary conditions for the development of professional music in Macedonia were not quite there during the Ottoman era. Folk music, however, flourished and was very popular with the Macedonian people, not only for its entertaining qualities but also for its manifestations of soul, spirit, joy, suffering and pain. Most composers, unfortunately, chose to remain anonymous and cannot be credited for their work. Apart from church music, which continued to be sung in the Pravoslav chant style, folk music dominated Macedonian melodies virtually up until the end of the 19th century. Apart from being conquerors and tyrants the Ottomans also had positive qualities. Turkish literature in Macedonia started as far back as the second half of the 15th century. Skopje, Enidzhe Vardar, and Endrene (Adrianople) were the largest Turkish cultural centers in the European part of the Ottoman State. Literature and poetry were the most valued and cherished aspects of Turkish culture which flourished during the 15th and 16th centuries but began to decline in the second half of the 17th century. Wherever a sizable Muslim population lived in Macedonia, it left its mark in the form of Islamic temples, either as mosques or as mescids (smaller mosques). Another form of Ottoman artistic expression was mausoleums, which also left their mark in Macedonia. Distinguished Ottomans were buried in

mausoleums. One of the oldest that has been preserved is the mausoleum at Isaac Beg's mosque in Skopje. Another group of Muslims who left their mark on Macedonian soil were the Dervishes. Wherever dervishes were found, so were their convents and hermitages. More forms of Ottoman architectural expressions in Macedonia were the medresas, or religious schools which occupied a place of distinction among Macedonia’s urban panorama. Isaac Beg built one of the first significant medresas in Skopje in 1445. Other prominent Ottoman buildings included large numbers of imarets, or free kitchens for the poor and travelers. Medresas and imarets usually existed as ancillary buildings in complexes among the larger mosques. The Ottomans also owned numerous inns and caravanserais, which were built in the more important urban and commercial centers at various intervals along the main traffic routes in Macedonia. One of the finest was the Kurshumli Caravanserai in Skopje. Covered markets or bezsnes were also popular in Macedonia, built to meet the needs of growing commerce in the various towns. One such place was the Mustapha Pasha covered marketplace in Skopje. We must not forget the famous hamams or Turkish public baths, which were offered to the public both in towns and villages. Some, like the Daut Pasha Baths and the Cift Baths in Skopje, were immensely large and beautiful structures. Also of importance were the public systems of piped water, drinking fountains and wells. Turkish educational institutions, which were emphatically religious in nature, in addition to teaching religion, offered students the opportunity to study Oriental languages, Islamic law, philosophy and mathematics. Education was conducted in the medresas (religious high schools) and the mektebs (religious elementary schools). By the 15th century two medresas were operating in Skopje. The Isaac Beg Medresa, was one of the oldest and most famous in the entire Balkans Books were also important in the cultural life of the Islamic world. Oriental libraries, consisting mostly of religious books, were set up throughout the mosques, medresas and convents all over Macedonia. The oldest, richest and most important of these libraries was the library in Isaac Beg’s mosque in Skopje. Besides the Turks, the Albanians in Macedonia also possessed a rich culture. Life experiences were preserved in calendar songs, cradle songs, wedding and love songs. Some of the oldest and richest epics still exist in the Debar and Kichevo regions and are part of the Albanian mythological heritage. Albanian literature was also rich in folk tales. With regard to dress, Albanian women wore clothes exceptionally rich in colour with a unique dress design. One could tell to which village a

woman belonged by the colours and patterns on her dress. Men’s clothing was fairly standard throughout Macedonia. Unlike Muslim Turks and Albanians, who were free to enjoy their cultures, Christian Macedonians found the Turkish yoke increasingly unbearable, particularly from the Turkish troops who enjoyed abusing, humiliating and harassing them. With bases in Tsari Grad and Solun, troops constantly passed through Macedonia on their way to and from wars. Dissatisfied with their own condition, the soldiers often took their frustration out on the Macedonian population. There were always Turkish soldiers in Solun so in spite of harsh living conditions no Solunian dared cause trouble unless living conditions became unbearable. In 1712 a plague broke out as a result of poor living conditions and by 1713 over 8,000 people had lost their lives. In 1720 the people of Solun had had just about enough of Turkish rule and took up arms when their wheat supplies were cut and there was no bread to eat. The same happened in 1753, 1758 and again in 1789. According to descriptions of 18th century Solun, the city had not grown beyond the confines of the Pravoslav walls, parts of which still remained in good condition. Solun had four big towers, three of which were rectangular and one circular, (the White Tower still exists to this day) located at the southern part of the fortified walls. The population of 18th century Solun numbered approximately 40,000 people, most of whom were Turks and Jews. The streets in the commercial district were covered over with boards forming a continuous roof, providing shade for the shoppers on the hot summer days. On the international stage, the military balance continued to shift away from the Ottomans as they continued to lose their edge in technology and modern weaponry. While western economies continued to improve, Ottoman economic development remained stagnant. A century of military defeats suffered at the hands of the western Europeans devastated the Ottoman Empire. More recently, the emergence of Russia as another powerful Ottoman foe also added to the Ottoman misery. Ottoman-Russian wars began as early as 1677. Russia attacked the Crimea in 1689 and in 1695 captured the crucial port of Azov. Russia, up to this point, had been completely cut off from the Black Sea and had suffered immensely both economically and politically at the hands of the Ottomans. Faced with multiple fronts, the Ottoman Empire began to shrink and for the first time since its invasions of Europe it began to permanently lose conquered lands. By the year 1700 the Sultan had surrendered almost all of Hungary, as well as Transylvania, Croatia and Slovenia to the Habsburgs while yielding Dalmatia, the Morea and some Aegean islands to Venice and Padolia and the South Ukraine to Poland. Russia had gained some