Front Matter - Part 06

In spite of Macedonia being politically controlled by the Pravoslavs (Byzantines) and by the Bulgars, linguistically and culturally Macedonia remained Macedonian. The next bid the Macedonian people made to free themselves militarily was during the 10th century AD after the collapse of the Bulgar empire in 969 AD due to a war they lost against Russia and while the Pravoslavs were fighting a war in Asia. In the absence of Bulgar control, the Comitopoloi brothers, David, Moses, Aaron and Samoil sons of Duke-Comes Nikola, organized a successful uprising and freed parts of Macedonia. The uprising was a result of excessive exploitation of the Macedonian people who at the same time were heavily taxed by both the Bulgars and the Pravoslavs. As the need for more resources increased in order to support both empires, which at the time were at war, so did Pravoslav and Bulgar control over Macedonian principalities. With the strengthening of Pravoslav and Bulgar control over Macedonia came decline of Macedonian tribal self-government. Foreigners from other parts of the empires were granted Macedonian lands and privileges to use the Macedonian population to do their work. Church and monastery land holdings were formed and in time increased through gifts and by means of confiscations. Many Macedonian peasants lost their lands to the church due to defaulting on loans or by being accused of religious crimes. After everyone took their cut, the Macedonian peasant was left with nothing. Pushed beyond the brink of starvation, the Macedonian peasants revolted in what later became known as the Bogomil movement. Even though it was religious in nature, the Bogomil movement was predominantly a class struggle between the poor Macedonian peasants and their rich foreign rulers. The Bogomil movement was initiated in Macedonia by a Macedonian priest named Bogomil. It is said that at the dawn of medieval Macedonia two great Macedonian men arose, Kliment of Ohrid and a priest named Bogomil. The first was an educator and writer whose distinguished work is the pride of Macedonia. The second was an idealist whose heretical theory became a rallying cry for the oppressed in Macedonia and later throughout Europe. Bogomil was the first to teach religious elements adopted from the Paulician and Marsalian teachings. These beliefs, which forbade taking sacraments, worshipping images, including the cross, and refuted much of the Bible, were probably introduced to Macedonia by the Armenian colonists deposited in Thrace by past Pravoslav emperors. Many of the dualistic, anti-ecclesiastical and anti-feudal characteristics of these movements found their expression in the Bogomil ideology. The Bogomils believed in the existence of a struggle between good and evil and that good would conquer in the end. They maintained that the rich were the servants of the devil and anyone who submitted to them was going against God. According to them, the entire visible world with all its laws and systems had been created not by God but by the devil. They opposed the existence of churches and monasteries, were against the use of crosses, icons and feasts and propagated the belief that man could pray to God without the aid of a priest. Much of the energy attributed to the rise of the Bogomil movement came from the unbearable exploitation from foreign rulers and the Church. Bogomilism was strongest in the territory defined by the triangle of the Vardar River, Ohrid and Mt. Shar. In 976 AD, the four brothers, David, Moses, Aaron and Samoil were successful in establishing joint rule which unfortunately did not last. After the three brothers were killed, Samoil took the throne for himself and began a westerly campaign penetrating Thrace, Macedonia and Thessaly right down to the Peloponnesus. Just recovering from its last sacking, Solun was about to be sacked again but Samoil decided to continue south and in so doing he took a large number of towns, including Larissa. Samoil resettled the inhabitants of Larissa in the interior of his state and incorporated the Larissan soldiers into his own army.

From Larissa he removed the remains of St. Achilles and brought them to Prespa, to the island of Ail. Protected by the waters of Lake Mala Prespa, Samoil made Ail his capital and built a magnificent palace on it. It was no accident that Samoil received his strongest support from the territory defined by the triangle of the Vardar River, Ohrid and Mt. Shar. Samoil’s success was fueled by the Bogomil movement and its distaste for foreign rule. In Macedonia the Bogomil movement was particularly influential in the creation of favourable conditions for a liberation uprising and the formation of an independent state. Samoil took full advantage of the situation and established a Macedonian state. In 989 AD Samoil invaded Dalmatia, captured young king Vladimir and made him a prisoner of war in his own castle in Prespa. While Samoil was plundering Dalmatia, his daughter Kossara fell in love with the young captive king Vladimir and wanted to marry him. Not to disappoint her, Samoil gave in and gave her his blessings thus introducing Macedonian blood into the royal European lines that live on to this day. Now that he was his son-in-law he gave Vladimir his former kingdom back. As a wedding gift he also gave the newlyweds Dyrrachium and all its territories. He even returned Trebinye to Vladimir's uncle, Dragomir. Samoil’s good deeds not only earned him the respect of his son-in-law but Vladimir also became his ally and loyal vassal. When Samoil died in 1014, his kingdom was vast and included the whole of Macedonia (except for Solun), Thessaly, Epirus, the coastal sclavenes of Oiocleia, Travunya and Zachlumia, the Neretva region (excluding the islands) as far as Cetina, Serbia, Bosnia and a considerable part of Bulgaria. For the most part, the majority of the population living in Samoil’s empire was Macedonian, with large Slav pockets south of Olympus down to the Peloponnesus. To a lesser extent there lived Bulgars, Serbs, Croats, Romani, Albanians and Vlachs. Additionally there lived migrants such as Vardariot Turks and Armenians who were recently settled there by former Pravoslav emperors and some by Samoil. While many Armenians existed in Thrace, Samoil had also settled some in Pelagonia, Prespa and Ohrid. The Romani were known to exist mostly in coastal regions. Samoil’s kingdom was a newly created state with a completely different nucleus of people and with completely different domestic and foreign policies than any of his neighbours. The center of Samoil’s state was in the far south of the Balkans, inside today's Republic of Macedonia. Samoil had a number of capitals, which he used from time to time. During his reign Samoil moved his capital to several places including Prespa, Ohrid, Prilep, Bitola, Pronishte and Setin, all of which were inside Macedonia. According to ancient sources, very little is known about the socio-economic conditions and the organization of Samoil's state. It is likely that the majority of people in Samoil’s kingdom were peasants, most of whom were freemen, but those working on the feudal estates were either serfs or churchmen. The serfs worked on both secular and church lands while churchmen worked exclusively on church lands. Being of a slightly better social class, the churchmen were exempt from heavy taxes. However, the churchmen were obliged to donate extra labour, probably in community service, in lieu of taxes. The noble class in Samoil’s state was made up mostly of feudal lords and aristocrats who were allied behind Samoil and supported his policies. After his death the alliances began to erode and the nobles went their separate ways in pursuit of their own interests which led them closer and closer towards the Pravoslavs. Slavery was rarely practiced but on occasion slaves were captured and sold, usually outside the kingdom. The main source of slaves was prisoners of war. It is well known, for example, that Samoil enslaved the population of Larissa after their city fell. Most of Samoil’s income came from imperial land-holdings, sale of livestock, judicial fines and military plunder.

Samoil's treasury contained many valuables including gold and money. Having no coins of his own minted, the currency circulated in Samoil's kingdom was Pravoslav. As for his military makeup, Samoil was supreme commander and enlisted his forces almost exclusively from his own kingdom. He had an enormous army consisting of both infantry and cavalry. Samoil was an able strategist who personally took part not only in planning but also in executing battles. For the most part, Samoil’s weaponry and military dress was similar to the Pravoslav. His soldiers wore a short outer tunic, trousers and a shirt of steel. They also wore a helmet with a pivoting extension which could be lowered down to the chin to protect the warrior’s face. Each soldier was armed with a defensive shield, long spear and sword. Other accessories included bugles and standards. Besides his regular army, Samoil also employed his own bodyguards. Samoil had no navy or any type of war vessel. The official language of Samoil's kingdom was Macedonian although Koine was also used occasionally as the language of diplomacy at the imperial palace. Samoil built some of the most significant buildings in his kingdom including the Basilica of St. Achilles, his various palaces and a number of churches situated in the southern parts of his kingdom. The famous and historic Archbishopric of Ohrid was created during Samoil's reign. Initially the Archbishopric was seated in Prespa but when Samoil moved to Ohrid, he brought it with him. Ohrid became his capital as well as his religious center. After its consolidation, the new archbishop was given authority over all bishops who fell under Samoil’s jurisdiction. Unfortunately the Pravoslavs refused to recognize the Archbishop of Ohrid, probably because the Roman church which crowned Samoil had consecrated it. During Samoil's rule the Macedonian church was quite popular and the clergy, especially the bishops, enjoyed their privileged positions. When Basil II, another Macedonian serving as Emperor of the Pravoslavs, found out that Samoil had died, he marched his army to Polog via Solun and razed Samoil’s imperial palace in Bitola. His troops stormed Prilep and Shtip bringing devastation to everything that stood in their path. In the spring of 1015 Basil set out for Voden and subdued an uprising and by 1018 he succeeded in destroying the last remnants of Samoil's forty-two year reign (976-1018) of his Macedonian kingdom. After conquering Macedonia, Basil II made it a Pravoslav province and sub-divided it into themes installing a large army to keep the peace. The Archbishopric of Ohrid was subordinated to Pravoslav authority and incorporated into the Patriarchate of Tsari Grad (Constantinople). Macedonia was reorganized into thirty-two eparchies. The Bulgarian, Serbian and Albanian eparchies were also incorporated into the Ohrid Archbishopric. An Archbishop and the Church Synod were given supreme authority over the Ohrid Archbishopric. The Synod met in Ohrid once a year to elect new bishops and discipline clergy accused of various breaches and misconduct. The Archbishop of Ohrid was no longer elected by the Synod, as it had been under Samoil’s rule, but was appointed by Tsari Grad and confirmed by the Pravoslav Emperor. The Archbishop remained autocephalous but was subject to the Pravoslav state and church authorities. He was a member of the principal administration of the Patriarchate of Tsari Grad, attended its sittings, defended the interests and prestige of the Pravoslav Church and participated in the resolution of disagreements with the western Church. Basil II allowed the higher clergy of the Archbishopric to retain some privileges. By doing so he gained their support in strengthening Pravoslav rule over Macedonia. To appear sympathetic he also appointed John of Debar, a Macedonian, head of the Archbishopric. After Basil II’s death in 1025 his successor Leo attempted to tighten control over the Macedonian church by replacing the Slavonic language with Koine.

Having encountered opposition, in 1037 he removed John of Debar, one of the strongest supporters of the Macedonian language. Henceforth the Archbishops of Ohrid and the bishops of the churches in the Ohrid Archbishopric were regularly elected from the ranks of the Koine speaking clergy. The lower clergy remained Slavonic speakers because they were closer to the people. When Ohrid came under Pravoslav control the Koine speaking hierarchs began to eradicate all documents written in Slavonic. Many manuscripts which had been preserved in Ohrid were destroyed. In the churches Slavonic liturgy began to be preached in adaptations translated from Koine. The Slavonic names of rivers, towns, etc. were also replaced by either classical Koine or Latin names. The Archbishopric of Ohrid was slowly becoming a Koine speaking institution designed to destroy the Macedonian traditions, which had been nurtured over the years. Slavonic literacy could not, however, be totally destroyed. The adaptation of Koine did not succeed in taking any deep roots among the people who continued to communicate in their native Slavonic language. Hard hit by this latest clampdown, the Macedonian people once again began to lose control of their Macedonia. After reaching a renaissance under Samoil, Macedonia, after its capitulation to the Pravoslavs again fell to foreign rule and began to decline. Even though Basil II was a Macedonian himself, his loyalties lay with the Pravoslavs. His obligation was to serve his own empire above the interests of the Macedonian people. The roaring fires which King Samoil of Macedonia ignited in the Macedonian people began to slowly extinguish as Pravoslav control tightened over Macedonia. Economically divided into themes and controlled by foreign hands, Macedonia’s capacity to free itself began to slowly diminish. Tax reforms introduced in 1040 requiring peasants to pay taxes with money were good for the economy and for the tax collectors but bad for the peasants. Feudal lords awarded rights to collect state taxes meant that foreigners in addition to owning the lands were now also in authority to extract not only taxes for the state but whatever else they could for themselves above and beyond what the law prescribed. Besides regular taxes, Macedonians were also obliged to pay various supplementary taxes, like judicial fines, toll tax for crossing rivers, fishing tax, water-mill tax and marriage tax. As a marriage tax the groom was obliged to pay his bishop a gold piece and the bride twelve ells (15 meters) of linen. This was too much for the Macedonian people to bear and in their frustration they began to rebel. Leading the rebellion was Peter Delyan, Gabriel Radomir's son by his first wife, the daughter of the Hungarian king. The rebellion, supported by the Hungarian king, began in the regions of Belgrade and Morava near the Hungarian border and soon spread south to Skopje. With popular support and assistance from the local Macedonian population, the rebel army invaded and took Skopje. Tsari Grad quickly reacted by dispatching an army in pursuit. But instead of attacking, the Pravoslav soldiers defected and proclaimed Tihomir, one of their own soldiers, as their emperor. Tihomir unfortunately died in battle leaving his army under Delyan’s command. Delyan immediately began a military campaign to recover his grandfather’s (Samoil’s) kingdom by sending troops to Dyrrachium and, with the support of the local people, took that theme. He then sent a large army to besiege Solun. At the sight of Delyan’s immense army, Pravoslav Emperor Michael IV, who at the time was waiting for him, fled in terror to Tsari Grad leaving Manuel Ivets in command of the Pravoslav army. Instead of fighting Ivets defected to Delyan’s side, joining forces with the rebels. Exploiting the panic which had risen in the ranks of the Pravoslav army, Delyan dispatched his armies in several directions. One, led by Anthimus, made its way south reaching as deep as the town Tiva and spreading the revolt into Epirus and conquering the theme of Naupactos.

Another army took Demetrias (Volos in Thessaly) and so on. Soon Delyan was in possession of a large territory encompassing the greater part of Samoil’s kingdom. Unfortunately the rebellion proved futile as the numerically superior Pravoslav army in 1041 engaged and defeated the rebels. Instead of bringing change for the better, the rebellion brought disaster to the Macedonian people. The Pravoslav army, which consisted mainly of Norwegian mercenaries under the command of Harold Hardraga, devastated Macedonia. They enslaved most of the population and brought new state officials and feudal lords who, together with the army, introduced even more oppressive measures. Frustration continued to boil in Macedonia and in 1072 the Macedonian people again took to the streets and began another rebellion. Led by George Voyteh a revolt broke out in Skopje and was immediately assisted by Michael, the ruler of Zeta, who was related to Samoil. Michael sent his son Constantine Bodin along with three hundred of his elite troops to join Voyteh and his rebels at Prizren and immediately proclaimed him emperor under the name Peter, in honour of the fallen Peter Delyan. The rebels descended on Macedonia with two columns of armies and managed to liberate Skopje and Ohrid but received a severe blow while attempting to liberate Kostur. Outnumbered and outgunned, Voyteh agreed to surrender thus ending the rebellion. In 1073 the Pravoslavs stepped up their campaign in Macedonia and brought additional forces in to rout out the remaining pockets of rebel resistance. Unfortunately that was not all that they did. In pursuit of the rebels, the Pravoslav army destroyed Samoil’s imperial palace in Prespa and looted the churches in the vicinity. These acts further inflamed the situation and the rebels continued to resist, forcing the Pravoslavs to bring even more troops and take more drastic measures. Only by burning and razing everything, wherever opposition was offered, did the Pravoslavs succeeded in putting down the rebellion. By the end of 1073 it was all over. When all else failed the oppressed masses began to express their frustration by joining the Bogomil movement. They became particularly powerful at the end of the eleventh century and even more so during the course of the twelfth century. The struggle of the Bogomils was directed as equally against the feudal lords as it was against the Pravoslav Emperor and his spiritual and ecclesiastical officials. The next conquerors to influence the Macedonian people in a negative way were the Seljuq Turks, whose conquests would change the shape of both the Muslim and Pravoslav worlds. In 1055, having conquered Persia, they entered Baghdad and their prince assumed the title of sultan and protector of the Abbasid caliphate. Before long they asserted their authority up to the borders of Fatimid Egypt and throughout Pravoslav Anatolia. They made their first appearance across the Pravoslav frontier in Armenia in the mid-1060’s and went as far west as Caesarea in central Anatolia. By the middle of the fourteenth century, the Ottoman Turks had consolidated their power in Asia Minor and were becoming a threat to the Balkan states. Their first serious campaign for the conquest of Europe began in 1352 when they took the fortress of Tzympe, on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Two years later, taking advantage of a devastating earthquake, they took the fortress of Gallipoli, thus creating a convenient bridgehead for their forthcoming penetration of the Balkans. Among the first to be threatened by the Turkish forces was Uglesha’s rule, a feudal lord in Macedonia. Confronted with danger he persuaded his brother Volkashin to take joint actions. Hostilities broke out in September 1371 near Chernomen followed by a fierce battle on the River Maritsa. The river turned red as casualties mounted, among them the brothers Volkashin and Uglesha. Volkashin's son Marko retained the title of King but had to recognize Turkish authority and pay tribute and rendering military aid to the Turks.

The Dragash brothers who ruled Eastern Macedonia with their seat at Velbuzhd also became Turkish vassals. It was a major victory for the Turks and a catastrophe for the Macedonians, not only for the loss of life but for the terrible change of fate. King Marko, known to Macedonians as Marko Krale, became a legendary folk hero in western Macedonia surrounded by tales and hero stories. In 1365 Volkashin proclaimed himself king (tsar) and became co-ruler with king Urosh. His brother, the despot Uglesha, ruled over the Struma region. Marko inherited Volkashin’s throne and title but as part of the treaty with the Turks, whose authority he had to recognize, he had to pay tribute to the Turkish Sultan. It is believed that Marko was born in 1335. His name was discovered in a document establishing him as one of Volkashin’s delegates to Dubrovnik. His name was also discovered in some chronicles of his time establishing him as the son of Volkashin and later as Marko the king. In another document dated 1370 Volkashin makes mention of his sons Marko and Andrew and of his wife Elena. With its capital in Prilep, Marko inherited a state that lay between the Vardar River and Albania stretching from the Shar Mountain range down to Kostur, excluding the cities of Skopje and Ohrid. After becoming king, Marko minted his own coins and placed on them the inscription: "King Marko faithful to Lord Jesus Christ". Marko Krale was killed on May 17, 1395 in Craiova Romania, during a battle against the Vlach military leader Mircho. Marko was obliged to fight for the Turks as part of his treaty agreement with Sultan Bayazit. Marko Krale, it appears, left no heir. After his death his state reverted to the Turks. Even though Marko Krale had been a Turkish vassal and fought on the side of Bayazit's army he was a devout Christian and just before he died on his deathbed he begged God for forgiveness and prayed out loud, asking God to help the Christians. And thus a legend was born. Marko Krale, the fearless legend, has been enshrined in the Towers of Prilep where he was born and by his frescoes and paintings in various churches and monasteries. Life under Turkish rule in Macedonia was harsh. The Ottoman overlords overthrew the Pravoslav administration at the top and continued business as usual economically exploiting the people. Macedonian lands continued to be in foreign hands and the peasants continued to be exploited as before. The new conquerors were only interested in making profit for themselves and to feed their imperial ambitions. When the Ottomans crossed over to the Balkans and conquered Macedonia the basic state institutions and military organization of the empire were still in a state of development. Built on a basis of feudal social relations the empire was despotic with many elements of theocratic rule.

After sacking Tsari Grad the Ottomans adapted much of the Pravoslav administration and feudal practices and began to settle the Balkans. The conquered people of the new Ottoman territories became subjects of the empire, to be ruled according to Muslim law. At the head of the Ottoman Empire sat the Sultan who was God’s representative on earth. The Sultan owned everything and everyone in the empire. Below the Sultan sat the ruling class and below them sat the Rajak (protected flock). Everyone worked for the Sultan and he in turn provided his subjects with all of life’s necessities. The Sultan was the supreme head of the empire and his power was unrestricted. The Ottoman legal system was created around the Seriat which had its basis in Islam. The Koran and Hadith were the books from which the ideals and fundamental principles for the construction of the legal system were drawn. No law could be passed which in principle contradicted the Seriat. Only the supreme religious leader, the Sejh-ul-Islam, had the right to interpret and assess the legal norms and only from the point of view of Islamic law. The Koran dictated Muslim conduct and behaviour, including punishment for crimes. In the Ottoman mind only religion and the word of God had sole authority over peoples’ lives. Religion was the official government of the Ottoman State. Islam was the only recognized form of rule that suited Muslims but could not be directly applied to non-Muslims. So the next best thing was to allow another religion to rule the non-Muslims. The obvious choice of course was the Pravoslav Christian Orthodox religion, which was the foundation of the Pravoslav Empire. There was a catch however. The official Muslim documents that would allow the “transfer of rule” were based on an ancient Islamic model, which denounced all Christianity as a corrupt invention of the “Evil one”. The conservative Turks regarded the Christians as no more than unclean and perverted animals. Also, the ancient documents called for sacrifices to be made. A Christian religious leader, for being granted leadership by the Muslims, was expected to sacrifice his own flock on demand to prove his loyalty to the Sultan. It was under these conditions that the Patriarch accepted his installment as sole ruler of the Christian Orthodox faith and of the non-Muslim Millet. The Sultans tolerated Christianity as the government of the non-Muslim Millet and sold the Patriarchate to an adventurer who could buy (bribe) his nomination. Once nominated, the Patriarch in turn sold consecration rights to Bishops, who in turn regarded their gain as a “legitimate investment” of capital and proceeded to “farm their diocese”. Under Ottoman rule the Patriarchate in Tsari Grad became a corrupt business, having little to do with faith and more to do with making money. As more and more bishoprics fell into the hands of the new Patriarch, faith