Macedonia Occupation and Freedom
Historical Macedonia was much larger than the present-day state, encompassing all of northern Greece as well as parts of Bulgaria and Albania. In ancient times, its capital was initially the city of Vergina and later Pella. With the Roman conversion to Christianity and the establishment of the Byzantine Empire, the capital shifted to Thessaloniki, where it remained until the end of the Ottoman period. Macedonia was a vital and integral part of the Byzantine Empire, which even had a ruling dynasty known as the Macedonian dynasty.
At the beginning of the second millennium, it seemed that the new-old Christian imperial order would last forever. However, major events soon reshaped the existing world order. The invasions of Turkish tribes brought the Seljuks to the outskirts of Constantinople, while the Crusades passed through the Balkans, introducing new influences. It was an era of chivalric ideals and the rise of feudal society.
In the early 13th century, Constantinople was conquered by the Crusaders, leading to the fragmentation of the Byzantine Empire into three successor states. The Balkans were transformed, with the Bulgarians and Serbs gaining independence and establishing powerful kingdoms. North Macedonia became a contested region, caught in the struggle for dominance between the Byzantines, Serbs, and Bulgarians.
At that time, the Macedonians saw themselves as part of the Bulgarian Empire. However, as Bulgaria’s political center shifted eastward to Veliko Tarnovo, the connection to the lake regions of Macedonia weakened. Serbian and Byzantine influences grew stronger in the region. The key factor that distinguished Macedonia from Bulgaria was the existence of an independent Archbishopric in Ohrid, which competed with the newly established Bulgarian Patriarchate in Veliko Tarnovo.
With the rise of the powerful Serbian kings of the Nemanja dynasty, the connection between North Macedonia and Serbia grew stronger. The greatest ruler of the dynasty, Stefan Dušan, made Skopje his capital for ten years in the mid-14th century. However, after his death, the Serbian Empire fragmented into several smaller states, creating instability in the region. This disintegration paved the way for the advancing Ottoman forces, who began their conquest of the Balkans.
The region of present-day North Macedonia became a local Serbo-Slavic state ruled by two legendary kings, Vukašin and his son Marko, with their capital and stronghold in Prilep, in the Pelagonia Valley. Marko rebelled against the Ottomans and briefly established an independent state, which Macedonians view as a precursor to their own national identity. However, for most of his reign, he remained an Ottoman vassal.
Ottoman Macedonia
After the Ottoman conquest, the province of Macedonia, known as the Macedonia Vilayet, was established, encompassing parts of northern Greece, southwestern Bulgaria, and present-day North Macedonia. Its capital was Thessaloniki, while Bitola (Monastir) became the second most important city.
Starting in the late 15th century, following their expulsion from Spain, Sephardic Jews settled in the Balkans and played a significant role in the trade and economic life of Macedonia.
In 1878, the entire Balkans was liberated by Russian forces with the support of the Bulgarians and Serbs, but the Western powers—England and France—forced the Russians to return the provinces of Macedonia, Albania, and Kosovo to the Ottomans. The Macedonians remained the last European Christian people under Ottoman rule, marking the beginning of the “Macedonian problem.”
Initially, the Macedonian people identified themselves as Slavs under Ottoman rule, aspiring to unite with the newly established Bulgarian state rather than necessarily seeking full independence. The Macedonian language had not yet been fully consolidated and could still be considered a dialect of Bulgarian. However, over time, the desire for complete independence grew stronger.
The Macedonians still carry the trauma of what they see as a betrayal by Christian governments when their land was handed back to the Ottomans after the war of 1878. They view themselves as a small nation in the heart of the Balkans, suffering at the hands of larger and more powerful countries.
The struggle against Ottoman rule intensified in the early 20th century, reaching its peak with the Kruševo Uprising in 1903, which marked a decisive demand for Macedonian full independence.
Independent Macedonia
Every year, on August 2, Macedonians celebrate Republic Day, commemorating two pivotal events in their national history that took place on the same date, 41 years apart. The first is the Krusevo Uprising in 1903, a key moment in the struggle for independence from Ottoman rule. The second is the proclamation and establishment of the Macedonian nation-state within the Federation of Yugoslavia in 1944.
After the liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, a national movement emerged in Macedonia, initially demanding autonomy for the historical region. Some leaders of the movement envisioned unification with Bulgaria, while a few were oriented toward Serbia. However, the dominant trend soon shifted toward a desire for separate Macedonian independence, with the people seeing themselves as a distinct nation continuing the historical and glorious tradition of the Macedonian people across generations.
The movement for the liberation of Macedonia emerged among intellectuals, the younger generation of wealthy merchants, and was supported by idealists from neighbouring countries as well as the poor local population. It was a time of rising nationalism, helped by the spread of literacy, and the expansion of the press, which also reached the Balkans.
The movement split into several organizations, some of which adopted a campaign of terror, including bombings, to draw Western public attention to the Macedonian question. In 1903, a decisive step was taken with the launch of a general uprising, centered in the fortress town of Krusevo in central Macedonia. The date of August 2 was chosen for the uprising, as it coincided with the feast day of the prophet Elijah in the Christian calendar. For this reason, the Krusevo Uprising is also known as the “Ilinden Uprising.”
The rebels managed to defeat the local Turkish forces and establish an independent republic, which lasted only ten days before surrendering to a large Ottoman army of 30,000 men. The consequences were severe: the Ottomans destroyed the town and many surrounding villages, killing thousands of people and displacing about a quarter of a million from their homes. However, the idea of freedom became deeply ingrained in the Macedonian consciousness. The Krusevo Uprising was a defining moment in the process of nation-building.
In 1912, the Balkan states launched a war against the Ottoman Empire, known as the First Balkan War. The success was swift, and all the Ottoman Balkan territories were liberated, including Macedonia. The victors then divided the spoil among themselves. Greece received nearly 50% of Ottoman Macedonia, including the entire region of northern Greece, Thessaloniki, and Thrace. Serbia took about 40%, which corresponds to the present-day territory of independent North Macedonia. Bulgaria received less than 10%, consisting of the southwestern region of Bulgaria, including Bansko and the Pirin Mountains. From this point on, the territory acquired by Serbia came to be recognized as “Macedonia,” and it is this region that I refer to in this book.
Shortly after the Balkan Wars, World War I broke out, followed by the war between Turkey and Greece in 1924. This conflict led to the migration of many Greek refugees, estimated at around one and a half million, primarily from Turkey’s western coastal areas, including Izmir, to northern Greece and Thessaloniki, which was then referred to as New Greece. At the same time, the Greek authorities began pushing Slavic populations out of northern New Greece into Macedonia and Bulgaria. Those who remained underwent processes of Hellenization.
World War I was a very difficult period for Serbia, which included Macedonia at the time. Macedonia was occupied by the Bulgarians and the Central Powers, but the Serbian army did not surrender. In a heroic campaign, it retreated into Greece and, with renewed support of the Allies, advanced northward toward Macedonia. The front line passed through southern Macedonia and near the city of Bitola, which was almost completely devastated.
After World War I, Macedonia began a process of recovery within the newly formed Yugoslav state. At the same time, the process of national consolidation continued. The language was unified, Skopje was established as the capital, and a national ethos took shape. Literature and art flourished, contributing to the strengthening of Macedonian identity.
During World War II, Serbian Macedonia was occupied by the Bulgarians, who collaborated with the Nazis. The Bulgarian police and the fascist party clashed with the local population, deepening the divide between Bulgarians and Macedonians.
As part of the broader resistance movement in Yugoslavia, a Macedonian communist partisan army was formed, operating from the mountains and remote areas. This army grew in strength and numbers, and toward the end of the war, in 1944, on the anniversary of the Krusevo Uprising, it successfully took control of Skopje.
The Macedonian Anti-Fascist Assembly was established and, a few months later, became the parliament of an independent nation-state within the communist federation of Yugoslavia. The assembly declared the Macedonian language an official language and affirmed Macedonia as an independent state within the federation, continuing the Krusevo tradition. Yugoslavia consisted of six independent nation-states, each granted cultural autonomy and national recognition.
However, relations between the nation-states of Yugoslavia were not always smooth. The Serbian leadership sought to promote a Serbian-national narrative, emphasizing that Macedonia was part of Serbia. At the same time, economic resources were often redirected to Serbia, leaving Macedonia relatively underdeveloped and serving as a source of raw materials. For example, tomatoes grown in Macedonia were processed in Belgrade and then sold back to Macedonia as ketchup at inflated prices.
In a wine-growing country like Macedonia, there were almost no wineries, and despite its rich agricultural resources and vegetable production, food processing industries were scarce. This imbalance led to resentment among the local population and a growing sense of detachment from Serbian identity. At the same time, Serbian efforts to suppress connections to Bulgarian nationalism proved successful, particularly after the harsh Bulgarian occupation of World War II.
As a result, Macedonians found themselves in opposition to both Serbs and Bulgarians and continued to develop their own distinct identity, shaping a unique historical narrative that emphasized their independence and longevity as a people.
With the collapse of Yugoslavia, the Macedonia declared its independence and is now a parliamentary democracy, with much of its political landscape revolving around the Albanian question. Between a quarter or a third of the population, primarily in the western regions, are Albanians who identify with Albania. This situation nearly led to a civil war in 2001, but the crisis was managed and resolved for the time being.
Macedonia remains one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a high unemployment rate. After a long-standing name dispute with Greece, Macedonia agreed to be called “North Macedonia,” as there is a province called Macedonia that incorporates the historical sites of ancient Macedonia in northern Greece.
