Following the Footsteps of Alexander the Great : A Dream Come True

After three years of planning, studying and dreaming about the journey, finally the beginning of a dream, became a reality. On July 25, 1995, Michael Keathley and myself landed at the airport of a former capital city of Pakistan, Rawalpindi. A light drizzle was falling down; it was about 9:00AM. Little did we know that this was the Monsoon season for that part of the world. We felt everything was under control.

We had a prepaid ticket from Pindi to Gilgit, which is a 700 kilometre flight. We took a taxi to the Pakistani Airline office. There we found out to our surprise, all flights to Gilgit or the Chitral Valley were cancelled. We asked if we could board the next day and they replied that we were to be at their office at 11:00 AM in the morning and we will see, weather permitting. Disappointed, we asked the driver to take us to a hotel. As we arrived at the hotel, we noticed that there were no women in the lobby or anywhere on the street. We do recall that on the airplane the women who boarded from Manchester, England, were dressed casually, and as we approached our landing, they all went to the washrooms, dressed in the Muslim dress, loaded with jewellery from head to toe. The men wore very loose baggy pants and a shirt or cover from shoulder to below the knees.

We had our first different cultural encounter with the hotel manager. We asked if he had a room for two; oh yes he replied, it would be thirty dollars American, but Why don't you have some breakfast first and we will get the room ready in the meantime. After we I had our breakfast, the manager said the room which he thought he had available, wasn't, but he had a better room for $38 American. Fine, we said and we accepted it.

After we rested, we decided to go out and look around. The streets were very busy, traffic moving in all directions cars, horse drawn buggies, bicycles-and on foot, constant congestion, but nobody gets, into an accident, also it seems that nobody moves out of the way for anyone. Small Suzuki cars everywhere, but no beggars, keep in mind this is about the centre of Pakistan. If you went south, where the population is enormous, there, I was told, you would find beggars and thieves. The men were very polite, all were dressed the same, and I mean exactly the same. Only men, everywhere, young and old, but no women.

The living standards are very poor, but they are all the same, so this way no one feels short changed. We were glad we took all the vaccinations back home. I believe that is the only thing that would save us. Things are not very clean, also no government assistance of any kind and only up to grade 3 free schooling. No alcohol of any kind, it is pure and simply illegal, or any other drugs. But the one and only drug is cigarettes and they are being exploited with advertising.

The next day, we knew the airport was closed again, so we hired a private taxi to take us to Gilgit. About 300 km up the highway, the traffic stopped still. We went to look and to our sad surprise the mountain had slid and the road was cut off, with big boulders and mud. We asked the Army men when the road would be cleared and they told us not for at least 2 days. So I took out my movie camera and started acting like a tourist. The scenery was spectacular, simply beautiful. Sky high mountains with a rushing river at the bottom of the gourge. People everywhere, some decided to walk past the slide and continue on to their destination. We decided to turn back because we didn’t know any better.

Back we turned, we were furious, mad, very mad. We thought we were doomed, back to Pindi, again no flights, no roads. The next day, this is now two days later, we had breakfast and headed to a Pakistani government office. There we told them our story and the purpose of our trip. The man was very nice, he told us to forget flying, because even if the sky cleared for a short time, government officials would be the first to board and because no flights took off for a week there was a back log of people. Take a 4x4, which is a jeep or stay here for the duration of your holiday. Thanks to Visa, plus 20% for the use of it, because we did not have an American Express, and they did not take any other cards or travellers cheque. We charted a different course, instead of going first to Hunza Valley, we would go west to Chitral Valley and meet the Kalashi people. This was the perfect destination, because I read a lot about the Kalashi people.
First point of interest on the road to Chitral Valley was pointed out to us by the driver, the road built by Alexander the Great and his army. This road was from Kabul, Afghanistan to Calcutta, India. We stopped to take photos and I walked on the same footsteps of Alexander. I felt very touched, 2300 years later, the first Macedonians, Steve Pliakes and Michael Keathly felt part of Alexander. You have to be there to feel the emotions.

As we went on our journey, the driver again pointed one of the narrow passes that Alexander went on. This pass was called the Malakand Pass, and not so far was Kyber Pass. These are mountain tracks, some places they are paved, but most are no more than 4 feet wide. But the road Alexander the Greats army built was solid. I believe the Macedonians were the first road builders and what other way can an army travel. Most of this road was scavanged and only parts remain intact.

The people in these parts of the country are very hard working. They take the mountain and slowly turn it into beautiful terraced and lush fields. Also the aquaduct methods that they use are out of this world. Every village and every household have water right to their homes. All by engineering methods of redirecting the river and making these aquaducts.

As we took a closer look at these people, they have blue eyes, a fair complexion. They are totally different from the Muslim Pakistanis, in fact they do not want to be called Pakistani, because they are not, they stated this to us. Michael and I even joked as to which one of these men were our brothers. As the day came close to the end, we decided to spend the night at a town called Dir. To our amazement, again more of our brothers and sisters were visible. We walked the main street of Dir. There we saw the small shops where people were selling anything they could sell. At the restaurant, we had mountain tea, thin bread called Chipati, a flat, round in the middle loaf of bread. In the east they call it Pita bread. They also served us yogurt or I call it sour cream, and a delicious plate of cucumbers, yogurt and garlic.

The next morning, off we go to Chitral, a Town and the valley called Chitral. It was about 100 km to Chitral, a very remote area, no road as we would call it. River flowing, rocks falling and rivers crossing and blocking the road. Now I understand how these people remained in isolation. We drove to a height of 10,500 feet. It was cold and windy and you couldn’t stand at the edge of the road for fear of being blown over.

People live and make a living from the mountains. We stopped for tea where a family lived and worked. We also bought goat cheese for the long drive. The speed we travelled was not more than 10-20 km/h.

We reached Chitral Valley. It is beautiful. The river flowing through the middle of the valley. The people have very fair complexions, with blue eyes; mind you there were darker people among the lighter skinned or Kalashe as they call themselves. Sadly, creeping civilization is not always good for some people and some areas in the world. But they must accept change, and as change comes, we lose the innocence and the old traditions. As far as Michael and myself are concerned, we came here in the nick of time. The first Macedonians and hopefully not the last.

Daily, I was writing my findings, as we witnessed everything. Early the next morning to be precise July 29, 1995, we are leaving Chitral for another valley called Kalash Valley. It took 2 ½ hours, over the most treacherous road you could imagine. Again, these are not roads, goat trails. If it were not for the jeep, we would never have reached anywhere. Stones were all over the road, falling everywhere, it was very scary. At one time, our driver, a Muslim asked if he could stop the jeep to pray. We agreed and even asked him to pray for all of us. As we approached Kalash valley, we were stopped by an official and he asked us to record the purpose of our trip, the passport number and the length of our stay. Naturally we had to pay him. They told us this is frontier territory and the locals do not like Pakistanis, so we obeyed as instructed.

As we entered the Kalash valley, we could see the beauty before us. The lush scenery, the rivers flowing and merging, the fruit trees, mainly apricots, plums, mulberries and grapes. The vegetation, small plots of land terraced into the mountain, with fresh vegetables growing everywhere. They grow two crops a year on the same plots, thus enabling them to survive because of land shortage. To make a plot of land, first they have to remove all rocks from the lot, then they built a stone wall horizontally so there won’t be any land erosion, then a slow process of planting first grass so that top soil could be retained. All this time an aquaduct has to be built to irrigate the soil and then ahouse will be built to accommodate the rest of the family.

We were met by a young man called Dawoo, who spoke English. He took us to the cemetary and showed us their method of burying people. He said as far back as approximately fifty years go, they were laying the coffin on the ground. This was a custom which came from Afghanistan, but recently they bury their dead under ground. He showed us a place where they gather during their festivities. An open concept with a roof. This is for the summer. There they dance and romance. There were many carvings on wooden posts or pillars. We saw the Macedonian flower, Zdravets on these carvings although the flower does not grow anywhere in Kalash valley or Hunza valley.

We went to the place of worship. An enclosed room, again decorated with carvings on walls and posts, more of the same and also shapes of the sunburst, Alexander’s flag. We asked what religion they worshipped and they said they believe in God, and if you are good in this life, you go up to a beautiful place, and if you are bad, you go down to bad places and suffer forever. They are not Pakistanis and they do not even like the Pakistanis. In their place of worship, I did see the sign of crosses, here they don’t pray, they sing and dance. As we concluded our walk, we finally stopped to rest and have some food. Talking and eating, we learned they were told by their elders and foreigners about Alexander the Great. Also they were told of their blue eyes and fair complexion and that they are descendants of Alexander the Great. All the countries that Alexander conquered, there were Macedonians living there. I asked them if they knew where Alexander was buried and they said maybe Bagdad.

Ever week they have dances at different villages. Kalash Valley has three villages. That same evening, we were asked if we wanted to go to their village dance. Of course we agreed and by 9:00PM we arrived on an open court yard where the dance was being performed. Only single girls dance, from the ages of about 8 to 15 or 16. They all dance the same as all Macedonians, counter clockwise, with a leader and a tall end person. All shoulder to shoulder with their hands stretched. Young girls in the centre of the oro and according to groups and the oldest girls on the outside. Men only observe. I should mention, no cover charge and no other business was conducted, very innocent. All the girls were dressed with their best costumes. Lovely embroidery and head pieces. The band consisted of two drummers, one small and one larger. The drummers sang and tapped their drums. The girls sang and danced. Men dance in the day time, I was told. The dance lasted until about 12:00 or 1:00AM and off to work the next morning.

The next morning we went back to their temple, although that is not what they call it. We took a few more pictures and then off to another valley and more people to see. But we had to use the same road, it was awful. This is when it dawned on me of the movie “Lost Horizons” Shangrila. In the movie it was snow storms and blizzards, with us it was rocks and floods.

On to Hunza, following a mountain range called Hindukush. We came to an old fort about 300 to 400 years old called Massooch. Here we met the owner of the property, who was a Prince before Pakistan took their title and made them commoners. We discussed religion and most of all, Alexander the Great. He told us that every young man, when he grows up wants to be as wise and strong as Alexander. They even study it in school and he told us that he felt he was a descendent of Alexander of Macedonia, who conquered Athens, Egypt, Persia, Afghanistan and down to day Pakistan and India, after about four cups of mountain tea, we returned to our tent for the night. The next morning, I found the dogs had chewed up one of my shoes. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and tea. On the road again. What road, 10 km/h was the fastest speed for another day.

We are following the hindukush mountain range with the Gilgit River running in the middle between both sides of the mountains. First stop was at a hotel on the road to Gilgit. The hotel consisted of three tents, one for the staff and two for customers. Bathroom facilities on the river. For lunch we had two little fish the size of smelt flat bread, corn soup and tea. As we drove for a few hours, we stopped by the river to wash our faces. Well, the water was so cold that if you were in it for 10 minutes you would be dead. Off we go chugging along 10 to 20 km/h more or less, until the next stop. Along the way, we found young boys fishing. We bought fish as we went on until we had about 10 of them. We finally found a place to stay, a cabin with no hydro of course. The driver cooked the fish we bought. We also bought some cucumbers and tomatoes, and we had the best drink ever, mountain tea. As I am writing this report three young boys are watching us and wondering what we are doing here in their land, but we must drive on after a nights sleep. I guess all good things in life you have to pay dearly, both physically and financially in order to see or feel.

On the road again. Now the Hindukush mountains become the Karakoram mountains. Spectacular view as usual and the road is called the Karakoram highway, built by China and Pakistan. Finally we reach Gilgit and rested at the Chinar Inn. We finally ordered a can of beer each, cool and delicious. After we drank it, we found out that it was non alcoholic which suited us just fine. We forgot that alcohol is illegal in Pakistan. I admire the Muslim religion, no alcohol. The next morning we are headed towards a town called Karimabad. As you know Gilgit is in Hunza valley. Along the way we stopped to buy apricots, mulberries and grapes, mangos and vegetables. We found a good stream and there we stopped for a picnic. At Karimabad, there was no room so we drove 2 km and came to a village called Altit. We found room here at a hotel called Kissar Inn. A real dream place, a beautiful grape covered shelter throughout the whole courtyard. In front, the mountain Rakaposhi, show capped. We even witnessed an avalanche. A beautiful sight all around us. We decided to have a shower, a very cold shower naturally. That same day we visited a fort called Fort Altit. As we entered the fort, we saw carvings of the flower Zdravets and the Sunburst. After the fort, we went shopping for souveniers and I mean real antiques, carvings and whatever you wished.

The following morning we went to visit the Mir of Hunza. We had a 9:30 AM appointment. A real gentleman, but also a rich one. We told him we are Macedonian and he said he was a descendent of Alexander the Great. We had about a two hour meeting. We covered a lot including the Muslims in Macedonia. He didn’t know there were Muslims in Europe. I gave him presents that I brought along. I should say that I gave presents everywhere I met people of interest to me. He loved the Macedonian Flag. He said that he would make every effort to adopt it as the flag of Hunza. He asked what Macedonia exported because he was very interested in us. I told him we export tobacco, shoes, clothes, jam and wines. He wants closer ties with us and the Republic. In the mean time he wants us to send him anything he could display at all of his hotels. As we departed he told us to stay at his brother’s Inn along the way because it had a museum. What a store, again we saw ancient souveniers, the Zdravets, the flag and real artistic works of art. The museum person told us that a particular stone was from the time of Alexander. I held it in my hand, I was very excited.

The next day we parted for China. We are on the Karakoram mountain range and Karakoram highway and the Gilgit river becomes the Hunza river. What a road, they call it the highway to Heavan, very scenic and very dangerous, rock slides and mud slides. Finally we reached China. The elevation was 17,000 feet above sea level. You could not run around here. I tried and got dizzy, then I realized the air is very thin. We met some Chinese tourists and naturally we told them we were Macedonians from the land of Alexander the Great. By now we weren’t surprised to hear that everybody knew of Alexander of Macedonia. As we left for Gilgit, we stopped along a beautiful river, a true turquoise colour, then we bought some fish and the young man cooked them for us, and made us tea. I believe we got hosed at the next town, which is normal, small amounts to us, but large for them.

The next day the driver took us and showed us his home. Five miles on the mountain, a one room house, dirt floor, chickens living under the bed, the stable was the next room. He had one bull, one water buffalo and two baby ones. He had three girls and two boys. His wife and mother cooked dinner for us, fried meat, okra, yogurt and tea. Inat, the driver, wanted us to sleep at his home that night, but there was no room. He was going to sleep in the stable if we stayed. So we decided to got to the nearest town called Balakose. There we booked at the hotel, had a shower and did our last clothing wash in a pail. The next day will be our last in Pakistan.

We went to a town called Taxila with plenty of history. A monestary with immense Macedonian information, a tremendous find for us. Everywhere we looked, we found history of Alexander. At the souvenir shop we gave the owner the Macedonian flag. At first he didn’t believe, but when he opened a book of all the countries of the world, sure enough there was Macedonia with its flag.

I urge all Macedonians wherever you may be, do not wait for someone else to write your history. Go out and tell the world the truth, see for yourselves, what is out there waiting for you. We must change the course that others took to falsify our history. We are as old as the Egyptians. We did have an Empire, which lasted 500 years. Alexander’s adventure took him about 7,000 miles, to promote culture. We travelled about 200 miles following in his foot steps. Imagine what is out there for us to find, more and more of our roots.

The Greek Propaganda, and the Macedonian facts

THE PROPAGANDA

*Macedonians should not be recognised as Macedonians as they have been of Greek nationality since 2000BC.
*Macedonians whose language belongs to the Slavic family, must not call themselves Macedonians as 4000 years ago they spoke Greek and today still speak nothing but Greek.
*Macedonia has no right to call itself by this name as Macedonia has always been a region and is today a region of Greece.
*Bulgaria's view is that Macedonians are ethnically Bulgarian.
*& that Macedonians are simply Western Bulgarians.
*The Serbs believe that Macedonians are misguided country cousins who belong in a Greater Serbia. (Yugoslavia)


THE FACTS

*Macedonia was never a region of Greece. On the contrary, Greece was often subject to Macedonia. In 1913, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria divided Macedonia into three parts. (BALKAN WARS)
*Ancient Macedonians were a distinct European people and proud of their nationality, their customs, their language and their name. The same applies to their descendants today.
*Ancient Macedonians regarded Greeks as neighbours not as kinsmen. The Greeks treated the Macedonians as foreigners ("barbarians") whose native language was Macedonian not Greek.
*Macedonians claimed kinship with the Illyrians, Thracians and Phrygians, not with Greeks.
*Greeks said Macedonians were "barbarians" (a word which means non-Greek)
*Demosthenes, the great Athenian statesman and orator, spoke of the Macedonian King Phillip2 of Macedon as:
Quote,
"...Not only not Greek, nor related to the Greeks, but not even a barbarian from anyplace that can be named with honours, but a pestilent knave from Macedonia, whence it was never yet possible to buy a decent slave."[Third Phillipic, 31]
*The Macedonian "barbarian’ defeated Greece at the Battle Of Chaeronea in August 338BC. The date is known as the end of Greek history or as The Macedonian Era.
*Alexander The Great spoke Macedonian and was proud of his ethnicity. However the Macedonian language then was not used as a literacy idiom.
The first native written language in Macedonia is the idiom called Macedonian or Old Church Slavonic (Cyrillic Alphabet) and is the basis of all Cyrillic alphabets today.
*Alexander won his empire with 35,000 Macedonians and only 7,600 Greeks and called it the Macedonian Empire not the Greek Empire.
*Today’s republic was created by Josip Broz Tito the anti-fascist leader of Yugoslavia during the 2nd World War who recognised Macedonians as a distinct nationality with their own language and customs.
*The claims by Bulgaria that Macedonians are of Bulgarian ethnicity are entirely false due to the facts that the Tatars a people from the east who invaded the balkans during Byzantine times mixed with the Gypsies and Turks in the Balkans and created a new race of people which go by the name of Bulgarians.
The Tatars dropped their native name and language in favor for the Macedonian language with its Cyrillic alphabet and customs and created the Bulgarian nation which is east of Macedonia and today has in its boundaries the Pirin region of Macedonia.
*By the Treaty of Bucharest, in August 1913 Macedonia was divided among Greece, Serbia (Yugoslavia) & Bulgaria.
Greece gained Aegean Macedonia and renamed it Northern Greece or Greek Macedonia.
Bulgaria gained Pirin Macedonia and abolished the Macedonian name.
Serbia gained Vardar Macedonia and renamed it Southern Serbia and it was included in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats & Slovenes. Later renamed Yugoslavia.
Macedonian freedom fighters in 1944 created its Macedonian Republic (named Macedonia from then on, not Southern Serbia) but it was not entirely independent.
*Macedonia became a sovereign state in 1991 by referendum. Majority of voters chose independence.
*Therefore,
The claims put forward by Greece that the Ancient Macedonians and present are Greeks, that their native language was Greek, and that Macedonia was a region of Greece are all false. Historical truth is that Greece inhabited by Greeks and Macedonia by Macedonians. The presence of Greek settlements along the coasts which King Phillip 2 destroyed anyway did not change Macedonia’s ethnic character and like wise, a much longer and stronger Greek presence in Egypt did not change that African land into a region of Greece.

Macedonia in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

After the Paris Peace Conference, the 25,713 square kilometers and 728,286 inhabitants of Vardar Macedonia were incorporated within the borders of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. For seven years from 1912 to 1918, Macedonia had been a battle ground for invasion and counter-invasion, raid and defense. The countryside was devastated, and the death toll from direct action or hunger and malnourishment high.
Immediately after war's end, the peacetime Yugoslav government quickly instituted a renewed authoritarian regime in Macedonia of punishments, reprisals, court sentences and torture. Yugoslav regulations provided for 20 years imprisonment at hard labor for forming "anti-government organizations", and two years imprisonment for instigating strikes. Moreover, the Macedonian people of Vardar Macedonia were official non-existent and the use of the Macedonian language and the term "Macedonian" were forbidden. Radni~ke novine (Workers' Newspaper) in March 1920 wrote that "the prisoners, who were in the Prilep jail for 10 to 12 months for political reasons, stirred up mutiny. They requested to be taken to court and put on trial. A fight broke out with the guards and, as a result, all of the prisoners were put in chains."
Greater Greek, Greater Bulgarian and Greater Serbian politics alike applied generally identical methods and means in their attempts to denationalize and assimilate the Macedonians. By the "Regulation for the Settlement of the 'New, Southern Regions'" dated September 24, 1920, Macedonian land was granted to colonists from other parts of Yugoslavia willing to settle in the region. This policy was aimed at breaking the cohesiveness of the Macedonian population within their own homeland. By the end of 1928, some data suggests that 6,377 families had been settled in the region on 63,939 hectares of land.
Privredni glasnik (Economic Herald) on February, 1921 wrote that "Murders and robberies are committed everywhere. One of the essential operations, agrarian reform, has begun to be carried out in a strange manner. It progressed slowly in one direction then came to a standstill, followed by a turn off the path and a retrogression. A few contradictory regulations and numerous differing interpretations and ministerial announcements caused real chaos. The selfish actions of the agrarian chiefs, the deliyas [brave men] were natural, [those] who in fact became the real masters in regulating the concrete cases. We are witnessing how the true farmers are deprived of their land, given to various speculators who have had nothing to do with agriculture in their entire life."
For that reason, it was not surprising that in the local administration elections held in the summer of 1920, a considerable segment of the population voted for leftist parties-especially for the Communists, who gained control of the local administrations in Veles, Kumanovo, Kavadarci and Skopje. In the November, 1920 elections for the Constituent Assembly, out of the total 105,000 votes 40,200 were secured by delegates from Macedonia, winning 15 mandates.
As a result of that victory, the commander of the Third Army requested district chiefs-of-staff in Vardar Macedonia to take the following steps:
1. to isolate certain villages;
2. to follow the field shepherds;
3. to determine points for crossing the Vardar River where people may be allowed to cross the river only between sunrise and sunset;
4. to displace the population of the villages of Gradec, Konsko, Petrovo and Serminin;
5. to strengthen the garrisons in Kavadarci and Valandovo each with an additional infantry battalion and a machine-gun squad, two infantry battalions to be added in Strumica, etc.;
6. the clerks-communists to be removed from the district, as they had been the first to spread communist ideas not knowing whom they had been serving to;
7. to increase rewards for information;
8. to strengthen police stations in the former frontiers of Serbia;
9. after garrisons are strengthened, to begin collecting taxes and giving orders to report for military service or military exercises, as communist agitation is directed against the army and taxes;
10. not a single person may go from one commune to another without an identity.
The Obzana (edict) of December 29 and 30, 1920, outlawed the Communist Party and banned trade unions. Political life in Macedonia was impoverished, and the solid base of the national Macedonian movement was lost, as other political parties upheld Greater Serbian ideals regarding the Serbian character of Vardar Macedonia.
Following the murder of Gjorche Petrov, the dissolution of the temporary government and the passing of the December 29 Obzana, Vrhovist armed bands, small bands and individual saboteurs were dispatched from Bulgaria to Vardar Macedonia on an increasingly frequent basis. Their aim was to pave the way for the creation of an autonomist movement in Vardar Macedonia, and for that purpose slogans were used to arouse the anger of the Macedonians against the Yugoslav government. However, lurking in the shadows was still the dream of annexing Vardar Macedonia to Bulgaria.
The period from 1922 to 1930 was marked by 63 assassinations in Vardar Macedonia. To answer the Vrhovist challenge or any other resistance against them, state authorities undertook "the white terror," including mass arrests-for example, after the murder of General Kovachevich in Shtip more than 400 people were imprisoned-as well as trials, dismissals from work and torture. To revenge the killing of colonists at Kadrifakovo and of soldiers in the village of Garvan, all the adult males from the village were taken and shot, without trial. In order to maintain "law and order" in Vardar Macedonia, now renamed Vardarska Banovina (the Vardar Regional District), 35,000 soldiers, military policemen, frontier guards and paramilitary bands were deployed.
In autumn 1927, the Greater Serbian regime unleashed a new, violent offensive aimed at achieving a Serbian solution of "the Macedonian Question" in Vardarksa Banovina, heralded by the institution of the Dictatorship of January 6. In a letter sent by the zhupans (heads of administrative districts) and the military police commanders in Vardar Macedonia to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Internal Affairs dated December 1927, a dozen measures were proposed under the pretext of combating infiltrators. But the ultimate aim was the denationalization of Vardar Macedonia and the creation of a police state.
The situation in Vardar Macedonia became desperate. A report of the Ministry for Internal Affairs dated November 22, 1926 states "in the towns and, particularly in the villages, the people are underfed... in the villages food mainly consists of rye bread, onions, vinegar, salad and yogurt. Salt is very rarely used because, as the peasants say, it is very expensive. Meals are rarely cooked or fat and oil used as the people are generally fasting. I counted 260 fasting days in a year... Owing to malnutrition, [children and new-borns] are in bad condition. There are communes where the recruits look miserable and the percentage of capability is equal to zero..."
In an appeal on February 1, 1928, a group of Macedonian citizens warned of the true situation: "Macedonia is suffering. What is going on here cannot be endured any more. A time has come when we here do not know whether when night falls we will live to see the dawn, or when it dawns whether we will live to see the night. People here are in a desperate situation. On one hand, Protogerov sends his bands to commit assassinations, the result of which is always that innocent Macedonians suffer. On the other hand, every such assassination attempt, regardless of whether it is its successful or not, is taken advantage of by the present regime to apply more violent terror, which can lead only to evil. Thus, the dispute over the possession of Macedonia is conducted over our backs, and it is only the Macedonians who suffer from such settlement of accounts, although they do no take part in it and condemn both sides."
With the incorporation of Vardar Macedonia into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, teachers and clergy who had not previously worked in Serbian schools and churches were regarded as undesirable. A considerable number of formerly exarchate schools were closed, and in the school year 1922/23 alone 130 schools were closed in the Vardar region. A formula of "dosed education" was applied, which would enable denationalization and "manufacture excellent Serbs". Through the schools and other institutions and organizations, the regime endeavored to strangle all Macedonian national consciousness and tradition, to root out the use of the mother tongue, and to distort history and ethnography. In carrying out enforced denationalization and assimilation, monstrous measures, terrible persecutions and mass terror were employed against the Macedonian people and against the Albanian and Turkish nationalities. Macedonians, Albanians and Turks lost their lives defending their human and national rights. By 1926, more than 1,600 people were executed without investigation or trial, while thousands of martyrs had been imprisoned.
Parallel to the denationalization policy of the authorities, the Macedonian Question was chiefly addressed by the activities of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (CPY). Ivan Katardzhiev stresses that "the policies of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia in respect to the Macedonian national question, despite a certain straying during the first years of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, can not be treated separately from first, the complexity of the national question of the Yugoslav peoples within the framework of the new state; second, the relation of Macedonian representatives in the ranks of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia; and third, the viewpoint of the Vukovar Congress (1920) that 'the Communist Party of Yugoslavia will continue to uphold the idea of national unity and equality of all nations in the country'."
On July 20, 1923, the Sarajevo newspaper Vecerwa posta (Evening Post) reported that "a new youth organization, 'Macedonian Group,' was formed in Southern Serbia". According to somewhat sketchy data, a number of democratic delegates from Macedonia took part in the formation of the group, led by Gligor Anastasov from Kavadarci, Trajko Arsov from Shtip and Dimitrie Chichevich from Prilep. The idea of forming a Macedonian party was aimed at "grouping the forces of people's delegates, in order that-as unified people's delegates-they might truly contribute to improving the unenviable position of Southern Serbia." In letters to the Parliamentary Club of the Democratic Party, Gligor Atanasov explained that this initiative was also prompted by the fact that "one cannot conceive of a lower level of decline and greater chaos and injustice... Macedonia is neglected in every respect..." In an interview with the Free Tribune, Atanasov states that "Macedonia, which most regularly fulfills its duties towards the state, is neglected in every respect. The question of public security, the agrarian question, road and railway traffic, the question of economic recovery, the emigrant question and many other questions of vital importance for the new province cannot come on the agenda of serious study and solution, for the simple reason that Macedonia does not have representatives in the parliament in a position-as a united whole with greater authority and less party passion-to point out the importance of these questions to the competent authorities."
Many aspects of the formation of this party remain unclear, its political platform being one of them-particularly considering that Gligor Atanasov, after the disintegration of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, joined (if not previously a member) the Vancho Mihajlov group, which greeted the Bulgarian occupation of Macedonia in 1941 as "a historic act".
The Macedonian Popular Movement (MANAPO) emerged in 1936, founded by a group of Macedonian students and communists who passed a political declaration-which, unfortunately, is now lost. But the main principles of this movement have been preserved: to fight for the "recognition of Macedonia as an individual historical unit and the Macedonians as a separate people", and for Macedonia "to be a separate unit within the framework of Yugoslavia which would be transformed into a federal state community."
In his "Letter on Serbia" dated November 2, 1936, Josip Broz Tito stressed that "... The platform [of the People's Front] must clearly and unequivocally emphasize the resoluteness that the right of all peoples to self-determination will be respected, i.e. not only the right of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, but also of Macedonians and Montenegrins, as well as the right of the people in Voivodina, Bosnia and Herzegovina to decide for themselves whether they will retain their regional independence within the federal state."
The recognition of the Macedonian nation by the Comintern determined the viewpoint of the CPY in respect to the struggle of the Macedonian for recognition. Although the Communist Party of Macedonia (CPM) was not created within the framework of the CPY, in the spring of 1939 the Central Committee of the CPY issued its position on the Macedonian national question: "it is beyond any doubt that the Macedonians are a seperate nation in the Balkans (they are neither Greeks, nor Bulgarians, nor Serbs)."
In the meantime, the Macedonian language gained ground. In some newspapers with a leftist orientation, such as Zagreb's Our Newspaper and Skopje's Light, Our Reality and Our Word, literary works and articles in Macedonian were published. The Skopje theater performed a number of plays in either the literary Macedonian language or in dialects, including but not limited to productions of The Runaway and The Rich Man Theodos by Vasil Iljoski; Money is Murder, Antitsa and Millions of Martyrs by Risto Krle; and Migrant Workers by Anton Panov. The appearance of White Dawns by Kosta Solev Racin fulfilled "a historical necessity-at the time it was published, this collection of poems signified the culmination of the drive toward the definite establishment of the Macedonian language and toward gaining recognition of Macedonian national culture in general." White Dawns heralded "the awakening of a people, which, in its struggle for a better life, had matured to creating its national culture."
Events in Macedonia were not completely ignored in the outside world. André Vaillant, a great French Slavicist, wrote in 1938 that "...The term 'Slavonic Macedonian' is unclear only for those who want it to be unclear. The Slavonic Macedonian represents reality to such an extent that in the 19th century there existed a Macedonian literary language, the language of a very small among of learned literature but of a rather abundant folk literature. It is not a question of documents and folklore as can be collected anywhere: the lyric Macedonian poem, highly esteemed in Serbia and Bulgaria, represents an authentic literary genre of real value. This literary language, based on dialects which naturally differ somewhat from each other, did not have sufficient time unify. But its centers were Skopje, Tetovo, Ohrid, Bitola (Manastir), Voden (Edessa), etc."
In that same year the Polish Slavicist Mieczyslaw Malecki concurred with Vaillant, "...However, it should be added that, beside the Macedonian characteristics which mirror the developments of either the Bulgarian or Serbo-Croat languages, there are also entirely individual features which, in such form, do not appear in either of those languages [Bulgarian and Serbo-Croat]. For that reason, my reply to the question whether the Macedonian dialects are Serbian or Bulgarian would be that they are neither Serbian nor Bulgarian, but the majority of them represent an individual dialectal type (which could also be named a Macedonian language), tied by strong knots of kinship to the two languages. Macedonian is a transition between the Serbian and Bulgarian, and its attachment to only one of those languages is baseless from a linguistic point of view."
Irrespective of the issue of recognition, the national consciousness of the Macedonian people was already strongly developed. The violent dialogue between a group of young intellectuals and the Serbian professor Nikola Vulich in 1940 when the latter publicly denied the existence of either Macedonia, a Macedonian people or a Macedonian language (as well as the reaction his denial caused) was clear evidence that it was political and international conditions which prevented the Macedonian people from obtaining recognition. The numerous leaflets, appeals and proclamations passed by the Regional Committee of the CPM and other left-orientated organizations and movements are an indication that there was no question-at least for the Macedonians-whether they felt themselves to be Bulgarians, Serbs, Greeks-or Macedonians.
The Resolution of the Regional Committee of the CPY for Macedonia stresses: "only a free and independent Macedonia can guarantee the freedom of all suppressed and enslaved people in Macedonia." The Resolution of the Fifth Countrywide Conference of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, held from October 19 to 23, 1940, calls the Macedonian struggle "...A struggle for equality and self-determination of the Macedonian people against the oppression of the Serbian bourgeoisie, at the same time revealing the true face of the Italian and Bulgarian imperialists and their agents, who, by way of demagogic promises, also wish to suppress the Macedonian people."
At the beginning of October 1940, in his article "Balkan War Provocateurs", Tito wrote: "And today, while the destruction of the entire Versailles system is underway and the Bulgarian and Serbian reactionaries compete in a belligerent and pugnacious way whether Macedonia should be an ornament of the Bulgarian or the Yugoslav royal crowns, we must shout louder than ever to those instigators of war that Macedonia is neither Serbian nor Bulgarian. Macedonia, that suppressed country where the freedom-loving Macedonian people are exposed to the most cruel terrors, hungers, denationalizations and exploitations; have suffered under Serbian national hegemony for many years. That blood-soaked country is not here to serve as a decoration for someone's crown, nor to be a dowry of the Serbian or Bulgarian bourgeoisie, but to be free from national suppression. The Macedonian people are fighting for their national liberation and in that struggle they have made great human and material sacrifices so far. To this, as well as to any other suppressed people, no action whatsoever can crush their will for freedom, nor could it destroy their right to self-determination, the right to govern their fates by themselves. Neither the Bulgarian nor the Serbian bourgeoisie have any right to Macedonia."
The Macedonian people already possessed a highly-developed sense of their individuality and right to independence and freedom when the fires of war flamed across the border, urged on by the attacks on Greece by Italy and on Yugoslavia by Nazi Germany.

The Partition of Macedonia

On October 18, 1912, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and their armies, from the Albanian mountains to the Black Sea, were ordered to launch an attack. In retrospect, it could easily be concluded that the war began with the aim of partitioning Macedonia, despite the early claims by the coalition that they fought for "the liberation of Macedonia!"
The beginning of the First Balkan War marked the end of years of bargaining between Serbia and Bulgaria over the division of Ottoman territory, Macedonia in particular. In October 1911, the Bulgarian government stated to Serbia that the two governments should "reach an agreement as soon as possible concerning the territory of Macedonia-that is, to determine their share of the cake". It was not a question of the "disputed" territories; Bulgaria would agree that Skopje belonged to Serbia, retaining Thessaloniki, Bitola and Veles for itself. The outbreak of the Italian-Turkish War in October 1911 favored both by weakening Ottoman power, and on March 13, 1912, after months of intensive discussions, an Agreement of Friendship and Alliance was publicly signed, supplemented by secret clauses. Article two of these clauses provided Serbian recognize of Bulgaria's rights to those territories east of the Rhodopes and the Strymon river, and Bulgaria in turn recognizing Serbian rights over territory north and west of Mt. Shar.
These plans were to be put in effect within three months, when "all territorial gains would be realized by a joint action". The territory between Mt. Shar, the Rhodopes, the archipelago and Ohrid Lake, if the establishment of an autonomous state was not possible in view of "the interests of the Serbian and Bulgarian nationalities" and "other external and internal reasons", would be divided along a line drawn from Golem Vrv (to the north of Kriva Palanka) to Ohrid Lake. On that occasion, the Serbian representatives stated: "We are ready for anything and will take part in any coalition-with God or with the Devil if need be-to protect our vital interests." The Bulgarians already considered that "the Macedonian Bulgarians were lost for our cause, as they set out along their own path".
Soon, the Serbian-Bulgarian coalition was extended by signing a agreement between Bulgaria and Greece in May, between Greece and Serbia in September, and between Montenegro and Bulgaria and Serbia-by the beginning of October 1912, the Anti-Ottoman League was formed. In the meantime, the propaganda machines were used to constantly and persistently repeat the necessity of helping their "brother Christians" in their attempts to free themselves from Ottoman slavery. The peoples of Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia were not the only ones who believed in this-a considerable number of Macedonians were convinced of the stated, selfless goals of the League.
Beginning in October 1912, fighting took place throughout Macedonia. Following several victories over the Ottoman army, coalition forces occupied Macedonia and forced the Ottoman Empire to seek an armistice, signed on December 4, 1912.
Yet, as in many partitions, one party was not satisfied with their share of the spoils. Serbia, denied its proposed outlet to the Adriatic Sea, sought compensation in Macedonia along the Vardar River which the Bulgarians rejected. Greece asked for control of Thessaloniki and "a certain part" of the eastern Macedonian territories, which Bulgaria rejected as well. Correspondingly, on June 1, 1913, Serbia and Greece concluded a secret treaty for joint action against Bulgaria; joined by Romania, which sought control over Southern Dobruja. Russia attempted to solve the emerging quarrel in a peaceful manner; but Austria-Hungary, siding with Bulgaria, encouraged flaring tempers in the hope of breaking a coalition directed against the Bulgarians. Anticipating assistance from Vienna, on June 29, 1913, the Bulgarian army attacked its former allies.
This Second Balkan War was at first waged entirely on Macedonian soil, but on July 10, Rumania entered the war and four days later the Ottoman Empire joined the general assault on Bulgaria. Faced with four fronts, Bulgarian armies were defeated piecemeal and the government at Sofia was forced to seek peace.
The victors of the Second Balkan War did not want to miss the opportunity to imposing conditions on Bulgaria which "would create a just balance" in the Balkans. This included settling accounts among themselves at the expense of Macedonia, taking no account of the ethnic, political and economic unity of the territory through which drew new frontiers for the second time in less than a year. At the beginning of August 1913, the Treaty of Bucharest was signed: the entire "disputed zone" was taken by Serbia, Greece secured its position in Thessaloniki and southeastern Macedonia, the Ottomans regained all the territories lost in the First Balkan War to Bulgaria with the exception of eastern (Pirin) Macedonia, and the Romanians seized Southern Dobruja.
The events of the two wars and the final partition are the best indications of the limits to which nationalist and chauvinist passions can corrupt humanity. For example, in pursuing the Bulgarian army during the second conflict, Greek forces systematically burnt to the ground all Macedonian villages they encountered, mass-murdering their entire populations. Likewise, when the Greek army entered Kukush (Kilkis) and occupied surrounding villages, about 400 old people and children were imprisoned and killed. Several dozen distinguished Macedonians were victims of the persecution in Kukush, previously marked for death as potential hazards for Greek occupation. Specially trained Greek units destroyed over 40 Macedonian villages.
About 4,000 refugees from Kukush had gathered in the village of Akandzheli when on July 6, 1913, a Greek military unit entered the village. Though met with white flags, the village was burnt down and in the massacre which followed 356 refugees were killed, including children and the elderly. In Serres, Greek police imprisoned about 200 Macedonians and subsequently executed them. About 1,000 men were slain in the town of Ingrita alone. On the whole, in the region of southern Macedonia, the Greeks destroyed 16,000 houses and 100,000 Macedonians were forced to leave their homes and flee to neighboring countries.
Bulgarian armies and Vrhovist bands were not any more scrupulous in respecting human life. In the small town of Dokast, inhabited by Greeks and Turks, the Bulgarians fired 270 out of 570 homes and killed a hundred people. When they occupied the town of Serres for the second time, they torched 4,000 houses out of 6,000 and massacred many of the inhabitants, mainly Turks and Greeks, on the pretext of revenging the slain Macedonian population of the town.
Nor did the Serbian "liberators" lag behind in destruction and wanton slaughter throughout Macedonia. In Bitola, Skopje, Shtip and Gevgelija, the Serbian army, police and chetniks (guerrillas) committed their own atrocities.
Nor were these events to be the last tragic consequences of the Balkan Wars: an enormous number of refugees from Macedonia were compelled by threats and force to leave their homes and flee. About 112,000 refugees sought shelter in Bulgaria, 50,000 of whom were Macedonians. Greece received 157,000 refugees, mostly Turks and Greeks, who settled on the properties of Macedonian refugees. About 1,000 refugees settled on Macedonian territory occupied by Serbia. About half a million people became refugees, driven across newly-created borders-driven from one part of Macedonia to another by the rampaging armies.
On March 1, 1913, the Macedonian colony in St. Petersburg sent a memorandum on the independence of Macedonia to the conference of Great Powers in London, along with a geographical-ethnic map of Macedonia made by Dimitrija Chupovski. "Europe is about to make the same mistake as in 1878. Instead of Macedonia being proclaimed an independent state, its liberators decided to divide it among themselves... The Macedonians have gained the right to self-determination through their recent history... A horrible terror now reigns in Macedonia-there are no limits to the 'freedom' of the allies. Not a single Macedonian has the right to travel outside Macedonia and go abroad to protest to the European states. Whoever attempts to do that is either killed or imprisoned. The allied armies have enclosed Macedonia in an iron grip."
"The Macedonian people needs:
"One, Macedonia to remain an individual, indivisible, independent Balkan state within its geographic, ethnographic, historical and economic-political borders; and
"Two, that, on the basis of a general election, a Macedonian people's assembly be convened in Thessaloniki as soon as possible, to work out the internal organization of the state and define its relations with the neighboring countries."
On April 21, 1913, in the St. Petersburg newspaper Slavjanin (A Slav), D.Chupovski, writing under the pseudonym Upravda, published the article "The Macedonian State" in which he predicted:
"...Despite vigorous opposition by the Macedonians themselves, the partition of Macedonia will undoubtedly lead to internecine blood-shedding among the allies... The Balkan Peninsula is too small for several greater-state ideals to coexist. Only a federal state constituted of all Balkan peoples, in which Macedonia will be included on an equal footing as an indivisible state, independent in its internal affairs-only such a federation that can provide peaceful coexistence and progress of the Balkan peoples!"
On June 7, 1913, a second memorandum of the Macedonians was sent to the governments and peoples of the combatants of the Balkan Wars, stating that "in the name of natural right, in the name of history ... Macedonia is inhabited by a homogeneous population having its own history, and hence the right to self-determination. Macedonia is to be an independent state, within its natural borders. The Macedonian state is to be a separate equal unit of the Balkan League, with its own church established on the foundations of the ancient Ohrid archbishopric", requesting that a people's representative body be convened in Thessaloniki. This memorandum was signed by members of the Macedonian colony in St. Petersburg.
Despite the obvious fact that in the partition of Macedonia a nation had been divided, in the Paris Peace Conferences (June-September, 1919) the Great Powers, protecting their own interests, confirmed with minor alterations only the decisions of the 1913 Treaty of Bucharest.
During the conference the Macedonian issue, in one form or another, confronted any possible settlement of World War One's Balkan front. Three proposals were placed before the Committee on the Formation of New States. On June 10, 1919, the Italian delegation proposed that Macedonia be given the status of autonomy within the framework of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Macedonia would possess an autonomous assembly and the Macedonian governor would be responsible to it, although he would be appointed by the Yugoslav government. Opposed by the French delegation, at the following session of the committee the Italian representative changed the proposal on political autonomy of Macedonia and reduced it to a proposal for administrative self-management with a central council in Bitola.
The French delegation, protecting the interests of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (viewed as a key ally in the region) categorically opposed any kind of autonomy for Macedonia and proposed that the Macedonian Question be discussed in terms of minority issues. The treaties of protection for minorities would be a sufficient guarantee of freedom and protection for the population of Macedonia. The British delegation offered in turn a proposal for special control of Macedonia by the League of Nations, in order to reinforce minority guarantees. The insistence of France that the Macedonian Question be removed from the agenda ended culminated in the statement of its delegation that "the Macedonians do not have a clearly defined nationality and the population is divided into parties which, in view of the events, change their character." Supporting the request by Pashich that the new state, the Kingdom of the SCS (Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) be provided with "a strategic border", France upheld Yugoslav control of the region, and any protection for the Macedonians must be limited to the framework of minority rights in general.
Unfortunately, the Great Powers had no interest in the voice of the Macedonian-the partition of Macedonia had already been accomplished, and no power seriously endorsed revision of the partition. Accordingly, Greece maintained its lion's share of Macedonian territory, some 35,169 square kilometers; the Kingdom of the SCS retained 25,774 square kilometers; and Bulgaria maintained, after minor revision, 6,798 square kilometers.
While before the Ilinden Uprising there were an estimated two and a half million people in Macedonia, after the Paris Peace Conference the totaled populations of Aegean (Greek); Pirin (Bulgarian) and Vardar (Yugoslav) Macedonia was 2,028,000, hardly past the two million mark. War and economic collapse had reduced the population of Macedonia by 270,000 people, a negative growth most visible in Aegean Macedonia. In 1896, there were 681,451 inhabitants of Aegean Macedonia, 354,406 of them ethnic Macedonians, 68,000 Greek, 195,000 Turks and about 66,000 of other nationalities. In 1920, on this same territory, the population had dwindled to 584,294 inhabitants, with a Macedonian population reduced by 46,763 to a total of 307,643 and a Greek population of 107,437, an increase of 38,927.
In vain were protests, applications, declarations, memorandums or personal appeals by representatives of the Macedonian people to the Peace Conference, the governments of the Great Powers, or to Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece that the Macedonian people should not be considered "an amorphous mass", that "the spiritual unity" of the Macedonian should be respected and Macedonia raised to the rank of "an independent state."

The Berlin Treaty

On March 3, 1878, the Russo-Turkish war ended in the Peace Treaty of San Stefano. Russia tried use the war to settle the "Eastern Question" to its own advantage. Victorious, Russia sought to turn the Balkans into a sphere of influence, paying due respect to Austro-Hungarian interests in Bosnia and Hercegovina. Under the provisions of the Treaty of San Stefano, Serbia, Montenegro and Romania grew at the expense of the Ottoman Empire: Serbia extended as far as Rashka, Novi Pazar in the Sanjak and Sitnitsa and Laba in Kosovo; Montenegro occupied Plav, Podgoritsa, Nikshich, Gadsko, Zhablyak and Bar; Romania obtained the northern part of Dobruja.
By the Treaty of San Stefano a new, autonomous Bulgarian state was created, possessing its own government and army. The boundaries of San Stefano Bulgaria would include not only present-day Bulgaria, but also the Vranye district in Serbia (including the towns of Nish, Pirot and Vranye) and Macedonian territories encompassed within a boundary lying along Mt. Shar, Mt. Korab and the Crni Drim River to the town of Gramos (today, in Greece): encompassing Macedonia as far as Prespa and Ohrid Lakes and the town of Korche (currently, in Albania). The southern border would run from the border marked by Gramos and the Vardar River to the mouth of the Mesta River, leaving Thessaloniki and Chalcidice under Ottoman Rule, then on to the Rhodopes, across Lule Burgas to the Black Sea. Accordingly, a large part of ethnic and geographical Macedonia would be incorporated within San Stephan Bulgaria. Russian armies were to stay in Bulgaria in order to assist the solidification of the newly-established authority.
The San Stefano treaty and its proposed alterations of the Balkan balance of power alarmed Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, the German Empire, Serbia and Greece. The Great Powers, particularly Austria-Hungary, disliked the extension of Russian power into the Balkans, and Britain feared the consequences of a truncated Ottoman Empire. Serbia and Greece feared the creation of a Greater Bulgarian state which could endanger their independence and future designs on Ottoman territory. Faced by wide resistance to the provisions of San Stefano, Russia was forced to accept revision of the treaty.
Meanwhile, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, a powerful weapon of the Greek government, was used to organize protests opposing the inclusion of Macedonia within the new Bulgarian state. The Patriarchate was further used to support Greek annexation of Macedonia, or at the very least its continued existence as part of the Ottoman Empire (leaving open the possibility of future Greek annexation). Throughout Serbia, similar protests were conducted against the inclusion of "Serbian" territory in the newly-created principality. Serbia, however, did propose that if Macedonia could not be incorporated within the framework of the Serbian state, it should granted an autonomous administration with a Christian governor.
In the midst of this turmoil Dimitar Robev, a former member of the Ottoman parliament from Macedonia, arrived in Belgrade in May. He condemned the actions of Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria to annex Macedonian territory, and stated that "the best solution for Macedonia is to remain independent" and that the Russian delegate in Constantinople, Count Ignatiev, had allegedly, told him that "Macedonia can not belong to any of the three main peoples of the Balkan Peninsula".
Exhausted by the war, Russia agreed that a congress be organized in Berlin whereby the Treaty of San Stefano could be revised. Negotiations between the Great Powers in Berlin lasted for an entire month (June 13 to July 13, 1878). The basic decisions reached by the Congress of Berlin were that Macedonia would remain under Ottoman rule, Bulgaria would extend from the Danube River to Mt. Stara Planina, and the region of Eastern Rumelia would remain autonomous but not part of the Bulgarian state. Bosnia and Hercegovina were annexed by Austria-Hungary, and an expanded Montenegro and Serbia were granted full independence from Turkish authority. The San Stefano fiction of Great Bulgaria-never realized, and "living" on paper for only three months-was to be a rallying cry for future Bulgarian ambitions and a serious factor of instability in the Balkans.
Article 23 of the Berlin Treaty was of particular importance for Macedonia: "The Sublime Porte is obliged to carefully implement the Organic Statute in the island of Crete, introducing changes which would be assessed as justified. Analogous statutes adapted to local requirements, with the exception of the tax exemption approved to Crete, will be equally introduced in the other parts of European Turkey as well, which are not subject of particular drawing up in this Treaty. The Sublime Porte is to engage special commissions, composed to a great extent of local members, which are to work out the details of the new statutes for each province. The organization projects to be worked out by the commissions will be submitted for examination to the Sublime Porte, which in turn, before passing any of the acts, will request the opinion of the European commission established for Eastern Rumelia." Article twenty-three was one of two basic documents which defined the concept of Macedonia in this period-the second being the 1878 constitution of the Macedonian insurgents.
Article twenty-three reveals clearly both the interests of the Great Powers concerning Macedonia and the compromises made in that respect between the Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire. The key article provides for Macedonia, as an Ottoman province, to have its own constitution and a special legal status similar to that of Crete within the framework of the Ottoman Empire. Accordingly, Macedonia was to have its own governor and military commander, who would be entrusted with commanding the army. By putting the principles of the territorial division of Crete into effect, Turkey was obliged to divide the territory of Macedonia into sanjaks (districts), the number of which was to be determined in the future. These administrative units would be governed by mutasariphs, half of whom would be Moslem and the other half Christian, but all would be officers of the sultan's government. The assistants of the Moslem mutasariphs would be Christians, and those of the Christian mutasariphs Moslems. The sanjaks would be further divided into kaazas, governed by kaymakams.
The Organic Constitution of Crete and the future constitution of Macedonia alike provided for the establishment of special administrative councils in each geographic-administrative area, consisting of three Moslems and three Christians. It was prescribed that such councils would be established in lower, local administration as well, and in areas where the entire population was Christian or Moslem such councils would be respectively composed of six Christian or Moslem representatives. These councils would be administered by the mutasariph or kaymakams.
More detailed elaboration and analysis of Article twenty-three of the Treaty of Berlin reveals that Macedonia was to gain political autonomy and the Macedonian people were to have increased possibilities to express their national individuality than under previous Turkish rule. Since that time onwards, the idea of autonomy of Macedonia was the leading idea which motivated the revolutionary and national movements in the region. It took various forms under various conditions, but it was always present as a goal of the Macedonian people. For the Macedonian themselves, autonomy became an ideal to which they dedicated their future struggle for national and political freedom, finding impetus in the fact that the establishment of an autonomous legal status for Macedonia was set out in an international agreement. The Treaty of Berlin represented international recognition of an autonomous status for Macedonia for the first time since Samuil's Empire, and Macedonians were treated as a separate ethnic community and territorial unit, recognized as "an ethnic territorial unit having elements of its independence and self-management". The Treaty of Berlin, containing within it recognition of an autonomous Macedonia, overturned the provisions of the Treaty of San Stefano and its proposed inclusion of Macedonia within a Greater Bulgarian state. Article twenty-three's provisions for self-government in Macedonia were not mirrored in the Treaty of San Stefano, suggesting that under the first treaty the Macedonian people would have merely traded Turkish overlords for Bulgarian overlords, remaining under foreign and alien rule.
Unfortunately, the signatories of the Treaty of Berlin left implementation of the treaty to the he Sublime Porte. The Porte, obliged to determine when the international commissions regarding reform in the empire would be created, never initiated the implementation of the treaty. Consequently, Macedonia's promised self-government did not materialize.
Yet, it does not mean that spiritual or armed resistance against the Ottomans in Macedonia ceased, in expectation of action by the Great Powers.
In April, 1880, the troops of the priest Kostadin Buvski and Leonid Vulgaris met at Gremen (Ostrovo). Discussing the situation in Macedonia, the two voivodes (commanders) came to the conclusion that the Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia were to blame for Macedonia's continued misery under the Turkish yoke. Accordingly, "the future of Macedonia lied in the creation of an independent Macedonian state."
The voivodes also concluded that the diversity of the population in Macedonia was the main factor hindering a mutual agreement to begin a rebellion. Unity of the nationalities in Macedonia might lead to a general and successful fight against the Ottomans.
At their initiative, in the period from May 1 to June 2, 1880, 32 delegates gathered in Gremen as representatives of the Macedonian, Vlach, Serbian and Albanian peoples (the Turkish representatives were left out). After discussing the platform of Vulgaris and Buvski, this National Assembly drew conclusions on the measures to be taken in order to accomplish "the national aim of the Macedonians". Among other matters, they stated that Macedonia, which had suffered for centuries under the Ottomans, had no possibility to liberate itself in a peaceful manner. The neighboring Balkan states destroyed the national unity of Macedonia through their religious and national propaganda and shrouded the Macedonians away from the eyes of European public opinion. Putting an emphasis on action was the only way that Macedonians would liberate themselves from Turkish slavery.
In reviewing the situation, the National Assembly stated that Turkish authorities had not implemented the programs set by the Great Powers at the Congress in Berlin. For that reason, the National Assembly decided to inform the Sublime Porte that the Macedonian people requested speedier implementation of Article twenty-three of the Treaty of Berlin. The Assembly was also to contact all representatives of the signatory Great Powers in Macedonia with a request for their intervention with the Porte in putting Article twenty-three of the Berlin Treaty into effect. If the existing situation remained and nothing was changed, the National Assembly would summon the Macedonian people to take up the arms under the slogan "Macedonia to the Macedonians for the re-establishment of Ancient Macedonia!" On that occasion, the National Assembly elected a Provisional government of Macedonia from among its members under the name "Unity".
On May 21, 1880, the Provisional government of Macedonia contacted the Russian consul general in Thessaloniki, N. Ulyanov, advising him that "at international congresses of the Great Powers, Macedonia has been left an orphan... only Macedonia, which had had its own civilization in ancient times and had given birth to Aristotle and Alexander the Great, is deprived of any help" and that, that, if the Sublime Porte did not take any steps to implement the Article twenty-three, "the Provisional government of Macedonia will summon the Macedonian people to take up the arms under the slogan: 'Macedonia to the Macedonians, for Macedonia, for re-establishment of ancient Macedonia!'"
This statement was signed by Vasil Simon, president of the provisional government, and the Kramontov, commander-in-chief of the rebel forces.
Nearly a year later on March 23, 1881, the provisional government sent a manifesto to all diplomatic representatives: "Foreign and distrustful peoples want to occupy our country and destroy our nationality, which shines with a high splendor and can not and will never disappear." The manifesto opined that "by being shifted from one yoke to another, the regeneration of the Macedonians will become impossible and our nationality will vanish. This moment is critical for Macedonia: it is a question of its life or death!" Addressing the Macedonian people as "True Macedonians, the faithful children of the fatherland!", the signatories of the manifesto, President Vasil Simon and Secretary Nikola Traykov exclaimed: "Do your best, for the words 'Unique and United Macedonia!' are written on the flag we are going to raise... Then, gather yourselves under the flag of Macedonia, being your unique national symbol, raise it high and make that glorious flag ready for writing on it: Long live the Macedonian people, long live Macedonia!"
Macedonian emigrants in Bulgaria were active as well. These included veterans from the Russo-Turkish War and the 1878 Macedonian Uprising who could not reconcile themselves to the suppression of Macedonia. About 1,800 veterans of battles against the Ottomans lived in Sofia; deciding that the struggle should continue until the final liberation of Macedonia, a Bulgarian-Macedonian League (later shortened to Macedonian League) was formed, founded on the motto "Freedom for Macedonia or death!" The League upheld the political independence of Macedonia and the creation of a Macedonian state. In order to be able to accomplish this objective, the League began to organize its own army and work out its own strategy to wage a war of independence in Macedonia. Declaring itself a people's front for the liberation of Macedonia, the League established a provisional administration for Macedonia with unitary political and military authority, to operate until the independence of Macedonia and creation of a Macedonian state was at hand. This provisional administration was headed by a chief voivode and composed of three senior voivodes and commander of headquarters. The military units of 180 soldiers each were formed, headed by voivodes.
The provisional administration of Macedonia, as the highest legislative body, worked out a constitution of Macedonia which contained a detailed elaboration of the status of the future Macedonian state. The constitution consisted of 103 Articles and was similar to the 1868 constitution of Crete, providing for political and cultural autonomy. According to its provisions, Macedonia was to remain part of the Ottoman Empire but possess the status of a federal unit within the empire. The Macedonian government would be headed by a governor-general and twelve ministers, ruling from Thessaloniki a federal territory based on the borders of the three Macedonian vilayets of Thessaloniki, Bitola and Skopje (minus Kosovo and Metohia).
In determining the borders of the future Macedonian federal province, the constitution of the provisional administration of Macedonia established elements which would "play a long-term, important role in the struggle of the Macedonian people in formulating the actions of the Macedonian revolutionary movement." The borders were based in part on knowledge of the complexity of economic and political interests, and the unifying factors of the "strengthening process of economic, political and national integration." Vlado Popovski notes that in such a context there would be the increasing presence of "the people's, national and, implicitly, political history" of the most numerous population on this territory, the Macedonian Slavs. "Naming themselves by the territorial name... [they] exerted influence and attracted other, less numerous national groups." In such a way, argues Popovski, members of diverse ethnic groups "accepted and felt Macedonia to be their common homeland and at the same time a separate whole, and hence a separate community." This was the beginning of the development, growth and affirmation of the awareness of an individual "social and political constituting of Macedonia" as an independent state.
It can be stated with certainty that the prospect of an autonomous Macedonia, even within the framework of the Ottoman Empire, stimulated the development of the concept of an independent Macedonia. "By creating a realistic attitude towards the fact that the Macedonian people and other nationalities in Macedonia were linked by fate, the idea of an autonomous Macedonia incorporated in itself their need for integration, based on the increasingly mutually-accepted social, political, economic and national interests. It was on such a basis and on such conceptions that the idea of a joint struggle of the Macedonian people and the other nationalities developed," concludes Aleksandar Hristov. In the process of assimilating the population of Macedonia, the idea of autonomy was present as a core element.
All this influenced the armed struggle of the Macedonian people, directing it toward establishing a form of political organization which would "...guarantee the creation of a separate political structure of power and relations." This leads to the conclusion that the idea of the autonomy of Macedonia incorporated in itself the concept of the Macedonian people as an individual people, having their own individual, national, political, economic and cultural interests differing and distinguished from those of other Balkan peoples. This, in turn, meant that the more the idea of an autonomous Macedonia was affirmed, the more the Macedonian people were identified as a nation.
It was the dispelling of the idea of an autonomous Macedonia that created new, complex relations in the Balkans and led to institutionalizing of the "Macedonian Question". The more Macedonians affirmed their national individuality and right to self-determination through the idea of Macedonian autonomy, the more other countries (Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia in particular), grew afraid that their territorial ambitions would be thwarted. Hence "the retained right" of the three countries to dispute the legitimacy of the Macedonian national movement or the right of the Macedonian people to their own state.
The documents of the Macedonian League and provision administration of Macedonia clearly show that it was the concept of an autonomous Macedonia that was the basis for the decision to embark on an armed struggle to win Macedonia's ethnic and political liberation. These ideas grew into the program of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, less than 13 years later.

The Cultural History of Macedonia

Literature.
The texts of the Thessaloniki brothers Cyril and Methodius, written in the new alphabet, mark the beginning of Macedonian literature since the language they were written in was the language spoken by the Macedonian Slavs of Thessaloniki. For that reason, the beginning of literary activity among the Slavic peoples is closely linked to the beginning of Macedonian literature.
Clement, Naum and Constantine of Bregalnitsa, the disciples of the holy Brothers, carried on this literary work. Besides his religious and educational work, Clement of Ohrid translated works from Greek. Of even greater significance was his own composition of original poems and sermons, making him the first Slavic-and first Macedonian-poet and sermon-writer. Clement was, in fact, the author of a large body of sermons, prayers, hymns and other psalmodic songs in honor of Jesus Christ, the Holy Virgin, John the Baptist and other Christian figures. Many of Clement's literary works permeated the oldest period of Slavonic literature, translated mainly from Byzantine Greek. His works are simple, immediate and intelligible (his "Song of Praise to Our Blessed Father and Slavic Teacher Cyril the Philosopher" is wonderful). Because of their clarity and beauty, they soon came to hold a worthy place in almost all bodies of Slavonic literature. It is certain that the educational work of Clement of Ohrid was carried on by Naum of Ohrid, but Naum's two scant biographies and numerous folk traditions do not provide sufficient information on whether or not he carried on Clement's tradition as an author and poet.
The oldest Slavonic texts proving the literacy of medieval Macedonia are the Assemani Gospel, the Zograf Gospel, the Codex Marianus, the Sinai Psalter and the Sinai Euchologion, all dating from the 12th century. It has been ascertained that they were either written on Macedonian soil or contain characteristic traces of medieval Macedonian originals. All were written in Glagolitic script, proof of the continued use of this alphabet in Macedonia.
Constantine the Presbyter, known in literature and in church history also as Episcope Constantine of Bregalnitsa, was one of the younger disciples of Cyril and Methodius. Constantine was the author of the collected Teaching Gospels, 51 sermons including 42 original works. He is also most likely the author of the Introduction to the Gospel, which celebrates the fact that the Slavs had obtained the Gospel in their own language. The Alphabet Prayer, an introductory text to the Teaching Gospels, likewise delights in the education of the Slavs. But the dilemma over whether these works belong to Constantine/St. Cyril or to Constantine of Bregalnitsa remains to be solved by scholars.
Medieval history holds yet another enigma for scholars of Macedonia: did Crnorizec Hrabar ever exist, or was he a pseudonym for Cyril, Clement of Ohrid or even Naum? In any case, the first Slavonic polemical text, O Pismeneh (On Letters), is a defense of the alphabet of Cyril and Methodius from violent attacks by Greek critics.
During the Middle Ages, monks and other church figures in Macedonia patiently transcribed and copied church works. Beside the famous Ohrid center, transcription centers also existed on the Holy Mountain, in the Monastery of Lesnovo and in monasteries on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora. There, the monks transcribed the Gospels, the Epistles, the Psalters, the Triodions, the Menaions, the Oktoëchoses and the hagiographies of the saints. Along with transcription, they wrote sermons about famous church figures and composed Christian poetry. They even wrote romances (i.e., about Troja and about Alexander the Great) and fables (i.e., about Theophane the innkeeper and about Eladia, the man who sold his soul to the devil in order to obtain a desired woman). All these had, of course, a deeply religious content. Also widely known are the Dobromir Gospel, the Ohrid Epistle, the Bitola Triodion, the Grigorovich Paremeinikon, the Slepche Epistle, the Bologne Psalter, the Radomir Gospel, the Macedonian Gospel of Priest Jovan and the Vraneshnica Epistle-all created in the period between the 12th to the 14th centuries. These works are confirmation of the penetration of the Cyrillic script among generations of anonymous transcribers. The oldest Cyrillic inscriptions discovered in Macedonia are on the headstone of Tsar Samuil (993) and a Varosh inscription dated to 996. Besides these kinds of church literature, Macedonian medieval literature is rich in hagiographic texts and apocryphs.
The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans obstructed and slowed down the pace of literary activity. Macedonian literature regressed, and became confined to the monasteries, particularly the Monastery of Lesnovo (Kratovo), the Mateyche and St. Prohor of Pchinya monastaries (Kumanovo), the Monastery of Slepche (Demir Hisar), the Monastery of Treskavec (Prilep), the Monastery of the Most Pure Virgin (Kichevo), the Monastery of St. John Bigorski (Debar) and the Monastery of Polog (Tikvesh), where large libraries were preserved and helped to maintain Slavonic speech, although only with great effort and despite great difficulties.
By the end of the 17th century, the so called damaskins or apocryphal texts, sermons and prayers began to spread among the Macedonians, Serbs and Bulgarians. The Damaskins grew out of the writings of the Greek writer Damaskin Studit, who used vernacular Greek in his sermons. In the translations of damaskins from Greek, elements of regional Macedonian vernacular were gradually introduced.
Despite obstacles, a number of significant Slavonic literary works were created on Macedonian soil during this period. The best known include Clement's Chrysobull, the Slepche Text and the Macedonian Damaskin of the 16th century; the Tikvesh Collection created over the 16th and 17th centuries; and the Treskavec Codex from the 17th century. All were handwritten and in great demand despite the fact that in 1710 the first printing press in Macedonia was opened in the Monastery of St. Naum, with a second press opened somewhat later on the Holy Mountain. But both presses printed strictly in Greek, while the handwritten texts were Slavic.
The first generation of Macedonian writers, including Joakim Krchovski, Kiril Pejchinovich-Tetoec and Teodosij Sinaitski, were educated on the basis of this church literature. But the second generation of Macedonian writers, including the brothers Dimitar and Constantine Miladinov, Jordan HadziKonstantinov-Djinot, the brothers Constantine and Andrea Petkovich, Rayko Zhinzifov and Grigor Prlichev abandoned church literature, as did the lesser-known Georgi Dinkata, Kuzman Shapkarev, Parteniya Zografski, Veniyamin Machukovski, Georgiya Pulevski and Dimitar Makedonski. They laid the foundations of the modern Macedonian language and literature and opened themselves to the influences of world literature. Contemporary Macedonian literature can be traced back to the poems of Constantine Miladinov and the literary opus of Grigor Prlichev (the poems "The Sirdar", "Skenderbey" and the "Autobiography"). These were beginnings which could satisfy the highest criteria of literary writing.

Architecture.
The coming of Clement to Macedonia marked the beginning of a new period of art for the region. Objectively speaking, the history of art in these territories represented a history of church art. The influence of Byzantine art is indisputable, although artistic works created during the time of Clement and the time of Tsar Samuil are exceptions. The construction of the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople had a decisive influence on establishing criteria for building temples in areas the Orthodox church dominated. However, during the Macedonian Empire of Samuil, new characteristics can be noticed in Macedonian architecture, long after the Byzantine architectural school had run its course. This suggests the existence of a seperate Macedonian school of architecture.
With the construction of St. Panteleimon in Ohrid by Clement (893), downhill from Ohrid fortress, the Macedonian Slavs gained not only their first great religious and educational center but also the conditions necessary to develop their aesthetic feelings, accepting and continuing existing artistic forms but expanding into new directions as well. For example, Clement used a ruined three-conchae church for the foundation of St. Panteleimon, added some original parts, and obtaining thereby new "oval" forms. A similar procedure was applied in constructing the Church of St. Archangel, built on southern shore of Ohrid Lake and later renamed the Monastery of St. Naum. Later on, in the 10th and 11th centuries, the building of three-conchae churches was abandoned and four-conchae churches began to be built (the Church of the Holy Virgin Eleussa near Velyusa), as well as churches of basilica arrangement such as the Church of St. Achilles on the Island of Achilles in Prespa Lake, the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, the Church of the Holy Virgin in the Strugan village of Vranishta and the Church of St. Leontes near Strumitsa.
One of the architectural masterpieces of Macedonia from the early period of Slavic culture is the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, renovated by Archbishop Leo between 1037 and 1056. Its size and the arrangement of the fresco-paintings in the sanctuary seem to suggest that it was constructed as a cathedral. It began as a three-nave basilica with a transept, dome and nartex, suggesting a transition to the civil construction of the 12th to the 14th centuries when churches usually had a square base foundation and cruciform construction. The beauty of St. Sophia lies in its exo-nartex with its open galleries and two towers ending in small domes. It is interesting to note that the Church of St. Panteleimon in Nerezi (1164) has a similar cruciform layout, but is enriched by five domes, characteristic of nearly all monasteries surrounding Skopje, and the churches in Mateyche and Staro Nagorichane near Kumanovo. In general, the five-dome cruciform church represents one of the main characteristics of medieval architecture in Macedonia. The diversity of architectural forms in Macedonia was enriched by the late 13th century church dedicated to the Holy Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid-a single-nave church built to a very strict and precise plan, in which the voluminous mass of the structure was carefully structured to give a harmonious balance overall.
The secular architecture of this time was generally insignificant. There are no remnants which would serve as a basis for shaping a picture of the palaces, houses or even towns of the early medieval period in Macedonia. There are, however, ruins of medieval fortresses, built of large carved rectangular stone blocks. Ohrid Fortress is considered to be the oldest and best-preserved fortress in Macedonia; Roman historians mention Ohrid as a town of fortresses, but the remaining ruins visible today chiefly belong to fortifications erected by Samuil. The height of its ramparts is in the range of 10 to 16 meters, originally protected by numerous towers-the ruins of 18 towers and four gates remain. The fortress itself was often renovated and new parts added to it during the medieval period.
Skopje Fortress is a second preserved example of secular architecture in Macedonia. Archaeological excavations have proven that the site of the fortress was inhabited as early as four thousand years ago. Likewise, research proves that the large defensive wall of the fortress was built during the time of Emperor Justinian, in about 535. The fortress was constructed from the stones of the town of Scupi, destroyed by the disastrous earthquake of 518. The only parts of this fortress which remain are about 120 meters of ruins and three towers: one square, one rectangular and one circular. The age of the medieval town accompanying the fortress has not been determined. It is hypothesized that the fortress was renovated and expanded in the 11th century, during the second period of Byzantium rule over the region. The fortress was refitted to protect Skopje, as an economic site and strategic border town, from attacks by neighboring states and barbarians like the Scythians and Pechenegs of the north. The remnants of the Byzantine fortress later served as the base for the construction of a new, fortified town. The traveler Eulia Chelebia writes that Skopje was a fortified town, with a double outer wall built, like the town gate, of stone which "shone as if polished".
The subjugation of Macedonia under Ottoman authority both hindered the development of architecture and encouraged it to adapt to the requirements of Islam and Ottoman urban life. The church was replaced by the mosque as the center of religious architecture. Fortified towns gave way to open settlements where the inn, the hammam (Turkish baths) and the mosque, concentrated as a group of public buildings, became a typical characteristic of the Ottoman urban planning. These buildings became the central point of a bazaar; with the addition of a bezesten (a domed marketplace) and covered markets, as typified by Arab markets, the inn, hamman, mosque and bezesten became the pivot of urban life. This was the greatest influence of Ottoman architecture on Macedonian architects during Ottoman rule.
Eulia Chelebia records a total of 120 temples in Skopje, 45 of which large mosques. The best known among these include the Mosque of Isaac Bey, built in 1438; the Mosque of Murad Hainukyar, built in 1436; the Mosque of Kodja-Mustapha Pasha, built in 1491; the Mosque of Burmali, built in 1495, but since destroyed; and the Mosque of Yahya Pasha, built in 1504 and including a 50-meter high minaret. Bitola was enriched by the Isac Mosque, built over 1508-1509; the Yeni Mosque, built in 1559; and the Mosque of Jahdar-Kadi, built in 1562 by Kodja Sinan, the most prominent Ottoman architect of the time. Chelebia lists 70 Moslem mosques in Bitola. Later, in the 17th century, the Painted Mosque was built in Tetovo, richly decorated with beautiful ornaments.
Secular architecture includes the Kurshumli Caravanserai in Skopje, covered by numerous small domes coated with kurshum (Turkish for lead). The Suli Caravanserai in Skopje has also been preserved to the current day. Particularly attractive were the Daut Pasha Hammam baths, the Chift Hammam baths in Skopje and the bezestens in Bitola and Shtip.
Also characteristic of the Turkish architecture throughout the Ottoman Empire were turbehs (burial chambers) in which distinguished Ottomans were buried, and tekehs (convents), a sort of Dervish monastery. Particularly fine architectural examples of turbehs included that of Mustapha Pasha in the Isaac Bey Mosque in Skopje, the open Kral K'zi turbeh and the eight-meter domed turbeh in Gazi Baba, Skopje. Outstanding among the Dervish convents are the Sultan Emir Tekeh in Skopje and the Arabati-baba Tekeh in Tetovo. Unfortunately, there are no preserved examples of individual domestic dwellings from the medieval or early to mid-Ottoman periods. It is theorized that such dwellings were constructed with materials which did not stand up to the test of time. However, fine examples of 19th and early 20th century houses still remain in Ohrid, Krushevo Kratovo, Bitola, Titov Veles, Prilep and Resen, testimonies to how architecture was adapted to respond to the specific needs of Macedonian conditions. The houses of Ohrid and Krushevo are particularly note-worthy.
A number of early 19th century houses in Ohrid survive, generally two to three stories with a stone ground floor and upper floors of wood. These houses are characterized by numerous windows, wide porches and belvederes. Due to local climate, terrain and geography, houses were placed close to each other and constructed to face Ohrid Lake. They are usually colored white and are characterized by boldly arranged facades supported by consoles, wooden eaves and several additional details.
In 1927, Le Corbusier visited Krushevo and was delighted by the 19th century architecture unique to this small town. The densely-packed houses are characterized by magnificent architectural arrangements. Together they create a harmonious whole of various architectural elements and vivid colors, mostly light blue or light yellow. The arrangements are supplemented by projecting balconies, wide belvederes, built-in wardrobes, porches with stone-fitted floors and large, heavy wooden gates.

Fresco-painting.
Despite a number of significant achievements, architecture in Macedonia in the early Middle Ages, compared to the accomplishments of Constantinople and Thessaloniki, was largely of provincial character. But fresco-painting in Macedonia in the same period equaled the greatest and most beautiful works of the Byzantine Empire. The finest works include the frescoes in Nerezi (1164), Kurbinovo (1191), Manastir (1271), the Church of St. Nicholas in Varosh (1290), the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (the second layer of the fresco-painting dates from the 13th century) and the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (1295). Macedonian is one of the richest regions in terms of medieval wall paintings, both in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole. Over the course of time, many generations of local painters created works of exceptional skill and beauty. Deserving of mention were the Deacon Jovan, Rufin, Michail Astrappa and Eutychius, Grigorius, Jovan Theorian, Mercurius, Jovan Zograf and his brother Makarius, Alexius, the monk Gligorius and the monk Yoanakis, all of whom worked in the period from the middle of the 13th to the first half of the 15th centuries.
The oldest fresco in Macedonia (only fragments of it have been preserved) is located in the Strumitsa Church of the Fifteen Holy Martyrs of Tiberiopolis, a local religious subcult of the Macedonian Slavs from the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Fresco-painting was particularly developed during the reign of Tsar Samuil, under the influence of the East. Unlike their teachers, who mainly came from Thessaloniki, Macedonian artists gave stronger emphasis to the expressions of the face and the compositions of the paintings are more explicit. Wall-painting was especially developed during the time of the Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018-1767), as proved by the frescoes in Vodocha (about 1037) and in the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (1040-1045). The frescoes in St. Sophia represent a rare artistic treasure from the 11th century, which greatly enriched the art of the fresco-painting in Macedonia. According to general opinion, the visual arrangement of the sanctuary of this church is the most purely Slavic in the development of Macedonian art. The frescoes in this cathedral are characterized by the postures of the figures and the archaic forms, united in an artistic and iconographic whole unique to church painting of the time. The fresco-paintings in St. Sophia represent the most significant preserved works of Byzantine painting in general. A different group of painters worked in the late 11th and the first half of the 12th century within the framework of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, creating the frescoes in Velyusa (1085-1093), Vodocha (the second layer of frescoes), and taking part in the renovation of the Church of the Fifteen Holy Martyrs of Tiberiopolis in Strumitsa.
The second half of the 12th century was a period marked by the beautiful frescoes in Nerezi (1165-1168), the renovated church in Velyusa (1165-1170), the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo (1191) and the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (now known as St. Clement) in Ohrid (1295). The frescoes in Nerezi ("The Lamentation", for example) and in Kurbinovo introduce a pronounced expression of the inner feelings of the characters, making these frescoes unique and exceptional. The refined colors, warm hues and of spirituality of the characters elevate the Nerezi frescoes to the highest levels of Byzantine fresco-art. Even in smaller churches such as the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo, the feeling of the inner experience of the characters is dominant in the dramatic scenes. The pronounced psychological element in the characters is likewise noticed in the fresco-paintings created in a later period, under new conditions.
Dramatic scenes depicted by the frescoes in the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid were expressed by the artists with near-documentary precision. These frescoes are characteristic of the early period of the two great masters of fresco-painting in Macedonia, Michail Astrappa and Eutychius. The fresco "The Lamentation" reveals the drama of man in general, rather than the drama of the saint. The saints on the frescoes in the church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (St. Clement) are depicted as healthy, young people with athletic bodies, full of life. The fresco "The Lamentation of Christ" was painted by an anonymous Nerezi master 140 years before the great Italian painter Giotto painted his master-piece "The Lamentation" in the chapel of Scrovenni in Padova. The mother on the Nerezi fresco is depicted as convulsed by her anguish for her deceased son, the culmination of her distress and tragedy. The new element of expression in the Nerezi frescoes "The Lamentation of Christ" and "The Deposition from the Cross", supplemented by the dramatic fresco "The Lamentation of Christ" in the Church of St. Clement in Ohrid, obliges art historians to consider these frescoes as true heralds of the Renaissance which would spread throughout Europe about a hundred years later-and many art historians consider that the Macedonian school of fresco-painting directly influenced the Italian Renaissance. However, unlike developments in Italy, the Macedonian proto-renaissance was extinguished by the Ottoman conquest which inhibited the bloom of art and caused the art of fresco-painting to stagnate and decay.
The pursuit of the fine arts continued during Serbian rule over Macedonia. Many churches are preserved from that period, the most distinguished being the Church of St. Nikita on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, the Church of St.George in Staro Nagorichane (where the fresco-paintings were created by Astrappa and Eutychius between 1307 and 1318), the Church of St. Archangel on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, the Church of St. Archangel in Varosh, the Church of St. Andrew near the Treska River and the Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Lyuboten, near Skopje region. During the Serbian period, the monumental exo-nartex, a rare architectural accomplishment both in Macedonia and the world in general, was added to the Church of St. Sophia in 1317.
Portrait painting was also an important art in the medieval period. Among the most famous portraits made on Macedonian soil are the portraits of King Milutin and Simonida in Staro Nagorichane, the portraits of Dushan and Helena at Lesnovo, the group portrait of the Paskacha family at Psacha, and the portraits of Volkashin and his son Marko in the church of St. Archangel in Varosh and in Marko's monastery. In view of the popularity of portraits in Byzantium, it would be logical that portraits had long been included in Macedonian churches but no portraits have been preserved from the period prior to the 13th century.
Icon painting. After several visits by the Apostle Peter to Thessaloniki, Christianity began to quickly spread throughout Macedonia. Confirmation of this are a number of early Christian basilicas in Macedonia, including a hundred or so square meters of excellently-preserved floor mosaics abounding in iconography and showing a high level of technical expertise, remnants of stone sculptures and 50 recently-unearthed icons in ruins near the small town of Vinica. These icons are all made of terracotta, and hence called terracotta icons.
In 1985, during the excavations of the walls of a late-Roman/early-Byzantine fortress at Vinica, archaeologists discovered the foundations of several secular buildings and, their debris, discovered a true archaeological treasure: a number of unique icons of the early Christianity period worked in ceramics and thought to date from the late 4th century. These icons are unlike any others previously known, duplicated by using a mold and standardized painting. The figures are roughly 30 or 31 centimeters high, roughly 28 centimeters wide, and 4 centimeters thick. Inscriptions and signatures are written in Latin, with beautifully modeled letters, and the saints are presented without auras. The most frequent illustrations are those of Archangel Michael with his wings folded and that of St. Theodore on a horse, dressed in a uniform of a Byzantine soldier. The cross of Emperor Constantine is presented on a number of icons, as well as symbolic animals and floral motifs. Distinguished for their high artistic qualities are the icons "St. Christopher and St. George", "Daniel in the Lions' Den" and "The Fruits of the Promised Land". Excavations have recently been renewed following a three-year pause, and may yet uncover more examples of these intriguing icons.
The high development of fresco-painting had its own reflection on the works created in the field of icon painting. The oldest icons discovered in Macedonia-more specifically, in Ohrid-date from the 11th and early 12th centuries. These include the icons "St. Vasilij and St. Nicholas", "The Forty Martyrs", "The Communion of the Apostles" and the Holy Virgin of "Annunciation with Archangel". Whatever the extent of influence by the Constantinople school on these icons, it is useless to deny their original and high artistic accomplishments.
In the sphere of icon creation the 13th century abounds in such a great wealth and variety of style that each icon virtually represents a unique style. Art historians stress, for example, that "Holy Virgin Odigitria" and "St. Barbara", both dating from the first half of the 13th century, are characterized by their refined sculpture, while "Jesus Christ Almighty on the Throne" unites the elements of the archaic and the contemporary, opening a new direction for artistic expression. Deacon John the painter, in his "St. George" expresses an entirely original conception of the painted sculpture. Experts point to the procession icon "Holy Virgin Odigitria with the Crucifixion", dating from the second half of the 13th century as belonging to the emerging 13th century school of sculpture.
The same applies to the icons by Michail Astrappa and Eutychius, "Deisis", "The Resurrection of Christ" and "The Evangelist Matthew", created at the end of the 13th century. In the early 14th century, the two masters of the paintbrush introduced elements of the Palaeologi Renaissance to icon-painting. Their new conception was accepted by many other icon-painters who worked in Macedonia at that time, resulting in a series of icons ("The Faithless Thomas", "The Baptizing of Christ", "Holy Virgin Episcepsis", "The Resurrection", and "Holy Virgin Odigitria" in the Church of St. Nikita near Skopje), of undeniable contribution to the general wealth of Macedonian icon-painting. These icons were mainly created by unknown icon-painters. However, in the 14th century the brothers Metropolitan John Zograf and Hieromonk Macarius were also active and their icons "Deisis", "Holy Virgin Pelagonitisa" and "Jesus Christ the Saviour and Lifegiver" represent the highest level of icon-painting in Macedonia.
But the 14th century was also marked by the Ottoman conquest of Macedonia, triggering a sharp decline in the quality of fresco-painting and icon-painting. A hundred years later these two arts began to develop again, but under entirely new conditions. Still, fresco-painters worked as icon-painters as well, as in the former periods. By the middle of the 15th century, Zograph Dimitriya of Leunovo (near Mavrovo) and his associate Jovan created icons in the iconostasis of Toplica Monastery near Bitola. In the early 16th century, Hieromonk Gerasim (creator of the "St. John the Theologian and Prochorus") and Hieromonk Kalinik (creator of "Deisis" in the monastery of the village of Slepche, near Demir Hisar) continued the new tradition of renewed icon-painting, based on the rich traditions of the Ohrid painting school.

Wood carving.
It is normal to suppose that decorative sculpture was complementary to fresco-painting and an integral part of the architectural arrangements and the architectural conception. The oldest specimens of decorative sculpture in Macedonia are the wood carvings on the altar screen in the church of St. Sophia in Ohrid. After the Ottoman conquest, the influence of Middle Eastern elements in the Macedonian wood carving became much stronger. The shallow and flat arabesque style of carving dominating until the 17th century began to be replaced by more intricate styles of carving. In the monasteries of Slepche, Treskavec, Zrze, Varosh (near Prilep) and in the Monastery of the Most Holy Virgin of Kichevo, a number of works by Macedonian wood-carvers have been preserved. They reveal the characteristics of the Slepche-Prilep wood-carver's school: shallow and flat carving and rich geometrically interwoven floral and animal motifs.
Wood carving in Macedonia in the 13th century continued its development with new vigor and was enriched by new elements. The members of the Miyak wood-carver's school introduced the human figure in their artistic works and integrated it within the ornamental whole in an amazing way. The art of wood carving was not confined to churches and monasteries only: wood-carvers' tayfi (groups) began to decorate mosques, as well as sarays (mansions) and houses of wealthy merchants. In 1814, Petre Filipovski's "tayfas" from the village of Gari made the Great Iconostasis, kept in the National Library in Belgrade until World War II when it was destroyed by bombing. Petre Filipovski "Garka", his brother Marko, and Makarie Frchkovski from Galichnik worked on the iconostasis in the Church of the Holy Savior in Skopje from 1824 to 1829-an iconostasis ten meters long and six meters high . Some of the characters in the Biblical scenes are depicted dressed in Galichnik folk costumes. Art historians are unanimous that the value of this masterpiece lies in the softness of its lines, its arrangement of the forms, its stylization and its baroque playfulness. In the period over 1830 to 1840, the famous master wood-carvers Petre Filipovski and Makarie Frchkovski carved the iconostasis in the Monastery of St. John Bigorski. They left behind self-portraits among the scenes of this iconostasis and again on the iconostasis in the Church of the Holy Savior. The iconostasis in St. John Bigorski is a grandiose example of Macedonian wood carving, divided into six horizontal squares abounding in floral and animal ornaments.

Music.
Macedonian musical styles developed under the strong influence of Byzantine church music. It can be stated with some certainty that all of the 3,500 disciples of Clement and Naum studied music as they prepared to spread and establish Christianity, as musical education was obligatory for service in the clergy. In addition to spreading the liturgy of the Orthodox church, they spread Byzantine liturgical music throughout Macedonia. As part of Clement's heritage, 14 Greek manuscripts have been preserved, written in the period between the 11th and the 14th centuries and accompanied by pneumatic notation. "The Bologne Psalter", written in Cyrillic in the village of Raven near Ohrid in about 1235, is accompanied with ecphonetic notation signs. Among the most prominent names in Byzantine church music was John Koukouzeles (14th century), a reformer of the Orthodox chant born in the village of Dzermenci near Debar. He was taken to Constantinople as a young boy, to become one of the most distinguished personalities of that time. A founder of new notation characters and new notational signs, he retained only twenty-five of the old ones. Several distinguished successors of Koukouzeles were born in Macedonia as well, such as Joseph, Peter and Grigorij Koukouzeles. Under Ottoman rule professional musical activity ceased to be practiced, and only folk songs remained. Macedonians created their own musical wealth, expressing their sufferings and joys, distresses and beliefs. The folk song remained the only musical activity in Macedonia until the 19th century.
In 1894, the first cultural and artistic association was founded in Veles, with the music being its dominant activity. The first modern Macedonian musician was Atanas Badev, born in Prilep in 1860, a student at the Moscow Academy of Music, but his only preserved work is the "Liturgy For a Mixed Choir".