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191-558: Third Empire may refer to: Third Bulgarian Empire , occasionally used to describe the Kingdom of Bulgaria (1908–1946) Third German Empire or Third Reich , a common name for Nazi Germany (1933–1945) Das Dritte Reich ("The Third Empire"), a 1923 novel by A. Moeller-Bruck which influenced the Nazi Party Third Persian Empire , sometimes used to describe

382-588: A province under the name of Macedonia was carved out of the original Theme of Thrace , which was well east of the Struma River. This thema variously included parts of Thrace and gave its name to the Macedonian dynasty . Hence, Byzantine documents of this era that mention Macedonia are most probably referring to the Macedonian thema. The region of Macedonia, on the other hand, which was ruled by

573-520: A Bulgarian majority. Besides, Serbia was now interested in the Macedonian lands, until then only Greece was Bulgaria's main contender, which after the addition of Thessaly to Greece in (1881) was bordering Macedonia. Thus, the Berlin Congress renewed the struggle for Turkey in Europe, including the so-called Macedonia region, rather than setting up a permanent regime. In the following years, all of

764-677: A confederation that had been dormant since the war, reorganized the Bulgarian right. In 1922, its leaders were imprisoned by Stamboliyski's Orange Guard , temporarily stifling its activities. Meanwhile, in late 1922 and early 1923, Macedonian nationalists seized Kyustendil on the Yugoslav border. They assaulted government officials in protest against the reconciliation with Yugoslavia and the Kingdom of Greece . Stamboliyski responded with mass arrests, an intensified campaign against IMRO terrorism,

955-541: A distinct geographical region in the 19th century, defining the region bounded by Mount Olympus , the Pindus range, mounts Shar and Osogovo , the western Rhodopes , the lower course of the river Mesta (Greek Nestos ) and the Aegean Sea , developing roughly the same borders that it has today. During medieval and modern times, Macedonia has been known as a Balkan region inhabited by many ethnic groups. Today, as

1146-665: A few days at war with both Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union occupied the north-eastern part of Bulgaria along with the key port cities of Varna and Burgas by the next day. By order of the government, the Bulgarian Army offered no resistance. On September 16, the Red Army entered Sofia. During the same day, a pro-Axis government-in-exile was established in Vienna under Aleksandar Tsankov and while it

1337-635: A flourishing Slavic cultural center around Ohrid, where pupils were taught theology in the Old Church Slavonic language and the Glagolitic and Cyrillic script at what is now called Ohrid Literary School . The Bulgarian-Byzantine boundary in the beginning of 10th century passed approximately 20 km (12 mi) north of Thessaloniki according to the inscription of Narash. According to the Byzantine author John Kaminiates , at that time

1528-474: A frontier region where several very different cultures meet, Macedonia has an extremely diverse demographic profile. The current demographics of Macedonia include: Most present-day inhabitants of the region are Eastern Orthodox Christians , principally of the Bulgarian Orthodox , Greek Orthodox , Macedonian Orthodox and Serbian Orthodox Churches. Notable Muslim minorities are present among

1719-557: A kilometer (Makryialos). Both types are found at the same time in the same districts and it is presumed that differences in social organisation are reflected by these differences in settlement organisation. Some communities were clearly concerned to protect themselves with different kinds of defensive arrangements: ditches at Makryialos and concentric walls at Paliambela. The best preserved buildings were discovered at Dikili Tas, where long timber-framed structures had been organised in rows and some had been decorated with bulls' skulls fastened to

1910-526: A large Yugoslav confederation. However, he encountered difficulties due to the militant faction of IMRO back home. Many Macedonian leaders had relocated to Sofia after the failed 1903 revolt against the Ottoman Empire, and they were now joined by others fleeing the Yugoslav government, which officially claimed Macedonians as ethnic Serbs. Bulgaria, having been compelled to reduce its armed forces after World War I, saw IMRO leaders gain control over much of

2101-716: A large number of former ELAS fighters who took refuge in communist Bulgaria and Yugoslavia and described themselves as "ethnic Macedonians" were prohibited from reestablishing to their former estates by the Greek authorities. Most of them were accused in Greece for crimes committed during the period of the German occupation. The imminent collapse of the Ottoman Empire was welcomed by the Balkan states, as it promised to restore their European territory. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 proved

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2292-549: A mandatory subject in high school. In comparison to economics, Bulgaria's educational system was more successful, and less than half the population was illiterate. Eight years of schooling were required and over 80% of children attended . For the few special students who went past elementary school, the high schools were based on the German gymnasium . Competitive examinations were used to judge college applicants, and Bulgaria had several technical and specialized schools in addition to

2483-762: A nationalistic movement thwarting the peoples' expectations of the empire's modernization and hastened the end of the Ottoman occupation of the Balkans. To this end, an alliance was struck among the Balkan states in Spring 1913. The First Balkan War, which lasted six weeks, commenced in August 1912, when Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, whose forces ultimately engaged four different wars in Thrace, Macedonia, Northern and Southern Albania and Kosovo. The Macedonian campaign

2674-572: A new alliance, against Bulgaria. The Serbian Prime Minister, Nikola Pasic , told Greece it could have Thrace if Greece helped Serbia keep Bulgaria out of the Serbian part of Macedonia, and the Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos agreed. Seeing this as a violation of the pre-war agreements, and discreetly encouraged by Germany and Austria-Hungary , Tsar Ferdinand declared war on Serbia and Greece and

2865-547: A person supported the Patriarchate they were regarded as Greek, whereas if they supported the Exarchate they were regarded as Bulgarian. Locally, however, villagers were not always able to express freely their association with one or the other institution as there were numerous armed groups trying to defend and/or expand the territory of each. Some were locally recruited and self-organized while others were sent and armed by

3056-501: A protective alliance in the event of a war. The first daily radio broadcasts appeared in 1930. There were many radio broadcasters such as Radio Sofia (now Radio Bulgaria). The Agrarians reorganized and won elections in 1931 under the leadership of Nikola Mushanov . Just when political stability had been restored, the full effects of the Great Depression hit Bulgaria, and social tensions rose again. In May 1934 there

3247-666: A purge of his own fractured and notoriously corrupt party, and called for new parliamentary elections. These measures united diverse opponents of the Agrarians—including IMRO, the National Alliance, army factions, and social democrats—into a coalition led by Aleksandar Tsankov . The Communists remained outside this coalition. Bulgaria's Western creditors, disenchanted with a government that had rejected their reparations policy, refrained from intervening. In June 1923, IMRO agents brutally assassinated Stamboliyski, paving

3438-606: A revolutionary movement, and so they instigated the Ilinden Uprising (1903) to release some Ottoman territory. Bulgaria used this to internationalize the Macedonian question. Ilinden changed Greece's stance which decided to take Para-military action. In order to protect the Greek Macedonians and Greek interests, Greece sent officers to train guerrillas and organize militias ( Macedonian Struggle ), known as makedonomahi (Macedonian fighters), essentially to fight

3629-655: A separate ethnic identity to diminish the Bulgarian influence. This choice was the 'Macedonian ethnicity'. The Bulgarians never accepted an ethnic diversity from the Slav Macedonians, giving geographic meaning to the term. In 1893 they established the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO) aiming to confront the Serbian and Greek action in Macedonia. VMRO hoped to answer the Macedonian question through

3820-632: A single and independent Macedonia in a Balkan Soviet Democracy. Actually, the Soviets desired a common front of the Bulgarian communist agriculturists and the Bulgarian-Macedonian societies to destabilize the Balkan Peninsula. The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), under the protection of Comintern, promoted the idea of an independent Macedonia in a Federation of Balkan states, unifying all Macedonians. However,

4011-420: A soaring trade deficit of over 87 million levs by 1914. Before the war, grain had been a leading Bulgarian export commodity with the most productive area being Dobruja. The state took special care for the development of the region; it built railways to carry grain and other exports to the port of Varna , whose facilities had been developed at great cost. In 1912, it handled more goods than Salonika . By 1938,

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4202-525: Is often claimed that macédoine , the fruit or vegetable salad, was named after the area's very mixed population, as it could be witnessed at the end of the 19th century. From the Middle Ages to the early 20th century the Slavic-speaking population in Macedonia was identified mostly as Bulgarian. During the period of Bulgarian National Revival many Bulgarians from these regions supported

4393-456: The Aegean port of Dedeagach (today Alexandroupoli ). Bulgaria also gained a slice of Macedonia, north and east of Thessaloniki , but only some small areas along her western borders. Bulgaria sustained the heaviest casualties of any of the allies, and on this basis felt entitled to the largest share of the spoils. The Serbs, in particular, did not see things this way and refused to vacate any of

4584-834: The Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 . Taking advantage of this conflict, the Serb ruler Stefan Dushan expanded his realm and founded the Serbian Empire , which included all of Macedonia, northern and central Greece – excluding Thessaloniki, Athens and the Peloponnese. Dushan's empire however broke up shortly after his death in 1355. After his death local rulers in the regions of Macedonia were despot Jovan Uglješa in eastern Macedonia, and kings Vukašin Mrnjavčević and his son Marko Mrnjavčević in western regions of Macedonia. Since

4775-580: The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople in the middle of the 18th century. During the period of Ottoman rule, a partial islamization was also recorded. In spite of that, the Eastern Orthodox Christianity remained the dominant religion of local population. During the 19th century, religious life in the region was strongly influenced by rising national movements. Several major ethnoreligious disputes arose in

4966-517: The Empire of Japan , and the Kingdom of Italy . German troops entered the country in preparation for the German invasions of the Kingdom of Greece and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . When Yugoslavia and Greece were defeated, Bulgaria was allowed to occupy all of Greek Thrace and most of Macedonia. Bulgaria declared war on Britain and the United States but resisted German pressure to declare war on

5157-648: The First Bulgarian Empire throughout the 9th and the 10th century, was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire in 1018 as the Themе of Bulgaria . With the gradual conquest of southeastern Europe by the Ottomans in the late 14th century, the name of Macedonia disappeared as an administrative designation for several centuries and was rarely displayed on maps. The name was again revived to mean

5348-527: The Great Idea (Greek: Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megáli Idéa ) which meant the reconstruction of the classical Greek world or the revival of the Byzantine Empire . The important idea here is that for Greece, Macedonia was a region with large Greek populations expecting annexation to the new Greek state. The 1878 Congress of Berlin changed the Balkan map again. The treaty restored Macedonia and Thrace to

5539-599: The Haliacmon Valley in western Macedonia, where the typical red-on-cream pottery in the Sesklo style emphasises the settlement's southern orientation. Pottery of this date has been found at a number of sites in Central and Eastern Macedonia but so far none has been extensively excavated. The Late Neolithic period ( c.  4500 to 3500 BCE) is well represented by both excavated and unexcavated sites throughout

5730-515: The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization , which organized the so-called Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903, fighting for an autonomous or independent Macedonian state, and the Greek efforts from 1904 until 1908 ( Greek Struggle for Macedonia ). Diplomatic intervention by the European powers led to plans for an autonomous Macedonia under Ottoman rule. The restricted borders of the modern Greek state at its inception in 1830 disappointed

5921-775: The Ottoman Empire and in May 1912 a similar treaty was signed with Greece. Montenegro was also brought into the pact. The treaties provided for the partition of Macedonia and Thrace between the allies, although the lines of partition were left dangerously vague. After the Ottomans refused to implement reforms in the disputed areas, the First Balkan War broke out in October 1912. The allies had astonishing success. The Bulgarian army inflicted several crushing defeats on

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6112-758: The Rus'–Byzantine War of 970–971 . The Bulgarian capital Preslav and the Bulgarian Tsar Boris II were captured, and with the deposition of the Bulgarian regalia in the Hagia Sophia , Bulgaria was officially annexed to Byzantium. A new capital was established at Ohrid, which also became the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate . A new dynasty, that of the Comitopuli under Tsar Samuil and his successors, continued resistance against

6303-480: The Soviet Union , fearful of pro-Russian sentiment in the country. In August 1943 Tsar Boris died suddenly after returning from Germany from heart failure, but also rumoured to be poisoned. He was later succeeded by his six-year-old son Simeon II . Power was held by a council of regents headed by the young Tsar's uncle, Prince Kiril , Bogdan Filov and Nikola Mihov . The new prime minister, Dobri Bozhilov ,

6494-552: The Third Macedonian War in (171–168 BC), he lost his kingdom when he was defeated. Macedonia was initially divided into four republics subject to Rome before finally being annexed in 146 BC as a Roman province . Around this time, vulgar Latin was introduced in the Balkans by Latin-speaking colonists and military personnel. With the division of the Roman Empire into west and east in 298 AD, Macedonia came under

6685-575: The University of Sofia . Many Bulgarian students also went abroad, primarily to Germany and Austria after educational ties with Russia ended in 1917. Overall, education reached more of the lower classes than anywhere else in Eastern Europe , but on the downside all too many students obtained degrees in the liberal arts and other abstract subjects and could not find work anywhere except in the government bureaucracy. Many of them gravitated towards

6876-532: The former regents and hundreds of other officials of the old regime who were arrested on charges of war crimes were executed on 1 February 1945. In September 1946, the monarchy was abolished by plebiscite . This referendum violated the Tarnovo Constitution, which stated that any change in the form of the state could only take place if a Grand National Assembly was convened by the Tsar (in practice,

7067-466: The 'rod-headed' type known from Thessaly to the Danube Valley , stone axes and adzes, chert blades, and ornaments of stone including curious 'nose plugs' of uncertain function. The assemblage of associated objects differs from one house to the next, suggesting some degree of craft specialisation had already been established from the beginning of the site's history. The farming economy was based on

7258-556: The 13th century, following the Fourth Crusade , Macedonia was disputed among Byzantine Greeks , Latin crusaders of the short-lived Kingdom of Thessalonica , and the revived Bulgarian state . Most of southern Macedonia was secured by the Despotate of Epirus and then by the Empire of Nicaea , while the north was ruled by Bulgaria. After 1261 however, all of Macedonia returned to Byzantine rule, where it largely remained until

7449-784: The 1910s it engaged in three wars – the First and Second Balkan Wars , and the First World War . Following the First World War the Bulgarian army was disbanded and forbidden to exist by the Allied Powers , and all plans for national unification of the Bulgarian lands failed. Less than two decades later Bulgaria entered the Second World War on the side of the Axis Powers and once again found itself on

7640-403: The 3rd century, especially among rural provincials who were crippled by harsh taxation and famines. Given this background, penetrations carried by successive waves of relatively small numbers of Slavic warriors and their families might have been capable of assimilating large numbers of indigenes into their cultural model, which was sometimes seen as a more attractive alternative . In this way and in

7831-491: The 6th century the Byzantine dominions were subject to frequent raids by various Slavic tribes which, in the course of centuries, eventually resulted in drastic demographic and cultural changes in the Empire's Balkan provinces. Although traditional scholarship attributes these changes to large-scale colonizations by Slavic-speaking groups, it has been proposed that a generalized dissipation of Roman identity might have commenced in

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8022-650: The Albanian, Bulgarian ( Pomaks ), Macedonian ( Torbeš ), Bosniak , and Turkish populations. During the period of classical antiquity , main religion in the region of Macedonia was the Ancient Greek religion . After the Roman conquest of Macedonia, the Ancient Roman religion was also introduced. Many ancient religious monuments, dedicated to Greek and Roman deities are preserved in this region. During

8213-785: The Balkan Wars, Bulgaria remained neutral during the first year of World War I . When Germany pledged to restore the boundaries of the Treaty of San Stefano, Bulgaria, boasting the largest army in the Balkans, declared war on Serbia in October 1915. Subsequently, the UK, France, Italy, and Russia declared war on Bulgaria. Bulgaria, allied with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottomans, achieved military victories against Serbia and Romania. They captured much of Macedonia (including Skopje in October), advanced into Greek Macedonia, and seized Dobruja from

8404-533: The Bulgarian Communist Party. The Bulgarian state at the turn of the 20th century was rural, agrarian, relatively unindustrialised and economically backward nation, in which the economical development hampered by wars and territorial loses. Around 37.8% of the population of about 4.3 million were rural peasants; in 1910, urban dwellers accounted for 19.1% of the total population, a figure that had remained relatively unchanged since Bulgaria had gained independence from Ottoman rule almost 30 years earlier. The literacy rate

8595-400: The Bulgarian administration of Eastern Greek Macedonia, some 100,000 Bulgarian refugees from the region were resettled there and perhaps as many Greeks were deported or fled to other parts of Greece. Western Aegean Macedonia was occupied by Italy , with the western parts of Yugoslav Macedonia being annexed to Italian-occupied Albania. The remainder of Greek Macedonia (including all of the coast)

8786-399: The Bulgarian army attacked on June 29. The Serbian and the Greek forces were initially on the retreat on the western border, but they soon took the upper hand and forced Bulgaria into retreat. The fighting was very harsh, with many casualties, especially during the key Battle of Bregalnica . Soon Romania entered the war and attacked Bulgaria from the north. The Ottoman Empire also attacked from

8977-532: The Bulgarian authorities and sent to extermination camps in German-occupied Poland. The deportation of the 48,000 Jews from Bulgaria proper was subsequently initiated but halted following widespread protests. Upon becoming aware of the impending plans members of parliament led by Dimitar Peshev pressured the interior minister to revoke the initial deportation order, while public protests and interventions by prominent figures, notably Bulgarian Orthodox Church bishops Stefan of Sofia and Kiril of Plovdiv , persuaded

9168-411: The Bulgarian government was insisting to keep its military units on Greek soil. The Bulgarian Macedonia returned fairly rapidly to normality, but the Bulgarian patriots in Yugoslav Macedonia underwent a process of ethnic cleansing by the Belgrade authorities, and Greek Macedonia was ravaged by the Greek Civil War , which broke out in December 1944 and did not end until October 1949. After this civil war,

9359-402: The Bulgarians. After that it was obvious that the Macedonian question could be answered only with a war. The rise of the Albanian and the Turkish nationalism after 1908, however, prompted Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria to bury their differences with regard to Macedonia and to form a joint coalition against the Ottoman Empire in 1912. Disregarding public opinion in Bulgaria, which was in support of

9550-426: The Byzantine Empire, either independently, or aided by Bulgar or Avar contingents. Around 680 AD a "Bulgar" group (which was largely composed of the descendants of former Roman Christians taken captive by the Avars), led by Khan Kuber (theorized to have belonged to the same clan as the Danubian Bulgarian khan Asparukh ), settled in the Pelagonian plain , and launched campaigns to the region of Thessaloniki. When

9741-463: The Byzantines for several more decades, before also succumbing in 1018. The western part of Bulgaria including Macedonia was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire as the province of Bulgaria ( Theme of Bulgaria ) and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was reduced in rank to an Archbishopric . Intermittent Bulgarian uprisings continued to occur, often with the support of the Serbian princedoms to the north. Any temporary independence that might have been gained

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9932-586: The Declaration of Independence, mainly because of his military plans and for seeking options for unification of all lands in the Balkans region with an ethnic Bulgarian majority (lands that had been seized from Bulgaria and given to the Ottoman Empire in the Treaty of Berlin ). He and his successors were reckoned as kings internationally. The state was almost constantly at war throughout its existence, lending to its nickname as "the Balkan Prussia ". For several years Bulgaria mobilized an army of more than 1 million people from its population of about 5 million, and in

10123-414: The Empire could spare imperial troops, it attempted to regain control of its lost Balkan territories. By the time of Constans II a significant number of the Slavs of Macedonia were captured and transferred to central Asia Minor where they were forced to recognize the authority of the Byzantine emperor and serve in his ranks. In the late 7th century, Justinian II again organized a massive expedition against

10314-404: The GNP-PPP per capita had risen to $ 420, putting Bulgaria ahead of Yugoslavia , Romania , Poland , Portugal , and civil war Spain on this measure. Real GDP per capita in 1939, equated to a 2011 dollar value, was $ 2,649, the third lowest in Europe after Yugoslavia and Romania. By 1939, 73.5% of manufacturing revenue came from agriculture, and 26.5% from industry and construction. Over 82% of

10505-451: The Golden Age of the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. It lasted nearly five years, governed by prime minister Georgi Kyoseivanov . Kyoseivanov's Premiership oversaw the trials of the instigators of the 1934 military coup and also concluded pacts with Yugoslavia and Greece as Nazi Germany undertook a policy of economic isolation of the Balkans. His government also oversaw a policy of rearmament after a treaty concluded with Ioannis Metaxas overturned

10696-404: The Great , the ancient kingdom of Macedonia , to which the modern region owes its name, lay entirely within the central and western parts of the current Greek province of Macedonia and consisted of 17 provinces/districts or eparchies ( Ancient Greek : επαρχία). Expansion of Kingdom of Macedon: In the 2nd century, Macedonia covered approximately the area where it is considered to be today, but

10887-454: The Great, the kingdom of Macedonia forcefully expanded, placing the whole of the region of Macedonia under their rule. Alexander's conquests produced a lasting extension of Hellenistic culture and thought across the ancient Near East , but his empire broke up on his death. His generals divided the empire between them, founding their own states and dynasties. The kingdom of Macedon was taken by Cassander , who ruled it until his death in 297 BC. At

11078-445: The Greek region of Macedonia , most of the Republic of North Macedonia , and a small part of western Bulgaria. By 500 BCE, the ancient kingdom of Macedon was centered somewhere between the southern slopes of Lower Olympus and the lowest reach of the Haliakmon River. Since 512/511 BCE, the kingdom of Macedonia was subject to the Persians , but after the battle of Plataia it regained its independence. Under Philip II and Alexander

11269-415: The Greeks it was a good war". The first Balkan War managed to liberate Balkans from Turks and settled the major issues except Macedonia. In the spring 1913 the Serbs and Greeks begun the ' Serbianization ' and the ' Hellenization ' of the parts in Macedonia they already controlled, while Bulgarians faced some difficulties against the Jews and the Turkish populations. Moreover, the possession of Thessalonica

11460-434: The Interwar period, no change in boundaries happened, but there was an incident at Petrich , which was the only conflict it fought internationally during this period. After pro-German prime ministers elected into office, Bulgaria entered World War II on the side of the Axis powers . After the Invasion of Yugoslavia and also of Greece , Bulgaria once again obtained a coastline to the Aegean and Macedonia with Pirot . After

11651-466: The League of Nations. In 1926, Bulgaria returned the favour by forcing Greek invading troops to leave southern Bulgaria during the Incident at Petrich . The Macedonian independence movement split over the ultimate goal of its activities in the late 1920s. The supremacist faction sought the incorporation of all Macedonian territory into Bulgaria. The federalist faction (including the IMRO) sought an autonomous Macedonia that could join Bulgaria or Yugoslavia in

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11842-401: The Macedonian is really a peaceable, fairly industrious agriculturist and if the (Serbian) government give him adequate protection, education, freedom from malaria and decent communications, there seems no reason why he should not become just as Serbian in sentiment as he was Bulgarian 10 years ago". As a result of this game of tug-of-war, the development of a distinct Macedonian national identity

12033-412: The Nazi Germany-allied government of Tsar Boris III and prime minister Bogdan Filov . The persecution began in 1941 with the passing of anti-Jewish legislation and culminated in March 1943 with the arrest and deportation of almost all  – 11,343 – of the Jews living in Bulgarian-occupied regions of Northern Greece , Yugoslav Macedonia and Pirot . These were deported by

12224-485: The Ottoman Empire. Serbia, Romania and Montenegro were granted full independence, and some territorial expansion at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. Russia would maintain military advisors in Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia until May 1879. Austria-Hungary was permitted to occupy Bosnia, Herzegovina and the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. The Congress of Berlin also forced Bulgaria, newly given autonomy by the 1878 Treaty of San Stefano , to return over half of its newly gained territory to

12415-459: The Ottoman Empire. This included Macedonia, a large part of which was given to Bulgaria, due to Russian pressure and the presence of significant numbers of Bulgarians and adherents to the Bulgarian Exarchate . The territorial losses dissatisfied Bulgaria; this fuelled the ambitions of many Bulgarian politicians for the following seventy years, who wanted to review the treaty – by peaceful or military means and to reunite all lands which they claimed had

12606-507: The Ottoman forces and advanced threateningly against Constantinople , while the Serbs and the Greeks took control of Macedonia. The Ottomans sued for peace in December. Negotiations broke down, and fighting resumed in February 1913. The Ottomans lost Adrianople to a Bulgarian task force. A second armistice followed in March, with the Ottomans losing all their European possessions west of the Midia-Enos line, not far from Istanbul. Bulgaria gained possession of most of Thrace, including Adrianople and

12797-567: The Romanians in September 1916. However, the war quickly became unpopular among the majority of Bulgarians, who endured severe economic hardship and resented fighting alongside their fellow Orthodox Christians while allied with the Muslim Ottomans. Aleksandar Stamboliyski , leader of the Agrarian Party, was imprisoned for his opposition to the war. The Russian Revolution of February 1917 significantly impacted Bulgaria, spreading antiwar and anti-monarchist sentiments among troops and in cities. In June, Radoslavov's government resigned, mutinies erupted in

12988-402: The Romans created a much larger administrative area under that name than the original ancient Macedon . In late Roman times, the provincial boundaries were reorganized to form the Diocese of Macedonia , consisting of most of modern mainland Greece right across the Aegean to include Crete , southern Albania, southwest Bulgaria , and most of Republic of North Macedonia. In the Byzantine Empire,

13179-422: The Sassanid Empire (ca. AD 224–651) 3rd Empire Awards , film awards held in 1998 See also [ edit ] First Empire (disambiguation) Second Empire (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Third Empire . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

13370-403: The Sklaviniai and Bulgars of Macedonia. Launching from Constantinople, he subdued many Slavic tribes and established the Theme of Thrace in the hinterland of the Great City, and pushed on into Thessaloniki. However, on his return he was ambushed by the Slavo-Bulgars of Kuber, losing a great part of his army, booty, and subsequently his throne. Despite these temporary successes, rule in the region

13561-421: The Soviet invasion of Bulgaria in 1944, the Bulgarians obtained Southern Dobruja. Since the population was 85% ethnic Bulgarian, there was relatively little social strife aside from the conflict between the haves and have-nots. Most inhabitants of Sofia maintained close ties to the countryside, but this did not prevent a rift between the peasants and urban class (i.e. Sofia versus everyone else), although some were

13752-402: The Tsar acting on the advice of the government). The republic was formally proclaimed a week later, and the young Tsar Simeon was forced into exile. The Communists now openly took power, with Vasil Kolarov becoming president and Dimitrov becoming prime minister. Free elections promised for 1946 were blatantly rigged and were boycotted by the opposition. The Agrarians refused to co-operate with

13943-656: The Tsar and other right-wing elements of the Tsardom after the AP controlled 87% of Parliament in the elections that year. The Bulgarian government could only muster a handful of troops to resist and even worse was a peasant mob with no guns rallied by Stamboliyski. Despite this, the streets of Sofia erupted in chaos and the hapless prime minister was lynched in addition to attacks on unarmed peasants. The whole affair seriously tar brushed Bulgaria's international image. A right-wing government under Aleksandar Tsankov took power, backed by

14134-553: The Tsar first to stop the deportation temporarily in March 1943, and two months later to postpone it indefinitely. The Jews whose deportation from Bulgaria was halted, including all Sofia's 25,743 Jews, were instead internally deported to the countryside and had their property confiscated, and Jewish males between the ages of 20 and 46 were conscripted into the Labour Corps until September 1944. The events that prevented

14325-566: The Tsar, the army, and the VMRO. The September Uprising began in 1923, after the 9 June coup d'état, when Alexander Stamboliyski was planning to capture Pazardzhik with his sympathizers to restore his power, which was quickly disrupted by the Bulgarian Army. He was then captured and relocated to Slavovitsa , his birthplace, where he was tortured and killed by IMRO agents. Tsankov's government arrested over 2000 alleged communists in which uprisings began. Vasil Kolarov and Georgi Dimitrov , who were

14516-532: The Western Outlands. The 1879 constitution did not clearly delineate the powers of the king and Parliament, a common issue in constitutional monarchies. While the framers of the 1879 constitution intended to vest most of the power in Parliament, a sufficiently cunning monarch could still potentially seize control of the government machinery. This proved to be the case with Tsar Ferdinand, who, however,

14707-473: The agricultural labor force was unemployed, and winter employment dropped to 30%. Deflation and increased taxes to stop foreign debt caused the total income of the rural population to drop down half of it between 1929 and 1933. The industrial sector is weak and does not play a significant role in the economy. Between 1895 and 1928 a number of measures were taken to stimulate industry, such as duty-free imports of machinery, tax exemptions and low freight rates. In

14898-426: The already existing Thracian and Helladic themes. There are no Byzantine records of "Sklaviniai" after 836/837 as they were absorbed into the expanding First Bulgarian Empire . Slavic influence in the region strengthened along with the rise of this state, which incorporated parts of the region to its domain in 837. In the early 860s Saints Cyril and Methodius , two Byzantine Greek brothers from Thessaloniki, created

15089-570: The army was disbanded. Under the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (November 1919), Bulgaria lost its Aegean coastline ( Western Thrace ) to Greece, parts of its Macedonian territory and the Western Outlands to the new Kingdom of Yugoslavia , and Southern Dobruja was returned to the Kingdom of Romania . The country was required to reduce its army to no more than 20,000 men and pay reparations exceeding $ 100 million. Bulgarians generally refer to

15280-484: The army, Stamboliyski was released, and a republic was proclaimed. In September 1918, the French, Serbs, British, Italians, and Greeks broke through on the Macedonian front, compelling Tsar Ferdinand to seek peace. Stamboliyski advocated for democratic reforms rather than a revolution. To preempt the revolutionaries, he persuaded Ferdinand to abdicate in favor of his son, Boris III . The revolutionaries were suppressed, and

15471-555: The assistance of the Patriarchate that was responsible for the schools, could more easily maintain control, because they were spreading Greek identity. For the very same reason the Bulgarians, when preparing the Exarchate's government (1871) included Macedonians in the assembly as "brothers" to prevent any ethnic diversification. On the other hand, the Serbs, unable to establish Serbian-speaking schools, used propaganda. Their main concern

15662-434: The average area of arable land fell from 0.5 to 0.4 hectares per farm. By 1945 there were 1.2 million farms in the country, almost all of them small and unable to support themselves. Only large farms increased in area over the same period, but they held only 2% of the arable land. The fragmentation of land was due to family inheritance patterns and the need to provide land for the growing rural population. In 1930, nearly 50% of

15853-555: The battles against Bulgarian enemies in these wars—on the strength of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps and other units. After World War I Macedonian Campaign the status quo of Macedonia remained the same. The establishment of the 'Kingdom of Serbians, Croats and Slovenes' in 1918, which in 1929 was renamed 'Yugoslavia' (South Slavia) predicted no special regime for Skopje neither recognized any Macedonian national identity. In fact,

16044-758: The border area with Yugoslavia. Under the leadership of a large Macedonian group in Sofia, the remaining strong nationalist elements in Bulgaria found the new pacifist policy alarming. The urban working class, which did not benefit from the agrarian reforms, gravitated towards the Communists or the Socialist Workers. Inflation and industrial exploitation continued unabated. Many of Stamboliyski's subordinates exacerbated social tensions by adopting rigid positions in favor of peasant rights. The National Alliance,

16235-603: The brunt of the war fighting on the Thracian front against the main Ottoman forces. Both her war expenditures and casualties in the First Balkan War were higher than those of Serbia, Greece and Montenegro combined. Macedonia itself was occupied by Greek, Serbian and Bulgarian forces. The Ottoman Empire in the Treaty of London in May 1913 assigned the whole of Macedonia to the Balkan League , without, specifying

16426-483: The centre of workers' political activity. Under the Macedonian prime minister, the IMRO also had much more freedom. This meant that political assassinations and acts of terrorism could continue unabated. IMRO raids into Yugoslavia ended Bulgaria's rapprochement with that country. The Macedonians demanded preferential economic treatment under Liapchev. the late 1920s brought relative political stability to Bulgaria compared with

16617-598: The claims to Macedonian identity remained silent at a propaganda level because, eventually, North Macedonia had been a Serbian conquest. The situation in Serbian Macedonia changed after the Communist Revolution in Russia (1918–1919). According to Sfetas, Comintern was handling Macedonia as a matter of tactics, depending on the political circumstances. In the early 1920s it supported the position for

16808-552: The communist "Red International." He traveled to Eastern European capitals promoting his vision of a peasant alliance. However, trouble arose when he attempted to spread this movement into Yugoslavia, a country with conditions very similar to Bulgaria—little industry and a significant communist presence. Stamboliyski was well-liked in Belgrade due to his support for a peaceful resolution to the Macedonia issue. He also advocated for uniting all Slavic-speaking nations in Eastern Europe into

16999-464: The course of the war before deciding where their sympathies lay. Under the government of Vasil Radoslavov , Bulgaria aligned itself with Germany and Austria-Hungary, despite this entailing becoming an ally of the Ottomans, Bulgaria's traditional adversary. However, Bulgaria had relinquished its claims against the Ottomans, while Serbia, Greece, and Romania (allies of the UK and France) held territories perceived as Bulgarian by Bulgaria. Recuperating from

17190-475: The course of time, great parts of Macedonia came to be controlled by Slavic-speaking communities. Despite numerous attacks on Thessaloniki, the city held out, and Byzantine-Roman culture continued to flourish, although Slavic cultural influence steadily increased. The Slavic settlements organized themselves along tribal and territorially based lines which were referred to by Byzantine Greek historians as "Sklaviniai". The Sklaviniai continued to intermittently assault

17381-405: The cultivation of cereal crops such as wheat and barley and pulses and on the herding of sheep and goats, with some cattle and pigs. Hunting played a relatively minor role in the economy. Surviving from 7000 to 5500 BCE, this Early Neolithic settlement was occupied for over a thousand years. The Middle Neolithic period ( c.  5500 to 4500 BCE) is at present best represented at Servia in

17572-633: The cultural groups of Bulgaria and Roumania to the North. Principal excavated settlements of this period include Makryialos and Paliambela near the western shore of the Thermaic gulf, Thermi to the south of Thessaloniki and Sitagroi and Dikili Tas in the Drama plain. Some of these sites were densely occupied and formed large mounds (known to the local inhabitants of the region today as 'toumbas'). Others were much less densely occupied and spread for as much as

17763-600: The deportation to extermination camps of about 48,000 Jews in spring 1943 are termed the "Rescue of the Bulgarian Jews". The survival rate of the Jewish population in Bulgaria as a result was one of the highest in Axis Europe. The Fatherland Front took office in Sofia following a coup d'état , setting up a broad coalition under the former ruler Kimon Georgiev . Under the terms of the peace settlement Bulgaria

17954-478: The division of Macedonia according to the existing lines of control. Both Serbia and Greece, as well as Bulgaria, started to prepare for a final war of partition. In June 1913, Bulgarian Tsar Ferdinand , without consulting the government, and without any declaration of war, ordered Bulgarian troops to attack the Greek and Serbian troops in Macedonia, initiating the Second Balkan War . The Bulgarian army

18145-523: The division of the region, to promote problems between the allies. Dissatisfied with the creation of an autonomous Albanian state, which denied her access to the Adriatic , Serbia asked for the suspension of the pre-war division treaty and demanded from Bulgaria greater territorial concessions in Macedonia. Later in May the same year, Greece and Serbia signed a secret treaty in Thessaloniki stipulating

18336-535: The earliest known settlements, such as Nea Nikomedeia in Imathia (today's Greek Macedonia), date back 9,000 years. The houses at Nea Nikomedeia were constructed—as were most structures throughout the Neolithic in northern Greece—of wattle and daub on a timber frame. The cultural assemblage includes well-made pottery in simple shapes with occasional decoration in white on a red background, clay female figurines of

18527-417: The education with the law by Stoyan Omarchevski. Basic education institutes were established, courses in high-school were divided into lower and upper courses. After the 1923 coup d'état , education was largely changed, including that the transition from primary to secondary was to be decided by entrance examinations, which was also introduced for graduates of incomplete secondary education. Religion also became

18718-512: The end of the war, but it hoped for bloodless territorial gains to recover the territories lost in the Second Balkan War and World War I, as well as gain other lands with a significant Bulgarian population occupied by neighboring countries. However, it was clear that the central geopolitical position of Bulgaria in the Balkans would inevitably lead to strong external pressure from both World War II factions. On 15 February 1940, following

18909-461: The establishment of an autonomous Macedonian province under a Christian governor, the Bulgarian government entered a pre-war treaty with Serbia which divided the region into two parts. The part of Macedonia west and north of the line of partition was contested by both Serbia and Bulgaria and was subject to the arbitration of the Russian Tsar after the war. Serbia formally renounced any claims to

19100-714: The first Slavic Glagolitic alphabet in which the Old Church Slavonic language was first transcribed, and are thus commonly referred to as the apostles of the Slavic world. Their cultural heritage was acquired and developed in medieval Bulgaria, where after 885 the region of Ohrid (present-day Republic of North Macedonia) became a significant ecclesiastical center with the nomination of the Saint Clement of Ohrid for "first archbishop in Bulgarian language" with residence in this region. In conjunction with another disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Saint Naum , Clement created

19291-453: The founders of the Macedonian nation. After the revival of Greek, Serbian, and Bulgarian statehood in the 19th century, the Ottoman lands in Europe that became identified as "Macedonia", were contested by all three governments, leading to the creation in the 1890s and 1900s of rival armed groups who divided their efforts between fighting the Turks and one another. The most important of these was

19482-430: The industry was owned by foreign companies in contrast to the nearly 80% of Romanian industry. Agricultural productivity was very low. Plots were small and almost exclusively under 20 hectares (50 acres), but they were worked intensively and even the tiniest 2-hectare (5-acre) farms often produced crops for market sale. As elsewhere in Eastern Europe, Bulgarian peasants traditionally grew grains for their landowners. After

19673-675: The inhabitants of northern Greece (Epirus and Macedonia). Addressing these concerns in 1844, the Greek Prime Minister Kolettis addressed the constitutional assembly in Athens that "the Kingdom of Greece is not Greece; it is only a part, the smallest and poorest, of Greece. The Greek is not only he who inhabits the kingdom, but also he who lives in Ioannina, or Thessaloniki, or Serres, or Odrin" . He mentions cities and islands that were under Ottoman possession as composing

19864-415: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Third_Empire&oldid=1259811927 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Third Bulgarian Empire Ferdinand , founder of the royal family , was crowned as tsar at

20055-641: The jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople . During the Middle Ages and up to 1767, western and northern regions of Macedonia were under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Ohrid . Northern fringes of the region (areas surrounding Skopje and Tetovo ) had temporary jurisdiction under the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć . Both the Archbishopric of Ohrid and the Patriarchate of Peć became abolished and absorbed into

20246-492: The land they had conquered during the first war. The Treaty of Bucharest (August 1913) took off most of the Bulgarian conquests of the previous years. A large part of Macedonia became southern Serbia, including the territory of what today is the Republic of North Macedonia, and southern Macedonia became northern Greece . Greece almost doubled its territory and population size and its northern frontiers remain today, more or less

20437-585: The leading European industrial countries. 42°42′N 23°19′E  /  42.700°N 23.317°E  / 42.700; 23.317 Macedonia (region) Macedonia ( / ˌ m æ s ɪ ˈ d oʊ n i ə / MASS -ih- DOH -nee-ə ) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe . Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as

20628-461: The living standards of landless and poor peasants. In foreign policy, Stamboliyski officially renounced Bulgaria's territorial claims, which he associated with a standing army, monarchy, and large government expenditures—phenomena that peasants considered outdated. With no major power available to protect Bulgarian interests in the Balkans post-war, the traditional foreign policy approach was abandoned in favor of reconciliation with all European powers ,

20819-621: The losing side, until it switched sides to the Allies in September 1944. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished, its final tsar was sent into exile, and the tsardom was replaced by the People's Republic of Bulgaria . Despite the establishment of the Principality of Bulgaria (subject to Ottoman suzerainty) in 1878, and the subsequent Bulgarian control over Eastern Rumelia after 1885, there

21010-470: The main leaders of the uprisings, chose Montana as the centre. Many uprisings began in the Northwestern parts of Bulgaria, which were quickly overpowered by the army. The Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov fled to the Soviet Union. There was savage repression in 1925 following the second of two failed attempts on the Tsar's life in the bomb attack on Sofia Cathedral (the first attempt took place in

21201-506: The main parts of the Rhodope Mountains , which included settlements such as Smolyan , Kardzhali etc. After the war, Bulgaria gained the most territory in total area, as it included the eastern parts of Macedonia, Greek Thrace and Adrianople. Due to its eagerness in Macedonia, in where they didn't obtain the rest of it, began the Second Balkan War which resulted in a harsh Bulgarian defeat. It had lost all its previous gains from

21392-555: The main task of the Ministry of Education was restoring the normal functions of schools in this country, laying aside all other activities. The lower secondary school was converted into a junior one by the law, with a three-year course of study and was served to be succeeded by primary schools and basis of secondary schools. Compulsory education became mandatory for children aged 7–14, but only applied to primary school students. High schools were established. Significant changes were made in

21583-504: The mercantile monopoly on grain and replaced it with a state syndicate, dismantled large urban and rural estates and sold the surplus to the poor, introduced compulsory labor laws to alleviate post-war unemployment, implemented a progressive income tax, and made secondary education mandatory. All aspects of this radical reform policy were designed to eliminate "noxious" classes such as lawyers, usurers, and merchants, distribute wealth and responsibilities more equitably across society, and improve

21774-477: The middle of the 14th century, the Ottoman threat was looming in the Balkans, as the Ottomans defeated the various Christian principalities, whether Serb, Bulgarian or Greek. After the Ottoman victory in the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, most of Macedonia accepted vassalage to the Ottomans and by the end of the 14th century the Ottoman Empire gradually annexed the region. The final Ottoman capture of Thessalonica (1430)

21965-519: The middle of the 4th century BC, the Kingdom of Macedon became the dominant power on the Balkan Peninsula; since then Macedonia has had a diverse history. Both proper nouns Makedṓn and Makednós are morphologically derived from the Ancient Greek adjective makednós meaning "tall, slim", and are related to the term Macedonia . The definition of Macedonia has changed several times throughout history. Prior to its expansion under Alexander

22156-499: The military clauses of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine and the Treaty of Lausanne. Although the signing of the Salonika Agreement of 1938 restored good relations with Yugoslavia and Greece, the territorial issue continued to simmer. The government of the Kingdom of Bulgaria under Prime Minister Georgi Kyoseivanov declared a position of neutrality upon the outbreak of World War II. Bulgaria was determined to observe it until

22347-517: The modern geographical region by the mid-19th century. Today the region is considered to include parts of six Balkan countries: all of North Macedonia , large parts of Greece and Bulgaria , and smaller parts of Albania , Serbia , and Kosovo . It covers approximately 67,000 square kilometres (25,869 sq mi) and has a population of around five million. Greek Macedonia comprises about half of Macedonia's area and population. Its oldest known settlements date back approximately to 7,000 BC. From

22538-450: The mountain pass of Arabakonak). But in 1926, Boris persuaded Tsankov to resign in favour of a more moderate government under Andrey Lyapchev . An amnesty was proclaimed, although the Communists remained banned. Lyapchev was considered to be more lenient towards the political opposition than Tsankov. The Communists re-emerged in 1927 under the guide of the political party Bulgarian Workers' Party . An independent workers' trade union became

22729-654: The neighboring states struggled over Turkey in Europe; they were only kept at bay by their own restraints, the Ottoman Army and the territorial ambitions of the Great Powers in the region. Serbian policy had a distinct anti-Bulgarian flavor, attempting to prevent the Bulgarian influencing the inhabitants of Macedonia. On the other hand, Bulgaria was using the power of its religious institutions (Bulgarian Exarchate established in 1870) to promote its language and make more people identify with Bulgaria. Greece, in addition,

22920-425: The neighbouring settlements around Thessaloniki were inhabited by "Scythians" (Bulgarians) and the Slavic tribes of Drugubites and Sagudates , in addition to Greeks. At the end of the 10th century, what is now the Republic of North Macedonia became the political and cultural heartland of the First Bulgarian Empire , after Byzantine emperors John I Tzimiskes conquered the eastern part of the Bulgarian state during

23111-583: The new government of Kemal Ataturk in Turkey , membership in the League of Nations , and friendship with the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). Bulgaria's support for Atatürk's Turkish Republic in 1920 significantly improved relations with Turkey. Reconciling with Yugoslavia was crucial for Stamboliyski's vision of establishing a multiethnic Balkan Peasants' Federation. Better relations with Yugoslavia depended on suppressing

23302-562: The new regime, and in June 1947 their leader Nikola Petkov was arrested. Despite strong international protests, he was executed in September. This marked the Dimitrov Constitution to be introduced and also an establishment of a Communist regime in Bulgaria . Bulgaria had its fair share of significant changes to its boundaries throughout independence to communism. Before the First Balkan War , Bulgaria didn't have control over

23493-517: The new subranie by pro-government representatives justified his non-party system, although the People's Constitutional Bloc seated over sixty delegates. Elections in the next two years were strictly limited in order to maintain Boris's control over his parliament. With the rise of the "King's government" in 1935, Bulgaria entered an era of prosperity and astounding growth, which deservedly qualifies it as

23684-404: The northern regions of today Republic of North Macedonia were not identified as Macedonian lands. For reasons that are still unclear, over the next eleven centuries Macedonia's location was changed significantly. The Roman province of Macedonia consisted of what is today Northern and Central Greece, much of the geographical area of the Republic of North Macedonia and southeast Albania. Simply put,

23875-541: The outside of the walls and plastered over with clay. Remarkable evidence for cult activity has been found at Promachonas -Topolnica, which straddles the Greek Bulgarian border to the north of Serres . Here a deep pit appeared to have been roofed to make a subterranean room; in it were successive layers of debris including large numbers of figurines, bulls' skulls, and pottery, including several rare and unusual shapes. The farming economy of this period continued

24066-426: The overlordship of the sultan formally. Since 1878, Bulgaria had had its own constitution, flag, and anthem, and conducted a separate foreign policy. Ferdinand took the Bulgarian title "Tsar" in honor of the rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires. However, while previous Bulgarian "tsars" were reckoned as emperors, Ferdinand and his successors were called "kings" outside Bulgaria. The Tarnovo Constitution

24257-506: The part of Macedonia south and east of the line, which was declared to be within the Bulgarian sphere of interest. The pre-treaty between Greece and Bulgaria, however, did not include any agreement on the division of the conquered territories – evidently both countries hoped to occupy as much territory as possible having their sights primarily set on Thessaloniki. In the First Balkan War , Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro occupied almost all Ottoman-held territories in Europe. Bulgaria bore

24448-495: The peasantry. While most lower-class Bulgarians supported Macedonia's annexation, they were dismayed by the heavy casualties suffered in two unsuccessful wars to reclaim it. Stamboliyski himself spent the war years in jail for vehemently criticizing these wars. On the other hand, the Bulgarian Communist Party drew support mainly from the intelligentsia and urban professionals, with its primary base consisting of

24639-470: The period between World War I and the Great Depression, especially between 1926 and 1929, industrial output doubled. The increase was mainly in textiles, pottery, and electricity; almost all other industries, including milling and food processing, leather, woodworking and metalworking were weakened. In the 1930s many of the incentive measures were withdrawn, and the establishment of new enterprises

24830-499: The period of Early Christianity , ecclesiastical structure was established in the region of Macedonia, and the see of Thessaloniki became the metropolitan diocese of the Roman province of Macedonia . The archbishop of Thessaloniki also became the senior ecclesiastical primate of the entire Eastern Illyricum , and in 535 his jurisdiction was reduced to the administrative territory of the Diocese of Macedonia . Later it came under

25021-477: The plans of the Serbians and Bulgarians to make them adopt their ethnic idea and eventually a social divide became apparent. The British Ambassador in Belgrade in 1927 said: "At present the unfortunate Macedonian peasant is between the hammer and the anvil. One day 'comitadjis' come to his house and demand under threat lodging, food and money and the next day the gendarm hales him off to prison for having given them;

25212-539: The poorest peasants and minorities. In contrast, the Agrarian Party represented wealthier peasants. In this climate, Stamboliyski swiftly enacted a 1920 land reform aimed at breaking up state properties, church lands, and holdings of wealthy peasants. Predictably, this garnered widespread support and pushed the Bulgarian Communist Party into an alliance with the Agrarian Party to gain parliamentary representation. Stamboliyski faced significant social problems in what

25403-573: The port of Kavala . The region was, however, restored to Greece following the victory of the Allies in 1918. After the destruction of the Greek Army in Asia Minor in 1922 Greece and Turkey exchanged most of Macedonia's Turkish minority and the Greek inhabitants of Thrace and Anatolia , as a result of which Aegean Macedonia experienced a large addition to its population and became overwhelmingly Greek in ethnic composition. Serbian-ruled Macedonia

25594-490: The powerful Macedonian extremist movement. Therefore, in 1921, Stamboliyski initiated a two-year period of severe repression against the IMRO; by 1923, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia agreed at the Nis Convention to collaborate in combating extremism. Stamboliyski was a staunch anti-communist and aimed to create an international movement to counter Marxism . This effort was known as his "Green International," in opposition to

25785-438: The practices established at the beginning of the Neolithic, although sheep and goats were less dominant among the animals than they had previously been, and the cultivation of vines ( Vitis vinifera ) is well attested. Only a few burials have been discovered from the whole of the Neolithic period in northern Greece and no clear pattern can be deduced. Grave offerings, however, seem to have been very limited. In classical times,

25976-554: The previous war, and had lost its Southern Dobruja to the Kingdom of Romania . It still kept Western Thrace and the Western Outlands . During World War I, Bulgaria joined in 1915 on the side of the Central Powers and gained a large amount of land from the Kingdom of Serbia , which included Macedonia and the sheer extensiveness around Niš . After losing, Bulgaria lost its Aegean coast, and its earned land in Serbia. During

26167-494: The previous years. Lyapchev was the leader of a conservative majority in the Sabranie. The press was relatively free, and the institutions of education and the judiciary were functioning independently. Output in industry and agriculture was finally above pre-war levels, and foreign investment was on the rise. But even after being substantially reduced, Bulgaria's reparations payments in 1928 amounted to 20 per cent of its budget, and

26358-402: The protecting states. The aim of the adversaries, however, was not primarily to extend their influence over Macedonia but merely to prevent Macedonia succumbing to the influence of the other. This often violent attempt to persuade the people that they belonged to one ethnic group or another pushed some people to reject both. The severe pressure on the peaceful peasants of Macedonia worked against

26549-518: The regime began to look for a way out. On 1 June 1944 Filov sacked Bozhilov, in the hope of placating internal opposition and the Allies. Filov had reluctantly decided the alliance with Germany should end. His successor Ivan Bagryanov tried to arrange negotiations with the western Allies. Meanwhile, the capital Sofia was bombed by Allied aircraft in 1941 until 1944. But it was the Red Army which

26740-597: The region (though in Eastern Macedonia levels of this period are still called Middle Neolithic according to the terminology used in the Balkans). Rapid changes in pottery styles, and the discovery of fragments of pottery showing trade with quite distant regions, indicate that society, economy and technology were all changing rapidly. Among the most important of these changes were the start of copper working, convincingly demonstrated by Renfrew to have been learnt from

26931-547: The region of Drama which led to a massacre of Greek civilians. In September 1915, the Greek government authorized the landing of the troops in Thessaloniki. In 1916 the pro-German King of Greece agreed with the Germans to allow military forces of the Central Powers to enter Greek Macedonia to attack Bulgarian forces in Thessaloniki. As a result, Bulgarian troops occupied the eastern part of Greek Macedonia, including

27122-537: The region of Macedonia comprised parts of what at the time was known as Macedonia, Illyria and Thrace. Among others, in its lands were located the kingdoms of Paeonia, Dardania, Macedonia and Pelagonia, historical tribes like the Agrianes, and colonies of southern Greek city states. Prior to the Macedonian ascendancy, parts of southern Macedonia were populated by the Bryges , while western, (i. e., Upper ) Macedonia,

27313-552: The region of Macedonia, main of them being schisms between the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the newly created Bulgarian Exarchate (1872), and later between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the newly created Macedonian Orthodox Church (1967). While Macedonia shows signs of human habitation as old as the paleolithic period (among which is the Petralona cave with the oldest European humanoid),

27504-552: The resignation of Georgi Kyoseivanov, a pro-German Bogdan Filov was appointed Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. On 7 September 1940 Bulgaria succeeded in negotiating the recovery of Southern Dobruja in the Axis-sponsored Treaty of Craiova . Bulgaria also had a non-aggression pact with Turkey. On 1 March 1941 Bulgaria formally signed the Tripartite Pact , becoming an ally of Nazi Germany ,

27695-425: The result of deliberate manipulation by politicians seeking to take advantage of traditional peasant distrust of the "effeminate city slicker". Mostly, however, it was due to a quarrel between the rulers and the ruled. Around 14% of the population were Muslims, mostly Turks (i.e. the remnant of the landowning class), but also a handful of so-called " Pomaks " (ethnic Bulgarians who practiced Islam). The Muslim population

27886-455: The return to the Gold standard in that year weakened the economy a year before the Great Depression began. In foreign policy, Lyapchev tried unsuccessfully to improve the terms of British and French reparations from the First World War and to bring Bulgaria out of its post-war diplomatic isolation. The country had already improved its international image through its enthusiastic participation in

28077-413: The rule of Rome's Byzantine successors. The population of the entire region was, however, depleted by destructive invasions of various Gothic and Hun tribes c. 300 – 5th century AD. Despite this, other parts of the Byzantine empire continued to flourish, in particular some coastal cities such as Thessaloniki became important trade and cultural centres. Despite the empire's power, from the beginning of

28268-575: The same since the Balkan Wars. However, when Serbia acquired 'Vardarska Banovina' (the present-day Republic of North Macedonia), it launched having expansionist views aiming to descend to the Aegean, with Thessalonica as the highest ambition. However, Greece after the population exchange with Bulgaria, soon after its victory in the Balkan wars, managed to give national homogeneity in the Aegean and any remaining Slavic-speakers were absorbed. Many volunteers from Macedonia joined Bulgarian army and participated in

28459-505: The seats. The remaining seats were held by the Bulgarian Communist Party , the country's second-largest political party and the only other significant one (several minor parties had no representation in Parliament or real significance). The Agrarian Party primarily represented disgruntled peasants, particularly those dissatisfied with the government in Sofia during Ferdinand's corrupt reign, which exploited and stole from

28650-436: The significantly reduced but still influential army. Another formidable adversary was the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO), which advocated for war to regain independence for Macedonia. Faced with this array of enemies, Stamboliyski allied himself with the Bulgarian Communist Party and established relations with the Soviet Union . Stamboliyski immediately embarked on drastic economic reforms. He abolished

28841-500: The southeast. The war was now lost for Bulgaria, which had to abandon most of her claims of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, while the revived Ottomans retook Adrianople. Romania took possession of southern Dobruja . In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Bulgarian opinion turned against Russia and the Western powers, whom Bulgarians felt had done nothing to assist them. Bulgaria, Romania, and Greece initially remained neutral, observing

29032-487: The struggle for creation of Bulgarian cultural educational and religious institutions, including Bulgarian Exarchate . Eventually, in the 20th century, 'Bulgarians' came to be understood as synonymous with 'Macedonian Slavs' and, eventually, 'ethnic Macedonians'. Krste Misirkov , a philologist and publicist, wrote his work " On the Macedonian Matters " (1903), for which he is heralded by Macedonians as one of

29223-495: The territories they had seized in northern Macedonia (that is, the territory roughly corresponding to the modern Republic of North Macedonia ), stating that the Bulgarian army had failed to accomplish its pre-war goals at Adrianople (i.e., failing to capture it without Serbian help) and that the pre-war agreements on the division of Macedonia had to be revised. Some circles in Bulgaria inclined toward going to war with Serbia and Greece on this issue. In June 1913 Serbia and Greece formed

29414-522: The time, Macedonian control over the Thracoillyrian states of the region slowly waned, although the kingdom of Macedonia remained the most potent regional power. This period also saw several Celtic invasions into Macedonia. However, the Celts were each time successfully repelled by Cassander, and later Antigonus, leaving little overall influence on the region. Macedonian sovereignty in the region

29605-482: The traditional political supremacy of the Sabranie and write a new constitution. In 1936 a broad coalition, the People's Constitutional Bloc, brought together nearly all leftist and centrist factions in a nominal opposition that had the blessing of the tsar. Boris delayed holding a national election until 1938. At that time, only individual candidates were allowed in a carefully controlled election procedure that excluded party candidate lists. Boris claimed that domination of

29796-441: The traditional practice of a peasant dividing his land equally among all surviving sons). And all agricultural exports were harmed by the onset of the Great Depression . Still, the country avoided a large food crisis. Thousands of peasant workers engaged in agricultural activities became casualties during the wars. The number of available horses, sheep, cattle and livestock was between 20% and 40% lower. The single most damaging event

29987-487: The treaty's outcomes as the "Second National Catastrophe." In elections held in March 1920 , the Agrarians secured a substantial majority, and Stamboliyski formed Bulgaria's first genuinely democratic government. After World War I, Bulgaria had already lost a significant amount of territory, including its coast to the Aegean Sea with Dede Agach (Alexandroupoli), which was crucial for the Bulgarian economy, as well as

30178-425: The unification of Bulgaria into an Integral Yugoslavia. In April 1935 Boris III staged a counter-coup with the help of monarchist Zveno member General Pencho Zlatev and took power himself. The political process was controlled by the Tsar, but a form of parliamentary rule was re-introduced. However, political parties remained banned, and uncharismatic prime ministers were appointed by the monarch. He didn't restore

30369-442: The war, in order to satisfy its territorial claims against Bulgaria. The Ottoman Empire also interfered, easily reassuming control of Eastern Thrace with Edirne . The Second Balkan War, also known as Inter-Ally War, left Bulgaria only with the Struma valley and a small part of Thrace with minor ports at the Aegean sea. Vardar Macedonia was incorporated into Serbia and thereafter referred to as South Serbia. Southern (Aegean) Macedonia

30560-525: The war, they could not be effectively marketed due to competition from the United States and Western Europe. However, they were able to switch with little difficulty to garden crops and tobacco in contrast to other countries where the peasantry suffered harder due to continued reliance on maize and wheat . By the end of the 1930s, Bulgaria was producing on average twice as much per hectare as developed European countries, including those with worse climatic or soil conditions than Bulgaria. Between 1934 and 1945,

30751-450: The way for the conspirators to seize control of the entire country. Despite scattered and ineffective peasant resistance, they consolidated their grip on power. In March 1923 Stamboliyski signed an agreement with Yugoslavia recognizing the new border and agreeing to suppress IMRO. This triggered a nationalist reaction, and on 9 June there was a coup organized by the armed forces under General Ivan Valkov 's Military Union with support from

30942-449: The workforce in 1924 was in agriculture, and this percentage remained almost unchanged until 1945. The unstable political situation and internal conflicts caused the Kingdom of Bulgaria to be the poorest, or among the poorest countries in Europe. While more successful than the rest of Eastern Europe, Bulgarian agriculture still suffered from the handicaps of backward technology and especially rural overpopulation and scattered plots (due to

31133-421: Was a Bulgarian insurrection in Ottoman Macedonia. In 1908 Ferdinand used the struggles among the Great Powers to declare Bulgaria an independent kingdom with himself as Tsar. He did this on 5 October (though celebrated on 22 September, as Bulgaria remained officially on the Julian Calendar until 1916) in the St Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo . Even before then, however, Bulgaria had only acknowledged

31324-424: Was a living dream for the Bulgarians that were preparing for a new war. For this, the Bulgarian troops had a secret order in June 1913 to launch surprise attacks on the Serbs. Greece and Serbia signed a previous bilateral defensive agreement (May 1913). Consequently, Bulgaria decided to attack Greece and Serbia. After some initial gains the Bulgarians were forced to retreat back to Bulgaria proper and lose nearly all of

31515-409: Was able to muster a 600-strong Bulgarian SS regiment of Bulgarian anti-communist volunteers already in Germany under a German commander, they had little success. The Holocaust in Bulgaria was the persecution of Jews between 1941 and 1944 in the Kingdom of Bulgaria and their deportation and annihilation in the Bulgarian-occupied regions of Yugoslavia and Greece during World War II , arranged by

31706-520: Was alienated from the dominant Orthodox Christians both due to religious and historical reasons. In 1909, a year after Bulgarian independence, a law was adopted to change the structure of the education system, maintained with different minor changes past several decades. In the post-war years, 1919–1923, there was stagnation in comparative education activities. All conditions of education functioning were extremely worsened. The postwar governments brought about an unstable political and social situation. Third,

31897-468: Was allowed to keep Southern Dobruja , but formally renounced all claims to Greek and Yugoslav territory. 150,000 Bulgarians were expelled from Greek Thrace . The Communists deliberately took a minor role in the new government at first, but the Soviet representatives were the real power in the country. A Communist-controlled People's Militia was set up, which harassed and intimidated non-Communist parties. The new realities of power in Bulgaria were shown when

32088-452: Was another coup by the military organization Zveno , an authoritarian regime headed by Colonel Kimon Georgiev was established. They dissolved all parties and trade unions and suppressed the IMRO. Their government introduced a corporatist economy, similar to that of Benito Mussolini's Italy. After participating in the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1934, Zveno supporters declared their intention to immediately form an alliance with France and to seek

32279-485: Was brought to an end at the hands of the rising power of Rome in the 2nd century BC. Philip V of Macedon took his kingdom to war against the Romans in two wars during his reign (221–179 BC). The First Macedonian War (215–205 BC) was fairly successful for the Macedonians but Philip was decisively defeated in the Second Macedonian War in (200–197 BC). Although he survived war with Rome, his successor Perseus of Macedon (reigned 179–168 BC) did not; having taken Macedon into

32470-534: Was compelled to abdicate after successive defeats in the Balkan Wars and World War I. His son, Boris, then ascended to the throne, but the young king could not replicate the political influence his father had amassed over three decades of intrigue. Furthermore, Boris did not command the same level of moral authority that his father had established. Parliament came to dominate after Boris appointed Aleksandar Stamboliyski as prime minister. Stamboliyski's Agrarian Party soon gained control of Parliament, holding over half of

32661-407: Was far from stable since not all of the Sklaviniae were pacified, and those that were often rebelled. The emperors rather resorted to withdrawing their defensive line south along the Aegean coast, until the late 8th century. Although a new theme—that of "Macedonia"—was subsequently created, it did not correspond to today's geographic territory, but one farther east (centred on Adrianople), carved out of

32852-446: Was fought in atrocious conditions. The retreat of the Ottoman army from Macedonia succeeded the desperate effort of the Greek and Bulgarian forces to reach the city of Thessalonica , the "single prize of the first Balkan War" for whose status no prior agreements were done. In this case possession would be equal to acquisition. The Greek forces entered the city first liberating officially, a progress only positive for them. Glenny says: "for

33043-479: Was impeded and delayed. Moreover, when the imperialistic plans of the surrounding states made possible the division of Macedonia, some Macedonian intellectuals such as Misirkov mentioned the necessity of creating a Macedonian national identity which would distinguish the Macedonian Slavs from Bulgarians, Serbians or Greeks. Baptizing Macedonian Slavs as Serbian or Bulgarian aimed therefore to justify these countries' territorial claims over Macedonia. The Greek side, with

33234-432: Was in an advantageous position for protecting its interests through the influence of Patriarchate of Constantinople which traditionally sponsored Greek-language and Greek-culture schools also in villages with few Greeks. This put the Patriarchate in dispute with the Exarchate, which established schools with Bulgarian education. Indeed, belonging to one or another institution could define a person's national identity. Simply, if

33425-444: Was in full retreat in all fronts. The Serbian army chose to stop its operations when achieved all its territorial goals and only then the Bulgarian army took a breath. During the last two days the Bulgarians managed to achieve a defensive victory against the advancing Greek army in the Kresna Gorge . However at the same time the Romanian army crossed the undefended northern border and easily advanced towards Sofia . Romania interfered in

33616-407: Was in most respects a German puppet. Resistance to the Germans and the Bulgarian regime was widespread by 1943, coordinated mainly by the communists. Together with the Agrarians, now led by Nikola Petkov , the Social Democrats, and even many army officers they founded the Fatherland Front . Partisans operated in the mountainous west and south. By 1944 it was obvious that Germany was losing the war and

33807-445: Was incorporated into Greece and thereafter was referred to as northern Greece. The region suffered heavily during the Second Balkan War. During its advance at the end of June, the Greek army set fire to the Bulgarian quarter of the town of Kilkis and over 160 villages around Kilkis and Serres driving some 50,000 refugees into Bulgaria proper. The Bulgarian army retaliated by burning the Greek quarter of Serres and by arming Muslims from

33998-454: Was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia ) in 1918. Yugoslav Macedonia was subsequently subjected to an intense process of " Serbianization " during the 1920s and 1930s. During World War II the boundaries of the region shifted yet again. When the German forces occupied the area, most of Yugoslav Macedonia and part of Aegean Macedonia were transferred for administration to Bulgaria. During

34189-399: Was inhabited by Macedonian and Illyrian tribes . Whilst numerous wars are later recorded between the Illyrian and Macedonian Kingdoms, the Bryges might have co-existed peacefully with the Macedonians. In the time of Classical Greece , Paionia , whose exact boundaries are obscure, originally included the whole Axius River valley and the surrounding areas, in what is now the northern part of

34380-415: Was low: in 1900 it was 58% in the capital Sofia, 40% in all other cities and 15% in rural areas. The agrarian character of Bulgarian society was reflected in Bulgarian industry, which was completely dominated by textile, food and beverage production: in 1911 these sectors accounted for almost 90% of total Bulgarian factory production. Moreover, Bulgarian industry was extremely inefficient: per capita production

34571-414: Was occupied by Nazi Germany . One of the worst episodes of the Holocaust happened here when 60,000 Jews from Thessaloniki were deported to extermination camps in occupied Poland . Only a few thousand survived. Macedonia was liberated in 1944, when the Red Army's advance in the Balkan Peninsula forced the German forces to retreat. The pre-war borders were restored under U.S. and British pressure because

34762-498: Was only 28.3 leva (the Bulgarian currency unit) compared to 1,128 per capita in the US; even Russian industry proved more efficient at about 150 leva per capita. Two years after independence, in 1910, the gross national product (GNP-PPP) per capita was $ 270, last in Europe and the Balkans. Due to the Balkan Wars, the financial cost against the Ottoman Empire alone was 1.3 billion francs . External trade fell drastically in 1913, with exports reduced by 40% and imports by 11%. This led to

34953-480: Was rapidly advancing towards Bulgaria. In August 1944 Bulgaria unilaterally announced its withdrawal from the war and asked the German troops to leave: Bulgarian troops were hastily withdrawn from Greece and Yugoslavia. In September, the Soviets crossed the northern border. The government, desperate to avoid a Soviet occupation, declared war on Germany, but the Soviets could not be put off, and on September 8, they declared war on Bulgaria – which thus found itself for

35144-444: Was retained, with the word "tsar" replacing the word "prince" or '' knyaz ''. In 1911 the Nationalist Prime Minister Ivan Geshov set about allying with Greece and Serbia, and the three allies agreed to put aside their rivalries to plan a joint attack on the Ottomans. In February 1912 a secret treaty was signed between Bulgaria and Serbia, which was firstly against Austria-Hungary , but also then redirected by Bulgaria to be against

35335-521: Was seen as the prelude to the fall of Constantinople itself. Macedonia remained a part of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 500 years, during which time it gained a substantial Turkish minority. Thessaloniki later become the home of a large Sephardi Jewish population following the expulsions of Jews after 1492 from Spain . Over the centuries Macedonia had become a multicultural region. The historical references mention Greeks, Bulgarians, Turks, Albanians, Gypsies, Jews, Aromanians and Megleno-Romanians. It

35526-410: Was still a poor country, inhabited mostly by peasant smallholders. Bulgaria was burdened with substantial war reparations to Yugoslavia and Romania and had to contend with the issue of refugees, as pro-Bulgarian Macedonians were forced to leave Yugoslav Macedonia. Nevertheless, Stamboliyski was able to push through many social reforms, despite strong opposition from the Tsar, landlords, and the officers of

35717-416: Was still a substantial Bulgarian population in the Balkans living under Ottoman rule, particularly in Macedonia . To complicate matters, Serbia and Greece too made claims over parts of Macedonia, while Serbia, as a Slavic nation, also considered Macedonian Slavs as belonging to the Serbian nation. Thus began a three-sided struggle for control of these areas which lasted until World War I . In 1903 there

35908-410: Was the loss of Southern Dobruja: it had accounted for 20% of Bulgarian grain production before the wars and contained the largest and most developed Bulgarian farming communities. This, combined with bad weather, held the harvest of all crops to 79% of the pre-war level in 1914. On the other hand, an underdeveloped economy meant that Bulgaria had little trouble with debt and inflation. Just under half of

36099-418: Was to prevent the Slavic-speaking Macedonians from acquiring Bulgarian identity through concentrating on the myth of the ancient origins of the Macedonians and simultaneously by the classification of Bulgarians as Tatars and not as Slavs, emphasizing their 'Macedonian' characteristics as an intermediate stage between Serbs and Bulgarians. To sum up the Serbian propaganda attempted to inspire the Macedonians with

36290-401: Was usually crushed swiftly by the Byzantines. It was also marked by periods of war between the Normans and Byzantium. The Normans launched offensives from their lands acquired in southern Italy, and temporarily gained rule over small areas in the northwestern coast. At the end of the 12th century, some northern parts of Macedonia were temporarily conquered by Stefan Nemanja of Serbia . In

36481-414: Was virtually prohibited. Existing ones continued to be uncompetitive. By 1941, there were 3,467 private, 130 state-owned, and 275 cooperative enterprises in the kingdom, with an average of 26 workers. In that year, 41.3% of industry consisted of small-scale manufacturing and handicrafts, 54.6% of larger-scale manufacturing, and 4.1% represented construction activities. Internationally, Bulgaria lagged behind

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