Macedonian Struggle for Independence - Part VIII, by Risto Stefov

By the middle of the fourteenth century, the Ottomans had consolidated their power in Asia Minor and were becoming a threat to the Balkan states. Their first serious campaign for the conquest of Europe began in 1352 when they took the fortress of Tzympe, on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Two years later, taking advantage of a devastating earthquake, they took the fortress of Gallipoli, thus creating a convenient bridgehead for their forthcoming penetration of the Balkans.

Among the first to be threatened by the Ottoman forces was Uglesha's rule, the feudal lord in Macedonia. Confronted with danger he persuaded his brother King Volkashin to take joint actions. Hostilities broke out in September 1371 near Chernomen followed by a fierce battle on the River Maritsa. The river turned red as casualties mounted, among them the brothers Volkashin and Uglesha. It was a major victory for the Ottomans and a catastrophe for the Macedonian people, not only for the loss of life but also for the terrible change of fate. Its outcome had disastrous significance for Macedonia as the balance of power was about to be destabilized.

The battle at the Maritsa River was the first battle to take place during the Ottoman penetration of the Balkan Peninsula. Even though the danger of the Ottomans at this stage was remote, its threat was nevertheless seen as real by Emperor Dushan who attempted to create a Christian alliance to stop the Ottoman encroachment. Unfortunately

Pope Innocent VI did not consider Dushan's attempts serious as Dushan was requesting to be appointed captain of an army in a joint crusade against the Ottomans. By the time the Pope finally saw the need for intervention, Dushan had died and his plan died with him.

After Dushan's death, the Byzantine Emperor John V Paleologus resurrected the idea of a Christian alliance and in 1364, contacted Dushan's widow Jelena but the messenger Patriarch Callistus from Constantinople who was expected to deliver the idea died before accomplishing his mission. Failing that, in the spring of 1366, Paleologus appealed to the Hungarian King who gave him several of his own detachments and several from the west. Unfortunately Paleologus used that army to fight against the Bulgarians. The following year (1369) Paleologus went west again looking for military help but without success and two years later he returned disappointed and humiliated.

After Dushan's death, one of his followers the despot Jovan Uglesha, with his domain being closest to the Ottoman threat, began to take the Ottoman encroachment seriously. Uglesha's territory extended from the Struma and Maritsa Rivers to Poros Lake at the Rodopi Coast with Seres as his capital.

One of the Ottoman tactics was to encroach at one's borders, set up a base and then launch a penetrating attack. The Ottomans chose to amass at the eastern and southern border of Uglesha's territory which was close to the Aegean Sea.

As their numbers were amassing the Ottomans were a constant threat and during the 1360's continuously attacked and pillaged the Sveta Gora (Mount Athos) monasteries.

Unable to ignore this threat Uglesha decided to wage war on the Ottomans in an attempt to drive them out of the Balkans. He was well aware that he could not do this without help so he made it his mission to rally his neighbours. His first objective was to improve relations with the Byzantines which of course he failed because Dushan had made enemies when he broke away from the Byzantine Church. Dushan had created his own Patriarchy and declared himself Emperor against the wishes of the Byzantines.

Being persistent and in a desperate situation, Uglesha agreed to meet all Byzantine demands. His first act was to recognize the Constantinople Patriarchy in his own territory. He did this by announcing the recognition of his charter in March 1968. Unfortunately it would appear that this was not enough of a commitment for the Byzantines to gain his trust so no military assistance was offered. Having failed with the Byzantines, Uglesha knew it would be hopeless trying to convince the west so he turned his attention inwards in an attempt to unify the feudal lords of Dushan's former Empire. Unfortunately he failed even at that; the only one that came to his aid was his own brother King Volkashin who also ruled parts of Macedonia.

Upon joining forces the brothers mobilized the Macedonian people in preparation for war. There were two places where they could attack the Ottomans; one was at Plodvid and Odrin (Dardanelles) the new Ottoman capital, and the other at Seres and Drama. Odrin was less fortified and at the time was defended by Shashin Pasha with only 15,000 untrained and inadequately prepared soldiers.

Shashin Pasha was well aware of Uglesha's plans but kept stalling in offering resistance and at the same time refused to retreat. In the meantime, in May 1371 King Urosh appointed King Volkashin ruler of the City of Skopje and immediately began mobilizing people for the final battle. The most active mobilization took place in Skopje, Bitola and Prilep and the mobilized people were assembled in Ovche Pole near Stip. Uglesha meanwhile carried out mobilizations in the Seres, Drama, Kavala and Mosinople Regions amassing an army of about 20,000 soldiers . The army consisted mostly of Macedonian cavalrymen from the smaller feudal landowners. Most of the soldiers were armed with spears arrows, sabers and swords. The more prominent soldiers also carried shields and armor.

As soon as mobilization was complete both armies left their bases and headed for Odrin to do battle. The army from Ovche Pole, lead by Volkashin, took the road through Velbuzhd (Kyustendil), Samokov, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv to Odrin. Meanwhile the army led by Uglesha took the road from Drama to Plovdiv to Odrin. The two armies met at the Chemomerski Lugovi in the wide plain near the Maritsa River.

Both armies were equipped with supplies which included food, wine and brandy and while on the road they set up camp, drank and had fun. Unfortunately they also had quarrels and constantly fought each other resulting in wounding and even death. Inexperienced, the leaders of the armies thought this was normal behaviour for traveling armies and ignored the lack of discipline. It was expected that discipline would improve before the battle as camp was set out on the wide plain near the River Maritsa, 40 km north of Odrin.

When Volkashin and Uglesha announced that the Ottoman army they were about to face had no more than 15,000 untrained Ottoman men, the lack of discipline in the Macedonian camp widened as the men started drinking even more and celebrating their victory even before the battle started.

During the night of September 25 Ottoman negotiators arrived in the Macedonian camp. Their arrival started a rumour that Shahin Pasha sent the negotiators to negotiate peace by offering gold and there wasn't going to be a battle.

Even though King Volkashin reassured everyone that the peace offer was turned down and that the Macedonian army's goal was to free Odrin, the celebration continued as the soldiers drank even more wine, ate roast meat and celebrated the victory of a battle they had not yet fought.

With no guards at their posts and with very few sober soldiers it was a disaster waiting to happen. On their return the negotiators informed Shashin Pasha of the situation and Shashin Pasha lost no opportunity and attacked the camps from three different directions.

On September 26, 1371 Shashin Pasha, under the cover of rain and thunder with a significantly smaller force, struck at the Macedonian army delivering a crippling blow. The sudden appearance of enemy soldiers from every direction created chaos among the Macedonian soldiers who were still drunk from the previous night. In its disarray the Macedonian army was cut to pieces as soldiers fought bravely but not enough to save the day. Both Volkashin and Uglesha were severely wounded and soon afterwards died.

The Macedonian army faced a terribly defeat at the Maritsa battle mainly due to lack of discipline, obstinacy and lack of knowledge about enemy tactics. Basic principles of combat were ignored and lack of combat experience, reconnaissance, intelligence and guard duty enabled the Ottoman army, although smaller and ill-equipped, to take advantage of the situation and deliver a catastrophic blow. The consequences of this defeat were permanent and significant for all nations in the Balkan Peninsula. The loss of this battle allowed the Ottomans to set foot in the Balkans and in twenty years to conquer all of Macedonia.

The defeat at the Maritsa River and the death of Volkashin and Uglesha signified the beginning of a permanent Ottoman penetration into Macedonian territory. Immediately after the battle, the Ottomans conquered the eastern regions of Uglesha's territory and directed their attacks towards the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Byzantines in the meantime, in the absence of Uglesha, decided to expand their own territories by annexing part of Uglesha's.

In November 1372 the Solun despot Manuel entered Seres and in the spring of 1373 the Byzantine Emperor John V Paleologus was forced to accept Ottoman domination and become an Ottoman vassal. The same year, the Byzantine Emperor personally took part in the Ottoman campaign in Asia Minor alongside Sultan Murad. Above all the Byzantine Emperor had to also pay the sultan vassal tax in gold.

Besides the Byzantines becoming vassals of the Ottomans the brothers Dejanoviki, the rulers of Eastern Macedonia, and Volkashin's son King Marko also became vassals of the Ottomans.

Marko, better known as Marko Krale to the Macedonians, was a legendary folk hero in western Macedonia who after his father's death inherited his throne and title. Unfortunately as part of the treaty with the Ottomans Marko had to recognize Ottoman authority and pay tribute to the Ottoman Sultan. It is believed that Marko was born in 1335. His name was discovered in a document establishing him as one of Volkashin's delegates to Dubrovnik. His name was also discovered in some chronicles of his time establishing him as the son of Volkashin and later as Marko the king. In another document dated 1370 Volkashin makes mention of his sons Marko and Andrew and of his wife Elena.

With its capital in Prilep, Marko inherited a state that lay between the Vardar River and Albania, stretching from the Shar Mountain range down to Kostur excluding the cities of Skopje and Ohrid. After becoming king, Marko minted his own coins and placed the inscription: "King Marko faithful to Lord Jesus Christ" on them. Marko Krale was killed on May 17, 1395 in Craiova Romania, during a battle against the Vlach military leader Mircho. Marko was obliged to fight for the Ottomans as part of his treaty agreement with Sultan Bayazit.

Even though Marko Krale had been an Ottoman vassal and fought on the side of Bayazit's army he was a devout Christian and just before he died he begged God for forgiveness and prayed out loud, asking God to help the Christians. And thus a legend was born. Marko Krale, the fearless legend, has been enshrined in the Towers of Prilep where he was born by his frescoes and paintings in various churches and monasteries.

King Marko and his brothers Andrejash, Dimitar and Ivanis divided Volkashin's kingdom and each became a ruler of a smaller kingdom. Marko Krale unfortunately left no heir and after his death his state reverted to the Ottomans.

As the Ottomans gradually penetrated Macedonia, instead of uniting against the enemy, the rulers and inheritor's of Volkashin's and Ugljesha's kingdoms and of Dushan's Empire fought against one another to grab more territory. The brothers Dejanovikj, Jovan, Dragash and Konstantin, grabbed the western parts of Ugljesha's kingdom and extended their kingdoms to Strumitsa. The Balshich brothers grabbed Prizren and Kostur while Vuk Brankovich grabbed Skopje and Andreja Gropa took Ohrid.

After fighting among themselves, impervious to the new situation, the new rulers continued to rule the same old way.

With the death of King Urosh on December 2, 1371, right after the Maritsa battle, central power in Macedonia deteriorated and so did the unity of the country as every ruler fought for himself for a bigger land grab. This enabled the Ottomans to move freely all through Macedonia establishing their garrisons in the cities and achieving their goals without significant armed combat. This way the Ottomans slowly but surely continued to annex Macedonian territory which was of strategic significance for further conquests to the north, west and south.

Seres was attacked on September 19, 1383 and after its fall in the next two years the entire southern part of Macedonia also fell into Ottoman hands. In 1387 Solun was attacked but not completely occupied. A military border was created under the leadership of the famous commander Evrenos. In 1392 Skopje was conquered and another military border was erected and served as an Ottoman base for further penetration towards Albania, Serbia, Zeta and Bosnia.

When the Ottomans drove deeper into Macedonia, the Serbs organized a counteroffensive but were overwhelmed at Kosovo in 1389.

The loss of Solun and the Battle of Kosovo unfortunately cut off access to Constantinople by land. By 1393 the Ottomans had completed their conquest of Bulgaria and returned to lay siege to Constantinople.

The Byzantine collapse and Ottoman triumph followed swiftly as the Ottomans laid siege to the walls of Constantinople in April 1453. Ottoman ships were obstructed by a chain that the Byzantines had thrown across the mouth of the Golden Horn but the Ottomans dragged their ships overland to the harbour from the seaward side, bypassing the defenses. The Ottoman heavy artillery continually bombarded the land walls until, on May 29, 1453 Ottoman soldiers forced their way in.

As a final note, in the glory of the Byzantine Empire, I want to add that had it not been for the advent of the cannon the Byzantine Empire might still exist to this day. It was not the might of the Ottomans but the might of the new Ottoman cannon that brought the walls of Constantinople tumbling down.

The material structure of the Byzantine Empire, which had long been crumbling, was now under the management of the Ottoman Sultan. But the Byzantine faith was less susceptible to change. The Sultan acknowledged the fact that the church had proved to be the most enduring element in the Byzantine world and he gave the Patriarch of Constantinople an unprecedented measure of temporal authority by making him answerable for all Christians living under Ottoman rule. The last scattered pockets of Byzantine resistance were eliminated within a decade after 1453.

The Ottoman Empire's expansion increased in both territory and people which caused frequent reorganization of the army. After each new territorial conquest the Ottomans colonized the nations they occupied and imposed Islam on them. After Islamizing the population they drew their soldiers from it. The nucleus of the Ottoman army consisted of spahi (landowner) feudal cavalry. As more men were needed new regular infantry formations were organized consisting of janissaries. At first the janissaries were convicts but later as demand for men increased, the janissaries came from abducted Christian children, known as the "blood tax".

After sacking Constantinople the Ottomans adapted much of the Byzantine administration and feudal practices and began to settle the Balkans. The conquered people of the new Ottoman territories became subjects of the empire, to be ruled according to Muslim law. At the head of the Ottoman Empire sat the Sultan who was God's representative on earth. The Sultan owned everything and everyone in the empire. Below the Sultan sat the ruling class and below them sat the Rajak (protected flock). Everyone worked for the Sultan and he in turn provided his subjects with all of life's necessities.

The Sultan was the supreme head of the empire and his power was unrestricted. Initially his capital was in Bursa, then it was moved to Odrin and finally to Constantinople in 1453.

Initially at the head of the Ottoman state administration stood a single Vizier but by 1386 a second Vizier was appointed, elevating the first one to Grand Vizier. The number of viziers continued to increase with time and by the middle of the 16th century there were four.

After the Balkan conquests, the Ottoman Empire was divided into two large Bejlerbejliks, or administrative units. The rulers of these provinces, the Bejlerbejs, were appointed directly by the Sultan. The Bejlerbejs were the highest local military commanders in the Bejlerbejliks or Pashaliks as they later came to be known. The Rumelia or European Bejlerbejlik incorporated the territories of the Turkish provinces of Europe. This Pashalik was further divided into smaller units called Sanjaks or Jivi, which made up the basic military and territorial administrative components of the empire. Each Pashalik was also divided into kazas where each kaza represented a judicial district for which a qadi or judge was responsible. With time and with the extension of the empire's frontiers the number of Bejlerbejliks grew and their nature began to change. Bejlerbejliks became Elajets or Pashaliks and during the 1470's two Kaziaskers, or Supreme Military Judges, were appointed: one in Rumelia and the other in Anatolia in Asia Minor. There was also a Nichandji, or Keeper of the Imperial Seal, who sat at the head of the administration and, on behalf of the Sultan, placed the seal on all acts issued by the central government. Financial affairs were handled by the Defterdars.

The Divan, or State Council, headed by the Grand Vizier consisted of the highest state officials, including viziers, kaziaskers and defterdars, who regularly met to discuss and resolve important state matters.

The legal system was created around the Seriat which had its basis in Islam. The Koran and Hadith were the books from which the ideals and fundamental principles for the construction of the legal system were drawn. No law could be passed which in principle contradicted the Seriat. Only the supreme religious leader, the Sejh-ul-Islam, had the right to interpret and assess the legal norms and only from the point of view of Islamic law.

To be continued.

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You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com