1896–1897 Macedonian rebellion
A Greek guerrilla movement in Macedonia, 1896–1897.
The 1896–1897 Macedonian Rebellion was a Greek guerrilla movement in Macedonia aimed at preserving the consciousness of the local Greek population, countering Bulgarian influence, and asserting Greek territorial claims. It also served to distract from events in Crete. The rebellion was primarily composed of Macedonian chieftains and fighters, many from Northwestern Macedonia, and was initially spurred by the Ethniki Etaireia.
Quick Facts
- Conflict
- 1896–1897 Greek Macedonian Rebellion
- Location
- Ottoman Macedonia
- Salonika Vilayet
- Monastir Vilayet
- Date
- July 1896 – 20 May 1897
- Result
- Ottoman victory
Facts from the source article.
Background
By the time of the 1896–1897 rebellion, around 1,000 veterans of the 1878 Macedonian revolution were in Thessaly, along with 2,000 to 2,500 Macedonian Greeks expelled from their homelands. Many leaders of the 1878 revolution remained in Macedonia and continued guerrilla actions, targeting Ottoman positions in spring after winter lulls. The Ethniki Etaireia invited chieftains in free Greece to organize. Participants included Zermas, Makris, Alamanos, Naoum Konstantinidis, Vlachavas, Athanasios Broufas, Takis Natsios (Periphanos), Panagiotis Ververas, and Christos Ververas.
Without coordination, Nikolaos Tsapanos bought 500 weapons for the rebels. Athanasios Broufas was proclaimed chief of the revolutionary forces. A total of 400 rebels, mostly from Northwestern Macedonia, entered Macedonia from Thessaly, joined by Epirotes, Thessalians, Stereohelladites, and a few Cretans, Greeks of Russia, and Eastern Rumelians. The first infantry under Broufas, 90 men including Demetrios Kannavos, Takis Natsios, Ioannis Georgantas, Ioannis Tsamis, Vassilios Economou, and Lazaros Varzis, landed in early July 1896 at Skala Eleftherohoriou.
After victorious battles in the Vermio Mountains, they split: one group under Natsios headed to Florina, the other under Broufas to Veria, Naousa, Ostrovo, Morichovo, and Kafantari. Broufas' group further split, fighting Ottoman regiments in Eordaia and Kozani, with major battles at Vladovo and Pozar, Pella. At the end of July 1896, Broufas fought a long battle at the Axios Gates in Tikves, where Demetrios Kannavos died. On 15 August, Natsios' group met other chieftains at the Monastery of Panagia Slimnitsa in Louboino, Pelagonia.
Evolution of the revolution until 1897
Additional infantries entered Macedonia and operated in Morichovo, Almopia, and Nevrokopi (Upper and Lower). The revolution continued until autumn 1896 in Grevena and Kozani, when withdrawal for winter was decided due to lack of munitions and fear of Ottoman reprisals. In spring 1897, some chieftains remaining in Macedonia resumed action, but the Greco-Turkish War's unfavorable outcome for Greece ended the revolution.
Legacy
The 1896 revolution in Macedonia was remembered by Macedonians for years, though it was short and without practical results. It kept alive the presence and claims of Hellenism in the region, creating a revolutionary tradition and a pool of chieftains and rebels ready to act. This served as the foundation for the numerous guerrillas of the Macedonian Struggle. European diplomats and Ottoman authorities noted that Greek revolutionaries never attacked civilians or committed looting.
More in Greek Rebellions Against the Ottoman Empire
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