Gorna Dzhumaya Uprising Explained

Conflict:Gorna Dzhumaya Uprising
Place:Pirin, Adrianople Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Bulgaria)
Combatant1: SMAC
Strength1:2850
Strength2:13,960
Casualties1:95 killed
2000 flee to Bulgaria
Casualties2:Unknown
Result:Ottoman victory
Commander1:Ivan Tsonchev
Petar Darvingov
Commander2:Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha
Date:28 September - 1 November 1902

The Gorna Dzhumaya Uprising was an anti-Ottoman rebellion that broke out and spread throughout the Pirin region of Ottoman Macedonia in 1902.[1]

The uprising broke out on September 23, along the middle reaches of the Struma River in modern-day Bulgaria. It was poorly organized, premature and had a small scope. The uprising was held under the leadership of the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC). The organizers were General Ivan Tsonchev and Stoyan Mihaylovski.[2] The Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) disagreed with the SMAC plan and refused to take part in the fighting. The Bulgarian government also did not support the actions of the insurgents, because it was under strong international pressure. The Uprising was suppressed and ca. 2,000 refugees escaped to Bulgaria.[3]

With the appearance of the first refugees in many cities of the country, rallies were convened, which appealed to Europe and the Bulgarian government for intervention.[4] The atrocities committed against the local population in the region provoked a reaction among the European public and it pressed the Sublime Porte for the adoption of some reforms.[5] However, these reforms were not actually implemented.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Lora Gerd, Russian Policy in the Orthodox East: The Patriarchate of Constantinople (1878-1914), De Gruyter Open, 2014,, p. 9.
  2. Peter Kardjilov, The Cinematographic Activities of Charles Rider Noble and John Mackenzie in the Balkans (Volume One); Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2020,, p. 6.
  3. Alexei Kalionski, Ethnicity and migration. The Bulgarian case, 1830-1915 in Communities, Identities and Migrations in Southeast Europe, Anamnesis Collected Articles;, pp. 22-59.
  4. Силянов, Христо. Освободителните борби на Македония, том 1, София, 1933, стр. 180 – 181.
  5. R. J. Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria; Edition 2, Cambridge University Press, 2005,, p. 127.