Ilinden Uprising
Revolt against the Ottoman Empire in Southeastern Europe 1903 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ilinden Uprising (Macedonian: Илинденско востание, Greek: Εξέγερση του Ίλιντεν, Bulgarian: Илинденско въстание) was an uprising organized by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization in the Ottoman Empire. The uprising was against Ottoman rule.[4]
Ilinden Uprising Илинденско востание | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Map of the Uprising | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
MRO SMAC Kruševo Republic Strandža Commune | Ottoman Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| |||||||
Strength | |||||||
26,408 (IMRO figures)[1] | 350,931[1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
MRO figures:[1]
| 5,328 killed / wounded[1] |
The uprising lasted from 2 August 1903 to November 1903. The name of the uprising comes from the Christian Orthodox holy day of Ilinden on which the revolt began. Ultimately the uprising was crushed by the better equipped and much larger Ottoman army. The casualties on both sides were small however a large number of people were made homeless, the majority of which number around 30,000 fled to Bulgaria.[5]
Provisional government was established in the town of Kruševo, where the insurgents proclaimed the Kruševo Republic, which was overrun after just ten days, on August 12.[6] On August 19, a closely related uprising organized by Thracian revolutionaries in the Adrianople Vilayet led to the liberation of a large area in the Strandža Mountains, and the creation of a provisional government in Vassiliko, the Strandža Republic. This lasted about twenty days before being put down by the Turks.[6] The insurrection also affected the vilayets of Kosovo and Salonika.