VII. Macedonia in the 16th and 17th centuries
1. From the eve of Lepanto to the middle of the 17th century: the first signs of active resistance to the Turks
(1.) While maintaining their resistance to the Jesuits' attempts to proselytize them, the inhabitants of Macedonia — whether in the large towns, in the rural areas, or on Mount Athos — demonstrated in no uncertain terms their deep loathing for the Turks. The unrelieved oppression and the manifold hardships that they encountered in daily life combined in reinforcing an attitude altogether hostile toward their conquerors. As in other Balkan lands, the mountains became the refuge of desperate groups who lived by banditry. However, in view of the overwhelming strength and ruthlessness of their rulers, they did not as yet venture upon operations of a wider scope. Thus the inhabitants of Macedonia looked on in a state of daze while Suleyman I (1520-1566) marched through their country in 1537 on his way to Avlón. The Sultan was at that moment bent on crushing the Chimariotes of Epirus and then crossing over to Italy to attack Charles V on his own territory on behalf of Francis I of France, then an ally of the Turk.
Nevertheless, there could not have been a Macedonian, whether in the mountains or in the plains and towns (see fig. 63), who did not live in hope of liberation. Fostered by a wealth of legends, traditions and folk-songs, their faith in the ultimate restoration of their nation grew ever stronger with the passage of time. The increasing harshness
1. See evidence of Spandugnino in Κ. Ν. Sathas, Μνημεῖα ἑλληνικῆς ἱστορίας. Documents inédits rélatifs a l'histoire de la Grèce au moyen âge, Paris 1890, vol. 9, p. 219, «...sopra le montagne asperrime a pericoli di neve e di ladroni».
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of Turkish rule only served to stimulate them into taking more drastic steps. One wonders what can have occurred in 1565 to have necessitated the calling in of the reserve detachments (ikinci nöbetli) of Yürüks from Thessalonica and Tríkala to defend Thessalonica? [1] The situation grew worse as the years went by. Α little later, in 1568, during the reign of Selim II (1566-1574), the Turks proceeded to seize "metochia" and
Fig. 63. Costume of a woman from Macedonia.
(Nic. Nicolay, Les navigations, pérégrinations etc., Anvers 1577)
other estates belonging to the monasteries on Mount Athos and throughout the empire generally, under the pretext that the monasteries had tax obligations to settle. At this juncture they appear to have plundered and destroyed monasteries even within the confines of the holy peninsula
1. Gökbilgin, Rumeli᾽de Yürükler, p. 78.
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itself, slaughtering those distraught and enraged monks who attempted to oppose the Turks' high-handed behaviour [1].
In addition, Selim II embarked upon the seizure of churches in Thessalonica and made away with the columns of others (eg. St. Menas' Church, the Church of the Reminder (Ὑπομιμνήσκων), and the Church of the Holy Angels (the Rotunda today)), no doubt to make use of them in Turkish buildings [2]. What is more, on 27 January 1570, the theological students (softas) of Sérres violated the monastery of the Venerable Forerunner and murdered some of the monks [3].
Like the rest of the Greeks, the inhabitants of Macedonia expected their liberation to come from the Christian West. They followed with rapt attention the major events taking place on the European scene and the clashes between the European powers and the Turks. The celebrated sea-battle of Lepanto (1571), in which the combined fleets of the king of Spain, of Venice and of the Pope destroyed the Turkish fleet, must surely have sent a shock wave of enthusiasm and expectation throughout Macedonia. Lepanto had shown quite clearly what the European powers could achieve, if they joined forces against the common enemy of Christendom.
The ensuing rage of Sultan Selim II was formidable, to say the least [4]. His unquenshable ire burst upon the Christian populations of his empire. Frightful slaughter and imprisonment of Greeks is reported to have taken place in the district of Thessalonica and on the Holy Mountain. The death-toll was over 30.000. The principal target was the monks, for the Turks feared that they would use their influence to incite insurrections among the Christian populations [5]. Doubtless these reports reflect earlier accounts of similar tribulations suffered on Athos and in Thessalonica (such as we have touched on above) and now repeated with even greater intensity in the new wave of terror that inevitably followed the Turkish defeat at Lepanto [6].
1. Vacalopoulos, Ίατορία, 2, pp. 169-170, where the relevant bibliography may be found.
2. A. Vacalopoulos, Ὑπῆρξε ἐπὶ τουρκοκρατίας μητροπολιτικὸς ναὸς ὁ Ἅγ. Γεώργιος (Rotonda) καὶ πότε; «Μακεδονικὰ» 4 (1955-1960) 549.
3. Zesiou, Ἔρευνα..., ΠΑΕ 1913, p. 228.
4. Ath. Comnerios Hypselantes, Τὰ μετὰ τὴν Ἅλωσιν (1453-1789), Constantinople 1870, p. 106.
5. Ε. Charrière, Extrait de négotiations de la France dans le Levant, Paris 1858, vol. 3, p. 262, footnote.
6. K. N. Sathas, Τουρκοκρατουμένη Ἑλλάς, Athens 1869, p. 172.
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Two records from this period provide us with positive information on the subject. We learn that at Sérres (see fig. 64, 65) — the second most important Greek centre in north-east Macedonia — the Turks plundered the metropolitan church together with seven other churches, and devastated the monastery of the Forerunner, the 'suburbs' and the 'metochia' [1]. They subsequently sold the plunder (ecclesiastical manuscripts, etc.) wherever they could. Thus, for instance, we hear that the priest Argyros, son of the priest Cyrus, of Prosániki purchased a Gospel [2].
One cannot but wonder whether at this period any revolutionary
Fig. 64. Sérres. Koca Mustafa Camısı.
(Photo G. Keroplastes)
plans had been set in motion if not actually translated into action in Macedonia (as had happened in Southern Greece), though we know nothing of them today.
It is not known what repercussions there were further north in the celebrated Greek centre of Melnik. At all events, life cannot have been too easy in that remote spot (for Melnik occupied an extremely isolated position at this period). The city's metropolitan, Methodius (1575-1581),
1. Zesiou, Ἕρευνα..., ΠΑΕ 1913, p. 228.
2. See P. Pennas, Ἱστορία τών Σερρῶν (1383-1913), Athens 1938, p. 41. See also by the same author, Σερραϊκὰ Χρονικά, part 1 (1938) 16.
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is led to declare in a letter to his friend Zygomalas that he wondered why the Empress Eudoxia had not thought of choosing Melnik as a place of exile for her enemy Chrysostomus [1].
After the battle of Lepanto, the Metropolitan of Thessalonica, Joasaph Argyropoulos (the offspring of a great Byzantine family of former times), was denonnced by certain monks, one of whom even took their slanderous charges to the Grand Vezir, Mehmed Pasha, at Constantinople. They alleged that the Metropolitan had passed information about Turkey to Italy, Germany, France and Spain. As a result, Mehmed Pasha ordered him to be strangled. Fortunately for Argyropoulos, a
Fig. 65. Sérres. Hagia Sophia Camısı.
(Photo G. Keroplastes)
friend warned him in time, and he fled in terror to Michael Cantacuzenus (who bore the curious nickname of Şeytanoğlu — 'Son of Satan'), beseeching his intervention, inasmuch as Cantacuzenus was a friend of the Pasha. The powerful Greek recommended Argyropoulos to remain at Adrianople, while he himself went to Constantinople to defend the Metropolitan's cause. He told the Pasha that Argyropoulos was not the kind of man to have done what his accusers claimed, that he was not familiar with any foreign language. The case was concluded with the
1. M. Crusius, Turcograecia, Basle 1584, p. 341. Spandonides, Μελένικος, p. 19.
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payment of 2.000 ducats to Mehmed Pasha, while the slanderous monk was sent to ply an oar on the galleys [1].
It is now quite apparent that the Ottoman empire was at this period passing through difficult times. The lack of ships, and more so of sailors, was so acute that the Turks were driven to enlisting the mountain Yürüks to serve with the fleet [2].
2. The endeavours of two Epirote Greeks, Matthew (or Manthos) Papayannis and Panos Kestolikos, are worthy of mention at this point. As "Greek representatives of enslaved Greece and Albania", they came to an understanding with Don John of Austria, who was probably at that moment in Corcyra in connection with the second campaign of the Holy Alliance against the Turks in 1572. But these intrigues came to nothing, because in the following year (1573), the Christian alliance was in its essentials dissolved: the Venetians made peace with the Turks and retired from their fringe positions in the Eastern Mediterranean to concentrate on new ones nearer home.
The Venetian withdrawal was naturally a bitter disappointment for the peoples of the Ionian and Adriatic coastlands of Greece. Nevertheless the two Greek patriots, Papayannis and Kestolikos, continued their efforts to bring about a realisation of their plans. In memoranda which they submitted to the Council of the Spanish State, they affirmed that 40 persons had banded themselves together and held a conference (it is not stated where or when), with a view, no doubt, to discussing the various questions which might arise in the eventuality of their staging an insurrection. But these communications with Spain, which went on for some two years or more, brought no positive result [3].
The revolutionary fervour which took hold of the inhabitants of the Epirote and Albanian littorals, reached considerable proportions, spreading into the interior of Macedonia as far as the Ohrid region, as may be deduced from an ordinance directed by the Sultan to the Bey of Ohrid on 23 February 1573. According to this dispatch, a letter had been intercepted, which had been addressed in friendly terms to Venice
1. Gerlach, Tagebuch, p. 215. Regarding the personage of Joasaph, see P. Zerlentis, Θεσσαλονικέων μητροπολῖται ἀπό Θεωνᾶ τοῦ ἀπὸ ἡγουμένων μέχρι Ἰωάσαϕ Ἀργυροπούλου (1520-1578), ΒΖ 12 (1903) 139-143.
2. Gökbilgin, Rumeli᾽de Yürükler, p. 78.
3. Ι. Κ. Chasiotes, Ὁ ἀρχιεπίσκοπος Ἀχρίδος Ἰωακεὶμ καὶ οἱ συνωμοτικὲς κινήσεις στὴν Βόρειο Ἤπειρο (1572-1576), «Μακεδονικὰ» 6 (1964-1965) 237-246.
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by Albanians from certain villages in the Ohrid region. Α copy of the letter had been sent to the Bey, and he was instructed that the persons referred to in the letter as well as the signatories of the document must be arrested, put under guard and sent to Constantinople under strong escort to receive punishment [1].
We find a further appeal to the West in the form of a letter dated 1 June 1576 and addressed by Joachim, Archbishop of Ohrid, to Don John of Austria (it also bears the signatures of Photius of Veles, Nectarius of Berat, and Sophronius of Kastoriá). In this Joachim wrote that although the final dissolution of the Christian alliance had caused considerable grief to the Christians of south-east Europe, the ground there was favourable for the execution of fresh enterprises. Throughout the eparchies of his archbishopric the people were awaiting him (Don John) with great longing, as for a Moses. But, sadly, Joachim and his fellow-ecclesiastics were left with nothing but their expectations. Notwithstanding, the Archbishops were to continue to battle for the liberation on their flocks, and with even greater vigour and intensity, as we shall see [2].
3. Towards the end of the 16th and at the beginning of the 17th century significant efforts were made by various European states to incite insurrections in Dalmatia, Albania, Epirus and Thessaly. The purpose of such activities was not, however, to prepare the ground for some great campaign, but simply to create pockets of agitation in the western sector of the Ottoman empire. We possess as yet very incomplete knowledge of the proportions which these activities assumed and of the revolutionary ferment at work among the Southern Slavs, Albanians and Greeks. That such a ferment was gathering force amongst the inhabitants of Thessaly, Epirus and Macedonia around the close of the 16th century is attested by an appeal addressed by these peoples to the Pope at Rome (in all probability Clement VIII), calling upon him to hasten to their liberation. "The Christian peoples of Thessaly, Epirus and Macedonia are all agape in eager expectation of this; and henceforth the whole of Greece will readily suffer loss of thousands of dead on behalf of the Faith. Thus are we also prepared. And as befits the holy doctrines, Most Blessed Father, arise against the hostile dragon... Lend a ready ear to our zealous delegations; hearken to our ambassadors, and allow
1. D. Šopova, Macedonia in the 16th and 17th cent. Documents from the archives of Constantinope (1557-1645), Skopje 1955 (in Macedonian Slavonic).
2. Chasiotes, ibid., pp. 246-247.
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your ears to be needled by their words". In an attempt to persuade the Pope that the enemy is not 'fighting-fit' the letter continues: "The rabble of infidels is small indeed, quite insignificant, fearful of war and exceedingly weak on account of many things, including the triumphs of the present emperor [Rudolph II] and of the warrior Michael [of Wallachia]. The way is therefore very ready; deliver us out of the hand of the harsh tyrant..." [1].
To be sure, conditions in the rural areas of Macedonia were lamentable. For many years now, life had been rendered intolerable by the various forms of oppression, the tax-burdens [2], the conscription of candidates for the Corps of Janissaries [3], the plunderings and the extortions practiced to the detriment of the Christian inhabitants and even of the poorer Moslems [4]. In addition, there were the various contemptuous regulations apropos the Christian rayas, as for instance, the law forbidding them to go on horseback or to carry arms [5] (the same no doubt applied to the Jews as well [6]). To complete the picture of this grim period one must add the countless fears, large and small, that beset the lives of the non-Moslem inhabitants, and the frequent epidemics that ravaged the cities, like the one that swept Kastoriá, Skopje, Monastir, Véroia and other places [7] in 1611.
The roads of those regions were dangerous for travellers. On a journey from Ragusa to Constantinople via Skopje, Philippopolis and Adrianople, the Venetian senator, Constantino Garzoni, writes that the journey was not only exceedly wearisome but dangerous to boot, since a good many 'assassins' were active on their route [8].
1. See Mich. T. Laskaris, Πέτρος Λάντζας, Διοικητὴς τῆς Πάργας (1573) καὶ ὄργανον τῶν Ἱσπανῶν ἐν Ἠπείρῳ (1596-1608), «Ἀϕιέρωμα εἰς τὴν Ἤπειρον εἰς μνήμην Χρίστου Σούλη», 1956, pp. 103-104.
2. Turski Dokumenti za istoriata na Makedonskiot narod, first series (1607-1669), vol. 1 (1607-1623), pp. 17, 33. See also p. 31.
3. See Turski Dokumenti, ibid., 1, pp. 105-107 (Dec. 1622). Šopova, Macedonia, p. 36, where there is the ferman of 1573 concerning the safe dispatch of Christian children to Constantinople. See, too, Pennas, Σερραϊκὰ Χρονικά, p. 54, where it is recorded that in 1622 Baïram Pasha came to Sérres with orders to enrole Janissaries, and took 6 children from the castle of Sérres. In 1636 another 5 children were taken.
4. See Mertzios, Μνημεῖα, pp. 169, 170, 173-174.
5. Turski Dokumenti, ibid., 1, p. 43.
6. Turski Dokumenti, ibid., 1, pp. 97-98.
7. Mertzios, Μνημεῖα, pp. 147-148.
8. Albèri, Relazioni, series III, vol. 1 (1840), pp. 373-374.
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Another Venetian, the ambassador Vincenzo Gradenigo, affords us a typical picture of the hardships to be encountered in those parts. The account of the journey he made in August 1699 runs as follows. Disembarking at Naupactus, he followed the road that went to Lárissa, Platamón and Thessalonica. On the way, quite a few men out of his party succombed to illness [1]. When he reached Platamón, the following incident occurred, as he describes it in a letter to the Doge: "While our baggage was on the shore, ten cut-throats appeared and desired to open the packages so that they could seize whatever took their fancy. There was an outstanding 'kapıtzı' (porter) present who jnformed them that the baggage belonged to the Bailo, who was travelling as the ambassador of Venice to the court of the Great Lord at Constantinople. Thereupon, they asked him where I was, saying amongst themselves, 'These are all sick; it is better that we take them prisoner or kill them one and all', since in this way they were the more likely to gain possession of our belongings. With this purpose in mind they came up the mountain to where we were; but the 'kapıtzı' took a different path and arrived before them to inform us of their intentions. While the sick men were sent down to the shore with 16 carts, I deployed the 20 Greeks who composed our escort, and we others gathered together to await the outcome. Meanwhile, the bey had arrived with the cut-throats and one janissary; one of them, on horseback, began to attack us with a lance. Just at that moment the cadi arrived on the scene (he had been summoned by the 'kapıtzı') alongwith 50 Greeks. He wanted to enter the caravanserai where the cut-throats were, but they prevented him doing so, stationing themselves in front of the doorway and wielding scyth-shaped blades [yataghans]. There-upon, the cadi ordered the Greeks to attack them and take them dead or alive; and verily, this they did with stones and staffs, even though the cut-throats were armed. The Greeks performed their duty valiantly; they wounded ten of them and on the cadi's orders caught them and tied up two of them and the janissary likewise. But they did not touch the bey. The trial took place forthwith, and of the three men the first was sent to the tower, where he was to be hanged the following morning, the second was sentenced to 200 blows on the soles of his feet and he was beaten in my presence, while the third one, as he was a janissary, was sent hence to Thessalonica to await orders from Constantinople (for since he was a janissary, he could not be tried by anyone but the Ağa of the Janissaries). However, the cadi wrote a bitter denunciation of him to the Sublime Porte, in which he called him a wandering cut-throat... All this transpired in the space of three hours. None of the Greeks or the Turks suffered anything, except the 'kapıtzı', who was wounded in the head by a stone, and another Turk... Such then was the danger from which we were delivered by the help of God..." [2]. The combativeness of the Greeks, illustrated in this incident by the 20 men of Gradenigo's escort and by the locals whom the kadi of the district brought with him, is surely characteristic of the race.
Some interesting information about the district of Sérres from 1598 to 1642 can be gleaned from the accounts which Synadinos, a priest
1. Zerlentis, Σημειώματα περὶ Ἑλλήνων, p. 13. See also Sp. Lampros, Ἐνθυμήσεων ἤτοι χρονικῶν σημειωμάτων συλλογὴ πρώτη, ΝΕ 7 (1910) 181.
2. Mertzios, Μνημεῖα, pp. 163-164. See also the text of the letter in H. Brown, Il viaggio di Vincenzo Gradenigo, bailo da Venezia a Costantinopoli 1599, p. 53.
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from Sérres, patiently composed. In his chronicle he speaks of the extortions practiced by the Turks upon the Christians, which resulted in their being plundered almost out of existence or else being driven to accepting the Moslem faith. Thus we find ordinary people giving up the struggle and succumbing (as, for instance, the sexton Amarianos Temeroutoglou, who changed his faith aftera savage beating [1]) or else demonstrating a heroism such as leaves an indelible impression upon the reader. Α number of them make the supreme sacrifice and are looked upon as martyrs by their compatriots. Examples he quotes include the sexton Manoles Bostantzoglu [2], and Patroulas, of whose sacrifice Synadinos gives us a simple and moving description: "...and they had bound his hands; and he said 'do not bind me: I shall go into the flames of my own accord', and so saying he leapt voluntarily into the fire. All the Turks were standing around, and they piled on abundant wood and dried vines, until he was burnt up entirely and not a single bone was left of him. And after this there came a great whirlwind that scattered all the ashes and nothing remained. Thus he endured valiantly to the end as a pious Christian. He received the martyr's crown, and his soul joins those of the saints. May his memory endure for ever!" [3].
There are times, however, when even priests voluntarily embraced Islam [4], unable to bear the incessant hardships that exhausted their endurance. There occurred by no means infrequently cases of false accusations («avaníes») and the condemnation of Christians through the action of false withnesses [5].
On the other hand, for some Greeks the desire for retribution was so overpowering that they would resort to exercising secret vengeange upon their oppressors; though by killing Turks they could only invite terrible reprisals [6].
4. These conditions of smouldering revolution obviously suited men of a more adventurous temperament. Amongst such characters the so-called Sultan Jahja—professedly abrother of Ahmed I (1603-1617) — must hold special place. Α Franciscan monk, Raphael Levaković [7], has
1. Pennas, Σερραϊκὰ Χρονικά, σ. 31.
2. Pennas, ibid., p. 28.
3. Ibid., p. 27. 4. Ibid., p. 36. 5. Ibid., p. 37. 6. Ibid., pp. 28-29.
7. St. Antoljak, 'Sultan Jahja' u Makedoniji, «Godišen Zbornik na Filosofskiot Fakultet na Universitetot vo Scopje» 13 (1960-1961), part 5, p. 132.
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written an account of the 'Sultan's' activities — akind of "Memoirs of Jahja"—which is full of interesting though, for the most part, unlikely details. Levaković, in fact, allows his imagination too much rein in his treatment of Jahja; he lacks sound historical judgement and is prone to rash generalisations [1]; and altogether his work is sadly lacking in concrete facts. In using this account as historical material, one must try to discern just how faithfully Jahja's various statements have been transcribed by this fanatical Catholic monk; for it seems quite clear that out of his passionate devotion to the Slav cause, the Croat has, in many instances, distorted his hero's words. It must be borne in mind, moreover, that Levaković was the leader of a group of Croats who worked with tremendous zeal, in collaboration with the 'de Propaganda Fide' movement, to spread Roman Catholicism throughout the Slav countries. These men had the most unshakeable faith in a great mission to be carried out in the world by the Slavs. They were the advisers to the 'Congregatio' on all matters relating to the Slav liturgy and the history of the Orthodox Church in the Slav lands. We must remember, too, that in 1640 a daring, enterprising and fanatical Catholic came into contact with this group in Rome — no other than Jurij Krizanić, the celebrated founder of the Pan-Slav movement, and a hater of all things Greek [2].
In view of this, one must not be surprised if one finds the pages of Levaković (who, incidentally, was designated Catholic Archbishop of Ohrid in 1640, with a view to winning over those Bulgarians who inclined to Catholicism [3]) full of favourable reports on the Slavs on the Balkan countries and unfavourable criticism of the Greeks, particularly of their clergy.
Some credence (though here once again one should adopt an attitude of extreme reserve) may be given to certain passages in Levaković's account which deal with the relations between Jahja and the monk Bessarion and the famous Greek klepht Vergos, who came from a village in the Grevená district. The klepht's father was a Greek peasant and his mother an Albanian. During the 36 years that he was a klepht, Vergos waged inexorable war against the Turks: according to Jahja's exagger-
1. See for example Antoljak, 'Sultan Jahja', pp. 157-158.
2. Ed. Winter, Russland und das Papstum, Berlin 1960-1961, vol. 1, pp. 337-338 ff. See also the special study of V. Valdenberg, Križanić's acquaintance with the Greeks (in Russian), «Byz. - Sl.» 7 (1937-1938) 1-24, particularly pp. 11-12, where Krizanić's antipathy to the Greek clergy becomes quite evident.
3. Winter, ibid., 1, p. 338.
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ated account, he had slain 2.000 Turkish sipahis, janissaries, etc. On a number of occasions he had plundered Turkish caravans and seized great quantities of cloth and other merchandise [1] — episodes which no doubt caused the Turkish authorities considerable perturbation, but about which we have no corroborating information from other sources. Vergos used to share out his booty among the poor and the monasteries of the Holy Mountain. According to Levaković, Vergos was also in contact with the other klephts of the Balkan lands further north, often employing that ancient method of communication, signal fires [2]. In the final years of his life, Vergos, now a man of 72 met Jahja and confided to him many thoughts and observations, the fruit of his experience acquired throughout a long and turbulent life. He communicated to him, for instance, how to wage war successfully against the Turks, among which passes and defiles it was best to operate, and suchlike.
In 1639-1640 Jahja sent a memorandum to the Pope, in which he expounded a plan for a general uprising of the Greeks, Bulgars, Serbs and Albanians [3], but nothing came of it.
Jahja's endless comings and goings all over the Balkans and throughout the Western European countries, too, are very impressive [4]; although, to be sure, the accounts of many of these peregrinations do not always correspond with actual events: quite a number are obviously figments of his imagination. Indeed, just which of the above-mentioned details are true and which are not, constitutes an important question. At all events, the accounts of his descent on the northern Balkan countries and his raids on such Macedonian towns and cities as Xánthi, Komotiní, Philippi, Dráma, Kavála, Amphipolis, Zíchna, Sérres, Rendína, Galátista, Sochós, Lefkochóri (Klepe), Nigríta etc. [5] are without doubt the figments of a wonderful story-teller's imagination. We possess not the smallest allusion from any other sources, which might serve to corroborate and thus to confirm the information which Jahja has given. His account of the religious situation in Albania, Bulgaria and Greece is of some interest,
1. Antoljak, 'Sultan Jahja', p. 132.
2. Ibid., p. 121. 3. Ibid., pp. 144-145.
4. Some details about his movements can be found in St. Papadopoulos, Ἡ κίνηση τοῦ Δούκα τοῦ Νεβὲρ Καρόλον Γονζάγα γιὰ τὴν ἀπελενθέρωση τῶν βαλκανικῶν λαῶν (1603-1625), Thessalonica 1966, ρρν 242-245. Α summary of Jahja's escapades may be found on pp. 220-230.
5. Antoljak, ibid., pp. 153-154.
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though equally vague and unsupported. He says, for example, that many villages, particularly in Albania, were without priests, and that a Catholic priest hardly ever visited them. He also maintains that many Catholics went over to Islam. This all seems true enough, although we cannot believe him when he says that the situation in many of the Macedonian towns and villages was tragic, and that a large number of them (such as Xánthi, Komotiní, Philippi, Dráma, Kavála, Sérres, Rendína, Galátista, etc. [1]) were without priests. The inhabitants of these districts and of others further north, he says, were unbaptized except for a few of the old folk, and sometimes a number of them would go all the way to Sofia or Novo Brdo for a service or confession [2].
The following random example may serve as an indication of the untrustworthiness of Levaković's work and of the care we must take in using it as a source. Among the towns and cities of the southern parts of Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace mentioned as lacking priest, Levaković cites Sérres and Philippi. Yet, as we know from the contemporary and reliable chronicle of the priest Synadinos, Sérres had a good number of priests and a metropolitan as well. Moreover, the villages around Sérres also had energetic Greek Orthodox priests [3]. As for Philippi and its environs, Crusius reports at the close of the 16th century that a certain Gabriel Kallonas from Corinth was priest there [4].
The archbishops and metropolitans of Ohrid were hard at work making great efforts to strengthen the Church economically and to free their people from bondage. To this end, some made visits to the Orthodox states of Europe (Russia, Moldavia and Wallachia) to seek charity, while others went to the Western countries and established relations with the Pope [5]. In a letter to the Archbishop of Ohrid, dated 28 September 1624, Urban VIII expresses his pleasure that the Patriarch of Ohrid recognises him as heir of the apostle Peter and vicar of Christ. He assures the archbishop that if he accedes to Papal authority "with a sincere heart and true belief", then God will free his country from the yoke [6].
1. Antoljak, 'Sultan Jahja', pp. 156-157.
2. Ibid., p. 157.
3. See Pennas, Σερραϊκὰ Χρονικά, part 1 (1938) passim.
4. Zerlentis, Σημειώματα περὶ Ἑλλήνων, pp. 9-10.
5. Snegarov, History of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, pp. 90, 94.
6. Snegarov, ibid., p. 96.
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But on the whole Catholic propaganda failed to take root in Ohrid. The town's higher clergy never in fact subjected themselves to the Pope and their flock remained faithful to Orthodoxy [1].
5. As regards the political situation in Macedonia, some concrete evidence emerges from the accounts of travellers and from contemporary documents that have survived. From these we can piece together a true picture of the resistance offered by the inhabitants and of the anarchy which reigned throughout the region during this period. To quote a typical example of the kind of evidence to be found in travellers' accounts, Deschayes wrote in 1621 that if one undertook a journey from the coast of Epirus (i.e. opposite Corcyra) to Thessalonica, crossing Western Greece, strewn as it was with mountains and bristling with klephts, one could be certain of running a very real danger of falling into brigand hands [2].
Forays accompanied by slaughter, burnings and ferocious outrages were common from the Danube as far as the Peloponnese around the first half of the 17th century [3]. If we have no information pertaining to the districts of Sérres, Dráma, Kaväla, Bansko and Kostivarsko [4] — a fact that surprises Matkovski —, it is because all these regions were thickly populated by Turks (the warlike Yürüks, what is more) so that the klephts found difficulty in operating in those parts. The Turkish documents of that period afford us a great deal of interesting information about contemporary Macedonia, and about the Western portion in particular.
The region stretching from Veles to Grevená (especially the Greek districts of Olympus, Piéria and Vérmion) lent themselves to klephtic activity. The material provided by the Turkish archives of the Islamic court of Véroia is relatively abundant on this subject, though the picture painted therein of the klephts and their exploits ought not to be taken without a good many reservations, since these documents were composed from the point of view of the tyrannical Turkish authorities,
1. Snegarov, History of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, p. 103.
2. L. Deshayes, Voiage de Levant, fait par le commandement du roy, en l'année 1621; etc. Pari