1
1.1
History
The golden larnax and the golden grave crown of Phillip II,
Vergina.
Prehistory
For more details on this topic, see Macedonia (region), began with the Makednoi tribe, among the rst to use
'History'.
the name, migrating to the region from Histiaeotis in the
1
HISTORY
1.4
Medieval history
3
the 6-7th centuries devastated both provinces [17] with
only parts of Macedonia Prima in the coastal areas and
nearer Thrace remaining in Byzantine hands, while most
of the hinterland was disputed between the Byzantium
and Bulgaria. The Macedonian regions under Byzantine
control passed under the tourma of Macedonia to the
province of Thrace.
A new system of administration came into place in 789802 AD, following the Byzantine empires recovery from
these invasions. The new system was based on administrative divisions called Themata. The region of Macedonia Prima (the territory of modern Greek administrative
district of Macedonia) was divided between the Thema
of Thessalonica and the Thema of Strymon, so that only
the region of the area from Nestos eastwards continued
to carry the name Macedonia, referred to as the Thema
of Macedonia or the Thema of Macedonia in Thrace.
The Thema of Macedonia in Thrace had its capital in
Adrianople.[18][19][20]
brothers from Thessaloniki, Saints Cyril and Methodius, to be chosen to convert the Slavs to Christianity.
Following the campaigns of Basil II, all of Macedonia
The medieval Castle of Platamon, Pieria.
returned to the Byzantine state. Following the Fourth
The Slavic, Avar, Bulgarian and Magyar invasions in Crusade 12031204, a short-lived Crusader realm, the
HISTORY
Main articles: Greek War of Independence, Greek Struggle for Macedonia and Macedonian Question
Greece gained the southern parts of region with Thessaloniki from the Ottoman Empire after the First Balkan
War, and expanded its share in the Second Balkan War
against Bulgaria. The boundaries of Greek Macedonia
were nalized in the Treaty of Bucharest. In World War I,
Macedonia became a battleeld. The Greek Prime Minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, favoured entering the war on
the side of the Entente, while the Germanophile King
Constantine I favoured neutrality. Invited by Venizelos,
in autumn 1915, the Allies landed forces in Thessaloniki
to aid Serbia in its war against Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, but their intervention came too late to prevent the
Serbian collapse. The Macedonian Front was established,
with Thessaloniki at its heart, while in summer 1916 the
Bulgarians took over Greek eastern Macedonia without
5
ing tall, slim. It was traditionally derived from the
Indo-European root *mak-, meaning 'long' or 'slender',
but according to modern research by Robert Beekes both
terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be
explained in terms of Indo-European morphology.[31]
3 Local government
opposition. This provoked a military uprising among proVenizelist ocers in Thessaloniki, resulting in the establishment of a "Provisional Government of National Defence" in the city, headed by Venizelos, which entered the
war alongside the Allies. After intense diplomatic negotiations and an armed confrontation in Athens between
Entente and royalist forces the King abdicated, and his
second son Alexander took his place. Venizelos returned
to Athens in June 1917 and Greece, now unied, ocially
joined the war on the side of the Allies.
Macedonia is divided into three regions (Greek: ) comprising fourteen regional units (Greek: ). The regional units are further
divided into municipalities (Greek: ) or communities (Greek: roughly equivalent to British
or Australian shires). They are overseen by the Ministry
for the Interior, while the Ministry of Macedonia and
Thrace is responsible for the coordination and application of the governments policies in the region.[32] Prior
to the Kallikratis Reform in 2010, Greeces regional units
were called prefectures, and Thasos was part of the prefecture of Kavala.
Macedonia borders the neighboring regions of Thessaly
to the south, Thrace (part of the East Macedonia and
Thrace region) to the east and Epirus to the west. It also
borders Albania to the north-west, the Republic of Macedonia to the north and Bulgaria to the north-east. The
three Macedonian regions and their subdivisions are:
Etymology
6 DEMOGRAPHICS
5 Culture
Main article: Culture of Greece
See also: List of Greeks and List of Macedonians (Greek)
The arrival of Greek refugees from Asia Minor and Constantinople in the 20th century popularised Ottoman and
Constantinopolitan recipes.
A continuation from ancient days is dishes such as lamb
cooked with quince or various vegetables and fruits, goat
boiled or fried in olive oil: modern recipes from Kavala
to Kastoria and Kozani oer lamb with quince, pork with
celery or leeks.
Some current specialties are trahana with crackling,
phyllo-based pies (cheese, leek, spinach) and wild boar.
Favourites are tyrokafteri (Macedonian spicy cheese
spread), soupies krasates (cuttlesh in wine), mydia yiachni (mussel stew). Unlike Athens, the traditional pita
bread for the popular souvlaki (kebab) is not grilled but
fried. The variety of sweets has been particularly enriched with the arrival of the refugees. (Information included from 'Greek Gastronomy', GNTO, 2004)
6 Demographics
See also: Demographic history of Macedonia
The inhabitants of Greek Macedonia are overwhelmingly ethnic Greeks and most are Greek Orthodox
Christians. In East Macedonia and Thrace there is also
a sizable Muslim minority consisting mainly of Pomaks
and Western Thrace Turks, although almost all Greek
Naousa, Imathia.
Panorama of Serres.
Kastoria.
Panoramic view of Kavala.
Panorama of Veria.
8
sanne in the aftermath of the Greco-Turkish War (1919
1922), and in total 776,000 Greek refugees from Turkey
(674,000), Bulgaria (33,000), Russia (61,000), Serbia
(5,000), Albania (3,000) were resettled in the region.[38]
They replaced between 300,000 and 400,000 Macedonian Turks and other Muslims (of Albanian, Roma,
Slavic and Vlach ethnicity) who were sent to Turkey under similar terms.[39]
6 DEMOGRAPHICS
Greek is by far the most widely spoken and the only ocial language of public life and education in Macedonia.
The local Macedonian dialect is spoken alongside dialects
from other parts of Greece and Pontic Greek still spoken
by some Greeks of Pontic descent. Macedonian Slavic dialects are the most widely spoken minority language while
Aromanian, Arvanitic, Megleno-Romanian, Turkish and
Macedonian cities during Ottoman rule were often known
Romani are also spoken. Ladino is still spoken by some
by multiple names (Greek, Slavic or Ottoman Turkish by
Jews in Thessaloniki.
the respective populations). After the partition of Ottoman Europe, most cities in Greece either became of- The Macedonian dialect of Greek is based on variations
cially known by their Greek names or adopted Greek of vocabulary and pronunciation.
names; likewise most cities in Bulgaria and the Kingdom
of Yugoslavia became ocially known or adopted names
in the languages of their respective states. After the pop- 6.2 Population of largest towns
ulation exchanges, many locations were renamed to the
6.3 Regional identity
languages of their new occupants.
After the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine ten thousands of Main article: Macedonians (Greeks)
Bulgarians left and after the Population exchange be- Macedonians (Greek: , Makednes) is the
tween Greece and Turkey almost all Muslims left the region, while hundreds of thousands of Greek refugees settled in the region thus changing the demography of the
province.
The 1928 Greek Census collected data on the religion as
well as on the language.[40]
The population was badly aected by the Second World
War through starvation, executions, massacres and deportations. Central Macedonia, including Thessaloniki, was
occupied by the Germans, and in the east Nazi-aligned
Bulgarian occupation forces persecuted the local Greek
population and settled Bulgarian colonists in their occupation zone in eastern Macedonia and western Thrace,
deporting all Jews from the region. Total civilian deaths
in Macedonia are estimated at over 400,000, including
up to 55,000 Greek Jews. Further heavy ghting aected
the region during the Greek Civil War which drove many
inhabitants of rural Macedonia to emigrate to the towns
and cities, or abroad, during the late 1940s and 1950s.
term by which ethnic Greeks originating from the region are known. Macedonians came to be of particular importance during the Balkan Wars when they were
a minority population inside the Ottoman province of
Macedonia. The Macedonians now have a strong regional identity, manifested both in Greece[41] and by
emigrant groups in the Greek diaspora.[42] This sense
of identity has been highlighted in the context of the
Macedonian naming dispute after the break-up of Yugoslavia, in which Greece objects to its northern neighbour calling itself the "Republic of Macedonia", since
6.4
Minority populations
Distribution of the Slavic Macedonian language in Florina Prefecture and Aridaia regions (1993).
6.4
Minority populations
Slavic-speakers
10
6.4.5
6 DEMOGRAPHICS
The Jews of Thessaloniki
Sabbatai Zevi
land Europe, and was mostly Sephardic. Thessaloniki became the largest center of the Sephardic Jews, who nicknamed the city la madre de Israel (Israels mother)[46] and
Jerusalem of the Balkans.[47] It also included the histor- Jewish workers of the Socialist Workers Federation march
(1908-1909).
ically signicant and ancient Greek-speaking Romaniote
community. During the Ottoman era, Thessalonikis
Sephardic community comprised more than half the
citys population; the Jews were dominant in commerce
until the ethnic Greek population increased after independence in 1912. By the 1680s, about 300 families
of Sephardic Jews, followers of Sabbatai Zevi, had converted to Islam, becoming a sect known as the Dnmeh
(convert), and migrated to Salonika, whose population
was majority Jewish. They established an active community that thrived for about 250 years. Many of their
descendants later became prominent in trade.[48] Many
Jewish inhabitants of Thessaloniki spoke Ladino, the
Romance language of the Sephardic Jews.[49]
The Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917 burned much of the
center of the city and left 50,000 Jews homeless of the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki.
total of 72,000 residents who were burned out.[50] Having
lost homes and their businesses, many Jews emigrated: to
the United States, Palestine, and Paris. They could not
7.1
Portals
11
wait for the government to create a new urban plan for 7.1
rebuilding, which was eventually done.[51]
Portals
6.4.6
Others
See also
Macedonians (Greeks)
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia (terminology)
List of Macedonians (Greek)
Modern regions of Greece
0-472-08260-4.
Renfrew, Colin; Gimbutas, Marija; Elster, Ernestine
S., ed. (1986). Excavations at Sitagroi: a Prehistoric
Village in Northeast Greece. Monumenta Archaeologica 13 2. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. ISBN
0-917956-51-6.
Renfrew, Colin. The Autonomy of the South-east
European Copper Age. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 35: 1247. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
Rodden, R.J.; Wardle, K.A., ed. (1996). Nea
Nikomedeia: the Excavation of an Early Neolithic
Village in Northern Greece 1961-1963. Supplementary series 25 1. Athens: British School of Athens.
Samsaris, Dimitrios C. Historical Geography of
Eastern Macedonia during the Antiquity (in Greek),
Thessaloniki 1976 and Historical Geography of
Western Macedonia (in Greek), Thessaloniki 1989
(publisher=Society for Macedonian Studies)
Souvatzi, Stella G. (2008). A Social Archaeology of
Households in Neolithic Greece : an Anthropological
Approach. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780-521-83689-0.
Treadgold, Warren (1995). The Roman Armys
Second Millenium. Byzantium and Its Army, 284
1081. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-80473163-2. [sic]
Vacalopoulos, Apostolos E. (1973). History of
Macedonia, 13541833 (translated by P. Megann).
Zeno Publishers. ISBN 0-900834-89-7.
Wardle, K.A. (1997). The Prehistory of Northern
Greece: a Geographical Perspective. Aeroma to
12
8
N.G.L. Hammond. Society of Macedonian Studies.
ISBN 9-607-26536-X.
8.2
Notes
[1] Macedonia.
Encyclopaedia
Britannica.
www.britannica.com. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
[2] .. 51/87 "
...
" (Determination of the Regions of the Country
for the planning etc. of the development of the regions).
Government Gazette. 1987.
[3] Announcement of the results of the 2011 Population
Census for the Resident Population (PDF). Hellenic Statistical Authority. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
[4] Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices
at NUTS level 3. Eurostat. Retrieved 12 September
2014.
[5] According to the United States Internal Revenue Service,
the average exchange rate of the United States Dollar to
the Euro in 2011 was 0.748.
[6] World Intellectual Property Organization: 1st variety, 2nd
variety, 3rd variety
[7] Grigoriou, Alexandros Ch.; Chekimoglou, Evangelos A. (2008).
1430-1930[The Thessaloniki of Explorers 1430-1930]
(in Greek). Thessaloniki:
. p. 43. ISBN 960-7265-91-2. Retrieved 2
August 2011. From Robert de Dreuxs personal journals,
1669: Leaving a village named Baicui, we reached Thessaloniki, which is one of the most splendid cities of Macedonia and the whole of Greece.
[8] The whole of Greece is divided into four great pashaliks; Tripolizza, Egripo or Neropont, Yanina, and Salonica. The pashalik of [] Salonica [comprises], the
southern divisions of Macedonia. The north of Macedonia is governed by beys; Quoted from: Thomas Thornton, The Present State of Turkey, London 1807, Vol. 2,
p. 10, http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/
thornton/t2c5.shtml
[9] http://depts.washington.edu/cartah/text_archive/
thornton/page_images/t2c5_p010.jpg
[10] The most fertile districts of Greece are Macedonia, Thessaly, and the eastern parts of Phocis and Boeotia. Quoted
from: Conder, Josiah: The Modern Traveller, Volume the
Fifteenth: Greece. London : J.Duncan, 1830, Vol. 1, p.
12. Archive.org
[11] There is some diculty in prescribing the exact boundaries of the country properly called Greece. Formerly
it included Macedonia, Peloponnesus, the Ionian Islands,
Crete and a part of what is now called Albania. [...]
The present divisions of Greece, adopted by the [1829]
provisional government, are the following: Eastern Hellas, Western Hellas, Morea, Epirus, Thessaly, Macedonia,
Crete, and the Islands. [] What proportion of Macedonia is considered as coming within the boundaries of
REFERENCES
13
[46] http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/greece/
nonflash/eng/salonika.htm
[33] National Statistical Service of Greece. NSSG. statistics.gr. 2001. Retrieved 2007-12-26. 2001 census
(PDF).
[34] Greek laws provide for a penalty of incarceration up to
twelve months for women that violate this rule. For criticisms of this provision, see European Parliament Adopts
Report on Fundamental Rights in the EU Mt Athos Status. Embassy of Greece in the US. 5 September 2003.
Retrieved 2009-05-08.
[35] Council of Europe, Structure and Operation of Local and
Regional Democracy, 8. See also the article 105 of the
Constitution of Greece and the Common Declaration on
Mount Athos attached to the Treaty of Entry of Greece to
the EEC (1 January 1981).
[36] http://www.egnatia.gr/files/images/Project_Status_
ENG.jpg
[53] http://www.nchr.gr/category.php?category_id=99
9 External links
[44] Greece Report about Compliance with the Principles of the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities (along guidelines for state reports according to Article 25.1 of the Convention)".
Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) & Minority Rights Group
Greece (MRG-G). 1999-09-18. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
[45] Euromosaic (1996): L'arvanite / albanais en Grce. Report published by the Institut de Sociolingstica Catalana.
14
9.1
Ocial links
EXTERNAL LINKS
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