On this day, on October 13, 1904, Pavlos Melas, the emblematic Greek revolutionary figure in the Macedonian Struggle, was killed in the mountainous village of Statista, Kastoria, Macedonia, by an Ottoman military unit after his hideout was exposed to the Turks by the Bulgarian revolutionary, Mitre Pangiaru (aka Mitre the Vlach), in a letter he wrote to authorities.
The Macedonian Struggle was a conflict that was prevalent between 1893 and 1908 between Greeks and Bulgarians in Ottoman-held Macedonia. The hostilities calmed down after the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, however, they reignited during the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 which resulted in the liberation of the majority of the Balkans from Ottoman rule.
In the early 1900's the Greeks established the "Hellenic Macedonian Committee", a revolutionary organisation that became active in Ottoman-held Macedonia in 1904. It was established to counter the actions of the Bulgarian "Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation" (IMRO) that had been active in the region since 1893.
Officially, Greece was not in any position in 1904 to openly support the actions of Pavlos Melas and the other revolutionaries (known as "Makedonomachoi" or Macedonian Fighters) of the Hellenic Macedonian Committee, as the country had just come off a major military defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. However, behind the scenes, the Greek government was actively in full support of the Greek actions in Ottoman-held Macedonia, and encouraged the continuation of the struggle.
The activities of the Greek fighters in Ottoman-held Macedonia was the defense of the local Greek population from the atrocities committed by the Bulgarians. To a lesser degree, some Bulgarians who held pro-Greek tendencies were also terrorized by the Bulgarian IMRO. Although Greece remained silent, Ottoman authorities believed that the Greek action in Macedonia was interference by the Greek state in the internal affairs of another state – the Ottoman Empire.
Pavlos Melas was the heroic figure who emerged to lead in the Greek struggle, and his courageous attitude was the talk of Greek media and a society that was still numb by the then fresh military defeat of 1897. Although Melas hailed from an extremely wealthy family, he preferred to set aside his career within the ranks of the military, and instead opted to fight on the ground for his ideals - that being the liberation of Macedonia from the Turks, and to bring an end to Bulgarian dominance in the region.
Melas, fighting under the nom de guerre "Mikis Zezas" to evade authorities, would discretely come and go from Ottoman-held Macedonia multiple times in 1904 for various military and political activities, however, in October of that year, in the mountainous village of Statista, Kastoria, Macedonia, the Bulgarian revolutionary, Mitre Pangiaru (Bulg: Panjurov) (aka Mitre the Vlach), divulged the location of Melas' hideout in a letter he wrote to authorities. An Ottoman military unit surrounded the hideout and after a brief but heroic encounter, Melas was fatally shot.
His last words to his companions before taking his last breath were: "Give my cross to my wife, and give my gun to my son Miki. And tell them, I did my duty."
He became the symbol of the Macedonian Struggle, and his death further emboldened the Greek fighters and the Greek government to continue the fight in Ottoman-held Macedonia. After his death, the Greek government made the liberation of Macedonia the most important national goal.
During the outbreak of the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, activities in Ottoman-held Macedonia calmed down to a large degree. However, years later during the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, the Greek military continued on in the struggle and liberated 95% of the bona-fide ancient Greek region of Macedonia (or over 51% of the much larger geographic region of Macedonia that was promoted by Bulgaria and primarily based on the three Ottoman Vilayets of Selanik, Manastir and Kosovo).
In 1927, the village of Statista where Pavlos Melas died was renamed as 'Melas' in his honor.
Hellenic Canadian Research Institute (Hellenic Institute)
The Macedonian Struggle was a conflict that was prevalent between 1893 and 1908 between Greeks and Bulgarians in Ottoman-held Macedonia. The hostilities calmed down after the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, however, they reignited during the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 which resulted in the liberation of the majority of the Balkans from Ottoman rule.
In the early 1900's the Greeks established the "Hellenic Macedonian Committee", a revolutionary organisation that became active in Ottoman-held Macedonia in 1904. It was established to counter the actions of the Bulgarian "Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation" (IMRO) that had been active in the region since 1893.
Officially, Greece was not in any position in 1904 to openly support the actions of Pavlos Melas and the other revolutionaries (known as "Makedonomachoi" or Macedonian Fighters) of the Hellenic Macedonian Committee, as the country had just come off a major military defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. However, behind the scenes, the Greek government was actively in full support of the Greek actions in Ottoman-held Macedonia, and encouraged the continuation of the struggle.
The activities of the Greek fighters in Ottoman-held Macedonia was the defense of the local Greek population from the atrocities committed by the Bulgarians. To a lesser degree, some Bulgarians who held pro-Greek tendencies were also terrorized by the Bulgarian IMRO. Although Greece remained silent, Ottoman authorities believed that the Greek action in Macedonia was interference by the Greek state in the internal affairs of another state – the Ottoman Empire.
Pavlos Melas was the heroic figure who emerged to lead in the Greek struggle, and his courageous attitude was the talk of Greek media and a society that was still numb by the then fresh military defeat of 1897. Although Melas hailed from an extremely wealthy family, he preferred to set aside his career within the ranks of the military, and instead opted to fight on the ground for his ideals - that being the liberation of Macedonia from the Turks, and to bring an end to Bulgarian dominance in the region.
Melas, fighting under the nom de guerre "Mikis Zezas" to evade authorities, would discretely come and go from Ottoman-held Macedonia multiple times in 1904 for various military and political activities, however, in October of that year, in the mountainous village of Statista, Kastoria, Macedonia, the Bulgarian revolutionary, Mitre Pangiaru (Bulg: Panjurov) (aka Mitre the Vlach), divulged the location of Melas' hideout in a letter he wrote to authorities. An Ottoman military unit surrounded the hideout and after a brief but heroic encounter, Melas was fatally shot.
His last words to his companions before taking his last breath were: "Give my cross to my wife, and give my gun to my son Miki. And tell them, I did my duty."
He became the symbol of the Macedonian Struggle, and his death further emboldened the Greek fighters and the Greek government to continue the fight in Ottoman-held Macedonia. After his death, the Greek government made the liberation of Macedonia the most important national goal.
During the outbreak of the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, activities in Ottoman-held Macedonia calmed down to a large degree. However, years later during the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, the Greek military continued on in the struggle and liberated 95% of the bona-fide ancient Greek region of Macedonia (or over 51% of the much larger geographic region of Macedonia that was promoted by Bulgaria and primarily based on the three Ottoman Vilayets of Selanik, Manastir and Kosovo).
In 1927, the village of Statista where Pavlos Melas died was renamed as 'Melas' in his honor.
Hellenic Canadian Research Institute (Hellenic Institute)
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