Apostol Mărgărit or Apostolos Margaritis (5 August 1832 in

Avdella Avdella ( el, Αβδέλλα; rup, Avdhela) is a village and a former municipality in Grevena regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been a municipal unit of Grevena. It is a seasonal Aromanian vi ...

– 19 October 1903 in

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

) was an Aromanian school teacher and writer. One of the most important voices of Aromanian emancipation in the 19th century, he conditioned

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

's policy toward the Aromanians, who started to have their own schools in their own language, thanks to Mărgărit's efforts.

Life

Mărgărit was born in Macedonia, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In 1862, Mărgărit became a school teacher in Vlaho-Clisura, near

Grevena Grevena ( el, Γρεβενά, ''Grevená'', , rup, Grebini) is a town and municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 13,374 citizens (2011). It lies about from Athe ...

and taught the children in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, but also in Aromanian. In 1864, in Trnovo, the first Aromanian school in Macedonia opened its doors for its children. The school was financed by

and was supervised by Apostol Mărgărit. It was founded by

Dimitri Atanasescu Dimitri Atanasescu Hagi Sterjio ( ro, Dimitrie Atanasescu Hagi Steriu; 16 May 1836 – 1907) was an Aromanian tailor and later teacher known for having been the teacher of the first Romanian school in the Balkans for the Aromanians, located at ...

, who was the teacher of the school and a native of the village. Due to his activity, he was accused of treason by the Greeks, of being either an Austrian or a Catholic agent. There were several assassination attempts on him: he was stabbed with a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

, thrown twice in the

Vardar River The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...

and shot while in the

Ohrid Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...

Mountains. He was eventually sent to prison, but managed to escape and settled in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, where he obtained support from the Romanian monarch. After the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878 and the independence of

, the Ottoman government accepted him as school inspector of the Romanian schools on Turkish territory. Under this position, Mărgărit founded many of the Romanian schools of Macedonia and Albania sometimes along with French priest

Jean-Claude Faveyrial Jean-Claude Faveyrial (1817–1893) was a French Congregation of the Mission, Lazarite Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest and author of the first written History of Albania. The book is published in Albania and stands as a serious endeav ...

. Mărgărit managed to become one of the most important voice of Aromanian emancipation in the Balkans, as he conditioned Bucharest attitude vis-a-vis the Aromanians. For his merits he was made a member of the Romanian Academy on 3 April 1889, and had a national funeral in 1903.

Works

Apart from a number of petitions addressed to the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

on behalf of the Aromanian people, he also wrote: *''Réfutation d'une brochure grecque par un Valaque épirote'' ("Refutation of a Greek brochure by an

Epirote Epirus (; el, Ήπειρος, translit=Ípiros, ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region in northwestern Greece.Π.Δ. 51/87 “Καθορισμός των � ...

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Eastern ...

", 1878) *''Etudes historiques sur les Valaques du Pinde'' ("Historical studies of the Vlachs of Pindus", 1881) *''Les Grecs, les Valaques, les Albanais et l'Empire turc'' par un Valaque du Pinde ("'The Greeks, Vlachs, and Albanians of the Turkish Empire' by a Vlach from Pindus" 1886) *''La politique grecque en Turquie'' ("Greek policy in Turkey", 1890) *''Raport despre persecuţiile şcoalelor române în Macedonia din partea Grecilor'' ("Report on the persecution of Romanian scholars in Macedonia on the part of Greeks", 1875) *''Memoriu privitor la şcoalele de peste Balcani'' ("Memoirs of the overseer of schools beyond the Balkans", 1887)

References

Sources

*Dimitrie R Rosetti (1897) ''Dicţionarul contimporanilor'', Editura Lito-Tipografiei "Populara" *Curierul Naţional
"Omagiu academic pentru Apostol Margarit (1832-1903)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margarit, Apostol 1832 births 1903 deaths Aromanian writers Aromanian schoolteachers Schoolteachers from the Ottoman Empire Aromanian politicians Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy People from Avdella Aromanians from the Ottoman Empire Romanian people of Aromanian descent