Apostol Petkov Terziev (
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
/ mk, Апостол Петков Терзиев) (May 6, 1869 – August 2, 1911) was a
Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary and one of the leaders of the national liberation movement in Ottoman Macedonia. He was a leading ''
Komitadji
Komitadji, Comitadjis, or Komitas ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and sr, Комити, Serbian Latin: ''Komiti'', ro, Comitagiu, gr, Κομιτατζής, plural: Κομιτατζήδες, tr, Komitacı, sq, Komit) means in Turkish "committee mem ...
'' in the armed units of the
Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees and later participated in the
. He took part in the battles against the
Ottoman authorities in the
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising and
Macedonian Struggle
The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...
.
Historians from North Macedonia consider him an
ethnic Macedonian historical figure.
Petkov was often referred to by his admirers as ''the Sun of
Yenice-i Vardar''.
Early life
Apostol Petkov was born Apostol Terziev, a member of the old Terviev family, in the town of
Boymitsa. Apostol was illiterate but found a job working as a cantonment officer on the Thessaloniki-Skopje railway line, where he remained until 1892 when he decided to become a rebel. He had two brothers (Mito and Tano) and a cousin (Andon) who would also join the rebels, which led to their deaths. He was also the first cousin of
Gonos Yiotas (Gono Yotov), a
Slavophone Greek, who after initially siding with IMRO, defected to the
Greek side.
Apostol Petkov would join the
IMRO
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
in 1897.
Ilinden Uprising
By the time of the
Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising
The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising, or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August–October 1903 ( bg, Илинденско-Преображенско въстание, Ilindensko-Preobrazhensko vastanie; mk, Илинденско востание, ...
in 1903, Apostol Petkov had become
Voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...
, of an armed group around the town of
Giannitsa
Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece.
The municipal unit Gian ...
, where he took an active part in the rebellion. Under his leadership, a bridge over the
Vardar
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 ...
was blown up and the telegraph cables of the village of Gourbos (now
Argosykia) were cut. With a force of 250, Voivoda Apostol launched an attack on the local Ottoman garrison, however, the Ottomans were prepared. the Ottomans soldiers gathered in
Goumenissa
Goumenissa ( el, Γουμένισσα ) is a small traditional town in the Kilkis regional unit, Central Macedonia, Greece. It was the capital of the former Paionia Province. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality ...
and the Komitadjis took the high ground on the hills above. A bomb attack was planned and unsuccessfully carried out with only one of the bombs exploding. Apostol withdrew his rebels to
Mount Paiko
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
. He then divided his force into smaller groups to attack an Ottoman contingent of 110 soldiers resulting in one death on each side. A month later, Apostol engaged an Ottoman force of 1100 on Mount Paiko with just 103 men to his disposal. The following day, he and six other Komitadjis engaged 80 Ottoman soldiers killing four and losing two. A month later they would inflict significant casualties on a mixed infantry and cavalry unit from Giannitsa.
The uprising was ultimately put down and Apostol Petkov fled to Bulgaria.
Macedonian Struggle
Apostol Petkov returned to
Ottoman Macedonia in 1904 to resume the struggle. He was contacted by the Greek Consul of Thessaloniki,
Lambros Koromilas to ask him to join the Greek struggle in the region but an agreement was not reached. Greek revolutionary
Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian
Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαζαράκης-Αινιάν, 1874–1943) was a Hellenic Army officer who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He served thrice as Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, occupied va ...
had claimed that no agreement was reached was because he had economic interests in Bulgaria, however, this was not proven. The Greeks and Bulgarians were both trying to fortify their positions in the area in anticipation of the impending end of the Ottoman rule. Voivoda Apotsol took it upon himself to raise the morale of those aligned with the
Bulgarian Exarchate, which had fallen after the
Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/Macedonian Cyrillic: Илинден) or Ilindan (Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning "Saint Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías'' ...
. He had erected a gallows in
Giannitsa
Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece.
The municipal unit Gian ...
as a fear tactic towards the Greeks and others who supported the Greek struggle. In August 1904, Apostol would seek revenge for death of fellow Komitadji Tsiopkas and his band who had been killed by the Ottomans following notification from the Greek Consulate of Thessaloniki. His revenge took the form of the killing of a distinguished Greek and his family of the village of Gradelfos. In early March 1905, the band of Apostol Petkov and another of
Sava Mihaylov numbering 42 Komitadjis in total, were surrounded at the village of Gevgelija Smoli (
Mikro Thasos) by the Ottoman army and
Bashi-bazouk
A bashi-bazouk ( ota, باشی بوزوق , , , roughly "leaderless" or "disorderly") was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army, raised in times of war. The army chiefly recruited Albanians and Circassians as bashi-bazouks, but recruits ...
s. A 4-5 hour clash ensued resulting in the almost extermination of the Komitadjis with 36 killed. Voivoda Apostol was wounded in the heel but escaped with 5 others. He was able quickly organize a band and in the same year, had great successes against the Ottoman army and the Greek Makedonomachoi. By the end of 1905, Apostol was involved in many attempted to forcefully convert the allegiances of villages from the Patriarchate to the Exarchate with demands that local Greeks declare themselves Bulgarian or face his consequences. From 1906 - 1908, Voivoda Apostol and his Komitadjis would come to blows with the band of Kapetan
Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian (Akritas) and other Greek chieftains in various battles.
After the Young Turks Revolution
Apostol Petkov was pardoned following the
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Consti ...
, However, he was disappointed in the new policy that was put in place and went to Bulgaria in 1910. In that same year, Petkov became one of the organizers of the
and re-enter to Ottoman Macedonia with a new armed band. This would restart the military struggle against the Ottomans and Greek interests in
Macedonia.
Death
On 2 August 1911, Apostol Petkov was killed, under unclear circumstances. One version claims he was poisoned by Theodoros Tsiftes, a former member of his band who had defected to the Greek side. The second and more probable version claims that he was killed in battle against
Turkish gendarmes.
[Мария Атанасова. Ениджевардарското слънце Апостол Петков. В: „Български войводи“, София, 1985, стр. 191.]
Other Images
File:Apostol-card.jpg, Bulgarian postcard with picture from Petkov signed and stamped. Sent from him to his fellow Tane Nikolov
Tane Nikolov ( bg, Тане Николов) (9 March 1873 – 19 January 1947) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia, Thrace and Pomoravlje. He was among the leading members of the Secret Macedonia ...
c. 1910
File:Apostol Petkov cheta.jpg, Apostol Petkov (far left) and his band.
File:Apostol Petkov.jpg, Apostol Petkov (centre) and other Komitadjis c. 1905
File:Apostol Petkov ASonnichsen1906.jpg, Apostol Petkov at Giannitsa Lake
__NOTOC__
Giannitsa Lake ( el, Λίμνη Γιαννιτσών), also known as Loudias Lake ( el, Λίμνη Λουδία) is a former post-glacial lake in Central Macedonia, Greece, south of the town of Giannitsa and north of Gidas (later renam ...
, photographed by Albert Sonnichsen
File:Chifteto.jpg, Theodoros Tsiftes, suspected by some to have poisoned Apostol Petkov.
See also
*
Atanas Gradoborliyata
*
IMORO
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
*
Ilinden uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/Macedonian Cyrillic: Илинден) or Ilindan (Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning "Saint Elijah
Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías'' ...
*
Ohrana
Ohrana ( bg, Охрана, "Protection"; ) were armed collaborationist detachments organized by the former Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) structures, composed of Bulgarians in Nazi-occupied Greek Macedonia during World War I ...
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petkov, Apostol
1869 births
1911 deaths
Bulgarians from Aegean Macedonia
Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire
Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
Bulgarian revolutionaries
Macedonian Bulgarians
People from Axioupoli