Georgi Dimitrov Izmirliev ( bg, Георги Димитров Измирлиев; 21 April 1851 – 28 May 1876), nicknamed Makedoncheto ("The Little Macedonian"), was a Bulgarian revolutionary and public figure. A participant in the anti- Ottoman

April Uprising The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...

of 1876, he was an assistant to

Stefan Stambolov Stefan Nikolov Stambolov ( bg, Стефан Николов Стамболов) (31 January 1854 OS– 19 July 1895 OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revolutionary, and poet who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is consider ...

and a military commander of the

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

revolutionary district.

Biography

Izmirliev was born in the city of Gorna Dzhumaya in the northeast of Ottoman-ruled Macedonia (today

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

). His father, Dimitar Izmirliev, was a small-time merchant. His mother, Tonka Izmirlieva, descended from a

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

family from

Berovo Berovo ( mk, Берово, ) is a small town near the Maleševo Mountains, from Skopje, from Strumica and from Kočani, in North Macedonia. It is the seat of Berovo Municipality. Demographics According to the 2002 census, the town had a tot ...

. Georgi Izmirliev studied in

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

(''Syar'') until he moved to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

('' Tsarigrad''), where he stayed from 1868 to 1873. In the imperial capital, Izmirliev studied at the

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

and received a scholarship from the Bulgarian foundation ''Prosveshtenie'' ("Enlightenment"). After his graduation, Izmirliev remained in Istanbul as a teacher and public figure; he participated in ''Prosveshtenie'' activities, spread newspapers and gave talks. In the autumn of 1873, he enrolled in the Odessa military college in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

as a cadet. In late 1875, Izmirliev arrived in Giurgiu,

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

, where he joined the Giurgiu Revolutionary Committee as assistant apostle and military commander of a district. Izmirliev crossed the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

into the Bulgarian lands on 13 January 1876 and met with Tonka Obretenova in

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

before arriving in

Gorna Oryahovitsa Gorna Oryahovitsa ( bg, Горна Оряховица ) is a town in northern Bulgaria, situated in Veliko Tarnovo Province, from Veliko Tarnovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality. According to t ...

, which had been designated the centre of the revolutionary district. For the three months until the uprising, Izmirliev founded a number of new committees and recruited and trained many locals. He also looked for strategically important areas which his detachments could use to battle the Ottomans effectively. The April Uprising was proclaimed in Koprivshtitsa on 20 April 1876. Due to treason, Izmirliev and a group of other revolutionaries were captured after a gunfight in Gorna Oryahovitsa six days later, on 26 April. Sentenced to death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

by a special Ottoman court, Izmirliev was executed on 26 May 1876 in Gorna Oryahovitsa. Reportedly, his last words were "It is gratifying to die for the freedom of the Fatherland!". Izmirliev's work has been commemorated by monuments in Gorna Oryahovitsa (built 1893–1910) and Blagoevgrad, schools in Gorna Oryahovitsa and

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

, and a museum house in Blagoevgrad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izmirliev, Georgi 1851 births 1876 deaths People from Blagoevgrad Bulgarian revolutionaries April Uprising of 1876 People executed by the Ottoman Empire by hanging Executed Bulgarian people Executed revolutionaries 19th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Bulgarian people Macedonian Bulgarians Galatasaray High School alumni Bulgarian educators