Iliya Markov ( bg, Илия Марков, mk, Илија Марков, ; May 28, 1805 – April 17, 1898), known as Ilyo Voyvoda or Dedo Iljo Maleshevski, was a

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 ...

revolutionary from the region of Macedonia, who is considered a national hero in both

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 Macedon ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. He was the father-in-law of revolutionary Dimitar Popgeorgiev (1840-1907).

Early life

Iliya was born in the city of

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 ...

, at the time part of the

Rumelia Eyalet The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia ( ota, ایالت روم ایلی, ), known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli until 1591, was a first-level province ('' beylerbeylik'' or ''eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans (" ...

of 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 modern eastern

), into a poor farmer family. The birthdate is given as 28 May, while the birthyear is unclear; early literature place it at 1805, while Vasil D. Stoyanov said that Ilyo was 45 years of age in 1867 (thus born in 1822). Historian

Jovan Hadži-Vasiljević Jovan Hadži-Vasiljević ( sr-cyr, Јован Хаџи-Васиљевић, 18 October 1866 – 29 March 1948) was a Serbian historian, ethnographer, journalist and writer. Biography Hadži-Vasiljević was born in Vranje, at the time part of the ...

(1866–1946) said that Ilyo was at most 50 years of age in 1865 (thus born in, or after, 1815). His father was named Marko Popgeorgiev (Марко Попгеоргиев/Поп-Георгиев, hence ''Markov''). Ilyo was a prominent

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 ...

voyvoda 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 ...

'' (commander) of '' cheta's'' (armed bands) in Maleshevo,

Rila Rila ( bg, Рила, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Mus ...

and

Pirin , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...

. Later he worked as a keeper in the

Rila monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery "Sveti Ivan Rilski" ( bg, Рилски манастир „Свети Иван Рилски“), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situat ...

. In 1859 he moved to

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. In 1861 he joined the

Bulgarian Legion ) , war= National awakening of Bulgaria , image= , caption=The standard of the Bulgarian Legion , active=1862–1868 , ideology= Bulgarian nationalism , leaders= Georgi Sava Rakovski , groups= , headquarters= Belgrade, Serbia , area= , size= , parto ...

, headquartered in Belgrade, and took part in the Serbian-Turkish War (1876–77) and

Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

Liberation of Bulgaria

Ilyo used every chance to make a contribution in any war against the

. During the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

of 1877–1878 he operated with a band near

Lovech Lovech ( bg, Ловеч, Lovech, ) is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast f ...

. His band joined the Western divisions of general

Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko Count Iosif Vladimirovich Romeyko-Gurko (russian: Граф Ио́сиф Влади́мирович Роме́йко-Гурко́, Iósif Vladímirovič Roméjko-Gurkó; — ), also known as Joseph or Ossip Gourko, was a prominent Russian ...

and participated in the liberation of

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 ha ...

, Radomir and

Kyustendil Kyustendil ( bg, Кюстендил ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, ...

. Illyo was one of the Bulgarian representatives at the signing of the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Treaty of San Stefano (russian: Сан-Стефанский мир; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-18 ...

which marked the restoration of Bulgaria in its ethnic borders. It was there he was awarded a medal for bravery.

Post-Liberation activity

The joy from the liberation was short-lived though, as the

Treaty of Berlin (1878) The Treaty of Berlin (formally the Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire for the Settlement of Affairs in the East) was signed on 13 July 1878. In the aftermath of the R ...

soon partitioned the newly liberated country. Bulgaria was divided into three parts: the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...

, the autonomous province of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Otto ...

and Macedonia given back to the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

. The discontent among the people erupted in the Kresna-Razlog Uprising (1878–1879) in which Illyo took active participation. Illyo Voivoda and his band took part in

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Serb ...

despite the advancing age of the leader. As part of the Radomir squad they participated in the battles of

Breznik Breznik ( bg, Брезник ) is a town in western Bulgaria, 50 km away from Sofia. It is located in Pernik Province and is close to the towns of Bankya and Pernik. Villages in the municipality include Begunovtsi, Dushintsi, and Velkovtsi ...

, Slivnitsa and

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. The municipality of Vranje has a population of 83,524 and its urban area has 60,485 inhabitants. Vranje is the economical, polit ...

among others.

Legacy

He fought in battles all his life, and died from old age at the end of the 19th century in

. He is a near-mythical figure of the region and has been the subject of many folk songs. Some of his personal belongings are kept in the monastery of St. Archangel Michael which serves as the city museum of

. The house in which Ilyo Voyvoda lived from 1878 to his death in 1898 in Kyustendil survived long enough to be renovated in 1979-1980 and has served as a museum, dedicated to Ilyo Voyvoda and the people's fight for freedom in Kyustendil since 1981. Ilyo Voyvoda's grave is also located in Kyustendil.

Honours

Ilyo Point Ilyo Point ( bg, нос Ильо, ‘Nos Ilyo’ \'nos 'i-lyo\ is the narrow rocky point projecting 600 m east-northeastwards from the east coast of Clarence Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It forms the south side of the entran ...

on Clarence Island, Antarctica is named after the Ilyo Voyvoda.

References

External links

Death certificate of Ilyo Voyvoda

29 January 1878 The liberation of the town of Kyustendil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voyvoda, Ilyo 1805 births 1898 deaths People from Berovo Bulgarian revolutionaries Bulgarian people of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War 19th-century Bulgarian people Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire Macedonian Bulgarians