Ivan Naumov ( bg, Иван Наумов), nicknamed Alyabaka or Alyabako 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, a member of the
(IMARO).
Biography
Ivan Naumov was born in the village of
Oraovec,
Veles region, in a poor family. Because of the lack of finances, he was not able to study and went to work in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
. There he learnt about the ideas of the revolutionary organization IMARO and in 1900 he was invited to join the organization by
Mihail Apostolov Popeto. He worked as a grocer in
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
and
Kavala
Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit.
It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...
.
Stoyan Avramov described Ivan Naumov as follows:
In 1902 he killed a Turk and escaped to
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 ...
. The same year, he returned as a freedom fighter in the regions of
Odrin
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
and
Pashmakli. From the beginning of 1903, he was an organizational leader in the region of
Krushevo. During the
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising, he headed one of the sections that participated in the burning of the police station in Krushevo.
After the uprising, he went back to
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 ...
. In 1904, he was arrested in Sofia, together with
Mamin Kolyu Nikola Koev Nikolov ( bg, Никола Коев Николов; 20 March 1880 – 30 July 1961), known as Mamin Kolyu (Мамин Колю, "Mummy's Kolyu", ''Kolyu'' being a diminutive of Nikola) was a Bulgarian revolutionary of the Internal M ...
, after the unsuccessful attempt to murder the
Turkish consul. They were arrested for six months because of this action in which the consul’s bodyguard was wounded. Afterwards, he entered
Macedonia again as a leader of a revolutionary band. When certain disagreements happened in the IMARO, he was among the supporters of
Boris Sarafov
Boris Petrov Sarafov (Bulgarian and mk, Борис Петров Сарафов) (12 June 1872 in Libyahovo, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, present-day Bulgaria – 28 November 1907 in Sofia, Bulgaria) was a Bulgarian Army officer and r ...
. As a leader of a revolutionary band, he toured the regions of
Veles,
Prilep
Prilep ( mk, Прилеп ) is the fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 and is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.
Name
The name of Prilep appear ...
,
Kičevo and Porečje, but because of his conflict with
Stefan Dimitrov, who was a leader of a revolutionary band operating in the Veles region, he was ordered not to return there. Ivan Naumov had battles not only with the Turkish military, but also with the
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
n armed propaganda. In 1904, his and
Bobi Stoychev’s band were destroyed by the Turkish military, when 16 of his 20 freedom fighters were killed. The same year, a skirmish between his band and Stefan Dimitrov’s band occurred, but fortunately they agreed on the misunderstandings without causing casualties.
In 1905, Ivan Naumov's band expelled
Dimitar Chupovski from Macedonia, who came to Veles to spread the
Misirkov's ideas, which were considered as "pro-Serbian" and "anti-Bulgarian".
[Родината ми - права или не!: Външнополитическа пропаганда на балканските страни (1821-1923), проф. Иван Илчев, Университетско издателство "Св. Климент Охридски", 1995, стр. 134.]
In the summer of 1907, Alyabaka entered Macedonia as a leader of one of the largest revolutionary bands, which had 60 freedom fighters, mostly soldiers of the Bulgarian army.
Konstantin Kyurkchiev was among its members. This band participated in the
Battle of Nozhot (the Knife) and Popadiski Chukari together with the bands of
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 Macedonian ...
,
Mihail Chakov,
Hristo Tsvetkov, that came from Bulgaria, as well as with the regional bands of
Gyore Spirkov and
Mircho Naydov, from Prilep, and the village bands of
Sekula Oraovdolski and
Velko Popadiyski.
The same year in August, while he returned from the congress of the IMARO’s
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 ...
revolutionary region, held at the Prostranska Mountain, at which he was elected inspector of the bands, Alyabaka witnessed the kidnapping of a girl from the village of
Belica by
Arnauts
Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contempor ...
. He went to save the girl and the ordinary skirmish with the bandits soon turned into a battle with the
Turkish military
The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chief ...
, which came in the meantime. Ivan Naumov was killed in this battle and the inhabitants of
Belica buried him beneath the altar of the local church.
Notes
* Енциклопедия България, том 4, Издателство на БАН, София, 1984.
References
External links
Песен за Иван Алябака* [http://www.macedonia-science.org/gallery/displayimage.php?pid=160&fullsize=1 Стефан Аврамов за Иван Наумов-Алябака, Илюстрация Илинден, г. I, бр. 3, с. 10]
* [http://www.macedonia-science.org/gallery/displayimage-45-13.html „Илюстрация Илинден“, година III, брой 3]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naumov Alyabaka, Ivan
1870 births
1907 deaths
People from Veles Municipality
Bulgarian revolutionaries
Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
Macedonian Bulgarians