Marko Lerinski ( bg, Марко Лерински; 20 June 1862 – 13 June 1902) was the nickname of Georgi Ivanov Gyurov (Георги Иванов Гюров), also known as Georgi Geroyski, 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 ...

military expert and revolutionary. A prominent member of the Internal Macedonian–Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO), Lerinski was the first person to propose a common anti- Ottoman uprising in Macedonia and

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

. Gyurov was born in Kotel in Ottoman

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

(

Northern Thrace Northern Thrace or North Thrace ( bg, Северна Тракия, as opposed to Western Thrace and East Thrace to the south; tr, Kuzey Trakya; el, Βόρεια Θράκη), also called Bulgarian Thrace, constitutes the northern and largest pa ...

), today a town in central eastern

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 1883, he joined 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 ...

's armed forces. He took part in the

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 ...

of 1885. For his bravery, he was awarded a medal and promoted; his comrades even nicknamed him ''Geroyski'' (Геройски), "heroic". In 1895, he left the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...

to join the Supreme Macedonian–Adrianople Committee and take part in its 1895 organized anti-Ottoman action, which involved the burning of

Dospat Dospat ( bg, Доспат) is a town in the very south of Bulgaria, part of Smolyan Province, situated in the Rhodope Mountains, close to Dospat Dam. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Dospat Municipality. As of December 2010, t ...

. After the action's failure, he returned to the army as a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

. In 1900, he got in contact with Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionaries

Gotse Delchev Georgi Nikolov Delchev (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian/Macedonian language, Macedonian: Георги/Ѓорѓи Николов Делчев; 4 February 1872 – 4 May 1903), known as Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (''Гоце Делчев ...

and

Gyorche Petrov Gyorche Petrov Nikolov born Georgi Petrov Nikolov (April 2, 1865 – June 28, 1921), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian teacher and revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees. He was their Foreig ...

, who recruited him in IMARO. They dispatched him as a regional leader (''

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 me ...

'') for the Lerin region (today

Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the F ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

), where his nickname comes from. Other IMARO voivodes from the Principality of Bulgaria, such as

Hristo Chernopeev Hristo Chernopeev ( bg, Христо Чернопеев) (1868, Dermantsi – 6 November 1915, Krivolak) was a Bulgarian Army officer and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia. He was among the leaders of the Bulgarian People's Mace ...

, were also recruited at the time. Thanks to Lerinski's military training and his organizational abilities, his armed detachment became what was essentially a school for voivodes and members for the entire IMARO. According to fellow IMARO member and writer

Hristo Silyanov Hristo Silyanov (1880 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire – 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria) ( bg, Христо Силянов) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, Marko Lerinski was the first person to suggest a common uprising in both Macedonia and the

Adrianople Vilayet The Vilayet of Adrianople or Vilayet of Edirne ( ota, ولايت ادرنه; ''Vilâyet-i Edirne'') was a first-level administrative division ( vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire. This vilayet was split between Turkey and Greece in 1923, culminating ...

, an idea that would be put into practice with 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, ...

of 1903. However, he did not live to witness the uprising. After his detachment's location was reported to the Ottoman authorities, Lerinski died in a battle with Ottoman forces near Patele ( Agios Panteleimonas, Florina) on 13 June 1902 and was buried in Sorovich.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lerinski, Marko 1862 births 1902 deaths People from Kotel, Bulgaria People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Bulgarian military personnel 19th-century Bulgarian people Bulgarian revolutionaries