Vardar Macedonia (
Macedonian and sr, Вардарска Македонија, ''Vardarska Makedonija'') was the name given to the territory of the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
(1912–1918) and
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
(1918–1941) roughly corresponding to today's
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 ...
. It covers the northwestern part of geographical
Macedonia, whose modern borders came to be defined by the mid-19th century.
History
Vardar Macedonia usually refers to the central part of the region of
Macedonia attributed to the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
by the
Treaty of Bucharest (1913)
The Treaty of Bucharest ( ro, Tratatul de la București; sr, Букурештански мир; bg, Букурещки договор; gr, Συνθήκη του Βουκουρεστίου) was concluded on 10 August 1913, by the delegates of ...
after the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...
. The territory is named after 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 ...
, the major river that cuts across the region from northwest to southeast, to distinguish it from both
Greek Macedonia
Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...
and the region around the
Pirin Mountain
The Pirin Mountains ( bg, Пирин ) are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with Vihren at an altitude of 2,914 m being the highest peak.
The range extends about 80 km from the north-west to the south-east and is about 40  ...
in
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 ...
.
The region was initially known as ''Serbian Macedonia''
although the use of the name ''Macedonia'' was prohibited later in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, due to the implemented policy of
Serbianisation
Serbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", srbizacija, србизација or sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=none, separator=" / ", posrbljavanje, посрбљавање; ...
of the local Slavic-speakers. From 1919 to 1922, the area (including parts of today Kosovo and Eastern Serbia) was part of
South Serbia ( sr, Jужна Србија, ''Južna Srbija''),
In 1929, the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
was divided into provinces called
''banovinas''. Vardar Macedonia as part of South Serbia then became part of
Vardar Banovina
The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( mk, Вардарска бановина, Vardarska banovina; sr, Вардарска бановина, translit=Vardarska Banovina; al, Banovina e Vardarit, italics=no), was a province ( banate) of the Kin ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
it was occupied by
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 ...
as part of the
Military Inspection Area of Macedonia. After the war the present-day
Strumica and
Novo Selo municipalities were broken away from
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 ceded to Yugoslavia. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Bulgaria established two administrative districts in the region – Bitola and Skopje. In 1946, most of Vardar Macedonia as one of the six constituent countries of
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
became the
People's Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
(1946–1963) then the
Socialist Republic of Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
(1963–1991).
After the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
, besides
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 ...
, the region encompasses also
Trgovište
Trgovište ( sr-cyr, Трговиште) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the population of the town is 1,785, while population of the municipality is 5,091.
Settlements
As ...
and
Preševo municipalities in
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 ...
, as well the
Elez Han
Hani i Elezit or Elez Han ( sq-definite, Han i Elezit or ''Hani i Elezit''; sr, Ђенерал Јанковић, ''Đeneral Janković''; officially Елез Хан, ''Elez Han'') is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District of Ko ...
municipality in
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
.
[Стефан Карастоянов, Косово: геополитически анализ, Университетско издателство "Св. Климент Охридски", 2007, , стр. 41.] Sometimes in the region are included the areas of
Golo Brdo and
Mala Prespa
Mala Prespa (Macedonian and bg, Мала Преспа, ) is a term used to denote a geographical area in eastern Albania, part of the wider region of Prespa. It is located on the western shore of Lake Prespa along the southeastern edge of Alba ...
in
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
.
Background
Yugoslavia
Republic of North Macedonia
See also
*
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia (; el, Μακεδονία, Makedonía ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is ...
*
Geography of North Macedonia
North Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates , bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. The country is part of the wider region of Ma ...
*
Macedonia (terminology)
The name ''Macedonia'' is used in a number of competing or overlapping meanings to describe geographical, political and historical areas, languages and peoples in a part of south-eastern Europe. It has been a major source of political controver ...
*
Pirin Macedonia
Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia ( bg, Пиринска Македония; Българска Македония) (''Pirinska Makedoniya or Bulgarska Makedoniya'') is the third-biggest part of the geographical region Macedonia located on t ...
*
Vardar statistical region
The Vardar Statistical Region ( mk, Вардарски Регион) is one of eight statistical regions of North Macedonia. Vardar, located in the central part of North Macedonia, borders Greece to the south. Internally, it borders the Pelagonia, ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*Danforth, L.M. (1997). ''The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World''.
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial su ...
. p. 44.
*
*
*
*
*{{cite book, author=Dimitar Bechev, title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jSg3lxgSy8C&pg=PA232, date=13 April 2009, publisher=Scarecrow Press, isbn=978-0-8108-6295-1, pages=232–
Yugoslav Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia
Vardar Macedonia (Macedonian and sr, Вардарска Македонија, ''Vardarska Makedonija'') was the name given to the territory of the Kingdom of Serbia (1912–1918) and Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) roughly corresponding to to ...