Angel Tanasov () or Anđelko Tanasović ( sr-cyr, Анђелко Танасовић) was a rebel leader active in Ottoman

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Biography

Angel Tanasov was born in the Cer, near Kichevo, at the time part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(in modern western

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

) in about 1850.Българското опълчение 1877-1878. Биографичен и библиографски справочник в три тома, том 2, Стара Загора 1999, с. 10. (Bulgarian Opalchenie 1877-1878. Biographical and bibliographical reference book in three volumes, Volume 2, Stara Zagora 1999, p. 10.) He lived in

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

from 1872 and volunteered in the Serbian-Ottoman War in 1876. On May 1, 1877, he joined

Bulgarian Volunteer Corps Opalchentsi () were Bulgarian voluntary army units, who took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The people in these units were called ''opalchenets-pobornik'' (опълченец-поборник) roughly meaning "folk-" or "regiment- ...

in the Russian army and fought at the Battle of Shipka Pass during the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...

. After the war Atanasov returned to Macedonia where he supported the legal and illegal struggle of local Bulgarians to alleviate their situation. Tanasov gave support to the efforts of the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

to collect appeals from oppressed Christian communities concerning their plight. The combined bands of Angel Voyvoda and Iliya Deliya killed the Ottoman tyrant Smail Aga and his son Zekir. In 1880–81 he took part in the revolutionary movement in Western Macedonia ( Brsjak Revolt) as ''

voyvoda Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

'' (commander) of '' cheta'' (armed band) in the region of Kichevo. He was in connection with other revolutionary activists - Hristo Stefanov, the priest from Krushevo, and revolutionaries from

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

- brothers Angel Sprostranov and Petar Sprostranov, Ivan Paunchev, Kosta Limonchev and Zlatan Boykikev (a brother of bishop Nathanael of Ohrid) etc. In 1881, after the Ottoman suppressing of the rebellion, Angel withdrew to the region of Galichnik, in western Macedonia. In the summer of 1881 he shot himself by mistake near the village of

Lazaropole Lazaropole () is a village in the Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuša, North Macedonia. Situated on a plateau at Mount Bistra and surrounded by beech and oak forest; at 1,350 m altitude, it is one of the highest settlements in the country. Dem ...

. Attacked by Ottoman regular and irregular troops in a cave, he was seriously wounded and captured. Later he was killed by

bashi-bazouk A bashi-bazouk ( , , , roughly "leaderless" or "disorderly") was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army, raised in times of war. The army primarily enlisted Albanians and sometimes Circassians as bashi-bazouks, but recruits came from all et ...

s (irregular troops) near the village of Dushegubica. His head was cut off and sent to his native village.Църнушанов 1966, p. 180

Legacy

Angel Tanasov was glorified in a folk song known as ''Seven years of the Bulgarian mountains, o, Angel'' or ''Seven years of the Bulgarian voyvoda, o, Angel''.Църнушанов 1966, p. 180: "Седумъ години бугарски войвода, Ангеле бре"

Annotations

References

Sources

*Църнушанов, Коста. Охридското съзаклятие: предшественици, вдъхновители и дейци hrid conspiracy: predecessors, inspirators and activists Национален съвет на ОФ, София 1966 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanasov, Angel 1850 births 1881 deaths Revolutionaries from the Ottoman Empire Bulgarian people of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) 19th-century Bulgarian people Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire Bulgarians from the Ottoman Empire People from Kičevo Municipality People from Manastir vilayet