Apostol Mărgărit or Apostolos Margaritis (5 August 1832 in Avdella – 19 October 1903 in

Bitola Bitola (; ) 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 border crossing ...

) was an Aromanian school teacher and writer. One of the most important voices of Aromanian emancipation in the 19th century, he conditioned

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 ...

's policy toward the Aromanians, who started to have their own schools in their own language, thanks to Mărgărit's efforts.

Life

Mărgărit was born in

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 ...

, 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 1862, Mărgărit became a school teacher in Vlaho-Clisura, near

Grevena Grevena (, ''Grevená'' ; ) is a town and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Western Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the Grevena (regional unit), Grevena regional unit. The town's current population is 12,515 citizen ...

and taught the children in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, but also in Aromanian. In 1864, in Trnovo, the first Aromanian school in Macedonia opened its doors for its children. The school was financed by

and was supervised by Apostol Mărgărit. It was founded by

Dimitri Atanasescu Dimitri Atanasescu Hagi Sterjio (; 16 May 1836 – 1907) was an Aromanian tailor and later teacher known for having been the teacher of the first Romanian school in the Balkans for the Aromanians, located at Trnovo ( or ), the place where he ...

, who was the teacher of the school and a native of the village. Due to his activity, he was accused of treason by the Greeks, of being either an Austrian or a Catholic agent. There were several assassination attempts on him: he was stabbed with a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, thrown twice in the Vardar River and shot while in the

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 ...

Mountains. He was eventually sent to prison, but managed to escape and settled in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

, where he obtained support from the Romanian monarch. After the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878 and the independence of

, the Ottoman government accepted him as school inspector of the Romanian schools on Turkish territory. Under this position, Mărgărit founded many of the Romanian schools of Macedonia and Albania sometimes along with French priest Jean-Claude Faveyrial. Mărgărit managed to become one of the most important voice of Aromanian emancipation in the Balkans, as he conditioned Bucharest attitude vis-a-vis the Aromanians. For his merits he was made a member of the Romanian Academy on 3 April 1889, and had a national funeral in 1903.

Works

Apart from a number of petitions addressed to the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

on behalf of the Aromanian people, he also wrote: *''Réfutation d'une brochure grecque par un Valaque épirote'' ("Refutation of a Greek brochure by an

Epirote Epirus () is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë and the Acroceraunian Mountains in ...

Vlach Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula) ...

", 1878) *''Etudes historiques sur les Valaques du Pinde'' ("Historical studies of the Vlachs of Pindus", 1881) *''Les Grecs, les Valaques, les Albanais et l'Empire turc'' par un Valaque du Pinde ("'The Greeks, Vlachs, and Albanians of the Turkish Empire' by a Vlach from Pindus" 1886) *''La politique grecque en Turquie'' ("Greek policy in Turkey", 1890) *''Raport despre persecuţiile şcoalelor române în Macedonia din partea Grecilor'' ("Report on the persecution of Romanian scholars in Macedonia on the part of Greeks", 1875) *''Memoriu privitor la şcoalele de peste Balcani'' ("Memoirs of the overseer of schools beyond the Balkans", 1887)

References

Sources

*Dimitrie R Rosetti (1897) ''Dicţionarul contimporanilor'', Editura Lito-Tipografiei "Populara" *Curierul Naţional
"Omagiu academic pentru Apostol Margarit (1832-1903)"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Margarit, Apostol 1832 births 1903 deaths Aromanian writers Aromanian schoolteachers Schoolteachers from the Ottoman Empire Aromanian politicians Corresponding members of the Romanian Academy People from Avdella Aromanians from the Ottoman Empire Romanian people of Aromanian descent