history]
B U L G ARIA 453 Strazhimir, had established himself, was taken in 1396, and with Europe even to students of Slavonic literature. Disits fall the last remnant of Bulgarian independence disappeared. The five centuries of Turkish rule (1396-1878) form a dark epoch heartened by ages of oppression, isolated from Christendom in Bulgarian history. The invaders carried fire and sword through by their geographical position, and cowed by the land ; towns, villages, and monasteries were sacked and de- the proximity of Constantinople, the Bulgarians ^livaf stroyed, and whole districts were converted into desolate wastes. took no collective part in the insurrectionary rev,va • The inhabitants of the plains fled to the mountains, where they movement which resulted in the liberation of Servia and founded new settlements. Many of the nobles embraced the creed of Islam, and were liberally rewarded for their apostasy ; Greece. The Bussian invasions of 1810 and 1828 only others, together with numbers of the priests and people, took added to their sufferings, and great numbers of fugitives refuge across the Danube. All the regions formerly ruled by the took refuge in Bessarabia, annexed by B,ussia under the Bulgarian tsars, including Macedonia and Thrace, were placed under the administration of a governor-general, styled the beyler- treaty of Bucarest. But the long-dormant national bey of Rum-ili, residing at Sofia ; Bulgaria proper was divided spirit now began to awake under the influence of a literary into the sanjaks of Sofia, Nikopolis, Vidin, Silistra, and revival. The precursors of the movement were Paisii, a Kiistendil. Only a small proportion of the people followed the monk of Mount Athos, who wrote a history of the Bulexample of the boyars in abandoning Christianity ; the conversion garian tsars and saints (1762), and Bishop Sofronii, of the isolated communities now rejnesented by the Pomaks took place at various intervals during the next three centuries. A new whose memoirs have been already mentioned. After 1824 kind of feudal system replaced that of the boyars, and fiefs or several works written in modern Bulgarian began to appear, spahiliks were conferred on the Ottoman chiefs and the renegade but the most important step was the foundation, in 1835, Bulgarian nobles. The Christian population was subjected to heavy imposts, the principal being the haratch, or capitation-tax, of the first Bulgarian school at Gabrovo. Within ten paid to the imperial treasury, and the tithe on agricultural years at least 53 Bulgarian schools came into existence, produce, which was collected by the feudal lord. Among the and five Bulgarian printing-presses were at work. The most cruel forms of oppression was the requisitioning of young literary movement led the way to a reaction against the boys between the ages of ten and twelve, who were sent to Con- influence and authority of the Greek clergy. The spiritual stantinople as recruits for the corps of janissaries. Notwithstanding the horrors which attended the Ottoman conquest, the domination of the Greek Patriarchate had tended more condition of the peasantry during the first three centuries of Turkish effectually than the temporal power of the Turks to the government was scarcely worse than it had been under the tyran- effacement of Bulgarian nationality. After the conquest nical rule of the boyars. The contemptuous indifference with which of the Peninsula the Greek Patriarch became the reprethe Turks regarded the Christian rayas was not altogether to the disadvantage of the subject race. Military service was not exacted from sentative at the Sublime Porte of the Rtim-milleti, the the Christians, no systematic effort was made to extinguish either Roman nation, in which all the Christian nationalities their religion or their language, and within certain limits they were comprised. The independent patriarchate of Trnovo were allowed to retain their ancient local administration and the jurisdiction of their clergy in regard to inheritances and family was suppressed ; that of Okhrida was subsequently Hellenaffairs. At the time of the conquest certain towns and villages, ized. The Phanariot clergy—unscrupulous, rapacious, and known as the voinitchki sela, obtained important privileges corrupt—succeeded in monopolizing the higher ecclesiwhich were not infringed till the 18th century; on condition of astical appointments and filled the parishes with Greek furnishing contingents to the Turkish army or grooms for the priests, whose schools, in which Greek was exclusively Sultan’s horses they obtained exemption from most of the taxes and complete self-government under their voivodi or chiefs. Some taught, were the only means of instruction open to the of them, such as Koprivshtitza in the Sredna Gora, attained great population. By degrees Greek became the language of prosperity, which has somewhat declined since the establish- the upper classes in all the Bulgarian towns, the Bulgarian ment of the principality. While the Ottoman power was at language was written in Greek characters, and the illiterate its height the lot of the subject-races was far less intolerable than during the period of decadence, which began with the peasants, though speaking the vernacular, called themunsuccessful siege of Vienna in 1683. Their rights and privileges selves Greeks. The Slavonic liturgy was suppressed in were respected, the law was enforced, commerce prospered, favour of the Greek, and in many places the old Bulgarian good roads were constructed, and the great caravans of the manuscripts, images, testaments, and missals were comRagusan merchants traversed the country. Down to the end of the 18th century there appears to have been only one mitted to the flames. The patriots of the literary moveserious attempt at revolt — that occasioned by the advance of ment, recognizing in the Patriarchate the most determined Prince Sigismund Bathory into Wallachia in 1595. A kind of foe to a national revival, directed all their efforts to the guerilla warfare was, however, maintained in the mountains by abolition of Greek ecclesiastical ascendancy and the rethe haiduti, or outlaws, whose exploits, like those of the Greek storation of the Bulgarian autonomous church. Some of klephts, have been highly idealized in the popular folk-lore. As the power of the Sultans declined anarchy spread through the the leaders went so far as to open negotiations with Peninsula. In the earlier decades of the 18th century the Bul- Rome, and an archbishop of the Uniate Bulgarian church garians suffered terribly from the ravages of the Turkish armies was nominated by the Pope. The struggle was prosepassing through the land during the wars with Austria. Towards its close their condition became even worse owing to the horrors cuted with the utmost tenacity for forty years. Incessant perpetrated by the Krjalis, or troops of disbanded soldiers and protests and memorials were addressed to the Porte, and desperadoes, who, in defiance of the Turkish authorities, roamed every effort was made to undermine the position of the through the country, supporting themselves by plunder and Greek bishops, some of whom were compelled to abandon committing every conceivable atrocity. After the peace of Bel- their sees. At the same time no pains were spared to grade (1737), by which Austria lost her conquests in the Peninsula, the Servians and Bulgarians began to look to Russia for deliver- diffuse education and to stimulate the national sentiment. ance, and their hopes were encouraged by the treaty of Kainarji, Various insurrectionary movements were attempted by the under which the Empress Catherine obtained the protectorate of patriots Rakovski, Panayot Khitoff, Haji Dimitr, Stephen the orthodox Christians in the Turkish empire. In 1794 Pasvanoglu, one of the chiefs of the Krjalis, established himself as an Karaja, and others, but received little support from the mdependent sovereign at Vidin, putting to flight three large mass of the people. The recognition of Bulgarian nationTurkish armies which were despatched against him. This adven- ality was won by the pen, not the sword. The Patriarchate turer possessed many remarkable qualities. He adorned Vidin with at length found it necessary to offer some concessions, but handsome buildings, maintained order, levied taxes, and issued a separate coinage. He died in 1807. The memoirs of Sofronii, these appeared illusory to the Bulgarians, and long and bishop of Vratza, present a vivid picture of the condition of acrimonious discussions followed. Eventually the Turkish Bulgaria at this time. “My diocese,” he writes, “was laid Government intervened, and on the 28th February 1870 desolate ; the villages disappeared—they had been burnt by the a firman was issued establishing the Bulgarian Exarchate, Krjalis and Pasvan’s brigands ; the inhabitants were scattered far with jurisdiction over fifteen dioceses, including Nish, and wide over Wallachia and other lands.” Pirot, and Veles; the other dioceses in dispute were to be At the beginning of the 19th century the exist- added to these in case two-thirds of the Christian popuence of the Bulgarian race was almost unknown in lation so desired. The election of the first exarch was
