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==Attempted Bulgarization== ==Bulgarization: The Failed Assimilation Attempt==
Nationalism, the desire to avenge, and the zero percent annual increase in birth rate among Christian Bulgarians are the primary reasons which caused the Bulgarian government to commit "a very massive violation of human rights" by forcing 900,000 people, 10 percent of the country's population, to change their names. The people affected were all ethnic Turks.

By 1984 the ] and the ] had already been forced to give up their ] or ] names for ] names. The communist government had been encouraging the educated Turks to voluntarily adopt Bulgarian names.


In the period between ] and ], the ] government of Bulgaria, led by ], attempted the forced ] of the country's Turkish minority. After the introduction in 1985 of new laws to forcefully assimilate the minority, the Bulgarian government banned education in Turkish and sought to erase Turkish culture and identity. Turkish names were forcibly changed to Slavic ones. In the period between ] and ], the ] government of Bulgaria, led by ], attempted the forced ] of the country's Turkish minority. After the introduction in 1985 of new laws to forcefully assimilate the minority, the Bulgarian government banned education in Turkish and sought to erase Turkish culture and identity. Turkish names were forcibly changed to Slavic ones.

It usually happened in the middle of the night. The number of army half-tracks and the blinding glare of searchlights would disturb the sleep of an ehnic ] village. Militiamen would then burst into every home and thrust a photocopied form in front of the man of the house, in which he was to write the new ] names of every member of his family. Those who refused or hesitated, watched as their wives or daughters were raped by the militiamen. According to ] and Western diplomts, the militiamen beat up thousands and executed hundreds. Thousands more were imprisoned or driven into internal exile.<ref>], Balkan Ghosts</ref>


In May 1989 there were disturbances in regions inhabited by members of the Turkish minority. On 10 May 1989 travel restrictions to foreign countries were partly lifted. Todor Zhivkov gave a speech on 29 May 1989, in which he demanded that Turkey open its borders in order to receive all "Bulgarian Muslims", who wanted to live there. There followed an exodus of over 300.000 Turks to Turkey. On 10 November 1989 Zhivkov was replaced by ] and by the end of that year communism fell. In May 1989 there were disturbances in regions inhabited by members of the Turkish minority. On 10 May 1989 travel restrictions to foreign countries were partly lifted. Todor Zhivkov gave a speech on 29 May 1989, in which he demanded that Turkey open its borders in order to receive all "Bulgarian Muslims", who wanted to live there. There followed an exodus of over 300.000 Turks to Turkey. On 10 November 1989 Zhivkov was replaced by ] and by the end of that year communism fell.


These laws were removed after the change to democracy in the early months of ]. Many have now reverted to their old names and Bulgarian governments have apologised to the Turkish minority for the policies. These laws were removed after the change to democracy in the early months of ]. Many have now reverted to their old names and Bulgarian governments have apologised to the Turkish minority for the policies.

==Emmigration==
There were a number of perods during which the ethnic Turks moved from Bulgaria to the ] and ].

* "Immigrants" of 93: Late 19th century. These Turks are the earliest Turkish "immigrants" from Bulgaria.
* Balkan War to 1922 Period.

* After Republic of Turkey was founded.

* 1950 emmigrants: During this perod the Bulgarian government attemted to send some of its ] minority along its ] minority to ].

* 1968-1978 Agreement for unification of divided families: More than 300,000 Turks emmigrated to Turkey as part of an agreement between Bulgaria and Turkey. They are known as göçmen (immigrants) in Turkey.
* After 1989: These are the Turks who were initially forced to leave Bulgaria by the collapsing Bulgarian regime. They are known as soydaş in Turkey.




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Initially the Turks were invited into ] as mercenaries. The first to do so came from a colony of ], who settled in ] , on the western ] coast, after the accession as Emperor of the first ], ], who had taken refuge from the ] occupation of ] as an exile at the ] court. These ] came to the aid of a dethroned ] sultan, ], who in turn had taken refuge at ]. After a threatening demonstration against the Emperor, they secured the sultan's release from custody and withdrew with him to the ]. But his son and a detachment of his guard remained behind in ], turned ], and formed the nucleus of a corps of Turkish militia which soon grew in numbers, providing a welcome reinforcement to the imperial army.<ref>], The Ottoman Centuries</ref> Initially the Turks were invited into ] as mercenaries. The first to do so came from a colony of ], who settled in ] , on the western ] coast, after the accession as Emperor of the first ], ], who had taken refuge from the ] occupation of ] as an exile at the ] court. These ] came to the aid of a dethroned ] sultan, ], who in turn had taken refuge at ]. After a threatening demonstration against the Emperor, they secured the sultan's release from custody and withdrew with him to the ]. But his son and a detachment of his guard remained behind in ], turned ], and formed the nucleus of a corps of Turkish militia which soon grew in numbers, providing a welcome reinforcement to the imperial army.<ref>], The Ottoman Centuries</ref>


<h4>The Ottoman Turks</h4>
In 1363 the ] captured ] (] in Turkish, ] in Bulgarian).
<h5>Battles of Maritsa (Sırp Sındığı Savaşları)</h5>
In 1363 a force of ] and, for the first time, ] , without the aid of the ], crossed the ] in the direction of ], only to be pounced upon by the Turks as they slept off the festive nocturnal celebrations of the unopposed crossing - then driven back into the river, and thus all but exterminated.

After the ] under sultan ] advanced into ], conquered ], and thereby gained control of the ], which led into the central ], the ] and the ] formed an alliance to drive the ] back. Their early efforts ended in defeat, and the ] were compelled to become vassals of the ](1366). Another campaign to resist Turkish expansion was organized in 1371 by ], the king of the southern Serbian lands, and his brother ] who gathered an army of 70,000 men and marched into the ]. On September 26, 1371 while halting at ] (]) located between ] (]) and ] (]) , however, his forces were surprised by a much smaller Turkish army and defeated.

The battle involved such carnage that the field was later referred to as “the ]' destruction.” It confirmed ]'s status as a vassal-state to the ] and destroyed the independent South Serbian kingdom, whose new ruler, ], became a vassal of the sultan. ] and ultimately the remainder of the ] were exposed to ] conquest.




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] ]
] ]
]
] ]
] ]

Revision as of 02:55, 14 November 2007

Turks in Bulgaria

Population

According to the 2001 census, there are 746,664 ethnic Turks in Bulgaria. Today, the Turks of Bulgaria are concentrated in two rural areas in the Northeast (Ludogorie/Deliorman) and the Southeast (the Eastern Rhodopes). They form the absolute majority in the province of Kardzhali and relative majority in the province of Razgrad.


Bulgarization: The Failed Assimilation Attempt

Nationalism, the desire to avenge, and the zero percent annual increase in birth rate among Christian Bulgarians are the primary reasons which caused the Bulgarian government to commit "a very massive violation of human rights" by forcing 900,000 people, 10 percent of the country's population, to change their names. The people affected were all ethnic Turks.

By 1984 the Roma and the Pomaks had already been forced to give up their Turkish or Muslim names for Bulgarian names. The communist government had been encouraging the educated Turks to voluntarily adopt Bulgarian names.

In the period between 1984 and 1989, the Communist government of Bulgaria, led by Todor Zhivkov, attempted the forced Bulgarisation of the country's Turkish minority. After the introduction in 1985 of new laws to forcefully assimilate the minority, the Bulgarian government banned education in Turkish and sought to erase Turkish culture and identity. Turkish names were forcibly changed to Slavic ones.

It usually happened in the middle of the night. The number of army half-tracks and the blinding glare of searchlights would disturb the sleep of an ehnic Turkish village. Militiamen would then burst into every home and thrust a photocopied form in front of the man of the house, in which he was to write the new Bulgarian names of every member of his family. Those who refused or hesitated, watched as their wives or daughters were raped by the militiamen. According to Amnesty International and Western diplomts, the militiamen beat up thousands and executed hundreds. Thousands more were imprisoned or driven into internal exile.

In May 1989 there were disturbances in regions inhabited by members of the Turkish minority. On 10 May 1989 travel restrictions to foreign countries were partly lifted. Todor Zhivkov gave a speech on 29 May 1989, in which he demanded that Turkey open its borders in order to receive all "Bulgarian Muslims", who wanted to live there. There followed an exodus of over 300.000 Turks to Turkey. On 10 November 1989 Zhivkov was replaced by Petar Mladenov and by the end of that year communism fell.

These laws were removed after the change to democracy in the early months of 1990. Many have now reverted to their old names and Bulgarian governments have apologised to the Turkish minority for the policies.

Emmigration

There were a number of perods during which the ethnic Turks moved from Bulgaria to the Ottoman Empire and Turkey.

  • "Immigrants" of 93: Late 19th century. These Turks are the earliest Turkish "immigrants" from Bulgaria.
  • Balkan War to 1922 Period.
  • After Republic of Turkey was founded.
  • 1950 emmigrants: During this perod the Bulgarian government attemted to send some of its Roma minority along its Turkish minority to Turkey.
  • 1968-1978 Agreement for unification of divided families: More than 300,000 Turks emmigrated to Turkey as part of an agreement between Bulgaria and Turkey. They are known as göçmen (immigrants) in Turkey.
  • After 1989: These are the Turks who were initially forced to leave Bulgaria by the collapsing Bulgarian regime. They are known as soydaş in Turkey.


History

Turkic peoples first arrived in Bulgaria in the 5th century AD when in 447 AD the Huns, under Attila, crossed the Danube frontier, invaded Thrace and forced the Romans to pay the Huns a heavier tribute and withdraw from a wide strip of land beside the Danube. The Bulgars, another Turkic people, defeated the Eastern Roman armies in 493 and 499 AD. Having absorbed the remaining Huns, in 502 AD they ravaged Thrace. In the coming centuries Bulgars formed the ruling class and the aristocracy of a population that consisted mainly of the Turkic Bulgars and the Slavs who migrated into the territory after 580 AD. As a result of mixing with the Slavs the Bulgars lost their Turkic identity and language in time and became the Slavic Bulgarians who constitute the majority of Bulgaria today. Until the arrival of the Ottoman Turks in the 14th century there were other Turkic peoples who played a role in the history of Bulgaria as well. These include the Avars, Cumans, Oghuz, Pechenegs, Tatars, Gagauz, etc.

Initially the Turks were invited into Europe as mercenaries. The first to do so came from a colony of Turcomans, who settled in Dobruja , on the western Black Sea coast, after the accession as Emperor of the first Palaelogue, Michael VIII, who had taken refuge from the Latin occupation of Constantinople as an exile at the Seljuk court. These Turcomans came to the aid of a dethroned Seljuk sultan, Izzed-Din, who in turn had taken refuge at Constantinople. After a threatening demonstration against the Emperor, they secured the sultan's release from custody and withdrew with him to the Crimea. But his son and a detachment of his guard remained behind in Constantinople, turned Christian, and formed the nucleus of a corps of Turkish militia which soon grew in numbers, providing a welcome reinforcement to the imperial army.

The Ottoman Turks

In 1363 the Turks captured Philippopolis (Filibe in Turkish, Plovdiv in Bulgarian).

Battles of Maritsa (Sırp Sındığı Savaşları)

In 1363 a force of Serbs and, for the first time, Hungarians , without the aid of the Greeks, crossed the River Maritza in the direction of Adrianople, only to be pounced upon by the Turks as they slept off the festive nocturnal celebrations of the unopposed crossing - then driven back into the river, and thus all but exterminated.

After the Ottoman Turks under sultan Murad I advanced into Thrace, conquered Adrianople, and thereby gained control of the Maritsa River valley, which led into the central Balkans, the Serbs and the Bulgarians formed an alliance to drive the Turks back. Their early efforts ended in defeat, and the Bulgarians were compelled to become vassals of the Ottomans(1366). Another campaign to resist Turkish expansion was organized in 1371 by Vukašin Mrnjavčević, the king of the southern Serbian lands, and his brother Despot Uglješa who gathered an army of 70,000 men and marched into the Maritsa valley. On September 26, 1371 while halting at Chernomen (Chirmen) located between Philippopolis (Plovdiv) and Adrianople (Edirne) , however, his forces were surprised by a much smaller Turkish army and defeated.

The battle involved such carnage that the field was later referred to as “the Serbs' destruction.” It confirmed Bulgaria's status as a vassal-state to the Turks and destroyed the independent South Serbian kingdom, whose new ruler, Marko Kraljevic, became a vassal of the sultan. Macedonia and ultimately the remainder of the Balkan Peninsula were exposed to Turkish conquest.


Notable Turks of Bulgaria

See also

Notes

  1. Troebst, 1994; Bachvarov, 1997
  2. НАСЕЛЕНИЕ КЪМ 01.03.2001 Г. ПО ОБЛАСТИ И ЕТНИЧЕСКА ГРУПА
  3. Robert Kaplan, Balkan Ghosts
  4. Lord Kinross, The Ottoman Centuries

References

Ethnic groups in Bulgaria
according to 2011 census data
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