Ottoman Macedonia between the dilemmas and fluctuations of greek nationalism (original) (raw)

Greek Nationhood and modernity in the 19th Century

Balkan Studies, 1999

Résumé/Abstract This paper examines and analyzes the idea of the Greek nation from the middle to the end of the nineteenth century. This article argues that Greek nationhood evolved away from a primarily cultural or ethnic type of nationalism and towards a mainly ...

OTTOMAN PERCEPTIONS OF THE GREEK NATIONALISM

OTTOMAN PERCEPTIONS OF THE GREEK NATIONALISM, BALKAN WORLDS IV, 2019

Slavic and Oriental Studies, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki , November 29th – December 1st, 2018 Keynote Speaker: John Breuilly (LSE), ‘The rise and fall of pan-nationalisms, c.1870-1950’ This paper is an investigation of the Ottoman perceptions and reactions to 1821 and the concept of Greek irredentism. I will try to investigate how the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud B', the central state elite and the intelligentsia, experienced the Greek War of Independence and the "making" of the modern Greek state. The Ottoman reactions have been overlooked or interpreted with simplifications by historians. Therefore, we have to examine the contemporary Ottoman sources and the terminology in order to understand the Ottoman perceptions. My survey is based on the archival material compiled by the Ottoman statesmen and the contemporary history accounts. The Ottomans intercepted and translated correspondence from the Greek leadership, including a very important letter addressed to all the Helenes to rise and liberate the motherland 1. A survey on the Ottoman Archives, revealed that the Ottomans translated the Temporary Constitution of Greece, (1 January 1822) 2. Through the translation of these letters, terms such as republic (cumhuriyet) freedom (serbestiyet), motherland (vatan), compatriot (hemvatan), national assembly (cumhur müşaveresi) entered to Ottoman terminology for the first time. The Ottomans and the Sultan himself neglected all the declarations and the national aspirations of the Greeks and perceived the revolt as a conspiracy (fesad), provocation (fitne), betrayal (ihanet) and sedition (isyan) 3 carried out by the "ungrateful reayas". Why did the Ottomans insisted on interpreting the Greek independence movement as a simple sedition? The ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution had reached the Ottoman world through different channels of transmission, such as the sizeable European community in Istanbul and the Ottoman ambassadors in 1 Ilıcak, Huseyin

Between Greek Nationalism and Ottomanism : Contested Loyalties of Ottoman Greeks in the Periodicals

The modern Greek identity is mostly known for the attachment to the Greek state. However, the identification of the significant number of Greek Orthodox people that used to live in the Ottoman Empire remain unobserved. This study sets the question of the Ottoman Greek identity formation by considering its’ role in the wide prism of the Ottoman imperial space. The thesis argues that during the Tanzimat period in Ottoman Empire started a process of Ottoman Greek identity formation which would intersect both the imperial and the communal levels. The perception of Ottoman Greek identity was mainly developed along with the attitudes of community toward the imperial power centers, Patriarchate and Sultan, and the Greek Kingdom. In order to investigate this identity perception and the common loyalty of Ottoman Greeks, discourse and content analysis of two leading periodicals of that time, Konstantinoupolis and Thraki, were employed. Hence, the main outcome of the research indicates that after the Bulgarian schism, the trans-ethnic Christian solidarity gradually transformed to an Ottoman Greek one. Important finding of the research also shows that in the process of forging an imperial identity for the Ottoman Greeks Anatolia played crucial role as fatherland.

The Formation of Greek identity through the Modern Theory of Nationalism from the 18th-20th century

2021

This was a term paper for my "Nationalism and Minorities" module at Bangor University, part of my Masters Degree. This paper answers the question, "To what extent does Greek nationalism support the Modern Theory of Nationalism?" The creation of Greek nationalism through the lens of the "Modern Theory of Nationalism". The "Modern Theory of Nationalism" brings forth that Nationalism was the inevitable creation in the modern period (18th-present). The theory also discusses that although there is a start to nationalism, this means there needs to be an end to it. The theory can be applied to almost every culture that has a strong tie to their national identity. The theory also argues that the original objective of nationalism is to promote and build up national identity in order to create a state that protects and ensures the vital interests of its people. This paper specifically looks at the creation of the Greek national question and its implementation from the start of Greek Independence in 1821 to the Greco-Turkish war of 1919-1922. The purpose of Greek nationalism was to create a Greek state in order to give Greek nationals the opportunity to create a life that would benefit their interests instead of being treated as second rate citizens with limited privileges under the Ottoman Empire. Greek nationalism was an idea that expanded and adapted to its situation on the domestic and international scale. Greek nationalism would come crashing on itself in 1923, ultimately ending any hope of completing the Greek dream of "Greater Greece".

IDENTITY ISSUES OF THE OTTOMAN GREEKS IN THE AGE OF NATIONALISM AS REFLECTED IN THE EDUCATIONAL POLICIES OF THE GREEK COMMUNITY OF ISTANBUL (1895-1915

2007

The subject of this thesis is the identity issues of the Ottoman Greeks during the last decade of the nineteenth and the first decades of the twentieth century. The particular research focuses on the educational policies which were applied in the Greek Orthodox schools by the Patriarchate and members of the educated elite of the Greek Orthodox community. The aim of this thesis is to trace back the process of nation building regarding the Greek orthodox community in the Ottoman Empire, especially through the application of the Greek language in the Greek Orthodox schools. The way the Greek language was used by the Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox community in order to Hellenize the Orthodox millet linguistically have been discussed as well as their attitudes and perceptions regarding the teaching of foreign languages in the Greek Orthodox schools and the functioning of the foreign missionary schools, in relation to the process of the linguistic homogenization of the Orthodox millet. Moreover, in order to explain the process of Hellenizing the Orthodox millet linguistically, the attitudes towards the puristic form of the Greek language-Katharevousa- have been discussed as well as the intensively classical orientation of the Greek orthodox education. Finally, the attempts of the Ottoman governments to integrate Greek Orthodox schools into the public educational system and the resistance of the Patriarchate to these attempts have been elaborated.

In the Long Shadow of Europe , Greeks and Turks in the Era of Postnationalism

2019

The Greek-Turkish controversy has been approached from a variety of perspectives over the last few decades. While innumerable articles and books have been written on the conflict itself, there are no historical studies on the literature and discourses employed by the parties in question. Such a review would shed light on the historical dimension of the controversy, and more specifically, on the ways in which the parties perceived, experienced, and administered the conflict. It would also contribute to an evaluation of prevalent tendencies today, and to forecasting future developments.