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Thehistory of North Macedonia encompasses the history of the territory of the modern state ofNorth Macedonia.
TheVinča culture was an early culture of Southeastern Europe (between the6th and the 3rd millennium BC), stretching around the course of theDanube in Serbia,Croatia, northern parts ofBosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, Romania,Bulgaria, and theRepublic of North Macedonia, although traces of it can be found all around the Southeastern Europe, parts ofCentral Europe and inAsia Minor.
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In antiquity, most of the territory that is nowNorth Macedonia was included in the kingdom ofPaeonia, which was populated by the Paeonians, a people ofThracian origins,[1] but also parts of ancientIllyria,[2][3]Ancient Macedonians populated the area in the south, living among many other tribes andDardania,[4] inhabited by variousIllyrian peoples,[5][6] andLyncestis andPelagonia populated by the ancient GreekMolossian[7] tribes. None of these had fixed boundaries; they were sometimes subject to the Kings ofMacedon, and sometimes broke away.
In the late 6th century BC, theAchaemenid Persians underDarius the Great conquered thePaeonians, incorporating what is today North Macedonia within their vast territories.[8][9][10]
In 336 BCPhilip II of Macedon fully annexedUpper Macedonia, including its northern part and southern Paeonia, which both now lie within North Macedonia.[11] Philip's sonAlexander the Great conquered most of the remainder of the region, incorporating it in his empire, with the exclusion ofDardania.The Romans included most of the Republic in their province ofMacedonia, but the northernmost parts (Dardania) lay inMoesia; by the time ofDiocletian, they had been subdivided, and the Republic was split betweenMacedonia Salutaris andMoesia prima.[12] Little is known about the Slavs before the 5th century CE.
At this period the area divided from theJireček Line was populated from people ofThraco-Roman orIllyro-Roman origins, as well fromHellenized citizens of theByzantine Empire andByzantine Greeks. The ancient languages of the localThraco-Illyrian people had already gone extinct before the arrival of the Slavs, and their cultural influence was highly reduced due to the repeated barbaric invasions on the Balkans during the earlyMiddle Ages, accompanied by persistenthellenization,romanisation and laterslavicisation.South Slavic tribes settled in the territory of present-day North Macedonia in the 6th century. The Slavic settlements were referred to by Byzantine Greek historians as "Sclavenes". The Sclavenes participated in several assaults against theByzantine Empire – alone or aided byBulgars orAvars. Around 680 AD agroup, led by aBulgar namedKuber (who according to some sources belonged to the sameDulo clan as the Danubian Bulgarian KhanAsparukh), settled in thePelagonian plain, and launched a campaign to the region ofThessaloniki.
In the late 7th centuryJustinian II organized massive expeditions against the Sklaviniai of the Greek peninsula, in which he reportedly captured over 110,000 Slavs and transferred them toCappadocia. By the time ofConstans II (who also organized campaigns against the Slavs), the significant number of the Slavs of Macedonia were captured and transferred to centralAsia Minor where they were forced to recognize the authority of the Byzantine emperor and serve in its ranks.
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Use of the name "Sklavines" as a nation on its own was discontinued in Byzantine records after circa 836 as those Slavs in the Macedonia region became a population in theFirst Bulgarian Empire. Originally two distinct peoples,Sclavenes andBulgars, the Bulgars assimilated the Slavic language/identity whilst maintaining the Bulgarian demonym and name of the empire. Slavic influence in the region strengthened along with the rise of this state, which incorporated the entire region to its domain in AD 837.Saints Cyril and Methodius,Byzantine Greeks born inThessaloniki, were the creators of the first SlavicGlagolitic alphabet andOld Church Slavonic language. They were also apostles-Christianizators of the Slavic world. Their cultural heritage was acquired and developed in medieval Bulgaria, where after 885 the region ofOhrid became a significant ecclesiastical center. In conjunction with another disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius,Saint Naum, he created a flourishing Bulgarian cultural center around Ohrid, where over 3,000 pupils were taught in the Glagolitic andCyrillic script in what is now calledOhrid Literary School.
At the end of the 10th century, much of what is nowNorth Macedonia became the political and cultural center of theFirst Bulgarian Empire under TsarSamuel; while the Byzantine emperorBasil II came to rule the eastern part of the empire (what is now Bulgaria), including the then capitalPreslav, in 972. A new capital was established atOhrid, which also became the seat of theBulgarian Patriarchate. From then on, the Bulgarian model became an integral part of wider Slavic culture as a whole. After several decades of almost incessant fighting, Bulgaria came under Byzantine rule in 1018. The whole of North Macedonia was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire asTheme of Bulgaria[13] and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was reduced in rank to an archbishopric, theArchbishopric of Ohrid.[14]
Dobromir Chrysos rebelled against the emperor and after an unsuccessful imperial campaign in autumn 1197, the emperor sued for peace and recognized Dobromir-Chrysus' rights to lands between the Strymon and Vardar, including Strumica and the fortress of Prosek.[15]
In the 13th and 14th centuries, Byzantine control was punctuated by periods ofBulgarian andSerbian rule. For example,Konstantin Asen – a former nobleman from Skopje – ruled as tsar of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277. Later,Skopje became a capital of theSerbian Empire underStefan Dušan. After the dissolution of the empire, the area became a domain of independent local Serbian rulers from theMrnjavčević andDragaš houses. The domain of the Mrnjavčević house included western parts of present-day North Macedonia and domains of the Dragaš house included eastern parts. The capital of the state of Mrnjavčević house wasPrilep. There are only two known rulers from the Mrnjavčević house – kingVukašin Mrnjavčević and his son, kingMarko. King Marko became a vassal of theOttoman Empire and later died in theBattle of Rovine.
During the period in the 12th, 13th and early 14th century, parts of modern westernNorth Macedonia were under the rule of theAlbanian Noble Gropa family, which ruled territories betweenOhrid andDebar. The city ofDebar and some other territories after the ending rule ofGropa Noble family, were ruled by the AlbanianRoyal House of Kastrioti which ruled thePrincipality of Kastrioti during the end of the 14th century and the first half of the 15th century. After the death of theAlbanian PrinceGjon Kastrioti in 1437, many parts of his domains were conquered by the Ottoman Empire and shortly after this, during the 15th century were again restored into the Albanian rule ofLeague of Lezhë led byGjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. During this period, western territories of modern North Macedonia became battleground between the Albanian and Ottoman armies. Some of the battles that took place in the territory ofMacedonia were theBattle of Polog,Battle of Mokra,Battle of Ohrid,Battle of Otonetë,Battle of Oranik and many others.Skanderbeg's Campaign intoMacedonia also took place. With the death ofSkanderbeg on 17 January 1468 theAlbanian Resistance began to fall. After the death ofSkanderbeg theAlbanian League was led byLekë Dukagjini, but it did not have the same success as before and the last Albanian strongholds were conquered in 1479 in theSiege of Shkodër.
Conquered by the Ottoman army at the end of the 14th century,[16] the region remained a part of theOttoman Empire for over 500 years, as part of the province orEyalet ofRumelia.[17] During this in the second half of the 15th century theAlbanian Leader of theLeague of Lezhë,Skanderbeg was able to occupy places in modern westernNorth Macedonia that were under Ottoman rule like the then well known city ofOhrid (Albanian Ohër) in theBattle of Ohrid.[18][19]Tetovo (Battle of Polog) and many other places. The Albanian forces underSkanderbeg penetrated deep into modern North Macedonia in theBattle of Mokra. But this did not last long and the places were again occupied by theOttomans.Rumelia (Turkish:Rumeli) means "Land of the Romans" inTurkish, referring to the lands conquered by theOttoman Turks from theByzantine Empire.[20]). Over the centuries Rumelia Eyalet was reduced in size through administrative reforms, until by the nineteenth century it consisted of a region of central Albania and north-western part of the current state of North Macedonia with its capital at Manastir or present dayBitola.[21] Rumelia Eyalet was abolished in 1867 and the territory of North Macedonia subsequently became part of the provinces ofManastir Vilayet,Kosovo Vilayet andSalonica Vilayet until the end of Ottoman rule in 1912.
During the period of Ottoman rule the region gained a substantialTurkish minority, especially in the religious sense of Muslim; some of those Muslims became so through conversions. During the Ottoman rule,Skopje and Monastir (Bitola) were capitals of separate Ottoman provinces (eyalets). The valley of the riverVardar, which was later to become the central area of North Macedonia, was ruled by theOttoman Empire prior to theFirst Balkan War of 1912, with the exception of the brief period in 1878 when it was liberated from Ottoman rule after theRusso-Turkish War (1877–78), becoming part ofBulgaria. In 1903, a short-livedKruševo Republic was proclaimed in the south-western part of present-day North Macedonia by the rebels of theIlinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising. Most of the ethnographers and travellers duringOttoman rule classified Slavic speaking people in Macedonia asBulgarians. Examples include the 17th century travellerEvliya Çelebi in hisSeyahatname: Book of Travels to the Ottoman census ofHilmi Pasha in 1904 and later. However, they also remarked that the language spoken in Macedonia had somewhat of a distinctive character — often described as a "Western Bulgarian dialect" as other Bulgarian dialects in modern western Bulgaria. Evidence also exists that certain Macedonian Slavs, particularly those in the northern regions, considered themselves asSerbs, on the other hand the intention tojoin Greece predominated in southern Macedonia where it was supported by substantial part of the Slavic-speaking population too. Although references are made referring to Slavs in Macedonia being identified as Bulgarians, some scholars suggest that ethnicity in medieval times was more fluid than what we see it to be today, an understanding derived from nineteenth century nationalistic ideals of a homogeneous nation-state.[22][23]
During the period ofBulgarian National Revival (1762–1878), many Bulgarians from Vardar Macedonia supported the struggle for creation of Bulgarian cultural educational and religious institutions, including theBulgarian Exarchate. The subsequentMacedonian Struggle (1893–1908) remained inconclusive.
The region was captured by theKingdom of Serbia duringFirst Balkan War of 1912 and was subsequently annexed to Serbia under theKarađorđević dynasty in the post-war peace treaties exceptStrumica region was part of Bulgaria between 1912 and 1919. It had no administrative autonomy and was calledSouth Serbia (Južna Srbija) or "Old Serbia" (Stara Srbija). It wasoccupied by theKingdom of Bulgaria between 1915 and 1918. After the First World War, the Kingdom of Serbia joined the newly formedKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
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After World War I (1914–1918) the Slavs in Serbian Macedonia ("Vardar Macedonia") were regarded as southern Serbs and the language they spoke a southern Serbian dialect. The Bulgarian, Greek and Romanian schools were closed, the Bulgarian priests and all non-Serbian teachers were expelled. The policy ofSerbianization in the 1920s and 1930s clashed withpro-Bulgarian sentiment stirred byInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) detachments infiltrating from Bulgaria, whereas local communists favoured the path of self-determination.
In 1925,D. J. Footman, the British vice consul atSkopje, addressed a lengthy report for theForeign Office. He wrote that "the majority of the inhabitants ofSouthern Serbia areOrthodox Christian Macedonians,ethnologically more akin to the Bulgarians than to the Serbs. He also pointed to the existence of the tendency to seek an independent Macedonia withSalonica as its capital."[25]
On 6 January 1929, kingAlexander I Karađorđević committed a coup d'état and installed the so-called6 January Dictatorship, abolishing theVidovdan Constitution and renaming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to theKingdom of Yugoslavia. It was divided into provinces calledbanovinas. The territory ofVardar Banovina hadSkopje as its capital and it included what eventually became modern North Macedonia (plus some lands north of it that are now part of Serbia and Kosovo). Alexander's dictatorship effectively ruined parliamentary democracy, and after growing popular resentment against the king's autocratic rule, he wasassassinated in 1934 in France by theInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO).
During World War II, the Vardar Banovina was occupied between 1941 and 1944 byItalian-ruled Albania, which annexed the Albanian-populated western regions, and pro-GermanBulgaria, whichoccupied the remainder. The occupying powers persecuted those inhabitants of the province who opposed the regime; this prompted some of them to join the Communist resistance movement ofJosip Broz Tito. However, the Bulgarian army was well received by most of the population when it entered Macedonia[26] and it was able to recruit from the local population, which formed as much as 40% to 60% of the soldiers in certain battalions.
The resistance started to grow in the summer of 1943 with the capitulation of Italy and the Soviet victories over Nazi Germany.[27] The date of the creation of its major unit, the Mirče AcevBattalion, on August 18, 1943 on Mount Slavej[28][page needed] betweenOhrid andKičevo, then in the Italian occupation zone, is officially celebrated today inNorth Macedonia as the Day of theArmy of the Republic of North Macedonia. On 11 November 1943, the 1st Macedonian Kosovo Shock Brigade was formed in westernMacedonia by merging twoVardar Macedonian and oneKosovo battalion. The second — larger ethnic Macedonian military unit was the 2nd Macedonian Shock Brigade, formed on 22 December 1943 just across the border inGreek Macedonia.[29][page needed] On 26 February 1944 in the village of Zegljane, nearKumanovo, the 3rd Macedonian Shock Brigade was formed. These three brigades were the nucleus of the National Liberation Army of Macedonia, which after constant battles became stronger in numbers. Meanwhile, the second session ofAVNOJ recognized the Macedonians as a separate nation for the first time in November 1943. From 8,000 partisans in the summer of 1944, until the finalmilitary operations in theYugoslav National Liberation War in April 1945, the National Liberation Army of Macedonia had increased to three corps, seven divisions and thirty brigades, all with a total of 100,000 regular soldiers.
Following World War II, Yugoslavia was reconstituted as a federal state under the leadership of Tito'sYugoslav Communist Party. When the former Vardar province was established in 1944, most of its territory was transferred into a separate republic while the northernmost parts of the province remained with Serbia. In 1946, the new republic was granted federal status as an autonomous "People's Republic of Macedonia" within the newSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In the 1963 Constitution of Yugoslavia it was slightly renamed, to bring it in line with the other Yugoslav republics, as theSocialist Republic of Macedonia.
Greece was concerned by the initiatives of the Yugoslav government, as they were seen as a pretext for future territorial claims against the Greek region ofMacedonia, which formed the bulk ofhistorical Macedonia. The Yugoslav authorities also promoted the development of theMacedonians' ethnic identity and language. TheMacedonian language was codified in 1944 (Keith 2003), from the Slavic dialect spoken aroundVeles. This further angered both Greece and Bulgaria, because of the possible territorial claims of the new states to the Greek and Bulgarian parts of the historic region of Macedonia received after theBalkan Wars.
During theGreek Civil War (1944–1949), many Macedonians (regardless of ethnicity) participated in the ELAS resistance movement organized by theCommunist Party of Greece.ELAS and Yugoslavia were on good terms until 1949, when they split due to Tito's lack of allegiance toJoseph Stalin (cf.Cominform). After the end of the war, the ELAS fighters who took refuge in southern Yugoslavia and Bulgaria were not all permitted by Greece to return: only those who considered themselves Greeks were allowed, whereas those who considered themselvesBulgarian or Macedonian Slavs were barred. These events also contributed to the bad state of Yugoslav-Greek relations in the Macedonia region.
On July 26, 1963 there was a 6.1moment magnitude earthquake which occurred inSkopje,SR Macedonia (present-dayNorth Macedonia), then part of theSFR Yugoslavia, on July 26, 1963, which killed over 1,070 people, injured between 3,000[30] and 4,000[31] and left more than 200,000 people homeless.[32] About 80 percent of the city was destroyed.[32] Following the earthquake,Josip Broz Tito, president of SFR Yugoslavia, sent a message of condolences to theSocialist Republic of Macedonia before visiting the city personally later on.[33][34] Within a few days after the earthquake took place, 35 nations requested that theUnited Nations General Assembly place relief for Skopje on their list of agendas. The effort led to the implementation of a major urban and architectural reconstruction planurban master-plan of Skopje 1963. Relief, in the form of money, medical, engineering and building teams and supplies was offered from 78 countries throughout the world.[32] Several streets and objects in Skopje were named in honor of the countries which helped in their construction and/or donated housing. For example, the government ofRomania donated thepolyclinic medical center, which was named after its capital,Bucharest. InKarposh Municipality, there are Soviet-donatedapartment buildings called inMacedonian: „руски згради“ (ruski zgradi, meaning "Russian buildings") andSwedish andFinnishprefabs called „шведски / фински бараки“ (švedski /finski baraki).[35]
In 1990, the form ofgovernment peacefully changed fromsocialist state toparliamentary democracy. The first multi-party elections were held on 11 and 25 November and 9 December 1990.[36] After the collective presidency led byVladimir Mitkov [bg;mk;sr;uk][37] was dissolved,Kiro Gligorov became the first democratically electedpresident of the Republic of Macedonia on 31 January 1991.[38] On 16 April 1991, the parliament adopted aconstitutional amendment removing "Socialist" from the official name of the country, and on 7 June of the same year, the new name, "Republic of Macedonia", was officially established.
On 8 September 1991, the country held anindependence referendum where 95.26% voted for independence from Yugoslavia, under the name of theRepublic of Macedonia. The question of the referendum was formulated as "Would you support independent Macedonia with the right to enter future union of sovereign states of Yugoslavia?" (Macedonian: Дали сте за самостојна Македонија со право да стапи во иден сојуз на суверени држави на Југославија?). On 25 September 1991 the Declaration of Independence was formally adopted by theMacedonian Parliament making the Republic of Macedonia an independent country – although in Macedoniaindependence day is still celebrated as the day of the referendum 8 September. A newConstitution of the Republic of Macedonia was adopted on 17 November 1991.
Following thebreakup of Yugoslavia, the position ofethnic Albanians was uncertain in the early years of the new Macedonian republic. Various Albanian political parties emerged, of which theParty for Democratic Prosperity (PDP) was the largest and most prominent. The PDP called for the improvement of the status ofAlbanians in North Macedonia, such as extended education rights andAlbanian language usage, constitutional changes, release of political prisoners, proportional voting system and an end to discrimination. Discontent with the lack of constitutional recognition of collective rights for Albanians resulted in PDP leader Nevzat Halili declaring his party would regard the constitution as invalid and move toward seeking autonomy, declaring aRepublic of Ilirida in 1992 and again in 2014. The proposal has been declared unconstitutional by theMacedonian government.
Bulgaria was the first country to recognize the new Macedonian state under its constitutional name. However, international recognition of the new country was delayed by Greece's objection to the use of what it considered a Hellenic name and national symbols, as well as controversial clauses in the Republic's constitution, a controversy known as theMacedonia naming dispute. To compromise, the country was admitted to the United Nations under the provisional name of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" on 8 April 1993.[39]
Greece was still dissatisfied and it imposed a trade blockade in February 1994. The sanctions were lifted in September 1995 after Macedonia changed its flag and aspects of its constitution that were perceived as granting it the right to intervene in the affairs of other countries. The two neighbours immediately went ahead with normalizing their relations, but the state's name remains a source of local and international controversy. The usage of each name remains controversial to supporters of the other.
After the state was admitted to the United Nations under the temporary reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", other international organisations adopted the same convention. More than half of the UN's member states have recognized the country as the Republic of Macedonia, including the United States of America while the rest use the temporary reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" or have not established any diplomatic relations with the country.
In 1999, theKosovo War led to 340,000 Albanian refugees from Kosovo fleeing into the Republic of Macedonia, greatly disrupting normal life in the region and threatening to upset the balance betweenMacedonians andAlbanians. Refugee camps were set up in the country. Athens did not interfere with the Republic's affairs whenNATO forces moved to and from the region ahead a possible invasion of theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia.Thessaloniki was the main depot for humanitarian aid to the region. The Republic of Macedonia did not become involved in the conflict.
In end the war, Yugoslav presidentSlobodan Milošević reached an agreement with NATO which allowed refugees to return under UN protection. However, the war increased tensions, and relations between Macedonians and the Albanian minority became strained. On the positive side, Athens and Ankara presented a united front of 'non-involvement'. In Greece, there was a strong reaction against NATO and the United States.
In the spring of 2001, ethnic Albanian insurgents calling themselves theNational Liberation Army (some of whom were former members of theKosovo Liberation Army)took up arms in the north and northwest of the Republic of Macedonia. They demanded that the constitution be rewritten to enshrine certainAlbanian minority interests such as language rights. The guerillas received support from Albanians in NATO-controlled Kosovo and Albanianguerrillas in the demilitarized zone between Kosovo and the rest of Serbia. The fighting was concentrated in and around Tetovo, the fifth largest city in the country, and in the wider regions of Skopje, the capital, and Kumanovo, the third largest city.
After a joint NATO-Serb crackdown on Albanian guerrillas in Kosovo, European Union (EU) officials were able to negotiate a cease-fire in June. The government would give to the citizens of Albanian descent greater civil rights, and the guerrilla groups would voluntarily relinquish their weapons to NATO monitors. This agreement was a success, and in August 2001 3,500 NATO soldiers conducted "Operations Essential Harvest" to retrieve the arms. Directly after the operation finished in September the NLA officially dissolved itself. Ethnic relations have since improved significantly, although hardliners on both sides have been a continued cause for concern and some low level violence continues particularly directed against police.
On 26 February 2004, PresidentBoris Trajkovski died in a plane crash nearMostar,Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results of the official investigation revealed that the cause of the plane accident was procedural mistakes by the crew, committed during the approach to land atMostar Airport.
In March 2004, the country submitted anapplication for membership of the European Union, and on 17 December 2005 was listed by the EU Presidency conclusions as an accession candidate (as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"). However, accession proceedings were delayed due to opposition by Greece until the 2018 resolution of theMacedonia naming dispute, and later by Bulgaria due to unresolved differences between the two countries on the history of the region and what is perceived as "anti-Bulgarian ideology".[40][41]
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In June 2017,Zoran Zaev ofSocial Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) became new Prime Minister six months after early elections. The new center-left government ended 11 years of conservativeVMRO-DPMNE rule led by former Prime MinisterNikola Gruevski.[42]
On 9 May 2015 the2015 Kumanovo clashes were series of shootouts which erupted during araid between theMacedonian police and an armed group identifying itself as theNational Liberation Army (NLA). They began on 9 May 2015 in the northernMacedonian town ofKumanovo.[43] During the shootings, 8 Macedonian policemen and 10 of the militants were killed, while 37 officers were wounded and hospitalized.[44] The shooting ended on 10 May 2015, in an operation by the Macedonian police, in which 30 militants were arrested and charged withterrorism-related charges by the Macedonian authorities.[45]
In June 2018, thePrespa agreement was reached between the governments ofGreece and the then-Republic of Macedonia to rename the latter the Republic of North Macedonia, orNorth Macedonia for short. This agreement, after it had been accepted by the respective legislatures of both countries, came into effect on 12 February 2019, thus ending the disputes.[46]
Stevo Pendarovski (SDSM) was sworn in as North Macedonia's new president in May 2019.[47] The early parliamentary elections took place on 15 July 2020.[48] Zoran Zaev has served as the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia again since August 2020.[49] Prime Minister Zoran Zaev announced his resignation after his party, the Social Democratic Union, suffered losses in local elections in October 2021.[50] After internal party leadership elections,Dimitar Kovačevski succeeded him as leader of the SDSM on 12 December 2021,[51] and was sworn in as Prime Minister of North Macedonia on 16 January 2022, securing a 62–46 confidence vote in Parliament for his new SDSM-led coalition cabinet.[52]
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