Editing Bitola (section)

==History==
[[File:Catolic church bitola.jpg|thumb|left|The Catholic Church "Holy Heart of Jesus", on the main street of Bitola.]]

===Prehistory===
There are a number of [[Prehistory of Southeastern Europe|prehistoric]] archaeological sites around Bitola. The earliest evidence of organized human settlements are the archaeological sites from the early [[Neolithic]] period, among which the most important are the [[Tell (archaeology)|tell]]s of [[Veluška Tumba]] and [[Bara Tumba]] near the village of [[Porodin, North Macedonia|Porodin]], first inhabited around 6000 BC.<ref name="Neolithic communities in the Republic of Macedonia">{{cite book |last1=Naumov |first1=Goce |last2=Fidanoski |first2=Ljubo |last3=Tolevski |first3=Igor |last4=Ivkovska |first4=Aneta |title=Neolithic Communities in the Republic of Macedonia |date=2009 |publisher=Dante |location=Skopje |page=27}}</ref>

===Ancient and early Byzantine periods===
The region of Bitola was known as [[Lynkestis]] in antiquity, a region that became part of [[Upper Macedonia]], and was ruled by semi-independent chieftains until the later [[Argead dynasty|Argead]] rulers of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedon]]. The tribes of Lynkestis were known as ''Lynkestai''. According to [[Nicholas Hammond]], they were a [[Greeks|Greek]] tribe belonging to the [[Molossians|Molossian]] group of the [[Epirotes]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=edited by John Boardman [and] N.G.L.|title=The expansion of the Greek world, eighth to sixth centuries B.C.|year=1982|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=London|isbn=978-0-521-23447-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0qAoqP4g1fEC&pg=PA266 |edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière|title=Collected Studies: Further studies on various topics|year=1993|publisher=A.M. Hakkert|page=158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eW0iAQAAIAAJ&q=%22the+Lyncestae+in+the+region+of+Fiorina%2C+the+Orestae+in+the+region+of+Kastoria%2C+and+the+Elimeotae+in+the+region+of+Kozani.+These+tribes+were+all+Epirotic+tribes+and+they+talked+the+Greek+language+but+with+a+different+dialect%22}}</ref> There are important metal artifacts from the ancient period at the necropolis of Crkvište near the village of [[Beranci]]. A golden earring dating from the 4th century BC is depicted on the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the Macedonian 10-[[Macedonian denar|denar]] banknote, issued in 1996.<ref>[http://www.nbrm.gov.mk National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia]. Macedonian currency. Banknotes in circulation: [http://www.nbrm.gov.mk/default-en.asp?ItemID=A82826138490824E874DC0F6B8BCE3DE 10 Denars] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329085722/http://www.nbrm.gov.mk/default-en.asp?ItemID=A82826138490824E874DC0F6B8BCE3DE |date=2008-03-29 }}. – Retrieved on 30 March 2009.</ref>

[[Heraclea Lyncestis]] ({{langx|grc|Ἠράκλεια Λυγκηστίς}}<ref>[[NGL Hammond|Hammond, N. G. L.]], (1972), ''A History of Macedonia'', Oxford: Oxford University Press, pg. 59</ref> - ''City of Hercules upon the Land of the Lynx'') was an important settlement from the [[Hellenistic period]] till the early [[Middle Ages]]. It was founded by [[Philip II of Macedon]] by the middle of the 4th century BC, and named after the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] hero [[Heracles]]. With its strategic location, it became a prosperous city. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] conquered this part of Macedon in 148 BC and destroyed the political power of the city. However, its prosperity continued mainly due to the Roman [[Via Egnatia]] road which passed near the city. A number of archaeological monuments from the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] period can be seen today in Heraclea, including a [[portico]], [[thermae]] (baths), a [[Roman theatre (structure)|theater]]. The theatre was once capable of housing an audience of around 2,500 people.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

In the early [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea became an important [[Bishop|episcopal]] centre. Some of its bishops were mentioned in the acts of the first [[Ecumenical council|Church Councils]], including Bishop Evagrius of Heraclea in the Acts of the [[Archbishopric of Sardica#Council of Sardica|Sardica Council]] of 343. The city walls, a number of [[History of Christianity|Early Christian]] [[basilica]]s, the bishop's residence, and a lavish city fountain are some of the remains of this period. The floors in the three [[nave]]s of the Great Basilica are covered with [[mosaic]]s with a very rich floral and figurative [[iconography]]; these well preserved mosaics are often regarded as one of the finest examples of the early [[Christian art]] in the region. During the 4th and 6th centuries, the names of other bishops from Heraclea were recorded. The city was sacked by [[Ostrogoths|Ostrogothic]] forces, commanded by [[Theodoric the Great]] in 472 AD and, despite a large gift to him from the city's bishop, it was sacked again in 479. It was restored in the late 5th and early 6th centuries. However, in the late 6th century the city suffered successive attacks by various tribes, and eventually the region was settled by the early [[Slavic peoples]]. Its imperial buildings fell into disrepair and the city gradually declined to a small settlement, and survived as such until around the 11th century AD.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

===Middle Ages===
In the 6th and 7th centuries, the region around Bitola experienced a demographic shift as more and more Slavic tribes settled in the area. In place of the deserted theater, several houses were built during that time. The Slavs also built a fortress around their settlement. Bitola was a part of the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] from the middle of the 8th to the early 11th centuries, after which it again became part of the [[Byzantine Empire]], and in turn was briefly part of the [[Serbian Empire]] during the 14th century. Arguably, a number of monasteries and churches were built in and around the city during the Medieval period (hence its other name ''Manastir'').{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

[[File:Bitola Inscription, Museum of Bitola.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The [[Bitola inscription]]. The [[Old Church Slavonic|Slavic]] name of the city of Bitola is mentioned in the inscription for the first time. The inscription reveals a fortress was built as a haven for the [[Bulgarians]].]]
In the 10th century, Bitola came under the rule of [[tsar]] [[Samuel of Bulgaria]]. He built a castle in the town, later used by his successor [[Gavril Radomir of Bulgaria]]. The town is mentioned in several medieval sources{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}. [[John Skylitzes]]'s 11th-century chronicle mentions that Emperor [[Basil II]] burned Gavril's castle in Bitola, when passing through and ravaging [[Pelagonia]]. The second [[chrysobull]] (1019) of Basil II mentioned that the Bishop of Bitola depended on the [[Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid (ancient)|Archbishopric of Ohrid]]. During the reign of Samuil, the city was the seat of the Bitola Bishopric. In many medieval sources, especially Western, the name ''Pelagonia'' was synonymous with the Bitola Bishopric. According to some sources, Bitola was known as Heraclea since what once was the Heraclea Bishopric later became the Pelagonian Metropolitan's Diocese. In 1015, Tsar Gavril Radomir was killed by his cousin [[Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria|Ivan Vladislav]], who then declared himself tsar and rebuilt the city's fortress. To commemorate the occasion, a [[Bitola inscription|stone inscription]] written in the [[Cyrillic]] alphabet was set in the fortress; in it the Slavic name of the city is mentioned: Bitol.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

During the [[Battle of Bitola (1015)|battle of Bitola in 1015]] between a Bulgarian army under the command of the voivode [[Ivats of Bulgaria|Ivats]] and a [[Byzantine]] army led by the ''strategos'' George Gonitsiates, the Bulgarians were victorious and the [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Basil II]] had to retreat from the Bulgarian capital [[Ohrid]], whose outer walls were by that time already breached by the Bulgarians. Afterwards Ivan Vladislav moved the capital from Ohrid to Bitola, where he re-erected the fortress. However, the Bulgarian victory only postponed the fall of Bulgaria to Byzantine rule in 1018.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

As a military, political and religious center, Bitola played a very important role in the life of the medieval society in the region, prior to the Ottoman conquest in the mid-14th century. On the eve of the Ottoman conquest, Bitola (Monastir in Ottoman Turkish) experienced great growth with its well-established trading links all over the Balkan Peninsula, especially with big economic centers like [[Constantinople]], [[Thessalonica]], [[Dubrovnik|Ragusa]] and [[Veliko Tarnovo|Tarnovo]]. Caravans carrying various goods came and went from Bitola.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Urea |first=Tudor |date=2019 |title=The Ottomans in the Balkans |url=https://journals.indexcopernicus.com/api/file/viewByFileId/955128 |journal=Studium |publisher=University of Galați |volume=12 |issue= |pages=5–13 |via=Index Copernicus}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=November 2024}}

===Ottoman rule===
{{See also|Manastir Vilayet}}
[[File:Landscape of the Monastir, Ishak Chelebi Mosque and Dragor river by Edward Lear (1848).jpg|thumb|Bitola in the 19th century]]
[[File:Udruzenje chetnika za slobodu, Bitola.jpg|thumb|left|Board of the ''Chetnik Association for Freedom'']]
[[File:Greek School Gymnasium of Monastir Bitola.JPG|thumb|Greek school in Bitola, late 19th to early 20th century]]
[[File:Mehmed V Reshad vo Bitola, precek.jpg|thumb|left|Reception Sultan [[Mehmed V|Mehmed V Reşâd]] in the train station in Bitola, 1911]]
[[File:Komisioni_i_Alfabetit_Monastir_1908.jpg|thumb|left|The Albanian academic [[Congress of Manastir]]]]
[[File:Pitomci od Voena akademija, Bitola.jpg|thumb|Turkish Military Academy (1909)]]
[[File:Tursko uciliste vo Bitola.jpg|thumb|Turkish school]]
[[File:Bitola 05.JPG|thumb|left|Typical neoclassical architecture from the 19th century]]

From 1382 to 1912, Bitola was part of the [[Ottoman Empire]], and was known as Monastir. Fierce battles took place near the city during the Ottoman conquest. Ottoman rule was completely established after the death of [[Prince Marko]] in 1395 when the Ottoman Empire established the [[Sanjak of Ohrid]] as a part of the [[Rumelia Eyalet]] and one of the earliest established sanjaks in Europe.<ref>{{Citation |last= Stojanovski |first=Aleksandar  |author-link=Aleksandar Stojanovski |title=Makedonija vo turskoto srednovekovie : od krajot na XIV--početokot na XVIII vek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ND4yAAAAIAAJ&q=%22%D0%9E%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8+%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%9F%D0%B0%D0%BA%22  |access-date= 24 December 2011 |year= 1989 |publisher= Kultura |location= Skopje |language= mk |oclc=21875410 |page= 49 |quote= Овој санџак исто така е еден од најстарите санџаци во Румелискиот беглербеглак}}</ref> Before it became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1395, Bitola was part of the realm of [[Prince Marko]].<ref>{{Citation |last= Stojanovski |first=Aleksandar  |author-link=Aleksandar Stojanovski |title=Makedonija vo turskoto srednovekovie : od krajot na XIV--početokot na XVIII vek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ND4yAAAAIAAJ&q=%22%D0%9E%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8+%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%9F%D0%B0%D0%BA%22  |access-date= 24 December 2011 |year= 1989 |publisher= Kultura |location= Skopje |language= mk |oclc=21875410 |page= 49 |quote=  ОХРИДСКИ САНЏАК (Liva i Ohri): Овој санџак исто така е еден од најстарите санџаци во Румелискиот беглербеглак. Се смета дека бил создаден по загинувањето на крал Марко (1395),..}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Šabanović  |first=Hazim  |author-link=Hazim Šabanović  |title=Bosanski pašaluk : postanak i upravna podjela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkQQAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Poslije+pogibije+kralja+Marka+i+Konstantina+Deja-+novi%C4%87a+na+Rovinama+%281394%29+pretvorene+su+njihove+oblasti+u+turske+sand%C5%BEake%2C+Custelndilski+i+Ohridski.+%22  |access-date=26 December 2011 |year=1959 |publisher=Oslobođenje |location=Sarajevo |language=hr  |oclc=10236383 |page=20 |quote=Poslije pogibije kralja Marka i Konstantina Dejanovića na Rovinama (1394) pretvorene su njihove oblasti u turske sandžake, Ćustelndilski i Ohridski.  }}</ref> Initially, its [[county town]] was Bitola and later it was [[Ohrid]], so it was sometimes referred to as the Sanjak of Monastir and sometimes as the Sanjak of Bitola.<ref>{{Citation|title=Istorisko društvo Bosne i Hercegovine |chapter=Godišnjak |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f04iAAAAMAAJ&q=%D0%BE%D1%85%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B4 |access-date=26 December 2011 |volume=4 |year=1952 |publisher=Državna Štamparija |location= Sarajevo |language=sr |oclc=183334876 |page=175 |quote=На основу тога мислим да је у почетку постојао само један санџак, коме је прво средиште било у Битољу... }}</ref>

After the [[Ottoman wars in Europe|Austro-Ottoman wars]], the trade development and the overall prosperity of the city declined. But in the late 19th century, it again became the second-largest city in the wider southern Balkan region after [[Thessaloniki]].{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

Between 1815 and 1822, the town was ruled by the [[Albanian Pashaliks|Albanian]] [[Ali Pasha of Yanina|Ali Pasha]] as part of the [[Pashalik of Yanina]].<ref name="Stanford">{{cite web |title=Visualizing Ali Pasha Order: Relations, Networks and Scales |url=https://mapoe.stanford.edu/projects/visualizing-ali-pasha-order-relations-networks-and-scales |website=Stanford University |access-date=11 September 2021}}</ref>

During the [[Great Eastern Crisis]], the local Bulgarian movement of the day was defeated when armed Bulgarian groups were repelled by the [[League of Prizren]], an Albanian organisation opposing Bulgarian geopolitical aims in areas like Bitola that contained an [[Albanians|Albanian]] population.<ref name="Rama90">{{cite book|last=Rama|first=Shinasi A.|title=Nation Failure, Ethnic Elites, and Balance of Power: The International Administration of Kosova|year=2019|publisher=Springer|isbn=9783030051921|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJaDDwAAQBAJ&q=Velesht|page=90}}</ref> Nevertheless, in April 1881, an Ottoman army captured Prizren and suppressed the League's rebellion.<ref>L. Benson (2003) Yugoslavia: A Concise History, Edition 2, Springer, pp. 10-11, {{ISBN|1403997209}}.</ref>

In 1874, Manastır became the center of [[Monastir Vilayet]] which included the sanjaks of [[Sanjak of Dibra|Debra]], [[Servia, Greece|Serfidze]], [[Sanjak of Elbasan|Elbasan]], Manastır (Bitola), [[Korçë|Görice]] and the towns of [[Kicevo|Kırcaova]], [[Prilep|Pirlepe]], [[Florina]], [[Kastoria|Kesriye]] and [[Grevena]].

Traditionally a strong trading center, Bitola was also known as "the city of the consuls". In the final period of Ottoman rule (1878–1912), Bitola had consulates from twelve countries. During the same period, there were a number of prestigious schools in the city, including a military academy that, among others, was attended by the Turkish reformer [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]. In 1883, there were 19 schools in Monastir, of which 11 were Greek, 5 were Bulgarian and 3 were Romanian.<ref>AYE, Consulates of Macedonia, Monastir, 12th January 1883, no.44 and Thessaloniki, 8th February 1883, no.200 "Analytic census of the educational condition of Monastir from the early 19th century" from the book ''Educational and societal activity of the Hellenism of Macedonia'' of St. Papadopoulos, p.133-130</ref> In Bitola, besides the schools where Ottomanism and Turkism flourished in the 19th century, schools of various nations were also opened. These institutions, which were very effective in increasing the education level and the rate of literacy, caused the formation of a circle of intellectuals in Bitola.<ref>Özcan, Uğur, 1878-1912 Yillari Arasinda Manastir Vilayeti’Nde Okullaşma Ve Okullaşmanin Milliyetçilik Üzerindeki Etkisi (Schooling in Manastir (Bitola) Vilayet between 1878-1912 and Influence of Schooling on Nationalism) (16 December 2013). Avrasya İncelemeleri Dergisi (AVİD), I/2 (2013), 353-423, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2661356</ref> Bitola was also the headquarters of many cultural organizations at that time.

In 1894, Manastır was connected with [[Thessaloniki]] by train. The first motion picture made in the Balkans was produced by the [[Aromanians|Aromanian]] [[Manakis brothers]] in Manastır in 1903. In their honour, the annual [[Manaki Brothers Film Festival|Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers Film Festival]] is held in Bitola since 1979.

In November 1905, the [[Secret Committee for the Liberation of Albania]], a secret organization formed to fight for the liberation of [[Albania]] from the Ottoman Empire, was founded by [[Bajo Topulli]] and other Albanian nationalists and intellectuals.<ref name="Elsie2010">{{cite book|first=Robert |last=Elsie|title=Historical Dictionary of Albania|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haFlGXIg8uoC&pg=PA449|access-date=29 May 2012|date=30 March 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-6188-6|page=449}}</ref> Three years later, the [[Congress of Manastir]] of 1908, which standardized the modern [[Albanian alphabet]], was held in the city.<ref name="Campbell2000">{{cite book|first=George L. |last=Campbell|title=Compendium of the World's Languages: Abaza to Kurdish|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bYvPvqO2J6wC&pg=PA50|access-date=29 May 2012|year=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-20296-1|page=50}}</ref> The congress was held at the house of [[Fehim Zavalani]]. [[Mit'hat Frashëri]] was chairman of the congress. The participants in the Congress were prominent figures from the cultural and political life of Albanian-inhabited territories in the [[Balkans]], and the [[Albanian diaspora]].

===Ilinden Uprising===
[[File:Bitola.1914.jpg|thumb|Street in Bitola in 1914]]
[[File:Celebration of the Ilinen Uprising in Bitola in 1916 under Bulgarian occupation.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Celebration of the Ilinden Uprising in Bitola during the [[Bulgarian occupation of Serbia (World War I)|WWI Bulgarian occupation of Southern Serbia]].<ref>Илюстрация Илинден, София, октомври 1927, бр. 5, стр. 7-8. [https://www.strumski.com/books/Lyubomir_Miletich_Praznuvane_Ilinden_v_Bitola_1916.pdf Любомир Милетич, На Илинденско Тържество в Битоля (1916).]</ref>]]
The Bitola region was a stronghold of the [[Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising|Ilinden Uprising]]. The uprising was conceived in 1903 in Thessaloniki by the [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] (IMRO).<ref>Dimitar Bechev, Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, Historical Dictionaries of Europe, Scarecrow Press, 2009, {{ISBN|0810862956}}, p. 82.</ref> The uprising in the Bitola region was planned in [[Smilevo]] village in May 1903. Battles were fought in the villages of Bistrica, Rakovo, Buf, Skocivir, Paralovo, Brod, Novaci, Smilevo, Gjavato, Capari and others. Smilevo was defended by 600 rebels led by [[Dame Gruev]] and [[Georgi Sugarev]]. They were defeated and the villages were burned.

===Balkan Wars===
In 1912, [[Montenegro]], [[Serbia]], [[Bulgaria]] and [[Greece]] fought the Ottomans in the [[First Balkan War]]. After a victory [[Battle of Sarantaporo|at Sarantaporo]], Greek troops advanced towards Monastir but were defeated by the Ottomans [[Battle of Sorovich|at Sorovich]]. The [[Battle of Monastir]] (16–19 November 1912) led to Serbian occupation of the city. According to the [[Treaty of Bucharest, 1913]], the region of Macedonia was divided into three parts among Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. Monastir was ceded to Serbia and its official name became the [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] toponym ''Bitola''.

===World War I===
[[File:Vivat-bander - 1915-12-04 - Monastir by O. R. Bossert.jpg|thumb|70px|left|German [[Vivat ribbons|Vivat ribbon]] commemorating the Bulgarian occupation (1915).]]

During [[World War I]] Bitola was on the [[Salonica front]]. Bulgaria, a [[Central Powers|Central Power]], took the city on 21 November 1915, while the Allied forces [[Monastir Offensive|recaptured it in 1916]]. Bitola was divided into French, Russian, Italian and Serbian sections, under the command of French general [[Maurice Sarrail]]. Until Bulgaria's surrender in late autumn 1918, Bitola remained a front line city and was bombarded almost daily by air bombardment and artillery fire and was nearly destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bitola {{!}} History & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bitola |access-date=2022-05-02 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Inter-war period===
At the end of World War I Bitola was restored to the [[Kingdom of Serbia]], and, consequently, in 1918 became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929. Bitola became one of the major cities of the [[Vardarska banovina]].

===World War II===
During [[World War II]] (1939–45), the Germans (on 9 April 1941) and Bulgarians (on 18 April 1941) took control of the city. But in September 1944, Bulgaria switched sides in the war and withdrew from Yugoslavia. On 4 November, the 7th Macedonian Liberation Brigade entered Bitola after the German withdrawal. The [[History of the Jews in Monastir|historical Jewish community]], of Sephardic origin, lived in the city until World War II, when some were able to immigrate to the United States and Chile.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sephardicstudies.org/monastir1839-1943.html|title=Last Century of a Sephardic Community - The Jews of Monastir, 1839-1943.|website=www.sephardicstudies.org}}</ref> On 11 March 1943 the Bulgarians deported the vast majority of the Jewish population (3,276 Jews<ref>{{cite book |last1=Цолев |first1=Георги |title=Битолските евреи |date=1993 |location=Битола, Македонија |pages=446}}</ref>) to [[Treblinka extermination camp]].<ref>[https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/communities/monastir/during_holocaust.asp Monastir During the Holocaust] - at [[Yad Vashem]] website</ref> After the end of the war, [[PR Macedonia]] was established within [[FPR Yugoslavia]].

===Socialist Yugoslavia===
[[File:Former Coat of Arms of Bitola (1944-2006).webp|thumb|183x183px|'''Former Coat of Arms of Bitola (1944–2006)''']]
In 1945, the first Gymnasium (named "[[Josip Broz Tito]]") to use the Macedonian language, was opened in Bitola. In 1951–52, as part of an education campaign total of 40 [[Turkish language]] schools were opened in [[Debar]], [[Kičevo]], [[Kumanovo]], [[Struga]], [[Resen, North Macedonia|Resen]], Bitola, [[Kruševo]] and [[Prilep]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lita|first1= Qerim|journal=Studime Albanologjike|title=SHPËRNGULJA E SHQIPTARËVE NGA MAQEDONIA NË TURQI (1953-1959) |date=2009 |publisher=ITSH|pages=75–82}}</ref>