Editing Bitola (section)

===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]].