Ottoman era History of Thessaloniki

historic map of thessaloniki piri reis.



greek woman of thessalonki, c.1500

the byzantine empire, unable hold city against ottoman empire s advance, handed on in 1423 republic of venice. venice held city until captured after three-day-long siege ottoman sultan murad ii, on 29 march 1430. ottomans had captured thessaloniki in 1387, lost in aftermath of defeat in battle of ankara against tamerlane in 1402, when weakened ottomans forced hand number of territories byzantines. during ottoman period, city s muslim , jewish population grew. 1478, thessaloniki had population of 4,320 muslims between 6,094 greek orthodox inhabitants. c. 1500, numbers of muslims grew 8,575 muslims, greeks numbering @ 7,986, making them minority. around same time, jews began arriving spain, fleeing persecution. in c. 1500, there 3,770 jews, 1519, 15,715 jews came form 54% of city s population. invitation of sephardic jew s expelled spain ferdinand , isabella, ottoman demographic strategy aiming prevent greek population dominating city, had in previous years. sephardic jews, muslims , greek orthodox remained principal groups in city next 400 years. city came become largest jewish city in world , remained such @ least 200 years, called mother of israel . of 130,000 inhabitants @ start of 20th century, around 60,000 sephardic jews. romaniote jews present. thessaloníki, called selânik in turkish, became 1 of important cities in empire, viable foremost trade , commercial center in balkans. railway reached city in 1888 , new modern port facilities built in 1896-1904. founder of modern turkey, mustafa kemal atatürk, born there in 1881, , young turk movement headquartered in city in 20th century.

view of yeni (new) mosque, built during late ottoman period.

selânik sanjak center (sanjak of selanik) in rumeli eyalet 1393 1402 , again 1430 1826, when became center of separate province, selanik eyalet. 1867 transformed selanik vilayet, included sanjaks of selânik (thessaloniki), drama, , serres (siroz or serez).

architectural remains ottoman period can found in city s ano poli (upper town) district, in traditional wooden houses , fountains survive city s great fire in following years. in city center, number of stone mosques survived, notably hamza bey mosque on egnatia (under restoration), aladja imaret mosque on kassandrou street, bezesten (covered market) on venizelou street, , yahudi hamam on frangon street. of more 40 minarets demolished after 1912, or collapsed due great thessaloniki fire of 1917; surviving 1 @ rotonda (arch , tomb of galerius). there few remaining ottoman hammams (bathhouses), particularly bey hamam on egnatia avenue.

after outbreak of greek war of independence, revolt took place in macedonia, under leadership of emmanouel pappas, established in chalkidiki peninsula. in may 1821 governor of thessaloniki yusuf bey (son of ismail bey) ordered kill greeks found in streets. mulla of thessalonica, hayrıülah, gives following description of yusuf s retaliations: every day , every night hear nothing in streets of thessaloniki shouting , moaning. seems yusuf bey, yeniceri agasi, subaşı, hocas , ulemas have gone raving mad .

from 1870, driven economic growth, city s population exploded 70%, reaching 135,000 in 1917. during 19th century, thessaloníki became 1 of cultural , political centres of bulgarian revival movement in macedonia. according bulgarian ethnographer vasil kanchov around beginning of 20th century there approximately 10,000 bulgarians, forming substantial minority in city. in 1880 bulgarian men s high school founded, followed later other educational institutions of bulgarian exarchate. in 1893 part of bulgarian intelligentsia created revolutionary organization, spread influence among bulgarians throughout ottoman balkans , became strongest bulgarian paramilitary movement, best known under latest name, internal macedonian revolutionary organization (imro). in 1903 group of bulgarian leftists , anarchists, tied imro, organized series of thessaloniki bombings of 1903. after young turk revolution of 1908, thessaloniki became centre of bulgarian political activity in ottoman empire , seat of 2 largest legal bulgarian parties, rightist union of bulgarian constitutional clubs, , leftist people s federative party (bulgarian section).