Bulgarians (Turkish: Bulgarlar) form a diverse minority of Turkey (Bulgarian: Турция, Turtsia) including a number of Christian Bulgarians as well as Pomaks, or Muslims of ethnic Bulgarian origin. According to Ethnologue, 300,000 people in European Turkey speak Bulgarian,[1] though this number cannot be used to estimate the size of the Bulgarian minority as it predominantly includes ethnic Turkish refugees from Bulgaria.
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The medieval Bulgarian Empire had active relations with Eastern Thrace before the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 14th–15th century: the area was often part of the Bulgarian state under its stronger rulers from Krum's reign on, such as Simeon I and Ivan Asen II; the city of Edirne (Adrianople, Odrin) was under Bulgarian control a number of times. Bulgarians were sometimes taken captive during Byzantine raids and resettled in Asia Minor (modern Asian Turkey), but their traces are lost in the Middle Ages. As the Balkans were subjugated by the Ottomans, the entirety of the Bulgarian lands fell under Ottoman domination.
It was during the Ottoman rule that a more substantial Bulgarian colony was formed in the imperial capital Istanbul (also known as Constantinople or, in Bulgarian, as Tsarigrad). The so-called "Tsarigrad Bulgarians" (цариградски българи, tsarigradski balgari) were mostly craftsmen (e.g. leatherworkers) and merchants. During the Bulgarian National Revival, Istanbul was a major centre of Bulgarian journalism and enlightenment. Istanbul's St Stephen Church, also known as the Bulgarian Iron Church, was the seat of the Bulgarian Exarchate after 1870. According to some estimates, the Tsarigrad Bulgarians numbered 30–100,000 in the mid-19th century; today, there remains a small colony of 300–400,[2] a small part of the city's Bulgarian community.
A specific part of the Bulgarian population of modern Turkey were the Anatolian Bulgarians, Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians who settled in Ottoman-ruled northwestern Anatolia, possibly in the 18th century, and remained there until 1914.[3]
Much more intense was the fate of the Bulgarian population of Eastern Thrace in the Ottoman Province (vilâyet) of Edirne. According to Lyubomir Miletich's detailed study of the province published in 1918, the Bulgarian population of the province (today mostly in Turkey, with smaller parts in Greece and Bulgaria) numbered 298,726, of whom 176,554 Exarchists, 24,970 Patriarchists, 1,700 Eastern Catholics and 95,502 Muslims (Pomaks). In the Çorlu and Constantinople regions, Miletich estimates the Bulgarian population at a further 10,000.[4] After the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913, however, most of this population was killed or expelled by the Ottomans to Bulgarian-controlled territories.
There remain two Bulgarian Orthodox churches in the city of Edirne: Saint George (dating to 1880) and Saints Constantine and Helena (built in 1869). The Bulgarian churches were reconstructed in the 2000s with the cooperation of Turkey, using mostly Bulgarian state funds. They are both in a good condition today; Saint George also has a Bulgarian library and an ethnographic collection. The two Bulgarian churches are the only functioning Christian places of worship in the city today, as none of the Greek churches are active or even preserved.[5][6][7]
Another group of the population of Turkey related to Bulgaria are the Pomaks (Bulgarian Muslims). Ever since the Liberation of Bulgaria, its Muslim population has moved to Turkey for social, religious and economic reasons.[8] It is very hard to estimate the number of Pomaks living in Turkey, as they have blended into the Turkish society and have been often linguistically and culturally assimilated. According to a Turkish Daily News report, the number of Turkified Pomaks in the country is about 600,000.[9]
Notable people
- This list includes people of Bulgarian origin born in what is today Turkey or Bulgarians mainly active in the Republic of Turkey.
- Antim I (1816–1888), first head of the Bulgarian Exarchate (from Kırklareli)
- Alexander Bogoridi (1822–1910), Ottoman statesman of Bulgarian origin (from Istanbul)
- Georgi Valkovich (1833–1892), physician, diplomat and politician
- Hristo Silyanov (1880–1939), IMARO revolutionary, historian and biographer (from Istanbul)
- G. M. Dimitrov (1903–1972), Bulgarian politician (from Yeniçiftlik)
References
- ^ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr., ed (2005). "Languages of Turkey (Europe)". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth edition ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. ISBN 978-1-55671-159-6. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=TRE.
- ^ Николов, Тони (May 2002). "Българският Цариград чака своя Великден" (in Bulgarian). Двуседмичен вестник на Държавната агенция за българите в чужбина към Министерския съвет. http://www.aba.government.bg/bg/Bd/Archive/092002/istanbul.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
- ^ Шишманов, Димитър (2000) (in Bulgarian). Необикновената история на малоазийските българи. София: Пони. ISBN 9789549058529. http://ziezi.tripod.com/anadol/shishmanov.htm.
- ^ Милетичъ, Любомир (1918). "Статистиченъ прѣгледъ на българското население въ Одринския виляетъ" (in Bulgarian). Разорението на тракийскитѣ българи презъ 1913 година. София: Българска академия на науките. pp. pp. 287–291. http://promacedonia.com/bmark/lm_tr/lm_tr_pril_1.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ "PM attends church consecration in Edirne". Bulgarian National Radio. 2008-09-14. http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/News/1409-B2.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Bulgarian churches revived in Edirne". Bulgarian Diocese of Western and Central Europe. 2004-09-05. http://www.rilaeu.com/BGOK0/SehenJPG/Odrin.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Филева, Мария (2008-01-05). "Иван Желев: Двете български църкви в Одрин са единствените запазени православни храмове в региона". Двери БГ. http://www.dveri.bg/content/view/5696/48/. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Мехмед, Хюсеин (2007) (in Bulgarian). Помаците и торбешите в Мизия, Тракия и Македония. София. http://www.geocities.com/yusuf.ismailov/pomaks.html.
- ^ "Trial sheds light on shades of Turkey". Turkish Daily News. 2008-06-10. http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=106687. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
Gallery
 The Bulgarian Church of St George in Edirne |
 French ethnographic map of the Balkans by Paul Vidal de la Blache showing the Bulgarian population in Eastern Thrace |
See also
- Bulgarian diaspora
- The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913
- Bulgaria–Turkey relations
- Turks in Bulgaria
References
- ^ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr., ed (2005). "Languages of Turkey (Europe)". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth edition ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. ISBN 978-1-55671-159-6. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=TRE.
- ^ Николов, Тони (May 2002). "Българският Цариград чака своя Великден" (in Bulgarian). Двуседмичен вестник на Държавната агенция за българите в чужбина към Министерския съвет. http://www.aba.government.bg/bg/Bd/Archive/092002/istanbul.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
- ^ Шишманов, Димитър (2000) (in Bulgarian). Необикновената история на малоазийските българи. София: Пони. ISBN 9789549058529. http://ziezi.tripod.com/anadol/shishmanov.htm.
- ^ Милетичъ, Любомир (1918). "Статистиченъ прѣгледъ на българското население въ Одринския виляетъ" (in Bulgarian). Разорението на тракийскитѣ българи презъ 1913 година. София: Българска академия на науките. pp. pp. 287–291. http://promacedonia.com/bmark/lm_tr/lm_tr_pril_1.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ "PM attends church consecration in Edirne". Bulgarian National Radio. 2008-09-14. http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/News/1409-B2.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ "Bulgarian churches revived in Edirne". Bulgarian Diocese of Western and Central Europe. 2004-09-05. http://www.rilaeu.com/BGOK0/SehenJPG/Odrin.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Филева, Мария (2008-01-05). "Иван Желев: Двете български църкви в Одрин са единствените запазени православни храмове в региона". Двери БГ. http://www.dveri.bg/content/view/5696/48/. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Мехмед, Хюсеин (2007) (in Bulgarian). Помаците и торбешите в Мизия, Тракия и Македония. София. http://www.geocities.com/yusuf.ismailov/pomaks.html.
- ^ "Trial sheds light on shades of Turkey". Turkish Daily News. 2008-06-10. http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=106687. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
External links
- Bulgarian embassy in Turkey (Bulgarian) (English) (Turkish)
- Website of the Tsarigrad Bulgarians and the St Stephen Church in Istanbul (Bulgarian) (Russian) (Turkish)
- Website of the Pomaks in Turkey (Turkish) (Bulgarian)
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