Macedonian Struggle for Independence - Part X, by Risto Stefov

After successfully establishing itself in the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire, around the second half of the 17th century, began to stir again looking to expand westward. Then following a three year preparation it embarked on its first mission to seize Vienna, the Austrian capital. Following his arrival in Odrin with 200,000 soldiers and another 60,000 support units, Sultan Mehmed IV (1648-1687) personally took command of the mission and began his march towards Vienna. When the army arrived in Belgrade on May 12, 1683 it was joined by 30,000 Tatar and another 30,000 Nizam soldiers. Here the Sultan turned command over to Kara Mustafa, his vizier, and gave him instructions to seize Vienna. Using his Tatar soldiers as an advanced guard, Kara Mustafa with his 300,000 soldiers arrived in Vienna on July 14, 1683 and immediately began the assault. A fierce battle ensued as the Austrians fought back and managed to resist the Ottoman siege for fifty-four days before a Polish army lead by Ian Sobieski arrived and joined the fight.

By now the west had realized the danger it was facing from Islam and had begun to organize a defense strategy through a "Holy War" which was joined by several European Christian powers including the Venetians, Hungarians, Saxons, Ukrainians and Serbians. On March 5, 1684 the Holy League was established and in 1686 was joined by Russia forming a Christian military alliance capable of opposing the Ottoman Islamic onslaught.

Soon after the Polish forces arrived in Vienna the Ottoman advance was pushed back but not completely extinguished as hostilities again resumed in 1684 and lasted until 1687 with the allied forces continuing to have successes. Then in 1688 Austria decided to escalate its campaign and on September 8, 1688 invaded and occupied Belgrade and continued to push southward. Unfortunately due to an attack from the French on Germany, Austria was forced to fight on two fronts thus weakening its capabilities to fight the Ottomans. Regardless however, the Austrians decided to continue fighting on two fronts and on April 6, 1689 appointed Count Ludwig of Baden commander of the Austrian forces on the Balkans and Generals Piccolomini and Veterani as his deputies.

The Austrian army in the Balkans numbered 24,000, too small to be effective but nonetheless effective enough to stir the local Christian population into action.

This war was not a social or economic war, it was religious in nature intended to stir-up the Christians that did not want to be pushed into forcibly accepting Islam. The idea was to get them to join the "Christian" Austrians and fight against the "Muslim" Ottomans. Unfortunately the Orthodox people in the Balkans feared Catholicism just as much as they feared Islam so they did not react as expected but began to stir nonetheless.

This became apparent when a letter from the Patriarch in Constantinople was sent to the Russian Emperor informing him that the Christians in the Balkans had a force of 30,000 Christian soldiers ready to start a rebellion if Russian forces were to come to the Balkans and assist them. The Patriarch also informed the Emperor that if Russia did not come then Austria would and the Orthodox Christians would be subjected to the influence of the Catholic Church. This also proved that the Patriarch was unaware of the formation of the Holy League between Orthodox and Catholic countries in the defense of Christianity.

The Ottoman military failure against the Holy League had devastating effects on the morale of the Ottoman army resulting in the assassination of Sultan Mehmed IV in 1687. But after his brother Suleyman II (1687-1692) was proclaimed the new Sultan the Ottoman army once again began new preparations for war.

After a few months of planning Suleyman II declared a state of emergency and ordered general mobilization. On June 6, 1689 he left Odrin for Sofia and appointed Arap Rejep Pasha commander of the front against the Austrian army. Arap Rejep Pasha was then ordered to reclaim Belgrade while the Sultan observed the campaign from the Sofia Field in Bulgaria. Rejep Pasha was given command of 50,000 soldiers, 20,000 of whom were cavalrymen which was more than a match for the Austrians. Unfortunately Rejep Pasha lacked the confidence to engage the Austrians and instead of fighting them he took a detour through Serbia robbing and pillaging villages; upsetting the Serbian population. But if the Ottomans were not going to come to the Austrians then the Austrians would come to the Ottomans in Belgrade on August 13, 1689. Here Ludwig of Baden joined Piccolomini's and Veterani's corps and on August 29, 1689 attacked the Ottomans near Grabovets and Batochima delivering a devastating blow. With 3,000 dead, the demoralized Ottoman army robbed its own camp and fled for the Sofia Field. Managing to save his own skin, the incompetent Rejep Pasha together with some of his elite forces fled the battlefield and hid in Nish where he organized a new defense. A month later the Austrians began their attack on Nish delivering another devastating blow. Soon after the Austrian Army began its attack on September 24, 1689 the Ottoman forces in Nish panicked and fled. Five thousand Ottomans drowned in the Nishava River in an attempt to cross it.

After that defeat Rejep Pasha sent some of his forces to Dragoman to defend the access to Sofia and the remainder to Vranje and Kriva Palanka. By now the Sultan had lost all confidence in Rejep Pasha and appointed the Grand Vizier Bekir Mustafa as his replacement. The new commander immediately took control of his forces and after arriving in Dragoman had Rejep Pasha executed and his subordinates punished. Here Bekir Mustafa strengthened his defenses and carried out a general mobilization.

Having experienced several successes the Austrians became bold and divided their army into two columns. Piccolomini commanding the first headed south to the Adriatic Sea while Ludwig of Baden personally led the second column towards the Danube and Vidin. In spite of their divided strength both columns had success liberating cities and towns and stirring the population into action.

On October 20, 1689 Piccolomini informed Emperor Leopold I that he had arrived in Prishtina and had made a request for reinforcements in order to attack Skopje, Solun, Albania and Herzegovina.

The deep Austrian penetration inside Ottoman territory alarmed the Ottomans especially since it was nearing Macedonia, their main economic bread basket. Being cut off from the north part of the empire and having their army reserves depleted, the Ottomans had no choice but to turn to Macedonia not only for their economic but also for their military needs. To support the war effort taxes were immediately raised and new ones imposed. Young men were mobilized and forced Islamization was accelerated. Christians were not allowed to bear arms so Christian men were converted into Muslims by force in order to be inducted into the Ottoman army. Even haiduks were granted amnesty and turned into martolozes (defenders) and dervenjis then employed by the Ottomans to recruit soldiers for them.

While the Ottoman central government was busy preparing for its defense against the Austrians, local despots, outlaws and corrupt state officials took it upon themselves to make some profit of their own by robbing the population. Among the most famous of these outlaws was Yegen Pasha, a former Rumelian beglerbey, who along with 10,000 outlaws was engaged in robbing the people of the Central Balkans.

As events were unfolding between the Ottomans and Austrians, the Macedonian population was once again exploited by all sides. While both the Ottoman and Austrian central governments were vying for the Macedonian people's favour, local authorities were robbing them blind and turning them into slaves. In addition to raising taxes which were to be paid in kind, new taxes were introduced which were to be paid with money. Local authorities also imposed additional taxes to be served as free labour in aid of the war effort but which in many cases ended up serving the local authorities by working on their estates for free.

After the fall of Belgrade on September 6, 1688 the Ottoman Empire became unstable and many innocent people became victims of anarchy. Vizier Kara Mustafa too was accused of being responsible for the defeat in Vienna and was executed. Dissatisfaction with Ottoman rule was not limited to the Christian population but grew among members of the Ottoman administration and restlessness spread everywhere manifesting itself in desertions and outlawry.

At the beginning of the Austrian-Ottoman War in 1683, the Christian populations in the Balkans, particularly the Macedonians, Serbians and Bulgarians, were deprived of their rights and saw the Ottoman defeat and the Austrian penetration as an opportunity for liberation particularly after Austria called on all Christians in the Balkans to join the Austrian army's actions. Those who were far from the front were called upon to engage the Ottoman army through organized rebellions and haiduk actions.

If it was not the Austrian call to arms then it must have been the taxation, economic oppression and forced Islamization that spurred the Balkan Christian population, particularly the Macedonians, to rebel against the oppressors in what later came to be known as "The Karposh Uprising" named after its leader Arambasha Karposh.

The Karposh Uprising began sometime in 1689 as social, economic and religious pressures were placed on the Macedonian population causing numerous rebellions to flare-up and haiduk actions to become more frequent. Although unrelated to other rebellions such as the one in Moriovo, the Karposh Uprising signified the first attempt, since the Ottoman penetration, by the Macedonian people to liberate themselves in their struggle to establish a Macedonian state. The Karposh Uprising is extremely important to Macedonia since it was organized by Macedonians and took place inside Macedonia.

Unplanned in the beginning, the Karposh Uprising began with riots and continued with haiduk actions especially after the violent suppression of the Mariovo rebellion in 1688-1689. The population's dissatisfaction with its condition continued to increase and spread over wider regions engulfing Petralitsa and Kriva Palanka. At the same time another rebellion was sparked in Shtip. This one was lead by Ivo of Shtip a mortoloz leader responsible for guarding the dervens in Shtip. Even though Ivo was working for the Ottoman state he had connections, cooperated and from time to time conducted missions with the haiduks. But when his secret was revealed, the Ottoman authorities came after him. But knowing that his services were in demand, due to the war with Austria and the shortage of fighting men, Ivo appealed to his Ottoman overlords promising that he would repent and accept Islam if his deeds were to be forgiven.

Ivo was pardoned and assigned to recruitment duties in Shtip where he was expected to recruit more than 1,000 paid volunteers to fight at the front. After recruiting about 300 a battle took place near Nish where on September 24, 1689 the Ottomans were badly defeated. At this point Ivo resigned his post as a recruiter, renounced Islam and fled to join Karposh.

Karposh too had a similar beginning. Karposhe's career began in the second half of the 17th century right after the brutal suppression of the latest rebellions when the haiduk movement exploded. By this time Karposh was a well known haiduk but his involvement in the rebellion earned him the respect of his peers who raised him to the level of arambasha.

Then when the Ottoman administration needed fighting men to fight against Austria the haiduks were officially pardoned and recruited as martolozes. As a martoloz, Karposh, which by the way is a nickname meaning "rock", had free access to the Macedonian people. Here he played the double role of Ottoman recruiter and rebellion organizer.

In official historical documents the name "Karposh" appeared for the first time in 1689 where he is described as a haiduk leader of a large group of haiduks who fought the Ottomans during the Austrian-Ottoman war. Karposh became famous in the spring of 1689 when the Ottoman central government sent Sarach Ali-Unsta of Odrin to pursue and destroy Karposh and his haiduks at his base in Dospat Mountain in the Western Rodopi mountain range. Uskadari, who at the time was sent along with Ali-Usta, was a witness to those events and on May 26, 1689 wrote about Karposh in his journal.

Upon Ali-Usta's arrival a battle took place. Ten haiduks were killed but Karposh escaped and continued to operate on Dospat Mountain until the rebellion began to spread to wider regions. By August the rebellion had spread to Sofia and as the Austrian army penetrated further south the rebellion spread south between Nish, Leskovac, Vranje, Breznik and Pirot.

On September 15, 1689 the Ottoman central Government issued orders to Mehmed the martolozbasha of Znepole to take charge of all forces from Breznik, Pirot, Vranje, Nish and Leskovac and go after Karposh and his haiduks. It is unknown what happened during this pursuit but the next we hear of Karposh is that late in September he had become a martoloz officer in the Ottoman service.

Between September 26 and October 5, 1689 the central Ottoman government had issued orders to the kadis of Kyustendil, Sirishnik and Radomir to appoint Karposh leader of their martolozbashia. The kadis of Shtip, Radovish, Veles, Dojran, Seres, Demir Hisar, Nevrokop and Razlog were also ordered to appoint Ivo of Shtip as their martolozbasha. Sugare was appointed martoloz of Petrich and Melnik.

It was stated in the Divan (edict) of the Sultan that Karposh was appointed highest commander of all martolozbashas (leader of all martoloz leaders) and Ivo and Sugare were appointed chief leaders. By enlisting the services of the most eminent haiduks in the region the Ottoman authorities assumed that they would a) gain experienced fighters in their fight against the Austrians and b) eliminate chances of the haiduk leaders leading a rebellion. Unfortunately the Ottomans were wrong on both counts. With the Austrian presence in the Balkans the haiduk movements quickly developed into guerilla warfare and in time, as small units combined, companies were formed resembling an army.

Outside of the haiduk movements, Austrian emissaries who agitated the Christian population also greatly contributed to the Karposh Uprising. Piccolomini's men made contact with Christian leaders and urged them to start uprisings. Petar Bogdani, the Catholic Bishop of Skopje, and Toma Raspasanovich, an interpreter in the Austrian army, also became involved in the agitation in Skopje. Military successes on the part of the Austrian army, agitation of Austrians emissaries and numerous haiduk attacks on the Ottoman defense spurred the Macedonian people into action.

The first armed conflicts on Macedonian territories between the Austrian and Ottoman armies took place on October 20th, 1689 in Kriva Palanka where the Austrians encountered stiff resistance from the Ottomans and were forced to retreat to Vranje. Although this was a small victory for the Ottomans, they truly believed that Holy League reinforcements would soon be arriving and there would be another and more severe attack, so the Ottomans retreated to Shtip. Just as the Ottomans left, Kriva Palanka was taken over by the haiduks who were preparing to use it as their base for future operations. At this time Karposh and Ivo were in Skopje engaged in the defense of the Ottoman Empire against the Austrian invasion and by the Sultan's orders were obliged to defend the city and surrounding region. But as the Ottomans retreated from Kriva Palanka and as the Austrian army began its approach towards Prishtina and Kachanic, Karposh sought his opportunity and lead a rebellion in Skopje and Kachanik. When Piccolomini's advanced guard reached Kachanik on October 23, 1689 it found the fortress abandoned. When the news of the rebel attack on Kachanic reached the Ottoman authorities, Mahmud Pasha dispatched 300 soldiers from Skopje to provide reinforcements but on their way they ran into Piccolomini's forces near the Gorge of Kachanik and were decimated.

On October 25, 1689 the Austrian army, led by General Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, arrived at the Kachanik Gorge and was joined by Karposh and his Christian rebels, which marked the beginning of the Karposh Uprising.

The sudden appearance of the Austrian army accompanied by the thunder of its numerous cannons caused panic among the Ottomans in the city of Skopje, forcing many to flee leaving Mahmud Pasha with little to defend the city. A battle ensued near the Lepenets River leaving about 100 Ottoman soldiers dead and 200 more captured. Mahmud Pasha along with 200 soldiers managed to escape into the nearby woods.

Unbeknownst to Piccolomini, Mahmud Pasha had regrouped overnight, was supplied with reinforcements and had reentered Skopje with 8,000 soldiers laying a trap for Piccolomini. When Piccolomini found this out from the villagers leaving Skopje, he set a trap of his own and ordered his artillery to open fire on the city. After a barrage of salvos from his ten cannons Piccolomini sent Colonel Chaki to check on the city. On his return Chaki reported that the city was abandoned and that the stores were full of food and other merchandise. But what Chaki failed to notice is that the city was infested with the plague. Piccolomini nonetheless entered the city and ordered his troops to gather supplies.

After entering the city of Skopje on October 31, 1689 Piccolomini sent a second letter to Emperor Leopold, in which he wrote: "The city of Skopje is almost as big as Prague. It has no walls and no ditches. I found it deserted, without any valuables, but richly supplied with goods. The few people we met in the streets were pale and scared. The fortress was built in an old-fashioned way, it is without defense now and without water and there is no room for the cavalry, which is very needed for the collection of contribution. We remained armed during the night. I recommended Colonel Strasser to take over command. This experienced soldier requested 15 days to prepare the city for defense and to supply it with food. I have realized that his condition is justified and I could not decide to stay here with the entire corps, because enemy forces could appear in Skopje in four or five days. Behind our back we had the Gorge which could become almost impassable because of frequent rainfalls usual for this time of the year. Kosovo Field was not possessed, Nish was too far, and Bosnia stayed behind. This situation made me think sensibly and while I was so indecisive, I received a report about the retreat of Markcount Ludwig of Baden. Reluctantly, I decided to turn the city into dust". (Vanche Stojchev, "Military History of Macedonia", page 150) Unfortunately Piccolomini's decision to destroy the city left a population of about 60,000 people in dire straits and 4,000 homeless refugees.

As mentioned earlier, Karposh's rebels participated in the Kachanik fortress attacks delivering a blow to the Ottoman forces killing 19 and capturing 11 soldiers. News of this traveled fast and wide and when Karposh arrived in Skopje he was greeted as a hero by the people. Here is what Ottoman chronicler Silahdar had to say: "Among the most famous criminals was the damned atheist Karposh, one of the martolozes of Skopje, who had been promoted by the Padishah (Sultan) but then forgot everything. He escaped, and became the head of the company of more than 3,000 non-Muslim bandits of the rebelled raya and the foreign enemy". (Vanche Stojchev, "Military History of Macedonia", page 150)

During his assault on Skopje, Piccolomini called on the Christian population to abandon the city and leave but of all the people invited only 20 Catholic families and two priests accepted his offer and left.

On his way to Kachanic, Piccolomini destroyed the passage through the Kachanic Gorge and upon his arrival in Kachanic he appointed General Holstein Commander of the fortress and sent Colonel Strasser to liberate Bosnia.

On November 1, 1689 Piccolomini left for Prizren where he was expected to spread the uprising. But unfortunately during his stay in Skopje he was infected with plague and by now had become very ill. Sick and exhausted Piccolomini arrived in Prizren on November 6, 1689 where he was greeted by 5,000 armed Serbian, Albanian and Montenegrin insurgents including Arsenije III Chamojevich who wished to join his forces. After two days of negotiations it was decided that those who wanted to fight the Ottomans should join the Austrian army and the rest should turn in their weapons.

On November 8 Piccolomini turned over command to Herzog Holstein, took communion from Petar Bogdani, the Archbishop of Skopje, and the next day he died and was buried in Prizren.

Joined by Ivo of Shtip, with about 1,000 rebels at their disposal, Karposh continued the uprising liberating most of Macedonia and parts of Serbia and Bulgaria.

After Skopje was burned down, the Ottoman army retreated to Veles and Shtip, the Austrian army left for Kachanik and Karposh went to Kumanovo and Kriva Palanka.

The first territory to be liberated by the rebels was Kriva Palanka where a vicious fire fight took place and in spite of losing six cannons and other weapons, the rebels managed to capture and hold on to the fortress. From there, on October 27, 1689, the rebels launched an attack and captured Kumanovo and a few days later, with the help of the local population especially the miners, the rebels took Kratovo. The Kratovo fight was particularly vicious. It began in the streets as the Ottoman forces were pushed to take refuge in a bath house but the rebels destroyed the roof and set the place on fire killing everyone inside. After that the insurrection spread to Zletovo, Kochani, Kachanik and finally to Tetovo and Gostivar engulfing a large area spanning from the Gorge in Gradelitsa and Shtip, to the Gorge of Kachanik, Veles and Tikvesh to Kyustendil in the east. This much of Macedonia's territory was never before liberated since the arrival of the Ottomans, which the rebels managed to hold onto for six weeks.

With this much success in such a short time, it was no wonder Emperor Leopold proclaimed Karposh "Prince of Kumanovo" and his own people, especially his rebels, considered him their supreme commander and treated him like a king.

The Austrian command in Nish proclaimed Karposh "King of Kumanovo" and as a sign of recognition they awarded him the "hat of a prince" significant of a crown. In other words given the status of the symbols bestowed on the Macedonian leadership the Austrians indirectly recognized the Macedonian liberated territory as a "princedom".

Immediately after liberating the territory and establishing rebel control Karposh, as "king of Kumanovo", began to organize the various freed cities for defense against the return of the Ottomans. He especially strengthened the gorge at Kriva Reka near Kriva Palanka, which the rebels blockaded by digging ditches and laying logs.

While the Macedonians were preparing to defend their liberated territory, the Austrian army began its intrusion deeper into Macedonia.

By November 1689 the Austrian army was making its presence in Shtip, Veles and Kavadartsi and later through Tetovo to Mavrovo. In Shtip, Colonel Holstein encountered a force of 6,000 Ottoman soldiers lead by Mahmud Pasha who earlier had retreated from Skopje. Holstein, who had earlier retreated to Vranje, made his way to Shtip via the village Orizari arriving just outside of the city in the dawn of November 10, 1689. A vicious battle ensued as the Austrians pushed into the city leaving 2,000 Ottoman soldiers dead. In revenge the Austrians also burned the city down but not before emptying it of its possessions.

As the Austrians left Shtip for Vranje they ran into another column of 300 Ottoman soldiers and managed to subdue them, killing more than half of them in the process. Holstein's campaign strengthened the defenses of the territory between Vranje and Kachanik, creating a consolidated defense line.

After receiving news that a large Ottoman force was concentrating in Vlainitsa near Leunovo, the Austrians carried out a second campaign in Mavrovo in the middle of November 1689. During this campaign the Austrian command sent a small force of Austrian soldiers reinforced with some Albanian Catholics to attack the Ottoman force. The armies clashed near Tetovo and drove the battle towards Vrainitsa where more than 600 Ottoman soldiers were killed and the rest escaped. Here too the Austrians robbed the region of its wealth stealing more than 1,000 cattle before returning to Prizren.

It is interesting to note at this point that the Macedonians here again were divided fighting on both sides of the war. While the Miaks fought on the Ottoman side the men from Mavrovo fought on the Austrian side. After the battle was over, the men from Mavrovo accompanied the Austrians and joined the ranks of the Austrian army, some even became officers. The Miaks on the other hand were well looked after by the Ottomans who allowed them to preserve their customs and to wear "the cross bayrak" in weddings.

The third Austrian campaign, led by Captain Sanoski, took place on November 20 and 21, 1689. Here 100 Austrian soldiers and 400 Serbian and Albanian volunteers joined ranks and after two days march, arrived in Veles, immediately surrounded the marketplace and slaughtered the entire population. While the Austrians remained outside the city, the Serbians and Albanians robbed and burnt it down. After they were done they left while the Austrians continued their march to Tikvesh and robbed that city. On their way back the Austrians clashed with a unit of janissaries leaving Captain Sanoski badly wounded. His soldiers carried him to Kachanik where he died.

After General Piccolomini died the Austrians held their positions at Gradelitsa, Kachanik, Znepole and Dragoman Gorges. In the meantime the Ottoman Sultan issued a general mobilization order to enlist the entire male population capable of fighting. Janissaries, spahis, yuruks and all semi-military units in Rumelia were mobilized and spurred into action to stop the Austrian penetration and extinguish all rebellions. Extinguishing the rebellions was considered a priority and to be carried out before engaging the Austrians. In other words, the final result of the Austrian-Ottoman war depended on the success of the Ottoman army's ability to suppress the rebellions inside Macedonia.

While mobilization was taking place preparation for a serious counteroffensive was planned. The Grand Vizier Bekri Mustafa Pasha was replaced by Fazli Mustafa Kuprulu, a 52 year old man known as a man of respect with regards to Islamic law and tolerant of Christians. Also Koja Mahmud Pasha from Shtip was appointed commander of the entire Muslim force.

To increase his chances of success the Ottoman Sultan on July 21, 1689 made contact with Khan Selim Giray, one of his Allies from Crimea, requesting his help. To entice him to join the Sultan sent him a gift of 75,000 gold coins. The Khan obviously accepted and on July 26, 1689 left for the Balkans arriving in Sofia four months later, on November 14, 1689. By then reconnaissance had already been conducted and all the necessary information on enemy activities and positions was collected and plans for the counteroffensive were being drafted.

To reverse some of the damage done to the Christians and to patch-up relations, the Grand Vizier Kuprulu carried out reforms to rescind some of the taxes imposed on the Christians in hopes of preventing them from joining the Austrian army.

On November 15, 1689 edicts were sent to the kadis of Skopje and other cities in Macedonia, amnestying all those who owed back taxes.

Before finalizing his counteroffensive plans, the Grand Vizier had consultations with Selim Giray to get his agreement. Giray agreed that the rebellions should be put down first and the counteroffensive should begin in Sofia, not Nish. With regards to putting down the Karposh Uprising it was decided to deploy a combination of forces consisting of Crimean Tatars, Albanian mercenaries and all available Ottoman soldiers. The forces were to depart from Sofia to Kyustendil and via Kriva Palanka and Kumanovo to Skopje and from there to Kachanic and to Kosovo.

In addition to the local forces the Ottoman Sultan also ordered Koja Halil Pasha, the commander of the Peloponnesus, to gather all available forces from the Trikala and Euboea Regions and head to Skopje to join Selim Giray.

After resting for a few days in Sofia, the main body of the Ottoman army was ready to go. Led by Mahmud Pasha, the counteroffensive began on November 20, 1689 starting with the attack on Kyustendil. On their way the Ottomans encountered a company of about 100 haiduks and destroyed it. Prior to the attack on Kyustandil, Mahmud Pasha consulted with his Muslim leaders and was informed that about 6,000 more soldiers led by the nazir of Skopje had arrived in Kochani and were ready to depart for Kratovo and Kriva Palanka to join the fight.

A large force of Christians, numbering from 10 to 20 thousand with six cannons, gathered at Kriva Palanka prepared to meet the counteroffensive.

Led by Selim Giray the first wave of clashes between Giray's advanced guard and Karposh's rebels began on November 21, 1689 at the Kriva Reka Gorge entrance. Unable to stop the advance Karposh ordered the fortress to be burned down while he and his rebels retreated to Kumanovo.

By November 26th Giray had subdued the rebels and taken over Kriva Palanka and the next day he made his presence in Kumanovo where he was confronted by Karposh and his rebels. Karposh fought back gallantly but was unable to stop the assault and the Kumanovo fortress fell to the enemy. Karposh and most of his fighters who fought in the meadows outside the fortress were all captured. All those inside the fortress were killed and the fortress was burned down.

Giray afterwards divided some of his forces into three columns of about 10,000 fighters each and sent them in three different directions. One was sent to Tsrna Reka - Raets region to dislodge the rebels there, the second was sent to Tikvesh region and the third was sent to Shtip, Veles and Prilep regions where about 4,000 rebels lay in wait.

Giray and the main Ottoman army of about 10,000 soldiers, together with the captured rebels including Karpsh, departed for Skopje on November 29, 1689.

On December 6, 1689 the Austrian command in Prishtina received information that the Tatars had burnt down all the villages they passed through and had taken 6,000 prisoners, mostly women and children. They had also massacred the entire Christian population in the villages Rashtak and Ljuboten, today known as "butcher's meadows".

The Tatars entered Skopje unabated and settled there.

Upon finding out that a large Ottoman force was approaching, the Austrian army and the Macedonian rebel forces retreated, especially after learning that Karposh had been captured.

Given the new situation with the Ottomans, the Austrians decided to no longer assist the rebels, leaving them vulnerable to Ottoman attacks. The Tatars now stationed in Skopje Field continued their assaults on Tetovo, Veles and Mariovo, suppressing the rebellions and robbing the population. In the meantime Koja Halil Pasha from the Peloponnesus had arrived in Skopje and had met up with Giray. Although Halil Pasha did not participate in the suppression of the Karposh Uprising, because he arrived late, his Albanian mercenaries were allowed to acquire land in Skopje and Tetovo Regions in gratitude for the terror they had spread on their way to Skopje.

Most of the rebel prisoners, including Karposh, who were brought to Skopje were tortured and then executed. There are also two versions as to how Karposh died. One version says Karposh was impaled by Tatar lances near the Vardar River Bridge in Skopje. The other version says that he was hung on an oak tree near the Vardar River Bridge. He was most probably executed near the end of November or probably in the beginning of December. News of his execution arrived in Odrin on December 13, 1689.

After putting down the Karposh Uprising, the Ottomans prepared to attack Kachanik and engage the Austrian army. 11,500 Ottoman soldiers were dispatched from Skopje to Kachanic on December 30th, 1689. Upon finding this out Holstein ordered Colonel Strasser and his forces in Pristina to go to help the soldiers located in Kachanik. Strasser arrived in Kachanik fortress with 9,000 cavalrymen, 400 Hungarians and 1,500 Serbian and Albanian volunteers and was joined by the 600 Austrian soldiers already stationed there. A battle broke out on January 1st, 1690 and the Austrians suffered a devastating defeat with 2,000 soldiers killed including Colonel Strasser. When Holstein received news of the defeat and that now an Ottoman force was approaching Prishtina, he quickly gathered his forces and fled to Nish.

After occupying Kosovo, the Ottomans stopped the counteroffensive to let their forces rest for the winter. Giray was no longer needed and was ordered to return to Odrin while his Tatar army was ordered to leave for Crimea.

In the meantime, the Austrians realized that without the help of the oppressed Christian population they could not survive another battle. They also wanted to correct some of the mistakes they had made during their campaign. A decision was made to send an appeal to all Balkan nations on behalf of the Austrian Emperor Leopold I. The appeal was a call to continue the fight against the Ottomans and by doing so to help the Austrians win. The appeal was made on April 6, 1690 and sent to the Balkan nations on April 26, 1690. A special Letter of Protection was also issued but only to the Macedonian people (Gens Macedonica) as a result of a letter sent to the Emperor by Marko Kraida of Kozhani and Dimitri Popovich of Solun, two Macedonians who had left their homes and moved to Austria. The letter written by the Macedonians was a request to the Emperor Leopold I to take the Macedonian people under his protection.

On May 31, 1690 Emperor Leopold I issued another appeal extending his protection to the Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian and Albanian populations. He called on all these people to fight against the Ottomans, their mutual enemy, under Austrian colors.

Unfortunately in spite of all that was said and done the Austrian intervention turned out to be a big disappointment for the Macedonians and the promises and appeals were too little, too late. The people decided to side with the Ottomans and put pressure on them to deliver on tax cuts and amnesties which the Ottomans did.

After gaining the people's support the Ottomans carried out new offensives against the Austrians winning back Nish and Smederevo and eventually Belgrade driving the Austrians back across the Sava and Danube Rivers.

To be continued.

Sources:

A History of the Macedonian People, Skopje: Macedonian Review Editions, 1979.

Stojcev, Vance. Military History of Macedonia. Skopje: Military Academy "General Mihailo Apostolski", 2004.

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You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com