Stara Zagora massacre

Ottoman massacre of Bulgarian civilians

The Stara Zagora massacre (Bulgarian: Старозагорско клане) was the mass murder of approx. 14,000 civilian Bulgarians, accompanied by the burning and complete destruction of the City of Stara Zagora on 31 July–2 August [O.S. 19–21 July] 1877, committed by regular Ottoman troops commanded by Süleyman Hüsnü Pasha, during the eponymous battle of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Skulls and bones of massacred Bulgarians at Stara Zagora (ethnic cleansing by the Ottoman Empire)

## Course of events

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The relative obscurity of what is arguably the biggest war crime in modern Bulgarian history is owing to the series of grave tactical errors committed by Süleyman Pasha's Russian counterpart, General Iosif Gurko and his command staff, which make them largely complicit in what occurred.

After Kazanlak and Stara Zagora were liberated by Count Gurko's Advance Squad on 22 July [O.S. 10 July ] 1877, Stara Zagora's population quickly swelled to nearly 40,000 people, as refugees from nearby villages came to the city looking for protection, in their fear of reprisals from the Ottoman army and irregular Circassian bashi-bazouk units.[7]

Süleyman Pasha — Commander of the Ottoman Army during the Battle of Eski Zagra

At the same time, several of Gurko's Cossack detachments engaged in demonstrative forays to nearby Sub-Balkan towns and villages. For example, such units "liberated" both Kalofer and Karlovo, twice, on 23 July [O.S. 10 July] 1877 and 27 July [O.S. 15 July] 1877 and 23 July [O.S. 11 July] 1877] and 29 July [O.S. 16 July] 1877, respectively, immediately withdrawing afterwards.[8]

All these demonstrations eventually led to terrible results, as they attracted undesired attention: Karlovo was looted and sacked on 30 July [O.S. 18 July] 1877 by both regular Ottoman army and bashi-bazouk, with 288 civilian casualties,[9] while Kalofer was looted and torched by Circassian paramilitaries on 7 August [O.S. 26 July] 1877, with 618 civilian casualties.[10]

Count Gurko — Commander of the Russian Advance Squad, operating around Kazanlak, Stara Zagora, Nova Zagora, Kalofer, etc. in summer of 1877

In a similar fashion, even though it was public knowledge that Ottoman General Süleyman Pasha was heading towards Stara Zagora with an army of 48,000 soldiers, 4 times the strength of Gurko's Advance Squad, and even though the city kept filling up with panicked people,[11] General Gurko did not order evacuation, but instead went on to liberate neighbouring Nova Zagora. Which he did on 29 July [O.S. 17 July] 1877 (one day later, Nova Zagora was torched, as well).

On his way back to Stara Zagora on 31 July [O.S. 19] 1877, he saw that the city was already under attack, with the skeleton garrison of Bulgarian volunteers suffering heavy losses, so he retreated towards the Hainboaz Pass.[12]

Given the lack of enough defenders to ensure safe passage of civilians and the complete lack of preparation or prior warning, the refugees from Stara Zagora ended up between a rock and a hard place. Their flight was cut off by bashi-bazouk on the road to Kazanlak, leaving them the choice to head back into the fire, meet a sword, become a slave or try to run up the mountain dodging bullets.

By mid-August, the English press was already reporting "a complete massacre of all the male Bulgarians who have been found in Eski Zagra, Kazanlak and other places".[13]

Several prominent Bulgarian historians, including, e.g., Plamen Mitev and Plamen Tzvetkov, have severely criticised the conduct of the Russian army, in particular, its demonstrative forays and the apparent complete lack of concern for the plight of civilians.[14] In particular, Mitev, sees a correlation between the provocative conduct of the Russian army and the wave of violence observed by the civilian Bulgarian population in a number of Sub-Balkan towns and villages in the summer of 1877. Mitev has further criticised the reluctance among Bulgarian historians to objectively assess the Russian military campaign on the Balkans (and its effects on both Christian and Muslim civilian populations) and their tacit participation in Russian myth-making.[15]

A good example of the latter is the Brief History of the War of Liberation, published in 1958, whose main purpose is to cement the myth of the valour and nobility of the "Russian liberators", largely at the expense of either objectivity or truth (here, in particular, referring to the "rescue" of a great deal of Stara Zagora's population by Count Gurko's units, which is a fiction):

> "A great part of the Bulgarian population of Stara Zagora left with the Russian forces. And it was even here that the Russian soldier showed his heart and the greatness of his soul. Everybody helped according to their powers and ability. Some soldiers were carrying children, others helped put together belongings, and yet others were giving away their last biscuit to their "poor bratushkas".

> Some officers adopted orphans, whose parents had been taken away. At dusk, stars shone brightly against the dark vault of the heavens, while there, above the capricious contours of the mountain, the glow of fire lit a crimson red. Wails died away in the distance.

> According to Süleyman Pasha's brief, the Turks' losses in the battle amounted to 200 souls. Other, less reliable sources calculated them, at give-and-take, 1,500 souls. The other side also suffered heavy losses. The Bulgarian militia lost 572 souls alone. Lieutenant Colonel Kalitin's battalion suffered 210 casualties, which accounted for 37% of its personnel.

> The Battle at Eski Zagra (Stara Zagora) was of great importance. Süleyman Pasha's victory made the Advance Squad leave Southern Bulgaria and withdraw to the Balkan Mountain Passes..."[16]

The Defenders of Stara Zagora

## Monument

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An enormous monument called The Defenders of Stara Zagora has been erected near the city in honour of the Bulgarian Voluntary Corps militiamen, who fought until they ran out of ammunition. The monument is a major tourist attraction.

## See also

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* Batak massacre
* Ottoman Bulgaria
* Ottoman Empire
* List of massacres in Ottoman Bulgaria
* The Terror (Karlovo massacre)
* Boyadzhik massacre

## References

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1. ^ Dimitrov 1900, pp. 130–194.
2. ^ Peychev, Atanas (1984). 1300 години на стража [1,300 Years Standing on Guard]. Sofia: Военно издателство. pp. 186–188.
3. ^ Jireček, Konstantin (1899). Княжество България. Част I. Българската държава [The Principality of Bulgaria. Part I. The Bulgarian State]. Plovdiv. p. 382.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
4. ^ Seton-Watson, Robert William (1971). Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Eastern Question: A Study in Diplomacy and Party Politics. Psychology Press. p. 280\. ISBN 9780714615134. "This very able and moderate survey provides evidence on a number of points hitherto misunderstood in England: (1) That the Circassian settlers were deliberately introduced into Bulgaria, in order to strengthen Muslim predominance, and drove the Christian peasanty to desperation; (2) that the Bashibazuks were in the main Christian peasants, undisciplined, but armed against their Christian neighbours; (3) that the "liberal" Midhat Pashad during three terms of office in Bulgaria "suppressed with a strong hand all national currents"; that throughout the war, the Turks were constantly executing Bulgarian and intellectuals and Sofia and Plovdiv and that in certain towns and villages—notably, Karlovo, Kalofer, Kazanlak, Nova and Stara Zagora (which in June 1879 they still found "like a charnel house") there was a general massacre after the first Russian retreat; (5) that the fearful sufferings of the Turkish population, which fled before the final Russian advance, were due hardly to all the Bulgarians, and still less to the Russians, but in the main to the ravages of typhus and to the Porte's utter lack of any means to for dealing with them; and (6) that the alleged ill treatment of Moslems by the new Bulgarian authorities was in the main confined to the attempt to prevent the return of those guilty of massacre. The general conclusion, based on the progress already evident in the brief space of time since the fall of Turkish rule, was that despite every horror, liberty has been well purchased."
5. ^ "Десетки старозагорци се включиха тази вечер в шествие по повод 144 години от Старозагорското клане, в което загиват близо 14 хиляди мирни граждани" [Dozens of Citizens of Stara Zagora Joined a March on the Occasion of the 144th Anniversary of the Stara Zagora Massacre, Which Led to the Tragic Death of 14,000 Peaceful Citizens]. Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. 19 July 2021.
6. ^ Popek, Krzysztof (2021). "Liberation and Exile: The Fate of Civilians During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 in Bulgarian and Turkish Historiography". Prace Historyczne. 3 (148): 527. doi:10.4467/20844069PH.21.035.14011. S2CID 244880761. "The representative example is the fate of the Stara Zagora (Eski Zağra) during the War – the city was burned down in July 1877. The Bulgarians accused the Turkish troops led by Suleyman Pasha of that crime. After setting fire to Christian houses, the Ottoman soldiers blocked the escape route – some of the Bulgarians were murdered, some of them were held captive.69 According to Bulgarian accounts, the Muslim inhabitants of the city took part in the atrocities. No Bulgarian man survived, the women and children were enslaved. Nobody tried to extinguish the burning Stara Zagora, in which many Bulgarians died"
7. ^ Dimitrov 1900, pp. 146.
8. ^ Dimitrov 1900, p. 195.
9. ^ Dimitrov 1900, pp. 197–199.
10. ^ Dimitrov 1900, p. 218.
11. ^ Dimitrov 1900, pp. 132–134.
12. ^ Dimitrov 1900, pp. 140.
13. ^ Seton-Watson, Robert William (1971). Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Eastern Question: A Study in Diplomacy and Party Politics. Psychology Press. p. 283\. ISBN 9780714615134.
14. ^ Tzvetkov, Plamen (2008), "X", Светът на мегамитовете (Някои политически и историографски митове на XX век) [The World of Megamyths (Some Political and Historiographic Myths of the 20th Century)], Нов Български Университет, pp. The War of 1877–1878, ISBN 9789545354984
15. ^ Mitev, Plamen (2012), Българското Възраждане [The Bulgarian National Revival], Стандарт, p. 199, ISBN 978-954-8976-56-5, "Отколешно табу за българската историопис са и негативните последици от Освободителната война. Малцина автори са се осмелявали да погледнат обективно на въпроса какво струва на българите руската военна кампания на Балканите. В хода на бойните действия стотици селища са опожарени. Жертвите сред мирното насление по време на войната надвишават жертвите, дадени по време на Априлското въстание. Поголовни кланета над местното население са извършени в Старозагорско, Новозагорско, Карлово, Ловеч, Каварна, Сярско. Само в Пловдив през есента на 1877 г. са обесени над 500 души, а други 700 са заточени. В Софийския затвор под следствие се намират около 500 души, в Одрин - около 800 и т.н. С демонстративните набези на малките разузнавателни групи, които ген. Гурко изпраща на юг от Стара планина, фактически се отприщва една никому ненужна вълна на насилие спрямо българското население от страна на башибозука и редовната турска армия." [The negative consequences of the War of Liberation are also an age-old taboo. Few authors have dared objectively consider the question of the cost that regular Bulgarians had to pay for the Russian military campaign on the Balkans. Hundreds of settlements ended up being torched during battle. The number of civilian casualties given during the war by far exceeds numbers during the April Uprising of 1876. Civilians in, among other things, the regions of Stara Zagora, Nova Zagora, Karlovo, Lovech, Kavarna and Serres were subjected to indiscriminate slaughter. Some 500 people were hanged and another 700 exiled only in the city of Plovdiv in late 1877. Additional 500 and 800 people were gaoled in Sofia and Edirne as part of ongoing investigations. The demonstrative forays Gurko's small reconnaissance detachments made south of the Balkans literally opened the floodgate for a completely unnecessary wave of violence of both regular Ottoman army and bashi-bazouk against the Christian Bulgarians.]
16. ^ Georgiev, Georgi; Topalov, Vladislav (1958). "Battle at Eski Zagra". Кратка история на Освободителната война 1877–1878 [Brief History of the 1877–78 War of Liberation]. Sofia: Bulgarian Communist Party. "Заедно с руските войски отстъпи по-голямата част от българското население на града. И тук руският войник прояви сърцето и великата си душа. Всеки помагаше според силите и възможностите си. Едни войници носеха децата, други помагаха при събирането на вещите, а трети раздаваха последните си сухари на «бедните братушки». Няколко офицери осиновиха деца, чиито родители загинаха. При настъпването на нощта блеснаха ярко звездите на тъмния небосклон, а далеч над капризните контури на планината аленееше заревото на пожара. Дочуваха се далечни, замиращи вопли. Според донесението на Сюлейман паша загубите на турците в този бой възлизаха на 200 души. Според други по-ненадеждни източници тези загуби се изчисляват на около 1500 души. Големи загуби понесе и другата страна. Само българското опълчение загуби 572 души. Дружината на подполковник Калитин даде 210 убити и ранени, което правеше около 37% от състава й. Според донесението на Сюлейман паша загубите на турците в този бой възлизаха на 200 души. Според други по-ненадеждни източници тези загуби се изчисляват на около 1500 души. Големи загуби понесе и другата страна. Само българското опълчение загуби 572 души. Дружината на подполковник Калитин даде 210 убити и ранени, което правеше около 37% от състава й. Боят при Ески Загра имаше голямо значение. Победата на Сюлейман паша застави Предния отряд да очисти Южна България и да се оттегли на старопланинските проходи."[permanent dead link]

## Works cited

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* Dimitrov, Georgi (1900). Княжество България в историческо, географическо и етнографическо отношение. Продължение от част ІІ. По руско-турската война през 1877-78 г. [Historical, Geographic and Ethnographic Data on the Principality of Bulgaria. Continued from Part II. On the Russo-Turkish War 1877-78] (in Bulgarian). Plovdiv. pp. 130–194.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Seton-Watson, Robert William (1971). Disraeli, Gladstone, and the Eastern Question: A Study in Diplomacy and Party Politics. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780714615134.
* Georgiev, Georgi; Topalov, Vladislav (1958). "Battle at Eski Zagra". Кратка история на Освободителната война 1877–1878 [Brief History of the 1877–78 War of Liberation]. Sofia: Bulgarian Communist Party.[permanent dead link]
* Mitev, Plamen (2012), Българското Възраждане [The Bulgarian National Revival], Стандарт, ISBN 978-954-8976-56-5