Eastern Rumelia (Bulgarian: Източна Румелия, romanized: Iztochna Rumeliya; Ottoman Turkish: رومایلی شرقی ولایتی, romanized: Rumeli-i Şarkî Vilayeti; Greek: Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, romanized: Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (oblast in Bulgarian, vilayet in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of 32,978 km (12,733 sq mi), which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin and de facto ceased to exist in 1885, when it was united with the Principality of Bulgaria, also under nominal Ottoman suzerainty. It continued to be an Ottoman province de jure until 1908, when Bulgaria declared independence. Ethnic Bulgarians formed a majority of the population in Eastern Rumelia, but there were significant Turkish and Greek minorities. Its capital was Plovdiv (Ottoman Filibe, Greek Philippoupoli). The official languages of Eastern Rumelia were Bulgarian, Greek and Ottoman Turkish.
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👉 Eastern Rumelia in the context of Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Княжество България, romanized: Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed by Russia and the Ottoman Empire on 3 March 1878. Under this, a large Bulgarian vassal state was agreed to, which was significantly larger: its lands encompassed nearly all ethnic Bulgarians in the Balkans, and included most of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia, stretching from the Black Sea to the Aegean. However, the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary were against the establishment of such a large Russian client state in the Balkans, fearing it would shift the balance of power in the Mediterranean. Due to this, the great powers convened and signed the Treaty of Berlin, superseding the Treaty of San Stefano, which never went into effect. This created a much smaller principality, alongside an autonomous Eastern Rumelia within the Ottoman Empire.
- ⭐ Core Definition: Eastern Rumelia
- 👉 Eastern Rumelia in the context of Principality of Bulgaria
- Eastern Rumelia in the context of Autonomous oblast
- Eastern Rumelia in the context of Salonica Vilayet
- Eastern Rumelia in the context of History of Bulgaria (1878–1946)
- Eastern Rumelia in the context of Adrianople Vilayet
- Eastern Rumelia in the context of Bulgarian unification
Eastern Rumelia in the context of Autonomous oblast
An autonomous oblast (Russian: Автономная область (АО)) is an autonomous form of an oblast (administrative-territorial structure) in the USSR. Of the post-Soviet states, autonomous oblasts currently exist only in Russia (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast) and Tajikistan (the Gorno-Badakhshan).
There were autonomous oblasts of the Soviet Union and later some federal subjects of Russia were autonomous oblasts: the one remaining is the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. Eastern Rumelia was an autonomous province (oblast in Bulgarian, one of its official languages) of the Ottoman Empire. Serb Autonomous Regions are known as oblasts.
Eastern Rumelia in the context of Salonica Vilayet
The Vilayet of Salonica (Ottoman Turkish: ولايت سلانيك, romanized: Vilâyet-i Selânik) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire from 1867 to 1913. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of 12,950 square miles (33,500 km).
The vilayet was bounded by the Principality (later Kingdom) of Bulgaria on the north; Eastern Rumelia on the northeast (after the Treaty of Berlin); Edirne Vilayet on the east; the Aegean Sea on the south; Monastir Vilayet and the independent sanjak of Serfije on the west (after 1881); the Kosovo Vilayet on the northwest.
Eastern Rumelia in the context of History of Bulgaria (1878–1946)
After the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the 1878 Treaty of Berlin set up an autonomous state, the Principality of Bulgaria, within the Ottoman Empire. Although remaining under Ottoman sovereignty, it functioned independently, taking Alexander of Battenberg as its first prince in 1879. In 1885 Alexander took control of the still-Ottoman Eastern Rumelia, officially under a personal union. Following Prince Alexander's abdication (1886), a Bulgarian Assembly elected Ferdinand I as prince in 1887. Full independence from Ottoman control was declared in 1908.
In the 1912–1913 Balkan Wars, Bulgaria initially formed an alliance with Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire, and together they conquered a great deal of Ottoman territory. Bulgaria, however, unhappy with the resulting division of territory, soon went to war against its former allies Serbia and Greece and lost territory it had gained in the first war. The First World War (1914–1918) saw Bulgaria fighting (1915–1918) alongside Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. Defeat led to the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (27 November 1919), in accordance with which Bulgaria lost further territory. Social problems and political instability persisted throughout the Interwar period. In the Second World War (1939–1945), Bulgaria again allied with Germany (March 1941). Although Sofia attempted to pull out of the war as the Soviet Union advanced towards its territory (1944), the Red Army invaded (September 1944), and a communist government came to power (1944–1946) and established the People's Republic of Bulgaria (1946–1990).
Eastern Rumelia in the context of Adrianople Vilayet
The Vilayet of Adrianople or Vilayet of Edirne (Ottoman Turkish: ولايت ادرنه; Vilâyet-i Edirne) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire.
Prior to 1878, the vilayet had an area of 26,160 square miles (67,800 km) and extended all the way to the Balkan Mountains. However, by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), the Sanjak of İslimye, most of the Sanjak of Filibe and a small part of the Sanjak of Edirne (the Kızılağaç kaza and Monastır nahiya) were carved out of it to create the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia, with a total area of 32,978 km. The province unified peacefully with the Principality of Bulgaria in 1885.
Eastern Rumelia in the context of Bulgarian unification
The Unification of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Съединение на България, romanized: Suedinenie na Bulgariya) was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated by the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee (BSCRC). Both had been parts of the Ottoman Empire, but the principality had functioned de facto independently whilst the Rumelian province was autonomous and had an Ottoman presence. The unification was accomplished after revolts in Eastern Rumelian towns, followed by a coup on 18 September [O.S. 6 September] 1885 supported by the Bulgarian Prince Alexander I. The BSCRC, formed by Zahari Stoyanov, began actively popularizing the idea of unification by means of the press and public demonstrations in the spring of 1885.