The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising

At the Thessaloniki Congress in January 1903, the committee of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO) decided that the time had come for a mass uprising. The situation was further complicated by the Thessaloniki bombings of April 1903, carried out by the Gemidzhii, a group of young patriots drawn to anarchism. They resorted to extreme actions: blowing up the Ottoman Bank in Thessaloniki, setting fire to a French steamship and cutting the city's gas and water supplies. The army and police punished their actions brutally. These events had repercussions in Thessaloniki and across Macedonia, where many Bulgarians were killed.

In these circumstances, a congress of the Bitola Revolutionary District was convened in May 1903. D. Gruev, An. Lozanchev and B. Sarafov were appointed the uprising's principal organisers, and 2 August/20 July, St Elijah's Day (Ilinden), was chosen as the date for its outbreak. The Edirne Revolutionary District also held a congress, deciding that its uprising would begin on 19 August, the Feast of the Transfiguration (Preobrazhenie). Coordination was entrusted to a Main Combat Leadership Body comprising M. Gerdzhikov, St. Ikonomov and L. Madzharov. These chosen dates gave the uprising the widely known name Ilinden–Preobrazhenie.

The uprising broke out on the night of 2–3 August 1903, Ilinden, to the ringing of bells in the Bitola district. It attracted mass participation from the outset. Success came quickly, and the mountainous districts of Bitola, Kastoria, Ohrid and Kičevo were liberated. On 19 August, an uprising also broke out in Edirne Thrace. The plan called for the villages of Strandzha to be liberated first. The Turkish garrisons were forced to flee by ship, with only Malko Tarnovo remaining under Turkish rule.

Events in the Bitola and Edirne revolutionary districts also spurred the Serres Revolutionary District into action. Its uprising began on 27 September/14 September 1903, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Armed fighting in Macedonia and Edirne Thrace lasted almost three months. The Turkish army succeeded in delivering a powerful blow to the rebels.

The uprisings ended in failure and heavy loss of life. Much of the surviving population sought refuge in Bulgaria.