The Batak slaughter - A horror, really beyond imagination
21 replies, posted
What I'm about to tell you is the story of the Batak slaughter, which happened in 1876. One of the most brutal acts of violence in Eastern Europe during the Ottoman Empire's occupation of Eastern Europe, mainly on the Balkan Peninsula. Now, I'm not aware if this is studied in history classes in other countries, so I am going to give you a small rundown of what happened.
It all began when the Ottomans started invading Bulgaria in aprox. 1365. They conquered most of the Bulgarian fortresses and towns south of the Balkan Mountains. Bulgaria was weakened at that time, because the country was semi-divided after the death of Tsar Ivan Asen II. In 1393 the capital - Tarnovo also fell after a three month siege. Three years later, the last part of the Bulgarian Tsardom - Vidin, fell after the battle of Nicopolis ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nicopolis[/url]).
Quote from Wikipedia:
"The invading forces decimated the Bulgarian population, which suffered greatly from Ottoman oppression, intolerance and misgovernment, and lost most of its cultural relics. Turkish authorities destroyed most of the medieval Bulgarian fortresses to prevent rebellions. Large towns and the areas where Ottoman power predominated remained severely depopulated until the 19th century. The invaders destroyed the Bulgarian nobility and enserfed the peasantry to Ottoman masters. Bulgarians had to pay much higher taxes than the Muslim population, and lacked judicial equality with them."
There were many rebellions, but I won't list them all because I'm already derailing from my initial topic. Just have in mind that they were all brutally crushed, with no remorse and no compassion.
Now, to get to the point. The biggest and best organized rebellion was the so called "April uprising", because it obviously happened in April, 1876. Not only was it crushed but also [I]sixteen thousand[/I] innocent people were massacred (Wiki is a bit wrong) but one particular slaughter stands off. It triggered the Great Power's response and along with the 1875 Bosnian rebellion led to the "Ottoman War" with Russia, which was not fought only to free us, but also so that some of our former territories could be taken away, but that's another story. So, the massacre in question - The Batak slaughter.
Batak was a small city back then, with a population of no more than 9000 people. It was one of the cities which rose up in the April uprise. There was an agreement between the townsmen and the leader of the Turks there - Ahmed aga: If the Bulgarians were to surrender their weapons, they would be free to go.
I'm going to try to translate a part of a diary from one of the survivors, which tells exactly what happens:
"On the 1-st of May, the Turks got into the village from the south end. Instead of resistance, the Bulgarians told the bashibozuks that they'll surrender their weapons...
/[I]bashibozuks[/I] (Translated - turks which unofficially joined the Ottoman army only for the money)
Said bashibozuks were actually Bulgarians who were living close to the border and did not speak Bulgarian, in other words they said they were Turks, but were officially Bulgarians./
...Some people gave away their rifles and pistols, but the intentions of the bastardly enemy were brutal, treacherous, filthy and horrible. As soon as the surrendering finished the bashibozuks started working. They attacked the unarmed victims and started beheading them with woodcutter's axes, by leading them to a tree stump one by one and chopped them like firewood. Crying, screaming and pleas were heard everywhere, but instead of mercy, it made the enemy even more revengeful and a kind of monsterous fiesta in the mids of these butchers. This barbaric acts put the whole village in fear. Women, children and men were running towards the northern end of the village..."
Unfortunately, I cannot translate it perfectly, because Bulgarian is very different from English and it is hard to translate it with the same feelings with which it was written. But I'll continue.
Some people managed to run away, but soon the town was circled by the Turks. They started torching every building after searching it for valuables and they shot everybody who wasn't Turkish. People started hiding in the stronger buildings which could stand a fire - the school, the church and some of the bigger houses. One of these houses was the Bogdan house. In it, more than 200 people were hiding from the Ottomans. On the 2-nd of May, they finally surrendered after being promised that they'll be free to go if they give away their valuables. All the people inside - Children, women, men and elders were taken to the square, stripped of their clothes, so they don't spray them with blood and killed.
The more prominent people were promised to be kept alive as hostages if they surrendered. But they were captured and most of them decapitated or burned alive.
The murder of the town's mayor was described by his son's wife. Again, I'm going to try to translate it as best as I can:
"My father-in-law went to greet the bashibozuks and to make the arrangement for the surrender of our weapons. After the weapons were collected, he was shot at with a pistol, but it only scratched his eyebrow. After that I heard Ahmed aga tell to his men to impale the mayor on a stake and burned. The words he used were: "Shashak aor", which means "impaled on a stick like a kebab". After that they took all of his money, stripped him, bludged his eyes out and slowly impaled him on the stick until in got out through his mouth. Then they burned him on their fire, while he was alive. He gagged for half an hour... Me and a few of my friends [I](women only)[/I] were forced to watch it all"
Women and children were killed on the streets and men were taken to the square and beheaded. Pregnant women were ripped open and their unborn babies were taken out of their wombs with the turks' bayonets. Some houses were burned with the people still inside them.
One of the tree stumps used for the beheadings. Behind it - a wall with the names of the lost.
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Zverstva_Batak.jpg[/img]
The ossuary of the people killed in the St. Nedelq Church. I'll complete the story tommorow, so it'll make more sense:
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Kostnitza.jpg[/img]
The first photo to be taken after the massacre in the church (1878):
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/bg/2/26/Света_Неделя_-_Batak.jpg[/img]
The remains of the people in the church. The sign on the right is written with bones. It says "Remaining from 1876":
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Zverstva.jpg[/img]
I will continue tomorrow. There is still much to be told...
Disclaimer: I do not hate the modern day Turkish people, because they are not responsible for what their ancestors did.
The ottomen were brutal in their war ways. The Cosacks and the poles stopped this, but this ended in another war between the cosacks and the poles.
[QUOTE=PjaNoo^;21740426]The ottomen were brutal in their war ways. The Cosacks and the poles stopped this, but this ended in another war between the cosacks and the poles.[/QUOTE]
It isn't about being brutal in your "war" way. It's not war when your enemy can't fight, now is it?
[QUOTE=Stopper;21740659]It isn't about being brutal in your "war" way. It's not war when your enemy can't fight, now is it?[/QUOTE]
It is a war even though your enemies can't fight.
Definition av war på nätet på engelska:
* the waging of armed conflict against an enemy; "thousands of people were killed in the war"
Holy fucking shit.
19th century empires being brutal? Preposterous!
[editline]10:08PM[/editline]
how many died?
I don't think he will be completing this thread tomorrow, he's banned.
This is so depressing to read :( it just shows how disgusting people can really be.
:ohdear:
Dude that bone-sign is :krad2:
Any videos?
Honestly, I've never heard of this before. Thanks for sharing, OP! :)
To the trolls rating "Funny"... err nevermind.
Holy shit.
I thought many people in European Countries thought that it was immoral to kill women or children at war.
[QUOTE=JDK721;21744791]Any videos?[/QUOTE]
Yeah the could take videos in 1876.
Holy mother of Jesus! Imagine if someone make a movie about it!
Damn son.
Jesus christ!
That's...just..what...
Fucked up
Its like an old-timey holocaust.
But without the sadistic leader and his tiny mustache.
tl;dr... people die? i didn't read it.
Thats how it's done.
[QUOTE=ryan1271;21745605]tl;dr... people die? i didn't read it.[/QUOTE]
:frog: