Republic of Tamrash (Wikipedia)

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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

Map of the republic of Tamrash.

The Republic of Tamrash with number two on the map.

The Republic of Tamrash (Bulgarian: Тъмръшка република, Tamrashka republika) was a short-lived self-governing administrative structure of the Pomaks, living in the Tamrash region of the Rhodope Mountains. It existed from 1878 to 1886.

Contents  [hide]  1 Geography 2 History 3 Officials 4 Timeline 5 See also 6 Literature 7 External links

[edit] Geography

The territory spanned over the area locked between the Vacha River and the Chepelare River. The rebel territory initially consisted of 17 villages but its number increased up to 21 in 1880. Some of those villages were Trigrad, Mugla, Beden, Mihalkovo, Skoblevo, Churukovo and Devin.

[edit] History

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The self-governing territory emerged as the Pomaks of the Tamrash region struggled to avoid the influence and the rule of the Christian Bulgarians and the Russians after the Russo-Turkish War.
President of the territory was Ahmed Agha Tamrashlyata. He had participated in the April Uprising, supported by the dwellers of the Tamrash villages on the Ottoman side, so when two years later the Bulgarian and Russian forces advanced to the south, he and his fellows fled even further south to avoid retaliation.
After the Russian army withdrew from the hard to supply Rhodope Mountains, the agha and his party returned to their villages to establish the self-governing territory.
Ahmed Agha Tamrashlyata imposed three times lower taxes which led to expanding the territory from 17 to 21 villages in the autumn of 1880. At the same time the Republic of Tamrash sent a representative in Plovdiv and introduced visas. But in the winter of the same year officials from Tamrash, the Ottoman Empire and the authority of Eastern Rumelia met and agreed that the newly added 4 villages should be returned to Eastern Rumelia.

[edit] Officials

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• Head of territory - Ahmed Agha Tamrashlyata from the village of Tamrash.
• Commander - Hasan Agha from Trigrad.
• Vice commander - Hadzhi Mehmed from Beden.
• Vice commander - Molla Eyub from Mugla.
• National guard commander - Mehmed Agha (Ahmed Agha's brother) from the village of Tamrash.

The guard of territory consisted of 20 men. The leaders of the villages had great authority. The capital was moved all the time - it was first in Trigrad, later in Nastan, after that in Mihalkovo and so on.

[edit] Timeline

• 1878 - the self-governing territory of Tamrash is established.
• 1880 - the leaders of the territory agree to join Eastern Rumelia, but don't do it because they are afraid from forest bandits who would attack them had they disarmed.
• 1880 - four more Pomak villages join their rebellious brothers.
• 1880 - after negotiations the four villages are returned to Eastern Rumelia.
• 1881 - the Ottoman Empire secretly recognizes the Republic of Tamrash^{[citation needed]} and awards its officials with medals in order to get a fraction of the taxes they collect.
• 1882 - Eastern Rumelia gives up its efforts to gain control over Tamrash.
• 1886 - the Bulgarian Army occupies the territory of Tamrash.
• 1886 - the Ottoman Empire recognizes the unification of Eastern Rumelia and Bulgaria and in return receives the Republic of Tamrash and several rebellious Turkish villages.