Michael Sionidis
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Michael Sionidis ( or , '; 1870–1935) was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
leader of '' makedonomachoi'' in the
Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...
.


Early life

Michael Sionidis was born in the village of
Grčište Grčište () is a village in the municipality of Valandovo, North Macedonia. Demographics According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 255 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:Macedonian Census (2002) ''Book 5 - Total popu ...
,
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
(near
Bogdanci Bogdanci ( ) is a small town in North Macedonia, close to the border with Greece. It is located at around , and is the seat of Bogdanci Municipality. Location The space of the Gevgelian ravine that comprise the space of the Bogdanci field is loca ...
in the present-day
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
) in about 1870.


Military career

At the outbreak of the Macedonian Struggle in 1904, Sionidis fought against the pro- Bulgarian ''
komitadji Komitadji, Comitadji, or Komita (plural: Komitadjis, Comitadjis, or Komitas) ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and , , , , pl. , , ) was a collective name for members of various rebel bands ( chetas) operating in the Balkans during the final period of th ...
s'', acting in an area covering Grčište,
Gevgelija Gevgelija (; ) is a town with a population of 15,685 located in the very southeast of North Macedonia along the banks of the Vardar River, situated at the country's main border with Greece (Bogorodica-Evzoni), the point which links the motorway f ...
and
Doirani Doirani () is a town and former municipality in the Kilkis regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kilkis, of which it is a municipal unit. It is situated on the shores of Doiran Lake, which m ...
. Sionidis first fought under Georgios Zira, then under , before he finally founded his own militia. In the autumn of 1904, Bulgarian ''komitadjis'' killed several of Grčište's Greek inhabitants, including the teacher Catherine Hadjigeorgiou, who was Michael's cousin, the teacher Constantine Sionidis, Andronikis' daughter, and five other Greeks. In retaliation, Sionidis led his militia in an attack on the village of
Marvinci Marvinci (Macedonian and sr-cyr, Марвинци) is a village in the Valandovo municipality, in the southeastern part of North Macedonia. Geography Marvinci is located in the southeast of the country, some 8 km from the nearest town, also ...
, where the ''komitadjis'' were hiding. After getting injured, he went to
Gevgelija Gevgelija (; ) is a town with a population of 15,685 located in the very southeast of North Macedonia along the banks of the Vardar River, situated at the country's main border with Greece (Bogorodica-Evzoni), the point which links the motorway f ...
to recuperate (January 1905). After the
First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...
, Grčište came under
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
n control, and Sionidis moved to the village of Matsikovo (modern
Evzonoi Evzonoi (, , before 1927: Ματσίκοβο - ''Matsikovo'', , , , ''Machukovo'') is a town in Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. The main border crossing between Greece and North Macedonia is located here. The village across the ...
), which was at the time on the Greco-Serbian border. During the Balkan Wars, King
Constantine I of Greece Constantine I (, Romanization, romanized: ''Konstantínos I''; – 11 January 1923) was King of Greece from 18 March 1913 to 11 June 1917 and again from 19 December 1920 to 27 September 1922. He was commander-in-chief of the Hellenic Army dur ...
established his headquarters in his house. Sionidis participated in the Battle of Kilkis-Lahanas, where he was injured. Sionidis also participated in the
Battle of Skra-di-Legen The Battle of Skra-di-Legen (Skora di Legen) was a two-day battle which took place at the Skra fortified position, located northeast of Mount Paiko, which is north-west of Thessaloniki, on May 29–30, 1918, on the Macedonian front of World War ...
during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and worked as a secret agent of the Third Army Corps behind enemy lines, in the area of
Strumica Strumica (, ) is the largest city2002 census results
in English and Macedonian (PDF)
in so ...
.


Later years

Following the end of World War I, Sionidis, as president of Matsikovo community, retrieved the remains of nine ''
evzones The Evzones or Evzonoi (, ) were a type of light infantry units in the Hellenic Army. Today, they are the members of the Presidential Guard (), a ceremonial unit that guards the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier () and the Presidential Mansion ...
'' whom the Bulgarians had killed during the
Second Balkan War The Second Balkan War was a conflict that broke out when Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia and Kingdom of Greece, Greece, on 1 ...
, and buried them in his village. In 1927, the ' renamed Matsikovo to Evzonoi in their honour. Michael Sionidis died in 1935. For his services, he was awarded the Golden Cross of Valour, Greece's highest bravery award, along with the War Cross and the Commemorative Medal of the Macedonian Struggle.


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sionidis, Michael 1870s births 1935 deaths People from Valandovo Municipality Eastern Orthodox Christians from Greece Macedonian revolutionaries (Greek) People of the Macedonian Struggle Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire Greek people of the Balkan Wars Greek people of World War I Recipients of the War Cross (Greece) Recipients of the Cross of Valour (Greece) Greeks from the Ottoman Empire Greek Macedonians