The Moratsi () or, alternatively, Marvatsi or Marvaks () were a minor

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

that

settled A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among the first settli ...

in the Western

Rhodopes The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...

and the middle valley of the

Mesta River The Nestos ( ), Mesta ( ) is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. It rises in the Rila Mountains and flows into the Aegean Sea near the island of Thasos. It plunges down towering canyons toward the Aegean Sea through mostly metamorphic formations. At ...

, possibly in the 7th-8th century.

History

Bulgarian suzerainty over the region was established by khan Presian in 837, when a military campaign led by his kavkhan

Isbul Isbul () (fl. 820s–830s) was the '' kavhan'', or first minister, of the First Bulgarian Empire during the reigns of Omurtag, Malamir and Presian I. Appointed to the ''kavhan'' office under Omurtag, Isbul was a regent or co-ruler of the unde ...

gave Bulgaria control over most of

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and the

. By the early 19th century, the Moratsi had transofrmed into a Bulgarian ethnographic group known under the name of Marvatsi (Marvaks), who lived around Melnik and Nevrokop in present-day Bulgaria and in the mountainous parts of the regions of

Serres Serres ( ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northern Greece. The c ...

and Demirhisar in modern Greece. After Bulgaria lost 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

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 ...

, most Marvaks moved to Bulgaria. In general, it was only Hellenophile members of the

Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...

that stayed behind. For example, 11,223 out of 14,778 Bulgarians from the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

Kato Nevrokopi Kato Nevrokopi ( "Lower Nevrokopi") is a municipality and town within that municipality in the northwest section of the Drama regional unit, Greece. Before the 2011 local government reform, it was the largest municipality in all of Greece, cover ...

, the main Marvak centre in Greece left for Bulgaria between 1913 and 1928.

References

First Bulgarian Empire Medieval Thrace Slavic tribes in Macedonia Slavic tribes in Thrace and Moesia {{europe-ethno-group-stub

History

See also

References