Petar (Pere) Naumov Toshev (, ; 1865–1912) was a Bulgarian teacher and an activist of the

Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

. In the historiography in North Macedonia he is considered an ethnic

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

revolutionary.

Early life

Toshev was born in the town of

Prilep Prilep ( ) is the List of cities in North Macedonia, fourth-largest city in North Macedonia. According to 2021 census, it had a population of 63,308. Name The name of Prilep appeared first as ''Πρίλαπος'' in Greek (''Prilapos'') in 1 ...

, then part of the

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 ...

. He studied at the Bulgarian Exarchate's school in Prilep and the

Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki The Sts. Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki (, ''Solunska balgarska mazhka gimnazia „Sv. sv. Kiril i Metodiy“'') was the first Bulgarian language, Bulgarian high school in Macedonia (region), Macedonia. One of th ...

. Later Pere attended the Gymnazium in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

, capital of the recently created

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia (; ; ) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of , which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin and ''de facto'' ...

. Here he joined the

Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee (BSCRC) was a Bulgarian revolutionary organization founded in Plovdiv, then in Eastern Rumelia on February 10, 1885. The original purpose of the committee was to gain autonomy for the region of Mac ...

founded in 1885. The original purpose of the committee was to gain autonomy for the region 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 ...

(then called ''Western Rumelia''), but it played an important role in the organization of the Unification of Bulgaria and

. During the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War (, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', , ''Srpsko-bugarski rat''), a war between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Principality of Bulgaria, erupted on and lasted until . Despite Bulgaria's statu ...

of 1885, he joined the

Bulgarian Army The Bulgarian Army (), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in ...

as a volunteer. During 1885–1890 Pere Toshev and

Andrey Lyapchev Andrey Tasev Lyapchev (Tarpov) (; 30 November 1866 – 6 November 1933) was a Bulgarian Prime Minister in three consecutive governments. Early years Lyapchev was born in the Macedonian city of Resen, which was at the time a part of the Otto ...

organised a series of secret meetings in the villages around Plovdiv. They decided to organize a new Macedonian-Adrianople liberation organization. In 1890, they were on an intelligence touring through Macedonia.

Teacher and activist

In the period 1892–1893, Toshev worked as a

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

teacher together with Dame Gruev in

. After joining the

(IMARO), he became an activist. In 1900, Toshev conducted the ceremony inducting the members of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Secret Revolutionary Brotherhood, including Ivan Garvanov into the IMARO. In 1901, Pere was exiled by the Ottoman authorities in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. During the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

in 1903, he led a detachment in the region of

Mariovo Mariovo () is a historic region in the southern part of North Macedonia, with an area of 1,390 square km and an elevation 1,050 m, situated among mountains. Geography Mountains * Selečka (highest peak - ''Visoka'' 1,471 m) on the west, * Nid ...

. He was a delegate at the Prilep Congress of IMARO in 1904. At the Rila Congress of IMARO in 1905 he was elected as a member of the Central Committee of the Organization. During the increase of the Serbian propaganda in Macedonia, Pere Toshev attempted to neutralize peacefully the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

bands in the area. After the capture of Dame Gruev by the Serbs he personally met

Gligor Sokolović Gligor Sokolović ( sr-cyr, Глигор Соколовић; 17 or 5 January 1870 or 1872 – 30 July 1910]) was one of the supreme commanders (''Great Voivode'') of the Serbian Chetnik Organization, Serbian Chetnik Movement, that fought the Ot ...

, and subsequently Dame Gruev was released. After Ivan Garvanov and Boris Sarafov's murder, he was briefly arrested as a suspected. After the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

, Pere Toshev opposed the legalization of the Organization. Toshev and Dimo Hadzhidimov, published the newspaper "Konstitutsionna zarya", close to the Serres group of

Yane Sandanski Yane Ivanov Sandanski (, ; Originally spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, older Bulgarian orthography as (Yane Ivanov Sandanski); 18 May 1872 – 22 April 1915) was a Macedonian Bulgarians, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary and leader ...

, from 1908 until 1909. During this period Toshev with

Anton Strashimirov Anton Strashimirov () (Varna, 15 June 1872 – Vienna, 7 December 1937) was a Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south ...

and Gyorche Petrov, also issued the newspaper "Kulturno Edinstvo" in Solun. During 1910–1911, Toshev was a school inspector of the Bulgarian schools in the Salonica revolutionary district. Toshev was killed by the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

in Drenovo, near

Kavadarci Kavadarci ( ) is a town in the Tikveš region of North Macedonia. In the heart of North Macedonia's wine country, it is home to the largest winery in Southeast Europe, named after the Tikveš plain. The town of Kavadarci is the seat of Kavadarc ...

in 1912. Anastas Lozanchev wrote about him in his account of IMARO's founding in 1894: „''Pere had clearly defined ideas, with defined views on the revolutionary struggles, which no one else at that time had. He was an old revolutionary; he had participated together with other

Macedonian Bulgarians Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians (), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Bulgarians, inhabiting or originating from the region of Ma ...

... in the unification of Northern and Southern Bulgaria.''“Илюстрация Илинден (Illustrated Ilinden), 1943, issue.143, p.1-3

References

Sources

Пере Тошев (Личност и Дело), Светозар Тошев, печатница „Кишкилов”—Асеновград, 1942 г.(Bg.)

Пере Тошев - съвестта на Македония. Силата на документите. Цочо В. Билярски.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toshev, Pere 1865 births 1912 deaths People from Prilep Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization Bulgarian revolutionaries Bulgarian military personnel People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Recipients of the Order of Bravery Bulgarian people imprisoned abroad Exiles from the Ottoman Empire Bulgarian educators Macedonian Bulgarians Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki alumni Assassinated Bulgarian people People murdered in the Ottoman Empire Bulgarian people murdered abroad People murdered in 1912 People from Eastern Rumelia Revolutionaries from the Ottoman Empire People assassinated in the 20th century