# Macedonian Committee

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Greek revolutionary organization, c. 1900–1908

For the pro-Serbian organization of Macedonian Slavs, see [Secret Macedonian Committee](/source/Secret_Macedonian_Committee).

Macedonian Committee Hellenic Macedonian Committee Μακεδονικό Κομιτάτο Ελληνομακεδονικό Κομιτάτο Seal of the committee, showing Alexander the Great and Basil II ("the Bulgar Slayer"). A flag often flown and associated with the Makedonomachoi. Abbreviation EMK Formation c. 1900 Founder Stefanos Dragoumis Founded at Athens, Greece Dissolved after July 1908 Type Revolutionary organisation Purpose Reinforce the Patriarchate of Constantinople over the Bulgarian Exarchate Liberation of Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire Incorporation into the Kingdom of Greece Headquarters Greek consulate of Thessaloniki Region served Ottoman Macedonia Salonika Vilayet Monastir Vilayet Official language Greek Leader Dimitrios Kalapothakis Key people Ion Dragoumis Germanos Karavangelis Lambros Koromilas Pavlos Melas Georgios Katechakis Gonos Yotas Kottas and others Main organ Newspaper Embros (Εμπρός) Affiliations Kingdom of Greece Hellenic Army

The **Macedonian Committee** ([Greek](/source/Greek_language): Μακεδονικό Κομιτάτο, *Makedoniko Komitato*), formally the **Hellenic Macedonian Committee** (Ελληνομακεδονικό Κομιτάτο, *Ellinomakedoniko Komitato*), was a [Greek](/source/Greeks) revolutionary organization with the aim of liberating [Macedonia](/source/Macedonia_(region)) from the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire) (in the [vilayets](/source/Vilayets) of [Monastir](/source/Monastir_Vilayet) and [Salonika](/source/Salonika_Vilayet)), active during the [Macedonian Struggle](/source/Macedonian_Struggle) that also included Bulgarian and Serb revolutionary organizations.

## Establishment

See also: [Salonica vilayet](/source/Salonica_vilayet) and [Manastir vilayet](/source/Manastir_vilayet)

Despite the prior existence of Greek armed bands in the region of [Ottoman Macedonia](/source/Macedonia_(region)), it wasn't until 1900 when [Stefanos Dragoumis](/source/Stefanos_Dragoumis) founded the Hellenic Macedonian Committee, that an organized and coordinated effort was undertaken. The committee was led by the wealthy publisher [Dimitrios Kalapothakis](/source/Dimitrios_Kalapothakis) and its members included Greek aristocrats, politicians, and other Greek notables in addition to the guerrilla fighters. This included individuals such as [Ion Dragoumis](/source/Ion_Dragoumis), [Pavlos Melas](/source/Pavlos_Melas), etc.[1] The Hellenic Macedonian Committee served as the Greek answer to the [IMRO](/source/IMRO) following their increase in hostilities towards the [Greek](/source/Macedonians_(Greeks)) inhabitants of [Macedonia](/source/Macedonia_(region)). It also acted as the enforcement arm of the [Greek Patriarchate](/source/Greek_Patriarch_of_Constantinople), to contain and prevent further expansion of the [Bulgarian Exarchate](/source/Bulgarian_Exarchate) in the region. The committee took charge of the organization of guerrilla fighters in [Macedonia](/source/Macedonia_(region))—the **Makedonomachoi**—during the [Macedonian Struggle](/source/Macedonian_Struggle) (1904–1908).

## Macedonian Struggle

See also: [Macedonian Struggle](/source/Macedonian_Struggle)

Following the establishment of the [Bulgarian Exarchate](/source/Bulgarian_Exarchate), Greeks and Bulgarians were engaged in a propaganda struggle for the allegiance of the inhabitants of Macedonia. Following the abortive [Ilinden Uprising](/source/Ilinden_Revolt) in August 1903 by the Bulgarian-sponsored [IMRO](/source/Internal_Macedonian_Revolutionary_Organization), the Macedonian Committee organized to protect the [Greek Macedonians](/source/Macedonians_(Greeks)) and preserve Greek interests in the region. [Nikolaos Mavrokordatos](/source/Nikolaos_Mavrokordatos), the ambassador of Greece, with the consul of Greece in [Monastir](/source/Bitola), [Ion Dragoumis](/source/Ion_Dragoumis), agreed to send [Germanos Karavangelis](/source/Germanos_Karavangelis) to [Macedonia](/source/Macedonia_(region)) as the Bishop of [Kastoria](/source/Kastoria). It was there that he realised the urgency of the situation and began the more efficient organisation of the Greek opposition. While Dragoumis concerned himself with the financial organisation of the efforts, the central figure in the military struggle was the capable [Cretan](/source/Cretan) officer [Georgios Katechakis](/source/Georgios_Katechakis).[2] Bishop Germanos Karavangelis would travel to raise morale and encourage the Macedonian Greek population to take action against the IMRO. He was also instrumental in the formation of various committees to promote Greek national interests.

### Makedonomachoi

Katechakis and Karavangelis succeeded in organizing and coordinating local guerrilla groups, occasionally recruiting former IMRO members who had political and/or personal disputes within the organisation (ex. [Kottas Christou](/source/Kottas), [Gonos Yiotas](/source/Gonos_Yotas), etc.). The armed bands were later reinforced with volunteers from free Greece, many from [Crete](/source/Crete) and the [Mani](/source/Mani_Peninsula) area of the [Peloponnese](/source/Peloponnese). Many ex-officers of the [Hellenic Army](/source/Hellenic_Army) were encouraged to volunteer to provide experienced leadership and a logistical advantage, and many ultimately did. Macedonian Greeks, however, formed the core of the fighting force and proved the most important due to their extensive geographic knowledge of the region as well as a number of them possessing varying degrees of knowledge of the Bulgarian language. Many [Macedonian Greeks](/source/Macedonians_(Greeks)) distinguished themselves as effective chieftains and experts of [unconventional warfare](/source/Unconventional_warfare), such as [Evangelos Natsis](/source/Evangelos_Natsis), [Dimitrios Stagas](/source/Dimitrios_Stagas), [Georgios Savvas](/source/Georgios_Savvas), [Michael Sionidis](/source/Michael_Sionidis), [Ioannis Ramnalis](/source/Ioannis_Ramnalis), [Petros Christou](/source/Petros_Christou), [Antigonos Choleris](/source/Antigonos_Choleris), [Christos Stogiannidis](/source/Christos_Stogiannidis), [Periklis Drakos](/source/Periklis_Drakos), [Pavlos Rakovitis](/source/Pavlos_Rakovitis), [Georgios Seridis](/source/Georgios_Seridis), [Iraklis Patikas](/source/Iraklis_Patikas), [Georgios Modis](/source/Georgios_Modis), [Gonos Yotas](/source/Gonos_Yotas), [Kottas](/source/Kottas), [Stergios Daoutis](/source/Stergios_Daoutis) and many more. The rebel fighters who fought for the Greek cause came to be known by the Greeks as **Makedonomachoi** ([Greek](/source/Greek_language): Μακεδονομάχοι; "Macedonian fighters").[3]

Greek writer [Penelope Delta](/source/Penelope_Delta) portrayed the Makedonomachoi in her novel *Τά μυστικά τοῦ Βάλτου* (Ta Mystiká tou Váltou – The Secrets of the Swamp), and [Germanos Karavangelis](/source/Germanos_Karavangelis) recalls them in his book of memoirs *Ὁ Μακεδονικός Ἀγών* (The Macedonian Struggle). Comparatively, the [Komitadjis](/source/Komitadji) of the IMRO and their activities appear in the book *Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars*, written by [Albert Sonnichsen](/source/Albert_Sonnichsen), an American volunteer in the IMRO during the Macedonian Struggle.

		- *Proclamation of the Hellenic Macedonian Committee*

		- The former Greek consulate in [Thessaloniki](/source/Thessaloniki) where the EMK was headquartered. It is now a [Museum for the Macedonian Struggle](/source/Museum_for_the_Macedonian_Struggle_(Thessaloniki)).

		- A group of Macedonian Committee fighters

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Konstantinos Vakalopoulos, Historia tou voreiou hellenismou, vol 2, 1990, pages 429-430

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Bulgarian Historical Review, vol 31, 1-4, 2003, p 117 "Only a few days later -on November 1- Katehakis arrived in Macedonia as Melas' successor

1. **[^](#cite_ref-BrownHamilakis2003_3-0)** Keith S. Brown; Yannis Hamilakis (2003). [*The Usable Past: Greek Metahistories*](https://books.google.com/books?id=2NIBVfBX99oC). Lexington Books. p. 79. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7391-0384-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7391-0384-5).

## Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Hellenic Macedonian Committee](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hellenic_Macedonian_Committee).

- Karavangelis, Germanos: "The Macedonian Struggle" (Memoirs)

- [Dakin, D.](/source/Douglas_Dakin) (1993). [*The Greek Struggle in Macedonia: 1897-1913*](https://books.google.com/books?id=FmSwoQEACAAJ). Museio tu Makedoniku Agōnos [Museum of the Macedonian Struggle]. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-960-85303-2-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-960-85303-2-4).

- [*Αφανεις γηγενεις Μακεδονομαχοι: (1903-1913)*](https://www.google.com/books/edition/%CE%91%CF%86%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%82_%CE%B3%CE%B7%CE%B3%CE%B5%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%82_%CE%9C%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%B5/-4XWygAACAAJ). University Studio Press. 2008. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-960-12-1724-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-960-12-1724-6).

- Rappoport, Alfred: *Au pays des martyrs. Notes et souvenirs d'un ancien consul-général d'Autriche-Hongrie en Macédoine (1904–1909)*. Librarie Universitaire J. Gamber, Paris, 1927. Memoirs of the General Consul of Austro-Hungary in Macedonia. Cat. No. 7029530203814.

- Livanios, D., 1999. ‘Conquering the souls’: nationalism and Greek guerrilla warfare in Ottoman Macedonia, 1904–1908. Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 23, pp. 195–221.

v t e Hellenic Macedonian Committee Macedonian Committee Ion Dragoumis Stefanos Dragoumis Dimitrios Kalapothakis Germanos Karavangelis Pavlos Melas Georgios Pentzikis Makedonomachoi (with nom de guerre) Theodoros Adam Sarantis-Tellos Agapinos (Agras) Michail Anagnostakos (Matapas) Charalambos Boufidis (Fourtounas) Theodoros Boulasikis Ioannis Boubaras Antigonos Choleris Petros Christou Konstantinos Christou (Kottas) Nikolaos Dailakis Panagiotis Danglis (Parmenion) Stergios Daoutis (Perifanos) Nikolaos Davelis Ioannis Demertzis Ioannis Demestichas (Nikiforos) Christos Dogiamas (Itsos) Dimitrios Dogiamas (Bikas) Lazos Dogiamas (Barovitsalis) Konstantinos Dogras Georgios Doitsinis Nikolaos Doumpiotis (Amyntas) Periklis Drakos Ioannis Evaggelopoulos Doukas Gaitatzis (Zervas) Konstantinos Garefis Dimitrios Golnas Nikolaos Gousios Stergios Goutas Pavlos Gyparis Petros Hatzitasis Simos Ioannidis (Armenskiotis) Georgios Kakoulidis (Dragas) Nikostratos Kalomenopoulos (Nidas) Pantelis Kandilas Efthymios Kaoudis (Old Kaoudis) Filippos Kapetanopoulos Georgios Karaiskakis Ioannis Karavitis Georgios Katechakis (Rouvas) Dimitrios Kechagias (Dalipis) Nikolaos Kollias Georgios Kondylis Alexandros Kontoulis (Skourtis) Stavros Kotsopoulos (Banitsiotis) Evangelos Koukoudeas Theodoros Koukoulakis Georgios Koutles Pavlos Kyrou Dimitrios Lalas Georgios Lepidatos (Arkoudas) Traianos Liantzakis (Traikos) Nikolaos Manos Konstantinos Manos (Michailidis) Petros Manos (Vergos) Ioannis Martzios Apostolis Matopoulos Konstantinos Mazarakis-Ainian (Akritas) Pavlos Melas (Mikis Zezas) Alexandros Merentitis (Doukas) Georgios Modis Evangelos Natsis (Srebreniotis) Pavlos Nikolaidis (Rakovitis) Alexandros Othonaios (Palamidis) Markos Palamidis Pantelis Papaioannou (Nikotsaras) Konstantinos Papastavrou (Mavromatis) Iraklis Patikas Filolaos Pichion (Filotas) Nikolaos Pyrzas (Lakis) Stavros Rigas (Kavodoros) Nikolaos Rokas (Kolios) Michail Sapkas Dimitrios Sarros Georgios Savvas Georgios Seridis (Spanos) Ioannis Simanikas Michael Sionidis Konstantinos Sorros (Kallas) Georgios Soulios Spyros Spyromilios (Bouas) Dimitrios Stagas (Mizas) Athanasios Stavroudis Christos Stogiannidis (Lilis or Iason) Markos Theodoridis Georgios Thomopoulos (Gogos) Georgios Tombras (Roupakias) Ioannis Tsangaridis Lazaros Tsamis Dimitrios Tsapanos Nikolaos Tsipouras Dimitrios Tsitsimis Christos Tsolakopoulos (Rembelos) Georgios Tsontos (Vardas) Lazaros Varzis (Zarkadas) Zisis Verros Ioannis Villioglou (Ramnalis) Stergios Vlachveis Argyrios Vouzas Zisis Vrakas Georgios Yiotas (Gonos) Antonios Zois Consular officials & undercover agents Ion Dragoumis Athanasios Exadaktylos (Antoniou) Lambros Koromilas Spyridon Levidis Alexandros Mazarakis-Ainian (Ioannidis) Anastasios Pichion Ptolemaios Sarigiannis (Kalamidis) Museums Museum for the Macedonian Struggle (Thessaloniki) Museum of the Macedonian Struggle (Kastoria) Museum of the Macedonian Struggle (Chromio) Museum of the Macedonian Struggle (Skopje) Folklore Museum of Giannitsa Pavlos Melas Museum Captain Kottas Museum

v t e Megali Idea Background Fall of Constantinople Ottoman Greece Greek Plan Greek War of Independence First Hellenic Republic Kingdom of Greece Annexations Ionian Islands (1864) Thessaly (1881) Crete (1912) Epirus (1912) Macedonia (1912) North Aegean islands (1912) Western Thrace (1919) Dodecanese (1947) Temporary acquisitions Eastern Thrace (1920–23) Imbros and Tenedos (1912–13, 1920–23) Northern Epirus (1914–17, 1919–21, 1940–41) Smyrna Zone (1919–22 as dependency) Constantinople, Zone of the Straits (1918–23 with France, Italy and United Kingdom) Other areas Asia Minor which included: Ionia Aeolis Doris Cappadocia (Cappadocian Greeks) Lydia Caria Mysia Troas Phrygia Galatia Bithynia Lycia Cilicia Cataonia Lycaonia Pamphylia Isauria Pisidia Paphlagonia Chamanene Armenia Minor Part of Commagene Cyprus Eastern Rumelia Pelagonia (Monastiri region) Gevgeli Sazan island Pontus Ideas Greek nationalism Hellenization Enosis People and organizations Ioannis Kolettis Aristotelis Valaoritis Ethniki Etaireia Macedonian Committee Alexandros Koumoundouros Dimitrios Kalapothakis Stephanos Dragoumis Pavlos Melas Kostis Palamas Military League Eleftherios Venizelos Penelope Delta Themistoklis Sofoulis Nikolaos Plastiras Georgios Christakis-Zografos Theodoros Pangalos Northern Epirus Liberation Front EOKA Georgios Grivas Dimitrios Ioannidis Events Party of Radicals (Ionian Islands) Epirus Revolt of 1854 1854 Macedonian rebellion 1867 Macedonian rebellion Cretan revolt (1866–1869) Cretan revolt (1878) Epirus Revolt of 1878 1878 Macedonian rebellion Macedonian Struggle Greco-Turkish War (1897) Theriso revolt Balkan League Balkan Wars Himara revolt of 1912 Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus Provisional Government of National Defence National Defence Army Corps Greece in WWI Occupation of Constantinople Greek landing at Smyrna Republic of Pontus Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Great Fire of Smyrna 1931 Cyprus Revolt Greece in WWII Greco-Italian War Cyprus Emergency 1974 Cypriot coup d'état Treaties Treaty of London (1864) Greek-Serbian Alliance of 1867 Treaty of Berlin (1878) Convention of Constantinople (1881) Treaty of Constantinople (1897) Greek-Serbian Alliance of 1913 Treaty of London (1913) Treaty of Bucharest (1913) Treaty of Athens (1913) Protocol of Corfu (1914) Venizelos–Tittoni agreement (1919) Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (1919) Treaty of Sèvres (1920) Treaty of Lausanne (1923) Treaty of Paris (1947) Treaty of Guarantee (1960)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Macedonian Committee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonian_Committee) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonian_Committee?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.