the Morova Planina, the Grammus range, and Pindus with Smolika
(8546 ft.). The series of heights is broken by the valleys of the
Black Drin and Devol, which flow to the Adriatic. Between the
Vardar and the plain of Monastir the Nija range culminates in
Kaimakchalan (8255 ft.); south-west of Monastir is Mt Peristeri
(7720 ft.) overlooking Lake Prespa on the east; on the west is the
Galinitza range separating it from Lake Ochrida. Between Lake
Ostrovo and the lower Bistritza are the Bermius and Kitarion
ranges with Doxa (5240 ft.) and Turla (about 3280 ft.). South of
the Bistritza are the Cambunian mountains forming the boundary
of Thessaly and terminating to the east in the imposing mass of
Etymbos, or Olympus (9794 ft.). Lastly, Mt Athos, at the extremity
of the peninsula of that name, reaches the height of 6350 ft.
The general aspect of the country is bare and desolate, especially
in the neighbourhood of the principal routes; the trees have been
destroyed, and large tracts of land remain uncultivated. Magnificent
forests, however, still clothe the slopes of Rhodope, Pirin and Pindus.
The well-wooded and cultivated districts of Grevena and Castoria,
which are mainly inhabited by a Vlach population, are remarkably
beautiful, and the scenery around Lakes Ochrida and Prespa is
exceedingly picturesque. For the principal geological formations
see Balkan Peninsula.
The climate is severe; the spring is often rainy, and the melted snows from the encircling mountains produce inundations in the plains. The natural products are in general similar to those of southern Bulgaria and Servia—the fig, olive and orange, however, appear on the shores of the Aegean and in the sheltered valleys of the southern region. The best tobacco in Europe is grown in the Drama and Kavala districts; rice and cotton are cultivated in the southern plains.
Population.—The population of Macedonia may perhaps be estimated at 2,200,000. About 1,300,000 are Christians of various churches and nationalities; more than 800,000 are Mahommedans, and about 75,000 are Jews. Of the Christians, the great majority profess the Eastern Orthodox faith, owning allegiance either to the Greek patriarchate or the Bulgarian exarchate. Among the Orthodox Christians are reckoned some 4000 Turks. The small Catholic minority is composed chiefly of Uniate Bulgarians (about 3600), occupying the districts of Kukush and Doiran; there are also some 2000 Bulgarian Protestants, principally inhabiting the valley of Razlog. The Mahommedan population is mainly composed of Turks (about 500,000). In addition to these there are some 130,000 Bulgars, 120,000 Albanians, 35,000 gipsies and 14,000 Greeks, together with a smaller number of Vlachs, Jews and Circassians, who profess the creed of Islam. The untrustworthy Turkish statistics take religion, not nationality, as the basis of classification. All Moslems are included in the millet, or nation, of Islam. The Rûm, or Roman (i.e. Greek) millet comprises all those who acknowledge the authority of the Oecumenical patriarch, and consequently includes, in addition to the Greeks, the Servians, the Vlachs, and a certain number of Bulgarians; the Bulgar millet comprises the Bulgarians who accept the rule of the exarchate; the other millets are the Katolik (Catholics), Ermeni (Gregorian Armenians), Musevi (Jews) and Prodesdan (Protestants). The population of Macedonia, at all times scanty, has undoubtedly diminished in recent years. There has been a continual outflow of the Christian population in the direction of Bulgaria, Servia and Greece, and a corresponding emigration of the Turkish peasantry to Asia Minor. Many of the smaller villages are being abandoned by their inhabitants, who migrate for safety to the more considerable towns—usually situated at some point where a mountain pass descends to the outskirts of the plains. In the agricultural districts the Christian peasants, or rayas, are either small proprietors or cultivate holdings on the estates of Turkish landowners. The upland districts are thinly inhabited by a nomad pastoral population.
Towns.—The principal towns are Salonica (pop. in 1910, about 130,000), Monastir (60,000), each the capital of a vilayet, and Usküb (32,000), capital of the vilayet of Kossovo. In the Salonica vilayet are Serres (28,000), pleasantly situated in a fertile valley near Lake Tachino; Nevrokop (6200), Mehomia (5000), and Bansko (6500), in the valley of the Upper Mesta; Drama (9000), at the foot of the Bozo Dagh, with its port Kavala (9500); Djumaia (6440), Melnik (4300) and Demir Hissar (5840) in the valley of the Struma, with Strumnitza (10,160) and Petrich (7100) in the valley of its tributary, the Strumnitza; Veles (Turk. Koprülü) on the Vardar (19,700); Doiran (6780) and Kukush (7750); and, to the west of the Vardar, Verria (Slav. Ber, anc. Beroea, Turk. Karaferia, 10,500), Yenijé-Vardar (9599) and Vodena (anc. Edessa, q.v., 11,000). In the portion of the Kossovo vilayet included in Macedonia are Kalkandelen (Slav. Tetovo, 19,200), Kumanovo (14,500) and Shtip (Turk. Istib, 21,000). In the Monastir vilayet are Prilep (24,000) at the northern end of the Pelagonian plain, Krushevo (9350), mainly inhabited by Vlachs, Resen (4450) north of Lake Prespa, Florina (Slav. Lerin, 9824); Ochrida (14,860), with a picturesque fortress of Tsar Samuel, and Struga (4570), both on the north shore of Lake Ochrida; Dibra (Slav. Debr) on the confines of Albania (15,500), Castoria (Slav. Kostur), on the lake of that name (6190), and Kozhané (6100). (Dibra, Kavala, Monastir, Ochrida, Salonica, Serres, Usküb and Vodena are described in separate articles.)
Races.—Macedonia is the principal theatre of the struggle of nationalities in Eastern Europe. All the races which dispute the reversion of the Turkish possessions in Europe are represented within its borders. The Macedonian probably may therefore be described as the quintessence of the The Turks. Near Eastern Question. The Turks, the ruling race, form less than a quarter of the entire population, and their numbers are steadily declining. The first Turkish immigration from Asia Minor took place under the Byzantine emperors before the conquest of the country. The first purely Turkish town, Yenijé-Vardar, was founded on the ruins of Vardar in 1362. After the capture of Salonica (1430), a strong Turkish population was settled in the city, and similar colonies were founded in Monastir, Ochrida, Serres, Drama and other important places. In many of these towns half or more of the population is still Turkish. A series of military colonies were subsequently established at various points of strategic importance along the principal lines of communication. Before 1360 large numbers of nomad shepherds, or Yuruks, from the district of Konia, in Asia Minor, had settled in the country; their descendants are still known as Konariotes. Further immigration from this region took place from time to time up to the middle of the 18th century. After the establishment of the feudal system in 1397 many of the Seljuk noble families came over from Asia Minor; their descendants may be recognized among the beys or Moslem landowners in southern Macedonia. At the beginning of the 18th century the Turkish population was very considerable, but since that time it has continuously decreased. A low birth-rate, the exhaustion of the male population by military service, and great mortality from epidemics, against which Moslem fatalism takes no precautions, have brought about a decline which has latterly been hastened by emigration. On the other hand, there has been a considerable Moslem immigration from Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria and Greece, but the newcomers, mohajirs, do not form a permanent colonizing element. The Turkish rural population is found in three principal groups: the most easterly extends from the Mesta to Drama, Pravishta and Orfano, reaching the sea-coast on either side of Kavala, which is partly Turkish, partly Greek. The second, or central, group begins on the sea-coast, a little west of the mouth of the Strymon, where a Greek population intervenes, and extends to the north-west along the Kara-Dagh and Belasitza ranges in the direction of Strumnitza, Veles, Shtip and Radovisht. The third, or southern, group is centred around Kaïlar, an entirely Turkish town, and extends from Lake Ostrovo to Selfijé (Servia). The second and third groups are mainly composed of Konariot shepherds. Besides these fairly compact settlements there are numerous isolated Turkish colonies in various parts of the country. The Turkish rural population is quiet, sober and orderly, presenting some of the best characteristics of the race. The urban population, on the other hand, has become much demoralized, while the official classes, under the rule of Abdul Hamid II. and his predecessors, were corrupt and avaricious, and seemed to have parted with all scruple in their dealings with the Christian peasantry. The Turks, though still numerically and politically strong, fall behind the other nationalities in point of intellectual culture, and the contrast is daily becoming more marked owing to the educational activity of the Christians.
The Greek and Vlach populations are not always easily distinguished, as a considerable proportion of the Vlachs have been hellenized. Both show a remarkable aptitude for commerce; the Greeks have maintained their The Greeks and Vlachs. language and religion, and the Vlachs their religion, with greater tenacity than any of the other races. From the date of the Ottoman conquest until comparatively recent times, the Greeks occupied an exceptional position in Macedonia, as elsewhere in the Turkish Empire, owing to the privileges conferred on the patriarchate of Constantinople, and the influence subsequently acquired by the great Phanariot families. All the Christian population belonged to the Greek millet and called itself Greek; the bishops and higher clergy were exclusively Greek; Greek was the language of the upper classes, of commerce, literature and
