Ιστορία των οθωμανικών πόλεων του βαλκανικού χώρου

The course deals with the history of Roumelia (the Balkan Province) from the 14th to the 20th century. Particular attention is given to Thrace, which is the main area studied.  Thrace was the heartland, nearest to Istanbul, the main city of the Balkan peninsula and played an important role in national movements and other developments during the period. The course also focusses on the issue of social mobility and the emergence of the Ottomans as new conquerors. Such social mobility changed the demographic composition of the area. Discontinuities created by these conditions can be seen in administrative organization, whether in cities or in the countryside.
Lecture topics

1) Introduction: Ottoman troops reach Gallipoli (1354).

2) The conquest of Adrianople.

3) The administrative division of Thrace by the Ottomans.

4) The Organization of the Orthodox organization.

5) Local urban communities.

6) Education.

7) Agricultural production and commercial activities.

8) National Rivalries.

9) Description and history of the most important cities of Thrace.

10) Communication networks, roads and railway.

11) Developments after the Treaty of St. Stefano’s and the Congress of Berlin (1878).

12) Greek-Bulgarian national rivalry after the foundation of the Exarchate (1872).

13) The Balkan Wars (1912-1913), the First World War (1914-1918), and the annexation of Western Thrace to Greece.