Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-09-08
TIE. WAR PRIMER
BY National Geographic Society

Seres-The suddenly developed Bull
garian counter offensive i'll northeast
ern Macedonia brings the important
town Of Sores once more into the
limelight of world history. This an
Gent city situated on the navigable
Lake Takhino, forty miles west Of the
Aegean port Of Kavala, and forty
three miles by rail northeast OF Sa-
loniki, is the subject of today's war
geography bulletin, issued by the Ma
tional Geographic society from its
Washington headquarters, which says:
with a history dating back to the
days Of Xerxes' memorable retreat
from Greece after the disastrous battle
of Salamts, the town Sores was, until
the recent partitioning Of Ottoman
possessions in the Balkan peninsula,
the chief city of the Turkish district
Of Saloniki and was noted as the CEN
ter Of the Turkish WOODEN industry as
well as an important cotton, tobacco
hides and carpet trade post. Accord
ing to the latest available statistics it
is a place of 10000 inhabitants and is
situated in the midst of one Of the
most fertile regions in the world. In
fact, Golden Plain (Altin Ovassi) is
the name given the district by the
Turks. For many miles in every di
rection from the shores of Lake TAX
hino there is a succession Of prosper
Gus, cleaning white hanlets in set
tings of luxuriant green.
"Seres commands a splendid STRAIT
egic passageway up the Valley Of the
Struma river to the environs of the
Bulgarian capital, Sofia, which lies a
hundred miles to the south.
F'In ancnent times the town was
known as to the ATTENDANTS as Sores
or Sirrhae. 1t is mentioned by Hero
dotus as one of the places III the line
of retreat of eryes' army in the fifth
Gentry before the Christian era. It will
live in the history of Rome's glory as
the camp where the great general and
aristocrat, Lucius Aemilius I9au1us, re-
ceived a deputation from the Greek
king, Perseus, whose forces the Rom
an defeated at the battle Of Pydna in
1853 3 G. The king and his three chill
dren were captured and taken to Rome
| to grace the occasion Of the victorious
generals triumphant entry. Because
| of his achievement in adding Nacedo-
MIA to the empire Paulus received the
surname Macedonicus.
For more than fourteen centuries
after the Paulus-Pers incident Sc
res played a waiting role in world his
| tory, but in 1916 the great statesman,
| soldier and 1awgiver Stephen, affec-
| tionateIy called Dushan, in this city
| assumed the title Of Emperor of the
Serbs and Romanians (Romans). of
! the Bulgars and the Albanfans.' For a
| time Sores was the capital of the new
| empire created by Stephen as a bull
WdTh state between the aggressive
| Turks and the Christian countries of
Europe AS the Byzantine empire was
slowly disfntegrating the forceful Ser
Wan emperor met with great success
| in his effort to weld Serbs, BuIgars,
! Greeks and Albanfans into a strong
Slavic power. Macedonia and Albania
were taken from Greece, and an army
was recruited from these provinces as
well as from Serbia for an expedition
| against Constantinople. Uhile on the
march toward the city on the Bospho-
rus the emperor was seized with a
sudden Illness and died in great agony
/ probably the victim OF q treacherous
poisoner. His son and successor, Urosh,
a boy Of 10 when called upon to as
sumo command. had not Inherited the
genius of his father and the Serb
Greek empire was soon disrupted.
| "Seres remained a Serbian city, how
| ever for nearly hundred years. 1t
was captured in the middle tot the
18th Gentry by Sultan NGurod II. and
remained under Turkish control until
quite recently, when as one Of the
spoils OF the war waged by Balkan
nations against the Turks in Europe
| 1T fell to Greece
| "One-half the population of Sores is
Bulgar, one-fourth is Greek, one-sev-
enth is Turkish and most Of the re-
! mainder is jewish