page_title: Serbs in North Macedonia
section_title: 14th–17th century
hierarchical_section_title: Serbs in North Macedonia / Ottoman rule / 14th–17th century
caption_attribution_description: Македонски: Markovi---Kuli
context_page_description: Serbs are one of the constitutional peoples of North Macedonia. Numbering about 36,000 inhabitants, they are based on the medieval populations as well as later relocated or migrated ethnic Serbs.
context_section_description: The Ottoman invasion of Serbia was challenged at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371 by Serbian magnates Vukašin and Uglješa at the river Maritsa (in Bulgaria) which ended in Serbian defeat. This defeat, which culminated with the fall of Skoplje (Skopje) in 1392, Trnovo in 1393, in combination with the consequences of Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo (1389) led to increasing presence of Ottoman Turks and Islam. The Ottomans converted population groups of Christian Slavs into Islam. In the middle of the 17th century, Grand Vizier Mehmed Köprülü successfully converted peoples of the Danube region, and notably the Serbs of Dibra (Debar) in western Macedonia. The Serbian Patriarchate of Peć had spiritual power extending over Macedonia which continued the Serbian consciousness in a part of the South Slavic people of the region. In the second half of the 15th century, Orthodox scribe Vladislav the Grammarian considered Macedonia a "Serb land".
  In 1557, Mehmed Sokolović, an Ottoman commander of Serb origin, restored the Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, appointing his still Christian relative, Makarije, as the Patriarch. Tetovo, Skopje, Štip and Radovište are placed under the Serbian Church, while Ohrid, Monastir, Debar and Prilep remains under the Archbishopric of Ohrid (Greek). In 1580, Jovan the Serb of Kratovo authored a Gospel book. All missions to Russia from Macedonia were described as "Serbian", the first of which was in 1585, by Visarion, the Metropolitan of Kratovo and his entourage of monks from other places. In 1641, the Metropolitan of Skopje, Simeon, travels to Russia and signs himself as "of the land of Serbia". In 1687 a petition of Jeftimije, Metropolitan of Skoplje; "of the Serbian lands of the Church of Skoplje". Although, unquestionably, the preceding were all under the Serb see, similarly clergy from the southern, Ecumenical dioceses, too described themselves as Serbs. In 1625, Sergius of Greben mentions that he had been "consecrated by Nektarije, Archbishop of Ochrida, in the land of Serbia". In 1634, Archbishop Avram of Ohrid replies that they came from "the Serbian country, from the town of Ochrida", similarly, in 1643, German of Kremenec says he is from the Serbian country, from Kostur, In 1648, "the Serb Dimitrje Nikolajev" from Kostur. In 1704, "Serb Bratan Jovanov came to Russia from the land of Macedonia".
caption: Marko's Towers near Prilep
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