Slučaj srpske škole u Kumanovu u svjetlu dokumenata Osmanskog arhiva
The Case of the Serbian School in Kumanovo in the Light of Documents from the Ottoman Archive

Summary/Abstract: In addition to many problems of the 19th century, it was the Macedonian Question at the end of the century that sparked considerable interest. Finding a solution required inclusion not only of the leading World powers but also of the regional Balkan countries Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria.The Macedonian Question vastly manifested itself in the educational and ecclesiastical sphere which led to the intangible cultural war between the countries involved. In this paper, we will discuss the shutdown of the Serbian school in Kumanovo and it’s reopening through diplomatic ways. Kumanovo is a remarkable example of the Macedonian Question, where the educational and ecclesiastical affairs were highly influenced by the excharhists and patriarchists. We aim to elaborate on the efficiency of the Ottoman Empire’s bureaucratic mechanism, which solved and prevented possible crises and conflicts in writing. The Ottoman archive, one of the greatest legacies of the Ottoman Empire, abounds with many materials that are still unexplored. Finding a document means nothing without knowing the administrative mechanism of the Empire, the structure of the Archive and its functionality. More often than not, the documents are of the bureaucratical essence, but it is its content that includes the name of the department, office or the addressed individual, as well as various details and elements of the issue discussed, that can draw a rather extensively broad picture of the event withnin its particular time frame and political circumstances. By using the example of the Serbian school in Kumanovo we will expand on the idea of the Ottoman system solving the Macedonian Que stion. From the local superintendent of education, through the wali, ambassadors and ministers of foreign affairs and education, to the Grand Vizier and the Sultan, everyone was involved and engaged in parallel intercourse, without any hindrance in communication and conveyance.

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