The Mohammedan Bulgarians (Pomaks)
Category: Muslim minorities
Language: English

   The book shows in a chronological order a large number of written records on the Mohammedan Bulgarians, mainly by European authors, documented till the restoration of the Bulgarian state in 1878. All cited sources provide evidence that this population, converted to Islam after the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans, had preserved their Bulgarian mother tongue and many of their old customs and folklore. The sources prove that the Mohammedan Bulgarians are an integral part of the Bulgarian community. The geographic boundaries of the Mohammedan Bulgarians are outlined and the migratory and emigration processes of this population after the Liberation of Bulgaria are traced. The author claims that the name Mohammedan Bulgarians is more correct from historical and anthropological point of view than the present mechanically imposed name "Pomaks".

Table of contents

Preface

Written evidence till the reinstatement of the state of Bulgaria

Geographic boundaries

To the north of the Balkan Range

Тhe Rhodope Mountain

Macedonia

Western Thrace

Albania

Asia Minor

Eastern Thrace

The Eastern Balkan Range

Names and self-appelations

Notes

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