History of Bitola

The Manaki brothers, Yanaki and Milton were photography and cinema pioneers who brought the first film camera and creating the first motion pictures on the Balkan Peninsula and in the Ottoman Empire. Their work was done in the city of Manastir (modern Bitola, Republic of Macedonia), an economic and cultural center of Ottoman Rumelia. They started their film career with a 60-second documentary of their grandmother spinning and weaving entitled The Weavers; this is regarded as the first motion picture shot in the Balkans. The Manaki brothers did their work with a 35 mm Urban Bioscope camera that Yanaki Manaki imported from London.

Kyrias family (Albanian: Familja Qiriazi) were a prominent Albanian family from Manastir (today's North Macedonia). They were educators, publishers, and public figures of the Albanian National Awakening period. The four members were part of the earliest Protestants in Albania and even today's Kosovo. They are remembered for their activities in support of the consolidation of Albanian national awareness.

The Massacre of the Albanian beys occurred on 9 August 1830, when around 500 Albanian leaders (beys) and their personal guards were killed by Ottoman forces in the town of Manastir (present-day Bitola, North Macedonia). The massacre led to the weakening of the power of the beys of southern Albania and also set the basis for the destruction of the powerful northern Albanian Pashalik of Scutari.

The Congress of Manastir (Albanian: Kongresi i Manastirit) was an academic conference held in the city of Manastir (now Bitola) from November 14 to 22, 1908, with the goal of standardizing the Albanian alphabet. November 22 is now a commemorative day in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, as well as among the Albanian diaspora, known as Alphabet Day (Albanian: Dita e Alfabetit). Prior to the Congress, the Albanian language was represented by a combination of six or more distinct alphabets, plus a number of sub-variants.

The Monastir offensive was an Allied military operation against the forces of the Central Powers during World War I, intended to break the deadlock on the Macedonian front by forcing the capitulation of Bulgaria and relieving the pressure on Romania. The offensive took the shape of a large battle and lasted for three months and ended with the capture of the town of Monastir. On an average depth of 50km, the Bulgarian First Army (from the end of September German Eleventh Army) gave battle on six occasions, being forced to retreat five times.

The Battle of Monastir took place near the town of Bitola, Macedonia (then known as Monastir) during the First Balkan War, between Serbian and Ottoman forces from 16 to 19 November 1912. It resulted in a Serbian victory after heavy fighting north of the city, the routed Turks fled abandoning their guns.

The Vilayet of Manastir (Ottoman Turkish: ولايت مناستر, Vilâyet-i Manastır) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, created in 1874, dissolved in 1877 and re-established in 1879. The vilayet was occupied during the First Balkan War in 1912 and divided between the Kingdom of Greece and the Kingdom of Serbia, with some parts later becoming part of the newly established Principality of Albania.

Bitola Oblast (Macedonian: Битолска област, Bitolska Oblast) was one of the oblasts of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from 1922 to 1929. Its capital was Bitola, which the oblast was named after.

The Serbian consulate in Bitola (Serbian Cyrillic: Српски конзулат у Битољу) was established in 1889 after diplomatic conferences between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Ottoman Empire. Serbian consulates opened in the seats of the vilayets of Kosovo (Pristina), Manastir (Bitola) and Salonica (Thessaloniki). The Bitola council officially opened on May 9, 1889 with the mission to protect the interests of Serbs in the area, working on opening Serbian schools, etc.

The Secret Committee for the Liberation of Albania (Albanian: Komiteti i fshehtë për lirinë e Shqipërisë) was a secret committee founded in Manastir (modern day Bitola) by Bajo Topulli and other Albanian nationalists in November 1905 to fight for the secession of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. This committee was soon followed by many other similar committees in southern Albania, and aimed at overthrowing the Ottoman rule.