Object ID
1996.98.4
Object Name
Medal, Commemorative
Object Collection
Date Created
1913
Alternative Name
Military
Material
Bronze; Cloth
Object Entities
Zannis, Anthony and Maria (owned by)
Zannis, Anthony (is related to)
Zannis, Maria (is related to)
Object Description
Circular bronze medal suspended from light blue ribbon with laterally pierced lug and ribbon bar suspension.  The ribbon has two thin, vertical white stripes; one on the left, the other on the right.  Between the two strips, a green vertical stripe, of equal width, runs up and down the center of the ribbon.  The green stripe is flanked by two additional white stripes, accenting the presence of the green stripe.  The face of the bronze medallion is embossed with the head of King Constantine.  Surrounding the embossment, written in Greek, "Constantine King of the Hellenes 1913". The reverse side has the head of Emperor Basil II and is inscribed in Greek (Basil II 976-1025) and signed ‘G. Iakovidis’ on the base of the neck.
Origin
Donated by Anthony and Maria Zannis.

The medal was instituted by Royal Decree on 17 February 1914 and awarded for participation in the war against Bulgaria the previous year. An alliance of Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia threw the Ottoman Turks out of almost all their remaining European territories in 1912 and the First Balkan War ended with the Treaty of London on 30 May 1913. However, the victors fell out over the division of the spoils, with Serbia and Greece forming an alliance against Bulgaria and the Second Balkan War broke out at the end of June. After initial setbacks, Bulgarian military successes stabilised the front in Macedonia. The situation was transformed by the invasion of Bulgaria by Romania on 10 July, leaving the former in a hopeless position. An armistice was agreed on 31 July with Greece gaining significant additional territory at the expense of Bulgaria. The sense of grievance thus created led to Bulgarian participation in the two subsequent world wars on the side of Germany and against Greece but the territorial settlement has endured. The Byzantine Emperor Basil II earned the epithet ‘Bulgar-slayer’ during his wars against the Bulgarian empire of Tsar Samuel which led to the incorporation of most Bulgarian lands into the Byzantine Empire. The medal is becoming hard to find.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Medal, Commemorative, 1913, Dr. Anthony and Maria Zannis Collection, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/6668. Accessed 03/19/24.