AHC: surviving Eastern Rumelia

The challenge here is to make Eastern Rumelia (created by the Congress Of Berlin after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878) survive as a territory occupied by the Ottoman Empire, without being annexed by Bulgaria, up until at least WWI. Be it through a serbian victory in the serbo-bulgarian war of 1886 or something alike. Go!
 
Extremely difficult. The Bulgarians didn't want it to exist. The Serbs didn't really want it to exist, and didn't actually oppose its unification into Bulgaria. The Ottomans didn't, strictly speaking, want it to exist either; they were scared of autonomy and would have greatly preferred to directly rule, if that ever became an option. The people living in Eastern Rumelia didn't want it to exist, and even the government of Eastern Rumelia didn't want it to exist...no one did, really.
 
One possible option would be for the Ottoman troops which were supposed to guard the border between Eastern Rumelia and the Bulgarian principality to actually be stationed there. In OTL a whole network of organizations dedicated to resisting the Ottomans sprang up after the signing of the Berlin trety (disguised as sport clubs, where the only sport being practiced was rifle shooting). Russia used this as an argument against the Ottoman stationing troops on the border, claiming that this would lead to an uprising and the Ottomans backed down. Now if you can get the other Greater powers to support the Ottoman Empire, the troops might actually be stationed. Provided this doesn't cause an immediate rebellion (which might give an excuse for a Russian intervention) this would prevent the Bulgarian unification. What is difficult is that the other Great Powers (meaning most Britain and Austria-Hungary) do not seem to have cared enough about Eastern Rumelia, judging by their half-hearted reactions when it did join Bulgaria in 1885. Especially if it might cause a major war.


Extremely difficult. The Bulgarians didn't want it to exist. The Serbs didn't really want it to exist, and didn't actually oppose its unification into Bulgaria. The Ottomans didn't, strictly speaking, want it to exist either; they were scared of autonomy and would have greatly preferred to directly rule, if that ever became an option. The people living in Eastern Rumelia didn't want it to exist, and even the government of Eastern Rumelia didn't want it to exist...no one did, really.
You're mostly correct about no one wanting Eastern Rumelia to exist, but I can't really agree with the bolded part. Yes, Serbia didn't care about Eastern Rumelia but only as long as they got adequate compensation for Bulgaria becoming bigger than Serbia. And according to some versions, this compensation would involve the border running along the Iskar river - ie on the east side of Sofia.
 
You're mostly correct about no one wanting Eastern Rumelia to exist, but I can't really agree with the bolded part. Yes, Serbia didn't care about Eastern Rumelia but only as long as they got adequate compensation for Bulgaria becoming bigger than Serbia.

That's the thing: the Serbian government explicitly didn't seek the return to status quo and reinstatement of Rumelia. Officially, the war was caused by an insignificant border skirmish. Semi-officially, it was to acquire territory as "compensation", and to expel the Serbian radical-democratic revolutionaries who were operating from Bulgaria. So even in the event of Serbian victory, Eastern Rumelia would not be detached from Bulgaria - the AHC stays unfulfilled.
And according to some versions, this compensation would involve the border running along the Iskar river - ie on the east side of Sofia.
AFAIK the "compensation" desired by Milan would have been up to the Lom-Ihtiman line.
 
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