Zagori, Albania

Not to be confused with the Greek region and municipality of Zagori.
For other uses, see Zagori (disambiguation).
Zagoria
Zaguria, Zagurii
Municipal unit
Zagoria is located in Albania
Zagoria
Zagoria
Coordinates: 40°13′N 20°13′E / 40.217°N 20.217°E / 40.217; 20.217
Country Albania
CountyGjirokastër
MunicipalityLibohovë
Population
 (2011)
 • Municipal unit
411
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Area Code0883

Zagoria (Aromanian: Zaguria or Zagurii) is a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. During the 2015 local government reform, Zagoria became a subdivision of the municipality Libohovë.[1] The population at the 2011 census was 411.[2] Since 2018, the region has been at the centre of the expanded Zagoria Nature Park.[3][4] Zagoria is also considered to be a distinct "ethnographic region" (Albanian: krahina etnografike),[5] traditionally consisting of ten settlements: Sheper, Nivan, Ndëran, Topovë, Konckë, Hoshteve, Lliar, Vithuq, Doshnicë and Zhej.[6]

Geography

The region is primarily defined by the Zagoria valley, which is 27 kilometres (17 mi) long with a watershed of 171 square kilometres (66 sq mi).[6] Its highest point is Mount Nemërçkë at 2,485 metres (8,153 ft) above sea level, while the lowest is at 350 metres (1,150 ft). It is valued for its natural scenery and its pastoral traditions and includes the fields of Çajupi, Çajupi Mountain, and a twenty-meter-high waterfall called the "oars of Doshnica" (Albanian: Rrema e Doshnicës).[6]

Demographics

The municipality of Zagori has an Orthodox Albanian majority and an Aromanian minority.[7] The municipality consists of the following villages: Sheper, Nivan, Konckë, Vithuq, Hoshtevë, Doshnicë, Zhej, Lliar, Topovë and Nderan.[1][8] Konckë is inhabited by an Orthodox Albanian population.[7] Doshnicë and Lliar are wholly populated by Orthodox Albanian Christians.[7] The villages of Nderan, Nivan, Sheper, Topovë and Zhej are inhabited by Orthodox Albanians, and these villages contain some Aromanian families, while in Hoshtevë and Vithuq the Aromanian community is a significant minority population of the villages.[9][7] Aromanian communities were part of the local population of Zagori in 1880, in particular in the villages of Topovë, Zhej and Lliarë.[10] During the Communist era, a number of Aromanian families settled in some villages of Zagori as part of the resettlement policies of the People's Republic of Albania.[9]

Its people practised endogamy by intermarrying within their group, although occasionally the Greeks of Pogoni would marry a bride from the area and teach her Greek.[11] The population of Zagori has dialectal and cultural characteristics of both the Lab and Tosk Albanian subgroups, though they also form a unique unit of their own, which traditionally does not marry with people from the neighbouring krahina etnografike of Lunxhëria.[11]

Its population is mostly Albanian-speaking, traditionally with an Eastern Orthodox Christian majority. It borders the regions of Lunxhëria to the west and Pogoni to the south. Historically, from Ottoman times when it was part of Tepelena kaza until 1920, Zagoria depended on Tepelena, but in 1920 it was instead subordinated to Përmeti, and then from 1924 until modern times, it has been subordinated to Gjirokastra.[6]

Etymology

The placename "Zagori" itself is probably derived from the Slavic Zagore meaning "beyond the mountains". The name of the region Zagoria is also found in a region of Greece with the same name meaning (Ζαγόρια) and also in Bulgaria, (Загоре) with two settlements being called Stara Zagora and Nova Zagora. It was a vaguely defined medieval region in what is now Bulgaria. This shows the etymology of Zagori in Albania is derived from the time of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires in Albania and from the Bulgarian language. The mountains in this region of Albania to which the name Zagori refers are Mount Arapi and the Çajupi Mountains. The region was first mentioned as Ζαγόρια in Greek (in an Old Bulgarian translation, it was rendered as Загорїа).

History

The region was first mentioned as Ζαγόρια in Greek (in an Old Bulgarian translation, it was rendered as Загорїа) The region was named in the rule of the First Bulgarian Empire in Albania.

The "Zenevias", probably the Zenebishi, are mentioned in 1304 as one of the families that were granted privileges by the Angevin Philip I, Prince of Taranto.[12] According to Robert Elsie, the family originated from the Zagoria region.[13] Gjon Zenebishi was one of the most notable members of this Albanian noble family; he was born in Zagori. Between 1373 and 1414, he controlled Gjirokastër and its surroundings. After the Ottomans captured the region of Epirus, some members of the family fled to Morea, while other members held high positions within the Ottoman hierarchy. Gjon Zenebishi's descendants continued to live undisturbed in the mountains of Zagoria and eventually faded into history. Gjon established the Principality of Gjirokastër (1373–1418) which included Zagori. Gjon Zenebishi was appointed sebastocrator or prefect of Vagenetia near Delvina and in 1386 he became prince. Notable descendants of Gjon and this family include his sons, Thopia Zenebishi and Hamza Zenebishi, and his grandson, Simon Zenebishi.

In 1319-1414 the region was known as "Great Zagori" and was part of the Despotate of Epirus with its capital in Ioannina.[14] In 1399, the Greek-speaking population of Great Zagori joined the Despot of Epirus, Esau, in his campaign against various Albanian tribesmen.[15]

In 1431–1432, there were 188 families and 1600 inhabitants in total; by 1583, this number had grown to 3300, with Sheperi, the largest village, having 600 houses alone.[6] The population growth in the intermittent period was driven by migrations into Zagoria, coming from Kolonja, Labëria, the region of Suli in Greece, and other areas. The incomers came in order to flee religious persecution as well as persecution by personal enemies or foreign invaders.[6]

The population of Zagori also migrated to southern Italy during the 16th century, these people are referred to as the Arbereshe. They founded the village of Zagarise (Albanian: Zagari) it is an Arbëreshë village and comune in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. They named it after the region they were from.

During the 17th century, Greek elementary schools were opened in the villages and monasteries of the region. Local Greek education was sponsored by the Orthodox communities and the guilds of Orthodox craftsmen.[16]

During the era of conversions to Islam in the 18th century, Christian Albanian-speaking areas such as the region of Zagori strongly resisted those efforts, in particular the villages of Konckë and Sheper.[17] Christianity was preserved in Zagori due to the contributions of various prominent scholars, such as the Greek Orthodox missionary Sophianos who preached in the villages of the area in the early 18th century.[17]

In the mid-19th century, there were 4300 inhabitants of Zagoria. However, this peak population struggled with the limited space of Zagoria, the relative lack of natural resources, and difficulties such as bread shortages. These factors caused a large wave of emigration out of Zagoria.[6] During the 18th to 20th centuries, 80 percent of males in Zagoria worked abroad[6] (a custom known in the Albanian South as kurbet). The first major wave of permanent emigration occurred in the early 20th century, with Istanbul, Greece and Egypt being major destinations, while the United States and Canada soon became more popular as destinations; emigration to other parts of Albania was also extensive.[6] Worldwide today, there are about 18,000 people paternally descended from traceable ancestors in Zagoria.[6]

In World War II, Zagoria was a base for the Albanian partisans within Gjirokaster County, and two partisan brigades were created locally. Major meetings were also held in the area among Partisan leaders.[6] The war saw 323 houses in Zagoria destroyed, 220 of which were rebuilt after the victory of the Partisans.[6]

In the years following the war, new schools were built in the area, as were irrigation works, a local hospital and maternity center, and a cultural center. All villages were connected to the electricity grid by 1969.[6] Today, however, many important services remain lacking in the area.[6]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Law nr. 115/2014" (PDF) (in Albanian). p. 6371. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Population and housing census - Gjirokastër 2011" (PDF). INSTAT. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  3. ^ "Parku natyror i Zagorisë, me një plan menaxhimi të avancuar | Agjencia Telegrafike Shqiptare". Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  4. ^ "PËR ZGJERIMIN DHE KTHIMIN E PARKUT RAJONAL "ZAGORI" NË PARK NATYROR" (PDF) (in Albanian). Retrieved 2023-08-26.
  5. ^ Gilles de Rapper (2005). "Better than Muslims, not as good as Greeks. Emigration as experienced and imagined by the Albanian Christians of Lunxhëri". In: Russell King, Nicola Mai, Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers (eds.). The New Albanian Migration, Sussex Academic Press, pp. 173-194: "Lunxhëri is thus an 'ethnographic region' (krahinë etnografike) surrounded by others, namely Zagori, Pogon, Dropull and Kurvelesh."
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Zagoria, e harruar dhe e braktisur mes malesh". Sot. 24 May 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995). "Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography." In Nikolakopoulos, Ilias, Kouloubis Theodoros A. & Thanos M. Veremis (eds). Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας [The Greeks of Albania]. University of Athens. p. 51. "Ε Έλληνες, ΑΧ Αλβανοί Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί, AM Αλβανοί Μουσουλμάνοι, ΤΣ Τσάμηδες, Β Βλάχοι, Μ Μικτός πληθυσμός"; p.56. "KOMUNA ZAGORI/KOINOTHTA ΖΑΓΟΡΙΟΥ (ΑΧ+β), DOSHNICA ΔΟΣΝΊΤΣΑ 108 Χ, ZHEJ ΖΕΗ 219 ΑΧ, HOSHTEVE ΧΟΣΤΕΒΑ + VITHUQI ΒΙΘΟΥΚΙ 203 Χ, LLIAR ΛΙΑΡΗ 93 Χ, KONCKA ΚΟΝΤΣΙΚΑ 116 ΑΧ, TOPOVA ΤΟΠΟΒΑ 133 ΑΧ, NIVANI ΝΙΒΑΝΉ 130 ΑΧ, SHEPERI ΣΕΠΕΡΗ 253 ΑΧ, NDERANI ΔΕΡΑΝΉ 193 ΑΧ"
  8. ^ "Greece – Albania Neighbourhood Programme". Archived from the original on 2012-03-27. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
  9. ^ a b Kahl, Thede (1999). Ethnizität und räumliche Verbreitung der Aromunen in Südosteuropa. Universität Münster: Institut für Geographie der Westfälischen Wilhelms. ISBN 3-9803935-7-7. p. 133. R. Rrămăn (Aromunen mit der Eigenbezeichnung Rrămăn = Farscheroten, Arvanitovlachen)"; p. 146. "Hoshtovë-Vithkuq... hoher Anteil R; Zheji... einige familie R; Nivan... einige familie R; Nderan... einige familie R; Sheper... einige familie R; Topovë... einige familie R; zu kommunischtischer Zeit angesiedelte aromunische Bevölkerungsgruppen aus südostalbanischen Gebirgen und aus Greichenland."
  10. ^ Kukudēs, Asterios I. (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Zitros. p. 289. ISBN 9789607760869. In 1880, Lambridis gives us the names of seventeen villages near Permet and in the Zagoria area that were inhabited by Arvanitovlachs: Topove, Iliar, Zheji, Maleshove, Mbrezhdan, Grabove, Argove, Buhal, Lipe, Leuse, Badelonje, Gjinkar, Bodar, Kutal, Kosine, Hotove, and Lupcke.
  11. ^ a b Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1967). Epirus: the Geography, the Ancient Remains, the History and Topography of Epirus and Adjacent Areas. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 29. ISBN 9780198142539. "Zagorië has the same characteristics, its ten villages extending from Doshnicë to Shepr; the group is endogamous and does not marry with the people of Llunxherië. The people of Zagorië have some characteristics of the Liaps and some of the Tosks in their dialect and customs, but form a 'a special unit of their own'.... The Pogoniates normally only marry within their own group, but occasionally a bride may be taken from Zagorië and she is taught Greek."
  12. ^ Winnifrith, Tom (2002). Badlands, Borderlands: A History of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania. Duckworth. ISBN 978-0-7156-3201-7.
  13. ^ Elsie, Robert (2013). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3.
  14. ^ Marandet, Marie-Claude (2017). La ville et le plat pays (in French). Presses universitaires de Perpignan. p. 175. ISBN 9782354122881. Carte 8
  15. ^ Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière (1976). Migrations and Invasions in Greece and Adjacent Areas. Noyes Press. p. 61. ISBN 9780815550471. There the Greek pocket of resistance, which preserved the Greek language even when its ruler was Serb or Italian, was the plateau of Ioannina and its hinterland ... When Isaou, the Italian ruler of Ioannina, passed to the offensive in 1399, he had already won over the Mazarakii (Albanians) and the Malakasaei (perhaps Vlach-speakers) and he recruited Greeks evidently from Zagori, Papingo (above Konitsa), and "Druinoupolis with Argyrokastro and the great Zagoria" (probably the high-country northwest of Argyrokastro, of which a part is still called Zagorie).
  16. ^ Stavro, Skendi (1982). "The Millet System and its Contribution to the Blurring of Orthodox National Identity in Albania". Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society (1. publ. ed.). New York, NY [u.a.]: Holmes & Meier: 246. ISBN 9780841905191. Greek elementary schools were ... of Orthodox craftsmen.
  17. ^ a b Gerogiorgi, Sofia (2002). "Επιγραφικές μαρτυρίες σε λειψανοθήκη από τη Βόρεια Ήπειρο". Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας. 23: 79. "Ιδιαίτερη εντύπωση προκαλεί η ισχυρή αντίσταση που προέβαλαν ορισμένες περιοχές στο έντονο κύμα εξισλαμισμών του 18ου αιώνα, όπως οι περιοχές της Ζαγοριάς (όπου υπάγεται η Κόνσκα και η Σέπερη), της Ρίζας (όπου υπάγεται το Χόρμοβο και η Πρεμετή) και της Λιντζουριάς, μολονότι κατοικούνταν από αλβανόφωνους χριστιανούς ... δίδασκε το λόγο του Θεού στα χωριά της Ζαγοριάς"