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78-471: The vilayet stood as a microcosm of Ottoman society; incorporated within its boundaries were diverse groups of peoples and religions: Albanians , Serbs , Bosniaks ; Muslims and Christians , both Eastern Orthodox and Catholic. The province was renowned for its craftsmen and important cities such as İpek (today's Peja , Serbian: Peć ), where distinct Ottoman architecture and public baths were erected, some of which can still be seen today. The birthplace of

156-542: A manuscript written in the Serbo-Croatian Language traced back to the 17th century but published in the 20th century by Radoslav Grujic. It is a fragment of a once longer text that endeavours to explain the origins of peoples and languages in a question-and-answer form similar to a catechism . The fragmented manuscript differentiated the world into 72 languages and three religious categories including Christians, half-believers and non-believers. Grujic dated it to

234-589: A border rectification between Greece and the Ottoman Empire, which occurred after protracted negotiations in 1881, with the transfer of Thessaly to Greece. In the "Salisbury Circular" of 1 April, the Marquess of Salisbury , appointed foreign secretary the next day, made clear his own and his government's objections to the Treaty of San Stefano and its favourable position of Russia. Historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote, "If

312-448: A diverse population that was split along religious and ethnic lines, with Albanians, Bulgarians, Bosniaks, and Serbs making the bulk of its population. Muslim Albanians formed the majority of the population in Kosovo vilayet that included an important part of the urban-professional and landowning classes of major towns. Western Kosovo was composed of 50,000 inhabitants and an area dominated by

390-515: A hardly accessible mountainous region, which helped them preserve their peculiar culture and language. The issue surrounding the origin of the Albanian people has long been debated by historians and linguists for centuries. They have Paleo-Balkan origins, and for obvious geographic and historical reasons most scholars maintain that they descended at least partially from the Illyrians , but besides

468-451: A new and generalised response by Albanians based on ethnic and linguistic consciousness to this new and different Ottoman world emerging around them was a change in ethnonym. Little is known about the Albanian people prior to the 11th century, though a text compiled around the beginning of the 11th century in the Bulgarian language contains a possible reference to them. It is preserved in

546-951: A period of six months after the agreement became effective. Despite the pleas of the Romanian delegates, Romania was forced to cede southern Bessarabia to the Russian Empire. As a compensation, Romania received Dobruja , including the Danube Delta . The treaty also limited the Russian occupation of Bulgaria to 9 months, which limited the time during which Russian troops and supplies could be moved through Romanian territory. The three newly independent states subsequently proclaimed themselves kingdoms: Romania in 1881, Serbia in 1882 and Montenegro in 1910, and Bulgaria proclaimed full independence in 1908 after it had united with Eastern Rumelia in 1885. Austria–Hungary annexed Bosnia in 1908, sparking

624-408: A sizable Serbian population with some local Serbs supporting a future incorporation of the province into a Greater Serbia . Serb schools in the province also attracted some Muslim Albanians as students. Several thousand Aromanians inhabited Kosovo vilayet. Bulgarians lived in the southern half of Kosovo vilayet. There have been a number of estimates about the ethnicity and religious affiliation of

702-630: A subject of debate. In what has been termed the "Vranoussi-Ducellier debate", Alain Ducellier proposed that both uses of the term referred to medieval Albanians. Era Vranoussi counter-suggested that the first use referred to Normans , while the second didn't have an ethnic connotation necessarily and could be a reference to the Normans as "foreigners" ( aubain ) in Epirus which Maniakes and his army traversed. This debate has never been resolved. A newer synthesis about

780-441: A term connoting "those who speak [intelligibly, the same language]". The words Shqipëri and Shqiptar are attested from 14th century onward, but it was only at the end of 17th and beginning of the early 18th centuries that the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria and Arbëreshë amongst Albanian speakers. That era brought about religious and other sociopolitical changes. As such

858-475: Is also spoken in other countries whence it is officially recognised as a minority language in such countries as Croatia , Italy, Montenegro , Romania and Serbia . There are two principal dialects of the Albanian language traditionally represented by Gheg and Tosk . The ethnogeographical dividing line is traditionally considered to be the Shkumbin river, with Gheg spoken in the north of it and Tosk in

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936-568: Is first encountered on the works of Ptolemy (2nd century CE) also is encountered twice in the works of Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates , and the term "Arvanitai" (Αρβανίται) is used once by the same author. He referred to the "Albanoi" as having taken part in a revolt against the Byzantine Empire in 1043, and to the "Arbanitai" as subjects of the Duke of Dyrrachium (modern Durrës ). These references have been disputed as to whether they refer to

1014-423: Is generally accepted that Arbanitai refers to the ethnonym of medieval Albanians. The use of the term Albanoi in 1038–49 and 1042 as an ethnonym related to Albanians have been a subject of debate. In what has been termed the "Ducellier-Vrannousi" debate, Alain Ducellier proposed that both uses of the term referred to medieval Albanians. Era Vrannousi counter-suggested that the first use referred to Normans , while

1092-466: Is used to describe a revolt of Bulgarians (Boulgaroi) and Arbanitai in the theme of Dyrrhachium in 1078–79. It is generally accepted that Arbanitai refers to the ethnonym of medieval Albanians. As such, it is considered to be the first attestation of Albanians as an ethnic group in Byzantine historiography. The use of the term Albanoi in 1038–49 and 1042 as an ethnonym related to Albanians have been

1170-531: The Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry , culture , history and language . They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo , and they also live in the neighboring countries of North Macedonia , Montenegro , Greece , and Serbia , as well as in Italy , Croatia , Bulgaria , and Turkey . Albanians also constitute a large diaspora with several communities established across Europe and

1248-689: The Balkan Wars , Albanians declared the independence of their country . The demarcation of the new Albanian state was established following the Treaty of Bucharest and left about half of the ethnic Albanian population outside of its borders, partitioned between Greece, Montenegro and Serbia. After the Second World War up until the Revolutions of 1991 , Albania was governed by a communist government under Enver Hoxha where Albania became largely isolated from

1326-582: The Bosnian crisis , a major European crisis that reinforced pre- World War I alliances. The Treaty of Berlin accorded special legal status to some religious groups and also would serve as a model for the Minority Treaties , which would be established within the framework of the League of Nations . It stipulated that Romania recognize non-Christians (Jews and Muslims) as full citizens. It also vaguely called for

1404-520: The First Balkan War in 1912, the province's shape and location denied Serbia and Montenegro a common land border. After the war, the major part of the vilayet was divided between Montenegro and Serbia. These borders were all ratified at the Treaty of London in 1913. The Ottoman Empire finally recognised the new borders following a peace deal with the Kingdom of Serbia on 14 March 1914. Sanjaks of

1482-590: The Illyrians , but besides the Illyrians which specific Paleo-Balkan group contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Albanians is still a matter of academic debate. The first mention of the ethnonym Albanoi occurred in the 2nd century AD by Ptolemy describing an Illyrian tribe who lived around present-day central Albania. The first certain reference to Albanians as an ethnic group comes from 11th century chronicler Michael Attaleiates who describes them as living in

1560-769: The Paleo-Balkan group . It had its formative core in the Western Balkans after the Indo-European migrations in the region from about 3000 to 2500 BCE. The Albanian language is spoken today by approximately 5 million people throughout the Balkan Peninsula as well as by a more substantial number by communities around the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Numerous variants and dialects of Albanian are used as an official language in Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia . The language

1638-656: The Serb army from the Sanjak of Niș and fled to the Kosovo Vilayet. In 1878, the League of Prizren was created by Albanians from four vilayets including the Vilayet of Kosovo. The League's purpose was to resist Ottoman rule and incursions by the newly emerging Balkan nations. The Kumanovo Uprising took place in early 1878 organized by an assembly of chiefs of the districts (Ottoman kaza ) of Kumanovo , Kriva Palanka and Kratovo in

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1716-705: The UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages . The Cham dialect is spoken by the Cham Albanians , a community that originates from Chameria in what is currently north-western Greece and southern Albania; the use of the Cham dialect in Greece is declining rapidly, while Cham communities in Albania and the diaspora have preserved it. Most of the Albanians in Albania and the Former Yugoslavia are polyglot and have

1794-616: The theme of Dyrrhachium . The Shkumbin River roughly demarcates the Albanian language between Gheg and Tosk dialects. Christianity in Albania was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome until the 8th century AD. Then, dioceses in Albania were transferred to the patriarchate of Constantinople . In 1054, after the Great Schism , the north gradually became identified with Roman Catholicism and

1872-510: The 13th and 16th centuries and came to be known as Arvanites . Other Albanian population groups settled across Southern Italy and Sicily between the 11th and 16th centuries and came to be known as Arbëreshë . Albanians have also migrated to Romania since the late 16th century. In the 18th century smaller Albanian population groups settled in Southern Croatia (who came to be known as Arbanasi ), and pockets of Southern Ukraine . By

1950-546: The 15th century, the expanding Ottoman Empire overpowered the Balkan Peninsula, but faced successful rebellion and resistance by the League of Lezhë , a union of Albanian principalities led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg . By the 17th and 18th centuries, a substantial number of Albanians converted to Islam , which offered them equal opportunities and advancement within the Ottoman Empire . Thereafter, Albanians attained significant positions and culturally contributed to

2028-564: The 1876 April Uprising in Bulgaria inflamed anti-Turkish sentiments in Russia and Britain, which eventually culminated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 . The treaty formally recognized the independence of the de facto sovereign principalities of Romania , Serbia and Montenegro (plus their expansion) and the autonomy of Bulgaria although the latter de facto functioned independently and

2106-567: The Adriatic coastline with the central Balkan Roman provinces. Its type site is Komani and its fort on the nearby Dalmace hill in the Drin river valley. Kruja and Lezha represent significant sites of the culture. The population of Komani-Kruja represents a local, western Balkan people which was linked to the Roman Justinianic military system of forts. The development of Komani-Kruja is significant for

2184-515: The Albanian wālī Muhammad Ali established a dynasty that ruled over Egypt and Sudan until the middle of the 20th century, a period in which Albanians formed a substantial community in Egypt . During the 19th century, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength, conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance . In 1912 during

2262-451: The Albanian national identity was first articulated in Prizren , by the League of Prizren members in 1878. As a result, firstly of the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878, then of the modified Treaty of Berlin the same year which split the Ottoman Empire, Kosovo became the first line of defense for the Ottoman Empire, with large garrisons of Ottoman troops being stationed in the province. Before

2340-623: The Albanian tribal system with 600 Albanians dying per year from blood feuding . The Yakova (Gjakovë) highlands contained 8 tribes that were mainly Muslim and in the Luma area near Prizren there were 5 tribes, mostly Muslim. The town of İpek had crypto-Christians who were of the Catholic faith . Similar to their counterparts in İşkodra Vilayet , Kosovar Malësors (highlanders) had privileges where by doing military service as irregular troops they paid no taxes and avoided military conscription. Ottoman rule among

2418-458: The Berlin Treaty and established amounts of compensation that the Ottoman Empire owed to Russia for losses to businesses and institutions during the war. It granted amnesty to Ottoman subjects and for release of prisoners of war. In addition, Article VII of the treaty provided that in the territory acquired by Russia, subjects could choose whether they wished to be Ottoman or Russian subjects for

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2496-705: The Berlin treaty which also allowed the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (remaining as such until 1908). Two major administrative changes happened in 1880 and 1902. In order to counter Austro-Hungarian military presence in western parts of the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a new province was created in 1880: the Sanjak of Pljevlja (Taşlica) with kazas: Pljevlja , Prijepolje and Priboj . In 1902, kazas of Mitrovica and Novi Pazar were transferred to Sanjak of Pristina, and kazas of Berane and Rožaje to Sanjak of Ipek. In

2574-411: The Illyrians which specific Peleo-Balkan group contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Albanians is still a matter of academic debate. The first certain attestation of medieval Albanians as an ethnic group is in Byzantine historiography in the work of Michael Attaleiates (1022–1080). Attaleiates mentions the term Albanoi twice and the term Arbanitai once. The term Albanoi is used first to describe

2652-484: The Russian gains from the Ottoman Empire specified in the Treaty of San Stefano, such as Batumi and Adjara , but the valley of Alashkerd and the town of Bayazid were returned to the Ottomans. The regions of Ardahan and Kars were also ceded to Russia. The 1879 Treaty of Constantinople was a further continuation of negotiations. It reaffirmed the provisions of the Treaty of San Stefano which had not been modified by

2730-527: The Serbian government, though the uprising only lasted four months, until its suppression by the Ottomans. The province's boundaries shifted as the Ottoman Empire lost territory to neighboring states in the Treaty of Berlin following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and parts were also internally transferred to Monastir Vilayet and from Salonica Vilayet . In 1879, western parts of the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, fell under Austro-Hungarian occupation in accord with

2808-564: The Vilayet of Kosovo (in modern-day northern Republic of North Macedonia ) seeking to liberate the region from the hands of the Ottoman Empire and unify it with the Principality of Serbia , which was at war with the Ottomans at that time . With the Serbian Army's liberation of Niš (11 January 1878) and Vranje (31 January 1878), the rebellion had been activated during the latter event with guerrilla fighting. The rebels received secret aid from

2886-554: The Vilayet: Üsküp was the administrative capital of the vilayet and other important towns included Priştine (10,000 inhabitants), İpek, Mitroviçe and Prizren. Kosovo vilayet encompassed the Sandžak region cutting into present-day Central Serbia and Montenegro along with the Kukës municipality and surrounding region in present-day northern Albania . Between 1881 and 1912 (its final chapter), it

2964-493: The ability to understand, speak, read, or write a foreign language . As defined by the Institute of Statistics of Albania , 39.9% of the 25 to 64 years old Albanians in Albania are able to use at least one foreign language including English (40%), Italian (27.8%) and Greek (22.9%). The origin of the Albanian language remains a contentious subject that has given rise to numerous hypotheses . The hypothesis of Albanian being one of

3042-627: The aftermath of the Russian victory against the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 , the major powers restructured the map of the Balkan region . They reversed some of the extreme gains claimed by Russia in the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano , but the Ottomans lost their major holdings in Europe. It was one of three major peace agreements in the period after the 1815 Congress of Vienna . It

3120-582: The broader Muslim world . Innumerable officials and soldiers of the Ottoman State were of Albanian origin, including more than 40 Grand Viziers , and under the Köprülü , in particular, the Ottoman Empire reached its greatest territorial extension. Between the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century Albanian Pashaliks were established by Kara Mahmud pasha of Scutari , Ali pasha of Yanina , and Ahmet Kurt pasha of Berat , while

3198-434: The country. The Albanian language was referred to as Arbnisht and Arbërisht . While the exonym Albania for the general region inhabited by the Albanians does have connotations to Classical Antiquity, the Albanian language employs a different ethnonym, with modern Albanians referring to themselves as Shqip(ë)tarë and to their country as Shqipëria . Two etymologies have been proposed for this ethnonym: one, derived from

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3276-576: The descendant of the Illyrian languages ( Messapic language ) is based on geography where the languages were spoken however not enough archaeological evidence is left behind to come therefore to a definite conclusion. Another hypothesis associates the Albanian language with the Thracian language . This theory takes exception to the territory, since the language was spoken in an area distinct from Albania, and no significant population movements have been recorded in

3354-627: The doctrine of rebus sic stantibus and effectively terminated the treaty by breaching provisions concerning the neutrality of the Black Sea. The great powers became increasingly convinced that the Ottoman Empire would not be able to hold its territories in Europe. In 1875, the Herzegovina uprising resulted in the Great Eastern Crisis . As the conflict in the Balkans intensified, atrocities during

3432-823: The early 11th century and, if this and the identification of the Arbanasi as Albanians are correct, it would be the earliest written document referring to the Balkan Albanians as a people or language group. It can be seen that there are various languages on earth. Of them, there are five Orthodox languages: Bulgarian , Greek , Syrian, Iberian ( Georgian ) and Russian. Three of these have Orthodox alphabets: Greek, Bulgarian and Iberian ( Georgian ). There are twelve languages of half-believers: Alamanians, Franks , Magyars ( Hungarians ), Indians, Jacobites, Armenians , Saxons , Lechs ( Poles ), Arbanasi (Albanians), Croatians , Hizi and Germans . Michael Attaleiates (1022–1080) mentions

3510-471: The etymology from the Albanian word for eagle (shqipe, var., shqiponjë). In Albanian folk etymology , this word denotes a bird totem , dating from the times of Skanderbeg as displayed on the Albanian flag . The other is within scholarship that connects it to the verb 'to speak' ( me shqiptue ) from the Latin " excipere ". In this instance the Albanian endonym like Slav and others would originally have been

3588-711: The female population, but balanced the numbers against the male population, though it is a well known fact that the number of male heads exceeded the number of female heads throughout this period not only in those lands but in Serbia Proper as well. British journalist H. Brailsford estimated in 1906 that two-thirds of the population of Kosovo was Albanian and one-third Serbian. The most populous western districts of Gjakova and Peja were said to have between 20,000 and 25,000 Albanian households, as against some 5,000 Serbian ones. A map of Alfred Stead , published in 1909, shows that similar numbers of Serbs and Albanians were living in

3666-482: The geographical conditions of northern Albania favored the continuation of the Albanian language in hilly and mountainous areas as opposed to lowland valleys. The Albanian people maintain a very chequered and tumultuous history behind them, a fact explained by their geographical position in the Southeast of Europe at the cultural and political crossroad between the east and west, but they also have historically inhabited

3744-488: The groups which rebelled in southern Italy and Sicily against the Byzantines in 1038–40. The second use of the term Albanoi is related to groups which supported the revolt of George Maniakes in 1042 and marched with him throughout the Balkans against the Byzantine capital, Constantinople . The term Arvanitai is used to describe a revolt of Bulgarians (Boulgaroi) and Arbanitai in the theme of Dyrrhachium in 1078–79. It

3822-440: The highlanders was minimal to non-existent and government officials would ally themselves with local power holders to exert any form of authority. Kosovar Albanian Malësors settled disputes among themselves through their mountain law and Ottoman officials disapproved of the autonomy they exercised. In the 1880s from an Albanian point of view the sanjaks of İpek, Prizren, Priştine, Üsküp and Yenipazar within Kosovo vilayet belonged to

3900-413: The hinterland of Durrës . Linguists believe that the alb part in the root word originates from an Indo-European term for a type of mountainous topography, from which other words such as alps are derived. Through the root word alban and its rhotacized equivalents arban , albar , and arbar , the term in Albanian became rendered as Arbëneshë/Arbëreshë for the people and Arbënia/Arbëria for

3978-634: The name "Albanians" ( Byzantine Greek : Albanoi/Arbanitai/Arbanites ; Latin : Albanenses/Arbanenses ) was used in medieval documents and gradually entered European Languages from which other similar derivative names emerged, many of which were or still are in use, such as English "Albanians"; Italian "Albanesi"; German "Albaner"; Greek "Arvanites", "Alvanitis" (Αλβανίτης) plural: "Alvanites" (Αλβανίτες), "Alvanos" (Αλβανός) plural: "Alvanoi" (Αλβανοί); Turkish "Arnaut", "Arnavut"; South Slavic languages "Arbanasi" (Арбанаси), "Albanci" (Албанци); Aromanian "Arbinesh" and so on. The term "Albanoi" (Αλβανοί)

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4056-594: The official recognition of the newly independent states of Romania , Serbia , and Montenegro (which had de facto been acting independently for decades). The Paris Peace Treaty of 1856, which ended the Crimean War , had made the Black Sea a neutral territory. The treaty had protected the Ottoman Empire, ended the Holy Alliance (Austria, Prussia and Russia) and weakened Russia's overall position. In 1870, Russia invoked

4134-452: The other continents. The language of the Albanians is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch , which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group . Albanians have a western Paleo-Balkanic origin, and for obvious geographic and historical reasons most scholars maintain that they descended at least partially from

4212-556: The parties involved to attack the nation that violates the treaty. ' " The Kosovo Vilayet remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungary was allowed to station military garrisons in the Ottoman Vilayet of Bosnia and the Sanjak of Novi Pazar . The Vilayet of Bosnia was placed under Austro-Hungarian occupation although it formally remained part of the Ottoman Empire until it was annexed by Austria-Hungary thirty years later, on 5 October 1908. The Austro-Hungarian garrisons in

4290-451: The people of Albania. Historian E. Vranoussi believes that these "Albanoi" were Normans from Sicily. She also notes that the same term (as "Albani") in medieval Latin meant "foreigners". The reference to "Arvanitai" from Attaliates regarding the participation of Albanians in a rebellion around 1078 is undisputed. In later Byzantine usage, the terms "Arbanitai" and "Albanoi" with a range of variants were used interchangeably, while sometimes

4368-558: The period when the shift from one language to the other is supposed to have occurred. The Komani-Kruja culture is an archaeological culture attested from late antiquity to the Middle Ages in central and northern Albania, southern Montenegro and similar sites in the western parts of North Macedonia . It consists of settlements usually built below hillforts along the Lezhë ( Praevalitana )- Dardania and Via Egnatia road networks which connected

4446-414: The population of the heterogeneous province. According to the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82-1893 the population of the vilayet is as follows: Ottoman provincial records for 1887 estimated that Albanians formed more than half of Kosovo vilayet's population concentrated in the sanjaks of İpek, Prizren and Priştine. In the sanjaks of Yenipazar, Taşlica and Üsküp, Albanians formed a smaller proportion of

4524-467: The population. An Austrian statistics published in 1899 estimated: According to Ottoman yearbooks, in 1901, the Kosovo vilayet which encompassed five sanjaks: Skopje, Pristina, Prizren, Novi Pazar, and Pljevlja had 964,657 inhabitants; two thirds were Muslims and one third was Christian. The Muslims were primarily Albanians and the Christians were mostly Serbs. The yearbooks, however, are deemed unreliable sources as they, in some districts, did not register

4602-404: The province. A seminary existed in Prizren with 100 resident seminarians with many originating from Montenegro . From the 1860s onward, Serbia pursued an active policy of supporting Serbs in Kosovo that entailed sending teachers to the vilayet, supplying subsidies to assist Serb schools and providing scholarships to study in Belgrade. Serb cultural clubs were active in major urban centres containing

4680-444: The region around Plav and Gusinje as well as the Dibra region. These regions had belonged to the former Eyalet of Niş , the Eyalet of Üsküb and, after 1865, the Danube Vilayet . In 1868 the Vilayet of Prizren was created with the sanjaks of Prizren, Dibra, Skopje and Nis, but it ceased to exist in 1877. During and after the Serbian–Ottoman War of 1876–78, between 30,000 and 70,000 Muslims, mostly Albanians, were expelled by

4758-400: The region of Gegënia . Muslim Bosniaks whose native language was Slavic formed a sizable number of Kosovo vilayet's population and were concentrated mainly in Yenipazar sanjak that contained several prominent Bosniak landowners. Circassian refugees who came from Russia were resettled by Ottoman authorities within Kosovo vilayet in 1864, numbering some 6,000 people by the 1890s and provided

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4836-415: The rest of Europe. In neighbouring Yugoslavia , Albanians underwent periods of discrimination and systematic oppression that concluded with the War of Kosovo and eventually with Kosovar independence . The Albanians ( Albanian : Shqiptarët ) and their country Albania ( Albanian : Shqipëria ) have been identified by many ethnonyms . The most common native ethnonym is "Shqiptar", plural "Shqiptarë";

4914-421: The same groups were also called by the classicising name Illyrians. The first reference to the Albanian language dates to the latter 13th century (around 1285). The national ethnonym Albanian and its variants are derived from Albanoi , first mentioned as an Illyrian tribe in the 2nd century CE by Ptolemy with their centre at the city of Albanopolis , located in modern-day central Albania, somewhere in

4992-416: The same time, Sanjak of Sjenica (Seniçe) was created with kazas: Sjenica , Nova Varoš , Bijelo Polje and Lower Kolašin . In 1910, an Albanian-organised insurrection broke out in Pristina and soon spread to the entire vilayet of Kosovo, lasting for three months. The Ottoman sultan visited Kosovo in June 1911 during peace settlement talks covering all Albanian-inhabited areas. Kosovo vilayet contained

5070-449: The second didn't have an ethnic connotation necessarily and could be a reference to the Normans as "foreigners" ( aubain ) in Epirus which Maniakes and his army traversed. The debate has never been resolved. A newer synthesis about the second use of the term Albanoi by Pëllumb Xhufi suggests that the term Albanoi may have referred to Albanians of the specific district of Arbanon , while Arbanitai to Albanians in general regardless of

5148-410: The second use of the term Albanoi by Pëllumb Xhufi suggests that the term Albanoi may have referred to Albanians of the specific district of Arbanon , while Arbanitai to Albanians in general regardless of the specific region they inhabited. Albanians speak the Albanian language , which is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch , which belongs to

5226-498: The south with Eastern Orthodoxy . In 1190 Albanians established the Principality of Arbanon in central Albania with the capital in Krujë . The Albanian diaspora has its roots in migration from the Middle Ages initially across Southern Europe and eventually across wider Europe and the New World . Between the 13th and 18th centuries, sizeable numbers migrated to escape various social, economic or political difficulties. Albanian population groups settled in Southern Greece between

5304-611: The south. Dialects of linguistic minorities spoken in Croatia ( Arbanasi and Istrian ), Kosovo , Montenegro and northwestern North Macedonia are classified as Gheg, while those spoken in Greece , southwestern North Macedonia and Italy as Tosk. The Arbëresh and Arvanitika dialects of the Albanian language, are spoken by the Arbëreshë and Arvanites in Southern Italy and Southern Greece , respectively. They retain elements of medieval Albanian vocabulary and pronunciation that are no longer used in modern Albanian; however, both varieties are classified as endangered languages in

5382-425: The specific region they inhabited. The name reflects the Albanian endonym Arbër/n + esh which itself derives from the same root as the name of the Albanoi Treaty of Berlin, 1878 The Treaty of Berlin (formally the Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire for the Settlement of Affairs in the East ) was signed on 13 July 1878. In

5460-411: The state when needed with auxiliary troops. In the northern half of Kosovo vilayet Orthodox Serbs were the largest Christian group and formed a majority within the eastern areas. Orthodox Serbs were under the ecclesiastical authority of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and a metropolitan, often of Greek ethnicity, lived in Priştine and presided over the affairs of the Orthodox population in

5538-401: The study of the transition between the classical antiquity population of Albania to the medieval Albanians who were attested in historical records in the 11th century. Winnifrith (2020) recently described this population as the survival of a "Latin-Illyrian" culture which emerged later in historical records as Albanians and Vlachs ( Eastern Romance -speaking people). In Winnifrith's narrative,

5616-453: The talks, at Russian insistence. At the time, as it was not a sovereign state , Bulgaria was not a subject of international law , and the same went for the Bulgarians themselves. The exclusion was already an established fact in the great powers' Constantinople Conference , which had been held one year before without any Bulgarian participation. The most notable result of the conference was

5694-417: The term Albanoi twice and the term Arbanitai once. The term Albanoi is used first to describe the groups which rebelled in southern Italy and Sicily against the Byzantines in 1038–40. The second use of the term Albanoi is related to groups which supported the revolt of George Maniakes in 1042 and marched with him throughout the Balkans against the Byzantine capital, Constantinople . The term Arvanitai

5772-852: The territory. According to Ottoman census data, the total population was 1,602,949 with the following ethnoreligious composition: An article published in the Belgian magazine Ons Volk Ontwaakt (Our Nation Awakes) on 21 December 1912 estimated 827,100 inhabitants: The governors ( Vali ) of the province were: Albanians Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The Albanians are an ethnic group native to

5850-450: The treaty of San Stefano had been maintained, both the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary might have survived to the present day. The British, except for Beaconsfield in his wilder moments, had expected less and were, therefore, less disappointed. Salisbury wrote at the end of 1878: 'We shall set up a rickety sort of Turkish rule again south of the Balkans. But it is a mere respite. There is no vitality left in them. The treaty also calls on

5928-463: Was divided into three parts: the Principality of Bulgaria, the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia , and Macedonia , which was given back to the Ottomans, thus undoing Russian plans for an independent and Russophile " Greater Bulgaria ". The Treaty of San Stefano had created a Bulgarian state, which was just what Britain and Austria-Hungary feared the most. The Treaty of Berlin confirmed most of

6006-399: Was internally expanded to include other regions of present-day Republic of North Macedonia, including larger urban settlements such as Štip ( İştip ), Kumanovo ( Kumanova ) and Kratovo ( Kratova ) ( see map ). The Vilayet of Kosovo was created in 1877, and consisted of a much larger area than modern Kosovo, as it also included the Sanjak of Novi Pazar , the Sanjak of Niş (until 1878),

6084-562: Was the final act of the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) and included the United Kingdom , Austria-Hungary , France , Germany , Italy , Russia and the Ottoman Empire. Chancellor of Germany Otto von Bismarck was the chairman and dominant personality. The most important task of the Congress was to decide the fate of Bulgaria , but Bulgaria itself was excluded from participation in

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