Rron
06-13-2012, 02:16 AM
Why is there such a keen interest on these issues? During the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, one of the most important centers of the Albanian Renaissance, and the Albanian National Movement, was the Albanian region of Kosova. At that time, Kosova was still a part of the Ottoman Empire. Parallel with the growth of the Albanian National Movement that aimed to achieve the independence of Albania from Turkey, came an intensification of attempts by neighboring states to annex the territories inhabited by Albanians.
The purpose of their diplomacy was to justify the rationale for the annexation of the Albanian territories and obtain the consent of the Great Powers. In order to do so, the Serb monarchy did not hesitate to use the press, publications, and scientific activity. These publications were expected to provide an acceptable scientific and historical defense that could justify the expansionist policy of the Serb state towards the region of Kosova.
These studies sought to prove that, in the Middle Ages, the region of Kosova had been the center of the Serb state. Furthermore, they argued that Kosova had been an area inhabited by the Serbs until the end of XVIIth century and the beginning of the XVIIIth century. According to Serbian interpretations, immediately following the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683-1699, a portion of the Serb population which had sided with Austria, migrated to the North and its place was taken by the Albanians that came from the mountainous hinterland of Northern Albania. This argument was used by the Serb ruling elite to create the impression, within Serbia itself and internationally, that its predatory policies towards the Albanians and their territories were justified by sound historical reasons. It was unavoidable that this kind of unscientific literature would soon acquire anti-Albanian overtones. In order to bolster this argument, a whole cottage industry that sought to justify the ‘historical rights’ of the Serbs over the ethnic Albanian territories was developed. Later, when these territories were incorporated in the Serb Kingdom, the same arguments were used to provide the framework that justified the oppression, assimilation, and the mass expulsion of the Albanians from their territories.
These lines of argument have been challenged effectively by the contemporary Albanologists and historiographers. They have challenged the methodological criteria adopted by the Serbian school, and brought ample evidence to show that the examination of the historical documents currently available yields another view. Using scientific and objective historical method, several contemporary Albanian and non-Albanian historiographers have convincingly supported the thesis of the continuity of the Albanian presence in the territories where they currently live. Archeological data, historical records, folklore and linguistics indicate clearly and unequivocally that Illyro-Albanian residency in the region of Kosova has continued unabated since the Early Middle Ages. They also confirm the presence of an overwhelming majority of the Albanian population during the period of the Serb domination of these areas, (from the twelfth to the fifteenth century), and during the first part of the Turkish occupation that lasted from 1450 until 1690. As I have noted, the Serb historiographers state that at this time, in 1690, the Serbs were expelled from Kosova and their place was taken by the Albanians. Let us consider these issues one by one in chronological order.
2. THE ILLYRO-ALBANIAN CONTINUITY
It is a widely known and an uncontested postulate of the modern historiography that the ancient inhabitants of Kosova were the Dardans and that ancient authors considered the Dardans to be Illyrians. The Dardans lived in the Southern region of Illyria. This region was characterized by a relatively high level of cultural, economic, and social development. In the Southern Illyrian region, we find political formations such as the Illyrian state, the state of Epirus, and the Dardan Kingdom. This region, that today is inhabited by Albanians, was developed within a diversified Illyrian etnos. The Dardans, although clearly belonging to the Illyrian ethnie, had their distinctive etno-linguistic and cultural features. Earlier arguments suggesting the Dardans were not a part of the Illyrian etnos but were either a distinct Balkanic ethnie or linked to the Eastern region of the Balkan peninsula, have not been supported by archeological, historical, and linguistical data. Archeological excavations, the typological analysis of their material culture, distinct elements of their spiritual culture and onomastic examinations indicate convincingly that, in ancient times and the Early Middle Ages, Dardania was a part of Illyricum.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire at the beginning of the last quarter of the fifth century, the region of Kosova was included in the province of Dardania. This province, like the other Southern Illyrian provinces, became a part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. The relatively few sites of archeological excavations in Kosova dating from this period have shown that Dardania was similar to other states of the Southern Illyrian region. This is seen in the manufactured goods, ceramics, in the construction of buildings and in numerous other aspects. The existence of the same distinct material culture during the late antiquity in the provinces of Southern Illyria (regions now inhabited by Albanians) is further proof that the ‘Romanization’ did not go to the point where we could say that the Southern Illyrians had been assimilated by Romans or that their culture and language were extinct. On the other hand, this does not mean that they were not influenced by the Roman culture; through the intensive contacts with the Roman culture, new elements were introduced in Illyricum, and this is clearly evidenced by the archeological excavations in Kosova. However, underneath this crust of Romanization, it appears that at the lower strata of the provincial Illyrian population a distinct material and spiritual culture was preserved intact. This culture preserved ancient and distinct features inherited for millennia. Later, during the new social and economic conditions created by contact with Byzantium, and especially under the influence of the Byzantine culture, these distinct characteristics of the Albanian culture continued to be developed in their specific mode.
The Dardania, like the large part of Southern Illyricum, remained either unaffected or slightly affected from the massive migratory waves of the sixth and seventh century AD, including the migratory waves of the Slavs. The direction and the itinerary of the migratory waves and migrations directed towards the Southern Illiricum usually began at the shores of the river Danube, at the ford near Singidum (the ancient Roman name of the city of Belgrade). Then, their itinerary followed the valleys of the rivers Vardar and Morava to end at the city of Thesalonic. A flourished trading center, Thesalonic was a central attraction of the ‘barbarian’ hordes.
For the Albanian people, the Early Middle Age is one of the most important periods in their history. By all available indications, this is the period when the Albanian nation, its culture and language were formed. As with other Balkan nations this period is one of the least documented in history. The written Byzantine documents dating from this period that are currently available are very few. Precisely because of the lack of the written materials other sources of information become particularly important. Among these sources that are reliable are the archeological and the linguistic sources. This is a strong argument in favor of the auctochthony of the Albanians as the ancient indigenous inhabitants of these territories. The names we have inherited from the ancient and medieval toponymy, are explainable only through the Albanian language. This is further proof of the auctochthony of the Albanians in the regions of Kosova, Montenegro and Macedonia. Some of the ancient names of these areas are preserved as appellatives in the Albanian language. For example, the name Dardania itself (the territory of contemporary Kosova was part of the ancient Kingdom known by that name) is explained with the Albanian Dardhė. Similarly, the name of Ulqin, from the ancient name Ulcinium is linked by the scientists to the word ulk, ujk, of the Albanian language. Other ancient toponyms that belong to the Albanian territories in the former Yugoslavia have evolved in accordance to the historical phonetic rules of the Albanian language. Such cases are Naissus-Nish, Scupi-Shkup, Astibos-Shtip, Scardus-Shar, Ulpiana-Lipjan and many more. The explanation of why these ancient names have arrived to us in the form they did, is that these territories have been inhabited by Albanians continuously and not intermittingly. The presence of an Albanian speaking population has been preserved mostly in the names of the towns. This evidence demonstrates that the Albanian population could not have been made up of shepherds sheltered in the highlands or the mountains. Quite on the contrary, that population was urbanized and apparently with an advanced standard of living for its time.
Among other factors, the ancient toponomastic data, such as the contemporary names of places used by Slavs, which are explainable only through the phonetic rules of the ancient Albanian language, has convinced scientists that these territories were inhabited by Albanians. Distinguished linguists such as Norbert Jokl, Gustav Weygand, and Petrovici, and even some Yugoslav scholars like Henrik Baric and others, have argued that it was precisely the Dardania, defined as an enclave by the use of the ancient names such as Nish, Shkup, Shtip that was one of the centers of the formation of the Albanian people.
Although sometimes he tends to overestimate the role played by the Roman-Romanian population in the Balkans, Petrovici has affirmed that “the population found by the Slavs in the Eastern region of contemporary Serbia was not Romanized.” One of the arguments brought by Petrovici to support his theory are the contemporary names of the cities mentioned above. Linguists like Van Wejk have concluded that according to the toponymical arguments, the separation of the Serbs and Bulgarians from a non-Slavic population in the early Middle Ages, could be explained only with the presence of the Albanian population in these areas. According to him, the presence of a population which had Romanic origins belonged to a later phase of the Slav expansion. Some of these scholars, particularly Henrik Baric, have convincingly demonstrated this through the study of the ancient and medieval onomastic of the Dardania. Examining these ancient toponyms, Baric argues that,
“the phonetic characteristics show that they are ancient names that Southern Slavs have taken through the Albanian language. The reason for making this argument is that in these toponyms we find that the phonetic changes were performed before the arrival of the Southern Slavs in the historic territories of the Albanians.”
As we can see, Dardania was a center of formation for the Albanian ethnie and the Albanian language; an enclave where the Albanian language evolved without suffering the influence of the Slav languages surrounding it. Many scientists explain the intensive contacts between the Albanian and Romanian languages precisely through the ancient and the uninterrupted presence of Albanians in these areas. Under these conditions, the expansion of the Serb State in Kosova, during the twelve century onward was by no means a ‘liberation’ of the Serb lands but an annexation and occupation of Albanian territories.
Moving from antiquity to Middle Ages, it must be noted that studies on the medieval onomastics have convincingly proved the presence of the Albanian ethnie in Kosova, Montenegro and in Macedonia. A large number of place names and names of individuals, used in this enclave during the Middle Ages, has been accumulated mostly by the examination of numerous documents and various historical sources, such as church registers and documents, cadastral registers, chrisobulas, and other historical sources. It must be noted that an overwhelming majority of them are of Albanian origin.
A careful examination of the medieval onomastics of Kosova, Montenegro and Macedonia during the fourteenth and the fifteenth century not surprisingly yields a very extended list of Albanian toponyms. These toponyms can only be explained by the presence of an ethnic Albanian population in these areas. The list of these toponyms, even in the areas that nowadays are inhabited by Slavs, is being continuously expanded by scholars. Among the toponyms added recently are Pantalesh, Barzan (Bardhan) Bytidosi, Bankeqi, Lopari, Bardiēi, Kuēi (Kuc-Montenegro) Bukmir, Bushat (Pipėr-Montenegro) Burmaz (Burmadh) in Stolac of Hercegovina, Zhur (Montenegro and Prizren). Also, there is a considerable number of Albanian anthroponyms which are used as microtoponyms or toponyms. For example, in the area of Prizren, there are Rudina e Leshit, the ground of Gjon Bardhi (a place to keep horses), Llazi i Tanushit, the Site of Komani, the House of Bushati, names of fraternities such as Gjinovci, Flokovci, Gjonovci, Shpinadinci, and many more.
The Albanian toponyms of the fifteenth and sixteenth century are also found in the area of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini. Among these names mentioned for the first time in the fourteenth century is Ujmirė, the name of a village on the east of Peja. Such toponyms in the nahija of Vuēitern are Shalc, Kuciq, Guri i Kuq. In the nahija of Llapi we find the village Arbanas; according to the cadastral registration of 1487 in the nahija of Morava we find the village Marash; in the nahija of Ostrolic we find the village Arbanashka Petrila; in the nahija of Treboshnica we find Arbanashka Brenica, Arbanas, Gjinofc Kulla; in the nahija of Morava we find Gjinofc e Marash. According to the cadastral registration of 1566-1574 in the nahija of Karatonlu we find the village Tanushofc. Similarly, in the region of Has we find the villages of Bunjaj, Guri and even the name of the whole district Shullan.
On the other hand, Albanian speeches in Yugoslavia are not linguistic islands, as would be expected if Albanians came late to the area of Kosova. The Albanian speeches there are a continuation of the Albanian dialects within the territory of Albania. The high degree of the unity of the dialects of the Albanian language could be evaluated as evidence that the inhabitants of these areas are living in their territories, and that they are auctochthonous and not a people who came only recently.
KOSOVA AND THE PLAIN OF DUKAGJINI UNDER SERBIAN RULE FROM THE XIIth TO THE XVth CENTURY
The Slav occupation of the Northern and Northeastern Albanian ethnic territories began in the eleventh century, a period when the Albanian people, its language and culture had already taken distinct forms. The little archeological evidence that could indicate the presence of Slavic culture in the Albanian territories at earlier times is very isolated and limited to a short period of time. The evidence shows that these Slavic elements did not constitute a distinctive culture that coexisted side by side with the Arbėresh (Albanian) culture of the early Middle Ages. The archeological findings that show the existence of a Slav culture date to a later time. These objects come from the ninth to the twelfth century and are related to the occupation of these areas initially by the Bulgarians and later by the Serbs.
Even the influence of the Slavic languages on the Albanian language begins at a time when the fundamental grammatical structures of the Albanian language were crystallized. At that time, the phonetic changes which gave an indelible Albanian mark to the words borrowed from Latin were completed. Linguist research has shown that words borrowed from the Slavic languages have been subjected to the unitary influence of a language already formed. This is strong evidence to support the argument of the ethno-cultural unity of an ancient auctochthonous population. The Slav-Albanian linguistic interaction did not begin during the first centuries of the Slav migratory waves but in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Therefore, the Slav-Albanian linguistic interaction began under circumstances dictated by the occupation of the Albanian territories from the Serb state.
What do the historical sources tell us about the continuity of the Albanian presence in Kosova during the period of Serb rule between the twelfth and the fifteenth century? Are the Albanians mentioned as the inhabitants of these areas? The historical sources testify to a continuous presence of the Albanian population in Kosova during this period of Serb rule. First of all, this is witnessed by the numerous medieval Serb documents. Among these documents, of primary importance is The Code of the Laws of Stefan Dushan which mentions Albanians – arbanas – as inhabitants in these areas. Then we do have the chrisobulas (the equivalent of a charter) of the Serb rulers given to different Churches and monasteries. In his chrisobula of the year 1330, Stefan Decanski explicitly mentions the Albanians in Kosova and their villages by their Albanian names. For example, in the chrisobula of Stefan Decanski, a village that today is named Dobrovoda, there is mentioned with the Albanian name of Ujmir (Goodwater).
These documents tell us that the Albanians were also living in the districts of Prizren and Shkup. The chrisobula of Tzar Stefan Dushan given to the Monastery of the Saints Mihail and Gavril in Prizren between the years 1348 and 1353 clearly speaks about the presence of Albanians in the Plain of Dukagjini, in the vicinity of Prizren and in the villages of Drenica. In this chrisobula are explicitly mentioned nine Albanian stock-breeding villages located in the vicinity of Prizren. These villages are known with the names of Gjinovci, (Gjinajt), Magjerci, Bjellogllavci (Kryebardhėt), Flokovci (Flokajt), Crnēa, Ēaparci (Ēaparajt), Gjonovci ( Gjonajt), Shpinadinci (Shpinajt), Novaci.
The Albanians are also mentioned as frequentators in the Fair of Saint George held in the vicinity of Shkup. They are mentioned as farmers and soldiers in the district of Tetova, and as farmers in the villages of the great feud of Decan. Entire Albanian villages were given by Serb Kings, and especially by Stefan Dushan, as a present to the Serb Monasteries of Prizren, Decan and Tetova. The unequivocal Albanian anthroponymy of a part of the inhabitants of the villages mentioned in the Serb state and church documents between the thirteen to the fifteen century, is clear evidence for their presence there
What do the historical sources tell us about the continuity of the Albanian presence in Kosova during the period of Serb rule between the twelfth and the fifteenth century? Are the Albanians mentioned as the inhabitants of these areas? The historical sources testify to a continuous presence of the Albanian population in Kosova during this period of Serb rule. First of all, this is witnessed by the numerous medieval Serb documents. Among these documents, of primary importance is The Code of the Laws of Stefan Dushan which mentions Albanians – arbanas – as inhabitants in these areas. Then we do have the chrisobulas (the equivalent of a charter) of the Serb rulers given to different Churches and monasteries. In his chrisobula of the year 1330, Stefan Decanski explicitly mentions the Albanians in Kosova and their villages by their Albanian names. For example, in the chrisobula of Stefan Decanski, a village that today is named Dobrovoda, there is mentioned with the Albanian name of Ujmir (Goodwater).
These documents tell us that the Albanians were also living in the districts of Prizren and Shkup. The chrisobula of Tzar Stefan Dushan given to the Monastery of the Saints Mihail and Gavril in Prizren between the years 1348 and 1353 clearly speaks about the presence of Albanians in the Plain of Dukagjini, in the vicinity of Prizren and in the villages of Drenica. In this chrisobula are explicitly mentioned nine Albanian stock-breeding villages located in the vicinity of Prizren. These villages are known with the names of Gjinovci, (Gjinajt), Magjerci, Bjellogllavci (Kryebardhėt), Flokovci (Flokajt), Crnēa, Ēaparci (Ēaparajt), Gjonovci ( Gjonajt), Shpinadinci (Shpinajt), Novaci.The Albanians are also mentioned as frequentators in the Fair of Saint George held in the vicinity of Shkup. They are mentioned as farmers and soldiers in the district of Tetova, and as farmers in the villages of the great feud of Decan. Entire Albanian villages were given by Serb Kings, and especially by Stefan Dushan, as a present to the Serb Monasteries of Prizren, Decan and Tetova. The unequivocal Albanian anthroponymy of a part of the inhabitants of the villages mentioned in the Serb state and church documents between the thirteen to the fifteen century, is clear evidence for their presence there.
For example, what does the chrisobula (the charter) of the feud of Decan, issued in the year 1330, tell us about the Albanians in that feud? According to that chrisobula, we find inhabitants that have Albanian names in most places. In the Plain of Dukagjini, inhabitants that have Albanian names were in the villages of Isniq, Gramoēel, Xerxė, Ēabiq, Sushiēan, in the village Arbanas, in the city of Prizren, in Suharekė and Llapushė. In the feud of Decan in Kosova, Albanian names are found in Gracanica and Vinarc. The Albanians anthroponymy was made up of the Albanian traditional and distinctive names as Gjon, Gjin, Lul, Llesh, Bardh, Progon, Prenk, Lalė, Dedė, Lum, and Muzak. In the Serb Church documents, these Albanian names appear as Gon, Ginac, Gonko, Gonshin, Gin, Lul, Lesh, Bardi, Progon, Prenko, Bardonja, Laloje, Lalzim, Dedoje, Dedac, Lumas, and Muzak.
The Ragusan archives and documents witness the presence of a considerable number of Albanians in the city of Novobėrda. At that time, Novobėrda was not separated from the compact territories inhabited by the Albanians. Novobėrda continued to be a part of the Albanian compact territory well into the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century. In the Ragusan documents, citizens with Albanian names such as Gjergjash and Gjinko (1399) or Albanian Catholic priests are mentioned. Such Albanian priests mentioned in the Ragusan documents are Gjini, the son of Gjergj, the presbyter (1382); the reverend Gjergj Gega, Nikollė Tanushi, Gjergj Andrea Pellini, and Nikolla Progonovic in the fifteenth century. There is ample evidence to prove that in Novobėrda there was a considerable Albanian Catholic population.
In this context, an important source is the book of debtors held by the Ragusan merchant Mihail Lukarevic. During the third decade of the fifteenth century, Lukarevic resided in Novobėrda. Approximately 150 Albanian heads of households that were living in Novobėrda with their families are mentioned in his book of debtors. They worked as artisans, specialists and miners in the mines of the town. The anthropomyny of the heads of households was distinctively and uniquely Albanian; they had distinctive Albanian names such as Gjon, Progon, Gjin, Lek, Tanush, Gjergj, Bibė. Some of them had a mixed Slav-Albanian anthroponymy. Said differently, they have a Slav name but their last name is Albanian or they held Albanian patronyms which were adopted to the Slav norm such as Gjonoviē, Gjinoviq, Progonoviq, Bushatoviq, Dodishiq, Kondiq, Lekiq and similar names to these. Among the Catholic clergy many Albanians priests as residing in Novobėrda, as well as in towns such as in Janjeva, Trepēė, Prizren and others are mentioned.
Furthermore, the presence of the Albanians in Kosova has been proven by their extensive participation in the great Battle of 1389 against the Ottoman armies. According to the historical sources, the battle was not only a battle between Ottoman invaders and the Serb state, but a battle among the Ottomans and the coalition of the armies of Balkanian feudals headed by the Serb king Lazar. Lazar was chosen to lead the coalition primarily due to the fact that his dominium in Kosova was being threatened directly by the Ottoman hordes. The Ottoman chroniclers tell us that the most important rulers that made up this coalition were the Serb King Lazar, the Bosnian King Tvartko, and the Albanian prince Gjergji II Balsha. Gjergji II Balsha, defined in the documents of that time as ‘The Ruler of the Albanians,’ played a first hand role in this coalition. This can be indirectly proven by the fact that after Gjergji II Balsha had rejected the Ottoman vassality in the year 1387, he had allied with King Tvarko, the Bosnian ruler. They fought together the Ottoman army in Trebinjė, which is located in the valley of the river Toplica and he continued to resist to the Ottomans quite successfully. It is beyond any doubt that Gjergji II Balsha played a decisive role in the battle against the Ottoman armies in 1389. Besides Gjergj II Balsha, in the battle participated other Albanian feudals. Among the powerful Albanian feudals, the most important figure was Theodori II Muzaka, who died in the battle with 4000 of his soldiers. Historical sources tell us that the Albanians participated in the battle in ways other than serving in the armies of the Albanian feudals. When they speak about the recruitment of soldiers from the Serb King Lazar in his dominion, historical sources affirm that Lazar had gathered soldiers “from the Serbs, Raschians, and Albanians…” Since the feud of Lazar was in Kosova, it is quite clear that these Albanians were from Kosova.
THE OTTOMAN CADASTRAL REGISTERS
The medieval documents written by the Chancellery of the Serb state and from the Orthodox religious institutions, such as the Patriarchat of Pejė, make extensive reference to the regions of Kosova and Plain of Dukagjini. However, from a geographical and demographical perspective, the data contained in these documents represent a very narrow and limited view of the situation in those areas. These documents reflect the official reasons that necessitated and made possible their writing as well as the distinct class position of their compilers. Furthermore, these documents do not deal with all the villages of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova but only with those villages that were owned by certain institutions. What makes these documents highly unreliable is the fact that in the villages mentioned in those documents only the Albanians of the Catholic creed are defined as arbanas. There is no distinction made between the Albanian Orthodox population and the minority of the Orthodox Slavs. Since the Albanian Orthodox population belonged to the same religious and political community as the Serbs, they are usually considered from the medieval writers, chancellors and scribes to be ‘Serbs’ in the North and ‘Greeks’ in the South. The same process happened with the Albanian Muslims; when they converted to Islam, they were considered to be ‘Turks.’
After 1455, the time when the Ottomans conquered Kosova, many documents concerning the composition of population in were drafted by the Ottomans and these documents are more detailed than the Serb documents. These documents do not confuse the religious with the ethnic identification as the Serb medieval documents did. Precisely for this reason, the Ottoman documents throw a better light on the demographic situation of Kosova in the fifteenth century. These documents tell us that these territories were predominantly inhabited by the Albanians. The Serbs, who had come as colonists and the members of the ruling class during the period of Serb domination, although politically dominant, were a negligible minority. Although the Ottoman documents are numerous, the situation is better described by the registers of the cadastral office and the census data of the Ottoman Empire. During the fifteenth and the sixteenth century, the census was conducted periodically by the new Ottoman state. The evidence contained in these documentary and archival sources contributes to expose the fallacy of one of the ‘myths’ and ‘taboos’ of the Serb historiography which holds that the population of Kosova had an ancient and uninterrupted Serb character and that the Albanians entered Kosova under the Ottoman aegis and then the Albanians proceeded to eliminate the Serb ‘majority’ especially after the presumed massive migrations and expulsions of Serbs which happened after the uprisings of the years 1690 and 1738. The falsity of this thesis was exposed by the cadastral register of Kosova of the year 1455 (the year when the Ottomans occupied Kosova), which was published in 1972 by the Oriental Institute of Sarajevo. The cadastral registers clearly show that even before the large scale process of massive Islamization had begun, the Albanians constituted the overwhelming majority in the Eastern parts of Kosova. Similarly, the Albanians were in massive numbers, according to a register of the Sanxhak of Kystendil, in Kratova of Eastern Macedonia. An examination of the cadastral registers would prove that the thesis of the Serb migration and their expulsion from Kosova has no longer any credibility and validity whatsoever.
With the cadastral registration of 1455, the Ottomans created a new unified administrative unit in Kosova that they called sanxhak. In this sanxhak were included all the lands which had been the dominion of Brankovic family, except the Plain of Dukagjini. In this register are mentioned a considerable number of heads of families with distinctive and typical Albanian names such as Gjon, Gjin, Llesh as well as with Slav names but that are explicitly qualified as Albanian-Arbanas. Such names are mentioned in the commercial centers, in the towns, as well as in over 100 villages distributed in all the nahija of the sanxhak. They are found in Morava, Prishtinė, Lab, Topolnicė, Vuēitern, Dolc, Klopotnik, Tėrgovishta, and even at the villages that neighbored villages inhabited by the Slav population. These inhabitants, especially those with Albanian anthroponymy, were Catholics. However, the Albanians in the region of Kosova, by and large were of the Orthodox religion and linked with the religious administration of the Patriarchat of Pejė. Their names were mixed Albanian-Slav names or names that were coming from the orthodox religious Slav or Byzantine anthroponymy. The reason why Albanians embraced the Orthodoxy during the period between the twelfth and the fifteenth century, when Kosova was under Serb domination, shows that they had been forced to be exposed to a religious-ideological assimilation campaign. Since this assimilation campaign was combined with an intensive colonization of the territories by the Serbs, then one could say that a prolongation of these conditions could have led to a complete ethnic assimilation of the Orthodox Albanians.
During the Serb rule, the Albanian population of these areas was politically and socially dominated by Serbs. Yet, there is not the slightest doubt that Albanian people managed to preserve its customs, its language and its customary law largely intact. That the Albanian anthroponymy, which later was partially substituted by an Islamic anthroponymy, could only be a unique and a distinctive characteristic of the Albanian population is certain. There are no reasons to suggest that the Slav population, which was politically and socially dominant, would adopt and carry Albanian names.
Even in the cases when an Albanian name is accompanied by a last name which is of the Slav anthroponymy, there is little doubt that the individual is an Albanian. We must keep in mind the fact that under the enormous political pressure exercised by the administration of the Serb state and the religious pressure exercised by the Serb Church, the auctochthonous Albanians of these areas were forced to take Slav surnames and Slav last name. It is very significant that once they were liberated from this pressure, they returned to the Albanian names of their forefathers. This shows that the Albanians were quite aware of their distinct ethnic identity.
Let us consider the situation as it appears in the cadastral registers. From the cadastral materials published up to now, we find out that the nahija of Altun-ili (an area included in the triangle Gjakovė-Junik-Tropojė) was inhabited almost entirely by the Albanians. Thus, according to the registration of year 1485, the inhabitants of the villages of the plain of Gjakova-Junik, such as Plakani, Mel, Dujak, Gorna Ēirna Gonja, Dolina Ēirna Gonja, Peronja, Rodosh, Dolina Buqani, Bozhani, Vuēidol, Brekoc, Trenova, Vogova, Kaliq, Popoci, Bonoshuci, Stubla, Rogam, had typical and distinct Albanian names such as Gjin, Gjon, Leka, Kola, Gega, Progon, Llesh, Gjec, Tanush, Bushat, Mazarak, Pal, Duka, and other names similar to these.
In the registration of the year 1485, in the nahija of Peja we find 15 villages-such as Oē, Ēirna Potok, Dujak, Usak, Dobriēadol, Kolivaēa, Lepovaē, Trenova, Nika, Vraniq, Romaniēa and others-whose inhabitants, with rare exceptions, have Albanian names. Although in smaller %ages, in 86 other villages out of 194 of the nahija of Pejė, we find that the majority of inhabitants had Albanian names. Similarly, out of 28 villages in the nahija of Suhagėrlė, fourteen villages had a majority of inhabitants who carried Albanian names. Out of the fifteen villages that had the nahija of Plava, twelve villages had a majority of inhabitants who carried Albanian names.
According to the registrations of the years 1571 and 1591, the Northeastern region of the Sanxhak of Dukagjini, or to use the name given to it in the sixteenth century, the region of Hasi, were territories inhabited entirely by the Albanians. The region of Hasi was divided in the nahija of Rudina (Gjakova with its villages in its south), nahija of Domeshtiēi (villages that were located in the area between Gjakova and Prizren), and the nahija of Pashtrik (villages in the eastern and western sides of the mountain of Pashtrik). This is proven by the fact that, similarly to the inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the hinterland of the Northern Albania, the inhabitants of these areas had overwhelmingly distinct and typical Albanian names, such as Gjin, Gjon, Gac, Bac, Kol, Gjec, Doda, Prend, Biba, Nue, Dida, Shtepan, Vata, and other similar names. The influence of Slav anthroponymy in these areas was extremely weak.
The nahija of Opoja (south of the city of Prizren) was inhabited entirely by Albanians. The Albanian population had converted to Islam and consequently, the anthroponymy of the inhabitants was Islamic. However, these registrations bring evidence which proves that the Islamicized inhabitants were Albanians. During the second half of the sixteenth century, these inhabitants continued to carry as their last names, the Christian names of their parents. These last names, by and large, were distinct Albanian names. The influence of the Slav anthroponymy is found only in very rare cases.
The usage of Slav names by the Albanians could be observed in many villages of Kosova. These villages have plural names of the heads of the fraternities, a common feature of the villages inhabited by the Albanians, such as Gjinovc (Gjinajt), Leshofc (Leshajt) Tanushofc (Tanushajt). Although this is an indicator that testifies to their Albanian origin (supported by their definition exclusively as Arbanas-Albanian in the Serb medieval documents), there were inhabitants of the Orthodox religion that carried a Slav anthroponymy. Let me give here the names of the inhabitants of the village of the Gjinajt of the nahija of Treboshnica from the cadastral registration of the year 1566-1567. These names are: Pjetri Jovani, Toma Pjetri, Kostandin Nikolla, Toma Kostandini, Dimitri Pjetri, Mati Pjetri Novak Dimitri, Boja Stepani, Novak Boja, Nikolla Novaku, Stepan Novaku, Nikolla Gjuriq, Nisha Nikolla, Luka pop Jovani, Bozha Luka, Simon Luka, Danko Mihajlo, and other names similar to these.
That the population of Kosova was Albanian is proven also from another important source. During the second half of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, there were a number of Assemblies of the representatives of the Albanian nation. These Assemblies sought to organize the resistance of the Albanian people against Turkish occupation and coordinate that resistance with the efforts of other Balkan nations and European states. This resistance movement was institutionalized and politically organized. In the documents of the time these are known as the “Albanian Assemblies.” In these Assemblies participated only representatives of the regions that were rebelled against the Turks. One of these Assemblies, the ‘Assembly of Dukagjini’ of the year 1601-1602 was held in the village of Macukull in the region of Mati. At this Assembly there were representatives from the fourteen Albanian regions. There were four representatives of the Albanians from Kosova: Pjetėr Kolamari, Andrea Kolesi (Koleshi) Feta Kuka, and the Catholic priest Mark Belaēi. In the Albanian Assemblies of the sixteenth and seventeenth century participated exclusively only representatives of the Albanian regions that were rebelled against the Turks. In these Assemblies were not allowed to participate representatives who belonged to other neighboring ethnic groups. The representatives of Kosova participated in the Assembly because Kosova was a territory inhabited from the Albanians.
THE PRESUMED MIGRATORY WAVES IN AND OUT KOSOVA AND THE MATTER OF “ALBANIZATION.”
Let us consider now the problem of the presumed Albanian migrations from the mountainous Albanian hinterland to Kosova. This is asserted constantly by the Serb historiographers. In spite of all the facts at the contrary, the Serb historiographers continue to insist on the existence of this migration.
The Albanian population in the Plain of Dukagjini and in Kosova was an auctochthonous population that it not appear there as a result of a massive migration as it is pretended by the Serb historiography.
However, the cadastral registrations of the fifteenth and sixteenth century, reveal to us what was the demographic composition of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova. These cadastral registers show clearly and convincingly that these territories were inhabited by an overwhelming Albanian majority; they give us the incontestable argument that the Albanian population even during the period of Serb domination had been present in these territories. Moreover, the cadastral registers tell us that the Albanian population was auctochthonous and did not migrate from somewhere else. This is also proven by the fact that all the known historical sources and documents do not mention any kind of massive movement of the Albanian population from the mountainous hinterland and regions such as Mirdita, Dukagjini and Mbishkodra (Pult, Kelmend, Shosh, and Shalė).. Quite on the contrary, the documents we now possess give us very clear indications that there was absolutely no real possibility for such demographic movements in the fifteenth and the sixteenth century. At the time when the Turkish occupation began, the core mountainous regions of the sanxhak of Dukagjini such as Iballa, Spasi, Fandi i Madh, Fandi i Vogėl and Puka as well as the districts of the sanxhak of Shkodra (Pulti and Kelmendi) – according to the registrations of the years 1485 and 1529 – had a total of only 2014 households. On the other hand, the region of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova had around 28000 households.
The cadastral registers bring further evidence which proves that the Albanian population in Kosova was stable and aucthochtonous, while the Serb minority had been transitory and migratory. Contrary to what has been pretended by the Serb authors, the Serb population changed places quite often. Usually, in the cadastral registers, for the heads of the households who had moved in a village are added the remarks , doshlac-i (newcomers in Serbian language) or haymanegan for the peregrines. The names of the heads of households that are new carry overwhelmingly Slav names. These people were not coming from the hinterland of Northern Albania. If that supposition was true, they would have held Albanian names, similarly to the other inhabitants of these districts which were included in the sanxhaks of Shkodra and Dukagjini, a fact which is clearly proven by the registers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The majority of the newcomers were Slav ethnic elements that were moving within these regions or that came from other areas with the Slav population in the North of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini. Keeping in mind the large number of the heads of households with Slav names that are defined as newcomers in these areas in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, it convincingly appears that even in the sixteenth century the Serb minority was unsettled and continued to be unstable and wandering. This was due to the fact that it was not an indigenous population but that most of them had come as colons during the Serb domination of the region.
The data from reliable historical sources shows that the population of these areas which converted to Islam had been Albanian well before the beginnings of this process in the fifteenth century and in the second half of the sixteenth century. The same data prove that the thesis, according to which in these areas had happened a process of Islamization of the Slav elements that later brought about their “Albanization,” is erroneous and fundamentally mistaken because it is based on false premises.
Apparently, to them it does not matter much. Their goal is to deny that the Albanian population of these areas was Albanian and descendants of the ancient Illyrian population that lived there in their own land. Similarly it appears quite impossible to achieve a complete ethnic assimilation, an “Albanization” process of the Serb population through the conversion to Islam within such a short period of 100-150 years. This seems all the more impossible especially when we already know that in this area we have a considerable Albanian population of Muslim denomination and what is more important, when we did not have any migrations from the hinterland of Northern Albanian mountainous regions.
SOME DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE ALBANIANS IN KOSOVA AT THE END OF XVIIth CENTURY AND SOME CONCLUSIONS
Other historical documents help us to uncover the falsity of the argument that Albanians came to Kosova after the Austro-Ottoman War of the years 1683-1699, the time when the massive migration of Serbs from Kosova is supposed to have happened. One important source are the documents of the Austrian High Command. These documents offer a clear description of the situation in Kosova and these territories during the united fight of the Austrian Armies and the Albanian uprising against the Ottoman forces in the years 1689-1690. These documents describe the ethnic composition of the regions of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini only a few months before the presumed migration was supposed to have happened.
The evidence from the Austrian documentation proves once again that Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini were regions inhabited by the Albanians. One important indication is that the Austrian High Command includes these territories within the borders of Albania. The Austrian High Command does not use for these territories the label Serbia. This term had been used by numerous authors, especially by clergymen during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The term Serbia had been used in a religious and political sense and as a continuation of the tradition that used to include these territories in the Serb state (these territories had been a part of that state for some centuries) or consider it in a separate dioceses altogether with other territories inhabited by Slavs in Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. In the documents of the Austrian High Command, for example, in the promemorie on Albania of the General Marsiglio, a high ranking member of the Austrian General Staff dated April 1, 1690, in the letters of the Catholic Vicar of the Shkup, Thoma Raspasan who had substituted the leader of the Albanian uprising, the Archbishop of Albania, Pjetėr Bogdani, it said clearly that “Prizren was the capital of Albania,” that “Peja and Shkup were parts of Albania,” and that in the area of Kosova people spoke the Albanian language.
When his armies entered into Kosova, the Emperor of Austria, Leopold I remarked that his armies were fighting in Albania. There were no reasons for Leopold I to alienate Serbs if they were as they say, the majority in Kosova. The Archbishop Pjetėr Bogdani is called “Archbishop of Albania,” and the Bishopric of Shkup was included within Albania. In numerous works of Austrian and Italian historiography that also rely on these documentary sources, it is unequivocally admitted that the territories of Kosova were inhabited by Albanians and these territories were included within the territories of Albania.
Furthermore, the evidence we have shows that the number of Albanian fighters that came from these territories and that joined the Austrian Armies in the year 1689 was in such numbers that they could have come out only from a territory inhabited by the Albanians. At the time when the Austrian armies were entering in the Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini, the uprising against the Ottoman domination that here had started some time ago was reaching its peak. At the beginning of November 1689, when the Austrian forces entered in Prishtina they were received there by 5000 Albanian fighters. When Austrian armies entered in Prizren, they were received by 6000 other fighters. It is here that the Austrian Commander-in-Chief, General Piccolomini, met and spoke with the leaders of the uprising, the Catholic Archbishop of Shkup, Pjetėr Bogdani and the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Peja, Andrea III Crnojevic that was leading the rebels from the Serb minority of Kosova.
The Austrian Command had paid special attention to the incitement of the revolt from the oppressed people of the Balkans and especially to the uprising of the Albanian people. The obvious reason is that by allying with Albanians the Austrians could reach an easier victory over the Ottoman Armies. For the sake of truth we must say that the easiness with which the Austrians swiftly swiped Turks and entered in Albania until they reached Luma was made possible only by the war fought by the Albanian fighters of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini.This is understandable if we remember the fact that the Austrian forces that were fighting in these areas did not exceed 8000 troops. If it were not for the Albanian fighters, that small army was clearly insufficient to defeat the Ottoman armies.
The Albanian insurgents participated also in the battle that the Austrian forces fought with the Ottomans on January 2, 1690 at the Valley of Kaēanik which ended with the defeat of the Austrian forces. After that, the Ottoman armies, within a brief time and before the Spring, managed to conquer once again, one after the other all the towns of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova. The Albanian insurgents were still fighting side by side to the Austrians against the Ottomans. Thus on March, 17, 1690, they participated in the battle fought between the Austrian military unit commanded by Kutschenbach against the Ottomans in Novobėrda, a battle won by the Austrians. On March 23, 1690, 1500 Albanian insurgents, incorporated in a unit commanded by Schekendorf participated in the expedition against Ottoman forces in Pirot.
The fact that these areas were inhabited by Albanians and the very important role played by the Albanian uprisings on the international scene were a factor to which was paid very special attention in the military and long term plans of the European states against the Ottomans. These were among the reasons that convinced the Emperor Leopold I to address a proclamation to the oppressed peoples of the Balkans. This happened on April 6, 1690 and the proclamation was addressed first of all to the Albanian people. Albanians were encouraged to begin the fight against the Ottomans and to intensify their attempts to strengthen their relations with the Albanian insurgents in Kosova.
The data from the archival Austrian sources of the seventeenth century on the uprising of the Albanians in Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini are a further proof that these areas were almost completely inhabited by the Albanians. Recently, Serb historiographers like Veselinovic, have sought to deny the participation and the contribution of the Albanians in these uprisings. They aim to prove that the only participants in these uprisings was the Serb minority of Kosova. According to Veselinovic, those insurgents from Kosova that are mentioned as Albanians (albaner) and kelmendas (klimenten) were neither Albanian nor from Kelmendi. They were nothing less or else but Serbs. This deformation and distortion is done simply because, at this juncture, the Serb historiographers could not accept and justify such a massive presence of Albanians in Kosova. Otherwise, they would have no grounds to deny the auctochthony of the Albanians in Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini.
As we have seen, the presence of Orthodox and Muslim Albanians is very well-documented from the reports of the Albanian clergy, from the Austrian documentary sources and especially from the cadastral registers of the Ottoman Empire. When added to the other evidence brought from the medieval documents on the presence and the auctochthony of the Albanians in these territories, the evidence brought by the Austrian documentation on the large number of the Albanian insurgents in Kosova, and the inclusion by the Austrian Command of this area within the Albanian territories, shows the falsity of the arguments defended and advanced by the Serb and Yugoslav authors. The presence of the Albanian population in these territories during the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries is extensively documented by domestic, Austrian, Ottoman, and other sources. It is apparent that from a scientific point of view, the argument defended and advanced by the Serb historiographers is fallacious.
The vast body of evidence available shows that the Albanians in Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini were auctochthonous and not migrants that came in the area after the seventeenth century. The documentation of the fifteenth and the sixteenth century proves definitively that the regions of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini were territories inhabited overwhelmingly by Albanians. In fact, the Serb migration from Kosova was a migration in far smaller numbers of the Serb insurgents led from the Patriarch of Peja. As we now know, from these areas did not migrate only these Serbs but with them went a lot of Albanian insurgents, the traces of whom we still can detect and find in Slavonia. If the Serb migration from Kosova would have been massive, it should have left traces in the records and the documents of the time, be they domestic, Turkish, or in Vatican archives (which by the way, was very well informed from its prelates and clergymen on the situation in these territories during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries). So far, a large amount of documents from these archives have been published, and there no mentioning of such massive migratory moves of population in and out the region of Kosova.
Notes
1 Professor Selami Pulaha is one of the foremost authorities on the Albanian history during the early period of Turkish occupation of Albania. He is the author of numerous books and essays published in Albanian and other languages. His extremely influential and pathbreaking work remains a constant point of reference to the scholars of the Albanian history. Unfortunately, his studies are not that well-known in the English-speaking world. This article was initially published in Studime Historike in 1982. It was republished in the collection of essays, Popullsia Shqiptare e Kosovės gjatė shekujve XV-XVI Shtėpia Botuese ‘8 Nėntori’: Tiranė, 1984:7-42. The article was translated in English by Shinasi A. Rama. The IJAS would like to acknowledge the extremely valuable help given by Stephen Lennon and Arta Haxhaj who patiently edited the English version. We are extremely grateful to both of them.
2 A. Jovicevic, Malesije, naselja i poreklo stanovista, Knjiga XV Beograd, 1923.
3 Vladan Djordjevic, Die Albanesen und die Grossmächte, Hirsel: Leipzig, 1913; see also Vladan Djordevic, L’Albanie et les Albanais, Paris, 1913.
4 Todor Stankovic, Putne beleske po Staroj Srbiji, Beograd, 1910. Todor Stankovic, Beleske o Staroj Srbiji i Makedoniji Stamp. Kraljevine Srbije: Nish, 1915
5 Jovan N. Tomic, O arnautima u Staroj Srbiji i u Sandzaku, Knjizara Gece Kona: Beograd, 1913. In the French translation, Yovan Tomich, Les Albanais en viellee Serbie et dans Sandjak de Novi Pazar. Paris, 1913. Jovan Tomic, Pecki Patriajarh Jovan i pokret kriscana u balkanskom poluostrova, 1592-1614, Zemun, 1913.
6 J. Cvijic, Osnova za geografiju i geologiju Makedonije i Stare Srbije. Posedna izdanja SAN I 1906 Vol. XVII, Beograd, 1907; and Osnova za geografiju i geologiju Makedonije i Stare Srbije. Volume XVIII Beograd, 1911.
7 A. Selisev, Slavsjanskoe naselie v Albanii, Sofija, 1931.
8 Milan Suflay, “Die Grenzen Albaniens in Mittelalter” in Illyrisch-Albanische Forschungen, Bild I, Munchen und Leipzig, 1916: 202-203.
9 M. Filipovic, Etnicke prilike o Juznoj Srbiji, Skoplje, 1937; M. Filipovic Has pod Pastrikom Sarajevo, 1958.
10 Atanasije Urosevic, Kosovo SANU (Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti) Srpski Etnografski Zbornik Knjiga 78. Naucno Delo: Beograd, 1965.
11 Branislav Nusic, Kosovo-opis zemlja i naroda, in two vols. Matica Srpska: Novi Sad, 1962.
12 D. Popovic, Srbi u Vojvodini, Novi Sad, 1957; See also D.Popovic, Veoma seoba srba 1690, Beograd, 1954.
13 Jovan Trifunovski, Kacanicka Klisura Srpski etnografski zbornik SAN Knjiga 32 Beograd, 1950.
14 The textbook was Istorija Naroda Jugoslavije Knjiga 2 Beograd, 1960: 770-801.
15 On Vasa Cubrilovic see the analysis of Rexhep Qosja “ The Albanian Question and the Serb Political Programs,” published in The IJAS Volume I Number I 1997:21-39.
16 M. Dinic, Iz Dubrovackog arhiva in 3 vols. The three volumes were published in Belgrade in the years 1957, 1963, and in 1967. Similarly, see M. Dinic, Iz istorije rudarstva u srednjevekovskoj Srbiji i Bosniji in 2 vols. Beograd, 1955 and 1962.
17 A. Handzic, “Nekoliko vijesti o Arbanasima na Kosovu i Metohiji sredinom XV vijeka.” Symposium on Skanderbeg, Prishtinė, 1969:201-211.
18 J. Zaimov, “Bolgarskie geograficeskie nazvanii o Albanii XV veka.” Studia Balkanica I, tom 2 Sofija, 1981 (p. 260 and 292).
19 Among the most important studies are the following: Alain Ducellier, “Les albanais ont-ils envahi le Kosovo?” L ‘Albanie vol. 2 Number 13 Paris Juin 1981: 1-14; Idriz Ajeti, “Kontribut pėr studimin e onomastikės mesjetare nė territorin e Malit tė Zi, Bosnjės e Hercegovinės, dhe tė Kosovės.” Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Filologjike) IV Prishtinė, 1974-1975; Hivzi Islami, “E Vėrteta mbi shqiptarėt nė disa vepra antropo-gjeografike.” Dituria I Prishtina,1971: 65-92; “Kėrkimet antropo-gjeografike nė Kosovė.” in Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Historike I 1971: 113-162; Muhamet Tėrnava, “Shqiptarėt nė feudin e Deēanit nė vitet 30 tė shekullit XV sipas krisobulės sė Deēanit.” Zbornik Filozofskog Fakulteta u Prishtini XI Prishtinė, 1974:255-271; Also by Muhamet Tėrnava, “Migrimet e popullsisė nė territorin e sotėm tė Kosovės gjatė shekujve XIV-XVI.” Kosova V Prishtinė, 1978: 288-324; “Shqiptarėt nė qytetet e Kosovės nė shekujt XV-XVI.” Studime Historike Number 2 1979:105-145; Muhamet Tėrnava, “Pėrhapja e islamizmit nė territorin e sotėm tė Kosovės deri nė fund tė shekullit tė XVII. Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Historike) IX, 1979:45-68; Skėnder Gashi, “Prania e shqiptarėve nė krahinėn e Gallapit, Moravės e tė Serbisė Jugore nė gjysmėn e parė tė shekullit XV (1411-1438) nė dritėn e materialit onomastik.” Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Filologjike) Vl Prishtinė, 1978: 103-119. Also by Skėnder Gashi, Onomastika e Kosoves. Prishtinė, 1979.
20 Skėnder Anamali, “Nga Ilirėt tek Arbėrit” Kuvendi i Parė i Studimeve Ilire Volume 2 Tiranė, 1974: 30-32.
21 P. Lemerle, “Invasions et migrations dans les Balkans depuis la fin de l’epoque romaine jusqu’an VIIIe siecle.” Revue Historique CCXI (2) 1954.
22 Skėnder Anamali, op.cit. p. 35.
23 Eqerem Ēabej, “Emri i Dardanise dhe izoglosat shqiptaro-kelte.” Studime Filologjike, Number 3 Tiranė, 1973: 55-66. Eqerem Ēabej, Studime Gjuhesore volume V Prishtinė, 1977: 386-395.
24 Eqerem Ēabej, “Problemi i vendit tė formimit tė gjuhės shqipe.” Kuvendi i Parė i Studimeve I1ire, Volume II Tirane, 1972: 7-26.
25 Georg Stadtmüller, Forschungen zur albanischen Frühgeschichte. Wiesbaden, 1966: 141-159. See also Istorija naroda Jugoslavije, knjiga 2, Beograd, 1960: 791.
26 For a more detailed treatment of the views held by these linguists see Eqerem Ēabej, “Hyrje nė historinė e gjuhės shqipe” Studime Gjuhėsore, Prishtinė, 1976: 37-41
The purpose of their diplomacy was to justify the rationale for the annexation of the Albanian territories and obtain the consent of the Great Powers. In order to do so, the Serb monarchy did not hesitate to use the press, publications, and scientific activity. These publications were expected to provide an acceptable scientific and historical defense that could justify the expansionist policy of the Serb state towards the region of Kosova.
These studies sought to prove that, in the Middle Ages, the region of Kosova had been the center of the Serb state. Furthermore, they argued that Kosova had been an area inhabited by the Serbs until the end of XVIIth century and the beginning of the XVIIIth century. According to Serbian interpretations, immediately following the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683-1699, a portion of the Serb population which had sided with Austria, migrated to the North and its place was taken by the Albanians that came from the mountainous hinterland of Northern Albania. This argument was used by the Serb ruling elite to create the impression, within Serbia itself and internationally, that its predatory policies towards the Albanians and their territories were justified by sound historical reasons. It was unavoidable that this kind of unscientific literature would soon acquire anti-Albanian overtones. In order to bolster this argument, a whole cottage industry that sought to justify the ‘historical rights’ of the Serbs over the ethnic Albanian territories was developed. Later, when these territories were incorporated in the Serb Kingdom, the same arguments were used to provide the framework that justified the oppression, assimilation, and the mass expulsion of the Albanians from their territories.
These lines of argument have been challenged effectively by the contemporary Albanologists and historiographers. They have challenged the methodological criteria adopted by the Serbian school, and brought ample evidence to show that the examination of the historical documents currently available yields another view. Using scientific and objective historical method, several contemporary Albanian and non-Albanian historiographers have convincingly supported the thesis of the continuity of the Albanian presence in the territories where they currently live. Archeological data, historical records, folklore and linguistics indicate clearly and unequivocally that Illyro-Albanian residency in the region of Kosova has continued unabated since the Early Middle Ages. They also confirm the presence of an overwhelming majority of the Albanian population during the period of the Serb domination of these areas, (from the twelfth to the fifteenth century), and during the first part of the Turkish occupation that lasted from 1450 until 1690. As I have noted, the Serb historiographers state that at this time, in 1690, the Serbs were expelled from Kosova and their place was taken by the Albanians. Let us consider these issues one by one in chronological order.
2. THE ILLYRO-ALBANIAN CONTINUITY
It is a widely known and an uncontested postulate of the modern historiography that the ancient inhabitants of Kosova were the Dardans and that ancient authors considered the Dardans to be Illyrians. The Dardans lived in the Southern region of Illyria. This region was characterized by a relatively high level of cultural, economic, and social development. In the Southern Illyrian region, we find political formations such as the Illyrian state, the state of Epirus, and the Dardan Kingdom. This region, that today is inhabited by Albanians, was developed within a diversified Illyrian etnos. The Dardans, although clearly belonging to the Illyrian ethnie, had their distinctive etno-linguistic and cultural features. Earlier arguments suggesting the Dardans were not a part of the Illyrian etnos but were either a distinct Balkanic ethnie or linked to the Eastern region of the Balkan peninsula, have not been supported by archeological, historical, and linguistical data. Archeological excavations, the typological analysis of their material culture, distinct elements of their spiritual culture and onomastic examinations indicate convincingly that, in ancient times and the Early Middle Ages, Dardania was a part of Illyricum.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire at the beginning of the last quarter of the fifth century, the region of Kosova was included in the province of Dardania. This province, like the other Southern Illyrian provinces, became a part of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire. The relatively few sites of archeological excavations in Kosova dating from this period have shown that Dardania was similar to other states of the Southern Illyrian region. This is seen in the manufactured goods, ceramics, in the construction of buildings and in numerous other aspects. The existence of the same distinct material culture during the late antiquity in the provinces of Southern Illyria (regions now inhabited by Albanians) is further proof that the ‘Romanization’ did not go to the point where we could say that the Southern Illyrians had been assimilated by Romans or that their culture and language were extinct. On the other hand, this does not mean that they were not influenced by the Roman culture; through the intensive contacts with the Roman culture, new elements were introduced in Illyricum, and this is clearly evidenced by the archeological excavations in Kosova. However, underneath this crust of Romanization, it appears that at the lower strata of the provincial Illyrian population a distinct material and spiritual culture was preserved intact. This culture preserved ancient and distinct features inherited for millennia. Later, during the new social and economic conditions created by contact with Byzantium, and especially under the influence of the Byzantine culture, these distinct characteristics of the Albanian culture continued to be developed in their specific mode.
The Dardania, like the large part of Southern Illyricum, remained either unaffected or slightly affected from the massive migratory waves of the sixth and seventh century AD, including the migratory waves of the Slavs. The direction and the itinerary of the migratory waves and migrations directed towards the Southern Illiricum usually began at the shores of the river Danube, at the ford near Singidum (the ancient Roman name of the city of Belgrade). Then, their itinerary followed the valleys of the rivers Vardar and Morava to end at the city of Thesalonic. A flourished trading center, Thesalonic was a central attraction of the ‘barbarian’ hordes.
For the Albanian people, the Early Middle Age is one of the most important periods in their history. By all available indications, this is the period when the Albanian nation, its culture and language were formed. As with other Balkan nations this period is one of the least documented in history. The written Byzantine documents dating from this period that are currently available are very few. Precisely because of the lack of the written materials other sources of information become particularly important. Among these sources that are reliable are the archeological and the linguistic sources. This is a strong argument in favor of the auctochthony of the Albanians as the ancient indigenous inhabitants of these territories. The names we have inherited from the ancient and medieval toponymy, are explainable only through the Albanian language. This is further proof of the auctochthony of the Albanians in the regions of Kosova, Montenegro and Macedonia. Some of the ancient names of these areas are preserved as appellatives in the Albanian language. For example, the name Dardania itself (the territory of contemporary Kosova was part of the ancient Kingdom known by that name) is explained with the Albanian Dardhė. Similarly, the name of Ulqin, from the ancient name Ulcinium is linked by the scientists to the word ulk, ujk, of the Albanian language. Other ancient toponyms that belong to the Albanian territories in the former Yugoslavia have evolved in accordance to the historical phonetic rules of the Albanian language. Such cases are Naissus-Nish, Scupi-Shkup, Astibos-Shtip, Scardus-Shar, Ulpiana-Lipjan and many more. The explanation of why these ancient names have arrived to us in the form they did, is that these territories have been inhabited by Albanians continuously and not intermittingly. The presence of an Albanian speaking population has been preserved mostly in the names of the towns. This evidence demonstrates that the Albanian population could not have been made up of shepherds sheltered in the highlands or the mountains. Quite on the contrary, that population was urbanized and apparently with an advanced standard of living for its time.
Among other factors, the ancient toponomastic data, such as the contemporary names of places used by Slavs, which are explainable only through the phonetic rules of the ancient Albanian language, has convinced scientists that these territories were inhabited by Albanians. Distinguished linguists such as Norbert Jokl, Gustav Weygand, and Petrovici, and even some Yugoslav scholars like Henrik Baric and others, have argued that it was precisely the Dardania, defined as an enclave by the use of the ancient names such as Nish, Shkup, Shtip that was one of the centers of the formation of the Albanian people.
Although sometimes he tends to overestimate the role played by the Roman-Romanian population in the Balkans, Petrovici has affirmed that “the population found by the Slavs in the Eastern region of contemporary Serbia was not Romanized.” One of the arguments brought by Petrovici to support his theory are the contemporary names of the cities mentioned above. Linguists like Van Wejk have concluded that according to the toponymical arguments, the separation of the Serbs and Bulgarians from a non-Slavic population in the early Middle Ages, could be explained only with the presence of the Albanian population in these areas. According to him, the presence of a population which had Romanic origins belonged to a later phase of the Slav expansion. Some of these scholars, particularly Henrik Baric, have convincingly demonstrated this through the study of the ancient and medieval onomastic of the Dardania. Examining these ancient toponyms, Baric argues that,
“the phonetic characteristics show that they are ancient names that Southern Slavs have taken through the Albanian language. The reason for making this argument is that in these toponyms we find that the phonetic changes were performed before the arrival of the Southern Slavs in the historic territories of the Albanians.”
As we can see, Dardania was a center of formation for the Albanian ethnie and the Albanian language; an enclave where the Albanian language evolved without suffering the influence of the Slav languages surrounding it. Many scientists explain the intensive contacts between the Albanian and Romanian languages precisely through the ancient and the uninterrupted presence of Albanians in these areas. Under these conditions, the expansion of the Serb State in Kosova, during the twelve century onward was by no means a ‘liberation’ of the Serb lands but an annexation and occupation of Albanian territories.
Moving from antiquity to Middle Ages, it must be noted that studies on the medieval onomastics have convincingly proved the presence of the Albanian ethnie in Kosova, Montenegro and in Macedonia. A large number of place names and names of individuals, used in this enclave during the Middle Ages, has been accumulated mostly by the examination of numerous documents and various historical sources, such as church registers and documents, cadastral registers, chrisobulas, and other historical sources. It must be noted that an overwhelming majority of them are of Albanian origin.
A careful examination of the medieval onomastics of Kosova, Montenegro and Macedonia during the fourteenth and the fifteenth century not surprisingly yields a very extended list of Albanian toponyms. These toponyms can only be explained by the presence of an ethnic Albanian population in these areas. The list of these toponyms, even in the areas that nowadays are inhabited by Slavs, is being continuously expanded by scholars. Among the toponyms added recently are Pantalesh, Barzan (Bardhan) Bytidosi, Bankeqi, Lopari, Bardiēi, Kuēi (Kuc-Montenegro) Bukmir, Bushat (Pipėr-Montenegro) Burmaz (Burmadh) in Stolac of Hercegovina, Zhur (Montenegro and Prizren). Also, there is a considerable number of Albanian anthroponyms which are used as microtoponyms or toponyms. For example, in the area of Prizren, there are Rudina e Leshit, the ground of Gjon Bardhi (a place to keep horses), Llazi i Tanushit, the Site of Komani, the House of Bushati, names of fraternities such as Gjinovci, Flokovci, Gjonovci, Shpinadinci, and many more.
The Albanian toponyms of the fifteenth and sixteenth century are also found in the area of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini. Among these names mentioned for the first time in the fourteenth century is Ujmirė, the name of a village on the east of Peja. Such toponyms in the nahija of Vuēitern are Shalc, Kuciq, Guri i Kuq. In the nahija of Llapi we find the village Arbanas; according to the cadastral registration of 1487 in the nahija of Morava we find the village Marash; in the nahija of Ostrolic we find the village Arbanashka Petrila; in the nahija of Treboshnica we find Arbanashka Brenica, Arbanas, Gjinofc Kulla; in the nahija of Morava we find Gjinofc e Marash. According to the cadastral registration of 1566-1574 in the nahija of Karatonlu we find the village Tanushofc. Similarly, in the region of Has we find the villages of Bunjaj, Guri and even the name of the whole district Shullan.
On the other hand, Albanian speeches in Yugoslavia are not linguistic islands, as would be expected if Albanians came late to the area of Kosova. The Albanian speeches there are a continuation of the Albanian dialects within the territory of Albania. The high degree of the unity of the dialects of the Albanian language could be evaluated as evidence that the inhabitants of these areas are living in their territories, and that they are auctochthonous and not a people who came only recently.
KOSOVA AND THE PLAIN OF DUKAGJINI UNDER SERBIAN RULE FROM THE XIIth TO THE XVth CENTURY
The Slav occupation of the Northern and Northeastern Albanian ethnic territories began in the eleventh century, a period when the Albanian people, its language and culture had already taken distinct forms. The little archeological evidence that could indicate the presence of Slavic culture in the Albanian territories at earlier times is very isolated and limited to a short period of time. The evidence shows that these Slavic elements did not constitute a distinctive culture that coexisted side by side with the Arbėresh (Albanian) culture of the early Middle Ages. The archeological findings that show the existence of a Slav culture date to a later time. These objects come from the ninth to the twelfth century and are related to the occupation of these areas initially by the Bulgarians and later by the Serbs.
Even the influence of the Slavic languages on the Albanian language begins at a time when the fundamental grammatical structures of the Albanian language were crystallized. At that time, the phonetic changes which gave an indelible Albanian mark to the words borrowed from Latin were completed. Linguist research has shown that words borrowed from the Slavic languages have been subjected to the unitary influence of a language already formed. This is strong evidence to support the argument of the ethno-cultural unity of an ancient auctochthonous population. The Slav-Albanian linguistic interaction did not begin during the first centuries of the Slav migratory waves but in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Therefore, the Slav-Albanian linguistic interaction began under circumstances dictated by the occupation of the Albanian territories from the Serb state.
What do the historical sources tell us about the continuity of the Albanian presence in Kosova during the period of Serb rule between the twelfth and the fifteenth century? Are the Albanians mentioned as the inhabitants of these areas? The historical sources testify to a continuous presence of the Albanian population in Kosova during this period of Serb rule. First of all, this is witnessed by the numerous medieval Serb documents. Among these documents, of primary importance is The Code of the Laws of Stefan Dushan which mentions Albanians – arbanas – as inhabitants in these areas. Then we do have the chrisobulas (the equivalent of a charter) of the Serb rulers given to different Churches and monasteries. In his chrisobula of the year 1330, Stefan Decanski explicitly mentions the Albanians in Kosova and their villages by their Albanian names. For example, in the chrisobula of Stefan Decanski, a village that today is named Dobrovoda, there is mentioned with the Albanian name of Ujmir (Goodwater).
These documents tell us that the Albanians were also living in the districts of Prizren and Shkup. The chrisobula of Tzar Stefan Dushan given to the Monastery of the Saints Mihail and Gavril in Prizren between the years 1348 and 1353 clearly speaks about the presence of Albanians in the Plain of Dukagjini, in the vicinity of Prizren and in the villages of Drenica. In this chrisobula are explicitly mentioned nine Albanian stock-breeding villages located in the vicinity of Prizren. These villages are known with the names of Gjinovci, (Gjinajt), Magjerci, Bjellogllavci (Kryebardhėt), Flokovci (Flokajt), Crnēa, Ēaparci (Ēaparajt), Gjonovci ( Gjonajt), Shpinadinci (Shpinajt), Novaci.
The Albanians are also mentioned as frequentators in the Fair of Saint George held in the vicinity of Shkup. They are mentioned as farmers and soldiers in the district of Tetova, and as farmers in the villages of the great feud of Decan. Entire Albanian villages were given by Serb Kings, and especially by Stefan Dushan, as a present to the Serb Monasteries of Prizren, Decan and Tetova. The unequivocal Albanian anthroponymy of a part of the inhabitants of the villages mentioned in the Serb state and church documents between the thirteen to the fifteen century, is clear evidence for their presence there
What do the historical sources tell us about the continuity of the Albanian presence in Kosova during the period of Serb rule between the twelfth and the fifteenth century? Are the Albanians mentioned as the inhabitants of these areas? The historical sources testify to a continuous presence of the Albanian population in Kosova during this period of Serb rule. First of all, this is witnessed by the numerous medieval Serb documents. Among these documents, of primary importance is The Code of the Laws of Stefan Dushan which mentions Albanians – arbanas – as inhabitants in these areas. Then we do have the chrisobulas (the equivalent of a charter) of the Serb rulers given to different Churches and monasteries. In his chrisobula of the year 1330, Stefan Decanski explicitly mentions the Albanians in Kosova and their villages by their Albanian names. For example, in the chrisobula of Stefan Decanski, a village that today is named Dobrovoda, there is mentioned with the Albanian name of Ujmir (Goodwater).
These documents tell us that the Albanians were also living in the districts of Prizren and Shkup. The chrisobula of Tzar Stefan Dushan given to the Monastery of the Saints Mihail and Gavril in Prizren between the years 1348 and 1353 clearly speaks about the presence of Albanians in the Plain of Dukagjini, in the vicinity of Prizren and in the villages of Drenica. In this chrisobula are explicitly mentioned nine Albanian stock-breeding villages located in the vicinity of Prizren. These villages are known with the names of Gjinovci, (Gjinajt), Magjerci, Bjellogllavci (Kryebardhėt), Flokovci (Flokajt), Crnēa, Ēaparci (Ēaparajt), Gjonovci ( Gjonajt), Shpinadinci (Shpinajt), Novaci.The Albanians are also mentioned as frequentators in the Fair of Saint George held in the vicinity of Shkup. They are mentioned as farmers and soldiers in the district of Tetova, and as farmers in the villages of the great feud of Decan. Entire Albanian villages were given by Serb Kings, and especially by Stefan Dushan, as a present to the Serb Monasteries of Prizren, Decan and Tetova. The unequivocal Albanian anthroponymy of a part of the inhabitants of the villages mentioned in the Serb state and church documents between the thirteen to the fifteen century, is clear evidence for their presence there.
For example, what does the chrisobula (the charter) of the feud of Decan, issued in the year 1330, tell us about the Albanians in that feud? According to that chrisobula, we find inhabitants that have Albanian names in most places. In the Plain of Dukagjini, inhabitants that have Albanian names were in the villages of Isniq, Gramoēel, Xerxė, Ēabiq, Sushiēan, in the village Arbanas, in the city of Prizren, in Suharekė and Llapushė. In the feud of Decan in Kosova, Albanian names are found in Gracanica and Vinarc. The Albanians anthroponymy was made up of the Albanian traditional and distinctive names as Gjon, Gjin, Lul, Llesh, Bardh, Progon, Prenk, Lalė, Dedė, Lum, and Muzak. In the Serb Church documents, these Albanian names appear as Gon, Ginac, Gonko, Gonshin, Gin, Lul, Lesh, Bardi, Progon, Prenko, Bardonja, Laloje, Lalzim, Dedoje, Dedac, Lumas, and Muzak.
The Ragusan archives and documents witness the presence of a considerable number of Albanians in the city of Novobėrda. At that time, Novobėrda was not separated from the compact territories inhabited by the Albanians. Novobėrda continued to be a part of the Albanian compact territory well into the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century. In the Ragusan documents, citizens with Albanian names such as Gjergjash and Gjinko (1399) or Albanian Catholic priests are mentioned. Such Albanian priests mentioned in the Ragusan documents are Gjini, the son of Gjergj, the presbyter (1382); the reverend Gjergj Gega, Nikollė Tanushi, Gjergj Andrea Pellini, and Nikolla Progonovic in the fifteenth century. There is ample evidence to prove that in Novobėrda there was a considerable Albanian Catholic population.
In this context, an important source is the book of debtors held by the Ragusan merchant Mihail Lukarevic. During the third decade of the fifteenth century, Lukarevic resided in Novobėrda. Approximately 150 Albanian heads of households that were living in Novobėrda with their families are mentioned in his book of debtors. They worked as artisans, specialists and miners in the mines of the town. The anthropomyny of the heads of households was distinctively and uniquely Albanian; they had distinctive Albanian names such as Gjon, Progon, Gjin, Lek, Tanush, Gjergj, Bibė. Some of them had a mixed Slav-Albanian anthroponymy. Said differently, they have a Slav name but their last name is Albanian or they held Albanian patronyms which were adopted to the Slav norm such as Gjonoviē, Gjinoviq, Progonoviq, Bushatoviq, Dodishiq, Kondiq, Lekiq and similar names to these. Among the Catholic clergy many Albanians priests as residing in Novobėrda, as well as in towns such as in Janjeva, Trepēė, Prizren and others are mentioned.
Furthermore, the presence of the Albanians in Kosova has been proven by their extensive participation in the great Battle of 1389 against the Ottoman armies. According to the historical sources, the battle was not only a battle between Ottoman invaders and the Serb state, but a battle among the Ottomans and the coalition of the armies of Balkanian feudals headed by the Serb king Lazar. Lazar was chosen to lead the coalition primarily due to the fact that his dominium in Kosova was being threatened directly by the Ottoman hordes. The Ottoman chroniclers tell us that the most important rulers that made up this coalition were the Serb King Lazar, the Bosnian King Tvartko, and the Albanian prince Gjergji II Balsha. Gjergji II Balsha, defined in the documents of that time as ‘The Ruler of the Albanians,’ played a first hand role in this coalition. This can be indirectly proven by the fact that after Gjergji II Balsha had rejected the Ottoman vassality in the year 1387, he had allied with King Tvarko, the Bosnian ruler. They fought together the Ottoman army in Trebinjė, which is located in the valley of the river Toplica and he continued to resist to the Ottomans quite successfully. It is beyond any doubt that Gjergji II Balsha played a decisive role in the battle against the Ottoman armies in 1389. Besides Gjergj II Balsha, in the battle participated other Albanian feudals. Among the powerful Albanian feudals, the most important figure was Theodori II Muzaka, who died in the battle with 4000 of his soldiers. Historical sources tell us that the Albanians participated in the battle in ways other than serving in the armies of the Albanian feudals. When they speak about the recruitment of soldiers from the Serb King Lazar in his dominion, historical sources affirm that Lazar had gathered soldiers “from the Serbs, Raschians, and Albanians…” Since the feud of Lazar was in Kosova, it is quite clear that these Albanians were from Kosova.
THE OTTOMAN CADASTRAL REGISTERS
The medieval documents written by the Chancellery of the Serb state and from the Orthodox religious institutions, such as the Patriarchat of Pejė, make extensive reference to the regions of Kosova and Plain of Dukagjini. However, from a geographical and demographical perspective, the data contained in these documents represent a very narrow and limited view of the situation in those areas. These documents reflect the official reasons that necessitated and made possible their writing as well as the distinct class position of their compilers. Furthermore, these documents do not deal with all the villages of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova but only with those villages that were owned by certain institutions. What makes these documents highly unreliable is the fact that in the villages mentioned in those documents only the Albanians of the Catholic creed are defined as arbanas. There is no distinction made between the Albanian Orthodox population and the minority of the Orthodox Slavs. Since the Albanian Orthodox population belonged to the same religious and political community as the Serbs, they are usually considered from the medieval writers, chancellors and scribes to be ‘Serbs’ in the North and ‘Greeks’ in the South. The same process happened with the Albanian Muslims; when they converted to Islam, they were considered to be ‘Turks.’
After 1455, the time when the Ottomans conquered Kosova, many documents concerning the composition of population in were drafted by the Ottomans and these documents are more detailed than the Serb documents. These documents do not confuse the religious with the ethnic identification as the Serb medieval documents did. Precisely for this reason, the Ottoman documents throw a better light on the demographic situation of Kosova in the fifteenth century. These documents tell us that these territories were predominantly inhabited by the Albanians. The Serbs, who had come as colonists and the members of the ruling class during the period of Serb domination, although politically dominant, were a negligible minority. Although the Ottoman documents are numerous, the situation is better described by the registers of the cadastral office and the census data of the Ottoman Empire. During the fifteenth and the sixteenth century, the census was conducted periodically by the new Ottoman state. The evidence contained in these documentary and archival sources contributes to expose the fallacy of one of the ‘myths’ and ‘taboos’ of the Serb historiography which holds that the population of Kosova had an ancient and uninterrupted Serb character and that the Albanians entered Kosova under the Ottoman aegis and then the Albanians proceeded to eliminate the Serb ‘majority’ especially after the presumed massive migrations and expulsions of Serbs which happened after the uprisings of the years 1690 and 1738. The falsity of this thesis was exposed by the cadastral register of Kosova of the year 1455 (the year when the Ottomans occupied Kosova), which was published in 1972 by the Oriental Institute of Sarajevo. The cadastral registers clearly show that even before the large scale process of massive Islamization had begun, the Albanians constituted the overwhelming majority in the Eastern parts of Kosova. Similarly, the Albanians were in massive numbers, according to a register of the Sanxhak of Kystendil, in Kratova of Eastern Macedonia. An examination of the cadastral registers would prove that the thesis of the Serb migration and their expulsion from Kosova has no longer any credibility and validity whatsoever.
With the cadastral registration of 1455, the Ottomans created a new unified administrative unit in Kosova that they called sanxhak. In this sanxhak were included all the lands which had been the dominion of Brankovic family, except the Plain of Dukagjini. In this register are mentioned a considerable number of heads of families with distinctive and typical Albanian names such as Gjon, Gjin, Llesh as well as with Slav names but that are explicitly qualified as Albanian-Arbanas. Such names are mentioned in the commercial centers, in the towns, as well as in over 100 villages distributed in all the nahija of the sanxhak. They are found in Morava, Prishtinė, Lab, Topolnicė, Vuēitern, Dolc, Klopotnik, Tėrgovishta, and even at the villages that neighbored villages inhabited by the Slav population. These inhabitants, especially those with Albanian anthroponymy, were Catholics. However, the Albanians in the region of Kosova, by and large were of the Orthodox religion and linked with the religious administration of the Patriarchat of Pejė. Their names were mixed Albanian-Slav names or names that were coming from the orthodox religious Slav or Byzantine anthroponymy. The reason why Albanians embraced the Orthodoxy during the period between the twelfth and the fifteenth century, when Kosova was under Serb domination, shows that they had been forced to be exposed to a religious-ideological assimilation campaign. Since this assimilation campaign was combined with an intensive colonization of the territories by the Serbs, then one could say that a prolongation of these conditions could have led to a complete ethnic assimilation of the Orthodox Albanians.
During the Serb rule, the Albanian population of these areas was politically and socially dominated by Serbs. Yet, there is not the slightest doubt that Albanian people managed to preserve its customs, its language and its customary law largely intact. That the Albanian anthroponymy, which later was partially substituted by an Islamic anthroponymy, could only be a unique and a distinctive characteristic of the Albanian population is certain. There are no reasons to suggest that the Slav population, which was politically and socially dominant, would adopt and carry Albanian names.
Even in the cases when an Albanian name is accompanied by a last name which is of the Slav anthroponymy, there is little doubt that the individual is an Albanian. We must keep in mind the fact that under the enormous political pressure exercised by the administration of the Serb state and the religious pressure exercised by the Serb Church, the auctochthonous Albanians of these areas were forced to take Slav surnames and Slav last name. It is very significant that once they were liberated from this pressure, they returned to the Albanian names of their forefathers. This shows that the Albanians were quite aware of their distinct ethnic identity.
Let us consider the situation as it appears in the cadastral registers. From the cadastral materials published up to now, we find out that the nahija of Altun-ili (an area included in the triangle Gjakovė-Junik-Tropojė) was inhabited almost entirely by the Albanians. Thus, according to the registration of year 1485, the inhabitants of the villages of the plain of Gjakova-Junik, such as Plakani, Mel, Dujak, Gorna Ēirna Gonja, Dolina Ēirna Gonja, Peronja, Rodosh, Dolina Buqani, Bozhani, Vuēidol, Brekoc, Trenova, Vogova, Kaliq, Popoci, Bonoshuci, Stubla, Rogam, had typical and distinct Albanian names such as Gjin, Gjon, Leka, Kola, Gega, Progon, Llesh, Gjec, Tanush, Bushat, Mazarak, Pal, Duka, and other names similar to these.
In the registration of the year 1485, in the nahija of Peja we find 15 villages-such as Oē, Ēirna Potok, Dujak, Usak, Dobriēadol, Kolivaēa, Lepovaē, Trenova, Nika, Vraniq, Romaniēa and others-whose inhabitants, with rare exceptions, have Albanian names. Although in smaller %ages, in 86 other villages out of 194 of the nahija of Pejė, we find that the majority of inhabitants had Albanian names. Similarly, out of 28 villages in the nahija of Suhagėrlė, fourteen villages had a majority of inhabitants who carried Albanian names. Out of the fifteen villages that had the nahija of Plava, twelve villages had a majority of inhabitants who carried Albanian names.
According to the registrations of the years 1571 and 1591, the Northeastern region of the Sanxhak of Dukagjini, or to use the name given to it in the sixteenth century, the region of Hasi, were territories inhabited entirely by the Albanians. The region of Hasi was divided in the nahija of Rudina (Gjakova with its villages in its south), nahija of Domeshtiēi (villages that were located in the area between Gjakova and Prizren), and the nahija of Pashtrik (villages in the eastern and western sides of the mountain of Pashtrik). This is proven by the fact that, similarly to the inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the hinterland of the Northern Albania, the inhabitants of these areas had overwhelmingly distinct and typical Albanian names, such as Gjin, Gjon, Gac, Bac, Kol, Gjec, Doda, Prend, Biba, Nue, Dida, Shtepan, Vata, and other similar names. The influence of Slav anthroponymy in these areas was extremely weak.
The nahija of Opoja (south of the city of Prizren) was inhabited entirely by Albanians. The Albanian population had converted to Islam and consequently, the anthroponymy of the inhabitants was Islamic. However, these registrations bring evidence which proves that the Islamicized inhabitants were Albanians. During the second half of the sixteenth century, these inhabitants continued to carry as their last names, the Christian names of their parents. These last names, by and large, were distinct Albanian names. The influence of the Slav anthroponymy is found only in very rare cases.
The usage of Slav names by the Albanians could be observed in many villages of Kosova. These villages have plural names of the heads of the fraternities, a common feature of the villages inhabited by the Albanians, such as Gjinovc (Gjinajt), Leshofc (Leshajt) Tanushofc (Tanushajt). Although this is an indicator that testifies to their Albanian origin (supported by their definition exclusively as Arbanas-Albanian in the Serb medieval documents), there were inhabitants of the Orthodox religion that carried a Slav anthroponymy. Let me give here the names of the inhabitants of the village of the Gjinajt of the nahija of Treboshnica from the cadastral registration of the year 1566-1567. These names are: Pjetri Jovani, Toma Pjetri, Kostandin Nikolla, Toma Kostandini, Dimitri Pjetri, Mati Pjetri Novak Dimitri, Boja Stepani, Novak Boja, Nikolla Novaku, Stepan Novaku, Nikolla Gjuriq, Nisha Nikolla, Luka pop Jovani, Bozha Luka, Simon Luka, Danko Mihajlo, and other names similar to these.
That the population of Kosova was Albanian is proven also from another important source. During the second half of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth century, there were a number of Assemblies of the representatives of the Albanian nation. These Assemblies sought to organize the resistance of the Albanian people against Turkish occupation and coordinate that resistance with the efforts of other Balkan nations and European states. This resistance movement was institutionalized and politically organized. In the documents of the time these are known as the “Albanian Assemblies.” In these Assemblies participated only representatives of the regions that were rebelled against the Turks. One of these Assemblies, the ‘Assembly of Dukagjini’ of the year 1601-1602 was held in the village of Macukull in the region of Mati. At this Assembly there were representatives from the fourteen Albanian regions. There were four representatives of the Albanians from Kosova: Pjetėr Kolamari, Andrea Kolesi (Koleshi) Feta Kuka, and the Catholic priest Mark Belaēi. In the Albanian Assemblies of the sixteenth and seventeenth century participated exclusively only representatives of the Albanian regions that were rebelled against the Turks. In these Assemblies were not allowed to participate representatives who belonged to other neighboring ethnic groups. The representatives of Kosova participated in the Assembly because Kosova was a territory inhabited from the Albanians.
THE PRESUMED MIGRATORY WAVES IN AND OUT KOSOVA AND THE MATTER OF “ALBANIZATION.”
Let us consider now the problem of the presumed Albanian migrations from the mountainous Albanian hinterland to Kosova. This is asserted constantly by the Serb historiographers. In spite of all the facts at the contrary, the Serb historiographers continue to insist on the existence of this migration.
The Albanian population in the Plain of Dukagjini and in Kosova was an auctochthonous population that it not appear there as a result of a massive migration as it is pretended by the Serb historiography.
However, the cadastral registrations of the fifteenth and sixteenth century, reveal to us what was the demographic composition of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova. These cadastral registers show clearly and convincingly that these territories were inhabited by an overwhelming Albanian majority; they give us the incontestable argument that the Albanian population even during the period of Serb domination had been present in these territories. Moreover, the cadastral registers tell us that the Albanian population was auctochthonous and did not migrate from somewhere else. This is also proven by the fact that all the known historical sources and documents do not mention any kind of massive movement of the Albanian population from the mountainous hinterland and regions such as Mirdita, Dukagjini and Mbishkodra (Pult, Kelmend, Shosh, and Shalė).. Quite on the contrary, the documents we now possess give us very clear indications that there was absolutely no real possibility for such demographic movements in the fifteenth and the sixteenth century. At the time when the Turkish occupation began, the core mountainous regions of the sanxhak of Dukagjini such as Iballa, Spasi, Fandi i Madh, Fandi i Vogėl and Puka as well as the districts of the sanxhak of Shkodra (Pulti and Kelmendi) – according to the registrations of the years 1485 and 1529 – had a total of only 2014 households. On the other hand, the region of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova had around 28000 households.
The cadastral registers bring further evidence which proves that the Albanian population in Kosova was stable and aucthochtonous, while the Serb minority had been transitory and migratory. Contrary to what has been pretended by the Serb authors, the Serb population changed places quite often. Usually, in the cadastral registers, for the heads of the households who had moved in a village are added the remarks , doshlac-i (newcomers in Serbian language) or haymanegan for the peregrines. The names of the heads of households that are new carry overwhelmingly Slav names. These people were not coming from the hinterland of Northern Albania. If that supposition was true, they would have held Albanian names, similarly to the other inhabitants of these districts which were included in the sanxhaks of Shkodra and Dukagjini, a fact which is clearly proven by the registers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The majority of the newcomers were Slav ethnic elements that were moving within these regions or that came from other areas with the Slav population in the North of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini. Keeping in mind the large number of the heads of households with Slav names that are defined as newcomers in these areas in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, it convincingly appears that even in the sixteenth century the Serb minority was unsettled and continued to be unstable and wandering. This was due to the fact that it was not an indigenous population but that most of them had come as colons during the Serb domination of the region.
The data from reliable historical sources shows that the population of these areas which converted to Islam had been Albanian well before the beginnings of this process in the fifteenth century and in the second half of the sixteenth century. The same data prove that the thesis, according to which in these areas had happened a process of Islamization of the Slav elements that later brought about their “Albanization,” is erroneous and fundamentally mistaken because it is based on false premises.
Apparently, to them it does not matter much. Their goal is to deny that the Albanian population of these areas was Albanian and descendants of the ancient Illyrian population that lived there in their own land. Similarly it appears quite impossible to achieve a complete ethnic assimilation, an “Albanization” process of the Serb population through the conversion to Islam within such a short period of 100-150 years. This seems all the more impossible especially when we already know that in this area we have a considerable Albanian population of Muslim denomination and what is more important, when we did not have any migrations from the hinterland of Northern Albanian mountainous regions.
SOME DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE ALBANIANS IN KOSOVA AT THE END OF XVIIth CENTURY AND SOME CONCLUSIONS
Other historical documents help us to uncover the falsity of the argument that Albanians came to Kosova after the Austro-Ottoman War of the years 1683-1699, the time when the massive migration of Serbs from Kosova is supposed to have happened. One important source are the documents of the Austrian High Command. These documents offer a clear description of the situation in Kosova and these territories during the united fight of the Austrian Armies and the Albanian uprising against the Ottoman forces in the years 1689-1690. These documents describe the ethnic composition of the regions of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini only a few months before the presumed migration was supposed to have happened.
The evidence from the Austrian documentation proves once again that Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini were regions inhabited by the Albanians. One important indication is that the Austrian High Command includes these territories within the borders of Albania. The Austrian High Command does not use for these territories the label Serbia. This term had been used by numerous authors, especially by clergymen during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The term Serbia had been used in a religious and political sense and as a continuation of the tradition that used to include these territories in the Serb state (these territories had been a part of that state for some centuries) or consider it in a separate dioceses altogether with other territories inhabited by Slavs in Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. In the documents of the Austrian High Command, for example, in the promemorie on Albania of the General Marsiglio, a high ranking member of the Austrian General Staff dated April 1, 1690, in the letters of the Catholic Vicar of the Shkup, Thoma Raspasan who had substituted the leader of the Albanian uprising, the Archbishop of Albania, Pjetėr Bogdani, it said clearly that “Prizren was the capital of Albania,” that “Peja and Shkup were parts of Albania,” and that in the area of Kosova people spoke the Albanian language.
When his armies entered into Kosova, the Emperor of Austria, Leopold I remarked that his armies were fighting in Albania. There were no reasons for Leopold I to alienate Serbs if they were as they say, the majority in Kosova. The Archbishop Pjetėr Bogdani is called “Archbishop of Albania,” and the Bishopric of Shkup was included within Albania. In numerous works of Austrian and Italian historiography that also rely on these documentary sources, it is unequivocally admitted that the territories of Kosova were inhabited by Albanians and these territories were included within the territories of Albania.
Furthermore, the evidence we have shows that the number of Albanian fighters that came from these territories and that joined the Austrian Armies in the year 1689 was in such numbers that they could have come out only from a territory inhabited by the Albanians. At the time when the Austrian armies were entering in the Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini, the uprising against the Ottoman domination that here had started some time ago was reaching its peak. At the beginning of November 1689, when the Austrian forces entered in Prishtina they were received there by 5000 Albanian fighters. When Austrian armies entered in Prizren, they were received by 6000 other fighters. It is here that the Austrian Commander-in-Chief, General Piccolomini, met and spoke with the leaders of the uprising, the Catholic Archbishop of Shkup, Pjetėr Bogdani and the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Peja, Andrea III Crnojevic that was leading the rebels from the Serb minority of Kosova.
The Austrian Command had paid special attention to the incitement of the revolt from the oppressed people of the Balkans and especially to the uprising of the Albanian people. The obvious reason is that by allying with Albanians the Austrians could reach an easier victory over the Ottoman Armies. For the sake of truth we must say that the easiness with which the Austrians swiftly swiped Turks and entered in Albania until they reached Luma was made possible only by the war fought by the Albanian fighters of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini.This is understandable if we remember the fact that the Austrian forces that were fighting in these areas did not exceed 8000 troops. If it were not for the Albanian fighters, that small army was clearly insufficient to defeat the Ottoman armies.
The Albanian insurgents participated also in the battle that the Austrian forces fought with the Ottomans on January 2, 1690 at the Valley of Kaēanik which ended with the defeat of the Austrian forces. After that, the Ottoman armies, within a brief time and before the Spring, managed to conquer once again, one after the other all the towns of the Plain of Dukagjini and Kosova. The Albanian insurgents were still fighting side by side to the Austrians against the Ottomans. Thus on March, 17, 1690, they participated in the battle fought between the Austrian military unit commanded by Kutschenbach against the Ottomans in Novobėrda, a battle won by the Austrians. On March 23, 1690, 1500 Albanian insurgents, incorporated in a unit commanded by Schekendorf participated in the expedition against Ottoman forces in Pirot.
The fact that these areas were inhabited by Albanians and the very important role played by the Albanian uprisings on the international scene were a factor to which was paid very special attention in the military and long term plans of the European states against the Ottomans. These were among the reasons that convinced the Emperor Leopold I to address a proclamation to the oppressed peoples of the Balkans. This happened on April 6, 1690 and the proclamation was addressed first of all to the Albanian people. Albanians were encouraged to begin the fight against the Ottomans and to intensify their attempts to strengthen their relations with the Albanian insurgents in Kosova.
The data from the archival Austrian sources of the seventeenth century on the uprising of the Albanians in Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini are a further proof that these areas were almost completely inhabited by the Albanians. Recently, Serb historiographers like Veselinovic, have sought to deny the participation and the contribution of the Albanians in these uprisings. They aim to prove that the only participants in these uprisings was the Serb minority of Kosova. According to Veselinovic, those insurgents from Kosova that are mentioned as Albanians (albaner) and kelmendas (klimenten) were neither Albanian nor from Kelmendi. They were nothing less or else but Serbs. This deformation and distortion is done simply because, at this juncture, the Serb historiographers could not accept and justify such a massive presence of Albanians in Kosova. Otherwise, they would have no grounds to deny the auctochthony of the Albanians in Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini.
As we have seen, the presence of Orthodox and Muslim Albanians is very well-documented from the reports of the Albanian clergy, from the Austrian documentary sources and especially from the cadastral registers of the Ottoman Empire. When added to the other evidence brought from the medieval documents on the presence and the auctochthony of the Albanians in these territories, the evidence brought by the Austrian documentation on the large number of the Albanian insurgents in Kosova, and the inclusion by the Austrian Command of this area within the Albanian territories, shows the falsity of the arguments defended and advanced by the Serb and Yugoslav authors. The presence of the Albanian population in these territories during the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries is extensively documented by domestic, Austrian, Ottoman, and other sources. It is apparent that from a scientific point of view, the argument defended and advanced by the Serb historiographers is fallacious.
The vast body of evidence available shows that the Albanians in Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini were auctochthonous and not migrants that came in the area after the seventeenth century. The documentation of the fifteenth and the sixteenth century proves definitively that the regions of Kosova and the Plain of Dukagjini were territories inhabited overwhelmingly by Albanians. In fact, the Serb migration from Kosova was a migration in far smaller numbers of the Serb insurgents led from the Patriarch of Peja. As we now know, from these areas did not migrate only these Serbs but with them went a lot of Albanian insurgents, the traces of whom we still can detect and find in Slavonia. If the Serb migration from Kosova would have been massive, it should have left traces in the records and the documents of the time, be they domestic, Turkish, or in Vatican archives (which by the way, was very well informed from its prelates and clergymen on the situation in these territories during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries). So far, a large amount of documents from these archives have been published, and there no mentioning of such massive migratory moves of population in and out the region of Kosova.
Notes
1 Professor Selami Pulaha is one of the foremost authorities on the Albanian history during the early period of Turkish occupation of Albania. He is the author of numerous books and essays published in Albanian and other languages. His extremely influential and pathbreaking work remains a constant point of reference to the scholars of the Albanian history. Unfortunately, his studies are not that well-known in the English-speaking world. This article was initially published in Studime Historike in 1982. It was republished in the collection of essays, Popullsia Shqiptare e Kosovės gjatė shekujve XV-XVI Shtėpia Botuese ‘8 Nėntori’: Tiranė, 1984:7-42. The article was translated in English by Shinasi A. Rama. The IJAS would like to acknowledge the extremely valuable help given by Stephen Lennon and Arta Haxhaj who patiently edited the English version. We are extremely grateful to both of them.
2 A. Jovicevic, Malesije, naselja i poreklo stanovista, Knjiga XV Beograd, 1923.
3 Vladan Djordjevic, Die Albanesen und die Grossmächte, Hirsel: Leipzig, 1913; see also Vladan Djordevic, L’Albanie et les Albanais, Paris, 1913.
4 Todor Stankovic, Putne beleske po Staroj Srbiji, Beograd, 1910. Todor Stankovic, Beleske o Staroj Srbiji i Makedoniji Stamp. Kraljevine Srbije: Nish, 1915
5 Jovan N. Tomic, O arnautima u Staroj Srbiji i u Sandzaku, Knjizara Gece Kona: Beograd, 1913. In the French translation, Yovan Tomich, Les Albanais en viellee Serbie et dans Sandjak de Novi Pazar. Paris, 1913. Jovan Tomic, Pecki Patriajarh Jovan i pokret kriscana u balkanskom poluostrova, 1592-1614, Zemun, 1913.
6 J. Cvijic, Osnova za geografiju i geologiju Makedonije i Stare Srbije. Posedna izdanja SAN I 1906 Vol. XVII, Beograd, 1907; and Osnova za geografiju i geologiju Makedonije i Stare Srbije. Volume XVIII Beograd, 1911.
7 A. Selisev, Slavsjanskoe naselie v Albanii, Sofija, 1931.
8 Milan Suflay, “Die Grenzen Albaniens in Mittelalter” in Illyrisch-Albanische Forschungen, Bild I, Munchen und Leipzig, 1916: 202-203.
9 M. Filipovic, Etnicke prilike o Juznoj Srbiji, Skoplje, 1937; M. Filipovic Has pod Pastrikom Sarajevo, 1958.
10 Atanasije Urosevic, Kosovo SANU (Srpska Akademija Nauka i Umetnosti) Srpski Etnografski Zbornik Knjiga 78. Naucno Delo: Beograd, 1965.
11 Branislav Nusic, Kosovo-opis zemlja i naroda, in two vols. Matica Srpska: Novi Sad, 1962.
12 D. Popovic, Srbi u Vojvodini, Novi Sad, 1957; See also D.Popovic, Veoma seoba srba 1690, Beograd, 1954.
13 Jovan Trifunovski, Kacanicka Klisura Srpski etnografski zbornik SAN Knjiga 32 Beograd, 1950.
14 The textbook was Istorija Naroda Jugoslavije Knjiga 2 Beograd, 1960: 770-801.
15 On Vasa Cubrilovic see the analysis of Rexhep Qosja “ The Albanian Question and the Serb Political Programs,” published in The IJAS Volume I Number I 1997:21-39.
16 M. Dinic, Iz Dubrovackog arhiva in 3 vols. The three volumes were published in Belgrade in the years 1957, 1963, and in 1967. Similarly, see M. Dinic, Iz istorije rudarstva u srednjevekovskoj Srbiji i Bosniji in 2 vols. Beograd, 1955 and 1962.
17 A. Handzic, “Nekoliko vijesti o Arbanasima na Kosovu i Metohiji sredinom XV vijeka.” Symposium on Skanderbeg, Prishtinė, 1969:201-211.
18 J. Zaimov, “Bolgarskie geograficeskie nazvanii o Albanii XV veka.” Studia Balkanica I, tom 2 Sofija, 1981 (p. 260 and 292).
19 Among the most important studies are the following: Alain Ducellier, “Les albanais ont-ils envahi le Kosovo?” L ‘Albanie vol. 2 Number 13 Paris Juin 1981: 1-14; Idriz Ajeti, “Kontribut pėr studimin e onomastikės mesjetare nė territorin e Malit tė Zi, Bosnjės e Hercegovinės, dhe tė Kosovės.” Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Filologjike) IV Prishtinė, 1974-1975; Hivzi Islami, “E Vėrteta mbi shqiptarėt nė disa vepra antropo-gjeografike.” Dituria I Prishtina,1971: 65-92; “Kėrkimet antropo-gjeografike nė Kosovė.” in Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Historike I 1971: 113-162; Muhamet Tėrnava, “Shqiptarėt nė feudin e Deēanit nė vitet 30 tė shekullit XV sipas krisobulės sė Deēanit.” Zbornik Filozofskog Fakulteta u Prishtini XI Prishtinė, 1974:255-271; Also by Muhamet Tėrnava, “Migrimet e popullsisė nė territorin e sotėm tė Kosovės gjatė shekujve XIV-XVI.” Kosova V Prishtinė, 1978: 288-324; “Shqiptarėt nė qytetet e Kosovės nė shekujt XV-XVI.” Studime Historike Number 2 1979:105-145; Muhamet Tėrnava, “Pėrhapja e islamizmit nė territorin e sotėm tė Kosovės deri nė fund tė shekullit tė XVII. Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Historike) IX, 1979:45-68; Skėnder Gashi, “Prania e shqiptarėve nė krahinėn e Gallapit, Moravės e tė Serbisė Jugore nė gjysmėn e parė tė shekullit XV (1411-1438) nė dritėn e materialit onomastik.” Gjurmime Albanalogjike (Seria e Shkencave Filologjike) Vl Prishtinė, 1978: 103-119. Also by Skėnder Gashi, Onomastika e Kosoves. Prishtinė, 1979.
20 Skėnder Anamali, “Nga Ilirėt tek Arbėrit” Kuvendi i Parė i Studimeve Ilire Volume 2 Tiranė, 1974: 30-32.
21 P. Lemerle, “Invasions et migrations dans les Balkans depuis la fin de l’epoque romaine jusqu’an VIIIe siecle.” Revue Historique CCXI (2) 1954.
22 Skėnder Anamali, op.cit. p. 35.
23 Eqerem Ēabej, “Emri i Dardanise dhe izoglosat shqiptaro-kelte.” Studime Filologjike, Number 3 Tiranė, 1973: 55-66. Eqerem Ēabej, Studime Gjuhesore volume V Prishtinė, 1977: 386-395.
24 Eqerem Ēabej, “Problemi i vendit tė formimit tė gjuhės shqipe.” Kuvendi i Parė i Studimeve I1ire, Volume II Tirane, 1972: 7-26.
25 Georg Stadtmüller, Forschungen zur albanischen Frühgeschichte. Wiesbaden, 1966: 141-159. See also Istorija naroda Jugoslavije, knjiga 2, Beograd, 1960: 791.
26 For a more detailed treatment of the views held by these linguists see Eqerem Ēabej, “Hyrje nė historinė e gjuhės shqipe” Studime Gjuhėsore, Prishtinė, 1976: 37-41