Great Serb Migrations
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Great Migrations of the Serbs (), also known as the Great Exoduses of the Serbs, were two migrations of
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
from various territories under the rule of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
to the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
under the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
. The First Great Migration occurred during the Habsburg-Ottoman War of 1683–1699 under Serbian Patriarch Arsenije III Crnojević as a result of the Habsburg retreat and the Ottoman reoccupation of southern Serbian regions, which were temporarily held by the Habsburgs between 1688 and 1690. The Second Great Migration took place during the Habsburg-Ottoman War of 1737–1739, under the Serbian Patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović, also parallel with the Habsburg withdrawal from Serbian regions; between 1718 and 1739, these regions were known as the
Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...
. The masses of earlier migrations from the Ottoman Empire are considered ethnically Serb, and those of the First Great Migration nationally Serb. The First Great Migration brought about the definitive indicator of Serbianness, Orthodox Christianity and its leader, the patriarch.


Background

In 1683, the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
besieged
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, but was routed by an allied army that included the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
led by the
Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
. The imperial forces, among whom
Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...
was rapidly becoming prominent, followed up the victory with others, notably one near
Mohács Mohács (; Croatian: ''Mohač''; ; ; ; ) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ''mъchъ'' (moss, Hungarian ''moha'' is a loanword ...
in 1687 and another at Zenta in 1697, and in January 1699, the sultan signed the
treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Holy League at the Battle of Zenta, was signed in Karlowitz, in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy (present-day ...
by which he admitted the sovereign rights of the house of Habsburg over nearly the whole of Hungary (including
Serbs in Vojvodina The Serbs of Vojvodina are the largest ethnic group in this northern province of Serbia. For centuries, Vojvodina was ruled by several European powers, but Vojvodina Serbs never assimilated into cultures of those countries. Thus, they have consis ...
). As the Habsburg forces retreated, they withdrew 37,000
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...
families under Patriarch
Arsenije III Čarnojević Arsenije ( sr-cyr, Арсеније; ) is a Serbian language, Serbian given name, a variant of the Greek name ''Arsenios''. Diminutives of the name include ''Arsen'', ''Arsa'' and ''Arso (disambiguation), Arso''. It may refer to: *Arsenije Sremac ...
of the
Serbian Patriarchate of Peć Serbian Patriarchate of Peć (, ''Srpska patrijaršija u Peći''), or simply Peć Patriarchate (, ''Pećka patrijaršija''), was an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate that existed from 1346 to 1463, and then again from 155 ...
. In 1690 and 1691 Emperor Leopold I had conceived through a number of edicts (Privileges) the autonomy of Serbs in his Empire, which would last and develop for more than two centuries until its abolition in 1912. Before the conclusion of the war, however, Leopold had taken measures to strengthen his hold upon this country. In 1687, the
Hungarian diet The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale () was the most important political assembly in Hungary since the 12th century, which emerged to the position of the supreme legislative institution in the Kingdom ...
in
Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
(now Bratislava) changed the constitution, the right of the Habsburgs to succeed to the throne without election was admitted and the emperor's elder son Joseph I was crowned hereditary king of Hungary. Some Serbian historians, citing a document issued by Emperor Leopold I in 1690, claim that the masses were "invited" to come to Hungary. The original text in Latin shows that Serbs were actually advised to rise up against the Ottomans and "not to desert" their ancestral lands.


First migration

During the Austro-Turkish war of 1683–1699, relations between Muslims and Christians in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire were extremely radicalized. Following the decisive Ottoman victory in the 1690 Battle of Kaçanik in modern-day Kosovo, the local Orthodox Christian population was exposed to brutal reprisals of
Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
and
Bosnian Muslims The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who share a common ancestry, culture, history and the ...
in Ottoman forces which indiscriminately burned villages and randomly killed or enslaved people irrespective of age, class or gender. As a result of the lost rebellion and suppression, Serbian Christians and their church leaders, headed by Serbian Patriarch
Arsenije III Arsenije ( sr-cyr, Арсеније; ) is a Serbian given name, a variant of the Greek name ''Arsenios''. Diminutives of the name include ''Arsen'', ''Arsa'' and '' Arso''. It may refer to: *Arsenije Sremac (died 1266), second Archbishop of the S ...
sided with the Austrians in 1689. They settled mainly in the southern parts of the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
. The most important cities and places they settled are
Szentendre Szentendre, also known as Saint Andrew is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri ...
,
Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
,
Mohács Mohács (; Croatian: ''Mohač''; ; ; ; ) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ''mъchъ'' (moss, Hungarian ''moha'' is a loanword ...
,
Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...
,
Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...
, Baja,
Tokaj Tokaj () is a historical town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, Northern Hungary, 54 kilometers from county capital Miskolc. It is the centre of the Tokaj-Hegyalja wine district where Tokaji wine is produced. History The wine-growing area ...
,
Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...
,
Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...
,
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...
, Szatmár. According to Malcolm, the largest number of refugees were from the
Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...
region,
Morava Valley The Morava Valley ( / ''Pomoravlje'', ), is a general term which in its widest sense marks valleys of any of three Morava rivers in Serbia: the West Morava ( West Morava Valley), the South Morava ( South Morava Valley) and the Great Morava ( ...
and
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
area. Albanian Catholics and Muslims were also part of the exodus. In 1690, Emperor Leopold I allowed the refugees gathered on the banks of the
Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...
and
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
in
Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
to cross the rivers and settle in the Habsburg Monarchy. He recognized Patriarch
Arsenije III Čarnojević Arsenije ( sr-cyr, Арсеније; ) is a Serbian language, Serbian given name, a variant of the Greek name ''Arsenios''. Diminutives of the name include ''Arsen'', ''Arsa'' and ''Arso (disambiguation), Arso''. It may refer to: *Arsenije Sremac ...
as their spiritual leader. The Emperor had recognized the Patriarch as deputy-
voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...
(civil leader of the migrants), which over time developed into the etymology of the northern Serbian province of
Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...
(this origin of the name of Vojvodina is related to the fact that patriarch Arsenije III and subsequent religious leaders of Serbs in the Habsburg monarchy had jurisdiction over all Serbs in the Habsburg Monarchy, including Serbs of Vojvodina, and that Serbs of Vojvodina accepted the idea of a separate Serbian voivodeship in this area, which they managed to create in 1848). In 1694,
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...
appointed
Arsenije III Čarnojević Arsenije ( sr-cyr, Арсеније; ) is a Serbian language, Serbian given name, a variant of the Greek name ''Arsenios''. Diminutives of the name include ''Arsen'', ''Arsa'' and ''Arso (disambiguation), Arso''. It may refer to: *Arsenije Sremac ...
as the head of the newly established Orthodox Church in the Monarchy. The patriarchal right of succession was secured by the May Assembly of the Serbian people in Karlovci in 1848, following the proclamation of
Serbian Vojvodina The Serbian Vojvodina () was a short-lived self-proclaimed autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the new (official) Austrian province named Voivodes ...
during the Serbian Revolution in Habsburg lands (1848–1849). Serbs received privileges from the Emperor, which guaranteed them national and religious singularity, as well as a corpus of rights and freedoms in the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
.


Second migration

The breakout of the Habsburg-Ottoman War of 1737–1739 triggered the Second Great Migration of the Serbs. In 1737, at the very beginning of the war, Serbian Patriarch Arsenije IV Jovanović sided with Habsburgs and supported the rebellion of Serbs in the region of Raška against Ottomans. During the war, Habsburg armies and the
Serbian Militia The Serbian (Rascian) Militia (; , ) was an auxiliary military unit of the Habsburg Monarchy composed primarily of Serbs. It was active between approximately 1686 and 1704 and operated as part of the Habsburg military structure during the Great ...
failed to achieve substantial success, and subsequently were forced to retreat. By 1739, the entire territory of the Habsburg
Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...
was lost to the Ottomans. During the war, large portion of the Christian population from the region of Raška and other Serbian lands migrated towards the north, following the retreat of Habsburg armies and the Serbian Militia. They settled mainly in
Syrmia Syrmia (Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is div ...
and neighbouring regions, within the borders of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
. Among them were also the Catholic Albanian tribe Klimente, which settled in three villages in Syrmia.


Number of migrants

Sources provide different data regarding the number of people in the first migration, referring to the group led by Patriarch Arsenije III: * According to Noel Malcolm, two statements from Arsenije survive. In 1690 he wrote "more than 30,000 souls", and six years later he wrote that it was "more than 40,000 souls". Malcolm also cites Cardinal Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch's statement from 1703 of more than 60,000 people led by the Patriarch from Belgrade to the Kingdom of Hungary, a figure Malcolm claims Kollonich may have been inclined to exaggerate. According to Noel Malcolm, data that state that 37,000 families participated in this migration derive from a single source: a Serbian monastic chronicle which was written many years after the event and contains several other errors. * 37,000 families into Habsburg Monarchy, according to a manuscript at Šišatovac monastery written by monk Stefan of Ravanica 28 years after the first wave. * 37,000 families, according to a book by Pavle Julinac, printed in 1765. * 37,000 families led by the Patriarch, according to Jovan Rajić, published in 1794–1795. * 37,000 families led by the Patriarch, according to Johann Engel, published 1801. *Mikael Antolović studied articles by Ilarion Ruvarac who claimed that between 70,000 and 80,000 refugees left Kosovo during the migration, while the Serbian public claimed that it was more than half a million, and that the majority fled due to "fear of Ottoman vengeance". * Émile Picot concluded that it was 35,000 to 40,000 families, between 400,000 and 500,000 people. "It is a constant tradition that this population is counted by families, not by heads" also insisting that these were large extended families (see Zadruga). * The Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences, supports the figure of 37,000 families. * Tatjana Popović, cites as many as 60,000 Serbian migrant families for the First Serbian migration alone. * At least 30,000 people, according to Stevan K. Pavlowitch. * 20,000–30,000 people, according to "Teatri europei". * According to Sima Ćirković, the figure of 40,000 people is an exaggeration. He says that there is no testimony other than those of the Patriarch for a more reliable estimate. *Other historians state that only a few thousand refugees left during this time.


Aftermath

Serbs from these migrations settled in the southern parts of
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
(though as far in the north as the town of
Szentendre Szentendre, also known as Saint Andrew is a riverside town in Pest County, Hungary, between the capital city Budapest and Pilis Mountains, Pilis-Visegrád Mountains. The town is known for its museums (most notably the :hu: Szentendrei Szabadtéri ...
, in which they formed the majority of the population in the 18th century, but to smaller extent also in the town of Komárom) and
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
. The large Serb migrations from
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
to the
Pannonian plain The Pannonian Basin, with the term Carpathian Basin being sometimes preferred in Hungarian literature, is a large sedimentary basin situated in southeastern Central Europe. After the Treaty of Trianon following World War I, the geomorphologic ...
started in the 14th century and lasted until the end of the 18th century. The great migrations from 1690 and 1737–1739 were the largest ones and were important reason for issuing the privileges that regulated the status of Serbs within Habsburg Monarchy. The Serbs that in these migrations settled in Vojvodina, Slavonia and the parts belonging to the Military Frontier increased (partly) the existing Serb population in these regions and made the Serbs an important political factor in the Habsburg monarchy over time. The masses of earlier migrations from the Ottoman Empire are considered ethnically Serb, while those of the First Great Migration nationally Serb. The First Great Migration brought the definitive indicator of Serbianness, Orthodox Christianity and its leader, the patriarch.


Modern analysis

The narrative about the migration is part of the Serbian identity narratives. It is a national-religious myth with a heroic theme. Frederic Anscombe suggests that it, "together with other narratives of the Kosovo myth, form the basis of Serbian nationalism and have fueled the conflicts". According to Anscombe, the Great Migration reconciles romantic national history with late modern reality, portraying Albanians of Kosovo as descendants of Ottoman-sponsored transplants who settled after the expulsion of the Serb population and supposedly took over the control of the territory, thus replaying of a "second
Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad I. It was one of the largest battles of the Late Middl ...
", and continual struggle for freedom. Frederick Anscombe further concludes that there is no evidence for this, and that western and parts of central Kosovo were treated as Ottoman Albania before the Habsburg invasion in 1690. Malcolm and Elsie state that various migrations took place because of the War of the Holy League (1683–1699), when thousands of refugees found shelter on the new
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
border. Malcolm suggests that most of the Serb refugees did not come from Kosovo and that Arsenije never led an exodus from Kosovo as his departure had been extremely hasty. He notes that Toma Raspasani, who had barely escaped the Turks from Western Kosovo during the Austrian retreat, wrote himself later that "Nobody was able to get out". Malcolm contends that Arsenije had been in Montenegro and then fled to Belgrade, a stronghold still under Austrian control, and which became a natural destination for many Serb refugees from all Serb lands. Those who gathered there included people from parts of Kosovo (Mainly Eastern Kosovo) who had been able to escape the Ottoman incursion but most refugees were probably from other areas. The refugees that moved to Austrian-dominated territories at the time also included a substantial number of Albanians, Orthodox and Catholics. Emil Saggau states that the modern adaptation and popularisation of the migration retrieves inspiration from
Vuk Karadžić Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...
and
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš Petar II Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyrl, Петар II Петровић-Његош, ;  – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a List of rulers of Montenegro, Prince-Bishop (''vladika'') of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose ...
's writings, and that prior to this, it had not yet become a component of Serb national identity. According to Maroš Melichárek, the migration has also been depicted with Serbian national symbolism. The famous painting by
Paja Jovanović Pavle "Paja" Jovanović ( sr-cyr, Павле "Паја" Јовановић; ; 16 June 1859 – 30 November 1957) was a Serbian realist painter who painted more than 1,100 works including: '' The Wounded Montenegrin'' (1882), '' Decorating of the ...
, commissioned in 1896 by Patriarch Georgije Branković was compared to the notable painting by
Emanuel Leutze Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (May 24, 1816July 18, 1868) was a German-born American history painter, best known for his 1851 painting '' Washington Crossing the Delaware''. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography Leutze w ...
, '' Washington Crossing the Delaware''. The depiction and symbolism of the Great Serbian migration is still very strong and up-to-date. Melichárek mentions that other comparisons were made of the Great Migrations, such as to the
Great Retreat The Great Retreat (), also known as the retreat from Mons, was the long withdrawal to the River Marne in August and September 1914 by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army. The Franco-British forces on the Western F ...
and a photo of Serbs fleeing from Republika Srpska Krajina. Malcolm believes that the historical evidence does not support a sudden mass exodus of Serbs out of Kosovo in 1690. If the Serb population was depleted in 1690, it looks as if it must have been replaced by inflows of Serbs from other areas. Such flows did happen and from many different areas. There was also a migration of Albanians from the Malsi but these were slow, long-term processes rather than involving sudden urge of population into a vacuum. Considering that Albanians were a significant part of the population before 1690 and that an Albanian majority was not achieved until the mid-19th century, a mass exodus of Serbs out of Kosovo in 1690 seems unlikely. In 1689 in Kosovo, both Muslim Albanians and Serbs rose up against the Ottoman Empire led by the Albanian Archbishop Pjeter Bogdani and Toma Raspasani. It was after the migration of 1690, that the Ottomans first encouraged the migration of Albanians into Kosovo. The larger, eastern part of Kosovo remained overwhelmingly Serb Orthodox, with a Catholic Albanian, and later Muslim Albanian, presence growing from the west by the 16th century. The urban economy began to decline along with the output from the mines, yet Albanian highlander stockbreeders continued to migrate such that Kosovo would attain an Albanian majority by the end of the 18th century. The topic of the Great Migrations is a source of disputes between some Serbian and Albanian historians, with each side having its viewpoint. John Lampe considers Serbian claims of no prior Albanian presence, and Albanian claims of a larger prior presence, as doubtful. Additionally, Albanians claim descent from the
Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...
, who had inhabited ancient Dardania. Albanians were present in Kosovo before the Ottoman period, and it has been suggested that a part of the Albanian population there were present as Illyrians before the Slavs came to Southeastern Europe. It is likely that Albanians in Kosovo before the Ottoman period were, if not the majority, an important minority. At the time of King Lazar in the 14th century, and at the beginning of the Ottoman period in 1455, the region had "an overwhelming Slavic (Serbian) majority", but significant Albanian migration in the early sixteenth century resulted by the middle of the century in a sizable Albanian population in parts of western Kosovo. According to Malcolm, a major part of the Albanian demographic growth was the expansion of an indigenous Albanian population within Kosovo itself. Ottoman official documents and reports by
Evliya Çelebi Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...
in the 17th century show that before the Habsburg invasion of 1689–1690 and the Great Migrations of the Serbs, at least western and central Kosovo were treated as part of Ottoman Albania, and had a large Albanian population. Thus, the Albanian tribesmen that moved from turbulent mountains of Shkodra to western and central Kosovo after 1670, merely moved to other parts of Ottoman Albania. István Deák from the University of Columbia states that Serbs, who were somewhat better educated than the Albanians, were willing to move away in search of better economic opportunities, which helped demographic changes in the territory of Kosovo throughout the centuries.


See also

* Rascians * New Serbia (historical province) *
Slavo-Serbia Slavo-Serbia or Slaveno-Serbia was a territory of Imperial Russia from 1753 to 1764. It was located to the south of the Donets River, between the Bakhmutka River and Luhan River. This area today is located within present-day Luhansk Oblast a ...
* Serbian historiography * Archives of Sremski Karlovci


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links

* {{citation , mode=cs1 , last=Ćorović , first=Vladimir , title=Istorija srpskog naroda , year=2001 , orig-year=1997 , section=Velika seoba Srba u Austriju , section-url=http://www.rastko.rs/rastko-bl/istorija/corovic/istorija/6_8_l.html , publisher=Projekat Rastko Ottoman Serbia Serbia under Habsburg rule Vojvodina under Habsburg rule 17th century in Serbia 18th century in Serbia Forced migrations in Europe Serbs from the Ottoman Empire Habsburg Serbs Great Turkish War Historical migrations