Labëria is a historic region that is roughly situated in southwestern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

. Its inhabitants are known as Labs (referred to as sq, Lab, pl. ''Lebër'', also dial. sing. ''Lap'') and its boundaries reach from

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foo ...

to Himara in the south, to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

border near

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; el, Άγιοι Σαράντα, Ágioi Saránta) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Medi ...

, incorporating the Kurvelesh region of Gjirokastër District and extending east to the city of

Tepelenë Tepelenë ( sq-definite, Tepelena) is a city and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in the south of Albania. The town is located on the left bank of the Vjosa River, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino. Until the ...

Name

The toponym ''Labëri/-a'' and the name of the Albanian sub-group: ''Lab'' (also ''Labe'', ''Labi''), pl. ''Lebër'', are endonyms formed from the root ''*arb/*alb'' (cf. the ancient ethonym Αλβανοί, ''Albanoi'' by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

, and Αλβανοί, Αρβανίται in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

sources). The variant ''lab-'', which goes back to ''*alb-'', resulted from a metathesis characteristic of

Common Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium B.C. through the 6th ...

, and was

reborrowed Reborrowing is the process where a word travels from one language to another and then back to the originating language in a different form or with a different meaning. This path is indicated by A → B → A, where A is the originating language, an ...

in that form into Albanian.. "Die besondere ethnische Stellung der Labëri tritt auch in den Benennungen ''lab'' 'Labe', ''Labëri'', Arbëri hervor, die von der Wurzel *''alb''-/*''arb''- gebildet sind und die alte Selbstbenennung der Albaner enthalten. Der Bewohner von Labëri wird auch jetzt lab, best. ''labi'' genannt, eig. ‘der Albaner’. Der Wandel *''alb''- > ''lab'' zeigt die für das Slawische typische metatheseerscheinung. [The particular ethnic position of ''Labëri'' emerges also in the names lab, 'Labe', Labëri, Arbëri that from the root *''alb''-/*''arb''- formed and included the old self-designation of the Albanians. The residents of Labëri is also now lab, spec. ''labi'' called proper 'the Albanians'. The change *''alb''>''lab'' shows the typical metathesis for the Slavic.]" The toponym ''Arbëri'', now used as a variant of ''Labëri'' and only to refer to a small mountainous region extending within the triangle:

, formerly had a broader usage referring in the old times generally to Albania and Albanians (''arbëror'', subst. ''arbëresh''). The variants Arbëri/Labëri were used narrowly to designate a country inhabited by the Labs, i.e. Albanians proper. The link to the older form of the toponym was preserved until the late Ottoman period as suggested in documents of the court of

Ali Pasha of Tepelena Ali Pasha of Ioannina (1740 – 24 January 1822), was an Albanian ruler who served as pasha of a large part of western Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territories, which was referred to as the Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannin ...

and other publications. As reported by Hahn (1854), at his time the toponym ''Arbërí'' was used in the strict sense to denote the highland area at the back of

, i.e. Kurvelesh and Labëria; however, according to him, it was used in a wider sense including also

Himarë Himarë ( sq-definite, Himara; el, Χειμάρρα, ''Cheimarra'' or Χιμάρα, ''Chimara'') is a municipality and region in Vlorë County, southern Albania. The municipality has a total area of and consists of the administrative units of ...

up to

Delvinë Delvinë ( or , ); is a town and a municipality in Vlorë County, southern Albania, northeast of Saranda. It was formed in the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Delvinë and Vergo, which became municipal unit ...

, that is the ancient

Chaonia Chaonia or Chaon ( Greek Χαονία or Χάων) was the name of the northwestern part of Epirus, the homeland of the Epirote Greek tribe of the Chaonians. Its main town was called Phoenice. In Virgil's ''Aeneid'', Chaon was the eponymous an ...

. In Ottoman times, the region became known as ''Laplık'' in Turkish, comprising the areas of

, Avlonya (

), Tepedelen (

), Kurules ( Kurvelesh), and Ergiri (

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea ...

). The

name is Λιαπουριά, ''Liapouriá''.

History

In the Middle Ages the Labs were followers of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

but many converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

during Ottoman rule, with the bulk of conversion occurring in the 18th century. Conversions were especially intense during years of conflict between the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

and the Ottoman Empire, during which some pressure was applied on Orthodox Christians by Ottoman rulers, including even low-scale forced conversion of villages, contradicting the official Ottoman tolerance for Christians.Giakoumis, Kosta. ''The Orthodox Church in Albania during Ottoman Rule''. Page 8. Additional reasons for conversion included discrimination and exploitation of Christians by Ottoman rulers, the previous patterns of conversion between different Christian sects and the diverse pre-Ottoman distribution of Christian faiths in the region (including Orthodoxy,

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Bogomilism Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar P ...

, and even

Arianism Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...

), the poll tax which only Christians had to pay, the poverty of the church, the mass illiteracy of priests and the fact that the language of worship was not the Albanian vernacular. Tradition holds that a mass conversion of Labs occurred during a famine in which the bishops of Himara and Delvina refused to let the Labs break fast and drink milk. Many Labs were recruited by the Ottoman

Jannissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orha ...

corps due to their warlike nature and the Ottomans' initial preference for recruiting Albanians after their invasion of the Balkans. After the disbandment of the Jannissary corps by

Sultan Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

in 1826, the Sufi branch of the

Bektashi Order The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...

, a core Janissary institution, was also disbanded, and its followers executed or exiled to Southern Albania. As a result, the majority of the Labs today belong to the Bektashi faith with Orthodox Christians concentrated in the Himara coastal region as well as a few pockets throughout Vlorë district and the southern and eastern parts of the region, around Gjirokastër, Delvine and Sarande.

or of Yanina (Ioannina), surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina" (1740–1822), was born in this region. He ruled the western part of

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a hi ...

, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called

Pashalik of Yanina The Pashalik of Yanina, sometimes referred to as the Pashalik of Ioanina or Pashalik of Janina, was an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous Albanian Pashaliks, pashalik within the Ottoman Empire between 1787 and 1822 covering large a ...

. His court was in

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

. Ali had three sons: Ahmet Muhtar Pasha (served in the 1809 war against the Russians), Veli Pasha of Morea and Salih Pasha of Vlorë. Ali Pasha of Tepelena died fighting on February 5, 1822, at the age of 82.

Geography

In its most extensive definition, Labëria may be used to include everything from Mallakastra and the

Vjosa The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...

river down to Saranda, and in its (somewhat more common) most specific definition, it may refer only to Himara, Tepelena and Kurvelesh. In the more extensive definition, in addition to these three regions, other regions included are Vlore and its surroundings south of the Vjosa river, Lunxhëria, Mallakastra,

and its surroundings,

Pogon Pogon may refer to: * Pogon, Albania, a municipality in Gjirokastër District, Gjirokastër County, Albania * Pogoń, a Knight-in-pursuit coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Pogoni, a municipality in Ioannina regional unit, Greece * P ...

, Dropull, Saranda and sometimes ( very rarely) Këlcyra and

Zagori Zagori ( el, Ζαγόρι; rup, Zagori), is a region and a municipality in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 villages known as ...

. Bordering regions include

Myzeqe The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; rup, Muzachia) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands. Location The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by ...

, Chamëria,

Dangëllia Dangëllia is a traditional or "ethnographic" region of Albania, located primarily around the towns of Përmet and Frashëri, although the exact definition of its borders varies. Neighboring regions include Dishnica to the North, Zagori and Këlc ...

and Dishnica (as well as the border with Greece).

Culture

Labëria is culturally distinguishable from the rest of Albania in its traditions and folklore. The Labs were warlike pastoral people who lived mainly in the mountains of Kurvelesh,

Progonat Progonat is a village in the former Kurvelesh municipality, Gjirokastër County, Albania. It is the largest village of upper Kurvelesh and until 1992 was the administrative center of the commune. At the 2015 local government reform it became part ...

and

during the

Byzantine period The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and the Ottoman invasion of Albania. However, due to mass migrations to urban areas following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the population is now concentrated in the cities of

and

. Pleqërishte is a genre of Albanian iso-polyphony primarily found in Labëria Music of Labs is polyphonic, more soft and lyrical than rugged single voiced music of

Ghegs The Ghegs (also spelled as Gegs; sq, Gegët) are one of two major dialectal subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Tosks) They are also differentiated by minor cultural, dialectal, social and religious characteristics. The Ghegs live in ...

dedicated to heroism. Similarly to other clan-based Albanian mountain communities, Labs developed a codex of customary laws, the '' Kanun of Labëria'' ( sq, Kanuni i Labërisë, ''Kanuni i Papa Zhulit'' or ''Kanuni i Idriz Sulit''). This set of traditional unwritten laws which survived

and Ottoman periods in the isolated and inaccessible territories of southwest Albania. During the regime of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanians, Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was Secretary (title)#First secretary, First Secretary of t ...

the Labs, Ghegs and Tosks were forbidden to emphasize their identity.

Language

The dialect associated with Labëria is the Lab dialect, which is particular to the region. The dialect mixes innovative and archaic features, and is closely related to the Arbëresh spoken by the old Albanian diaspora in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the

Arvanitika Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika is today endangered, as its speakers have been shifting to the u ...

Arvanites Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, and

Cham Albanian Cham Albanians or Chams ( sq, Çamë; el, Τσάμηδες, ''Tsámidhes''), are a sub-group of Albanians who originally resided in the western part of the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. Th ...

. The

Himariote dialect Himariote Greek ( el, Χειμαρριώτικη διάλεκτος, Cheimarriṓtikī diálektos or , ''Cheimarriṓtika'' ; sq, Dialekti himariot) is a dialect of the Greek language that is mainly spoken by ethnic Greeks in the Himara region ...

of Greek is also spoken in the region of Himara, which is often considered part of Laberia, and other Greek dialects are spoken in the southern extremes of the region as well as in the villages of Nartë and Zvernec. Aromanian and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

minorities that are present in some places may also speak their ancestral languages.

Religion

Historically the Labs were followers of the

. Literary evidence by Greek historian Aravatinos records that they converted to

at a time of great famine during the Ottoman period. One of the reasons was that Christian bishops refused to allow them to consume milk during fast days.

Notable people

* Kadri Azbiu - Albanian communist politician who was purged by Enver Hoxha * Nafiz Bezhani - Albanian jurist, politician, and writer. * Adil Çarçani - Albanian communist politician. *

Hasan Dosti Hasan Dosti (1895January 29, 1991) was an Albanian jurist and politician. Being a staunch Albanian nationalist, Dosti was considered by the Albanian communists to be one of their greatest enemies. Biography Early life Hasan Dosti was born in ...

- Albanian leader of the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front''), known as Balli, was an Albanian nationalist, collaborationist and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra and by Midhat Frashëri. The move ...

, jurist and politician *

Victor Dosti Viktor Dosti (1925–2005) was an Albanian political prisoner, human rights activist, and member of the Helsinki Committee For Human Rights . Biography Dosti was the son of Hasan Dosti, a lawyer who briefly worked for the Albanian government ...

- son of Hasan Dosti, political prisoner during communism * Kadri Gjata - Albanian patriot, writer, and educator *

Zenel Gjoleka Zenel Gjoleka (1805-1852) was an Albanian revolutionary fighter born in Kuç of Kurvelesh who participated in rebellions against the Ottoman Empire central authority, being against reforms of Tanzimat (that decreased the power of the local Albania ...

- Leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt * Sinan Idrizi - CEO of Air Albania, born to a Cham father and Lab mother *

Ismail Kadare Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...

- Famous Albanian author and writer *

Hysni Kapo Hysni Kapo (1915–1979) was an Albanian military commander and leading member of the Party of Labour of Albania. A member of the Communist Youth group, Kapo was first distinguished as an artillery commander in the Battle of Drashovica. In 1941 ...

- Albanian communist politician, and third in command from 1945-79 *

Qazim Koculi Qazim Koculi (August 22, 1887 – January 2, 1943) was an Albanian politician of the early 20th century and one-day acting Prime Minister of Albania. He was also the principal military commander of the Albanian forces during the Vlora War in 19 ...

- Albanian military commander during the Vlora War, and Prime Minister of Albania for one day in 1922. * Musine Kokalari - founder of Albania’s early social democratic parties * Ahmet Lepenica - Albanian nationalist, military commander and hero of the 1920 Vlora War * Myfit Bej Libohova - Justice Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Culture, of the Libohova family * Jakup Mato - Albanian professor *

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single " Sweet but Psycho" in ...

- Albanian-American singer with origins from Qeparo and Saranda * Skënder Muço - Albanian lawyer, Leader of the Balli Kombëtar, and founder of one of Albania’s first social democratic parties * Selam Musai - Albanian military commander and nationalist; died during the Vlora War * Hodo Nivica - Leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt * Çelo Picari - Albanian revolutionary leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt *

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian perso ...

- Founding Father of Albania * Urani Rumbo- Early Albanian feminist *

Avni Rustemi Avni Rustemi (22 September 1895 – 22 April 1924) was an Albanian patriot, militant, teacher, activist and member of the Albanian parliament. Rustemi was the leader of both democratic organisations "Atdheu" and "Bashkimi", and also a member ...

- Albanian teacher, militant activist, nationalist, and assassin of Essad Pasha Toptani * Igli Tare - Albanian former footballer, coach, and nationalist * Ali Pasha Tepelena - Albanian ruler from Tepelena located in the Labëria region *

Bajo Topulli Bajo Topulli (1868 – 24 July 1930), born Bajram Fehmi Topulli, was an Albanian nationalist figure of the Albanian National Awakening. Bajo was the older brother of Çerçiz Topulli. Early life In Monastir while he was a director in the ...

- Albanian nationalist figure *

Çerçiz Topulli Çerçiz Topulli (20 September 1880 – 17 July 1915) was an Albanian revolutionary and guerrilla fighter involved in the national movement operating in the mountainous areas of southern Albania. He was the younger brother of Bajo Topulli. He w ...

- Albanian nationalist revolutionary

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laberia Albanian regions Albanian ethnographic regions Historical regions