The Ghegs (also spelled Gegs; ) are one of the two main dialectal subgroups of
Albanians
The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
, alongside the
Tosks
Tosks () are one of two major dialectal subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Ghegs) differentiated by their linguistic characteristics.
Territory
''Tosk'' or ''Toskëri'' may refer to the Tosk-speaking Albanians, Albanian population of ...
.
These groups are distinguished by their linguistic characteristics.
The Ghegs live in
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
(north of the
Shkumbin river),
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
,
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
. The Ghegs speak
Gheg Albanian
Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Alba ...
, one of the two main dialects of
Albanian language
Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...
. The social organization of the Ghegs was traditionally
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
, with several distinct tribal groups of Ghegs.
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 ...
annexed and ruled the Tosk-inhabited south at the beginning of the 15th century, while the territory populated by Ghegs remained out of the reach of the regular Ottoman civil administration until the beginning of the 20th century. As a consequence, the Ghegs evolved isolated from the Tosks.
Similarly, the Islamization of the Ghegs was incomplete, with a large area of northwestern Albania remaining Catholic. The Ottomans never completely subdued the
northern Albanian tribes of Ghegs because they were more useful to them as a stable source of mercenaries. Instead, they implemented the ''bayraktar'' system, and granted some privileges to the ''bayraktars'' (banner chiefs) in exchange for their obligation to mobilize local fighters to support military actions of the
Ottoman forces.
Terminology
Proper ''Gegnia'' (the land of the ''Gegë'') is located north of the
Shkumbin river along its right bank and extends up to modern border between
Mat
A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including:
* serving to clean items passed over it, such as a doormat, which removes dirt from the soles of shoe ...
and
Mirdita
Mirdita is a region of northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name.
Etymology
The name Mirdita derives from a legendary ancestor named Mir Diti from whom the tribe claims descent. Other a ...
, where ''Leknia'' begins. Leknia itself is bordered to the north by
Malësia. None of these regions overlap with one another and each has its own self-identification. This is reflected in the fact that only the people of proper Gegnia call themselves ''Gegë'', while moving northwards it is not a form of regional self-identification. For example, the people of the Dukagjin highlands when asked about their regional appellation would reply ''na nuk jemi gegë, gegët janë përtej maleve'' (we are not Gheghs, the Ghegs live beyond the mountains).
The popular perception in non-Albanian literature of all northern Albanians as Ghegs is a product of identifying major dialect groups with all corresponding regional groupings. Likewise, only the people of certain regions in southern Albania identify as Tosks.
Etymology
The
etymology
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
of the term Gheg is not completely clear. According to the writer
Arshi Pipa, the term ''Gegë'' was initially used for confessional denotation, being used in pre-Ottoman Albania by its Orthodox population when referring to their Catholic neighbors.
Some theories say that the term Gegë is derived from the
onomatopoeic word for "babbling", in contrast to ''Shqiptare'' which is the Albanian word for those who speak clearly.
Territory

In Albania, Ghegs predominantly live north of the
Shkumbin river and in areas of the mountainous north.
This region is widely referred to by Albanians as Gegënia or Gegnia
and as Gegëria.
The Ottoman Turkish term, used during the times when Albania and the wider area was included in the empire, was Gegalık, meaning land of the Ghegs.
During the late Ottoman period apart from the term Arnavudluk (Albania) being used for Albanian regions, the designation Gegalık was also used in documents by Ottomans.
Gegëni or Gegalık encompassed the
İșkodra,
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
, and a small area of the
Monastir vilayets.
In the 1880s, Albanians defined the wider region of Gegalık (Ghegland) as encompassing the Ottoman administrative units of
İșkodra (Shkodër) and Duraç (Durrës) sanjaks that composed İșkodra vilayet (province), the sanjaks of
Yenipazar (Novi Pazar), İpek (Pejë), Priștine (Prishtinë),
Prizren
Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...
,
Üsküp (Skopje) of Kosovo vilayet and the
sanjak of Dibra (Debar) in Monastir vilayet.
Little more than half of ethnic Albanians from Albania are Ghegs.
Except for a
Tosk
Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
population in north-western Greece and around lake
Prespa as well as southern North Macedonia, the ethnic Albanians in the Balkans who live in Kosovo, North Macedonia (mostly) and Montenegro are Ghegs.
Language

The Ghegs speak Gheg Albanian, one of the two main Albanian dialects. The Albanian communist regime based the standard Albanian language mostly on
Tosk Albanian
Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
. This practice has been criticized, notably by
Arshi Pipa, who claimed that this decision deprived the Albanian language of its richness at the expense of the Ghegs, and referred to the literary Albanian language as a "monstrosity" produced by the Tosk communist leadership which conquered anti-Communist north Albania militarily, and imposed their Tosk Albanian dialect on the Ghegs. Although Albanian writers in former
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
were almost all Ghegs, they chose to write in Tosk for political reasons.
This change of literary language has significant political and cultural consequences because the language is the main criterion for Albanian self-identification.
Social organization
The social organization of the Ghegs was traditionally
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
.
The Ghegs of Northern Albania are one of only two tribal societies which survived in Europe until the middle of the 20th century (the other being the Montenegrin highlanders in
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
and southern
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
).
The tribal organization was based on the
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...
system of loyalties, and the
dispersed settlement
A dispersed settlement, also known as a scattered settlement, is one of the main types of settlement patterns used by landscape historians to classify rural settlements found in England and other parts of the world. Typically, there are a num ...
pattern of separate, scattered, mostly fortified homesteads.
There are several distinct tribal groups of Ghegs which include
Mirëdita,
Kelmendi,
Palabardhi,
Kuqi,
Vasajt,
Hoti,
Kastrati,
Berisha,
Krasniqi and
Shala.
Other important tribal groupings include the highlanders of the Dibra region known as the "Tigers of Dibra".
Western Kosovo during the late Ottoman period was dominated by the Albanian tribal system, while parts of Albanian society within wider Kosovo were also part of the urban-professional and landowning classes of major towns.
The Ghegs, particularly those who lived in the north-eastern area, were the most faithful supporters of the set of traditional laws (
Kanun), traditional
hospitality
Hospitality is the relationship of a host towards a guest, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill and welcome. This includes the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, ...
, and
blood feud
A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
.
Among Gheg Malësors (highlanders) the ''
fis'' (clan) was headed by the oldest male and formed the basic unit of tribal society.
A political and territorial equivalent consisting of several clans was the ''
bajrak'' (standard).
The leader of a bajrak, whose position was hereditary, was referred to as ''bajraktar'' (standard bearer).
Several bajraks composed a tribe, which was led by a man from a notable family, while major issues were decided by the tribe assembly whose members were male members of the tribe.
The organization of once predominantly
herder
A herder is a pastoralism, pastoral worker responsible for the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on extensive management, open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic pastoralism, nomadic or transhuma ...
Gheg tribes was traditionally based on
patrilineality
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
(a system in which an individual belongs to his or her father's lineage), and on
exogamy
Exogamy is the social norm of mating or marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which tw ...
(a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group).
The land belongs to the clan, and families are traditionally extended, consisting of smaller families of many brothers who all live in one extended ménage (. Gheg Albanian: shpi).
Girls were married without their consent, while
bride stealing still existed to some extent until the early 20th century.
Marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
was basically an economic and political deal arranged among the members of the tribe, while those who got married had no say in the matter.
Sworn virginity was occasionally practised among the Ghegs.
Child betrothal was also practised by the Ghegs, sometimes even before birth.
Religion
Christianity in Albania was under the jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Rome
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...
until the eighth century. Then, dioceses in Albania were transferred to the
patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...
. In 1054 after the schism, the north became identified with the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
.
Since that time all churches north of the
Shkumbin river were Catholic and under the jurisdiction of the Pope.
Various reasons have been put forward
for the spread of Catholicism among northern Albanians. Traditional affiliation with the Latin rite and Catholic missions in central Albania in the 12th century fortified the Catholic Church against Orthodoxy, while local leaders found an ally in Catholicism against Slavic Orthodox states.
During the Ottoman period in the history of Albania (1385–1912), the majority of Albanians converted to Islam. Today, the majority of Ghegs are
Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, with a large minority being Catholic. Catholic Albanians are most heavily concentrated in northwestern Albania and the
Malësia region of southeastern
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, in both of which they form of a majority of population, while they have a thinner distribution in central Albania and northeastern Albania and Kosovo. There are also Ghegs who practice Orthodox Christianity, mainly living in the southwest of the Gheg-speaking region, especially
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...
(where they formed 36% of the population in 1918) and
Elbasan
Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...
(where they formed 17% of the population in 1918). Orthodox Ghegs were traditionally also heavily concentrated in the region of
Upper Reka
Upper Reka (; ) is a geographic area and ethnographic subregion of the broader Reka region of western North Macedonia, including settlements within the upper left portion of the Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuša and of Gostivar Municipalit ...
(Reka e Epërme) in North Macedonia. There are also some groups of Ghegs who practice
Bektashism
Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...
, living in areas such as
Kruja and
Bulqiza. Additionally, as is the case with all Albanians as a legacy of the
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
regime, many people don't identify with any faith, and a large number of people do not usually attend the services of any religion.
Culture

After the
Tanzimat reforms
The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pasha, ...
in the second half of the 19th century, aiming to gain influence over Catholic Albanians,
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, with Ottoman approval, opened and financed many schools in the Albanian language, and
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
seminaries and hospitals, and trained native clergy, which all resulted in the development of
literature in the Albanian language.
The culture of the Ghegs blossomed at the beginning of 20th century.
Gjergj Fishta
Gjergj Fishta (; 23 October 187130 December 1940) was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, rilindas, politician, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century, particularly ...
and the Scutarine Catholic School of Letters led by Fishta significantly contributed to this blossoming.
The Ghegs are known for their
epic poetry
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard t ...
.
The revival of
Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
among Albanians gave a new and important impulse to the rise of Gheg culture.
Physical anthropology
The Gheg Albanians have been described as tall people, with round, hyper-
brachycephalic heads, long faces, broad chests, robust builds, convex-shaped noses, and flat skulls.

According to
Pettifer & Vickers in 2007, "Ghegs speak a slightly different dialect of the language, and are often taller and thinner than Tosks, but these traditional differences (often exaggerated in vulgar anthropology) have been much diminished by population movement in the post-communist period."
History
Pre-Ottoman and Ottoman period
There was a distinction between Ghegs and Tosks before the Ottomans appeared in Albania at the end of the 14th century.
The Ghegs remained out of the reach of the regular Ottoman civil administration until the end of Ottoman rule.
In areas where Ghegs were still tribesmen they followed their own laws and lived an autonomous existence.
The fact that the tribes of northern Albania were not completely subdued by the
Ottomans
Ottoman may refer to:
* Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire
* Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II"
* Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
is raised to the level of orthodoxy among the members of the tribes. A possible explanation is that the Ottomans did not have any real interest in subduing the
northern Albanian tribes because they were more useful to them as a stable source of mercenaries. The Ottomans implemented the ''bayraktar'' system within northern Albanian tribes, and granted some privileges to the ''bayraktars'' (banner chiefs) in exchange for their obligation to mobilize local fighters to support military actions of the
Ottoman forces.
During the late Ottoman period Ghegs often lacked education and integration within the Ottoman system, while they had autonomy and military capabilities.
Those factors gave the area of Gegënia an importance within the empire that differed from Toskëria.
Still many Ottoman officers thought that Ghegs, in particular the highlanders were often a liability instead of an asset for the state being commonly referred to as "wild" ().
In areas of Albania where Malësors (highlanders) lived, the empire only posted Ottoman officers who had prior experience of service in other tribal regions of the state like
Kurdistan
Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...
or
Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
that could bridge cultural divides with
Gheg
Gheg or Geg (Gheg Albanian: ''gegnisht'', Standard ) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Alba ...
tribesmen.
The
Great Eastern Crisis
The Great Eastern Crisis of 1875–1878 began in the Ottoman Empire's Rumelia, administrative territories in the Balkan Peninsula in 1875, with the outbreak of several uprisings and wars that resulted in the intervention of international powers, ...
resulted in Albanian resistance to partition by neighbouring powers with the formation of the
Prizren League (1878) which issued a
Kararname (memorandum) that declared both Ghegs and Tosks had made an oath to defend the state and homeland in the name of Islam.
During the crisis Ghegs and Tosks made
besas (pledges of honor) to arm themselves and shed blood to defend their rights.
Better armed than its southern Tosk counterpart, Gheg society was in a more effective position to resist the redrawing of borders in the region.
Ottoman officials initially assisted Gheg Albanians in their efforts to resist incorporation of their lands into Serbia, Montenegro or Bulgaria.
Ghegs experienced a brief moment of an autonomous administration where local tax was collected into Albanian coffers.
Calls for an autonomous united Albania made sultan
Abdul Hamid II
Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
suppress the League of Prizren movement, especially after Gheg Albanians revolted in 1881 and posed a military challenge to Ottoman authority.
Large parts of Gegënia posed a security problem for the Ottoman Empire, due to the tribalism of Gheg society and limited state control.
Gheg freedoms were tolerated by Abdul Hamid II and he enlisted them in his palace guard, integrated the sons of local notables from urban areas into the bureaucracy and co-opted leaders like
Isa Boletini
Isa Boletini (; 15 January 186423 or 24 January 1916) was an Albanian revolutionary commander and politician and rilindas from Kosovo.
As a young man, he joined the Albanian nationalist League of Prizren and participated in a battle against Ott ...
into the Ottoman system.
During the
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
(1908) some Ghegs were one group in Albanian society that gave its support for the restoration of the
Ottoman constitution of 1876
The Constitution of the Ottoman Empire (; ) was in effect from 1876 to 1878 in a period known as the First Constitutional Era, and from 1908 to 1922 in the Second Constitutional Era. The first and only constitution of the Ottoman Empire, it was ...
to end the Hamidian regime.
Subsequent centralising policies and militarism toward the Albanian Question by the new Young Turk government resulted in four years of local revolts by Ghegs who fought to keep tribal privileges and the defense system of ''
kulas'' (tower houses).
Ghegs from the Shkodër region supported the
Greçë Memorandum that called for Albanian sociopolitical rights within the Ottoman Empire during the
Albanian revolt of 1911
The Malissori uprising or the Albanian revolt of 1911 was one of many Albanians, Albanian revolts in the Ottoman Empire and lasted from 24 March 1911 until 4 August 1911 in the region of Malësia (also spelled Malissori).
Background
The main ...
.
On the eve of the
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
(1912-1913) Gheg and Tosk Albanians managed to secure two concessions from the Ottoman government: the rights of Albanian ethnicity and rights for the highlander population during the
Albanian revolt of 1912.
Albania
The Ghegs were dominant in the political life of Albania in the pre-communist period.
Recruitment of Ghegs during World War II
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...
personally oversaw the recruitment of Albanian Muslims into the Waffen-SS, leading to the creation of the
21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Skanderbeg
The 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS ''Skanderbeg'' (1st Albanian) was a German mountain infantry division of the Waffen-SS, the armed wing of the German Nazi Party that served alongside, but was never formally part of, the Wehrmacht d ...
. For this division, Himmler specifically targeted Ghegs, mainly from
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
, but also from
northern Albania
Northern Albania () is one of the three NUTS-2 regions of Albania, along with Central Albania and Southern Albania (). It consists of the counties of Dibër, Durrës, Kukës, Lezhë and Shkodër.
Historically and in ethnography, Northern ...
, influenced by claims made during the Italian occupation. Italian anthropologists had asserted that the Ghegs were part of the
Aryan
''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...
or
Nordic race
The Nordic race is an obsolete racial classification of humans based on a now-disproven theory of biological race. It was once considered a race or one of the putative sub-races into which some late-19th to mid-20th century anthropologists di ...
, similar to the
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
. This idea resonated with Himmler’s racial ideology and provided justification for their recruitment.
Himmler admired the Ghegs for what he perceived as their toughness, loyalty, and military potential, and saw them as a modern reflection of the elite Bosnian regiments of World War I. In contrast, the southern Albanians, the
Tosks
Tosks () are one of two major dialectal subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Ghegs) differentiated by their linguistic characteristics.
Territory
''Tosk'' or ''Toskëri'' may refer to the Tosk-speaking Albanians, Albanian population of ...
, were not included in this classification and were deemed less racially suitable. Furthermore, Himmler strongly supported the concept of a “Greater Albania” as it aligned with Nazi geopolitical goals in the Balkans and helped to foster loyalty among Albanian recruits.
At the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, communist forces predominantly composed of Tosks captured Albania after the retreat of the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
. That was perceived by many Ghegs as the Tosk takeover of Gheg lands.
Most members of the post-war
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
regime and three quarters of the
Communist Party of Albania members were Tosks. Therefore, the communist takeover was accompanied by the transfer of political power from the Ghegs to the Tosks.
The Ghegs were consistently persecuted by the predominantly Tosk regime, which saw them as traditionalist and less developed.
After
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...
died in 1985, he was succeeded by
Ramiz Alia
Ramiz Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania. He ...
, who was one of the few Ghegs among the leaders of the country. He took cautious steps towards changing direction on the national identity issue by gradually assuming the cause of the Ghegs from
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
.
This change was accompanied by a long-lasting fear that the introduction of "too-liberal" Albanians from Kosovo might disturb the fragile balance between the Tosk and Gheg sub-ethnic groups.
Absorbing Yugoslav Ghegs, who were almost as numerous as all Albanians from Albania, could have ruined the predominantly Tosk regime.
After the fall of the communist regime, religion was again the major factor which determined social identity, and rivalry between Ghegs and Tosks re-emerged.
The new political leaders of post-communist Albania appointed by Gheg
Sali Berisha
Sali Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian cardiologist and conservative politician who served as the president of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and as the 32nd Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013. Berisha ...
were almost all Ghegs from northern Albania.
The administration of Sali Berisha was identified as northern
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
Gheg in opposition to southern Socialist Tosk,
which additionally increased the contention between Tosks and Ghegs.
In 1998 Berisha exploited the traditional Gheg—Tosk rivalry when he encouraged armed anti-Government protesters in Shkodër in actions that forced the resignation of prime minister
Fatos Nano
Fatos Thanas Nano (; born 16 September 1952) is an Albanian socialist politician who served as Prime Minister of Albania in 1991, from 1997 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2005. He was the first leader and founder of the Socialist Party of Albania and ...
.
During the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
, rivalry between Ghegs and Tosks faded, and a huge number of refugees from Kosovo were catered for with no internal conflict, despite unavoidable grumbles about the disruption of the community and theft.
See also
*
Albanian tribes
The Albanian tribes () form a historical mode of social organization (''farefisní'') in Albania and the southwestern Balkans characterized by a common culture, often common patrilineal kinship ties and shared social ties. The ''fis'' ( sq-defi ...
References
External links
Northern Albanian Culture and the Kanun- Lecture given by
Robert Elsie
Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore.
Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numero ...
at the Symposium: Albanese Tradities en Taal: 100 Jaar Onafhankelijk Albanië / Albanian Language and Culture: 100 Years of Independence, University of Leiden, 10 November 2012
{{Authority control
Gegëri
Albanian ethnographic regions