The ''Koinon'' of the Zagorisians (), alternatively Commons of the Zagorisians, League of the Zagorisians, League of Zagori, or Nohaye Zagor in Turkish, was an autonomous region 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 ...

. '' Koinon'' means "Common", it could be attributed with commonwealth, commune or collective but these terms have associated connotations because of already established usage. The ''Koinon'' was a form of government that had existed in various periods in Greek history. In

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

itself there had in ancient times existed the ''Koinon'' of the

Molossian The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On th ...

s. There was a ''Koinon'' of Laconians, centred on

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and its old dominions for a period under Roman rule, a ''Koinon'' of the Macedonians, also under Roman rule. In modern Greek history, during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, a local self-government termed ''Koinon'' was set up in the islands of Hydra, Spetsai and Psara.

History

In the 1420s,

was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

dominion. In 1430-1431, Sinan Pasha, a general of Sultan

Murad II Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451. Early life Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...

, led an army into

and fought a series of battles that led to its eventual conquest. Fourteen villages of central Zagori reached a very favourable agreement with Sinan Pasha, following one such battle (near Votsa),Βασίλης Μπινακάκης ''Ζαγοροχώρια'' Explorer 2006, Athens that the Turks would guarantee certain privileges for the region of Zagori in return for vassalage. These privileges included an autonomous government headed by a Head Prelate called ''Vekylis'' () (elected every 6 months or every year) and a Council of Elders (). The Elders were representing each village and were elected locally. The Zagorisians would not pay taxes to the Ottomans but an obligation was agreed upon to maintain a number of attendants to the Sultan's stables. The Zagorisians maintained a small armed force of

Sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...

cavalry (Σπαχῆδες). Fifty years later, the villages of Eastern Zagori also joined the Treaty. This agreement, called "''Voiniko''" was modified in 1670. The ''Koinon'' of the Zagorisians was set up and further privileges called "''Siouroutia''" were established, thanks to the influence of

Phanariot Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greeks, Greek families in Fener, Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Ecume ...

s of Zagorisian descent. These included the replacement of the obligation to send attendants to the Sultan's stables with a tax, the free exercise of the Christian faith and significantly a prohibition of entry of Turks into

Zagori Zagori (; ), is a region, a municipality, and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, 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 v ...

. The villages of Western Zagori entered the Koinon of the Zagorisians in 1750. From 1750, the ''Vekylis'' of

took up residence in

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

, in a House of the Koinon of the Zagorisians or in private. He was responsible for the collection of taxes and for judging civil law disputes. During the Ottoman period

was one of three

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

regions that enjoyed autonomy under a treaty, the other two were

Mani Mani may refer to: People * Mani (name), (), a given name and surname (including a list of people with the name) ** Mani (prophet) (c. 216–274), a 3rd century Iranian prophet who founded Manichaeism ** Mani (musician) (born 1962), an English ...

in the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

and Mademochoria in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koinon Of The Zagorisians 1670 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 15th century in Greece 16th century in Greece 17th century in Greece 18th century in Greece 19th century in Greece 1868 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire States and territories established in 1670 Former countries in the Balkans Zagori