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 The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

. 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 foot ...

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, incorporating the Kurvelesh region of

Gjirokastër District Gjirokastër District () was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 55,991 in 2001, and an area of . It contained a large Greek ethnic minority. It is in the south ...

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 th ...

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 import ...

, 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 Constantin ...

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:

- Sarandë-

, 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 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 H ...

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 uni ...

, that is the ancient Chaonia. In Ottoman times, the region became known as ''Laplık'' in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

, 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 vi ...

but many converted to Islam 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 List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

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 Pet ...

, 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 G ...

), 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 Orhan ( ...

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 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 b ...

, 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. Ali Pasha of Tepelena 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 pashalik within the Ottoman Empire between 1787 and 1822 covering large areas of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. The pashal ...

. 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 ...

. 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 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 Lunxhëri ( sq, Lunxhëri; el, Λιούντζη) is a region in the Gjirokastër County, Albania. It is an ethnographic region along with neighboring regions such as Kurvelesh, Zagoria, Dropull. It is in the periphery of a wider ethnographic region ...

, 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 * Pog ...

Dropull Dropull ( sq-definite, Dropulli; el, Δρόπολη or Δερόπολη ''Dropoli'' or ''Deropoli'') is a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in southern Albania. The region stretches from south of the city of Gjirokastër to the Greek–Alban ...

, 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 and

Dishnica Dishnica is a traditional or "ethnographic" region of Albania, located in the Northern parts of former Përmet District and some nearby areas, with its exact borders occasionally being fuzzy. The bulk of its population is ethnically Albanian and ...

(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 Sarandë.

Pleqërishte Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture (music), texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompan ...

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 Alba ...

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 Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...

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 us ...

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 settle ...

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 wit ...

, 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 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 Nartë ( sq-definite, Narta; el, Νάρτα, also Άρτα, ''Arta'' or Παλαιοάρτα, ''Palioarta'') is a community in Vlorë County. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vlorë. It is situated northwest ...

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 Islam 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 Nafiz Bezhani (1928–2004) was an Albanians, Albanian jurist, politician and writer. Life Born in 1928 in Fterrë, southern Albania, and was educated at the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana. In 1943 he joined the National Liberation M ...

- 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 A ...

- 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 - son of Hasan Dosti, political prisoner during communism *

Kadri Gjata Kadri Gjata (1865–1912) was an Albanian patriot, writer and educator. He was awarded posthumously with the Honor of the Nation (Nderi i Kombit in Albanian) medal and the title Martyr of the Nation. Kadri Gjata was born in Libohovë in 1865. Afte ...

- Albanian patriot, writer, and educator * Zenel Gjoleka - Leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt *

Sinan Idrizi Sinan Idrizi (born 20 July 1968) is a key figure and major shareholder of Air Albania and is also the president of Albanian football club Flamurtari FC. He first started business in 1993, trading goods from Turkey. In 2014 he became the president ...

- 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 - 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 Ahmet Lepenica born Ahmet Islam Canaj (1872–1941) was an Albanian fighter and commander, known for his role in Battle of Vlora when Albanian irregulars under his leadership fought against Italian troops. Ahmet Lepenica was born in 1872 in Lepen ...

- Albanian nationalist, military commander and hero of the 1920 Vlora War *

Myfit Bej Libohova Mufid Bey Libohova (1876 in Libohovë – 1927 in Sarandë) was an Albanian economist, diplomat and politician and one of the delegates at the Assembly of Vlorë (28 November 1912) where the Albanian Declaration of Independence took place. H ...

- Justice Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Culture, of the Libohova family *

Jakup Mato Prof.Dr.Jakup Halil Mato (16 September 1934 in Fterra, Albania – 30 August 2005 in Tirana, Albania) was an Albanian publicist and educational administrator. He started publishing his articles and research studies in the field of literature ...

- 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 Selam Musa Salaria or Selam Musai (1857–1920) was one of the Albanian military leaders of the Vlora War. He died fighting at the advanced age of 63. Posthumously he was awarded the People's Hero of Albania medal. Life He was born in 1857 Sa ...

- Albanian military commander and nationalist; died during the Vlora War * Hodo Nivica - Leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt *

Çelo Picari Xhelil Bega or Çelo Picari (1801–1880) was an Albanian revolutionary leader of the Albanian Revolt of 1847. Life Born ''Xhelil Bega'' in 1801 in the old Picar, a settlement that is no longer inhabited and in ruins, but close to today's Pic ...

- 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 person. ...

- Founding Father of Albania * Urani Rumbo- Early Albanian feminist * Avni Rustemi - 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 - 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 was ...

- Albanian nationalist revolutionary

References

Bibliography

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