Margariti () is a village and a former municipality in
Thesprotia,
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 ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality
Igoumenitsa, of which it is a municipal unit.
The municipal unit has an area of 149.223 km
2.
Population 1,931 (2021).
Name
The toponym Margariti () is thought to come from ''
Margaritos'', a pirate of the
Emirate of Sicily
The island of SicilyIn Arabic, the island was known as (). was under Islam, Islamic rule from the late ninth to the late eleventh centuries. It became a prosperous and influential commercial power in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, with ...
to whom the Crusader Normans surrendered their holdings on the Ionian coast in the 12th century. The toponym is of uncertain origin and is attested for the first time during the 16th century.
In the
Albanian language it is known as ''Margëlliç'' and in Ottoman Turkish as ''Margliç''. This form is attested since 1611, when ''Gjon Mekuli'' from
Parga reports to the Venetians that Marghelici had been affected by the plague.
Historical documents tend to use the form ''Margariti''.
''Margariti'' was not used as the name of the area for most of its existence. The settlements and the region were known as the nahiye/kaza of ''Mazarak'', the name of a village 6km to the south of modern Margariti. Mazarak was the central settlement of the Albanian
Mazreku clan, which provided the guard of the citadel of Margariti. Until the 19th century, the region was known as the ''kaza of Mazarak'' in Ottoman records. Marglic/Margariti appears as the common name of the kaza/nahiye as early as the
salname 1865.
History
Various ancient sites have been located in the vicinity of the modern settlement. There is a possibility that Margariti was founded before the 16th century.
[
]
Early Ottoman Period
The Ottoman defter of 1530 that was based on the information of a register made under Selim I
Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...
in 1519-1520 is the first source to mention the hamlet of “''Margarit''”, which had only 8 Christian households; the neighbouring villages were also devoid of Muslims. The Ottoman fort in the settlement was built in the first half of the 16th century. Margariti was the administrative center of the nahiye of Mazaraki which in 1551 was renamed to Margariti. The name refers to the Albanian Mazreku tribe which lived in the region and who, via their military services, founded the core of Margariti.
The nahiye had 38 and 35 villages in 1551 and 1613 respectively whereas the settlement of Margariti itself had 17 and 20 households in 1551 and 1613 respectively. It was located on the Venetian-Ottoman borderlands of the time. The locals of the areas of Paramythia, Parakalamos and Margariti were specifically harassed by the Venetians and the inhabitants of Venetian Corfu
Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...
in violation of the Ottoman-Venetian treaty of 1540. In the register of 1551, 17 names were recorded as being inhabitants of Margariti, 14 of which were household heads and 3 bachelors. The anthroponyms recorded were almost exclusively Albanian in character: ''Duka Bruni''; ''Spani Deda''; ''Gjon Ilia''; ''Qesar Dhima''; ''Menksh Leka''; ''Tupe (Popa) Todri''; ''Gjin Jorga''; ''Popa Brushi''; ''Gjin Gjoni''; ''Gjon Jani''; ''Andria Qesari''; ''Gjin Popa (Tope)''; ''Jani Nika''; ''Papa Mihali''; ''Gjon Shorri''; ''Gjon Nika''. The defter of 1551 enumerates the members of the garrison of the “''castle of Margaliç''” with a castle commander (''Dizdar'') and 17 soldiers. Their pay was covered by the tax revenue of a group of villages in the district of Margariti.
In 1570, the Venetian commander Girolamo Zane unsuccessfully attacked the fort of Margariti. In 1571, a group of Albanians from Margariti travelled to Corfu and asked for assistance to take the fort of Margariti from the Ottomans. The Venetian governor of Corfu initially assessed that the force of the group was too small (200-250 men) for the attack. After the Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...
, crucial support was provided by armed units during the second siege of Margariti (November 10–14, 1571); revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society.
Definition
The term—bot ...
leader Petros Lantzas became a key figure by organizing the military movements and securing the cooperation of the population in the surrounding region.
A larger force of 6,000 Venetians and Corfiots, which also included local groups from Parga and Paramythia, assembled under the Venetian commander Sebastiano Venier and attacked the fort of Margariti, which was seized and burnt after a four-day siege. The fall of Margariti had a profound impact in the Christian states of the West as well as among the Greek population of Epirus that lived under Ottoman rule. Venice commissioned a painting for the Doge's Palace
The Doge's Palace (''Doge'' pronounced ; ; ) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace included government offices, a jail, and th ...
to commemorate the destruction of the fort of Margariti. This was one of the final Venetian incursions in Ottoman territory and in the following decades, the region stopped being a battleground district.
After the conclusion of peace between the Ottomans and the Venetians on 7 March 1573, Margariti remained in the possession of the Ottomans. The Cham Albanians who had escaped returned and rebuilt the castle. The Ottoman defter of 1583 shows that Margaliç had only slightly grown, as the number of households increased to only 10 with another 10 unmarried adult males in the settlement. The household heads had Albanian names such as Gjin, Gjon and Duka, although there were three priests with Greek Orthodox names and one recent Muslim convert. Each household paid around 100 Akçe as tax annually, which is the common average for villages situated on arable land that were not very productive.
Local Muslim converts appear in Margariti as early as the 16th century. It is noted that the conversion to Islam of the guard of Margariti, which came from the local medieval Albanian Mazaraki clan, must have been finalized before 1571.[: (translation) Mazërreku (Mazaraki) was the permanent settlement of the core group of the Mazërreku fis since its early days. The settlement appears in the early Ottoman era as the seat of a kaza. In the beginning of the 16th century, the core of Margariti (Margëlliç) was founded via the military services of this group of settlers, the guarding of the fortress and the final conversion to Islam of the Albanian-speaking guard before 1571.] A century later, in 1670, when 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 ...
passed through Margariti, he noted that there were 200 houses within the citadel and another 1,200 were located in the town which had developed around it. At this time, the town of Margariti, which was split into seven neighbourhoods and had a population of 5,000-6,000 inhabitants, had mainly converted to Islam. Çelebi recorded two Friday mosques with stone minarets and tile-covered roofs in the town, but no churches. He also recorded seven ''masjids
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were simple p ...
'' divided across the neighbourhoods that did not hold Friday services and functioned as prayer rooms. Additionally, two primary schools (''mektep''), a hamam
A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...
, two caravanserais
A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was an inn that provided lodging for travelers, merchants, and caravans. They were present throughout much of the Islamic world. Depending on the region and period, they were called by a variety of names inc ...
, two tekkes and a number of shops were recorded; a madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
was constructed in the town at some point during the 1670s following Evliya's visit. The position of Margariti at the Venetian-Ottoman border was a cause of friction as the interests of the Venetians and the Albanian beys of Margariti resulted in disputes for the control of the agricultural territory between Parga and the inland territory. Evliya's visit occurred during the last years of the Cretan War, when there was a constant threat of Venetian attack. An Ottoman budget record of 1669/70 shows that the small castle of Margariti had eight gunners, and an estimated 40-50 Janissaries
A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...
.
Late Ottoman period
The local Albanian Çapari family emerged in this era. By the end of the 18th century, Hasan Çapari, the leading figure of the family, owned the entire plain of Fanari (to the south of Margariti). Cham Albanian landlords of Margariti and Paramythia were in conflict with Ali Pasha of Yannina during much of the existence of the Pashalik of Yanina. After Ali occupied the town in 1811 following a stubborn resistance led by Hasan Aga of Margariti, the settlement lost much of its prosperity. During the Tanzimat reforms of 1861, Margariti once again became the centre of a Kaza in the Sanjak of Preveza. Representatives from Margariti were part of the southern branch of the League of Prizren.
In 1880, Muslim Albanians constituted 82% of Margariti's population with a total of 1,100 inhabitants; the remainder consisted of 240 Christians. The Kaza of Margariti itself numbered to 48 villages with 3,813 Christians and 15,202 Muslims, making the Kaza 80% Muslim. In 1898, Sami Frasheri describes Margariti as a town with about 3,000 Muslim Albanian inhabitants, although this figure is slightly exaggerated. During this time, the Kaza of Margariti, which included the nahiyes of Margariti (largely coterminous to the modern municipality), Parga and Fanari included 71 villages with a total of 25,000 inhabitants, all of which spoke Albanian and most of which were Muslim.
20th century
Margariti was represented as part of the delegation of Chameria by prominent local figure Jakup Veseli when 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 ...
declared its independence in 1912. Some Albanian beys of Margariti were willing to accept Greek rule during the Balkan Wars. In February 1913, Margariti was taken by the Greek army and incorporated into Greece following the Treaty of London (May 1913). Margariti was one of the most severely damaged Cham settlements by Greek militia. Following the annexation of Margariti there was a decrease of its population of Muslim Albanians. From 1913 to 1920, its population dropped from 2606 to 1803. During that period all village elders of the region gathered and declared that they would resist the incorporation of the area into Greece.
According to the Greek census of 1928, the town of Margariti had dropped to 1,805 inhabitants of which 200 were Greeks, who had increased as part of the gradual Hellenization of Albanian-majority towns in the area in the 1920s. According to the Greek census of 1928, the Eparchy
Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...
of Margariti (including Margariti, Parga, Fanari, Perdika) had 14,531 inhabitants of which only 5,000 were Muslim Chams.[: "Until the early 20th century, economic strength lay in the hands of the Muslim landowner class, many of whom were engaged in commerce and usury. This situation had been changing gradually since the mid-19th century as small numbers of individuals and later families from the province of Ioannina, settled in the principal towns of the region establishing business. By the 1920s, they were joined by local men who slowly came to constitute an elite that threatened to wrest economic control from the Muslim notables. The presence of these men led to a gradual ]Hellenization
Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the ...
of formerly Albanian-majority towns, like Margariti and Filiates that was viewed with disdain by the Muslim peasantry."
During the interwar period, Margariti was among the most important towns of the Cham Albanian community located in the coastal region of the Greek part of Chameria and it functioned as a centre of the Albanian speaking area.[ "and it is the most southerly of the villages of Tsamouria, the Albanian speaking area of which Margariti and Paramythia are centres.", p]
76
"The canton of Margariti. This canton forms the heart of the Tsamouria, the region of Albanian-speaking villages. It is remote and rather backward territory of which Margariti is the geographical centre" The region witnessed the largest level of participation to the National Youth Organisation of Ioannis Metaxas
Ioannis Metaxas (; 12 April 187129 January 1941) was a Greek military officer and politician who was dictator of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure, and thereafter as th ...
in Thesprotia.
At the beginning of the Axis occupation 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 ...
, when the town was occupied by Fascist Italian troops in 1941, armed Cham Albanian groups under J. Sadik committed a number of massacres and lootings. Almost all Cham Albanian monuments of Margariti were destroyed during World War II, and during the end of the war, most Muslim families of the region were relocated north of 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 ...
under Nazi German instructions. The region of Margariti together with Mazaraki, was among the first to produce resistance units in Thesprotia in order to deal with the activity of Muslim Cham Albanian groups.
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 ...
, the presence of Albanian Islam in Chameria was annihilated; Chams were expelled from the town by ELAS forces. Those who could save themselves fled to Albania, whereas mosques, tekkes and other buildings reminiscent of the Islamic period were torn down, blown up or set on fire. The town and many of the surviving villages were largely deserted. According to the Greek census of 1960, Margariti had 982 inhabitants. The town and its 48 villages together had a total population of 6,464, which is two thirds less than the figure mentioned by the Greek report in 1880. Many ruins, such as minarets, houses and mosques, can be found throughout Margariti and the surrounding villages as a reminder of the expulsion of the Cham Albanians from the region. The ruins of the castle of Margariti can be found on the southern edge of the modern town. Despite the restoration efforts on Ottoman monuments elsewhere in Greece, nothing has been done to restore the many monuments in Margariti which once functioned as the core district of Chameria.
Province
The province of Margariti () was one of the provinces
A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...
of the Thesprotia Prefecture. Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipal units Margariti and Perdika.[ ] It was abolished in 2006.
Notable residents
* Hamdi Çami, Albanian deputy of Preveza
Preveza (, ) is a city in the region of Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula of the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the Preveza (regional unit), regional unit of Preveza, which is the s ...
in the Ottoman Parliament
* Jakup Veseli, representative of Chameria in Vlora Congress, signatory of Albanian Declaration of Independence
The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six da ...
.
*Konstantinos Zakas (1916–1986) Greek Army General.Margariti.gr
See also
*
Population exchange between Greece and Turkey
References
Sources
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{{Cham Albanians
Populated places in Thesprotia
Igoumenitsa
Provinces of Greece
Former Cham settlements