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60-511: Devoll may refer to: Devoll (municipality) , in Korçë County, southeastern Albania Devoll (river) , in southern Albania See also [ edit ] Devol (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

120-530: A Duke of present-day central Serbia (which had not yet come under Ottoman rule), stood against the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The result was indecisive, but it led to the subsequent fall of Serbia. Stefan Lazarević , the son of Lazar, succeeded as ruler, but by 1394 he had become an Ottoman vassal. In 1402 he renounced Ottoman rule and became a Hungarian ally; the following years are characterized by

180-577: A conglomeration of principalities, some of which did not even nominally acknowledge his rule. Stefan Uroš V died childless on 4 December 1371, after much of the Serbian nobility had been killed by the Ottoman Turks during the Battle of Maritsa . The crumbling Serbian Empire under Uroš the Weak offered little resistance to the powerful Ottomans. In the wake of internal conflicts and decentralization of

240-616: A conjecture already proposed by the 19th century British traveller William Martin Leake in 1835. Devol fortress was reconquered by the Bulgarian Empire in the beginning of the 13th century, but taken back by the Byzantines in 1259. The fortress continued to play an important role until the 14th century. Its site became forgotten in modern times. In a text by Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos (r. 1347-1354) whose 'History' covers

300-476: A number of flags, and Serbia is represented by a flag placed above Skoplje ( Skopi ) with the name Serbia near the hoist , which was characteristic for capital cities at the time the drawing was produced. The flag, depicting a red double-headed eagle , represented the realm of Stefan Dušan. A flag in Hilandar , seen by Dimitrije Avramović, was alleged by the brotherhood to have been a flag of Emperor Dušan; it

360-585: A part of the original Albanian Muslim population has converted to Orthodoxy as part of emigration to Greece. There are also Roma present as well as Macedonians in the village of Vërnik . The Slavic-speakers of Vernik identify as Aegean Macedonians and refuse any Bulgarian or other identity. The Roma are mainly Muslim while the Macedonians are Orthodox Christians. In modern times, among the Albanian population, there has been extensive intermarriage between

420-539: A power struggle between the Ottomans and Hungary over the territory of Serbia. In 1453, the Ottomans conquered Constantinople , and in 1458 Athens was taken. In 1459, Serbia was annexed, and then Morea a year later. During the following centuries of Ottoman rule, the legacy of former statehood, embodied in the Serbian Empire, became an integral part of Serbian national identity . After finishing most of his conquests, Stefan Dušan dedicated himself to supervising

480-680: A single master required seizure of Constantinople to add to Serbia what remained of the Byzantine Empire. Dušan intended to make himself emperor and defender of Christianity against the Islamic wave. Education, to which St. Sava had given the first impulse, progressed remarkably during Dušan's reign. Schools and monasteries secured royal favor. True seats of culture, they became institutions in perpetuating Serbian national traditions. The fine arts, influenced by Italians, were not neglected. Architectural monuments, frescoes and mosaics testify

540-526: A sudden conquest led to the fragmentation of the empire. The period was marked by the rise of a new threat: the Ottoman Turkish sultanate gradually spread from Asia to Europe and conquered first Byzantine Thrace, and then the other Balkan states. Too incompetent to sustain the empire created by his father, Stefan V could neither repel attacks of foreign enemies nor combat the independence of his nobility. The Serbian Empire of Stefan V fragmented into

600-468: A tradition of Serbian heirs to rule this province. Advised by the nobility, Dušan later marched from Zeta to Nerodimlje , where he besieged his father and forced him to surrender the throne. Stefan was later imprisoned in the fortress of Zvečan , where he died. In 1333, Dušan launched a large attack on the Byzantine empire , at the time ruled by the ambitious emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos , with

660-543: A treaty with Dušan, so he could attack the kingdom of Naples without Dušan attacking him from the south. Stephen, feeling that his position in Hum and Krajina is becoming harder to defend, started building fortresses around river Neretva , to strengthen his presence and even went as far as to raid the Serbian province of Travunia , reaching as far as Kotor . Dušan could not tolerate this, so he marched with his army westward. Dušan led 50,000 infantry and 30,000 cavalry across

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720-523: Is again mass emigration, although this time the local Muslim population is emigrating in larger numbers and higher proportions than the Christian population, a reverse of the "Kurbet" of the previous century. Devoll is located in the southeast of Albania. The border settlement Kapshticë is not far from the easternmost point in Albania. The entire eastern and southern borders of the municipality are also

780-534: Is considered a medieval constitution . The Code included 201 articles, based on Roman - Byzantine law . The legal transplanting is notable with the articles 172 and 174 of Dušan's Code, which regulated juridical independence. They were taken from the Byzantine code Basilika (book VII, 1, 16–17). The Code had its roots in the first Serbian constitution – St. Sava's Nomocanon ( Serbian : Zakonopravilo ) from 1219, enacted by Saint Sava . St. Sava's Nomocanon

840-720: Is heavily dedicated to border trade with Greece. Despite being a primarily agricultural area a large service industry has developed around the border trade. In particular, many young men of this area worked in Greece in the 1990s, mostly illegally, in order to escape the poverty at home. Subsequently, it often happened that their families have joined them. Mayors who have served since the Albanian Declaration of Independence of 1912: Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( Serbian : Српско царство / Srpsko carstvo , pronounced [sr̩̂pskoː tsâːrstʋo] )

900-563: Is located at a height of 1048 m mountain pass . The western border is formed by the Malet e Moravës mountain range, whose highest mountain is the 1806 m high Maja e Lartë. The city of Korçë lies on the other side of this mountain range. There are only three passes through these mountains. In the northwest, the Devoll flows through a narrow canyon into the Plain of Korçë. In the northeast a long arm of

960-614: The Ecumenical Councils , for the functioning of the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church. In 1355, Dušan began military preparations for new campaigns in the south and east, but suddenly died of an unknown illness in December 1355. Bordering Serbia to the west was the banate of Bosnia , ruled by Stephen II Kotromanic . During the reign of Dušan's father, Stefan Dečanski , Stephen expanded his rule to

1020-660: The Greek army burned several Muslim villages in the region, including Sinicë ( Miras ). In the events of 1914, one of those killed by the Greek troops was Bektashi Baba Hafiz of the tekke of Kuç . His bloodstained ritual cap was portrayed as a symbol in the tekke for many years after his death. The chapel in the Blashtonjë cave on the edge of the Small Prespa Lake dates to the 13th century AD. The cave paintings are

1080-700: The Gulf of Corinth in the south, with its capital in Skopje . He also promoted the Serbian Archbishopric to the Serbian Patriarchate . His son and successor, Uroš the Weak , lost most of the territory conquered by Dušan, hence his epithet. The Serbian Empire effectively ended with the death of Uroš V in 1371 and the break-up of the Serbian state . Some successors of Stefan V claimed the title of Emperor in parts of Serbia until 1402, but

1140-636: The Late Bronze Age . This appears to be of possible local manufacture. The medieval era Devol fortress, then known as Deabolis ( Greek : Δέαβολις), was the location where the Treaty of Devol between Bohemond I of Antioch and Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos was signed in 1108. Its site became forgotten in modern times, however it has been tentatively identified with the site Zvezdë (located at 40°43′N 020°51′E  /  40.717°N 20.850°E  / 40.717; 20.850 ),

1200-718: The Latin Church were condemned to work in mines, and people who propagated it were threatened with death. The Papacy grew concerned about this and the increasing power of Dušan and aroused the old rivalry of the Catholic Hungarians against the Orthodox Serbs. Once again Dušan overcame his enemies from whom he seized Bosnia and Herzegovina, which marked the height of the Serbian Empire in Middle Ages. However,

1260-579: The Small Prespa Lake stretches almost all the way to the Plain of Bilisht. In the southeast, the plain breaks off here and there almost imperceptibly into the Kore river valley, which cuts through the mountains here. This river, which is a tributary of the Haliacmon , makes a detour through Albanian territory of about 5 km. The few square kilometres of its drainage basin located in Albania are

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1320-462: The Balkan peninsula. He gave sanctuary to the former regent of the Byzantine Empire, John VI Kantakouzenos , in revolt against the government, and agreed to an alliance. In 1349 and 1354, Dušan enacted a set of laws known as Dušan's Code . The Code was based on Roman - Byzantine law and the first Serbian constitution , St. Sava's Nomocanon (1219). It was a Civil and Canon law system, based on

1380-523: The Bosnian border. Stephen, knowing he could not face such a force, opted to retreat in front of it in hopes of leading the Serbian army into hard terrain, where he could potentially fight them off. However, this did not work out because Bosnian nobility and even some of Stephen's own soldiers, unhappy with his rule, started defecting to Dušan. Dušan soon reached Bobovac , the capital of Bosnia, to which he laid siege. The Bosnian ban fled to Hungary, and Bosnia

1440-649: The Byzantine Empire. The ceremony was performed by the newly elevated Serbian Patriarch Joanikije II , the Bulgarian Patriarch Simeon, and Nicholas , the Archbishop of Ohrid . At the same time, Dušan had his son Uroš crowned as King of Serbs and Greeks , giving him nominal rule over the Serbian lands , although Dušan was governing the whole state, with special responsibility for the newly acquired Roman (Byzantine) lands. These actions, which

1500-470: The Byzantines received with indignation, appear to have been supported by the Bulgarian Empire and tsar Ivan Alexander , as the Patriarch of Bulgaria Simeon had participated in both the creation of a Serbian Patriarchate of Peć and the imperial coronation of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan. Dushan made marriage alliance with Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander , marrying his sister Helena . Tsar Dušan doubled

1560-469: The Devoll was redirected into the Small Prespa Lake during floods. The excess water was used to irrigate the Korçë Plain. In the mountains east of Bilisht, along the Greek border, there are rich nickel deposits, concentrated in two main deposits, at Verniku and Kapshtica West. The population is overwhelmingly ethnically Albanian, with the majority of Albanians there having been Muslim at the end of

1620-760: The Mighty had expanded his state to cover half of the Balkans, more territory than either the Byzantine Empire or the Second Bulgarian Empire in that time. Therefore, in 1345, in Serres , Dušan proclaimed himself " Tsar " ("Caesar"). On 16 April 1346, in Skopje (former Bulgarian capital), he had himself crowned " Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks ", a title signifying a claim to succession of

1680-462: The Muslim and Christian populations, with the result being that many of the ethnically Albanian youth in the area identity with both traditions, as "half-Muslim, half-Christian". Like elsewhere in Albania, actual religious observance is typically lax although due to Ottoman history even among some non-practicers, religious identity may still plays a role in social relations, being more significant among

1740-631: The Ottoman era, while a minority of the Albanians, especially those that resided especially in high altitude areas, remained Orthodox Christian . The Albanian Christian population lives mostly in the upper valley of the Devoll river, in the town of Hoçisht , in Bilisht and in the village of Tren, and insist on being called only Albanian and not Greek. In the region there are small numbers of Aromanians with further numbers of Greeks . Post-communism,

1800-433: The Serbian provinces of Hum and Krajina , which stretched from Dubrovnik on the east to river Cetina on the west, Dušan, being busy with his conquests on the south, tried to solve this territorial dispute with diplomacy, but that did not succeed, as Stephen continually refused or ignored Dušan's requests, counting on the help of his Hungarian protector king Louis I. However, the situation changed when Louis signed

1860-626: The Venetians some time after Dušan's death, on 10 January 1356, and Klis was conquered by the Croatian general Nikola Banic for the Hungarian king sometime after 1356, ending Serbian presence in Dalmatia. Dušan was succeeded by his son, Stefan Uroš V , called "the Weak," a term that also described the empire as it slowly slid into feudal anarchy. The failure to consolidate its holdings after

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1920-511: The administration of the empire. One key objective was to create a written legal code, an effort his predecessors had only begun. An assembly of bishops, nobles, and provincial governors was charged with creating a code of laws, bringing together the customs of the Slav countries. Dušan's Code was enacted in two state assemblies, the first on May 21, 1349, in Skopje , and the second in 1354 in Serres . The law regulated all social spheres, thus it

1980-497: The constitution. The ruling nobility possessed hereditary allodial estates, which were worked by dependent sebri , the equivalent of Greek paroikoi : peasants owing labour services, formally bound by decree. The earlier župan title was abolished and replaced with the Greek-derived kefalija ( kephale , "head, master"). Commerce was another object of Dušan's concern. He gave strict orders to combat piracy and to assure

2040-611: The emperor, mainly German knights . A German nobleman, Palman , became the commander of the Serbian " Alemannic Guard " in 1331 upon crossing Serbia on the way to Jerusalem ; he became leader of all mercenaries in the Serbian Army . The main strength of the Serbian army were the heavily armoured knights feared for their ferocious charge and fighting skills, as well as hussars , versatile light cavalry formations armed mainly with spears and crossbows, ideal for scouting, raiding and skirmishing. The 1339 map by Angelino Dulcert depicts

2100-470: The environs of Adrianople . Bulgaria had never fully recovered since its defeat by the Serbs at the Battle of Velbazhd . The outcome of the battle shaped the balance of power in the Balkans for the next decades to come and although Bulgaria did not lose territory, the Serbs could occupy much of Macedonia . Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander , whose sister Helena Dušan later married, became his ally between 1332 and 1365. Dušan ruled over major central part of

2160-468: The help of a deserted Byzantine general, Syrgian . Dušan quickly conquered the cities of Ohrid , Prilep and Kastoria , and attempted to besiege Thessalonica in 1334, but was prevented conquering the city by the death of Syrgian, who had been assassinated by a Byzantine spy. Syrgian was a key figure in Dušan's army, as he had earned a great reputation in Greece, convincing Greek citizens to surrender cities rather than fight Dušan's armies. By 1345, Dušan

2220-579: The interior. This economic development made possible the creation of the Empire. Important trade routes were the ancient Roman Via Militaris , Via Egnatia , Via de Zenta , and the Kopaonik road, among others. Ragusan merchants in particular had trading privileges throughout the realm. Security of trade and merchants on the roads was a major concern for the state authorities. Srebrenica, Rudnik, Trepča, Novo Brdo, Kopaonik, Majdanpek, Brskovo, and Samokov were

2280-444: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Devoll&oldid=1221826016 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Devoll (municipality) Excavations at Tren cave unearthed Mycenaean Greek pottery of

2340-467: The main centers for mining iron, copper, and lead ores, and silver and gold placers. The silver mines provided much of the royal income, and were worked by slave-labour, managed by Saxons . A colony of Saxons worked the Novo Brdo mines and traded charcoal burners. The silver mines processed an annual 0.5 million dollars (1919 comparation). The currency used was called dinars ; an alternative name

2400-476: The major part of the Serbian nobility, including the Serbian archbishop Danilo , and some of the king's most trusted generals, such as Jovan Oliver Grčinić . Tensions slowly rose between the king and his son, especially after the battle of Velbužd , where Dušan showed his military capabilities, and they seem to have culminated when king Stefan raided Zeta , a province in Serbia where Dušan ruled autonomously, being

2460-571: The most serious menace came from the East, from the Turks. Entrenched on the shores of the Dardanelles, the Turks were the common enemies of Christendom. It was against them that the question of uniting and directing all forces in the Balkans to save Europe from the invasion arose. The Serbian Empire already included most of the region, and to transform the peninsula into a cohesive whole under a rule of

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2520-458: The national border with Greece . On the western and northern sides, the municipality neighbours Kolonjë , Korçë , Maliq and Pustec . The municipality is located in the upper reaches of the Devoll river, which originates in the southwestern part of the area. Bilisht is located at around 900 m above sea level on a plain which is surrounded on all sides by mountains. The bordertown of Kapshticë

2580-513: The older generations. The Albanian population speaks with a Tosk dialect , while the Macedonian population speaks the Kostur dialect . The entire Slavic-speaking Macedonian population is also bilingual in Albanian nowadays. The border settlement of Kapshticë is among the most important routes from Albania into Greece. As a result, the whole region, which is isolated from the rest of Albania,

2640-476: The oldest artworks which have been found in Albania and the icons in the chapel are among the oldest of their kind in the country. It was in Devoll, while the region was within the Serbian Empire , that Emperor Stefan Dušan died in 1355. In late Ottoman times and early Independence era, much of the Christian population emigrated abroad and then returned, and later a part of the Muslim population did

2700-569: The only part of Albania which drains into the Aegean Sea rather than the Adriatic or Ionian Seas . The Plain of Bilisht has been made fertile by means of numerous irrigation canals. As a result of heavy rainfall and spring snow melt, the water flows out of the Small Prespa Lake through a natural outlet, into the Devoll and then directly into the Adriatic. From the 1950s, until around 2000,

2760-411: The safety of travelers and foreign merchants. Traditional relations with Venice were resumed, with the port of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) becoming an important transaction point. Exploitation of mines produced appreciable resources. East-west Roman roads through the empire carried a variety of commodities: wine, manufactures, and luxury goods from the coast; metals, cattle, timber, wool, skins, and leather from

2820-646: The same. Before the Second World War , the Devoll valley was an autonomous district. In the Communist period, it belonged to the Korçë region, which it was separated from in 1990 as part of the reform of administrative divisions. In the territorial reforms of 2015, the municipalities of Devoll region were transformed into the new municipality of Devoll, which was placed within Korçë County . Today, there

2880-408: The size of Serbian state, seizing territories in all directions, especially south and southeast. Serbia held parts of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina , Moravian Serbia, Kosovo , Zeta, modern North Macedonia , modern Albania , and half of modern Greece . He did not fight a single field battle, instead winning his empire by besieging cities. Dušan undertook a campaign against the Byzantine Empire, which

2940-584: The sources do not mention anything about him after Dušan's conquests, until his death in late 1353. Dušan most likely kept control over Dalmatia, since after his conquests, the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Krka was built in that region. Also, he is recorded sending 2 military units under the command of his generals Đuraš Ilijić and Palman Bracht to protect the Dalmatian cities of Klis and Skradin in 1355. Djuras Ilijic surrendered Skradin to

3000-464: The state, the Ottomans defeated the Serbs under Vukašin at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, making vassals of the southern governors; soon thereafter, the Emperor died. As Uroš was childless and the nobility could not agree on a rightful heir, the Empire continued to be ruled by semi-independent provincial lords, who often were in feud with each other. The most powerful of these, Lazar Hrebeljanović ,

3060-410: The territory in Greece was never recovered. Stefan Dušan was the son of the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski (r. 1322–1331). After his father's accession to the throne, Dušan was awarded with the title of "young king". Although this title bore significant power in medieval Serbia, Stefan wanted his younger son, Simeon Uroš , to inherit him instead of Dušan. However, Dušan had significant support from

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3120-522: The years 1320-1356, there is mention of local Albanians ; “ While the emperor was spending about eight days in Achrida ( Ohrid ), the Albanian nomads living in the region of Deabolis (Devoll) appeared before him, as well as those from Koloneia ( Kolonja ) and those from the vicinity of Ohrid. ” This meeting was estimated to have taken place at around February 1328. During the First World War ,

3180-431: Was perper , derived from the Byzantine hyperpyron . The golden dinar was the largest unit, and the imperial tax was one dinar coin, per house, annually. Serbian military tactics consisted of wedge-shaped heavy cavalry attacks with horse archers on the flanks. Many foreign mercenaries were in the Serbian army, mostly Germans as cavalry and Spaniards as infantry. The army also had personal mercenary guards for

3240-576: Was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia . It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty , who significantly expanded the state. During Dušan's rule, Serbia was the most powerful state in Southeast Europe and one of the most powerful European states. It was an Eastern Orthodox multi-ethnic and multi-lingual empire that stretched from the Danube in the north to

3300-505: Was a triband with red at the top and bottom and white in the center. Emperor Dušan also adopted the Imperial divelion , which was purple and had a golden cross in the center. Another of Dušan's flags was the Imperial cavalry flag, kept at the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos ; a triangular bicolored flag, of red and yellow. Influenced by the clergy, Dušan showed extreme severity towards Roman Catholicism. Those who integrated into

3360-620: Was attempting to avert a deteriorating situation after the destruction caused by the Fourth Crusade . Dušan swiftly seized Thessaly , Albania, Epirus, and most of Macedonia . After besieging the emperor at Salonica in 1340, he imposed a treaty assuring Serbia sovereignty over regions extending from the Danube to the Gulf of Corinth , from the Adriatic Sea to the Maritsa river, and including parts of southern Bulgaria up to

3420-628: Was left open for Dušan to conquer. He left a portion of his army to continue besieging Bobovac; sent another portion to conquer the region of Krajina, while he himself led a third portion to conquer Hum. Then, after conquering Hum, Dušan proceeded to enter Dalmatia , in order to secure his sister's domains. His sister, Jelena Nemanjic-Subic , was married to the ban of Croatia , Mladen Subic, who died of plague in 1348, leaving his lands to his wife. After his death, Hungarians and Venetians both continually tried to take control over these lands, so Dušan entered Dalmatia to protect his sister's legal domains. He

3480-471: Was surrounded and advised by a permanent council of magnates and prelates. The court, chancellery and administration were rough copies of those of Constantinople . The code enumerated the administrative hierarchy as following: "lands, cities, župas and krajištes"; the župas and krajištes were one and the same, where župas on the borders were called krajištes ( frontier ). The župa consisted of villages, and their status, rights, and obligations were regulated in

3540-408: Was the compilation of Civil law , based on Roman Law and Canon law , based on Ecumenical Councils . Its basic purpose was to organize the functions of the state and Serbian Orthodox Church . The legislation resembled the feudal system then prevalent in Western Europe, with an aristocratic basis and establishing a wide distinction between nobility and peasantry. The monarch had broad powers but

3600-487: Was welcomed as a liberator in Sibenik and Trogir , but as the Byzantine emperor John Kantakouzenos attacked Dušan from the south, capturing the city of Veria and Edessa , Dušan was forced to retreat and repel him. While he was on his way back, he was welcomed and prepared a great feast in Dubrovnik, where his wife stayed for some time. It is unclear if Dušan kept control in these lands. Certain historians say Stephen Kotromanic returned and regained control in Bosnia, but

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