The Španji or Shpani () were a medieval Albanian clan or ''fis''. They inhabited the region of

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

and the valley of the river

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...

in modern-day

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, while also being widespread around Shkodër and Pult. According to folk legends, they were the oldest tribe in the region, while also being in frequent conflict with many other tribes such as the

Macure The Macure were an Albanian tribe that lived on the territory on the part of Montenegro which is today known as Šekular. Bratonožići and Rovčani, Rovci. Like other non-Slavic tribes of Montenegro, they were either assimilated or expelled. The ...

Bukumiri Bukumiri (alternatively, ''Bukmiri'') was an Albanian tribe (''fis'') that lived in present-day central and south-eastern Montenegro. They were semi-nomadic pastoralists whose social organization was based on kinship around brotherhoods of common ...

. They are commonly treated as one of the non-Slavic, "Old Balkanic" people that were assimilated (

Slavicized Slavicisation or Slavicization, is the acculturation of something Slavic into a non-Slavic culture, cuisine, region, or nation. To a lesser degree, it also means acculturation or adoption of something non-Slavic into Slavic culture or terms. Th ...

) into the

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

ethnos.

Serbianisation Serbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", srbizacija, србизација or sh-Latn-Cyrl, label=none, separator=" / ", posrbljavanje, посрбљавање; ...

of the Španji and other tribes in the region began in the 6th and 7th centuries and according to M. Radovanović (2004) was completed when Serbs from surrounding regions retreated to the mountains of Montenegro and

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

because of the 14th- and 15th century Ottoman invasion. The Špani were quite a rich clan, and its riches,flourished in Albania. In support of this fact we can say that in the cadastre of Shkodra of the year 1416-1417 many Špani (''Shpani'') are mentioned,being prevalent in the suburbs of Shkodra and owning land and villages, while also reaping privileges from Venetian possessions. The Albanian

Spani family The Spani (alternatively, Span) were a northern Albanian noble family. They emerged in the 14th century as an important family in the fortified town of Drivasto (Drisht) and owned large estates in the wider area of Shkodra. In the late 15th centu ...

active in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

and

Drivast Drisht ( sq-definite, Drishti) is a village, former bishopric and Latin titular see with an Ancient and notable medieval history (Latin ''Drivastum,'' Italian ''Drivasto'') in Albania, 6 km from Mes Bridge (Albanian: ''Ura e Mesit''). It is l ...

in the beginning of 14th century, originated from the clan. This connection has also been supported by V.Ćorović. Toponyms ''Španjska gradina'' (in

Spuž Spuž ( cnr, Спуж) is a small town seated near Zeta river, within the municipality of Danilovgrad in the central Montenegrin region. Overview It is located halfway between Podgorica and Danilovgrad, in the Bjelopavlići valley. It was part of ...

) and ''Španjsko katunište'' on mount Vražegrmac derive from the tribal name. Š. Kulišić derived their name from Old Greek ''spanios'', meaning "naked", which might have been used by Greeks for the Illyrian inhabitants of the "naked" karst mountains; similarly, the name ''Pješivci'' derives from Slavic ''plješiv'' meaning "bald", and could have been attributed to the inhabitants of those "naked" mountains (in Serbian, the demonym would be ''golobrđani''). Their name could also suggest that they were beardless ( grc, spanos meaning "beardless"). Judging by their name, the Spani family may have been of Greek origin, however this has been considered debatable.

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