Kardhiq is a village in the former

Cepo Cepo is a municipal administrative units, formerly known as communes in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Gjirokastër. The municipal unit administrative cent ...

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Gjirokastër County Gjirokastër County ( sq, Qarku i Gjirokastrës) is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The total population in 2021 was 58,031, in an area of 2884 km². Its capital is the city Gjirokastër. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Gjirokastër ...

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 and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality

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 le ...

. The village is inhabited by

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...

and an Orthodox Albanian population.Kallivretakis, Leonidas (1995).
Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας
he Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography" In Nikolakopoulos, Ilias, Kouloubis Theodoros A. & Thanos M. Veremis (eds). ''Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας he Greeks of Albania'. University of Athens. p. 51. " ΑΧ Αλβανοί Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί, AM Αλβανοί Μουσουλμάνοι" p.56. "KARDHIQ ΓΑΡΔΙΚΙ 225 ΑΜ + ΑΧ" Kardhiq Castle is located near the village.

Name

The toponyn Kardhiq is used for several places in Albania. It is found in several places of the Balkans, in the form of Gardik, Gardiki (in Greece), Gradec. The toponym is of Slavic origin and stems from a word for "castle".

History

In late 14th century and early 15th century the Kardhiq Castle was built by the noble Albanian family of Zenebishi. On 15 March 1812, the village was destroyed and 730 of its Muslim Albanian inhabitants were massacred by Greek forces of

Thanasis Vagias Thanasis Vagias ( el, Θανάσης Βάγιας; sq, Thanas Vaja; 1765–1834) was a Greek counselor and confidant of Ali Pasha, the Muslim Albanian ruler of Ottoman Epirus.: "VAYIAS, Thanasis, 1765-1834, Epirot Greek, a confidant of Ali Pasha, ...

serving the local Ottoman Albanian ruler

Ali Pasha Ali Pasha was the name of numerous Ottoman pashas named Ali. It is most commonly used to refer to Ali Pasha of Ioannina. People * Çandarlı Ali Pasha (died 1406), Ottoman grand vizier (1387–1406) * Hadım Ali Pasha (died 1511), Ottoman grand v ...

. The later ordered the massacre due to a long-standing vendetta he had with the village.Foss, Arthur (1978). ''Epirus''. Faber. . p. 139. "Hughes had also admired Derviziana and the prospect across the valley, ‘one of the noblest valleys in Epirus. Here he met a shepherd boy with a pipe fashioned from an eagle’s wing. This eagle had carried away several lambs in his care so, armed with a long Albanian knife, he had climbed up the mountain steep, grappled with and killed the marauder on its nest. Hugh’s hosts had been at the massacre at Gardhiki in Albania when Ali Pasha used Greeks to slaughter the Albanian-Muslim villagers, who had raped his tigress of a mother and his sister. Muslim troops, although loyal to the Vizier, had refused to carry out this instruction."

Notable people

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 ...

, jurist and

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 movem ...

leader *

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 w ...

, Albanian revolutionary and guerrilla fighter involved in the national movement against the Ottoman occupation.

References

Populated places in Gjirokastër Villages in Gjirokastër County {{Gjirokastër-geo-stub