The Lepuroshi (alternatively, ''Leporoshi'', ''Lepurushi'') were a historical
Albanian tribe
The Albanian tribes ( sq, fiset shqiptare) form a historical mode of social organization (''farefisní'') in Albania and the southwestern Balkans characterized by a common culture, often common patrilineal kinship ties tracing back to one progeni ...
(''fis'') that inhabited the ethnographic region of
Rrjolli
The Rrjolli is a historical Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region in Malësia of north Albania. The tribal region is centred along the banks of the Rrjoll river that stems from Mount Bishkaz and empties into Lake Shkodër. The Rrjolli tribe is not a ...
in
Malësia
Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia ( sq, Malësia, cnr, / ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision ...
, northern
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 ...
, during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
.
Etymology
The Lepuroshi derive their name from the
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
''lepurush'', a variation of ''lepur'' ("
hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The ge ...
") which denotes young hares. ''Lepur'' itself is ultimately derived from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''leporem''. In 1840, the French Huguenot geologist
Ami Boué
Ami Boué (16 March 179421 November 1881) was a geologist of French Huguenot origin. Born at Hamburg he trained in Edinburgh and across Europe. He travelled across Europe, studying geology, as well as ethnology, and is considered to be among th ...
interpreted the name of the Lepuroshi (''Leporosei'') as "rabbit-eaters".
History
The Lepuroshi are recorded as a community in the
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
cadastre
A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref>
Often it is represented gra ...
of 1416-17 for
Scutari and its environs. In the register, the tribe had founded the settlement of Lepurosh (''Leporonsi'') in the Rrjolli Valley and formed three of the seven households attested; those of ''Jon'', ''Aleks'', and ''Benko Leporoshi''. The village was also home to a certain ''Kjurko Tuzi'' from the
Tuzi
Tuzi ( cnr, Tuzi/Тузи, ; sq, Tuz or ''Tuzi'') is a small town in Montenegro and the seat of Tuzi Municipality, Montenegro. It is located along a main road between the city of Podgorica and the Albanian border crossing, just a few kilometers n ...
tribe. However, an ''Andrea Leporoshi'' is also recorded as among the inhabitants of the fortified town of
Balec
Balec was an medieval fortified town near Shkodër in what is now Albania. The settlement originated in Roman times. During Byzantine rule over the area, it was part of the Dyrrhachium theme. Later it was a seat of a župa of the Kingdom of Duklj ...
. A branch of the Lepuroshi also settled in the lowlands of Shkodra, where another ''Andrea Leporoshi'' is attested in ''Gleros'' (alternatively, ''Glerosh'') near modern
Beltojë
Beltojë is a settlement in the former Bërdicë municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Shkodër
Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous ...
.
The Lepuroshi are subsequently recorded in the
Ottoman ''
defter
A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire.
Description
The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...
'' of 1485 alongside their settlement of Lepurosh. However, in this register, it appears that the Lepuroshi had grown as a community as they now dominated the village where all but three of the 15 household heads were from the Lepuroshi tribe. A certain ''Vlash Petali'' is recorded alongside the Lepuroshi in the village and was possibly connected to the nearby region of
Kiri. The anthroponyms recorded in Lepurosh, and specifically among the Lepuroshi, were almost entirely Albanian in character (e.g., ''Gjergj'', ''Gjon'', ''Lekë'', ''Llesh''). With the implementation of the ''
bajrak
The ''bajrak'' (pronounced or , meaning "banner" or "flag") was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Administrative division, territorial unit, consisting of villages in mountainous frontier regions of the Balkans, from which military recruitment was base ...
'' administrative-military unit and system in the highlands of Albania during the Ottoman period, the Lepuroshi were administratively incorporated into the Rrjolli where they formed a part of the tribal territory and a portion of the local modern population.
In 1505, ''Leka Lepuroshi'' (''Lebronzi'') and his three brothers were recorded as among the Albanian
stratioti
The Stratioti or Stradioti ( gr, στρατιώτες ''stratiotes''; sq, Stratiotë, Stratiotët;, it, stradioti, stradiotti, stratioti, strathiotto, strathioti; french: estradiots; sh, stratioti, stradioti; es, estradiotes) were mercenary u ...
serving under Venetian command.
During the Ottoman period, a branch of the Lepuroshi appears to have migrated to and settled in
Shëngjergj
Shëngjergj (Albanian for Saint George) is a village and a former municipality in the Tirana County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tirana. The population at the 2011 census was 2,18 ...
, east of
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
. A document from 1645, held by the local Hoxha (earlier, ''Alsakaj'') family of Shëngjergj, attests to a ''
sipahi
''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial ''Timariots, timarli s ...
'' or ''
timariot
Timariot (or ''tımar'' holder; ''tımarlı'' in Turkish) was the name given to a Sipahi cavalryman in the Ottoman army. In return for service, each timariot received a parcel of revenue called a timar, a fief, which were usually recently conquer ...
'' named ''Ali'' who held the village of ''Küperli''. In corroboration with local oral traditions, the sipahi Ali was likely an ancestor and member of the Hoxha family which historically maintained the rank of sipahi and that their earliest patrilineal ancestor took the name ''Ali'' following his conversion to
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
. Subsequent male members of the family took the name in reference to their ancestor, the sipahi Ali of Küperli being among them. Family legends also maintain that the earliest name of the family, used prior to their conversion to Islam, was ''Lepuroshi''. Micro-toponyms such as ''Kroi i Lepurit'' and ''Lepuj'' in Shëngjergj attests to this original family name. In the oral traditions of Shëngjergj, it is remembered that a sipahi named Ali, that can now be identified with Ali of Küperli, ousted another sipahi and member of the same family named ''Haxhi Sinani'' who held lands in Shëngjergj that would later be named as ''Qyperli Mahallasi'' following Ali's acquisition, likely a reference to his ownership of Küperli. Haxhi Sinani is believed to have fled south and founded the village of Sinanaj located north-west 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 the a ...
. In Shëngjergj, the ''Dushaj'', ''Altafa'', ''Canej'', ''Varrosi'' families claim to belong to the same ''fis'' as Haxhi Sinani.
References
{{reflist
Tribes of Albania