The Nikšići ( sr-Cyrl, Никшићи) was one of the historical tribes in the Ottoman

Sanjak of Herzegovina The Sanjak of Herzegovina ( tr, Hersek Sancağı; sh, Hercegovački sandžak) was an Ottoman administrative unit established in 1470. The seat was in Foča until 1572 when it was moved to Taşlıca (Pljevlja). The sanjak was initially part of ...

, constituting the Nikšić ''nahija''. It was part of

Old Herzegovina Old Herzegovina ( sr, Стара Херцеговина, Stara Hercegovina) is a historical region, covering the eastern parts of historical Herzegovina, outside the scope of modern Herzegovina. A large section of ''Old Herzegovina'' belongs to ...

, that in 1858 was ''de facto'' incorporated into the

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro ( sr, Књажевина Црна Горa, Knjaževina Crna Gora) was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Nikola I, who then ...

Etymology

The name ''Nikšići'', appears to have developed from the diminutive

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 ...

''Niksh'' plus the Slavic suffix ''ić''.

History

The first mention of the tribe Nikšići comes from a

Ragusan Ragusan may refer to: * citizen of the Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate ...

letter to

Jelena Balšić Jelena, also written Yelena and Elena, is a Slavic given name. It is a Slavicized form of the Greek name Helen, which is of uncertain origin. Diminutives of the name include Jelica, Jelka, Jele, Jela, Lena, Lenotschka, Jeca, Lenka, and Alena. Not ...

dated 1399. In the same year they are mentioned as "Nikšić of Zeta" (''Nichsich de Zenta'') in

Kotor Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...

an documents. In 1447 it was recorded that they had captured a Ragusan messenger and sold him to the Turks. In 1455 they are listed among tribes and villages in Zeta who signed an agreement with Venetians in

Vranjina Vranjina ( cnr, Врањина) is a settlement, island, and a hill in Lake Skadar, in the Montenegrin municipality of Podgorica. Until the first half of the 18th century, Vranjina like other islands of Skadar lake, was one of the hills in the Ze ...

. The names of numerous Montenegrin tribes occur in 14th and 15th century as the names of katuns however for some of them they are not explicitly said to be katuns, but are referred as Vlachs (social class) and one of these Vlachs are Nikšići.Božidar ŠEKULARAC, UTICAJ VLAHA NA FORMIRANJE I RAZVOJ CRNOGORSKIH PLEMENA, UDK 94 (=135.1) (497.16), http://dacg.me/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Arhivski-Zapisi-br-1-2015-1.pdf #page=20 They simultaneously used the name ''Onogošti'' until 17th century and further. The tribe was led by the ''vojvoda'', which had been established after conflicts within the tribe as a compromise.Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti 1971, p. 225 The burning of

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

's remains after the

Banat Uprising The Uprising in Banat was a rebellion organized and led by Serbian Orthodox bishop Teodor of Vršac and Sava Temišvarac against the Ottomans in the Eyalet of Temeşvar. The uprising broke out in 1594, in the initial stage of the Long Turkish Wa ...

provoked revolts in other regions against the Ottomans.

Grdan Grdan ( sr-cyr, Грдан; 1596–d. 1612) was the '' vojvoda'' (duke) of the Nikšić ''nahija'', part of the Sanjak of Herzegovina (Ottoman Empire), who led several uprisings against the Ottomans in between 1596 and 1612, alongside Serbian Pat ...

, the vojvoda of Nikšić, organized revolt with Serbian Patriarch

Jovan Kantul Jovan Kantul ( sr-cyr, Јован Кантул, 1592 – d. 1614), sometimes numbered Jovan II was the Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch, the spiritual leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church, from 1592 until his death in 1614. He planned a ...

. In 1596, an uprising broke out in

Bjelopavlići Bjelopavlići ( cyrl, Бјелопавлићи; sq, Palabardhi), ) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanian origin and a valley in the Brda region of Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad. Geography The ''Bjelopavlići'' valley (also kno ...

, then spread to

Drobnjaci Drobnjaci (, ) are historical tribe and region, Drobnjak, in Old Herzegovina in Montenegro (municipalities from Nikšić to Šavnik, Žabljak and Pljevlja). Its unofficial centre is in Šavnik. The Serb Orthodox families have St. George (''Đu ...

, Nikšići,

Piva Piva may refer to: * Piva (river), a river in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina * Piva, Montenegro, a region in Montenegro and tribe * Piva River, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea * Piva Trail, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea ** Battle for Piva Tr ...

and

Gacko Gacko ( sr-cyrl, Гацко) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the region of East Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 5,784 inhabitants, while the m ...

(see:

Serb Uprising of 1596–97 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 ...

). It was suppressed due to lack of foreign support.

Legacy

According to oral tradition, the tribe dates to the 14th century.According to oral tradition collected by Serbian historian Petar Šobajić, the tribe had originated from Nikša, who was the son of ''ban'' Ilijon of

Grbalj Grbalj ( sr-Cyrl, Грбаљ), denotes a historic, rural region, as well as a tribe of the Montenegrin littoral, and a parish located between town of Budva and the Luštica peninsula, Bay of Kotor in coastal Montenegro. Most of the region now li ...

and maternally a Nemanjić. Kovijanić, expanding on this said that Nikša had moved from lands around

Morača monastery The Morača ( sr-cyrl, Морача, ) is a major river in Montenegro that originates in the Statistical regions of Montenegro, northern region in Kolašin Municipality under Mount Rzača. It meanders southwards for before emptying into Lake S ...

to what is now Župa Nikšićka after the death of Serbian prince Stefan Vukanović Nemanjić ( 1252), his relative. It is considered that the tribe wasn't founded by only one individual, yet several related families led by Nikša. They found native tribes there: in the west were the Riđani (the strongest tribe), in Župa itself were the Lužani, in the north, by the mountains Vojnik and

Durmitor Durmitor ( Montenegrin: Дурмитор, or ) is a massif located in northwestern Montenegro. It is part of the Dinaric Alps. Its highest peak, Bobotov Kuk, reaches a height of . The massif is limited by the Tara River Canyon on the north, the ...

were the

. Until the 14th century they were a very strong tribe, repressing Lužani and Drobnjaci, and tradition talks about many conflicts between them and Riđani. In the 16th century only Nikšići and Riđani lived in the area.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Niksic (tribe) Nikšić Ottoman period in the history of Montenegro Geography of Montenegro Sanjak of Herzegovina Tribes of Montenegro