The Sanjak of Viçitrina ( tr, Vulçitrin sancağı; sq, Sanxhaku i Vushtrrisë; sr, Вучитрнски санџак / ''Vučitrnski sandžak''), also known as the Pristina Pashaluk (

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 ...

: Pashallëku i Prishtinës; sr, Приштински пашалук / ''Prištinski pašaluk''), was a

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησι� ...

(second-level administrative division) of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

(the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

), in present-day

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. It was named after its

administrative center An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or ...

Vučitrn Vushtrri ( sq-definite, Vushtrria) or Vučitrn ( sr-Cyrl, Вучитрн), is a city and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in northern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Vushtrri has 26,964 inhabitants, while the muni ...

History

Vushtrri was captured from the

Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and ...

by the Ottomans in 1455, it remained under control of the governor of

Skopsko Krajište Heineken N.V. is a Dutch brewer which owns a worldwide portfolio of over 170 beer brands, mainly pale lager, though some other beer styles are produced. The two largest brands are Heineken and Tecate; though the portfolio includes Amstel, Fo ...

until the definite annexation of the Serbian Despotate in 1459. The first Ottoman records include the territory of the sanjak as ''Vilayet-i Vlk'' (Vilayet of Vuk), a reference to

Vuk Branković Vuk Branković ( sr-cyr, Вук Бранковић, , 1345 – 6 October 1397) was a Serbian medieval nobleman who, during the Fall of the Serbian Empire, inherited a province that extended over present-day southern and southwestern Serbia, enti ...

. According to Ottoman defters of 1525—1561 the sanjak of Vučitrn included the following towns: Vučitrn,

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and ...

Janjevo Janjevo () or Janjevë (in Albanian) is a village or small town in the Lipljan municipality in eastern Kosovo. The settlement has a long history, having been mentioned for the first time in 1303 as a Catholic parish. The town was prior to the K ...

Novo Brdo Novo Brdo ( sr-Cyrl, Ново Брдо), or Novobërda and Artana ( sq-definite, Novobërdë or ''Artanë''), is a municipality located in the Pristina district of Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, it has a population of 6,729 inhabitants. Th ...

, Belasica, Belo Brdo, Koporići, Trepča and Donja Trepča. In 1459-1826 it was part of

Rumelia Eyalet The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia ( ota, ایالت روم ایلی, ), known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli until 1591, was a first-level province ('' beylerbeylik'' or ''eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans (" ...

, except for a brief period after 1541 when it was included into newly established

Budin Eyalet Budin Eyalet (also known as Province of Budin/Buda or Pashalik of Budin/Buda, ota, ایالت بودین, Eyālet-i Budin) was an administrative territorial entity of the Ottoman Empire in Central Europe and the Balkans. It was formed on the ter ...

. It was also part of

Temeşvar Eyalet The Province of Temeşvar ( ota, ;ایالت طمشوار Eyālet-i Tımışvār), known as Province of Yanova after 1658, was a first-level administrative unit (eyalet) of the Ottoman Empire located in the Banat region of Central Europe. B ...

briefly before returning to Rumelia Eyalet. Contemporary documents like the 1566-7

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 the sanjak show that the c. 1000 villages of the region were mostly inhabited by Christians, with Muslims comprising forty-six households not in compact communities but spread in thirty villages. As in nearby

the rate of conversion of Orthodox Slavs to Islam was low. Ottoman traveller

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

visited the capital of the sanjak in 1660 and observed that the population spoke "Albanian and Turkish, but not Bosnian". According to Ottoman sources, sanjak was inhabited with Albanians, Vlachs, Slavs, Turks, Gypsies and others, of Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic confessions. Among the Christians a Catholic community also existed as evidenced by a local landmark known as the "Latin cemetery" ( sq, varrezat latine). In 1717, during the Austro-Turkish War, an uprising broke out in the sanjak, raised by the Serb

rayah A raiyah or reaya (from , a plural of "countryman, animal, sheep pasturing, subjects, nationals, flock", also spelled ''raiya'', ''raja'', ''raiah'', ''re'aya''; Ottoman Turkish رعايا ; Modern Turkish râiya or reaya; related to the Arabi ...

. It was brutally suppressed. In 1864 during the administrative reforms of the era, it was demoted to a

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

of the newly established sanjak of Pristina.

Economy

A group of mines on the

Kopaonik Kopaonik ( sr-cyr, Копаоник, ; sq, Kopaoniku) is a mountain range located in Serbia and Kosovo. The highest point is the Pančić's Peak with . The central part of the Kopaonik plateau was declared a national park in 1981 which today cove ...

mountain together with those in

and

belonged to this sanjak.

Governors

*Hussein Bey *Malik Pasha ( 1807–1820s) *Yashar Pasha ( 1830–1836)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vucitrn, Sanjak of Sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire in Europe Ottoman period in the history of Kosovo

Sanjak of Vučitrn Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг ('' okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province") ...

1864 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire 1459 establishments in the Ottoman Empire States and territories disestablished in 1864