The Sanjak of İpek (; ; ) or Sanjak of Dukakin (; ; ) was a ''

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

'' (an administrative division of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

) with its capital in İpek (Peja), now in Kosovo.

Administration

In Fedor Karaczay's 1842 travel memoir, it was reported that the Sanjak of İpek included northeastern Albania and the larger part of the Dukakin plain, and had three

kadiluk A kadiluk (, ) was the jurisdiction of a kadi, an Islamic judge under the Ottoman Empire. They typically consisted of a major city and its surrounding villages, although some kadis occupied other positions within the imperial administration. ...

s: Dukakin, İpek, Yakova. In 1900–1912 the Sanjak of İpek had four ''

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

s'':

Peja Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the Peja's Lumbar ...

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

Gusinje Gusinje (, ; ) is a small town in Montenegro in the northern region. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality. Name Two alternative etymologies have been proposed ...

and

Berane Berane (Cyrillic: Беране) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region. It is former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Ивангра ...

History

Dukakin was firstly the name of an Ottoman ''kaza'' (in the

Sanjak of Scutari The Sanjak of Scutari or Sanjak of Shkodra (; ; or ''İşkodra Sancağı'') was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottoman Empire acquired Shkodra after the siege of Shkodra in 1478–9. It was part of th ...

), then in 1520, a sanjak with the name (''Dukakin sancak'') was established under the

Rumelia Eyalet The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia (), 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 ("Rumelia"). For most of its history ...

. The name of the sanjak's seat, İpek, was used interchangeably for the sanjak (''İpek sancak''). The Sanjak of İpek was often under direct control of the ''sanjakbey'' of the

. In 1536 Ali-beg, then a ''sanjakbey'' of İpek, was hanged on the orders of the

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

for mistakes and incompetence in governing his ''sanjak''. The

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

population of the sanjak often rebelled against the Ottoman authorities, especially in the 1550s, because they were unable to pay the newly implemented taxes. During one of these rebellions the sanjakbey of Dukakin, Kasim-beg, was ordered to suppress the rebellion with help of the sanjaks of Scutari (İşkodra) and Durazzo (Dıraç) if needed. In 1690 the ''sanjakbey'' Mahmud Pasha Hasanbegović attacked Austrian troops in Peja during the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

. At the end of 1737, sanjak-bey Mahmudbegović devastated Vasojevići and persecuted a lot of people in the Sanjak of İpek. Serbs from Peja informed Russia on killings of over 100 people after 1875, as well as looting of the Patriarchate of Peć and

Visoki Dečani The Visoki Dečani Monastery is a medieval Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery located near Deçan, Kosovo. It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by Stefan Dečanski, List of Serbian monarchs, King of Serbia. Dečani is by far t ...

. In 1877 the sanjak became part of the new Kosovo Vilayet seated in Skopje. In 1904, the sanjak was abolished. During the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

at the end of 1912, the sanjak was occupied by the

Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...

and

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynast ...

. In 1914 a smaller part of the territory became a part of the newly established

Principality of Albania The Principality of Albania () was a monarchy from 1914 to 1925. It was headed by Wilhelm, Prince of Albania, and located in modern Albania in the Balkans, Balkan region of Europe. The Ottoman Empire owned the land until the First Balkan Wa ...

, established on the basis of the peace contract signed during the London Conference in 1913.

List of sanjakbeys

*Ali Bey (; fl. 1536) *Ali-beg (–1537) * Kasim-beg (fl. 1550s) *Mahmud Pasha (; fl. 1690) * Tahir Pasha Mahmud Bey-zade (fl. 1717) *Kurd Mehmed Pasha (1727) * Mahmudbegović (fl. 1737).

References

Sources

* *

Administration

History

List of sanjakbeys

References

Sources

Further reading