Zhabel is a village in the

Dushkaja Dushkaja or Dushkajë is an ethnographic region in the Dukagjini Plains of western Kosovo. The football club KF Dushkaja is named after the region. Much of the region corresponds to the District of Gjakova. Etymology Dushkaja's etymology derives ...

subregion in the

Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

municipality of

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 is inhabited exclusively by

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 ...

Geography

Zhabel is 20 km north of Gjakova. It is positioned in two valleys and is composed of 2 main sections - ''Zhabeli Plak'' (Old Zhabel) and ''Zhabeli i Ri'' (New Zhabel).

Toponomy

Zhabel consists of

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 ...

toponomy, such as ''Shpati'' (slope), ''Grykat'' (gorges), ''Ara e Madhe'' (big field), ''Kodra e Trimave'' (hill of the brave), ''Përroni i Vogël'' (little stream), ''Fangi'', ''Lugina e Maliqëve'' (valley of the Maliqi) ''Livadhet e Gata'' (long meadows), ''Lugu i Sokolëve'', ''Livadhet e Mëdha'' (big meadows), ''Kroni i Mllokës'', ''Kodra e Malësorëve'' (hill of the highlanders) etc.

History

Zhabel's inhabitants lived in the locality of Zhabeli Plak. In between Zhabeli Plak and Zhabeli i Ri, on the ''Kodra e Malësorëve'' (hill of the highlanders), traces of settlement can be observed. It is said that disease fell upon the initial settlement and the population was greatly affected. Many died and were buried in the place called the Hasallak graves. Many moved to Zhabel i Ri. In 1913 as part of war crimes committed against ethnic Albanians intended to transform the ethnic character of the region, Montenegrin forces pillaged and burned down the Albanian village of Zhabel and massacred the local population. In between the two

World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

settled 8 Serb and Montenegrin colonist families in Zhabel with the intention of changing the traditionally Albanian ethnic structure of the region. Their settlement in the area was short-lived.

Anthroponomy

Zhabeli Plak consists of the Maliqi family. Zhabeli i Ri consists of families belonging to the Albanian

Morina ''Morina'' is a genus of the angiosperm family Caprifoliaceae. It is unofficially the provincial flower of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. ''Morina'' is named in honor of Louis Morin de Saint-Victor (1635–1715), a French physician ...

and Berisha tribes - these families are the Haziraj, Ukaj, Smajlaj and Delijaj. The Catholic families of this neighbourhood - the Kaçanukët (of the

Nikaj-Mërtur Nikaj-Mërtur is a region of the Gjakova Highlands of Northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribes of Mërturi and Nikaj. The region of Nikaj-Mërtur is located in the south-east of the Albanian Alps, borderin ...

tribe) and the Dedaj - have moved to the village of Lugbunar near Gjakova.

Notes

References

{{reflist Villages in Gjakova