Kodžadžik ( mk, Коџаџик; tr, Kocacık), is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

of Centar Župa,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. The village is inhabited mainly by

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

Name

A former Ottoman fortress existed at the location of Kodžadžik before the end of the first half of the 15th century. Scholars such as Smiljanić and Hadži Vasiljević stated that a battle between

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

and the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

took place in the area, and that the name of the village derives from the

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed exten ...

expression ''kocacenk'', which means ''big battle''. "Коџаџик е село и најбогата историја во овој крај. Тука била некогашна Турска тврдина која постоела пред крајот на I пол. од XV в. (Радониќ, Скендербег, 243). Кај Смиљаниќ (с.66) и Хаџи Васиљевиќ (Г. Дебар, 141) е запишано предание за битка меѓу Скендербег и Турците, со која е поврзана народната етимологија на селото (од "kocacenk" -Коџаџик, на Турски: голема битка)."

History

According to historians, the village was first mentioned in 1385 and the name of the village means Great Battle. It was known as Sfetigrad before the Ottoman conquest in 1448, in which Ottoman forces captured it from forces of the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë ( sq, Lidhja e Lezhës), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League ( sq, Lidhja Arbërore), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The Lea ...

after sieging it for three months. After the Ottoman conquest, Kodžadžik was settled by Ottoman soldiers and Turkish nomads (

Yörüks The Yörüks, also Yuruks or Yorouks ( tr, Yörükler; , ''Youroúkoi''; bg, юруци; mk, Јуруци, ''Juruci''), are a Turkish ethnic subgroup of Oghuz descent, some of whom are nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia, ...

). The local church was converted to an Ottoman mosque, and Kodžadžik, as part of the ''sanjak'' (district) Debra-i Bala, became a center that connected the southeast with

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 The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

. In the course of time, resettlements of the

to nearby villages, intermarriages, and social interactions contributed to

Turkification Turkification, Turkization, or Turkicization ( tr, Türkleştirme) describes a shift whereby populations or places received or adopted Turkic attributes such as culture, language, history, or ethnicity. However, often this term is more narrowly a ...

of the area and

Islamization Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...

through

religious conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliati ...

. The fortress of Kodžadžik is recorded in the Ottoman '' defter'' of 1467 with 51 household heads being attested who were exempt from paying the ''

haraç Haraç ( hy, խարջ, kharj, mk, арач, arač, gr, χαράτσι, charatsi, sh-Cyrl-Latn, харач, harač) was a land tax levied on non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire. ''Haraç'' was developed from an earlier form of land taxation, '' ...

'' tax as long as they maintained the upper fortress. The personal names recorded are of a mixed local Albanian-Slavic (and more generally Christian) character, although the Slavic onomastic element predominates; ''Radeko Porteviri''; ''Pejo'' (possibly, ''Pijo''), son of ''Radeko''; ''Todor Koleci''; ''Bogçeja'' son of ''Todor''; ''Nikolla'' son of ''Drago''; ''Todor Drago''; ''Jançe'', brother of ''Todor''; ''Radako'', brother of ''Jançe''; ''Dimitri Pavli''; ''Ivan Koleci''; ''Nikolla'' son of ''Tanas''; ''Gjorgje Pavli''; ''Dimitri Koleci''; ''Pavël Kallogjeri''; ''Gjoni'', son of ''Pavël''; ''

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

Bojko''; ''Nikolla'' brother of ''Pop Bojko''; ''Gjon Strumahu''; ''Petër Kalani''; ''Radec Deskoviçi''; ''Petko Shirgji''; ''Todori'', brother of ''Petko''; ''Radçe Bogisha''; ''Dimitri Zaharia''; ''Ifço Bogiçi''; ''Bogiçe'', son of ''Ifço''; ''Gjon Llazari''; ''Vlashi'', brother of ''Gjon''; ''Nikolla Bratani''; ''Gjorgo Strumahu''; ''Gjergj Koleci''; ''Nanko'', brother of ''Gjergj''; ''Pjeko Obertko'' (''Obretko''); ''Nenko'', brother of ''Pjeko''; ''Todori'', brother of ''Nenko''; ''Gjuro Kozhonari''; ''Ninec Damziqi''; ''Brato'', brother of ''Ninec''; ''Pjero Llazini''; ''Pop Ratko''; ''Radqe Stanisha''; ''Zaharia Stanisha''; ''Ninec Vidiqi''; ''Radçe Kozhari''; ''Dabërto Strumahu''; ''Dako Masktori''; ''Bushko Todori''; and ''Ninec Dajçi''. The carpenters of the upper castle, who were also exempt from taxes, were: ''Gjin Drodgjeri''; ''Bogiçe'', son of ''Gjin''; and ''Aleko'', son of ''Gjin''. Kodžadžik is known for the house of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Rep ...

's parents. The memorial house of Kemal Atatürk's father was reconstructed in Kodžadžik.MIA
/ref>

Demographics

The village is inhabited by a Turkish speaking population consisting of

. p.214. "Турски етнички елемент живее во Жупа - во селата: Коџаџик, Новаци, Брештани, Елевци, Евла, Долгаш, Ослоница и Праленик, и нешто во градот Дебар." p. 326. "Është kjo arsyeja që pranë kalasë së Koxhaxhikut sot gjenden 6 fshatra turqishtfolës, që janë: Pralanik, Breshtan, Novak, Elefc, Koxhaxhik dhe Dollgash." According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 275 inhabitants, whom all are

.Macedonian Census (2002)
''Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 189.

References

Villages in Centar Župa Municipality Turkish communities in North Macedonia {{CentarŽupa-geo-stub