Labëria is a historic region that is roughly situated in southwestern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. Its inhabitants are known as Labs (referred to as , pl. ''Lebër'', also dial. sing. ''Lap'') and its boundaries reach from

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

to Himara in the south, to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

border near

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; ) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Mediterrane ...

, incorporating the Kurvelesh region of

Gjirokastër District Gjirokastër District () was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 55,991 in 2001, and an area of . It contained a large Greek ethnic minority. It is in the south ...

and extending east to the city of

Tepelenë Tepelenë ( sq-definite, Tepelena) is a city and a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in the south of Albania. The town is on the left bank of the Vjosa River, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino. Until the abolition ...

Name

The toponym ''Labëri/-a'' and the name of the

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 ...

sub-group: ''Lab'' (also ''Labe'', ''Labi''), pl. ''Lebër'', are endonyms formed from the root ''*arb/*alb'' (cf. the ancient ethonym Αλβανοί, ''Albanoi'' by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, and Αλβανοί, Αρβανίται in

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

sources). The variant ''lab-'', which goes back to ''*alb-'', resulted from a metathesis characteristic of

Common Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the Attested language, unattested, linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately ...

, and was reborrowed in that form into Albanian.. "Die besondere ethnische Stellung der Labëri tritt auch in den Benennungen ''lab'' 'Labe', ''Labëri'', Arbëri hervor, die von der Wurzel *''alb''-/*''arb''- gebildet sind und die alte Selbstbenennung der Albaner enthalten. Der Bewohner von Labëri wird auch jetzt lab, best. ''labi'' genannt, eig. ‘der Albaner’. Der Wandel *''alb''- > ''lab'' zeigt die für das Slawische typische metatheseerscheinung. [The particular ethnic position of ''Labëri'' emerges also in the names lab, 'Labe', Labëri, Arbëri that from the root *''alb''-/*''arb''- formed and included the old self-designation of the Albanians. The residents of Labëri is also now lab, spec. ''labi'' called proper 'the Albanians'. The change *''alb''>''lab'' shows the typical metathesis for the Slavic.]" The toponym ''Arbëri'', now used as a variant of ''Labëri'' and only to refer to a small mountainous region extending within the triangle:

, formerly had a broader usage referring in the old times generally to Albania and Albanians (''arbëror'', subst. ''arbëresh''). The variants Arbëri/Labëri were used narrowly to designate a country inhabited by the Labs, i.e. Albanians proper. The link to the older form of the toponym was preserved until the late Ottoman period as suggested in documents of the court of

Ali Pasha of Tepelena Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a ...

and other publications. As reported by Hahn (1854), at his time the toponym ''Arbërí'' was used in the strict sense to denote the highland area at the back of

, i.e. Kurvelesh and Labëria; however, according to him, it was used in a wider sense including also

Himarë Himarë ( sq-definite, Himara; , ''Chimara'' or Χειμάρρα, ''Cheimarra'') is a Municipalities of Albania, municipality and region in Vlorë County, southern Albania. The municipality has a total area of and consists of the administrative ...

up to

Delvinë Delvinë ( or , ) is a town and a municipality in Vlorë County, southern Albania, northeast of Sarandë. It was formed in the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Delvinë and Vergo, which became municipal u ...

, that is the ancient

Chaonia Chaonia or Chaon ( or Χάων) was the name of the northwestern part of Epirus, the homeland of the Epirote Greek tribe of the Chaonians. It was one of the three main areas of ethnic division of Epirus, the other being Molossia and Thesprot ...

. In Ottoman times, the region became known as ''Laplık'' in Turkish, comprising the areas of

, Avlonya (

), Tepedelen (

), Kurules ( Kurvelesh), and Ergiri (

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

). The

name is Λιαπουριά, ''Liapouriá''.

History

In the Middle Ages the Labs were followers of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

but many converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

during Ottoman rule, with the bulk of conversion occurring in the 18th century. Conversions were especially intense during years of conflict between the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the Ottoman Empire, during which some pressure was applied on Orthodox Christians by Ottoman rulers, including even low-scale forced conversion of villages, contradicting the official Ottoman tolerance for Christians.Giakoumis, Kosta. ''The Orthodox Church in Albania during Ottoman Rule''. Page 8. Additional reasons for conversion included discrimination and exploitation of Christians by Ottoman rulers, the previous patterns of conversion between different Christian sects and the diverse pre-Ottoman distribution of Christian faiths in the region (including Orthodoxy,

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Bogomilism Bogomilism (; ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic, dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Peter I in the 10th century. It ...

, and even

Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...

), the poll tax which only Christians had to pay, the poverty of the church, the mass illiteracy of priests and the fact that the language of worship was not the Albanian vernacular. Tradition holds that a mass conversion of Labs occurred during a famine in which the bishops of Himara and Delvina refused to let the Labs break fast and drink milk. Many Labs were recruited by the Ottoman

Janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

corps due to their skills and the Ottomans' initial preference for recruiting Albanians after their invasion of the Balkans. After the disbandment of the Janissary corps by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826, the Sufi branch of the

Bektashi Order Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

, a core Janissary institution, was also disbanded, and its followers executed or exiled to Southern Albania. As a result, the majority of the Labs today belong to the Bektashi faith with Orthodox Christians concentrated in the Himara coastal region as well as a few pockets throughout Vlorë district and the southern and eastern parts of the region, around Gjirokastër, Delvine and Sarande.

or of Yanina (Ioannina), surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina" (1740–1822), was born in this region. He ruled the western part of

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called

Pashalik of Yanina The Pashalik of Yanina, sometimes referred to as the Pashalik of Ioannina or Pashalik of Janina, was an autonomous pashalik within the Ottoman Empire between 1787 and 1822 covering large areas of Albania, Greece, and North Macedonia. Under the ...

. His court was in

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

. Ali had three sons: Ahmet Muhtar Pasha (served in the 1809 war against the Russians), Veli Pasha of Morea and Salih Pasha of Vlorë. Ali Pasha of Tepelena died fighting on February 5, 1822, at the age of 82.

Geography

In its most extensive definition, Labëria may be used to include everything from Mallakastra and the

Vjosa The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös () is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its average dischar ...

river down to Saranda, and in its (somewhat more common) most specific definition, it may refer only to Himara, Tepelena and Kurvelesh. In the more extensive definition, in addition to these three regions, other regions included are Vlore and its surroundings south of the Vjosa river, Lunxhëria, Mallakastra,

and its surroundings,

Pogon Pogon may refer to: * Pogon, Albania, a municipality in Gjirokastër District, Gjirokastër County, Albania * Pogoń, a Knight-in-pursuit coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Pogoni, a municipality in Ioannina regional unit, Greece * P ...

Dropull Dropull ( sq-definite, Dropulli; ''Dropoli'' or ''Deropoli'') is a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in southern Albania. The region stretches from south of the city of Gjirokastër to the Greek–Albanian border, along the Drino river. The reg ...

, Saranda and sometimes ( very rarely) Këlcyra and

Zagori Zagori (; ), is a region, a municipality, and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 v ...

. Bordering regions include

Myzeqe The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; ) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands. Location The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by three main riv ...

, Chamëria, Dangëllia and Dishnica (as well as the border with Greece).

Culture

Labëria is culturally distinguishable from the rest of Albania in its traditions and folklore. The Labs were warlike pastoral people who lived mainly in the mountains of Kurvelesh,

Progonat Progonat is a village in the former Kurvelesh municipality, Gjirokastër County, Albania. It is the largest village of upper Kurvelesh and until 1992 was the administrative center of the commune. At the 2015 local government reform it became part ...

and

during the

Byzantine period The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and the Ottoman invasion of Albania. However, due to mass migrations to urban areas following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the population is now concentrated in the cities of

and

Pleqërishte Iso-Polyphony () is a traditional part of music of Albania, Albanian folk music and, as such, is included in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list. Albanian Iso-Polyphony is considered to have its ...

is a genre of Albanian iso-polyphony primarily found in Labëria Music of Labs is polyphonic, more soft and lyrical than rugged single voiced music of

Ghegs The Ghegs (also spelled Gegs; ) are one of the two main dialectal subgroups of Albanians, alongside the Tosks. These groups are distinguished by their linguistic characteristics. The Ghegs live in Albania (north of the Shkumbin r ...

dedicated to heroism. Similarly to other clan-based Albanian mountain communities, Labs developed a codex of customary laws, the '' Kanun of Labëria'' (, ''Kanuni i Papa Zhulit'' or ''Kanuni i Idriz Sulit''). This set of traditional unwritten laws which survived

and Ottoman periods in the isolated and inaccessible territories of southwest Albania. During the regime of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

the Labs, Ghegs and Tosks were forbidden to emphasize their identity.

Language

The dialect associated with Labëria is the Lab dialect, which is particular to the region. The dialect mixes innovative and archaic features, and is closely related to the Arbëresh spoken by the old Albanian diaspora in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, the

Arvanitika Arvanitika (; Arvanitika: , ; Greek: , ), also known as Arvanitic, is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. Arvanitika was brought to Southern Greece during the late Middle Ages by Alb ...

Arvanites Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They are bilingual, traditionally speaking Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and

Cham Albanian Cham Albanians or Chams (; , ), are a sub-group of Albanians who originally resided in the western part of the region of Epirus in southwestern Albania and northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. The Chams have their ow ...

. The

Himariote dialect Himariote Greek ( or , ''Cheimarriṓtika'' ; ) is a dialect of the Greek language that is mainly spoken by ethnic Greeks in the Himara region of Albania. Despite the small distances between the settlements in the region, there exists some dial ...

of Greek is also spoken in the region of Himara, which is often considered part of Laberia, and other Greek dialects are spoken in the southern extremes of the region as well as in the villages of

Nartë Nartë ( sq-definite, Narta; , also Άρτα, ''Arta'' or Παλαιοάρτα, ''Palioarta'') is a community in Vlorë County. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vlorë. It is situated northwest of the city of ...

and Zvernec. Aromanian and

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

minorities that are present in some places may also speak their ancestral languages.

Religion

Historically the Labs were followers of the

. Literary evidence by Greek historian Aravatinos records that they converted to

at a time of great famine during the Ottoman period. One of the reasons was that Christian bishops refused to allow them to consume milk during fast days. During the Ottoman era, a minority of Labs converted to Eastern Catholicism under Arberesh-led missionaries (notably in Himara in 1577); although the presence of eastern Catholicism in Labëria remains small today, and receded due to the Islamization of the wider region.

Notable people

* Kadri Azbiu – Albanian communist politician who was purged by Enver Hoxha *

Nafiz Bezhani Nafiz Bezhani (1928–2004) was an Albanian jurist, politician and writer. Life Born in 1928 in Fterrë, southern Albania, and was educated at the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana. In 1943 he joined the National Liberation Movement a ...

– Albanian jurist, politician, and writer * Tafil Buzi – Albanian rebel and warlord during the 19th century *

Adil Çarçani Adil Çarçani (5 May 1922 – 13 October 1997) was an Albanian politician who served as the List of Prime Ministers of Albania, 24th Prime Minister of Albania during the Communist era led by Enver Hoxha. He served as the titular head of the Alban ...

– Albanian communist politician *

Hasan Dosti Hasan Dosti (1895January 29, 1991) was an Albanian jurist and politician. He was the leader of the Balli Kombëtar after the war and was considered by the communists to be one of Albania's greatest enemies. Biography Early life Hasan Dosti was ...

– Albanian leader of the

Balli Kombëtar The Balli Kombëtar (literally ''National Front'') was an Albanian nationalist, Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, collaborationist, and anti-communist resistance movement during the Second World War. It was led by Ali Këlcyra a ...

, jurist and politician * Victor Dosti – son of Hasan Dosti, political prisoner during communism * Kadri Gjata – Albanian patriot, writer, and educator *

Zenel Gjoleka Zenel Gjoleka (1805-1852) was an Albanian revolutionary fighter born in Kuç of Kurvelesh who participated in rebellions against the Ottoman Empire central authority, being against reforms of Tanzimat (that decreased the power of the local Albania ...

– Leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt * Sinan Idrizi – CEO of Air Albania, born to a Cham father and Lab mother *

Hysni Kapo Hysni Kapo (1915–1979) was an Albanian military commander and leading member of the Party of Labour of Albania. A member of the Communist Youth group, Kapo was first distinguished as an artillery commander in the Battle of Drashovica. In 1941 ...

– Albanian communist politician, and third in command from 1945 to 1979 * Qazim Koculi – Albanian military commander during the

Vlora War The Vlora War was a military conflict in the Vlorë region of Albania between the Kingdom of Italy and Albanian nationalists. Vlorë, occupied by Italy since 1914, was attacked four times by Albanian nationalists. While repelling the attacks, th ...

, and Prime Minister of Albania for one day in 1922 *

Musine Kokalari Musine Kokalari (10 February 1917 – 13 August 1983) was an Albanians, Albanian prose writer and politician in Albania's pre-communist period. She was the founder of the Social Democratic Party of Albania (1943), Social-Democratic Party of Alban ...

– founder of Albania's early social democratic parties * Ahmet Lepenica – Albanian nationalist, military commander and hero of the 1920 Vlora War * Myfit Bej Libohova – Justice Minister, Minister of the Interior, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Culture, of the Libohova family *

Jakup Mato Jakup Halil Mato (16 September 1934 in Fterra, Albania – 30 August 2005 in Tirana, Albania) was an Albanians, Albanian publicist, educational administrator and lector of Tirana University. He started publishing his articles and research stud ...

– Albanian professor *

Ava Max Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max ( ), is an American Pop music, pop singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in 2018 with the release of her breakthrough single "Sweet but Psycho". The ...

– Albanian-American singer with origins from Qeparo and Saranda *

Skënder Muço Skënder Muço (1904–1944) was an Albanian lawyer and leader of Balli Kombëtar, one of the most important resistance organizations in Albania during World War II. Along with Musine Kokalari Muço founded the first social democratic party of Alb ...

– Albanian lawyer, Leader of the Balli Kombëtar, and founder of one of Albania's first social democratic parties *

Mira Murati Ermira "Mira" Murati (born 16 December 1988) is an Albanian business executive. She launched in February 2025 an AI startup called Thinking Machines Lab. She previously served as chief technology officer of OpenAI from May 2022 to September 20 ...

– Albanian engineer, and researcher into artificial intelligence *

Selam Musai Selam Musa Salaria or Selam Musai (1857–1920) was one of the Albanian military leaders of the Vlora War. He died fighting at the advanced age of 63. Posthumously he was awarded the People's Hero of Albania medal. Life He was born in 1857 i ...

– Albanian military commander and nationalist; died during the Vlora War * Hodo Nivica – Leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt *

Çelo Picari Xhelil Bega or Çelo Picari (1801–1880) was an Albanian revolutionary leader of the Albanian Revolt of 1847. Life Born ''Xhelil Bega'' in 1801 in the old Picar, a settlement that is no longer inhabited and in ruins, but close to today's Pic ...

– Albanian revolutionary leader of the 1847 Southern Albanian Revolt *

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemali, or Ismail Kemal, (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian politician and statesman who is regarded as the founder of modern Independent Albania, Albania. He served as the first Prime Minister of Albania, prime minister o ...

– Founding Father of Albania * Urani Rumbo – Early Albanian feminist *

Avni Rustemi Avni Rustemi (26 September 1895 – 22 April 1924) was an Albanian patriot, revolutionary, teacher, activist and member of the Albanian parliament. Rustemi was the leader of numerous patriotic societies and associations and also a member o ...

– Albanian teacher, militant activist, nationalist, and assassin of Essad Pasha Toptani * Igli Tare – Albanian former footballer, coach, and nationalist *

Ali Pasha Tepelena Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a h ...

– Albanian ruler from Tepelena located in the Labëria region

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laberia Albanian regions Albanian ethnographic regions Historical regions