This article is from Politiko.al's "PRINT" section and uses materials from the National Library's Periodical and Book collections. published in the RD dt newspaper. 25/04/1993, no. 349, p. 3.
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By XHUFI PLLUMB
"Uniting with his first homeland the whole province of Nis, Zvecan, Lipjan Morava, Vranje, the region of Prizren, the two Pologs and border areas with them... defeating barbaric enemies with God's help," it is shown in "The Life of Stefan Nemanja," written by his son, the crowned Stephen. According to Saint Sava's version of this life, Stefan Nemanja also conquered Podrimje, Llap, Pult, and the coastal Diocletian region with the cities of Danja, Sarda, Drisht, Shkodra, Shas, and Ulcinj of Bar. The testimonies of Anonymous Gorka, Guljelm Admit, and Spadugino on the expropriation and violent expulsion of generous Albanians, as well as the quoted life of Stefan Nemanja, are transparent enough to see that there was a deliberate effort to transform the Albanians into a raja people. Consequently, at the turn of the century. Nearly all of the lands in Kosovo, western Macedonia, and Zeta (Montenegro) were given to feudal lords during the XIV century, particularly to the Serbian monasteries that were built in a hurry here.
However, Bogdanovic, a Serbian avant-garde historian, referred to the Albanians as a "destabilizing factor" because they were a powerful numerical reality in the Serbian kingdom at the time and still are today. From the first Nemanjic in the century on, this is the beginning of a comprehensive failed Serbization policy. XII all the way to the end, Stefan Dushani. The violent conversion of Albanians to Serbian Orthodoxy appears to have been this policy's most significant action. This issue, which has been largely ignored by our historiography due to its scope and repercussions, requires particular attention. Albanians in the northern and northeastern regions were found to be ecclesiastically linked to Byzantine Orthodoxy (Kosovo and Macedonia) and Roman Catholicism (Diokle-Zete) during the Serbian occupation in the 12th century. the most recent events of this century. The political background of the two phenomena that were observed at that time in the region that we are interested in is XII related, on the one hand, to the southern expansion of the Serbian state and, on the other, to the deep crisis of the Byzantine Empire and the church of Constantinople: On the one hand, Catholicism spread from the coast to the farthest reaches of Albania's northeastern territories. In point of fact, beginning in 1202, the same was true in Prizren, Skopje, Gjakova, Gracanica, Trepca, Novo Brdo, and other locations in addition to the traditional Catholic dioceses of Bar, Ulcinj, Shkodra, Danja, and Drisht. In addition, special evidence, such as a diploma issued by Tsar Stefan Dushan in 1326, indicates that Catholicism had become widespread in these regions and that the church and Catholic priests were also present in remote villages. The extent of such a phenomenon cannot be explained by Rome's offensive in the Orthodox east or Constantinople's weakening of the church. The Albanians' representation of the Catholic rite in these former Byzantine Orthodox domains appears to have been more of a response to the Serbian church's oppressive pressure, which in turn was pursuing a brutal policy of conversion for Catholic and Orthodox Albanians. in the national church of Serbia. A significant amount of data from travelers, Catholic emissaries, the chancellors of the Popes, and the Serbian kings themselves illuminate the unique aspects of this policy. It suffices to examine Stefan Dusan's code, which is essentially the constitution of the medieval Serbian kingdom, to understand that the Serbian state prioritized the conversion to the Serbian church. This code's so-called "antiherpetic articles" are particularly severe. They maintained that all members of a foreign community who were citizens of the Serbian kingdom were required to be baptized in the Serbian church. Byzantine Orthodox and especially Catholics were threatened with severe punishments like property confiscation, expulsion, imprisonment, stamping with a hot iron, and even the death penalty for refusing to do so. The king of Serbia is obligated by the enumerated code to protect the Serbian church and eradicate "heresy." were threatened with severe punishments like property confiscation, deportation, imprisonment, stamping with a hot iron, and even death. The king of Serbia is obligated by the enumerated code to protect the Serbian church and eradicate "heresy." were threatened with severe punishments like property confiscation, deportation, imprisonment, stamping with a hot iron, and even death. The king of Serbia is obligated by the enumerated code to protect the Serbian church and eradicate "heresy."
It is acknowledged that the issue transcends a purely religious framework in such circumstances. It is concluded that the geography of the Catholic rite in the kingdom of the Nemanjas corresponded almost entirely with that of the Albanian ethnos, so the "Catholic" frenzy of the Serbian kings is well understood. Still a century away. According to XVII Pjetr Bogdani, Albanians were referred to when the term "Catholic" was used in Macedonia, Kosovo, and Montenegro. Rebaptizing Albanians in the Serbian church would effectively involve participating in the process of integrating them into the Serb community. Ethnic assimilation, cultural assimilation, and ecclesiastical assimilation were all parts of the same Serbization process, which started with a new Slavic name and the formal act of being re-baptized.
In ecclesiastical and secular sources of the century, however, the conflict between "schismatics" on the one hand and "Latins" on the other is frequently discussed. In fact, XII-XV is a struggle between Serbs and Albanians. We should not lose sight of the larger context of history due to the often dogmatic language of medieval documentation. Similarities exist between the situation in Serbian-occupied northern and northeastern Albania and medieval Bohemia. It is common knowledge that the oppressed Czech people waged a war against the German feudal lords here under the guise of religious conflict between "Hussein heretics" and "Catholic nobility."
The Serbian state's brutal efforts to eradicate the "Catholic heresy" in the occupied Albanian lands can only be explained by this combination of religious and national motivations.
The extraordinary success that Roman Catholicism achieved in the areas of Kosovo and Macedonia during the Serbian occupation can be attributed to the fact that the Catholic religion became a kind of "refugium peccatorum" itself conservation in the territories where the Albanian ethnos confronted the Serbs. It is abundantly clear that embracing Catholicism in these regions was not a matter of political opportunity but rather a matter of faith.
Another significant advantage of accepting Catholicism was that it established a distinct line of demarcation between Albanians and Serbs. He established a connection between the Catholic powers in Europe and the Albanians, incorporating their resistance into the powerful "Serbian" coalition that emerged, particularly at the turn of the century. XIV, who witnessed the Pope, the Anjouans of Naples, Hungary, and France getting engaged in the first person. Each of these powers fought the Serbia of the Nemanjic for a different reason; in their case, it was about territories and areas of influence. However, because Serbia, the antagonist, was the same for everyone, these interests were sometimes channeled into really big joint ventures, like the 1319 crusade. The most accurate depiction of the Albanians' participation in these joint military operations can be found in historical documents. After witnessing the generous Albanian Dhimitr Suma's powerful "Serbian" uprising in 1332, the French missionary Guljelm Adami proposed a new "Serbian" crusade to the French king. It is interesting to note that the project's author believes it is sufficient to send only a symbolic contingent from France to Albania. He claimed that Albanians were able to defend themselves against Serb action on their own. It is interesting to note that the project's author believes it is sufficient to send only a symbolic contingent from France to Albania. He claimed that Albanians were able to defend themselves against Serb action on their own. It is interesting to note that the project's author believes it is sufficient to send only a symbolic contingent from France to Albania. He claimed that Albanians were able to defend themselves against Serb action on their own.
The Serbian Nemanjic faced a lot of difficulties as a result of the "internationalization" of the issue of Albanians in the Serbian kingdom, which was largely caused by their accession to the European Catholic front. These couldn't ignore the scourge and the Pope's incessant pleas to end Catholic oppression in their areas. The armed ladders of Europe's sovereigns may descend behind these: At the time, the Pope had actual control over the Crusades' mobilization. As a result, as a response to the pressures exerted by Rome, the sovereigns of Serbia frequently made the promise to end the persecution of their Catholic citizens, but this promise was without a doubt never kept. To make it even more plausible, many of them, including the notorious persecutor Stefan Dushani, pledged to the Pope that the Serbian "schism" would be abandoned and that they would convert to the Catholic faith. There was even a Nemanja, Stefan Uroshi II, who requested Pope Nicholas IV to "fall" to the Bosnian heretics in order to demonstrate his devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. Even with the Pope's approval, this is a subtle way to occupy Bosnia without opposition.