by Nehat Hyseni. Translation Petrit Latifi
Abstract
This study examines the largely erased historical presence of Christian Albanians in the Preševo Valley and adjacent regions, arguing that their disappearance from contemporary narratives is the result of systematic assimilation rather than demographic extinction. Drawing on Ottoman records, Serbian ethnographic sources, and state documentation, it demonstrates that Christian Albanians constituted a significant demographic layer from the late Middle Ages until the early twentieth century. The paper analyzes institutional mechanisms of Slavization—church, education, administration, and socio-political pressure—and highlights Vranje as a key case of accelerated identity loss. It further explores post-1912 Serbian colonization policies, emphasizing the paradoxical return of Slavicized Christian Albanians as Serbian settlers. By addressing historiographical silence and nationalist distortions, the study aims to restore historical accuracy and contribute to a more honest discourse on identity, rights, and coexistence in the Preševo Valley.
The Return of Christian Albanians to Presevo and Bujanovac – as Serbian Colonies
A “erased”, not “disappeared” historical presence
The history of Presevo and its surroundings cannot be understood without a detailed study of the centuries-old presence of Christian Albanians, who from the late Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century constituted an essential demographic, economic and cultural layer of the region.
However, this presence is today almost invisible – not due to their biological disappearance, but as a consequence of a long, systematic and deliberate process of assimilation and Slavization.
Preševo before the 16th century was actually an Albanian Christian area
Ottoman, consular sources and ethnographic studies by Serbian authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including Jovan Hadživasiljević, clearly prove that in Preševo, Bujanovac and Vranje there were hundreds of Christian families of Albanian origin.
These families bore characteristic Albanian names, spoke Albanian in the family and preserved ethnic Albanian customs and traditions, although their religious affiliation distinguished them from the majority of Muslim Albanians.
Even Hadživasiljević himself, although writing from a perspective of national-Serbizing romanticism, admits that many of today’s “Serbian” families in this region are of Albanian origin, but converted linguistically and nationally under the pressure of historical circumstances.
Slavization was an institutionally organized assimilation
The process of Slavization of Christian Albanians was not spontaneous. It developed through interconnected state and church mechanisms:
The Serbian Orthodox Church served as a key instrument of identity change. Liturgy, church registers and religious administration imposed Slavic language and naming.
State education – after the territorial expansion of the Serbian state after 1878, schools became centers of linguistic and cultural Serbization of the younger generations.
Administration and toponymy – the change of surnames, personal names and names of settlements gradually erased Albanian traces.
Socio-political pressure – Identification as “Serb” became a condition for economic survival, personal security and social advancement. Christian Albanians faced a violent choice: assimilation or marginalization.
Vranje – “laboratory” of the disappearance of Albanian identity
The case of Vranje is among the most illustrative. Entire Christian Albanian families, documented by Serbian sources, lost within two or three generations every sign of Albanian identity.
The Albanian language disappeared from public and private use, while the memory of Albanian origins survived only in fragmented family forms.
This model was also applied in Preševo and Bujanovac, but there it faced stronger resistance due to the continued presence of Muslim Albanians, who preserved the language and national consciousness.
Historical void and narrative manipulation
Today, the disappearance of Christian Albanians from the official narrative serves as a political argument to deny the autochthonous Albanian character of the region.
The fact that the “Serbization” of part of the population was the result of state policies, not a natural ethnic process, is forgotten.
This creates a historical paradox:
- local Albanians are presented as “newcomers”,
- while the descendants of assimilated Albanians are presented as “autochthonous”!
The purpose of this study is the truth, against false myths
The study of the history of the Christian Albanians of Preševo has no religious or revengeful purpose. It aims to restore historical truth, dismantle nationalist myths and build an honest scientific and public discourse.
Without this confrontation with the past, any dialogue on rights, equality and coexistence in the Preševo Valley remains truncated and insincere.
Colonization after 1912: state policy of demographic change
After 1912, with the Serbian occupation of Eastern Kosovo (Preševo, Bujanovac, Medvedja), a deliberate state policy of agrarian and demographic colonization was inaugurated.
The Serbian state goal was:
- change the ethnic composition,
- weakening the Muslim Albanian element,
- creation of a loyal Orthodox layer in the border areas.
Within this policy, a little-studied phenomenon emerged: the return of Slavicized Christian Albanians as Serbian settlers to their historical lands.
Origin of the settlers and Albanian onomastic traces
The origin of the settlers was mainly from Pçinja, Vranja, Masurica, Surdulica, etc.
These areas had a significant Christian Albanian population until the 19th century. After 1878, it was registered as “Serbian” and lost the Albanian language, but the family onomastics preserved clear Albanian traces: Leka – Leki?, Gjin – Djini?, Kolë – Koli?, Pal – Pali?, etc.
The mechanism of state of colonization and privileges
The Serbian state selected local settlers geographically, with a family agricultural tradition, who were politically loyal and loyal and who were considered ready for “border protection”.
The settlers, upon settling, received 5–10 hectares of land for their families, houses or construction materials, seeds for planting and livestock, often even weapons for “self-defense”.
Whereas the lands belonged mainly to expelled Muslim Albanians, waqf properties and state lands.
“Territorial”, not “identitarian” return
This return of the settlers was territorial, not identitarian. Many settlers were returning to the lands of their Albanian ancestors, but now with a transformed identity, as Serbs and as an instrument of colonization against the local Albanian population.
This historical paradox is one of the most serious in the history of the Albanians of this region!
Demographic consequences and intercommunal tensions
The consequences of these changes during colonization were truly profound:
- change in ethnic composition,
- creation of colonial enclaves,
- fragmentation of Albanian territory,
- deterioration of intercommunal relations.
The settlers were positioned as loyal support for the administration and a factor of pressure on local Albanians.
Historiographical silence and scientific importance
Official Serbian historiography presents the settlers as “ethnic Serbs”, not addressing their Albanian origin and the process of Slavization.
Meanwhile, Albanian historiography has not yet sufficiently addressed this phenomenon.
The scientific and political value of this topic is extraordinary, because it challenges nationalist narratives, explains demographic changes, helps genealogical research and strengthens international scientific argumentation.
Conclusion
The colonization of Preševo and Bujanovac after 1912 was not only Serbian migration, but also the return of Slavicized Christian Albanians, transformed into an instrument of demographic change and against the Albanian population.
This fact makes the history of the Preševo Valley region more complex, more tragic, but also more scientifically documentable.
