Open AccessConversion of the population of Gora and Opolje to Islam, according to the ottoman cadastral registers
Author(s) -
Tatjana Katić
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
glasnik etnografskog instituta/glasnik etnografskog instituta sanu
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2334-8259
pISSN - 0350-0861
DOI - 10.2298/gei2101065k
Subject(s) - cadastre , serbian , ottoman empire , islam , population , geography , ancient history , armenian , slavic languages , history , archaeology , political science , cartography , demography , classics , sociology , law , politics , philosophy , linguistics
The Islamisation of the population of two neighbouring regions south of Prizren, Gora and Opolje, occurred in varying degrees during the centuries-long rule of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. In Gora, inhabited by the Slavic population, it was extremely slow, while in Opolje, inhabited by the Albanians, it was incomparably more intensive. This paper aims to elucidate, based on the analysis of the Ottoman 15th and 16th century cadastral registers, the factors that affected the rate of conversion to Islam among the inhabitants of these two former Serbian medieval counties (zupas), later Ottoman nahiyes. Among the most important are the highly developed church organisation in the region of Gora on the one hand, and on the other hand, the proximity of Prizren, the military and administrative centre of the Prizren Sanjak in which high ranking officials of Opolje origin operated.