Middle Ages , a 1739 icon from the
Ardenica Monastery in Albania With short interruptions, the territory that later became a part of
Sanjak of Scutari in the
Ottoman Empire, belonged to the Serbian medieval feudal states for many centuries. According to Emperor
Constantine VII (r. 913–959), the early Serbs lived in the former Roman provinces of
Dalmatia,
Praevalitana, and
Moesia. During the rule of
Časlav Klonimirović (r. 927–960), all of Albania was part of Bulgarian Empire (eastern) and the Byzantine Empire (
Dyrrhachium (theme), western maritime). After the Byzantine annexation of
Raška, the Serbian principality of
Duklja succeeded as the main Serb state and it included much of the land north of Durrës, with Shkodër being an important city. Emperor
Samuel of Bulgaria (r. 997–1014) had by 997 conquered all of Thessaly, Epirus, Macedonia, and most of modern Albania.
Jovan Vladimir ruled Duklja during the war between Byzantine Emperor
Basil II and Samuel. Vladimir allegedly retreated into
Koplik when Samuel invaded Duklja, and was subsequently forced to accept Bulgarian vassalage. Vladimir was later slewn by the Bulgars, and received a cult;
Shingjon (the feast of St. Jovan Vladimir), which is celebrated by the Albanian Orthodox Christians. In 1018
Basil II conquered most of the Balkans and established the
Archbishopric of Ohrid for the South Slavs. In the 1030s,
Stefan Vojislav expelled the
last strategos and defeated the Byzantines in 1042, then set up Shkodër (Skadar) as his capital.
Constantine Bodin accepted the
crusaders of the
Crusade of 1101 in Shkodër. After the dynastic struggles in the 12th century, Shkodër became part of the
Nemanjić Zeta province. In 1330,
Stefan Uroš III appointed his son
Stefan Dušan as the "Young King" and ruler of Zeta seated in Shkodër. According to the
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, several Serbian rulers and members of the
Vojislavljević dynasty of Duklja were buried in the
Shirgj Church on the
Bojana river, founded by
Helen of Anjou, Queen of Serbia, such as Constantine Bodin,
Mihailo I,
Dobroslav,
Vladimir, and
Gradinja. During the
fall of the Serbian Empire in the 14th century, Shkodër was taken by the
Balšić family of
Zeta who surrendered the city to
Venice, in order to form protection zone from the
Ottoman Empire. During Venetian rule the city adopted the
Statutes of Scutari, a civic law written in
Venetian, which also contained Albanian elements such as
Besa and
Gjakmarrja.
Principality of Zeta, a former Ottoman vassal, lost its status as an independent state and was largely incorporated into the Sanjak of Scutari in 1499. In 1514, this territory was separated from the Sanjak of Scutari and established as a separate
sanjak, under the rule of
Skenderbeg Crnojević. When he died in 1528, the
Sanjak of Montenegro was reincorporated into the Sanjak of Scutari as a unique administrative unit (
vilayet) with certain degree of autonomy.
Modern period During the
Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1876–78), the Montenegrin Army managed to capture certain areas and settlements along the border, and incorporated them into the state such as the town of
Podgorica that had a significant Slavic Muslim population. The Muslim population of Podgorica fled and Slavic Muslims from the town migrated and resettled in Shkodër city and its environs. In the late Ottoman period, the French consul of Shkodër noted the sentiments of the people of Vraka wanting to be united with Montenegro, though this was not achievable due to the distance of Vraka from the then border. The Serbian minority in Scutari had celebrated its liturgy in Serbian. The Serbian Metropolitan of Scutari participated in the Albanian Synod. Vraka is known for having been the place where poet
Millosh Gjergj Nikolla became teacher on 23 April 1933, and it was in this period that he started to write prose sketches and verses.
Contemporary period As part of
assimilation politics during the rule of
communist regime in Albania, Serb-Montenegrins were not allowed to have Serbian names, especially family names ending with the characteristic suffix "ich". After the
1981 protests in Kosovo, Albanian Serbs complained of harassment and pressure to leave the country. As the borders of Albania opened up in 1990, many members of the Serbo-Montenegrin community left between March and December of 1991 for Montenegro and Vraka, Boriç, and other nearby areas became severely depopulated. The Morača-Rozafa Association was established in 1992. During the
Yugoslav Wars, there were incidents of violence against the Serb-Montenegrin minority in places like
Vraka,
Boriç i Vogël, and
Boriç i Madh, where the Albanian government tried to forcibly take land from them. There were reports that the Albanian government also attempted to forcibly resettle Serb-Montenegrins and Podgoriçani from Boriç i Vogël, Boriç i Madh, Vraka, and other places. In 1992, as part of state policy by
Serbia to increase the numbers of Serbs in
Kosovo, nearly 3,000 Serbs from Albania emigrated after accepting a government offer for employment and housing in the area. Nowadays, the community lives largely on trade with Montenegro and communal relations with Albanian inhabitants are regarded as good by many of its members. ==Demographics ==