Ottoman rule The
Serbian Despotate was invaded by the
Ottoman Empire in 1455. Apart from the effect of a lengthy period under Ottoman domination, many of the subject populations
were periodically and forcefully converted to Islam as a result of a deliberate move by the Ottoman Turks as part of a policy of ensuring the loyalty of the population against a potential
Venetian invasion. However, Islam was spread by force in the areas under the control of the
Ottoman sultan through the
devşirme system of
child levy enslavement, and
jizya taxes. The
Islamization of Sandžak was otherwise caused by a number of factors, mainly economic, as Muslims didn't pay the
devşirme tributes and
jizya taxes. The Muslims were also privileged compared to Christians, who were unable to work in the administration or testify in court against Muslims, as they were treated as
dhimmi. The second factor that contributed to the Islamization were migrations; a large demographic shift occurred after the
Great Turkish War (1683–1699). Part of the Slavic-speaking Orthodox Christian population was expelled northwards, while other Christians and Muslims were driven to the Ottoman territory. The land abandoned by the Eastern Orthodox Serbs was settled by populations from neighbouring areas who either were or became Muslim in Sandžak. Large migrations occurred throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The third factor of Islamization was the geographical location of Sandžak, which allowed it to become a trade centre, facilitating conversions amongst merchants. The tribal migrations to Sandžak had contributed a large role to its history and identity along with culture. The second half of the 19th century was very important in terms of shaping the current ethnic and political situation in Sandžak.
Austria-Hungary supported Sandžak's separation from the Ottoman Empire, or at least its autonomy within it. The reason was to prevent the kingdoms of
Montenegro and
Serbia from unifying, and allow Austria-Hungary's further expansion into the Balkans. Per these plans, Sandžak was seen as part of the
Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while its Muslim population played a significant role, giving Austrian-Hungarians a pretext of protecting the Muslim minority from the Eastern Orthodox Serbs. Sandžak was an administrative part of the
Sanjak of Bosnia until 1790, when it become a separated
Sanjak of Novi Pazar. However, in 1867, it become a part of the
Bosnia Vilayet that consisted of seven sanjaks, including the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. This led to Sandžak Muslims identifying themselves with other
Slavic Muslims in Bosnia. Albanian speakers gradually migrated or were relocated to the Ottoman provinces of
Kosovo and
North Macedonia, leaving a primarily Slavic-speaking population in the rest of the region (except in a southeastern corner of Sandžak that ended up as a part of Kosovo). Some members of the Albanian
Shkreli and
Kelmendi tribes began migrating into the lower Pešter and Sandžak regions at around 1700. The Kelmendi chief had converted to Islam, and promised to convert his people too. A total of 251 Kelmendi households (1,987 people) were resettled in the Pešter area on that occasion, however five years later part the exiled Kelmendi managed to fight their way back to their homeland, and in 1711 they sent out a large raiding force to bring back some other from Pešter too. The remaining Kelmendi and Shkreli converted to Islam and became
Slavophones by the 20th century, and as of today they now self-identify as part of the
Bosniak ethnicity, although in the Pešter plateau they partly utilized the
Albanian language until the middle of the 20th century, particuarily in the villages of
Ugao,
Boroštica,
Doliće, and
Gradac. Since the 18th century, many people originating from the
Hoti tribe have migrated to and live in Sandžak, mainly in the Tutin area, but also in Sjenica.
Balkan Wars and the World War I In October 1912, during the
First Balkan War, Serbian and Montenegrin troops seized Sandžak, which was then divided between the two countries. This led to the displacement of many Slavic Muslims and Albanians, who migrated to
Ottoman Turkey as
muhajir. After the war, Sandžak became a part of the newly formed
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. The region acted as a bridge between the Muslims in the West in Bosnia and Herzegovina and those in the East in Kosovo and North Macedonia. However, the Slavic Muslims of Sandžak suffered economic decline due to the
defeat and collapse of the Ottoman Empire, which had been their primary source of economic stability. Additionally, the agrarian reform implemented in the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia worsened their economic situation, leading to the emigration of Muslims from Sandžak to the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, Sandžak was occupied by Austria-Hungary. In 1919, an Albanian revolt, which later came to be known as the
Plav rebellion rose up in the
Rožaje,
Gusinje, and
Plav districts, fighting against the inclusion of Sandžak in the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. As a result, during the Serbian army's second occupation of Rožaje, which took place in 1918-1919, seven hundred Albanian citizens were slaughtered in Rožaje. In 1919, Serb forces attacked Albanian populations in Plav and Gusinje, which had appealed to the
British government for protection. About 450 local civilians were killed after the uprising was quelled. These events resulted in a large influx of Albanians migrating to the
Principality of Albania.
World War II In
World War II, Sandžak was the battleground of several factions. In 1941, the region was partitioned between the
Italian governorate of Montenegro, the
Italian protectorate over the Kingdom of Albania, and the
Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia. The Muslim population was in general anti-partisan. They were organized in small formations known in historiography as the
Sandžak Muslim militia. These formations depending on their location and regional politics were affiliated to Albanian nationalist groups linked to
Balli Kombëtar in central and south Sandžak or to Muslim
Ustaše groups in the north. Many Orthodox Serbs organized in the Serbian nationalist
Chetniks. The stance of these factions towards the Nazi forces ranged from armed resistance to open collaboration. Smaller groups of both Orthodox Serbs and Muslims organized after 1943 in the
Yugoslav Partisan Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Sandžak. Each faction sought the inclusion of Sandžak in the
post-war period into separate states. Albanian militia fought for inclusion in
Greater Albania, while Ustaše formations wanted at least part of Sandžak to join the
Independent State of Croatia. Amonge these factions, the Yugoslavs, Slavic Muslims, Serbs, and Montenegrins adopted different strategies. Muslims wanted either unification with Bosnia under a federal Yugoslavia or the establishment of an autonomous Sandžak region. Serbs and Montenegrins wanted the area to either pass entirely to Serbia or Montenegro. The formal partition of Sandžak between Italian and German spheres of influence was largely ignored as local politics shaped control over the area.
Prijepolje which formally was within the Italian area of rule in Montenegro was in fact under the
NDH-affiliated
Sulejman Pačariz, while
Novi Pazar in the German sphere was led by the Albanian nationalist
Aqif Bluta. Clashes between Albanians and Serbs in south Sandžak began in April 1941. In other cities of Sandžak similar battles between different factions played out.
Otto von Erdmannsdorf, the special envoy of Germany to Sandžak mentioned in his correspondence that up to 100,000 Albanians from Sandžak wanted to be moved from Serbia under the jurisdiction of Albania. The Italian and German forces considered to enact population exchange from Sandžak to Kosovo to stop interethnic violence between Serbs and Albanians. Peter Pfeiffer, diplomat of the Foreign Office of Germany warned that relocation plans would cause a great rift between the German army and Albanians and they were abandoned. In November 1941 as clashes continued Albanians defeated the Chetniks in the
battle of Novi Pazar. The battle was followed by reprisals against the Serbs of Novi Pazar. In 1943, Chetnik forces based in Montenegro conducted a series of ethnic cleansing operations against Muslims in the
Bihor region of modern-day Serbia. In May 1943, an estimated 5400 Albanian men, women and children in Bihor were massacred by Chetnik forces under
Pavle Đurišić. In a reaction, the notables of the region then published a memorandum and declared themselves to be Albanians. The memorandum was sent to Prime Minister
Ekrem Libohova whom they asked to intervene so the region could be united to the Albanian kingdom. It has been estimated that 9,000 Muslims were killed in total by the Chetniks and affiliated groups during the war in Sandžak. The Jewish community of Novi Pazar was initially not harassed because the city didn't have any considerable concentration of German forces, but on March 2, 1942 the city's Jews were rounded up by the German army and killed in extermination camps (the men in
Bubanj and the women and children in
Sajmište). 1943 year saw the creation of the
SS-Police "Self-Defence" Regiment Sandžak, being formed by joining three
battalions of Albanian collaborationist troops with one battalion of the
Sandžak Muslim militia. At one point around 2,000 members of the SS regiment operated in Sjenica. Its leader was
Sulejman Pačariz, an Islamic cleric of
Albanian origin. The Anti-Fascist Council of People's Liberation of Sandžak (AVNOS) had been founded on 20 November 1943 in
Pljevlja. In January 1944, the Land Assembly of Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor claimed Sandžak as part of a future Montenegrin federal unit. However, in March, the Communist Party opposed this, insisting that Sandžak's representatives at AVNOJ should decide on the matter. In February 1945, the Presidency of the AVNOJ made a decision to oppose the Sandžak's autonomy. The AVNOJ explained that the Sandžak did not have a national basis for an autonomy and opposed crumbling of the Serbian and Montenegrin totality. On 29 March 1945 in
Novi Pazar, the AVNOS accepted the decision of the AVNOJ and divided itself between Serbia and Montenegro. Sandžak was divided based on the 1912 demarcation line.
Yugoslavia Economically, Sandžak remained undeveloped. It had a small amount of crude and low-revenue industry. Freight was transported by trucks over poor roads. Schools for business students, which remained poor in general education, were opened for working-class youth. The Sandžak had no faculty, not even a department or any school of higher education. Sandžak saw a process of industrialisation, during which factories were opened in several cities, including Novi Pazar, Prijepolje,
Priboj,
Ivangrad, while the coal mines were opened in the Prijepolje area. The urbanisation caused a major social and economic shift. Many people left villages for towns. The national composition of the urban centres was changed to the disadvantage of the Muslims, as most of those who inhabited the cities were Serbs. The Muslims continued to lose their economic status, continuing the trend inherited from the time of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the agrarian reform in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The emigration of the Muslims to
Turkey also continued, caused by the general underdevelopment of the region, disagreement with the communist authorities and the mistrust with the Serbs and Montenegrins, but also due to the nationalisation and expropriation of property. Serbs from Sandžak also moved to the wealthier regions of the central Serbia or to
Belgrade or
Vojvodina, while the Muslims moved to
Bosnia and Herzegovina as well.
1991 Referendum on autonomy Between 25 and 27 October 1991, a
referendum on Sandžak's autonomy was held, organized by the
Muslim National Council of Sandžak (MNVS) which consisted of the Muslim
Party of Democratic Action (SDA) and other Bosnian Muslim organizations and parties. It was declared illegal by Serbia. According to the SDA, 70.2% of the population participated in the referendum with 98.92% voting in favor of autonomy.
Contemporary period With the democratic changes in Serbia in 2000, the ethnic Bosniaks were enabled to start participating in the political life in Serbia and Montenegro, including
Rasim Ljajić, an ethnic Bosniak, who was a minister in the verious governments of
Serbia, and
Rifat Rastoder, who was the Deputy President of the Parliament of Montenegro. Census data shows a general emigration of all ethnicities from this underdeveloped region. == Demographics ==