Draft:Karadak (region)

Karadak (Karadaku, Karadak, Карадак), is a ethnographic region in North Macedonia, southeast Kosovo and South Serbia. The name of the region is derived from the Karadağ part of the Skopska Crna Gora mountains.

Early period
During the Ottoman period, the region remained beyond the reach of the regular Ottoman civil administration, thus achieving some degree of autonomy within the empire. The Kosovar part of the region was turned into a nahiya by the Ottomans and was named Karatonlu, while the Macedonian part, which was part of the Kaza of Kumanovo was also made a nahiya and was named Karadak. Albanians residing in Karadak were first documented in a Venetian report by Carlo Ranzo. The report described them as predominantly Catholic. Furthermore, the report highlighted multiple instances of violence and killings in the mountains, emphasizing that the inhabitants submitted to no authority. During the Great Turkish War in 1686, a rebellion erupted across Kosovo involving 20,000 Albanians who opposed Ottoman rule and aligned with the Austrian army. Toma Raspasani, a local from Karadak, played a pivotal role in this pro-Austrian movement. He provided 6,000 Albanian soldiers from Karadak to bolster the Austrian forces, aiding in the capture of Prizren after their arrival in Pristina. However, in 1690, the combined Austrian-Albanian army faced a larger Ottoman force in the Gorge of Kaçanik and suffered a decisive defeat. Following this defeat, most Catholics from Karadak fled Kosovo to escape Ottoman rule. After this period of mass exodus, many already islamized Albanian Clans (vllazni) from northern Albania settled in the region, thus the majority of the Albanian population in the region belongs to the Berisha tribe, while descendants of the Krasniqi tribe settled in the villages of Gošince, Slupčane, Alaševce and Runica.

Tanzimat period
Following Tanzimat reforms in 1839 and the sacking of local pashas, Albanians from Karadak and other regions in Macedonia, led by Dervish Cara, revolted in Skopje. In January 1844 the rebels captured Gostivar and Tetovo. In February 1844 the Albanian rebels of Karadak, led by a local Bajram Vaksinca, attacked and captured the whole region, including the towns of Skopje, Kumanovo, Preševo, Bujanovac, and proceeded to also capture Vranje and Leskovac. A National Council led by Dervish Cara was created, but the revolt was ultimately suppressed by the Ottomans, led by Hayredin Pasha in the summer of 1844.

During the mid-1800s, some of the last Catholic Albanians living in Karadak were expelled by Ottoman authorities and Muslim Albanian collaborators.

Rilindja period
During the Albanian revolt of 1910, Albanian fighters from Karadak under the command of Idriz Seferi rebelled against the Ottomans and managed to defeat them in the Battle of Kaçanik. In 1912, the Albanians rebelled again and managed to capture Skopje.

Demography
The Ottoman defter recorded statistics for the nahiya of Karadak in 1831. There were 4,282 males, of which 2,722 were Muslims, 1452 Christians, and 108 Roma gypsies. The general population is therefore estimated to have consisted of 8,564 people, including 5,444 Muslim Albanians, 2,904 Christians (mainly Albanians and Bulgarians) and 216 Roma gypsies.

Notable People

 * Idriz Seferi, Albanian patriot and freedom fighter
 * Agim Ramadani, Albanian commander of the KLA
 * Njazi Azemi, Albanian commander of the KLA and UÇPMB
 * Ismet Jashari, Albanian commander of the KLA
 * Xhezair Shaqiri, Albanian commander of the KLA and NLA
 * Beqir Sadiku, Albanian commander of the KLA and NLA
 * Nazmi Sulejmani, Albanian commander of the NLA
 * Kadri Breza, Albanian freedom fighter
 * Rashit Mustafa, Albanian commander of the KLA
 * Jonuz Zejnullahu, Albanian Imam and soldier of the KLA known for blowing himself up during the Battle of Koshare
 * Jakup Asipi, Albanian Mullah and commander of the NLA
 * Lutfi Haziri, Political Leader of the "ZO Karadak" of the KLA
 * Sulë Hotla, Albanian Ballist commander
 * Avdil Jakupi, Albanian commander of the UÇPMB and NLA
 * Xhemail Rexhepi, Albanian commander of the NLA in Macedonia 2001
 * Toma Raspasani, Albanian Catholic priest and freedom fighter
 * Arif Hiqmeti Commander during the Islamic Revolt in Albania
 * Halit Ibrahim Popofci, Albanian rebel who killed Grigoriy Shcherbina
 * Daut Dauti, Albanian lawyer and journalist
 * Shemsi Beqiri, Albanian kickboxer and World champion
 * Riza Halimi, Albanian politician
 * Marko Sopi, Albanian Catholic prelate
 * Ali Aliu, Albanian activist
 * Limon Staneci, Albanian politician, journalist and Military leader of Balli Kombëtar
 * Xherdan Shaqiri, Swiss footballer of Albanian origin
 * Nijazi Ramadani, Albanian poet
 * Shaban Sejdiu, Macedonian-Albanian wrestler
 * Shqiprim Arifi, Mayor of Preševo
 * Beqir Musliu, Albanian poets
 * Mirlind Daku, Albanian national team football player.