Sandžak

This page is about a region in Serbia and Montenegro; for districts of the Ottoman Empire, see Sanjak.

File:Grb Sandzaka.gif

Coat of Arms of Sandžak

Sandžak (Bosniak: Sandžak or Novopazarski Sandžak, Serbian: Raška Oblast or Рашка Област), is a geographic region in Serbia and Montenegro, and its territory is politicaly divided between Serbia and Montenegro. It derives its name from the Sanjak of Novibazar, a former Ottoman administrative district that existed until the Balkan Wars of 1912.

It stretches from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina to Kosovo on an area of 8,686 square kilometers. Six municipalities of Sandžak belong to Serbia (Novi Pazar, Sjenica, Tutin, Prijepolje, Nova Varoš, and Priboj), and six to Montenegro (Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Andrijevica, Rožaje, and Plav).

Ethnic groups

Ethnic map of Sandžak

Of Sandžak's total estimated population of 399,008 in 2003, based on adjusted Censuses of Serbia and Montenegro from 2002 and 2003, Bosniaks comprise 207,600, or 52%, with Serbs and Montenegrins taking the remaining 48%. There is also a small number of Albanians, Roma, etc.

The municipalities of Novi Pazar, Tutin, Sjenica, Plav, and Rožaje have Bosniak ethnic majority, the municipalities of Priboj, Prijepolje, Nova Varoš, Pljevlja, and Andrijevica have Serbian ethnic majority, while the municipalities of Bijelo Polje and Berane are ethnically mixed with relative Serbian ethnic majority.

Bosniak participation in respective municipalities is as follows: 95.4% in Tutin (28,665 of 30,054); 89.9% in Rožaje (20,400 of 22,693); 78.7% in Novi Pazar (67,690 of 85,996); 76% in Sjenica (21,270 of 27,970); 63.6% in Plav (8,810 of 13,805); 41.3% in Prijepolje (17,035 of 41,188); 40.2% in Bijelo Polje (20,235 of 50,284); 25.9% in Berane (9,095 of 35,068); 23.2% in Priboj (7,045 of 30,377); 16.2% in Pljevlja (5,800 of 35,806); 7.8% in Nova Varoš (1,550 of 19,982); 0.1% in Andrijevica (8 of 5,785).

Sandžak Bosniaks derive their ancestry from the old Illyro-Slavic tribes of old Montenegro and East Herzegovina (70%), North Albania (20%), and Bosnia, Slavonia, Turkey (10%). Sandžak Serbs and Montenegrins also descend from pretty much the same tribes from the old Montenegro, but have over time evolved into separate ethnic groups.

History

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Map of Sandžak

In the Middle Ages the region of Sandžak was part of the state of Raška. The region was captured by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Until the First Balkan War of 1912, the Sandžak was a part of the Ottoman Empire. Congress of Berlin in 1878 also allowed Austro-Hungarian military garrisons to be positioned in Sandžak.

During the centuries of Turkish rule the Sanjak of Novi Pazar was a part of the Vilayet of Bosnia before coming under the Vilayet of Kosovo. In October 1912, the Sandžak was captured by Serbian and Montenegrin troops, and its territory was divided between Serbia and Montenegro. From 1914 to 1918, the Sanjak of Novibazar was under occupation of Austria-Hungary. In 1918, Serbia and Montenegro united before creating the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Between 1929 and 1941, Sandžak was part of the newly created Zetska banovina, with headquartered in Cetinje, in present-day Montenegro.

Most of Sandžak was under Italian occupation in World War II, mostly under the Governorate of Montenegro (The city of Novi Pazar was included into Serbia, while Plav and Rožaje were included into Italian ruled Greater Albania), and under German occupation from 1943. At the end of the war, the Sandžak was divided between Serbia and Montenegro, according to the initial division agreement between the two Orthodox Slavic states from 1912.

Many Bosniak inhabitants of the Sandžak emigrated to Turkey and the Middle East as muhajirs, as a direct result of oppression by the new Serbo-Montenegrin authorities. The emigration wave lasted from 1912 to 1970. Over a million of modern Turks have Sandžak origins or ancestry. There are numerous colonies of Sandžak Bosniaks in Turkey, in and around Edirne, Istanbul, Adapazari, Bursa, Samsun, etc.

The Yugoslav wars of the 1990s left the Sandžak largely unscathed, although the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo led to ethnic tensions and (in the latter case) bombing by NATO forces. According to Sandžak Bosniak political parties, some 60,000-80,000 Bosniaks emigrated from the region during this period, as a result of oppression and police raids throughout Sandžak. A number of group killings of Bosniaks occurred 1992-95, with the most notable ones being the cases of Sjeverin (Priboj), Bukovica (Pljevlja), and Štrpci (Prijepolje).

The Bosniak National Council of Serbia-Montenegro represented the region at the UNPO since 1993. This political pressure group organized a referendum in October 1991 where 98% of the voters opted in favour of autonomy. The Council claims a 69% turnout, although this has not been verified by an independent body.

With the democratic changes in Serbia in 2000, the ethnic Bosniaks were allowed to start participating in the political life in Serbia and Montenegro, including Rasim Ljajić, ethnic Bosniak, who is a minister in the Government of Serbia-Montenegro, or Rifat Rastoder, who is the President of the Parliament of Montenegro.

Also, the census data shows a general emigration of all nationalities from this underdevelopped region.