Old Montenegro

For other uses, see Montenegro (disambiguation).

File:Das Fürstentum Montenegro im Jahre 1862.jpg

Regions of Old Montenegro and the Highlands (Brda) tribes in 1862.

File:Montenegro territory expanded (1830-1944).png

Expansion of Montenegro: the region of Old Montenegro represented in the darkest shade (18th century)

File:Old Montenegro and Tribes Map-sr.svg

Historical map of the Old Montenegro region, and its divisions

File:1690 Coronelli Map of Montenegro - Geographicus - Montenegro-coronelli-1690.jpg

Coronelli Map of the Skadar Lake region, including the Old Montenegro (1690)

Old Montenegro (Montenegrin and Serbian: Stara Crna Gora / Стара Црна Гора), also known as Montenegro proper (Prava Crna Gora / Права Црна Гора), or True Montenegro (Istinska Crna Gora / Истинска Црна Гора), is a term used for the embryonic part of modern Montenegro. In historical context, the term designates the original territory of the Principality of Montenegro, before the territorial expansion, ratified by the Congress of Berlin in 1878, or even more precisely - the territory of the Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro prior to its unification with the region of Brda in the first half of the 19th century.

During the Ottoman period, from the 16th up to the 18th century, the original (proper) Montenegro was made up of the Montenegrin tribes (Montenegrin and Serbian: crnogorska plemena / црногорска племена), traditionally divided into four territorial units, or nahije: Katun, Rijeka, Lješ and Crmnica. Their inhabitants were known under the regional demonym Montenegrins (Crnogorci / Црногорци), as opposed to the inhabitants of neighboring regions (Brđani, Hercegovci and Primorci). Since the end of the 18th century, Montenegro started to expand, incorporating the region of Brda in the first half of the 19th century, the region of Old Herzegovina and part of Primorje in 1878, and finally upper and central Polimlje and northern Metohija in 1912.

Tribes

See also: Tribes of Montenegro

Tribes, divided by nahija. historically, there are four nahijas in the Old Montenegro region, further divided by local tribes (clans);

• Katunska nahija
  • Njeguši
  • Cetinje
  • Ćeklići
  • Bjelice
  • Ozrinići
  • Cuce
  • Komani
  • Zagarač
  • Pješivci
• Riječka nahija
  • Ceklin
  • Ljubotinj
  • Dobrsko Selo
  • Kosjeri
  • Građani
• Lješanska nahija
  • Draževina
  • Gradac
  • Buronje
• Crmnička nahija
  • Podgor
  • Sotonići
  • Dupilo
  • Brčeli
  • Gluhi Do
  • Limljani
  • Boljevići
  • Seoca

See also

• History of Montenegro
• Regions of Montenegro
• Sanjak of Montenegro
• Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro
• Brda (Montenegro)
• Old Herzegovina
• Primorje (Montenegro)
• Serbs of Montenegro

Anthropology

A number of toponyms and names of clans in Old Montenegro are originally derived from Albanian onomastics, such as Gjin, Gjon, Progon, Lesh, Mal and others, with some of them being: Đinov Do village in Cuce, Đinovo Brdo in Cetinje, Đinova Glavica in Pješivci, the village of Đinovići in Kosijeri, the Đonovići brotherhood in Brčeli of Crmnica, Lješanska nahija, along with its villages Liješnje, Štitari, Goljemadi and Progonovići, the village of Lješev Stup and the toponym Malošin do in Bjelice, the village of Arbanas in Ceklin.

Sources

• L'examen des dialectes du Vieux Monténegro (Stara Crna Gora) en tenant compte des parles voisins, Bulletin international de l' Académie polonaise des sciences et des letters N 1—3 (janvier-mars), 1–13, Cracovie 1932.