Part of a series of articles on Albanians Albanian culture Literature · Modern art Music · Sport · Cuisine Image File history File links Flag_of_Albania. ... // The oldest known document in Albanian is from November 8, 1462, a formula of baptism (Albanian: Formula e Pagëzimit) by the bishop of Durrës, Pal Engjëlli. ... Frontispiece of Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi, Epirotarum principis by Marin Barleti Albania, part of the ancient Illyrian territories, a cross-road of civilizations and geopolitical interests during the barbaric onslaughts and later on a province of the Eastern and Western Empires, Rome and Byzantium, after, over centuries, having... // A Brief History Albania, a country of southeastern Europe, has a unique culture from that of other European countries. ... Albanian drummers playing in the street of Prizren, Kosovo Albania is a Southeast European nation that was ruled by Enver Hoxhas communist government for much of the later part of the 20th century, it is now a democratic country. ... Albanian cuisine consists of local dishes from around the country of Albania. ... By region or country Albania · Kosovo Republic of Macedonia Montenegro · Serbia Romania · United States Çamëria · Greece · Italy Bulgaria For other uses, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia, according to the 1981 census. ... Ethnic map of Montenegro according to the 2003 census An Albanian minority living in Montenegro constitutes 5. ... Varieties of Albanian Albanian · Gheg · Tosk Arvanitika · Arbëresh (Italy) Geg is a northern Albanian dialect. ... Tosk is the southern dialect of the Albanian language. ... Arvanitika or Arvanitic (native name: arbërisht, Greek: αρβανίτικα arvanitika) is the variety of Albanian traditionally spoken by the Arvanites, a population group in Greece. ... Arbëresh (or Arbërishte or Arbërisht) is the dialect of the Albanian language spoken by the Arbëreshë and Arvanites the Albanian-speaking minorities in Italy and Greece. ... History of Albanians Origins · History · Illyrians The origin of Albanians has been for some time a matter of dispute among historians. ... This article briefly outlines each period in the history of Albania; details are presented in separate articles (see the links in the box and below). ... Illyria (disambiguation) Illyrians has come to refer to a broad, ill-defined Indo-European[1] group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans (Illyria, roughly from northern Epirus to southern Pannonia) and even perhaps parts of Southern Italy in classical times into the Common era, and spoke Illyrian languages. ... Persecution of Albanians Exodus Albanian exodus is term used to refer to the deportation or mass migration of Albanians from their homes. ... v • d • e

Cham Albanians (in Albanian: Çamë, in Greek: Τσάμηδες Tsámidhes) are a group of ethnic Albanians originally residing close to the river Thyamis (Θύαμις in Greek, Çam in Albanian). The region (in the Greek part of the region of Epirus) is called in Albanian Çamëria and in Greek Thesprotia. Chams nowadays live mostly in Albania, while some were sent to Turkey during the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey and others have returned to their old homes in Greece. ^[1]. After World War II, most Muslim Cham Albanians were expelled from their homes in Greece ^[1]. This policy, like the expulsion of 12 million ethnic Germans in the aftermath of the war had been instigated and planned by the British and American Allied command while hostilities were still taking place although its implementation caused more suffering than was envisaged. Cham Albanians speak the Albanian language and are predominantly Muslim, with a sizable Orthodox Christian minority. The River Thyamis is a river in the Epirus region of Greece. ... Epirus, spanning Greece and Albania. ... Çamëria (or Chameria) is the Albanian name for a region which was once part of the Roman Empire, then the Byzantine Empire, and later the Ottoman Empire. ... Thesprotia (Greek: Θεσπρωτία) is one of the prefectures of Greece. ... Cartoon depicting a Turk and a Greek arguing over the exchange. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... Albanian ( IPA ) is a language spoken by 8 million people, primarily in Albania and Serbia (province of Kosovo-Metohija), but also in other parts of the Balkans with an Albanian population (parts of the Republic of Macedonia, and some parts in Montenegro and Serbia), along the eastern coast of Italy... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      The...

Folkloric origins

According to the prominent Albanian academic Eqrem Cabej (1974), and M. Lambertz (1973), "Jelims" were figures from southern Albanian mythology. These giants were called in Albanian jelim, def. jelimi, from the Greek word Ελλην (ellin) which means ’Greek’. The current version of the name reached its form through Slavic transmission. The 'Jelilms' were known to the Saranda region in Southern Albania. The Chams (of the southern Cameria region) believed themselves to be descended from a race of ancient jelims. A more contemporary source is found in: 'The Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology and Folk Culture', p.131 by Robert Elsie, Hurst 2001. Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ... Categories: Albania geography stubs | Cities in Albania ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

History

Following the defeat of Ottoman forces in the region and the Balkan Wars of 1913, an international boundary commission awarded the northern part of the region of Epirus to Albania, and the southern part to Greece, based on their overall populations, leaving Greek and Albanian minority areas either side of the border. Most of the Cham-populated border area to the far northwest , except for a few Cham villages assigned to Albania, came under the Greek half. Most of the Muslim Cham population was part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey under the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. Combatants  Ottoman Empire Balkan League: Bulgaria Greece Serbia Montenegro Commanders Ottoman Empire: Nizam PaÅŸa, Zeki PaÅŸa, Esat PaÅŸa, Abdullah PaÅŸa, Ali Rıza PaÅŸa Bulgaria: Vladimir Vazov, Vasil Kutinchev, Nikola Ivanov, Radko Dimitriev Greece:Crown Prince Constantine, Panagiotis Danglis, Pavlos Kountouriotis Serbia:Radomir Putnik, Petar... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The flag of the Provisional Government of Northern Epirus in 1914. ... Epirus, spanning Greece and Albania. ... Epirus (Greek: Ήπειρος, Ípiros), is a periphery in northwestern Greece. ... Borders as shaped by the treaty The Treaty of Lausanne (July 24, 1923) was a peace treaty that settle a part of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire that reflected the consequences of the Turkish Independence War between Allies of World War I and Turkish national movement, (Grand National Assembly... Year 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The remaining 20,000 ^[2], Muslim Cham Albanians of Greece were subjected to discrimination that increased under Ioannis Metaxas. Tensions were exacerbated at the time of World War II. Albania was annexed by Italy in 1939, and when the later invaded Greece in 1940 it did so from Albania using several thousand native Albanian auxiliaries. Following the conquest of Greece by Nazi Germany, the Italians, whose zone of occupation included Epirus, recruited a large number of Muslim Cham citizens to assist them. The property of several of the Muslim Cham feudal lords (beys) was confiscated in order to permit Greeks to settle in the area and the Greek names of traditionally Albanian populated place names became official ^[3]. Ioannis Metaxas (Greek Ιωάννης Μεταξάς, April 12, 1871 – January 29, 1941) was a Greek General and the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: Stub | Ottoman Empire | Titles ...

During the Axis occupation the Muslim Chams set up their own administration and militia, part of the fascist Balli Kombetar and XILIA organizations, at Thesprotia and collaborated closely with both the Italians and — when Italy capitulated - the Germans. ^[4]. Cham units comprised the main occupation force committing, alongside the Wehrmacht, a number of atrocities on their ethnically Greek fellow citizens burning houses and villages. ^[2],killing several hundred ethnic Greeks and forcing thousands to flee their homes^[3] The straight-armed Balkenkreuz, a stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the Wehrmacht. ...

Muslim Cham units also played an active part in the Holocaust in Greece, including the round-up and expulsion to Auschwitz and Birkenau of the 2,000 strong Romaniotes Greek-Jewish community of Ioannina in April 1944 ^[5]. As the Germans and their allies began to lose ground to the anti-Nazi militias in 1944, and started retiring in Albania, many hundreds of Chams followed them. ^{[2] [3]}. For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... Auschwitz, in English, commonly refers to the Auschwitz concentration camp complex built near the town of Oświęcim, by Nazi Germany during World War II. Rarely, it may refer to the Polish town of Oświęcim (called by the Germans Auschwitz) itself. ... Birkenau may mean the following. ... The Romaniotes are a Jewish population who have lived in the territory of todays Greece for more than 2000 years. ... This article is about the Greek city. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Current situation

A large number of the predominantly Muslim Cham refugees settled in villages of southern Albania, where today their descendants claim to number about 200,000 ^[3]. Muslim Chams were mostly nomadic shepherds, who acquired "grazing rights" for their flocks on pastures, both public and private, in exchange for a portion of their product. This verbally-settled grazing rights acquisition was a traditional transaction, dating back to Ottoman times. The National Political Association "Çamëria" (in Albanian: Shoqëria Politike Atdhetare "Çamëria"), a pressure group advocating the return of the Chams to Greece, receipt of compensation and greater freedom for the Orthodox Chams in Greece, was founded 10 January 1991. Greek descendants of Cham atrocities are also claiming compensation from Albania. The CPA claims a number of 2,800 dead and over 35,000 evicted although these figures are not supported by historians, like Victor Roudometof ^[6] or Mark Mazower ^[2], who put the number of evictees at 18,000. In 1994 Albania passed a law that declared the 27th of June The Day of Greek Chauvinist Genocide Against the Albanians of Chameria and built a memorial at the village of Konispol. In 1999 the president of the CPA, Hilmi Saqe, stated that: For the 2006 historical epic set in Kazakhstan, see Nomad (2006 film). ... Shepherd in FăgăraÅŸ Mountains, Romania. ... Pastureland Pasture is land with lush herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulates as part of a farm or ranch. ... Look up Ottoman, ottoman in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Mark Mazower is a notable British historian. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ...

These massacres were almost at the same level as those of the Holocaust on the Hebrews^[7]

It has been claimed that Christian Orthodox Albanians still live in the Threspotia region, the majority being of original Cham descent,and there have been claims of a Cham presence in Preveza, Ioannina and the surrounding villages [1]. It should be noted however that there is no official census data to support or refute this claim. According to recent research conducted by Romanian ethnographers in 1994, attempts to find native Albanian speakers in the region were unsuccessful. For other uses, see Holocaust (disambiguation) and Shoah (disambiguation). ... Preveza is a town in north-western Greece. ... This article is about the Greek city. ...

See also

• Chameria
• Chameria issue
• Treaty of London
• Treaty of Bucharest
• Treaty of Lausanne
• Expulsion of Germans after World War II
• Axis occupation of Greece during World War II

Chameria (Albanian: Çamëria, often rendered in Greek as Τσαμουριά Tsamouriá) is the Albanian name for the coastal region of Epirus in southern Albania and northwestern Greece. ... The Chamerian issue is a dispute between Greece and Albania over the violent expulsion of Cham Albanians from the Greek province of Epirus between 1944–1945, during the World War II. // Chameria (or Çamëria) is the Albanian name for a region which was once part of ancient Greece and... Treaty of London may refer to: Treaty of London, 1359 ceding western France to England, repudiated by the Estates-General in Paris, 19 May 1359 Treaty of London, 1604 between England and Spain Treaty of London, 1700, also known as the Second Partition Treaty. ... Five peace treaties were signed in Bucharest: Treaty of Bucharest, 1812 - May 28, 1812, at the end of the Russian-Turkish war, Romania loses Bessarabia Treaty of Bucharest, 1886 - March 3, 1886, at the end of the war between Serbia and Bulgaria Treaty of Bucharest, 1913 - August 10, 1913, at... Borders as shaped by the treaty The Treaty of Lausanne (July 24, 1923) was a peace treaty that settle a part of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire that reflected the consequences of the Turkish Independence War between Allies of World War I and Turkish national movement, (Grand National Assembly... Germans expelled from the Sudetenland // The expulsion of Germans after World War II refers to the forced migration of people considered Germans (Reichsdeutsche and some Volksdeutsche) from various European states and territories during 1945 and in the first three years after World War II 1946-48. ... German soldiers raising the Reich War Flag over the Acropolis. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Miranda Vickers, The Cham Issue - Where to Now?, paper prepared for the British MoD, Defence Academy, 2002
2. ^ ^{a b c d} M. Mazower (ed.), After The War Was Over: Reconstructing the Family, Nation and State in Greece, 1943-1960, p. 25
3. ^ ^{a b c d} Miranda Vickers, The Cham Issue - Albanian National & Property Claims in Greece, paper prepared for the British MoD, Defence Academy, 2002
4. ^ Russell King, Nicola Mai, Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers,The New Albanian Migration, p.67, and 87
5. ^ M. Mazower, Inside Hitler's Greece
6. ^ Victor Roudometof, Collective Memory, National Identity, and Ethnic Conflict Greece, Bulgaria, and the Macedonian Question, p.181-182 The figure of 30,000 is adopted from the Cham associations without checking the other sources used in the discussion in this chapter.
7. ^ Speech by Hilmi Saqe, OSCE Istanbul Summit, unrelated fringe meeting, 18 November 1999

External links

• Albania protest halts Greek visit BBC Tuesday, 1 November 2005
• Chams still pressing for return of Greek citizenship and property
• Greece: Human Rights Developments Human Rights Watch
• Special Report 77: Albanians in the Balkans United States Institute of Peace
• SOUTHERN ALBANIA, NORTHERN EPIRUS: Survey of a Disputed Ethnological Boundary farsarotul.org
• Miranda Vickers, The Cham Issue - Albanian National & Property Claims in Greece, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, April 2002.