Ghegs

The Ghegs or Gegs are one of two major ethnic subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Tosks) differentiated by their cultural, linguistic, social and religious characteristics.

The Ghegs live in Albania (north of the Shkumbin river), Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro.

The name Gheg is derived from the term initially used by Orthodox population of pre-Ottoman Albania for confessional denotation when referring to their Catholic neighbors who converted to Catholicism to better resist the Orthodox Serbs.

The Ghegs speak Gheg Albanian, one of the two main dialects of Albanian language.

The social organization of the Ghegs is traditionally tribal, with several distinct tribal groups of Ghegs.

The Ottoman Empire annexes and rules the Tosk-inhabited south at the beginning of the fifteenth century, while territory populated by Ghegs remains out of the reach of the regular Ottoman civil administration until the beginning of the twentieth century.

As a consequence, the Ghegs evolve isolated from the Tosks.

Similarly, the Islamization of the Ghegs is incomplete, with a large area of northwestern Albania remaining Catholic.

The Ottomans never completely subdue the northern Albanian tribes of Ghegs because they are more useful to them as a stable source of mercenaries

Instead, they implement the bayraktar system, and grant some privileges to the bayraktars (banner chiefs) in exchange for their obligation to mobilize local fighters to support military actions of the Ottoman forces.

After establishment the state of Albania in the twentieth century its politics has been centered on the constant rivalry for superiority between the Tosks and the Ghegs.

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