Christians have continued to conduct their worship in secret. Many
Mohammedans of this class returned to the faith of their fathers as
soon as the tolerance of Government permitted them to do so. As to the
warlike mountain clans, the Mirdits, Suliotes, and Acroceraunians,
they had no need to bend to the will of the Turks, and remained Greek
or Roman Christians. The boundary between Gheges and Tosks coincides
approximately with the boundary between these two denominations, the
Roman Catholics living to the north of the Shkumbi, the orthodox Greeks
to the south of the river. The Hellenes and Zinzares in Southern
Albania are orthodox Greeks. The hatred between these two denominations
of Christians is intense, and this is the principal reason why the
Albanians have not succeeded in regaining their independence, as have
the Servians.
Southern Albania and Epirus had feudal institutions up to the close
of last century. The chiefs of the clans and the semi-independent
Turkish pashas lived in strong castles perched upon the rocks, from
which they descended from time to time, followed by bands of servitors.
War existed in permanence, and property changed hands continuously,
according to the fortunes of the sword. Ali the Terrible, of Yanina,
put a stop to this state of affairs. He reduced high and low to the
same level of servitude, and the central Government now wields the
power formerly exercised by lords and heads of families. {123}
If we would become acquainted with a social condition recalling the
Middle Ages, we must go amongst the independent tribes of Northern
Albania. On crossing the Matis we at once perceive a change. Every one
goes armed; shepherds and labourers carry a carbine on the shoulder;
and even women and children place a pistol in their belts. Families,
clans, and tribes have a military organization, and at a moment’s
notice are ready to take the field. A sheep missing in a flock, an
insult offered in the heat of passion, may lead to war. Not long since
the Montenegrin was the most frequent disturber of the peace, for, shut
up in his sterile mountains, he was often obliged to turn brigand in
order to sustain life, and laid under contribution the fields of his
neighbours. The Turks have at all times nourished this hatred between
Albanians and Montenegrins. They recompense the warlike services of
the tribes of the border clans by exempting them from taxation, and
allowing them to govern themselves according to their own laws. Let
these immunities be touched, and they will make common cause with their
hereditary foes of the Black Mountains.
The Mirdits are typical of the independent tribes of Northern Albania.
They inhabit the high valleys to the south of the gorge of the
Drin, and, though hardly numbering 12,000 souls, they exercise, in
consequence of their warlike valour, a most important influence in
all Western Turkey. Their country is accessible only through three
difficult defiles, and they hold command of the roads which the Turkish
troops must follow when operating against the Montenegrins. The Sublime
Porte, well aware how difficult it would be to subdue these redoubtable
mountaineers, has endeavoured to attach them, showering honours upon
them, and granting them the most complete self-government. The Mirdits,
on their side, though Christians, have at all times fought most
valiantly in the ranks of the Turkish army, in Greece and the Morea, as
well as against their fellow-Christians of Montenegro. They are formed
into three “banners” of the mountains and two of the plains, and in
time of war are joined by the five banners of Lesh, or Alessio. The
banner of the renowned clan of Orosh takes precedence of all others.
The country of the Mirdits is governed by an oligarchy, of which the
Prince or Pasha of Orosh is the hereditary head. His power, however,
is merely nominal, for in reality the country is governed by a council
consisting of the elders (_vecchiardi_) of the villages, the delegates
of the banners, and the heads of clans. The proceedings of this
council are regulated by ancient traditions. Wives are taken by force
from the enemy, for the members of the five banners look upon each
other as relatives, and the Mohammedan girls in the lowland villages
look forward with little fear to their being carried off by Mirdit
warriors. The _vendetta_ is exercised in an inexorable manner, and
blood cries for blood. A violation of hospitality is punished with
death. The adulteress is buried beneath a heap of stones, and her
nearest relative is bound to deliver the head of her accomplice to the
injured husband. It need hardly be said that education is at a very low
ebb amongst these savages. There are no schools, and in 1860 hardly
fifty Christians of the Mirdit country and of the district of Lesh were
able to {124} read. Agriculture, nevertheless, is in a relatively
advanced state. The valleys of the sterile mountains are cultivated
with a certain amount of care, and they produce finer crops than do the
fertile plains, inhabited by an indolent population.
By a strange contrast, these direct descendants of the ancient
Pelasgians, to whom we are indebted for the beginning of civilisation
in Europe, still number amongst the most savage populations of our
continent. But they, too, must yield in time to the influence of their
surroundings. Until recently the Epirotes and southern Shkipetars left
their country only in order to lead the easy but degrading life of
mercenaries. In the last century the young men of Acroceraunia sold
themselves to the King of Naples, to be embodied in his regiment of
“Royal Macedonians;” and even in our own days not only Mohammedans,
but also Christian Tosks, enter the service of pashas and beys. These
men, known as Arnauts, may be met with in the most remote parts of
the empire—in Armenia, at Bagdad, and in Arabia. On the expiration of
their term of service, the majority of these veterans retire to estates
granted them by Government, and this accounts for the large number of
Arnaut villages met with in all parts of the empire.
But wars are less frequent now, the life of a mercenary offers fewer
advantages, and increasing numbers of Albanians leave their country
annually in order to gain a living abroad by honest labour. Like the
Swiss of the canton of Grisons, many Shkipetars descend from their
mountains at the commencement of winter in order to work for wages in
the plains. Most of these return to their mountain homes in spring,
enriched by their earnings; but there are others who remain abroad for
years, or who never return. The advantages of a division of labour
appear to be well understood by these mountaineers of Epirus and
Southern Albania, and each mountain valley is noted for the exercise of
some special craft. One valley sends forth butchers, another bakers, a
third gardeners. A village near Argyrokastro supplies Constantinople
with most of its well-sinkers. The district of Zagori, perhaps the home
of the ancient Asclepiads, sends its doctors, or rather “bone-setters,”
into every town of Turkey. Many of these emigrants, when they become
wealthy, return to their native land, where they build themselves fine
houses in the midst of sterile mountains, and these take the places of
the old seigneurial towers, which were erected only for purposes of
defence.
[Illustration: WEALTHY ARNAUTS.]
The Albanians are thus being carried along by a general movement of
progress, and if once they enter into the common life of Europe, we may
expect them to play a prominent part, for they possess a penetrating
mind and much strength of character. The Albanians enjoy the advantage
of having ready access to the sea, but hitherto they have derived only
small benefit from it, not only owing to the disturbed state of the
country and the absence of roads, but also because of the alluvial
deposits formed by the rivers and the malaria of the marshes. Still,
making every allowance for these disadvantages, they hardly account
for the almost entire absence of maritime enterprise. One would
scarcely fancy these Epirotes and Gheges to be of the same race as
those Hydriote corsairs who launched whole fleets upon the waters of
the Archipelago at the time of the war for Hellenic independence, and
who still maintain the foremost place amongst the mariners of {125}
Greece. The ports of Albania—Antivari, Porto Medua (one of the
safest on the Adriatic), Durazzo, Avlona, Parga (lost in a forest of
citron-trees), and even strong Prevesa, surrounded by more than a
hundred thousand olive-trees—can boast but of a trifling commerce, and
two-thirds of that are carried on in Austrian vessels from Trieste.
With the exception of the Acroceraunians and the inhabitants of
Dulcigno, which is the port of Scutari, no Mohammedan Albanian ventures
upon the sea, not even as a fisherman. In spite of the fertility of the
soil, there are hardly any articles to export. The mines of the country
are unexplored, agriculture is in a most backward state, and in Epirus
hardly any industry is known except the rearing of sheep and goats.
At the time of the Romans these countries were equally forsaken. There
was one magnificent city, Nicopolis, built by Augustus on a promontory
to the north of the modern Prevesa to commemorate his victory at
Actium. The only other town of importance was Dyrrhachium, called
Durazzo by the Italians. It formed the terminus of the Via Egnatia,
which traversed the whole of the Balkan peninsula from west to east,
and constituted the great highway between Italy and the Orient. Avlona
may aspire one day to take the place of ancient Dyrrhachium. Its
geographical position is superior to that of Durazzo, for it is nearer
to Italy, and its deep and secure harbour enjoys the shelter of the
island of Suseno and of the Linguetta of Acroceraunia.
In the meantime all the commerce of the country is concentrated in
Scutari and Yanina, and in some other towns of the interior. The most
considerable amongst the latter are Prisrend, at the foot of the Skhar,
whose nobles boast of their magnificent dresses and fine weapons; Ipek
(Pech), Prishtina, Jakovitza (Yakova), in the north-eastern portion
of the country, and on roads which lead from Macedonia into Bosnia.
Nearer the coast are Tirana, Berat, and Elbasan, the ancient Albanon,
whose name recalls that of the entire country. Gyorcha (Koritza), to
the south of the Lake of Okhrida, is likewise a place of much trade,
thanks to its position on a road joining the Adriatic to the Ægean Sea.
Scutari and Yanina occupy sites at the foot of the mountains, whose
natural advantages could not fail to attract a numerous population.
Yanina, the capital of Epirus, is the more picturesque of these two
cities. It is situated on the shore of a fine lake, opposite the
somewhat heavy masses of the Pindus, but in sight of the mountains
of Greece, which are of a “luminous grey, glittering like a tissue
of silk.” At the time of Ali Pasha, Yanina became the capital of an
empire, and its population then exceeded that of Scutari. But the
latter has now regained its pre-eminence. It is admirably situated, and
the roads from the Danube and the Ægean, from the Lower Drin and the
Adriatic, converge upon it. Scutari, or Shkodra, is the first oriental
city which a traveller coming from Italy meets with, and the first
impression made by its numerous gardens enclosed by high walls, its
deserted streets and irregular buildings, is sufficiently curious. Long
after he has entered the town, the traveller will remain uncertain as
to its whereabouts. But let him climb to the summit of the limestone
rock surmounted by the old Venetian castle of Rosapha, and the most
magnificent panorama will {126} unfold itself before his eyes. The
domes of Scutari, its twenty minarets, the emerald verdure of the
plain, the surrounding amphitheatre of fantastically shaped mountains,
the winding waters of the Boyana and Drin, and the placid surface of
the lake glittering in the sun—these all combine to produce a spectacle
of rare magnificence. The sea alone is wanting to render this picture
perfect, but, though near, it is not within sight.[34]
V.—THE ILLYRIAN ALPS, BOSNIA, AND HERZEGOVINA.
Bosnia, in the north-western corner of Turkey, is the Switzerland of
the European Orient, but it is a Switzerland whose mountains do not
reach the zone of perennial snow and ice. In many respects the mountain
ranges of Bosnia, and of its southern province, the Herzegovina,
resemble those of the Jura. They, too, are composed principally of
limestone, and rise in parallel ridges, surmounted here and there
by sharp crests. Like the successive ridges of the Jura, they are
of unequal height, and, taken as a whole, assume the appearance of
a plateau traversed by parallel furrows, and gently sloping in one
direction. The most elevated chain of Northern Bosnia is that which
separates it from the coast of Dalmatia, and the less elevated ridges
running parallel with it gradually decrease in height towards the
north-east, in the direction of the plains of the Save.
Rocks not belonging to the Jurassic system, such as crystalline slates,
dolomites, tertiary deposits, and serpentine, are met with in various
localities, and impart some variety to the orographical features of
Bosnia. Several crater-shaped depressions in the east and south-east
separate the mountains of Bosnia from the mountain masses of Servia.
The most remarkable amongst these plains is that of Novibazar, into
which numerous torrents discharge themselves, and which commands roads
diverging in various directions. This is the strategical key of the
country, and is destined on this account to become an important railway
junction.
[Illustration: TURKISH MULETEERS IN THE HERZEGOVINA.]
Nearly all the mountain ranges which pass from Carniola and Austrian
Croatia into Bosnia increase in height as we advance towards the
centre of the peninsula. The bleached pyramid of the Durmitor, close
to the northern frontier of Montenegro, attains an elevation of nearly
8,000 feet, and the plateau surrounding it is cut up by deep cavities,
some of which, like the troughs of the Herzegovina, open out in one
direction, whilst others are completely shut in by declivities. The
Prokletya, or “cursed” mountain, still farther to the south-east, rises
to a height even more considerable, and constitutes one of the most
formidable mountain masses of all Turkey. A huge depression occupies
its centre, the bottom of which is covered by the Lake of Plava. Even
in summer patches of snow may be seen on some of the mountains which
surround this abyss. But Mount Kom, the {127} highest of all, never
retains its cap of snow during the whole of the year, for it melts away
before the hot African winds to which it is exposed. Mount Kom may
possibly turn out to be the culminating point of the Balkan peninsula.
It is certainly one of the highest summits, and its double peak, rising
above the plateau of Montenegro, is descried from afar by the mariner
navigating the Adriatic. It has been ascended by several travellers,
for its slopes are gentle.[35]
The rivers of Bosnia, like those of the Jura, flow between parallel
mountain ranges towards the north-east, along the furrows traced out
for them by nature. But these calcareous mountain ramparts of Bosnia,
like those of the Jura, are broken up by narrow gorges, or _cluses_,
through which the pent up waters find a way from furrow to furrow.
Instead of taking a serpentine course, as do most rivers flowing
through a plain, these rivers of Bosnia change from valley to valley
by abrupt bends. Gentle and furious in turns, they gradually reach
the lower regions, and are finally swallowed up by the Save. Only one
river, the Narenta, finds its way into the Adriatic; all others, in
accordance with the general slope of the country, flow in the direction
of the Danube. These river valleys, with their sudden turnings, would
be available as natural roads for reaching the plateau, if most of the
gorges were not exceedingly difficult of access; and until regular
roads have been constructed, as in the cluses of the Jura, travellers
are obliged to scale steep heights in order to pass from valley to
valley. It is this want of practicable roads which renders military
operations in Bosnia so difficult and perilous.
Great armies have at all times remained to the east of the mountain
masses referred to, passing from the valley of the Vardar into that
of the Morava, whose springs almost intermingle their waters. In that
locality we meet with the bed of an ancient lake, through which flows
the Sitnitza, one of the upper tributaries of the Servian Morava: this
is the plain of Kosovo, the “field of black birds,” which reminds
all southern Slavs of painful events. It was there the power of the
Servians succumbed in 1389, and, if we may credit ancient heroic songs,
more than 100,000 men perished in a single day. Five hundred years have
passed away since this great disaster, but the Slavs have never ceased
to hope for a day of vengeance, and they look forward to the time when
on this very field they may reconquer the independence they have lost.
The similarity between the mountains of Bosnia and of the Jura is
rendered complete by the existence of grottoes, sink-holes, and
subterranean rivers. Sink-holes from 60 to 100 feet in diameter, and
shaped like funnels, are met with in many localities. Several rivers
appear suddenly at the foot of a hill, and, after flowing on for a few
miles, disappear again beneath some portal in the rocks. The table-land
of the Herzegovina especially abounds in phenomena of this kind. The
ground there is pierced by “sinks,” or _ponors_, which swallow up the
water derived from precipitation. “Blind valleys” and “troughs” present
everywhere the traces of currents of water and of temporary lakes,
and after heavy rains the subterranean basins sometimes rise to the
surface, and a river then flows for a time along the valley. As a rule,
however, the inhabitants are compelled to {128} collect the water they
require in cisterns, or to fetch it from long distances. Elsewhere the
hydrography of the country is subject to annual changes. Lakes which
still figure upon our maps are drained through subterranean passages
only recently opened; other lakes are formed in consequence of some
passage, which formerly carried off the surface water, having become
choked with alluvium. No more curious river probably exists in the
world than the Trebinishtitza, in the Western Herzegovina. It appears
and disappears many times. One of its branches, flowing at one time
on the surface, at others underground, crosses the plains of Kotesi,
in turns a parched champaign country or a lake abounding in fish, and
enters the Narenta. Other branches pass beneath the mountains, and
gush out near the shores of the Adriatic. One of the most famous of
these springs is that of Ombra, which pours its waters into the Bay of
Gravosa, to the north of Ragusa.
[Illustration: Fig. 37.—SUBTERRANEAN BEDS OF THE AFFLUENTS OF THE
NARENTA.
Scale 1 : 1,925,000.]
“Where the rocks finish and the trees appear, there begins Bosnia.”
So said the Dalmatians formerly. But many parts of Bosnia have now
lost their clothing of verdure. The table-lands of the Herzegovina
and Montenegro, no less than Dalmatia, have been despoiled of their
forests, but Bosnia proper still remains a country of woods. Nearly
one-half its area is covered with forests. In the valleys trees have
almost disappeared, for the peasant is allowed to wield his axe {129}
without hindrance, but in the virgin forests of the mountains trees
still abound. The principal trees of Europe are met with in these
magnificent woods: walnut-trees, chestnut-trees, limes, maples, oaks,
beeches, ash-trees, birches, pines, firs, and larches. Austrian
speculators, unfortunately, avail themselves of the roads which begin
to open up the interior of the country to devastate these forests,
which ought to be preserved with the greatest care. The song of birds
is but rarely heard in these sombre woods, but wild animals abound
in them. They shelter bears, wild boars, and deer, and the number of
wolves is so large that their skins form one of the most important
articles of Bosnian commerce. Taken as a whole, Bosnia ranks among
the most fertile countries of Europe, and few regions surpass it in
the beauty of its rural scenery. In some parts of the country, and
particularly near the Save, large herds of hogs, almost wild, roam
through the oak forests. Hence the epithet of “country of hogs” which
the Turks have derisively given to Bosnia.
With the exception of the Jews, the gipsies, and the few Osmanli
officials, soldiers, and merchants in the principal towns, the entire
population of the country is of Slav race. The inhabitants of Kraina,
near the Austrian frontier, call themselves Croats, but they scarcely
differ from the Bosnian Servians and Raitzes of ancient Rascia, now
known as the sandjak of Novibazar. On the classical soil of Rascia
originated most of those cherished _piesmas_, or popular songs, in
which the Southern Slavs have deposited their national traditions. The
Herzegovinians, in some respects, differ from their Bosnian kinsmen.
They are the descendants of immigrants who came from the banks of the
Vistula in the seventh century. Like their neighbours the Montenegrins,
they are more voluble in their speech than the Servians proper, and
make use of numerous peculiar turns of expression and a few words of
Italian which have glided into their language.
Although most of the Bosnians are of the same race, they are divided by
religious animosities, and these account for their state of political
servitude. At the first glance it may cause surprise that the Slavs
of Bosnia should not have succeeded in throwing off the Turkish yoke,
like their kinsmen of Servia. Their country is more remote from the
capital, and far less accessible than Servia. A conquering army coming
from the south has not only to force numerous defiles, but has to
contend, too, with the climate, which is far more severe than that of
the remainder of the Balkan peninsula. But, in spite of these great
natural advantages from a defensive point of view, every revolt has
hitherto failed lamentably. We need not seek far for the cause of this:
Christian and Mohammedan Bosnians are at enmity, and the Christians
themselves are split up into Greeks, who are led by their _popes_, and
Romans, who follow blindly their Franciscan priests. In their divided
state they fall an easy prey to their oppressors, and servitude has
degraded their character.
The Mussulmans of Bosnia call themselves Turks, but they are Slavs
nevertheless, like their Christian compatriots, and, like them,
speak Servian with a large admixture of Turkish words. They are the
descendants of the nobles who, in {130} the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, embraced Islamism in order to save their feudal privileges.
They also number amongst their ranks the descendants of brigands, who
changed their religion in order to be able to continue their trade
without fear of punishment. This apostacy gave to the lords even
greater power over their wretched dependants than they had formerly
possessed. The hatred of caste was augmented by religious animosity,
and they soon surpassed in fanaticism the Mohammedan Turks, and reduced
the Christian peasantry to a condition of veritable slavery. A wild
pear-tree is still pointed out near one of the gates of Sarayevo, upon
which the notables occasionally suspended some unfortunate raya for
their amusement. Whether beys or spahis, these Mohammedan Bosnians are
the most retrograde element of old Turkey, and on several occasions,
as in 1851, they even rose up in rebellion in order to maintain intact
their ancient feudal privileges. Sarayevo, as a Mussulman city, stood
under the special protection of the Sultan’s mother, and possessed most
extravagant privileges, which converted it into a state in the state
more hostile to Christianity than the Sublime Porte itself.