Zagori (; ) is a region, a municipality, and a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Pindus mountains in Epirus, in northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Asprangeloi. It has an area of some and contains 46 villages known as Zagori villages (or Zagorochoria or Zagorohoria), and is in the shape of an upturned equilateral triangle.
Ioannina, the capital of the administrative region of that name, borders the southern point of the triangle, while the southwestern side is formed by Mount Mitsikeli (1,810m). The Aoos river running north of Mount Tymphe forms the northern boundary, while the southeastern side runs along the Varda river to Mount Mavrovouni (2,100m) near Metsovo. The municipality has an area of 989.796 km2. The population of the area is about 3,400, which gives a population density of 3.4 inhabitants per square kilometer, very sparse when compared to an average of 73.8 for Greece as a whole.
Geography Zagori is an area of great natural beauty, with striking geology and two National Parks, one including the river Aoos and the Vikos Gorge, the other around Valia Kalda, to the east of the imposing snow-capped Mt Tymphe. The 46 or so villages of Zagori were interconnected by mountain roads and traditional arched stone bridges until modern roads were opened in the 1950s. The stone arched bridges were built by benefactions from expatriate merchants in the 18th century and replaced older wooden bridges.
History
The region has been historically difficult to access due to its mountainous terrain which likely contributed to its unique character. The Sarakatsani people who can be found in this area use several Greek words of a Northern Greek dialect not commonly found in Greek elsewhere.Νικόλαος Κατσαρός – Οι αρχαιοελληνικές ρίζες του Σαρακατσάνικου λόγου They are consequently considered by some as indigenous to the area.
Early history The first evidence of human presence in the area is dated between 17,000 and 10,000 years ago. Important epipaleolithic artifacts have been unearthed from Kleidi Cave on the banks of Voidomatis. In antiquity, the region of Zagori was inhabited by the Tymphaeans and formed a part of the ancient kingdom of the Molossians, a Greek tribe of Epirus that gained control over all of Epirus in classical times. The Molossian royal house ruled Epirus from the ancient town of "Molossis" which was located near modern Konitsa, in the northern boundary of Zagori, where the rivers Voidomatis, Aoös and Sarantaporos come together. The Molossians were known among else for a breed of great mastiffs they used to guard their flocks from wolves and bears and which were even used in war.
Molossus, their eponymous ancestor, was said to have been born of a union between Neoptolemus (son of Achilles ) and Andromache (the wife of Hector of Troy). Neoptolemus, also called Pyrrhus for his blond hair, was first in a line of Epirotan kings leading to the king Pyrrhus of Hellenistic times who launched several campaigns against the Romans in Italy. Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, was a Molossian princess. Remains of cyclopean walls in Skamneli also testify to the antiquity of human occupation. During the 9th–4th centuries BC, a small Molossian settlement existed between Monodendri and Vitsa, including stone houses and two cemeteries which have yielded important findings.Prefectural Committee of Tourist Promotion: p. 14 Additionally, foundations of fortifications and graves from the Hellenistic period have been found in Skamneli. However, throughout most of the historical time the local population was sparse.
Byzantine period
The passage of the Slavs during the early Byzantine period is testified to by numerous placenames. The placename "Zagori" itself is probably derived from the Slavic Zagore meaning "beyond the mountains". Under the Byzantine Empire, Zagori occasionally attracted groups of soldiers who built villages and settled there. Several monasteries were royal endowments, including the monastery of Votsa near the village of Greveniti and the monastery of the Transfiguration near Kleidonia, founded in the 7th century by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IV Pogonatus and the monastery of St John of Rogovou near Tsepelovo founded in 1028 by the sister of Emperor Romanos III Argyros.
From 1204 to 1337 the region was part of the Despotate of Epirus. In the 14th century, when various Albanian clans made incursions into Epirus, Zagori was the source of soldiers that served in the Ioannina garrison. In turn, as the center of Greek rule, Ioannina shielded Zagori against Albanian attacks. As a result of the campaigns of Andronikos III Paleologos in 1337, the Despotate of Epirus and, therefore, Zagori along with Ioannina and the surrounding region came again briefly under Byzantine rule.
The region came under Serbian rule in 1348 and the Despotate of Epirus was reformed and was under Latin rule by Carlo II Tocco when Ioannina and Zagori fell to the Turks in 1430, at the time of Sultan Murad II. Zagori (which then only consisted of 14 villages) "bowed the knee", which meant in practice that there were obligations between delegations of the two sides and a sum in tax was agreed upon in exchange for very considerable privileges: autonomy, administrative independence, and a ban on Turks crossing the borders into the area.
Ottoman period The Zagorisian League or Koinon of the Zagorisians (Κοινόν Ζαγορισίων) was formed after the treaty of 1431 with Sinan-Pasha. At that point the arrangement that granted local autonomy was called "Voiniko". The autonomy guaranteed non-interference in the local affairs by the Ottoman overlords. Zagorisians had their affairs entrusted to a Council of Elders called Demogerontia (Δημογεροντία), headed by a president or governor called Vekylis (Βεκύλης). As part of the treaty they maintained a force of Sipahi cavalry (σπαχήδες), with each village contributing a number of horsemen to that force according to its means.Constantinos Paparrigopoulos History of the Hellenic Nation 6 volumes, 1860–1877. Under the terms of this agreement no intervention by the Ottoman authorities was allowed, nor did any Ottoman armed units had the right to set foot on Zagori.Zissis, 2006, p. 14 The villages of Eastern Zagori, inhabited by Aromanians, entered the Treaty in 1480.
Many toponyms in northern and eastern Zagori that have Aromanian etymology, while toponyms with mainly Greek or Slavic etymology are present in western and southern Zagori. In a 1986 study of 3546 local toponyms ~70% are mediated via Greek and ~30% via non-Greek languages in their modern form: 13% Aromanian, 8,3% Slavic, 5,2% Albanian and 2,2% Turkish, while in terms of linguistic origin 56% Greek, and about non-Greek (including loanwords that were already incorporated in the local Greek language): 14% Aromanian, 11.5% Slavic, 6% Albanian, 4.8% Turkish, 3.3% of mixed linguistic origin and 2.5% Latin.
The main source of income for the local communities came from commercial activities which resulted in migration to distant places. From 17th century the economy of Zagori primarily depended on the remittances and bequests of the diaspora.Tsefos, 2001, p. 16 This activity peaked at the 18th century.Tsefos, 2001, p. 15 Due to the thriving trade activities of the Zagorisian diaspora several instances of donations were recorded: bridges, cobblestones, fountains, schools, temples and monasteries and social charity.
Up to the end of the Ottoman rule the native Zagorians preserved their social superiority over the other classes, as well they were engaged in lucrative and socially recognized professions. Among the Zagorians the most distinguished class due to their wealth and status were the archontes. The economic affluence of Zagori's past is still reflected in the architecture of the villages. This was accompanied by an impressive cultural and intellectual life that produced many renowned scholars and benefactors of Greece.Vokou, Katradia, Kokkini 1993, p. 1
Over the centuries, some groups of Orthodox Albanians (locally known as Arvanites) settled in at least 12 villages of Zagori. Albanian settlers in Zagori must have been very few in the 15th century. Most of the Albanian settlement can be attributed to a later era and was fuelled by outward migration from Zagori of locals, which created the need for new inhabitants to help with local economic activities. Many Orthodox Albanians intermarried into the communities of Zagori or were adopted by Zagorisian families. They often served as guards for the villages of Zagori and their fields which had no military protection, however would occasionally resort to banditry. Hence Albanian immigrants filled these labour gaps and quickly became part of the local population.: "Die durch die Auswanderungen entstandenen Bevölkerungslücken füllten zugewanderte orthodoxe Albaner (Arvaniten), die verschiedene Hilfsarbeiten in den fast männerleeren Dörfern übernahmen und schnell in der übrigen Bevölkerung aufgingen" Most of them had already participated in the Greek national struggles as Klephts and were experienced warriors. Some Albanians from Konitsa (Gorgopotamos, Chionades) worked as masons or painters in Zagori but rarely settled there. Christian Orthodox Albanians have settled in at least 12 Zagori villages,: "Arvanitische Familien haben sich in mindestens zwölf Dörfern in Zagóri angesiedelt" including Tristeno, Aristi, Megalo Papingo, Anthrakitis, Asprangeloi, Kavallari, Kipi, Leptokarya, Monodendri, Tsepelovo, Vitsa, Vradeto and possibly Kapesovo. Local Albanian traces, with the exception of some toponyms, have disappeared.: "Die spuren der Albaner bzw. Arvaniten sind mit Ausnahme der albanischen Toponyme verschwunden"
At that era Orthodox Roma families settled in most villages in low numbers. They served as musicians and blacksmiths in Zagori. Arvanites and Roma were considered metoikoi (literary: foreigners) and comprised the lower social class in the region and lived at the outskirts of the villages without civil and property rights in Zagori politics,Tsefos, 2001, p. 15: "Οι μέτοικοι (Αρβανίτες, Σουλιώτες και κάτοικοι από την περιοχή Λάκκα Σουλίου), που εργαζόταν σαν μισθοφόροι οπλίτες και εργάτες στα χωράφια των Ζαγορίσιων, και οι Γύφτοι (σιδεράδες-μουσικοί) αποτελούσαν τα χαμηλότερα κοινωνικά στρώματα και ζούσαν στα όρια του οικισμού, χωρίς να έχουν πολιτικά δικαιώματα και ιδιοκτησία." and were assimilated.
Greek nomadic communities of Sarakatsani appeared in Zagori in the late 18th century. They were initially used as shepherds for the flocks of the native Zagorisians, but started developing their own flocks from the mid-19th century.
Nevertheless, Zagori retained much of its Greek character through its system of government and the benefactions of its expatriates that favoured Greek education. The Koinon of the Zagorisians was reformalised by a treaty signed in 1670, under which Zagori enjoyed considerable privileges called Surutia, which were only rescinded fully by the Sultan in 1868. This solution suited the conquerors and the conquered, as it added statutory rules to the geographical factors which had made Zagori a natural refuge. Consequently, Zagori was never broken up to be shared out among Turkish landowners. Its economy flourished thanks to expatriate merchants active in Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Constantinople, who through remittances to their families and numerous benefactions contributed to the relative prosperity Zagori enjoyed during the period of Turkish rule. Schools for boys and, from the 18th century onwards, also for girls were built. Additionally, new churches and watermills to grind the corn were constructed, while the water wells were often decorated with ornamental fountains.