TheChamerian

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND POPULATION

Chameria lays on the most southern part of the Albanian ethnic land beginning from Qafa e Muzinës to the Preveza Bay in 150 km length and 36km width from the range of mountains of Pind in the Ionian Sea. In ancient times that was part of Epirus, which consisted of 15 000 km2 whereas Thesprotia (Chameria today) as its region is 4 200 km2. In the year, 1913 Cameria had over 60 000, half of which were Muslim & the other half-Albanian Christian Orthodox. From this year, The Greek Government followed the ethnic cleansing policy by expelling the Muslim population & neglecting the national identity to the Albanian Christian Orthodox population.

In the years 1944-1945, Greek politics culminated with the genocide towards the Muslim population by the cleansing of (expelling) over 30 000 Albanians. Today in Albania there are more than 200 000 Chams, whereas in Chameria there are nearly 300 000 and nearly 400 000 are in Turkey, The United States of America, Europe etc.


ANCIENT TIMES

The State of Epirus achieved its glory under the rule (the leadership) of Pyrrhus King of Epirhus in the years 307 -272 B.C. Pyrrhus was in good terms with Illyria after growing up in the court of King Glaukus, who helped turning back to the throne. He had a powerful political influence over Greece and Macedonia. In the year 232 B.C., the kingdom of Aiakides fell down and "The Epirus League" replaced it. It was a Republican way of government. In the year 167 B.C., it was under Roman conquest, and after the year 148 B.C., it was considered by the Roman Empire as Macedonian land. In the second (II) century A.D. Epirus was on its own, whereas in the third (III) century was created The New Epirus, which together with The Old Epirus were part of the same prefecture, that of Illyricum


MIDDLE AGES

In the beginning of the thirteenth century, Vajonetia (Chamëria today) was part of The Despotate of Epirus. Leaded by Gjon Zenebishi in the beginning of the fourteenth century, by Pjetër Losha and in the end by Gjin Bue Shpata, were fought severe battles with the anti-Albanian Serbian Thoma Prelubovic and his closest Latin and Turkish collaborators.

In the second half of the fifteenth century, Chameria often became a resistance field for the Ottoman army. Under the foreign occupation was included even the Delvina Sandjak. In the sixteenth century register, the typical Albanian names were such as Gjin, Gjon, Lekë and Pjetër; even the orthodox names had Alba