In the
cadastral register of 1451–52, the Skopje neighborhood
Gjin-ko (
Gjinaj), is mentioned, being named after the medieval Albanian
Gjini family. The neighbourhood displayed mixed Christian Albanian
anthroponymy with cases of
Slavicisation present (e.g.
Palić;
Pal + Slavic suffix
ić). During this time period, a number of
timariots of the city are recorded as bearing the name
Arnauti (meaning
Albanian) alongside a Muslim name, i.e.
Hamza Arnauti, Shahin Arnauti, Jusuf Arnauti. Another group bore Slavic Christian names, whilst also carrying bearing the surname
Arbanas/
Arnaut, i.e.
Bogdan Arbanas,
Bogoslav Arbanas,
Milosh Arbanas,
Bozhidar Arnaut, etc. These individuals are not noted as having the Slavic appellatives
došlac,
prišlac or
uselica, which were given by Ottoman authorities to new settlers of a given region, likely indicating they were locals. In the year 1451 or 1453 a neighborhood was registered bearing an
Aromanian name,
Mahalle-i Todor Vlaja-Vlaha. Amongst the 45 family heads of this neighborhood, Christian Slavic and Albanian anthroponyms were recorded (
Gjon-çe, son of
Noriç,
Koljko Bibani,
Tusho, son of
Rada, etc.), whilst a sizeable number of individuals bearing mixed Slavic-
Vlach anthroponyms are also registered, such as:
Petko, son of
Vllah (
Iflak),
Petru, son of
David,
Andreja,
kozhuhar,
Nikul Çikun, etc.
In the
mahallah Ahrijan Hasan in the year 1451 or 1453, a head of the family from the noble Albanian
Muzaka family, who had converted to Islam, was re-registered amongst the Muslim heads of the family. In the other register of 1467/68, now in the Christian mahallah named
Svetko Samarxhi, amongst the 29 heads of families with Slavic Christian anthroponyms, a number also carried Albanian anthroponyms. In the neighborhood of
Jazixhi Shahin, amongst the residents with Muslim names, the head of the family was registered only with the surname
Zenebishi, without mentioning his social position or his profession, indicating a higher social status. This may suggest a relation to Hasan Bey Zenebishi, a descendant of the
Zenebishi family and the
Soubashi of the
Nahiyah of
Kalkandelen. Individuals bearing Albanian anthroponyms, be they in conjunction with Islamic, Slavic or Christian ones, also appear in the neighbourhoods of
Kasim Fakih,
Dursun Saraç,
Kujumxhi Mentesheli,
Çerep, Jandro, Stanimir, Vllah Dançu and
Rela. A number of Sipahis were also of Albanian origin, with these individuals holding
timars in areas which had a Christian Albanian symbiosis with Slavic anthroponyms in the vicinity of Skopje. The defters noted that these were old
sipahis, likely having been landowners. These individual Sipahis were closely related by descent and blood, and taking account kinship ties, even though they had heterogeneous, Christian, Slavic and Oriental names, they appear to have been Albanians. Some have names indicating their origin, such as
Shimerd Vardarli from Skopje, making it likely these timariotes were locals.
Around 1529, the Christians of Skopje were mostly non-converted
Slavs and
Albanians, but also
Ragusan and
Armenian tradesmen.
Mustafa Pasha Mosque, built in 1492, is reputed to be "one of the most resplendent sacral Islamic buildings in the Balkans." In 1535 all churches were demolished by decree of the Ottoman governor. In 1555, the city was hit by another severe earthquake, collapsing much of the city. The
Old Bazaar of Skopje, the columns of the
Stone Bridge, and the
murals in the upper parts of the
Church of Saint Panteleimon, Gorno Nerezi were all severely damaged. Some modern sources estimate this earthquake to have been a Category XII (Extreme) on the
Modified Mercalli intensity scale, although others believe this is an overestimate.
In 1623–1624,
Pjeter Mazreku, a Roman Catholic
prelate, reported the town was inhabited by "Turks (Muslims), the majority of them being
Albanians, the rest are of Asiatic origin", Mazreku further wrote, "there are also Jews, Serbs and some Greeks in the town". In the Ottoman period,
Turk was used within Christian writings as a name for a Muslim or for Islamised Albanians. Sources from the years of 1689–1690 considered the town of Shkupi (Skopje) during those periods as part of
Albania.
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