Arbanasi people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (ca. 4,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Zadar County | |
| Languages | |
| Gheg Albanian Arbanasi dialect, Croatian, historically Venetian | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholic |
Arbanasi (Arbanasi language: Arbëneshë) is a community in the Zadar region, Croatia, of Albanian origin, who traditionally speak the Arbanasi dialect of Gheg Albanian. Their name means Albanians in Croatian and is the toponymy of the first Arbanasi settlement in the region, which today is a suburb of Zadar. In Albanian literature, they are known as "Albanians of Zadar" (Arbëreshët e Zarës).
Today, the community is spread across Croatia. Their original settlements were Arbanasi of Zadar and some villages around Zadar, namely Zemunik, Dračevac, Crno, Ploča, etc. The former village derived its name from its founders, the Albanians. The Arbanasi are known to have settled the area during two different periods of migration; the first in 1655 and the second in 1726-33. These settlers were said to be part of the Kastrioti clan, one of the numerous Northern Albanian clans known to have existed.
Arbanasi (Арбанаси) is the old ethnonym that the South Slavs used to denote Albanians, dating back to the Middle Ages. The origin of the Croatian Arbanas is from Skadarska Krajina (Albanian: Krajë) region from the villages of Briska (Brisk), Šestan (Shestan), Livari (Ljare), and Podi (Pod) located in modern southern Montenegro. Every one of the inhabitants of the village of Pod had left for migration in 1726, leaving the village completely abandoned. Ruins of old houses can still be found in the area today. They originated from the hinterland, demonstrated by the names of fish coming from the Croatian language. This population migrated into what is today Croatia in two different periods, first in 1655 to Pula, Istria and then 1726–27 and 1733, to the Zadar area, supported and planned by Archbishop of Zara Vicko Zmajević and the Venetian republic to repopulate the countryside and hinterland of Zadar.
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