Montenegro Vilayet
| Montenegro Vilayet Vilâyeti Karadağ |
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vilayet of the Sanjak of Scutari of the Ottoman Empire |
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| History | |||||
| • | Established | 1528 | |||
| • | Disestablished | 1696 | |||
| Today part of |
 Montenegro
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The Vilayet of the Black Mountain (Montenegro) was an Ottoman administrative unit within the Sanjak of Scutari, consisting of parts of modern-day Montenegro. It was established in the 16th century and existed until 1696. The Ottomans only laid claim to those lands, but in reality, they were independent as the Montenegrin tribes with the support of the Eparchy of Cetinje constantly waged wars against Turks.
In Ottoman Turkish, it was known as the "Vilayet of the Black Mountain" ("vilâyet-i Kara Dağ" or "Vilâyeti Karadağ";Serbo-Croatian: vilajet Crna Gora). For easier access, the article name is Montenegro Vilayet.
The bishops of Cetinje used the term "land (zemlja) of the Black Mountain (Crne Gore)".
The greater part of the Zetan principality lost its status as an independent state, becaming a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, until it was added to the Sanjak of Scutari in 1499. In 1514 this territory was separated from the Sanjak of Scutari and established as a separate Sanjak of Montenegro, under the rule of Skenderbeg Crnojević. When he died in 1528, the Sanjak of Montenegro was joined to the Sanjak of Scutari, as a unique administrative unit with certain degree of autonomy.
The 1582–83 census registered that the vilayet, an autonomous part of the frontier of the Sanjak of Scutari, had the nahiyah of Grbavci (13 villages), Župa (11 villages), Malonšići (7 villages), Pješivci (14 villages), Cetinje (16 villages), Rijeka (31 villages), Crmnica (11 villages), Paštrovići (36 villages) and Grbalj (9 villages); a total of 148 villages.
The Montenegrin tribes, with support of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Cetinje, fought guerilla wars against the Ottomans with some degree of success. Although the Ottomans continued to nominally rule the country, the mountains were said to have never been completely conquered. There existed tribal assemblies (zbor). The head bishop (and tribal leaders) often allied themselves with the Republic of Venice. The Montenegrins fought and won two important battles at Lješkopolje, in 1603 and 1613, under the leadership and command of Metropolitan Rufim Njeguš. This was the first battle, of many, that a bishop had led, and managed to defeat the Ottomans.
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