Sandžak (Serbian Cyrillic: Санџак, pronounced [sǎndʒak]) or Sanjak is a historical geo-political region, now divided by the border between Serbia and Montenegro. Тhe name Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative district. Between 1878 and 1909 the region was placed under Austro-Hungarian occupation, following which it was ceded back to the Ottoman Empire. In 1912 the region was divided between the kingdoms of Montenegro and Serbia. Montenegrins and Serbs refer to the region by its medieval name Raška. The most populous city in the region is Novi Pazar in Serbia.
Sandžak is the transcription of Turkish sancak (sanjak, "province"); the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, known in Serbo-Croatian as Novopazarski sandžak. In Serbian, the region is known by its pre-Ottoman name, Raška.
It stretches from the southeastern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the borders with Kosovo and Albania at an area of 8,403 square kilometers. Six municipalities of Sandžak are in Serbia (Novi Pazar, Sjenica, Tutin, Prijepolje, Nova Varoš, and Priboj), and five in Montenegro (Pljevlja, Bijelo Polje, Berane, Rožaje, and Plav). Sometimes the Montenegrin municipality of Andrijevica is also regarded as part of Sandžak.