page_title: Sandžak
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sandžak / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Area under jurisdiction of the National Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Sandžak (ZAVNOS), 1943-1945. Српски / srpski: Подручје у надлежности Земаљског антифашистичког већа народног ослобођења Санџака (ЗАВНОС-а), 1943-1945. године. Bosanski: Područje u nadležnosti Zemaljskog antifašističkog vijeća narodnog oslobođenja Sandžaka (ZAVNOS-a), 1943-1945. godine.
context_page_description: Sandžak or Sanjak, is a historical geo-political region in Serbia and Montenegro. The name Sandžak derives from the Sanjak of Novi Pazar, a former Ottoman administrative district. Serbs refer to the northern part of the region by its medieval name Raška.
  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. The most populous city in the region is Novi Pazar in Serbia.
context_section_description: The Serbian Despotate was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1455.  During the Ottoman rule, many inhabitants converted to Islam. The conversions were caused by number of factors, mainly economic as Muslims paid lower taxes. The Muslims were also privileged compared to Christians, who were unable to work in the administration or testify in court against Muslims. The second factor that contributed to the Islamisation were migrations. A large demographic shift occurred as Serbs fought several wars against the Ottoman Empire. The Turks drove the Christian population northwards, while Muslims were driven to the Ottoman territory. The land abandoned by the Serbs was settled by Muslims, mainly ethnic Serbs who confessed Islam and Turks, but also significant population from the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Asia Minor. Large migrations occurred throughout the 18th and 19th century. The third factor of Islamisation was the geographical location of Sandžak, which allowed it to become a trade centre, facilitating conversions amongst merchants.
  The second half of the 19th century was very important in terms of shaping the current ethnic and political situation in Sandžak. Austria-Hungary supported Sandžak's separation from the Ottoman Empire, or at least its autonomy within it. The reason was to prevent Serbia and Montenegro from unifying, and allow Austria-Hungary's further expansion to the Balkans. Per these plans, Sandžak was seen as part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while its Muslim population played a significant role giving Austrian-Hungarians a pretext of protecting the Muslim minority from the Christian Orthodox Serbs.
  Administratively, it was part of the Sanjak of Bosnia until 1790, when it become a separated Sanjak of Novi Pazar. However, in 1867, it become a part of the Bosnia Vilayet that consisted of seven sanjaks, including the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. This led to Sandžak Muslims identifying themselves with other Slavic Muslims in Bosnia.
  In October 1912, Sandžak was captured by Serbian and Montenegrin troops in the First Balkan War, and its territory was divided between Serbia and Montenegro. Many Slavic Muslims and Albanian inhabitants of Sandžak emigrated to Turkey as muhajirs. There are numerous colonies of Sandžak Bosniaks in Turkey, in and around Edirne, Istanbul, Adapazarı, Bursa, and Samsun, among other places. During World War I, Sandžak was occupied by Austria-Hungary between 1915 and 1918, as it had been previously between 1878 and 1908. Following World War I, it was included in the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was a link between the Muslims in the West in Bosnia and Herzegovina and those in the East in Kosovo and Macedonia. Sandžak was the only region in Serbia populated by the Slavic Muslims. The Sandžak Muslims suffered from the loss of their economic status since the decline of the Ottoman Empire, and during the agrarian reform carried out in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. This led to the Muslim emigrations to the Ottoman Empire.
  The new communist regime in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia found Sandžak with the Slavic Muslim minority of 43% and the Serb majority of 56%, along with smaller Albanian and Catholic minorities. During the World War II, until its abolition, Sandžak had an equal status to other federal units. The Muslims, who had generally anti-Partisan attitude, wanted unification of Sandžak with Bosnia and Herzegovina, or at least to be taken as a whole either by Serbia or Montenegro. However, Sandžak was later divided between Serbia and Montenegro, the outcome the Muslims wanted the least.
  The Anti-Fascist Council of People's Liberation of Sandžak (AVNOS) had been founded on 20 November 1943 in Pljevlja. In January 1944, the Land Assembly of Montenegro and the Bay of Kotor cited Sandžak as part of a future Montenegrin federal unit. However, in March, the Communist Party opposed this, insisting that Sandžak's representatives at AVNOJ should decide on the matter. In February 1945, the Presidency of the AVNOJ made a decision to oppose the Sandžak's autonomy. Th
caption: Area under jurisdiction of the National Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Sandžak (ZAVNOS), 1943-1945.
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