Drač County

For the county of the Republic of Albania, see Durrës County.
Drač County
Драчки округ
county of Kingdom of Serbia
←
1912–1913

Coat of arms

Capital Drač (Durrës)
History
 • First Balkan War 29 November 1912
 • Disestablished April 1913
Today part of Albania

Drač County (Serbian: Драчки округ/Drački okrug) was one of the counties of the Kingdom of Serbia established on 29 November 1912 on the part of the territory of Albania taken from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War. Drač County had four districts (Serbian: срез/srez): Drač (Durrës), Lješ (Lezhë), Elbasan and Tirana.[1][2] The army of the Kingdom of Serbia retreated from Durrës in April 1913.

Establishment

Territorial expansion of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1913.

The army of the Kingdom of Serbia captured Durrës on 29 November 1912 without any resistance.[3] Orthodox Christian metropolitan of Durrës Jakov gave a particularly warm welcome to the new authorities.[4] According to a 1929 work by Serbian essayist Milutin Lazarević, the Christian population of Durrës was thrilled by the arrival of the Serbian army.[5] The Kingdom of Serbia established district offices and appointed the governor of the county, mayor of the city, and commander of the military garrison.[6] Тhe first military governor of the city of Durrës capetain Branislav Milosavljević (commander of vanguard of Albanian-Šumadian unit), appointed first city councel (Petar Djurasković, chair, Hristo Spiro, Mehmed Efendi etc.).[7]

Ivan Ivanić, the first governor of Durrës County

The first governor of Drač County was Ivan Ivanić, a Serbian diplomat. His wife Delfa, who was famous as one of the founders of the Circle of Serbian Sisters (Serbian: Kolo Srpskih Sestara), governed the city hospital in Durrës.[8][9] The first mayor of Durrës was Petar Đurašković, a member of a family from this city, while members of the city council were Hristos Spiro, Imam Husein Efendi and Filip Serić.[10] When the army of Kingdom of Serbia occupied Albania in 1912, Dragutin Anastasijević was engaged as a translator for the Greek language and, after a while, he was appointed as governor of Durrës County[11] instead of Ivan Ivanić.

The military conquest of the area was justified by historical arguments brought up by Serbian politicians which said that since the region belonged to Stefan Dushan in the 14th century, Durrës could be part of the new Kingdom of Serbia. They also made up that the Malësors are actually Serbs. These arguments were opposed by Croatian historian Milan Sufflay who instead sought to present a more objective picture of the history of Albania and stated that it would have been better for Serb politicians not to make historical claims to territory which they wish to conquer.[12]

Disestablishment

Front page of Politika of November 29, 1912 with information about establishing of Durrës County

The army of the Kingdom of Serbia retreated from Durrës in April 1913, but it remained in other parts of Albania for the next two months.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Bogdanović, Dimitrije; Radovan Samardžić (1990). Knjiga o Kosovu: razgovori o Kosovu. Književne novine. p. 208. Retrieved August 2, 2011. На освојеном подручју су одмах успостављене грађанске власти и албанска територија је Де Факто анектирана Србији : 29. новембра је основан драчки округ са четири среза (Драч, Љеш, Елбасан, Тирана)....On conquered territory of Albania was established civil government and territory of Albania was de facto annexed by Serbia: On November 29 was established Durres County with four srez (Durres, Lezha, Elbasan, and Tirana)
  2. ↑ Petrović, Dragoljub S. (1990). "Heterogenost stanovništva determinanta složenosti rešenja političkog statusa albanskog prostora (Heterogeneity of the population as determinant of the complexity of solving the political status of the Albania)" (in Serbian). pp. 237–271. OCLC 439985244. Potom, 29. novembra 1912. formiran je Drački okrug u okviru kojeg su srezovi - Drač, Tirana, Elbasan i Lješ. ... On November 29, 1912 the Durres County was established and in it there were established the following districts - Durres, Tirana, Elbasan and Lezhe
  3. ↑ Antić, Čedomir (January 2, 2010). "Kratko slavlje u Draču" [Short celebration in Durres]. Večernje novosti (in Serbian). Retrieved August 5, 2011. Velika luka došla je bez otpora pod vlast Kraljevine Srbije... The big port fell into hands of Kingdom of Serbia without any resistance
  4. ↑ Antić, Čedomir (January 2, 2010). "Kratko slavlje u Draču" [Short celebration in Durres]. Večernje novosti (in Serbian). Retrieved August 5, 2011. Novu vlast je posebno srdačno dočekao drački pravoslavni episkop Jakov. ... New authorities were particularly worm welcomed by Orthodox metropilitan Jakov
  5. ↑ Lazarević, Milutin D. (1934) [1929]. "Naši ratovi za oslobođenje i ujedinjenje: Srpsko-turski rat 1912 godine (Our wars for liberation and unification: Serbian-Turkish war of 1912" (in Serbian). Belgrade: Štamparija "Zlatibor": 187. OCLC 65691219. а 16. стигао је у Драч, где је био одушевљено дочекан од стране тамошњег хришћанског становништва (On the 16th [29th by the modern calendar] he arrived in Durrës, where he was enthusiastically welcomed by the local Christian population
  6. ↑ Popović, Bogdan; Jovan Skerlić (1924). Srpski književni glasnik, Volume 11. p. 275. Retrieved August 6, 2011. 16. novembra odred je stigao u Drač gde je oduševljeno dočekan od hrišćanskog stanovništva. Odmah su postavljene naše policijske vlasti (načelstvo okruga dračkog, upravnik varoši, predsednik opštine i načelnik vojne stanice) i potom je bilo preduzeto utvrđivanje Drača... [transl.: 'On November 16 (i.e. Gregorian November 29) the army units arrived in Durrës, where they were welcomed warmly by the Christian population. They immediately began to organize our police authorities (the county of Durrës, a city major, a president of the town and commander of the military station) and then set up further fortification of Durrës.']
  7. ↑ See Balkanski rat, (30 June 1913, 346.
  8. ↑ Antić, Čedomir (January 2, 2010). "Kratko slavlje u Draču" [Short celebration in Durres]. Večernje novosti (in Serbian). Retrieved August 5, 2011. U Drač je ubrzo doputovao prvi načelnik okruga – Ivan Ivanić. Njegova supruga Delfa, jedna od utemeljiteljki Kola srpskih sestara, vodila je bolnicu u Draču. ...The first governor of the county soon came to Durrës – Ivan Ivanić. His wife Delfa, one of the founders of the Circle of Serbian Sisters (Serbian: Коло Српских Сестара), governed the hospital in Durrës.
  9. ↑ Stojančević, Vladimir (1991). Prvi balkanski rat: okrugli sto povodom 75. godišnjice 1912–1987, 28. i 29. oktobar 1987, Volume 19. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. p. 134. Retrieved August 7, 2011. Када јој је муж Иван Иванић, као окружни начелник, премештен у Драч, тамо прелази и она. Тако сазнајемо да је у Драчу било 12 болница и да су се сви болесници хранили „из опште кујне"...When her husband Ivan Ivanić was appointed on the position of governor of the County of Durres, she went with him there. That way we learned that there were 12 hospitals in Durres and that all patients were fed from the "common kitcen"
  10. ↑ Dinić, Dragoljub M. (1922). "Prvi put kroz Albaniju sa Šumadijskim albanskim odredom 1912 : Prizren—Drač (First time with Šumadija-Albania division in 1912: Prizen – Durrës" (in Serbo-Croatian). Kragujevac: Šumadija: 84. OCLC 555240022. За председника општине Драча: Петра Ђурашковића из Драча. За чланове одбора: Христос Спиру, Имама Хусеин Ефендију и Филипа Серића.... As mayor of the city of Durres: Petar Đurašković from Durres. For city council members: Hristos Spiro, Imam Husein Efendi and Filip Serić.
  11. ↑ Zbornik Matice srpske za književnost i jezik, Књига 36. Novi Sad, Serbia: Matica srpska. 1988. p. 227. Retrieved August 6, 2011. a kada je srpska vojska okupirala Albaniju, Anastasijević je isprva bio postavljen za tumača za Grčki jezik, a posle je postao i načelnik Dračkog okruga... When the Serbian army occupied Albania he was at first engaged as translator for Greek language and later he was appointed as governor of Durres county
  12. ↑ von Šufflay, Milan (1912). "Mediaeval Albania". In order to justify Serb claims to Albania, in particular to the ports of Durazzo [Durrës] and Alessio [Lezha], Serb politicians bring forth primarily historical arguments. According to Pašić and Gruić, Albania has no right to autonomy, the Albanian Malissors are actually Serbs, Albania belonged solely to the Empire of Dushan, and Durrës, Lezha and San Giovanni di Medua [Shëngjin] were formerly only Serb ports...The purpose of these lines is to draw an objective picture of Albania in the Middle Ages...that Serb politicians would have done better not to mention a historical claim to the main Albanian port of Durrës that they intend to conquer.
  13. ↑ Antić, Čedomir (January 2, 2010). "Kratko slavlje u Draču" [Short celebration in Durres]. Večernje novosti (in Serbian). Retrieved August 5, 2011. VeĆ u aprilu 1913. postalo je izvesno da je kraj "albanske operacije" blizu. Pod pritiskom flote velikih sila srpska vojska je napustila jadransko primorje. U Albaniji je, međutim, ostala još dva meseca... In April 1913 it was obvious that end of "Albanian operation" was close and army of Serbia retreated from Adriatic coast remaining in Albania for two more months.

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