- Berziti
The Berziti (Bulgarian and Macedonian: Берзити) (also known as Bereziti or Brsjaci) were - along with the Draguvites - one of two original Slavic tribes to settle in the northern part of the region of Macedonia in the 6th century AD. They are considered part of the eastern South Slavic Slavic tribes from the Southeastern part of the Peninsula (linked with modern-day
Bulgarians ). The areas where they settled are today theRepublic of Macedonia as well as a part ofKosovo and the adjacentPreševo Valley inSerbia .With the advent of modern nations during the early second millennium, the local name of Berziti would fall into disuse, first with the locals holding onto a Slavic identity while sharing their homeland with non-Slavic peoples (e.g. Avars,
Greeks ,Illyrians ,Dacians ,Bulgars , and others), and second, being superseded by theSerbia n influence from the north andBulgaria n from the east. Both the latter groups had in the 19th century a respective country to call their own, and while being at conflict with each other, both endeavored to capture the Berziti territories within their borders from the rulingOttomans .
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