Župa
Encyclopedia
A Župa is a Slavic
Slavic languages
The Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia.-Branches:Scholars traditionally divide Slavic...

 term, used historically among the Southern
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...

 and Western
West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...

 branches of the Slavs
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

, originally denoting various territorial and other sub-units, usually a small administrative division, especially a gathering of several villages. The term can be translated as parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 in either the ecclesiastical or the civil sense.

The title Župan first denoted a holder of connected villages, later it was transformed - given to a person with power equivalent of either a Prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

 (monarch) or Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

.

Origin

Originally, since nomadic times, the zupa started as an extended family, where authority rested with a pater familias
Pater familias
The pater familias, also written as paterfamilias was the head of a Roman family. The term is Latin for "father of the family" or the "owner of the family estate". The form is irregular and archaic in Latin, preserving the old genitive ending in -as...

, called župan. In time, some evolved into larger clans, and its origin made a hereditary principle for the succession to the chiefship logical.

The South Slavs
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...

 of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

, were organized within so-called Sklaviniae (transl. "Slav lands"), and within these there existed a number of subdivisions, namely, the Župa or Župania.
The first known mention of the title Jopan, dating to 777, described an owner of a feudal estate in the Slavic areas of the Enns river
Enns River
The Enns is a southern tributary of the Danube River, joining northward at Enns, Austria. The Enns River spans , in a flat-J-shape. It flows from its source near the towns of Gasthofalm and Flachau, generally eastward through Radstadt, Schladming, and Liezen, then turns north near Hieflau, to flow...

.

The title Xpiani was used by Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon , also known as Paulus Diaconus, Warnefred, Barnefridus and Cassinensis, , was a Benedictine monk and historian of the Lombards.-Life:...

 in his Historia Langobardorum for Christians. He mentioned also that Slavs had many ships. The title župljan means "member of župa".

A manuscript on Glagolitic alphabet
Glagolitic alphabet
The Glagolitic alphabet , also known as Glagolitsa, is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. The name was not coined until many centuries after its creation, and comes from the Old Slavic glagolъ "utterance" . The verb glagoliti means "to speak"...

 from the year 1250 interpreted the official title of a Župan so: that a Duke and the first Župan wanted to be grateful to the Church of St. John in Povlja on the island of Brač
Brac
Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of 396 km², making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. Its tallest peak, Vidova Gora, or Mount St. Vid, stands at 778 m, making it the highest island point in the Adriatic...

, and they went on the day of St. John in the Church of St. John, and vowed that after his term of his office he will leave his office again to God and to the people, so this official title was created to remember on this day of Saint John
Saint John
Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Apostle of the Bible.Saint John may also refer to:-People:*John the Evangelist , speculated author of the Fourth Gospel, traditionally identified with John the Apostle...

.

The Church of Saint John in Povlja was an early Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 from the 5th Century, built during Theodosius II
Theodosius II
Theodosius II , commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople...

, one of his law was: "If the owner of the land on which an aspirant to the clerical office lives and works is unwilling to have him join the clergy, the man may still join the clergy if he pays the poll tax and finds a substitute for his services on the land."
The Župan was elected by the people as a substitute, who should find a substitute for this man, how the law it wanted. This law is without a threat of punishment, called "Sub poena", if someone does not comply to this law.

Tax collection is complicated in Balkan countries.

Valentinian I
Valentinian I
Valentinian I , also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west....

 had written to bishops of eastern provinces, informing them that the Council in Illyricum
Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum
The praetorian prefecture of Illyricum was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided.The administrative centre of the prefecture was Sirmium , and, after 379, Thessalonica...

 ruled in favor of Homoousian
Homoousian
Homoousian is a technical theological term used in discussion of the Christian understanding of God as Trinity. The Nicene Creed describes Jesus as being homooúsios with God the Father — that is, they are of the "same substance" and are equally God...

 and the Nicene Creed
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...

. He commanded that this be preached and its preachers be protected from harm. This was the prerequisite for this title to become famous.
It was not only a question of taxes. The sum to become a qualifying member of the Curia
Curia
A curia in early Roman times was a subdivision of the people, i.e. more or less a tribe, and with a metonymy it came to mean also the meeting place where the tribe discussed its affairs...

 was 300 Solidi. There have been cases in which priests were called by the Curia back into the secular life, even after more than 30 years in a clerical life. Therefore, this law was enacted to prevent difficulties with the Curia. The Council of Illyricum had decided that someone from the clerics was allowed to become presbyter and deacon and not from the Curiales or any other Officer of the Civil Government. Pope Innocent I
Pope Innocent I
-Biography:He was, according to his biographer in the Liber Pontificalis, the son of a man called Innocens of Albano; but according to his contemporary Jerome, his father was Pope Anastasius I , whom he was called by the unanimous voice of the clergy and laity to succeed -Biography:He was,...

 had also written some letters about this question. Finally, Theodosius bought from the presbytera Flavia Vitalia with 3 golden plates his grave in the near Salona
Salona
Salona was an ancient Illyrian Delmati city in the first millennium BC. The Greeks had set up an emporion there. After the conquest by the Romans, Salona became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia...

. How she was related to the uncle of the distinguished general John, Flavius Vitalianus
Vitalian (general)
Vitalian was an East Roman general. Rebelling in 513 against Emperor Anastasius I, he won over large parts of the army and people of Thrace. Successive rapprochements with Anastasius failed, and the revolt continued until it was finally defeated in 515. Vitalian then went into hiding until...

, whose mother was a sister of Patriarch Macedonius II of Constantinople
Patriarch Macedonius II of Constantinople
Macedonius II , patriarch of Constantinople . For an account of his election see Patriarch Euphemius of Constantinople-Biography:...

, is not entirely clear.

And so a Duke and the first Župan wanted to be grateful to the Church of St. John in Povlja on the island of Brač
Brac
Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of 396 km², making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. Its tallest peak, Vidova Gora, or Mount St. Vid, stands at 778 m, making it the highest island point in the Adriatic...

.

The history of the origin of the official title "Župan" had all prerequisites to make this title famous. The title "Župan" probably derived from "sub poena". Names were very important in the imperial propaganda of the Late Roman period. In Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

, some families had derived their origin from the ancient Romans.

The history of the origin of the title "Župnik", which means Parson
Parson
In the pre-Reformation church, a parson was the priest of an independent parish church, that is, a parish church not under the control of a larger ecclesiastical or monastic organization...

, is caused by the chronicle of John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû/Pashati in the Nile Delta and appointed general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696...

, because he described how the above mentioned Flavius Vitalianus was opposed by Marinus, who took all the ships he could find and manned them with a large force of Scythian and Gothic archers and sailed in the direction of Byzantium, but he took to flight and the sailors sailed then to Dalmatia, such way the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 came to Dalmatia, who are described in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja
The Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja is a medieval chronicle originally written by a Catholic monk of the Cistercian order by the name of Roger for the Croatian Ban Paul Šubić because an order form by Ban Šubić and a quote of Catholic monk have been discovered...

 as probably Goths.

Use in Middle Ages

The župas were prominent in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

 among the South Slavs throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...

 (10th c. Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 text) mentions županijas, as the provinces of the Croatian kingdom and the Serbian principalities. The župas were also an administrative unit in the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...

, a subdivision of a larger unit called comitatus
Comitatus
Comitatus may refer to:* Comes, a Latin word with similar meaning* Comitatenses, the Roman late Imperial mobile army...

. The župan title was also used in Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

 (in modern Romania).

The Slovaks
Slovaks
The Slovaks, Slovak people, or Slovakians are a West Slavic people that primarily inhabit Slovakia and speak the Slovak language, which is closely related to the Czech language.Most Slovaks today live within the borders of the independent Slovakia...

 and the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 used the terms župa and/or županija for the counties in the Kingdom of Hungary
Administrative divisions of the Kingdom of Hungary
The following lists show the administrative divisions of the lands belonging to the Hungarian crown at selected points of time. The names are given in the main official language used in the Kingdom at the times in question....

 and the Kingdom of Croatia
Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)
The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...

. German language translation of the word for those counties was Komitat
Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)
A county is the name of a type of administrative units in the Kingdom of Hungary and in Hungary from the 10th century until the present day....

(from Latin Comitatus, 'countship') during the Middle Ages, but later it was Gespanschaft (picking up the span root that previously came from župan).

Principality of Serbia

The župa was a confederation of village communities headed by a local župan, a magistrate or governor. The župan in turn was subordinate the veliki župan (Grand Prince).

In the mid 9th century, Grand Prince Vlastimir marries his daughter to the son of župan Beloje of Trebinje
Beloje of Trebinje
Beloje was the Župan of Travunia in the early 9th century, a fief of the Serbian Principality under Prince Vlastimir . He may have had the position under Vlastimir's predecessors; Radoslav or Prosigoj...

. Krajina Belojević
Krajina Belojević
Krajina Belojević was the župan of Travunia, an administrative unit of the Principality of Serbia, in the 9th century. In 847/848, not long after the three-year Bulgarian–Serbian War in which Prince Vlastimir of Serbia Krajina Belojević was the župan of Travunia, an administrative unit of the...

 rules the appanage of Travunia
Travunia
Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...

 under the Serbian crown. Prince Časlav (r. 927-960) marries his daughter to his voivode Tihomir
Tihomir of Rascia
Tihomir of Rascia was a Serbian nobleman, mentioned only in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja, who served as the Prince of Rascia from around 960 to 969.-Background:Tihomir's predecessor Časlav Tihomir of Rascia was a Serbian nobleman, mentioned only in the Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja,...

, who receives the appanage of the Drina župa.

Principality of Littoral Croatia

As head of the županija the most important was his judicial function, while it is not entirely clear how the function of a župan was directly related to the rulers in the 9th century. In later times the function of a župan or a veliki župan means only the official head of an administrative-territorial unit.

Kingdom of Hungary

There were several 'ispán's in the royal court: 'udvarispán' (court ispán), 'kápolna ispán' (chapel ispán), and 'ispán's of the financial hierarchy ('harmincadispán', 'pénzverőispán', 'sókamaraispán', 'urburaispán'). Similarly the leaders of the ethnic groups were called 'ispán' like 'besenyők ispánja' (Besermian ispán) 'székelyispán' (Sekler ispán)

The 'ispán' was nominated by the king for not defined time.
From the 14th century, the 'ispán' controlled all incomes of the vármegye and was the military commander.

The rank was gradually replaced by 'főispán' in the 18-19th century.

The authority of megyésispán was the leader of the vármegye which was nominated by the king but could be expelled anytime. In Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...

 the nomination was done by the vajda
Vajda
Vajda is a surname, and may refer to:* Attila Vajda , Hungarian athlete* Edward Vajda, American linguist* Sherri Vajda , Canadian supermodel* Ernest Vajda , Hungarian actor, playwright and novelist...

 of Transylvania, similarly, the ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

 made the nominations in Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...

. One person could be 'ispán' of several counties, but one county could have more 'ispán's at the same time (in most cases, they were brothers). His deputy, 'alispán' was selected by the 'megyésispán', but then later this right was moved to the Noble Assembly (megyegyűlés). From the 15th century, this position was more and more hereditary.

The alispán or in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, "vicecomes" was the leader of the jurisdiction in the county if the 'megyésispán' was not available. He received the royal orders and issued decrees. After the Battle of Mohács
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....

 in 1526, he became the representative of the noble's assembly, and so the assembly's approval was needed for his election from this time (Law of year 1548, nr LXX.).
After the Ausgleich
Ausgleich
The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise re-established the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hungary, separate from and no longer subject to the Austrian Empire...

, he is the leader jurisdiction and administration (Law of year 1870 nr. XLII.). He executed the orders of the government. The authority ceised to exist after the law of year 1950. nr I.

The várispán, or in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, "comes castri" was more linked to the "vár" (fortress) in Hungary in the times of Árpád
Árpád
Árpád was the second Grand Prince of the Hungarians . Under his rule the Hungarian people settled in the Carpathian basin. The dynasty descending from him ruled the Hungarian tribes and later the Kingdom of Hungary until 1301...

. He was the leader of all peasants around the fortress and the military commander. The authority was not hereditary, however, as one of the highest rank in Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

, he was member of the "honor regni" (honourables of the kingdom).

Serbian Vojvodina

The Serbs preserved the Old Slavonic term Županija until the 19th Century as the name for regional, county government such as Srem
Srem
Śrem is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It has been situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; from 1975 to 1998 it was part of the Poznań Voivodeship...

ska županija
. For example, poet Jovan Subotić was elected vice-Zupan of Sremska županija in 1860.

Croatia

The Croats preserved the term župa until the modern times as the name for local clerical units (parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

es) and slightly modified županija as the name for their regional government (the counties of Croatia
Counties of Croatia
The primary territorial subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia called županije . In English they are commonly referred to as counties....

). Heads of counties hold the title of župan (pl. župani), which is usually translated as "county prefect".

Serbia

In Serbia exist the Zhupa's of Prizren: Sredačka Župa, Sirinićka Župa
Sirinićka Župa
Sirinićka Župa is a Serb enclave in the Štrpce municipality of Kosovo in Serbia.There are foundations of two early Byzantine forts in the town, destroyed in 548 when the South Slavs invaded the Balkans....

, Gora
Gora
Gora may refer to:*Gora , a clan of Jats found in north India*Gora or gaura, a Hindi and Indo-Aryan word for a light-skinned person*Gora , by Indian Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore...

, Opolje
Opolje
Opolje or Opoja is northern region of the municipality of Dragaš in the southern most part of Kosovo with Gora being the southern one.Opolje comprises 19 villages with a population of 30.000 . Its population is almost exclusively of Albanian ethnicity, whereas the population of Gora is Gorani...

 and Prizrenski Podgor.

The Serbian language maintains the word in toponyms, the best known being that of the Župa Aleksandrovačka
Aleksandrovac
Aleksandrovac is a town and municipality located in the Rasina District of Serbia. In 2002, the population of the town was 6,265, while population of the municipality was 26,534.-Sport:...

.

Slovakia

The Slovaks have also preserved the term: it was used as the official name of administrative units of Slovakia within Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 in 1918 - 1928 and then again in the Slovak Republic during WWII in 1940-1945.
Today it is used semi-officially as an alternative name for the "Autonomous Regions" of Slovakia (whose territory is identical with that of the administrative Regions
Regions of Slovakia
Since 1949 , Slovakia has been divided into a number of kraje . Their number, borders and functions have been changed several times. There are currently eight regions of Slovakia and they correspond to the EU's NUTS 3 level of local administrative units. Each kraj consists of okresy...

).

Slovenia

When Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

 was partitioned between Italy, Hungary, and Germany on 17 April 1941, in the Italian portion, named province of Lubiana
Lubiana
Łubiana is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Kościerzyna, within Kościerzyna County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately west of Kościerzyna and south-west of the regional capital Gdańsk....

, the new administration was led by an Italian High Commissioner, but there also were Presidents of the Council of Zhupans of Lubiana:
  • 27 May 1941 - 1941 Marko Natlachen, the last Ban
    Ban (title)
    Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...

     of Drava
    Drava
    Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...

     (September 1935 - 17 April 1941; b. 1886 - d. 1943)
  • 1941 - 7 June 1942 ?
  • 7 June 1942 - 20 September 1943 Leon Rupnik (b. 1880 - d. 1946)

See also

  • Grand Župan
    Grand Zupan
    Grand, Great or Chief Župan is the English rendering of a South Slavic title which relate etymologically to župan like a Russian Grand Prince to a Knyaz .- Bulgaria :A decorated silver cup with a...

    , a Serbian
    Serbian language
    Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....

     medieval title (equivalent to Grand Prince)
  • Shire
    Shire
    A shire is a traditional term for a division of land, found in the United Kingdom and in Australia. In parts of Australia, a shire is an administrative unit, but it is not synonymous with "county" there, which is a land registration unit. Individually, or as a suffix in Scotland and in the far...

  • Gau
    Gau (German)
    Gau is a German term for a region within a country, often a former or actual province. It was used in medieval times, when it can be seen as roughly corresponding to an English shire...


Sources and references

  • Smiljanić, F. (1990) ‘Beitrag zur Erforschung der Županien – Ordnung in Sklavinien Kroatien’, Diadora (Zadar) 12: 371-90.
  • WorldStatesmen - here Slovenia
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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