Çermenikë


Çermenikë or Çermenika is an upland northeast of Elbasan, in central Albania.
In the Middle Ages, as Tzernikon or Tzernikos, it was an episcopal see of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, as a suffragan see of the Archbishopric of Dyrrhachium. In the Medieval the upland used to be inhabited completely by Catholics.
In the mid-15th century, the region was ruled by George Arianiti, one of the main leaders of the Albanian resistance to the Ottoman Empire.
In the late Ottoman period it is reported that the region had 12 villages and 3000 Bektashi inhabitants.
In World War II, the area was a centre of the Albanian Resistance to the German occupation.