Bjelopavlići (; ), ) is a historical tribe (pleme) of Albanian origin and a valley in the Brda region of Montenegro, around the city of Danilovgrad. Geography The Bjelopavlići valley (also known as the Zeta river valley) is a strip of fertile lowland stretching along the Zeta river, being wider in the river's lower end, down to the confluence with Morača river near Podgorica. The valley has historically been densely populated, as fertile lowlands are rare in mountainous Montenegro, and it provided a corridor for road and rail connection between the two biggest Montenegrin cities, Podgorica and Nikšić. The largest settlement in the plain is the town of Danilovgrad which got name by Prince (Knjaz) Danilo Petrović. Confusingly, the other significant plain in Montenegro, Zeta plain has been named after Zeta river, although Zeta river itself does not flow through it. Origins Originally an Albanian tribe, the Bjelopavlići underwent a process of gradual cultural integration into the neighbouring Slavic population. A Franciscan report of the 17th century illustrates the final stages of their acculturation. Its author writes that the Bratonožići, Piperi, Bjelopavlići and Kuči: nulla di meno essegno quasi tutti del rito serviano, e di lingua Illrica ponno piu presto dirsi Schiavoni, ch' Albanesi (since almost all of them use the Serbian rite and the Illyric [Slavic] language, soon they should be called Slavs, rather than Albanians). The eponymous founder, Bijeli Pavle ("White Paul"), is said to have fled Metohija from the Ottomans to settle in Luška župa. History The first reference to the Bjelopavlići comes from a letter issued by the Serbian Chancellery in Dubrovnik in 1411. The document, a complaint from Ragusan people addressed to Jelena Balšić, is about the looting committed by the Bjelopavlići, together with the Ozrinići, Maznice and Malonšići, on Ragusan merchants on their way through Zeta while they were returning from Serbia. The Bjelopavlići are mentioned again in the Ottoman defter of the Sanjak of Scutari from 1485, where they appear as a distinct nahiyah, consisting in 3 settlements numbering a total of 159 households. These (with household numbers in brackets) were: Martinići (35), Dimitrovići (95), and Vražnegrnci (29). In 1496, the Ottomans conquered Upper Zeta and the surrounding Brda area, which included the Vasojevići, Bjelopavlići, Piperi, Kuči, Bratonožići, Moračani and Rovčani. The tribe came under the Sanjak of Scutari. The burning of Saint Sava's remains after the Banat Uprising provoked the Serbs in