kind and in cash. A good of portion went to Rome or Constantinople. The delivery of bonds was one of the causes of friction between the local clergy and the Pope in Rome or the Patriarch in Constantinople. In an effort to find additional means of finance, especially in times of war, the central authority imposed high taxes on the population. The pyramid of society depended upon the work of the farmers. Besides the main category of farmers, categories of farmers included "free" farmer and "foreign" farmers. They were deprived of land and any form of possession and were therefore not registered, placing them in a feud for the quality of wages. Eventually, they received a piece of land for which they paid their duties, and were fused with the main category of farmers. The feudal duties of the peasant were not the same for all the Albanian areas but differed according to the terrain. The systems of payment in kind or in cash also changed accordingly, but the strengthening of the nobility against the central authority in the 13th century caused the payments in cash to increase compared to payments in kind. From the 12th to the 14th century, the vertical shift of power to the nobles was deepened. Not only were the plains brought under the control of the nobles, but also mountainous areas. The feudal possessions also began to include communal areas such as forests, pastures, and fisheries. This evolution took place during the period of Byzantine decline and saw the conversion of the pronoia into an estate very similar to the feudal one. The overwhelming majority of the population under the lords' rule was made up of agricultural workers. Contemporary sources reveal that in large parts of Albania, the village population had fallen to the status of serfdom. An anonymous traveler in 1308 revealed that farmers in the regions of Këlcyrë, Tomorricë, Stefaniakë, Kunavë, and Pultë of Dibra worked the lands and vineyards of their respective lords, turned over their products, and performed household work for them. The Byzantine historian Kantakouzenos, testifies that the power of the lords of these areas depended mostly on livestock which were present in large numbers. Cities During the 13th century, many cities in Albania made the move from being primarily military strongholds to becoming urban centers. Unable to contain the development inside the city walls, many cities expanded outside them.