Potisje (Serbian:Потисје) is the name of theTisa river basin parts located inSerbia. The river Tisa flows between theBanat andBačka regions.
Municipalities in Bačka:
Municipalities in Banat:
In the 1st century, ancient authorPlinius used the namePathissus to describe the surroundings of the riverTisa. Because of the similarity of this name with the modern Slavic namePotisje (meaning approximately "a land around the river Tisa" in Slavic), which is a typical Slavic name used for surroundings of rivers (likePodunavlje,Pomoravlje, etc.), the name mentioned by Plinius might indicate an earlySlavic presence in the area.[1]
Between 1702 and 1751, the western part of Potisje (in the region ofBačka) belonged to theTisa-Mureș (Potisje-Pomorišje) section of theHabsburgMilitary Frontier. The Potisje segment of the Frontier included towns near the river Tisa:Bečej,Ada,Senta andKanjiža (in present-daySerbia),Szeged (in present-dayHungary), as well as other places in Bačka, includingSubotica,Sombor and Sentomaš (Srbobran). After the abolishment of this part of the Frontier in 1751, manySerbs that lived in the region emigrated toRussia (notably toNew Serbia andSlavo-Serbia). To prevent this emigration, the Habsburg authorities formed the autonomousDistrict of Potisje with its seat inBečej. The District of Potisje existed between 1751 and 1848. The three privileges were given to the district in 1759, 1774, and 1800. The first privilege of the District defined its autonomous status, while the second one allowed ethnicHungarians to settle in the district. In the following period many Hungarians settled in Potisje and they replaced Serbs as the dominant ethnic group in parts of the region.
The municipalities with ethnicSerb majority are: Titel (85%), Žabalj (82%), Kikinda (76%), Zrenjanin (76%), Novi Bečej (68%), and Novi Kneževac (58%). In Bečej Serbs make up a relative majority of population (42%).
The municipalities with ethnicHungarian majority are: Kanjiža (83%), Senta (75%), Ada (72%). InČoka Hungarians make up a relative majority of population (45%).
