Berisha is a historical Albanian tribe located in the region of Pukë in northern Albania, that is, one of the Malësor (or Malissori) tribes. Berisha is a Catholic tribe, said to be the oldest of all northern Albanian tribes. First mentioned in the 17th century, oral tradition traces their genealogy to the 14th century. A part of the tribe migrated to Kosovo and Skopska Crna Gora during the Ottoman period. Today, the surname Berisha is common in Kosovo Albanians.

The historical tribal area of the Berisha is located in the Pukë district, south of the Drin, west of Fierza, in northern Albania. The centre is the Sapaç river basin, flowing into the Drin. Berisha traditionally borders with Dushmani and Toplana to the west, Bugjoni to the north, Iballja to the east and Kabashi to the south.^[1] The main settlements are Berisha e Vogël (Lower Berisha), Shopël and Berisha e Epërme (Upper Berisha).^[1]

In 1348, Emperor Stefan Dušan mentions "Berisha's Field" as being near Mushtisht in Kosovo.^[2] Marin Barleti in his book published in 1508, mentions two Berisha brothers as notable generals of Skanderbeg.^[3] In 1691 the name Berisa is recorded on a map of Francesco Maria Coronelli.^[4] Baron Nopcsa established that most of the Albanian tribes trace their origin to the 1450–1650 period.^[5] It was claimed by Nopcsa that the name dated back to at least 1510.^[6] According to Elsie, it is said that the earliest tribe is the Berisha,^[5] whose genealogy tradition reaches back to 1360–70.^[4] Edith Durham recorded at the beginning of the 20th century that members of Berisha and Merturi tribe claimed they were the oldest highlands tribe,^[7] which is accepted as accurate.^[8]

In 1841, Nikola Vasojević estimated the Berisha to number 16,000, out of whom 4,000 men-at-arms, but Elsie notes that this very high number probably includes neighbouring tribes.^[4] The Austro-Hungarian census in Albania (1918) recorded 171 households with 1,013 inhabitants of Berisha.^[4] It was later said that the population was 2,300.^[4]

Some members of the Berisha tribe migrated to Kosovo, mostly to the region of Gjakova, and converted to Islam. According to British intelligence report, the reason for this migration was the small size of the territory this tribe controlled.^[9] The feast of the Catholic Berisha who lived in villages around Peć was the Assumption of Mary (to which they refer to as Zoja e Berishes, or Zoja e Alshiqes, because the Alshiqi are the most numerous).^[10] The family name Berisha is derived from the name of the tribe and is particularly common among Albanians in Kosovo.^[11] In the 1920s, the whole Berisha tribe in Kosovo, under the leadership of Azem Galica, revolted against the authorities of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.^[12]

The Berisha are Catholic.^[4] As opposed to other tribes of Puka, the Berisha were a fis, a community aware of blood-ties and common history back to an ancestor.^[4] According to Elsie, they were indeed the only tribe that developed from a common ancestor in the Dukagjin region south of the Drin.^[4]

According to local tradition, the tribe's legendary ancestor is a Kol Poga, the son of Pog Murri and grandson of Murr Deti.^[6] According to Konstantin Jireček, the ancestor of the Old Kuči, Grča Nenadin (a Mrnjavčević), would be an ancestor of the Berisha tribe.^[13] There are Berisha who claim that they hail from Kuči and were originally Orthodox, while others claim that only a part of the Berisha originate from Kuči.^[14] Marko Miljanov wrote that the Kuči and Berisha were "regarded close", allegedly because the Berisha ancestors settled from Kuči;^[15] if not kin by blood, Montenegrin and Albanian tribes regarded closeness in original or home territory from where someone "came". Therefore, the Kuči were "kin" to Kastrati, Berisha and Klimenti because their distant ancestor once, ostensibly, settled from Kuči.^[16] The Berisha tribe and the Vušović family from Velika (in Montenegro) are taken to be kin.^[17][18] According to some stories the Arrnji tribe in Luma is an offshoot of the Berisha.^[19] The Berishë region in Pukë has 4 families, all named after sons of the tribe's ancestor: Tetaj, Maroj, Deskaj, Doçaj.

It is one of seven tribes of the Pukë highland and one of twelve tribes mentioned in the Kanun.