Dropull (definite Albanian form: Dropulli; Greek: Δρόπολη or Δερόπολη) is a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in southern Albania. The region stretches from south of the city of Gjirokastër to the Greek–Albanian border, along the Drino river. The region's villages are part of the Greek "minority zone" recognized by the Albanian government, in which live majorities of ethnic Greeks.[1]
Dropull
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Municipality | |
![]() Dawn near Jorgucat | |
![]() Emblem | |
![]() ![]() Dropull | |
Coordinates: 39°59′N 20°14′E | |
Country | ![]() |
County | Gjirokastër |
Government | |
• Mayor | Dhimitraq Toli (PS) |
Area | |
• Municipality | 448.45 km2 (173.15 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Municipality | 3,503 |
• Municipality density | 7.8/km2 (20/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Area Code | (0)884 |
Website | Official Website |
The municipality Dropull was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Dropull i Poshtëm, Dropull i Sipërm and Pogon. The seat of the municipality is the village Sofratikë.[2] According to the 2011 census the total population is 3,503;[3] according to the civil registry of that year, which counts all citizens including those who live abroad, it is 23,247.[4] The municipality covers an area of 448.45 km2 (173.15 sq mi).[5]
A city called Hadrianopolis was founded in the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138).[6][7] The Synecdemus of Hierocles, which contains a list of the administrative divisions and cities of the Byzantine Empire during the time of Theodosius II (r. 402–450), mentions the city of Αδριανούπολις (Adrianoúpolis) and places it in the region of Dropull.[8][9] With the gradual adoption of Christianity, the city became a diocese sometime before 431;[10] initially under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Nicopolis, and later under the Metropolis of Ioannina.[11] The diocese of Adrianoúpolis is mentioned in the sources without interruption, from the 5th century onwards.[12] In a letter of emperor Leo III (r. 717-741) to the metropolitan bishop of Nikopolis, the bishop of Adrianoúpolis (Αδριανουπόλεως) is also mentioned, while in a source at the end of the 12th century the latter is mentioned as bishop of Drinoúpolis (Δρινουπόλεως).[6] The relevant attestations also include the name Adernoboli, as recorded by the Arab traveler Muhammad al-Idrisi at the end of the 12th century.[6] Also, in the Chronicle of the Tocco, written around 1400, the form Δερνόπολιν (Dernópolin) is attested.[6] According to Hammond, the first attestation of the name Drinoúpolis (Δρινούπολις) is from the 8th century, while according to Sakellariou from the 11th century as Dryinoúpolis (Δρυϊνούπολις);[13][14] however Kyriazis supports that this form was a literary creation.[6] The region is today called in Albanian Dropull or def. form Dropulli, and in Greek Δρόπολη (Drópoli), Δερόπολη (Derópoli) or Dhropolis.
According to Çabej, Drópull has been formed from Drinópolis/Dryinópolis (Δρυϊνόπολις) which contains the name of the local river Drino; Drinópolis > Drópull.[15] According to Kyriazis, the etymology of Çabej is not convincing, because he ignores the former name of Adrianoúpolis.[6] Using the available literary evidence (both ancient and medieval), Kyriazis offered the following evolution; Αδριανούπολη (Adrianoúpoli) > Αdernoboli > Δερνόπολη (Dernópoli) > Δερόπολη/Δρόπολη (Derópoli/Drópoli). The form Dernópoli (Greek: Δερνόπολιν) is preserved in the Chronicle of the Tocco written in c. 1400, while the evolution of -ρν- > -ρ- (in reference to Dernópoli > Derópoli/Drópoli) according to Kyriazis is a common characteristic of the Greek dialects in southern Albania.[6]
Demiraj considers Dropull to derive from Hadriano(u)polis, as the most likely etymology.[7] He provided a number of reasons, which according to him, support the evolution of Hadrianopolis > Dropull within an Albanian-speaking population.[note 1] He added, that among the two current forms of Albanian Dropull and Greek Dhropolis, the original form is that with the initial /D-/. Furthermore, Albanian uses either the voiced dental occlusive /d/ or the voiced interdental fricative /ð/ (/dh/) (e.g. the name Dhrovjan) and so it wouldn no be difficult to borrow the Greek form Dhropol-is; whereas in Greek, the letter Δ/δ, which was once pronounced as a sound stop /d/, has long been pronounced only as a sound fricative /ð/ (/dh/). Thus, according to him, the Greek speakers of the area transformed the initial /D-/ into /ð-/ (/dh/) and replaced the final syllable -pull with the Greek form -polis, producing the form Dhro-polis.[17]
During the Middle Helladic period (2100-1550 BC), a double tumulus was dug out in Vodhinë, with strong similarities to the grave circles at Mycenae, showing a common ancestral link with the Myceneans of southern Greece.[18] In classical antiquity, the area was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians.
From the Roman period there was a settlement named Hadrianopolis (of Epirus) in the region, one of several named after the great Roman emperor Hadrian. The settlement was built on a strategic spot in the valley of the river Drino near the modern village of Sofratikë, 11 kilometers south of Gjirokastër.
The foundations of Hadrianopolis were first discovered in 1984 when upper sections of the amphitheater were noticed by local farmers. Italian and Albanian archaeologists subsequently excavated much of the site, revealing a full amphitheater, Roman baths, and changing rooms. The site of the agora (forum) has been detected using ground radar, and excavation is expected in the period 2018 onwards. In the amphitheater, there are post holes for iron railings on first row seats. Also some "changing rooms" - originally for actors - were converted to holding pens for wild animals. This was a site where Romans fed enemies of the state to wild animals.
During the 6th century the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, as part of his fortification plans against barbarian invasions, moved the settlement 4 kilometers southeast in the modern village of Peshkëpi, in order to gain a more secure position. The city is also referred in Byzantine sources as Ioustinianoupolis (or Justinianopolis), after him. Today, ruins of the fortifications are still visible, as are the aqueduct and a medieval Orthodox Christian church.[19]
During the 11th century the city was named Dryinoupolis, a name possibly deriving from its former name or from the nearby river. It was also, from the 5th century, the see of a bishopric (initially part of the Diocese of Nicopolis, Naupactus and then Ioannina).
In the last quarter of the 14th century the Albanian Zenebisi clan were rulers of the provinces of Gjirokastër and Dropull, as recorded by the Chronicle of Ioannina.[20] In 1380 the Albanian clans of Zenebisi and Mazaraqi were defeated in the battle of Politzes, fighting against the allied forces of the Epirote despot, Thomas Preljubović, and of the chieftain of the Ottoman frontier forces, Isayim. With the help of the Ottoman forces in 1382 Thomas subdued the Albanian clans of Zenebisi and Zulani in the north of Ioannina and reconquered the provinces of Dropull, Vagenitia and Vella.[20] In 1384 Dropull was occupied by Isaym. The Zenebisi retook control shortly after. At the end of 1395-beginning of 1396 a new Ottoman attack, led by Evrenoz bey, was undertaken against Gjin Zenebisi. In 1399 Esau de' Buondelmonti, the despot of Ioannina, whilst at peace with the Albanian Shpata clan, moved against Gjin Zenebisi, with an army that consisted of men from the Albanian clans of Mazara and Malakash, as well as from Zagor-Dropull and great Zagori.[20] Esau recruited Greeks evidently from Zagori, Papingo, Dropull and great Zagori.[21][opinion][better source needed] However, at the battle of Mesopotamon Esau was defeated outright and held in captivity. Gjin Zenebisi consequently extended his dominion to the whole northern part of Vagenitia.[20] In 1400 the Venetians pleaded for peace to him ('Geomi Zenebissi qui tenet terram de la Sayata').[22] The Zenebisi clan dominated the area until the Ottomans started the second stage of conquest occupying the castle of Gjirokastër in 1418 and expelling the clan.[23]
Following the Ottoman occupation of the region (early 15th century) according to the Ottoman defter of 1431-2 for the Sanjak of Albania the majority of toponyms attested appear to have been Slavic (albeit often distorted) rather than Greek or Albanian.[24]
In 1571 a short lived rebellion broke out under Emmanuel Mormoris, but Ottoman control was restored that same year.[24]
During the 16th and 17th centuries at least 11 Orthodox monasteries were erected in the region with the support of the local population. This unprecedented increase in the number of monasteries has led many scholars to name Dropull as "little Mount Athos".[25]
As soon as the Greek War of Independence (1821-1830) broke out several locals rose in revolt and participated in the armed struggles.[26]
At the end of the 19th century, many inhabitants migrated to the United States.[27]
In 1927 Albanian state authorities decided to close down all Greek language schools in the region as part of drastic measures against Greek education. As a result, the Greek population filed an official protest to the Albanian government asking for the re-opening of their community schools. The Albanian state proceeded to massive arrests,[28] while at October 1, 1935, c. 100 Albanian gendarmes were dispatched to Dropull and proceeded to arrests and exiled several Greek teachers.[29] The demonstrations in Dropull spread to the adjacent Greek communities, including the regions of Permet and Delvine. As such the Albanian government tried to negotiate the issue with representatives of the country's Greek minority.[30] This turn of events fuelled the decision of the League of Nations in favour to the ethnic Greek minority.[29]
During the era of the People's Republic of Albania (1945-1991) the state recognized a Greek minority but this was primarily limited to the Dropull region, while state national policy encouraged the transition from a Greek Orthodox to an Albanian identity (with population displacements and encouraging mixed marriages).[31]
As part of the Greek dialects spoken in Albania, known also as Northern Epirote dialects, the dialect of Dropull forms a clear continuum between those of Ioannina and those of Corfu and the Ionian islands.[32] The local Greek dialect features characteristics of southern vocalism.[32] There is also a presence of the syneresis types, a features also seen at the nearby dialects of Delvine, Saranda, Pogon, Himara and northern Thesprotia,[32] while the uncontracted present tense prevails.[32]
In the subsequent Ottoman tax register of 1520 for the Sanjak of Avlona, Dropull was divided into two administrative units (nahiye): that of the core territory and the lands of the Iflaklar, both being dependent on the authorities based in the kaza of Gjirokastër. According to Duka, in the core region, the anthroponymy attested overwhelmingly belonged to the Albanian onomastic sphere, characterised by personal names such as Bardh, Deda, Gjin, Gjon, Kola, Leka, and Progor (a form of the Albanian anthroponym Progon which underwent Tosk rhotacism) among others. A small presence of Slavic anthroponymy (e.g., Andrica, Petko, Stojko) is also recorded. Albanian personal names also appear in the Iflaklar (Vlach or Aromanian) settlements (e.g., Koshovicë, Lovinë, Vodhinë), indicating that were was an intense process of assimilation and symbiosis between the two ethno-linguistic groups of the wider region. The register also provides insights into movements from neighbouring territories and villages into Dropull. For example, four household heads from Lovinë bore the toponymic surname of Zagoriti (Dimitri, Istamad, Todër, and Duka Zagoriti) - indicating their origins from the ethnographic region of Zagoria to the north of Dropull.[33]
Christian Orthodox names in the Ottoman register of 1520 that have a clear ethnic affiliation have been a subject of debate. Duka (1990) considers the lack of the Greek suffix -s as strong indication that in that part of the athroponymy of the region there are "no traces of the presence of the influence of Greek".[34] According to Demiraj (2008) a number of the anthroponyms such as Gjon, Gjin, Gjergj, Lekë and Pal are also attested in forms influenced by the Greek Orthodox Church: Jani, Jorgo, Aleks and Pavllo albeit lacking the characteristic Greek suffix -s (as seen in Janis, Jorgos etc.). He attributes the presence of these forms to the significant role of Greek Orthodox Church in southern Albania in general, particularly the area of Dropull.[35] Demiraj hesitates to favour the possibility of an early Greek presence in the area based on historical indications and onomatological features and points out that further research is needed in this field. According to Kyriazis and Spyrou, Demiraj's main weakness is his approach: ignoring the correspondent Greek literary evidence.[36]
Kyriazis (2018) argues that the absence of the suffix -s does not show a lack of the Greek element, as that was quite typical in Ottoman records on areas that were undoubtedly Greek-speaking. According to Kyriazis (2018), inassessing the role of Greek in the region Duka, failed to take into account the etymology of the local toponymy and the presence of archaic Greek place names, which the Slavs had translated into their own language.[37] Literary evidence provided by Athanasios Psalidas at the beginning of the 19th century mentions that the settlements of Dropull are primarily inhabited by Christian Greeks.[38] Schmitt (2015) argues that Christian Orthodox names such as (using Duka's Albanian transliteration): Miho Papapetro, Jani Makrinudhi, Andria Makrinudhi, Miho Spathar in the village Bodrishtë suggest the presence of a Greek speaking population in the region. According to Schmitt, Greek name influence among Aromanian names was also strong as in the village Sotirë. Schmitt concluded that the onomatological evidence in most villages is mixed and as such an ethnic-national division can not be drawn; Duka's categorization does not provide clear divisions. According to him, the only conclusion that can be drawn from such data is that the settlements of Dropull were populated by Orthodox communities, while only Aromanian villages were noticeably separated under the context of Ottoman administration. Schmitt argues that only the ethno-national opposition since the late 19th century divided this community into national communities.[39]
Schmitt (2015) argues that even in the 20th century, the region was still linguistically mixed.[39] In field work by Leonidas Kallivretakis (1994), the valley of Dropull is inhabited by compact Greek communities. In his research he found Dropull consisting of 34 villages, all of which inhabited by ethnic Greek communities.[38] Today, Dropull is inhabited by ethnic Greeks, who use the Greek language to communicate with local government.[40]
At c. 400 a bishopric was established as Diocese of Hadrianopolis in Epirus, a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdicoese of Nicopolis, capital of the Late Roman province of Epirus Vetus. It was suppressed by the Pope c. 1000, but later got an Orthodox successor. The bishopric of Dryinoupolis included the region of modern southwest Albania and from the early 16th century its center was Argyrokastro (modern Gjirokastër).[41]
The Catholic diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin Titular bishopric of Hadrianopolis in Epiro (Latin; adjective Hadrianopolitan(us) in Epiro) / Adrianopoli di Epiro (Curiate Italian).[42] It is vacant since decades, had had only the following incumbent of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank: Josef Freusberg (1953.04.12 – death 1964.04.10), as Auxiliary Bishop of Fulda (Germany) (1953.04.12 – 1964.04.10).
According to the 2011 census the total population of Dropull is 3,503.
Dropull is twinned with:
Trikala, Greece[45]
There the Greek pocket of resistance, which preserved the Greek language even when its ruler was Serb or Italian, was the plateau of Ioannina and its hinterland... When Isaou, the Italian ruler of Ioannina, passed to the offensive in 1399, he had already won over the Mazarakii (Albanians) and the Malakasaei (perhaps Vlach- speakers) and he recruited Greeks evidently from Zagori, Papingo (above Konitsa), and "Druinoupolis with Argyrokastro and the great Zagoria" (probably the high country northwest of Argyrokastro, of which a part is still called Zagorie).
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(help)MGDA (Alias Northern Epirote dialects)... , presence of Syneresis types... They form a visible continuum ... Ionian islands, on the other.
La prédominance sensible sur toute la région de Dropull de noms caractéristique de l'espace albanais comme Gjin, Gjon, Gjinush, Dedush, Mardin, Dode, Dede, Llesh, Shtin (Ashtin), Bardh, Menksh, Lush (Lesh), Leka, Lekush, Lekosh, Uk (çe), Gjokë, Bac, Progor, Mara, Kole, Like, Kama, Kanan, Mirash, etc.,... Deuxièmment, la présence pour ainsi dire complète de la variante albanaise de l'antroponymie orthodoxe dans l'autre partie des noms de la population de Dropull. Voire dans maintes occasions certains éléments de cette antroponymie se présentent semblables à celle albanaise catholique de l'Albanie Centrale et Septentrionale... Dans cet ordre d'idées, il faut souligner qu'outre quelque cas spradiques (à titre d'exemple mentionnons ici les noms Dimos, Dhimos etc.,) l'on ne trouve nulle part dans le registre des traces de la présence de l'influence de l'antroponymie grecque, dont le trait distinctif est le fait que les noms se terminent avec un -s à la fin (par exemple: Andreas, Kostas, Panajotis, etc.) nous pouvons mentionner non seulement quelques noms et prénoms proprement slaves comme (Bozic, Stojko, Andrica, Petko, Deniq, etc.) mais aussi quelques noms et prénoms ayant une telle origine (Zhupa, Zhupani)... Les traits distinctifs de l'antroponymie de Dropull, ci-dessus décrits, comme on le voit du régistre en question étaient présents aussi dans les villages des population vllehe (aroumain) (Vodhine, Korshovice), ce qui indique ques ce petit groupe ethnique était sur la voie de l'unification ethnique à la majeure partie de la population albanaise.
Ο Demiraj κάνει λόγο στο ίδιο βιβλίο και για τις ελληνόφωνες εστίες της Χιμάρας (131- 147) και των περιοχών Δρόπολης και Βούρκου Δελβίνου (168-182). Επιστρατεύοντας ιστορικές ενδείξεις και ονοματολογικά στοιχεία, εκφράζει επιφυλάξεις για το ενδεχό- μενο πρώιμης παρουσίας της ελληνικής στα μέρη αυτά και υπογραμμίζει την ανάγκη περαιτέρω διερεύνησης του θέματος. Βασικό μειονέκτημα της προσέγγισής του είναι η άγνοια της σχετικής ελληνικής βιβλιογραφίας."
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Municipalities of Albania | ||
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The municipalities of Albania are the country's administrative divisions consisting of local administrative units and their inclusive villages. | ||
Berat County | ![]() | |
Dibër County |
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Durrës County | ||
Elbasan County | ||
Fier County | ||
Gjirokastër County |
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Korçë County | ||
Kukës County | ||
Lezhë County |
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Shkodër County |
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Tiranë County |
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Vlorë County |
Subdivisions of Gjirokastër County | ||
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County Seat: Gjirokastër | ||
Municipality of Dropull |
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Municipality of Gjirokastër |
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Municipality of Këlcyrë |
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Municipality of Libohovë |
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Municipality of Memaliaj |
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Municipality of Përmet |
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Municipality of Tepelenë |
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Subdivisions of Dropull Municipality | ||
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Municipal Seat: Dropull | ||
Administrative Unit of Dropull i Poshtëm |
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Administrative Unit of Dropull i Sipërm |
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Administrative Unit of Pogon |
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Greeks in Albania | |
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History |
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Society and culture |
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Geography | Ancient: Chaonia
Medieval and modern: Dryinopolis, Kolonia |
Settlements1 |
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Organizations |
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Individuals |
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1 Includes localities with a substantial ethnic Greek population, or otherwise with any kind of cultural or other type of significance, historical or current, for the Greek minority in Albania. |