Dropull ( Dropolis) is a region in
Gjirokastër DistrictThe District of Gjirokastër is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania. It has a population of 156,000 containing a large Greek minority , and an area of 1,137 km². It is in the south of the country, and its capital is Gjirokastër...
in southern Albania. The region is stretching from south of the city of
GjirokastërGjirokastër or Gjirokastra , is a city in southern Albania with a population of around 34,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is also the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
to the Greek-Albanian border, along the Drinos river. The region's villages are part of the recognized by the Albanian government "minority zone", in which live majorities of
ethnic GreeksAbout a general view on history, geography, demographics and political issues concerning the region, see Northern Epirus.The Greeks of Albania are ethnic Greeks who live in or originate from Albania...
. Dropull is divided into two municipalities:
Dropull i SipërmDropull i Sipërm is a municipality in the Gjirokastër District, Gjirokastër County, southern Albania, part of the Dropull region.-Notable people:*Vasilios Sahinis , leader of the Northern Epirote resistance ....
(Upper Dropull) and
Dropull i PoshtëmDropull i Poshtëm is a municipality in the Gjirokastër District, Gjirokastër County, southern Albania, part of the Dropull region....
(Lower Dropull).
Villages
Some of the villages of the region are:
- Sotira
- Dervician
- Glyna
- Georgutsat
- Vuliarates
- Zervati
- Sofratika
- Dhroviani
History
From the
Roman periodThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
there was a fortified settlement named
Hadrianoupolis in the region, after the name of the Roman emperor
HadrianPublius Aelius Hadrianus was emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher...
. The settlement was built on a strategic spot in the valley of the river Drinos near the modern village of Sofratika, 11 kilimetres south of Gjirokastër. During the 6th century the Byzantine emperor
Justinian IFlavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus ; AD 483 – 13 or 14 November 565, known in English as Justinian I or Justinian the Great, was the second member of the Justinian Dynasty and Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 until his death...
, as part of his fortification plans against barbarian invasions, moved the settlement 4 kilometers southeast in the modern village of Pishkepi, in order to gain a more secure position. The city is also referred in Byzantine sources as
Ioustinianoupolis. Today there are still visible ruins of the fortifications, the aqueduct and a Christian church.
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
NicopolisNicopolis or Actia Nicopolis was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium.It was later the capital of Epirus Vetus....
,
NaupactusNaupactus or Nafpaktos , is the second largest town in the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece, situated on a bay on the north side of the straits of Lepanto....
and then
IoanninaIoannina is a city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a metropolitan population of approximately 100,000, and lies at an elevation of 600 metres above sea level. It is the capital of Ioannina Prefecture and of Epirus, lying on the western side of lake Pamvotis...
).
The bishopry (called Dryinupolis) was incorporating the region of modern southwest Albania and from the 16th century its center was Gjirokastër. At the end of the 19th century, many inhabitants migrated to the United States.