Dropull (; Dropoli or Deropoli) 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 majorities of Greeks live.
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. According to the 2011 census the total population is 3,503; according to the civil registry of that year, which counts all citizens including those who live abroad, it is 23,247. The municipality covers an area of .
Name A city called Hadrianopolis was founded in the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138). 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. With the gradual adoption of Christianity, the city became a diocese sometime before 431; initially under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Nicopolis, and later under the Metropolis of Ioannina. The diocese of Adrianoúpolis is mentioned in the sources without interruption, from the 5th century onwards. 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). The relevant attestations also include the name Adernoboli, as recorded by the Arab traveler Muhammad al-Idrisi at the end of the 12th century. Also, in the Chronicle of the Tocco, written around 1400, the form Δερνόπολιν (Dernópolin) is attested. 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); however Kyriazis supports that this form was a literary creation. The region is today called in Albanian Dropull or def. form Dropulli, and in Greek Δρόπολη (Drópoli), Δερόπολη (Derópoli) or Dhropolis.
Etymology According to Çabej, Drópull has been formed from Drinópolis/Dryinópolis (Δρυϊνόπολις) which contains the name of the local river Drino; Drinópolis > Drópull. According to Kyriazis, the etymology of Çabej is not convincing, because he ignores the former name of Adrianoúpolis. 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 () 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.
Demiraj considers Dropull to derive from Hadriano(u)polis, as the most likely etymology. He provided a number of reasons, which according to him, support the evolution of Hadrianopolis > Dropull within an Albanian-speaking population. 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.
History
Antiquity 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. 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.Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization. M. V. Sakellariou. Ekdotike Athenon, 1997. , p. 154, 191
Middle ages 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. 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. 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. Esau recruited Greeks evidently from Zagori, Papingo, Dropull and great Zagori. 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. In 1400 the Venetians pleaded for peace to him ('Geomi Zenebissi qui tenet terram de la Sayata'). 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.
Ottoman period
Ottoman presence in Epirote and Albanian lands began in the 14th century.
In 1571 a short lived rebellion broke out under Emmanuel Mormoris, but Ottoman control was restored that same year.
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". In terms of local religious art the end of the 16th century saw the continuation of iconographic motives of the Cretan school as witnessed in the monasteries of Driano (1583) and the Birth of the Theotokos in Dhuvjan (1594–1595).
As soon as the Greek War of Independence (1821–1830) broke out several locals rose in revolt and participated in the armed struggles.
Modern period At the end of the 19th century, many inhabitants migrated to the United States.Religion in Post-Communist Albania. Muslims, Christians and the idea of 'culture' in Devoll, Southern Albania. Gilles de Rapper. p. 7
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, while at October 1, 1935, c. 100 Albanian gendarmes were dispatched to Dropull and proceeded to arrests and exiled several Greek teachers. 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. This turn of events fuelled the decision of the League of Nations in favour to the ethnic Greek minority.
During World War II and the developments of the Greco-Italian War the region came under the control of the Greek army in 1940–1941. At that time the population of Lower Dropull welcomed the advancing Greek units and provided them support in matters of food and accommodation.
During the era of the People's Republic of Albania (1945–1991) the state recognised 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).
The Peshkëpi incident occurred on 10 April 1994. Eight men, later identified as members of the Northern Epirus Liberation Front, a Greek nationalist paramilitary organization, attacked an Albanian army barracks in Peshkëpi, Dropull; in the attack, two Albanian border soldiers were killed, and three were wounded.
Dialect 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. The local Greek dialect features characteristics of southern vocalism. 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, while the uncontracted present tense prevails.
Onomastics and demographics Defter of 1431–1432