Dukat, Albania

Dukat is a community in Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vlorë. The Dukat Plain covers an area of around 1,000–1,500 ha delimited by the Ceraunian Mountains and opened in the north towards the Bay of Vlorë on the Adriatic. Dukat traditionally belongs to the Albanian ethnographic region of Labëria.

Name

Its name contains the Albanian suffix ''-at'', widely used to form toponyms from personal names and surnames.

Geography

The Dukat plain is delimited by the Ceraunian Mountains, and it is opened in the north towards the Bay of Vlorë on the Adriatic Sea where the Dukat lagoon can be found. With a triangular shape, the plain covers an area of approximately 1,000–1,500 ha. The Dukat plain is irrigated by the Dukat river and numerous torrents which descend from the mountains, most prominently that of Llogara. The Llogara Pass at over 1,000 meters of altitude on the Ceraunian Mountains connects the Dukat plain with the Albanian Riviera of the Ionian Sea.

History

Two Illyrian tumuli used in a period spanning from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age have been found in Dukat. The architectural similarity with the tumulus of Torre Santa Sabina in Brindisi, Apulia, provides evidence of communication and interaction between the two shores of the Adriatic. Exchanges with the other side of the Adriatic and the Aegean World are found in the area. Around the 11th–10th centuries BC the first imports from southern Italy appear in the Dukat plain.

In classical antiquity the foot of the Akrokeraunian Mountains (Karaburun Peninsula) where the Dukat plain is placed was inhabited by the southernmost Illyrians. Those mountains formed a natural separation between the Illyrians to the north and the Epirote Chaonians to the south. The Llogara Pass connected the regions of Illyria and Epirus leading to ancient Palaeste to the south of the Karaburun Peninsula, however this mountain pass is difficult to cross. Ancient Oricum was located in the coastal area of the Dukat plain. There was a significant number of rural settlements in the hinteland of the ancient city.

Sometime between the 10th and the 13th century the Church of Marmiroi was built near the village.

Dukat lied outside the Himara region, nonetheless it collaborated with Himariots in earlier anti-Ottoman initiatives. According to a 1566 document the Dukat village had 1,800 households, however only 200 potential anti-Ottoman fighters lived there, maybe because many inhabitants had converted to Islam. Dukat participated in the Anti-Ottoman revolt of 1571 and joined Himarë in organizing an uprising in 1581.

In July 1811 the Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha persuaded the region of Dukat to side with him.

Dervish Ali a native of the area known as one of the organizers of the revolt of 1847 built his towers near the village which were used by Albanian rebels during the uprising for hiding and storage and are today cultural monuments.

During the Vlora war forces from Dukat participated in the Albanian side and freed the village from Italian occupation.

During World War II Dukat was part of the battlefield of the battle of Gjorm, where Albanian resistance units defeated and routed the troops of the Kingdom of Italy.

Culture

The musical style performed in Dukat belongs to the Lab musical dialect of the Albanian iso-polyphony. In the second half of the 20th century its style took a unique identity, producing a novel way of singing in Lab music. The Dukat style gained high popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, and it was maybe the most widely performed Lab musical style in those years.

Dukat is home to the Church of Marmiroi, a medieval church and Dervish Ali's Towers.

Demographics

Dukat is inhabited by both Christian and Muslim Albanians. "Dukat, which is half Christian and half Mohammedan, but entirely Albanian in speech"

References

Bibliography

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External links

Populated places in Vlorë
Labëria
Illyrian Albania

{{Vlorë-geo-stub