Mat ( sq-definite, Mati) is region in north-central

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. It takes its name from the

Mat River The Mat ( sq-definite, Mati) is a river in north-central Albania. Its overall length is , while its catchment surface is . Its average discharge is . The main tributary is Fan, flowing from the northeast, while the Mat flows from the southwest d ...

located in the region. The inhabitants are mostly Muslim, traditionally composed of six

bajrak The ''bajrak'' (pronounced or , meaning "banner" or "flag") was an Ottoman territorial unit, consisting of villages in mountainous frontier regions of the Balkans, from which military recruitment was based. It was introduced in the late 17th c ...

Burrel Burrel (alternate forms ''Burrel'', ''Mat'') is a town in northern Albania, 91 km from Tirana. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Mat. It was the seat of the former District of Mat. T ...

Klos Klos or KLOS may refer to: *Klos (surname) *Klos, Dibër, a town in eastern Albania ** Harketari Klos KF, a defunct football club based in Klos, Dibër *Klos, Elbasan, a village in central Albania * Klos, Mallakastër, a village in south-central Alb ...

, Lis, Lukan, Prell and

Xibër Xibër is a former municipality in the Dibër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Klos. The population at the 2011 census was 2,660. Demographic history Xibër (''Çipur'') is r ...

. According to a 1918 census carried out by the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

s, Mat at the time consisted of 3,986 households and 23,643 total individuals.

Etymology

The river name was written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as "Mathis" by the 4th/5th century writer

Vibius Sequester Vibius Sequester (active in the 4th or 5th century AD) is the Latin author of lists of geographical names. Work ''De fluminibus, fontibus, lacubus, nemoribus, gentibus, quorum apud poëtas mentio fit'' is made up of seven alphabetical lists of ...

and before that in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

as "Mάτη" (''Máti''). The name is also seen as: * "Mathia" in 1308 in the '' Anonymi Descriptio Europae Orientalis''; * "Mat" in 1488 in an Ottoman tax document; * "Matia" in 1515 in the ''Breve memoria'' of

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; it, Giovanni Musachi di Berat ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi'' (Shor ...

; * "Machia" on the 1554

Mercator __NOTOC__ Mercator (Latin for "merchant") may refer to: People * Marius Mercator (c. 390–451), a Catholic ecclesiastical writer * Arnold Mercator, a 16th-century cartographer * Gerardus Mercator, a 16th-century cartographer ** Mercator 1569 ...

map; * "Mattia" in the 1570 anonymous ''Relazione dell'Albania''; * "Ematthia" in the 1591 report of ; * "

Emathia Emathia ( gr, Ἠμαθία) was the name of the plain opposite the Thermaic Gulf when the kingdom of Macedon was formed. The name was used to define the area between the rivers Aliakmon and Loudias, which, because it was the center of the kingd ...

" in 1596 in Jaques De Lavardin's ''Historie of George Castriot''; * "Mathia" in 1610 in the report of

Marino Bizzi Marino Bizzi (Latin name: Marinus Bizzius; 1570–1624) was a Venetian patrician in Dalmatia, and a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church as Archbishop of Antivari. Life Bizzi was born on the island of Rab, part of the Republic of Venice (in pres ...

; * "Matthia" in 1614 in the report of the Venetian writer

Mariano Bolizza Mariano Bolizza or Marin Bolica (1603 – 27 November 1643) was a nobleman and writer from Cattaro. Biography Bolizza was born in Kotor, at the time part of the Republic of Venice (now Montenegro). He studied at the University of Padua and, ha ...

; * "Ematia" in 1621 in a letter of

Pjetër Budi Pjetër Budi (1566 – December 1622), was a prominent Albanian writer and a Catholic bishop. He is known for his first work ''"Doktrina e Kërshtenë"'' (The Christian Doctrine), an Albanian translation of the catechism of Robert Bellarmine, w ...

; * "Man", a misspelling or misreading for "Mat", in 1662 in the ''

Seyahatnâme ''Seyahatname'' ( ota, سياحتنامه, Seyāḥatnāme, book of travels) is the name of a literary form and tradition whose examples can be found throughout centuries in the Middle Ages around the Islamic world, starting with the Arab travel ...

'' of

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

; * "Emathia" in the 1671 report by Piero Stefano Gaspari; * "Mathia" in about 1685 in the report of Giorgio Stampaneo; * "Matis" in 1821 on the map of French consul Hugues Pouqueville; and * "Máthis" in 1848 in the journal of

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

History

Mati and Dibra aren't tribes in the sense of a ''

fis FIS or fis may refer to: Science and technology * '' Fis'', an ''E. Coli'' gene * Fis phenomenon, a phenomenon in linguistics * F♯ (musical note) * Flight information service, an air traffic control service * Frame Information Structure, a Se ...

'', with blood ties and a common history and single male ancestor, but the region has a strong collective identity nonetheless, and formed its own military unit in war (''bajrak''). The basin of the Mat River consists of rolling hills surrounded by mountains that have long protected the inhabitants. Because it was so isolated, the German historian

Georg Stadtmüller Georg Stadtmüller (Bürstadt, Hessen, 17 March 1909 – Passau, 1 November 1985) was German historian and Albanologist. Biography He studied German history, classic and oriental philology and history in Freiburg in period 1927–1931. He was pr ...

(1901–85) postulated that the Albanian people could be traced to this specific region. Mat has been inhabited since at least the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

, but no urban areas had developed there until the modest town of

in the mid-20th century. The Mat region is inhabited by four different clans headed by one or more families, each a ''

primus inter pares ''Primus inter pares'' is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their sen ...

'' in the region: the Bozhiqi in the upper valley, the Çelaj to the south, the Olomani or Alamani, and the Zogolli in the north. In the 20th century Mat was the home of Ahmet bey Zogolli (1895–1961), also known as Ahmet Zogu, who ruled Albania 1924–1939, mostly as King Zog. He had become head of the Zogolli when his father,

Xhemal Pasha Zogolli Xhemal Pasha Zogu (; 1860–1911), also known as Jamal Pasha or Jamal Pasha Zogolli, was the Hereditary Governor of Mati, Albania (at the time part of the Ottoman Empire). He was the father of King Zog I of Albania. Born at Burgajet Castle, Mati ...

(1860–1911) died.

References

{{coord missing, Albania Albania articles missing geocoordinate data Regions of Albania