The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a
river in
Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is .
Etymology
It derives from Latin ''Scampinus'' which replaced Illyrian ''Genusus'', as recorded in Latin and ancient Greek literature. A Slavic intermediation has been rejected. Its inclusion in Latin loanwords into Proto-Albanian and phonetic evolution coincides with the historical existence of a large Roman town (near present-day
Elbasan) which gave the river its new name.
Overview
The river originates in the eastern
Valamara Mountains between ''Maja e Valamarës'' () and ''Gur i Topit'' () in Southeastern Albania.
After descending from the Valamaras, it flows northwards through
Proptisht and
Qukës with many deep gorges and canyons and passes the Gora Mountains. A significant inflow comes from ''Gur i Kamjës'' () southwest of
Pogradec. Over the course, it flows inside a
syncline
In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimpose ...
between the Mokra and
Shebenik
Shebenik is a large mountain located in the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park in eastern Albania. Shebenik has many peaks over . Geography
The highest is Maja e Shebenikut at above sea level. It is found in the north-east of Shebenik. Aroun ...
Mountains in the east and the Polis Mountains in the west. Close to
Librazhd the river turns some westwards of its origin and joins the ''Rapun'' stream. At the end the river cross the
Myzeqe Plain and forms a small delta in
Karavasta Lagoon, the direct proximity of the
Adriatic Sea.
Human history
The ancient name of the river was ''Genusus'' and was located in central southern
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...
. At the same time it was referred as ''Scampini'' as it was identified by the town of
Scampa. In classical antiquity the valley of the Shkumbin was inhabited by several Illyrian peoples. The
Parthini lived in the middle valley of the river.
They neighbored to the west the
Taulantii who lived in the coastal area including the lower valley of the river, and to the east the
Dassaretii who lived in the region of
Lake Ohrid, including the upper valley of the river.
The ancient
Via Egnatia followed the river, giving it the role of a strategically important corridor between
orient
The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the c ...
and occident. The Via Egnatia started with two branches, the northern one from
Epidamnos-Dyrrhachion, and the southern one from
Apollonia. The two branches converged at
Ad Quintum, near modern
Elbasan, continuing eastwards through the valley of the Shkumbin.
In
Roman Imperial times, the line of division between the administrative provinces of
Illyricum and
Epirus Nova ran from the west somewhere between
Scodra and
Dyrrachium, to the east somewhere between the north side of the Shkumbin and
Lake Ohrid. During this period the valley of Skumbin constituted roughly the border between the
Latin and the
Greek speaking area.
The river is roughly the geographical dividing line between
Tosk and
Gheg Albanian
Gheg (also spelled Geg; Gheg Albanian: ''gegnishtja'', Standard sq, gegërishtja) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds ...
dialects, with Gheg spoken north of the Shkumbin and Tosk south of it. The dialectal split occurred after
Christianisation of the region (4th century AD),
with the river as the historic dialectal boundary which straddled the
Jireček line
The Jireček Line is a conceptual boundary through the ancient Balkans that divides the influence of the Latin (in the north) and Greek (in the south) languages in the Roman Empire from antiquity until the 4th century. The border has been rep ...
.
[Orel, Vladimir; Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Brill, 1998 ][See also Hamp 1963.]
See also
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Geography of Albania
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Central Mountain Range
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Rivers of Albania
Albania has more than 152 rivers and streams, forming 8 large rivers flowing from southeast to northwest, mainly discharging towards the Adriatic coast. The rivers of Albania have a total annual flow rate of , or per year.
A majority of the pre ...
References
Bibliography
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{{Portal bar, Geography
Rivers of Albania
Geography of Korçë County
Geography of Elbasan County
Geography of Tirana County
Drainage basins of the Adriatic Sea
Braided rivers in Albania