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Zadrima is an ethnographic region situated in north-western Albania between the cities of Shkodra and Lezha, located left of the Lower Drin which eventually drains into the
Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...
from near Lezha.


Geography

The Zadrima Plain includes villages and settlements administratively split between the modern Shkodra ( Vau i Dejës Municipality) and Lezha (Lezhë Municipality) counties. The following belong under the Vau i Dejës Municipality: * Laç * Kovaç * Vau i Dejës * Mjeda * Shelqet * Naraç * Kaç *
Shkjezë Shkjezë is a settlement in the former Bushat municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vau i Dejës Vau i Dejës (), English: Deja's Ford, is a town and a municipalit ...
* Pistull * Paçram * Kukël *
Plezhë Plezhë is a settlement in the former Bushat municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vau i Dejës Vau i Dejës (), English: Deja's Ford, is a town and a municipality ...
* Hajmel * Dheu i Lehtë * Nënshat While the settlements below come under the Lezhë Municipality: *
Krajnë Krajnë is a village in the Lezhë County, northwestern 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 Ad ...
*
Fishtë Fishtë is a settlement in the former Blinisht municipality, in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Lezhë. It is an important agritourism area with a number of well establis ...
* Troshan * Baqël * Blinisht *
Kodhel Kodheli is a small village located in the center of Zadrima plain in the Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Lezhë. Kodheli is located between the city of Lezhë to the sout ...
* Dajç * Kotërr * Dragushë * Mabë * Gramsh *
Zojs Zojs (also ''Zojz'', sq-definite, Zojsi or ''Zojzi'') is a settlement in the Lezhë County, northwestern Albania in Zadrima region. It was part of the former municipality Dajç. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipal ...
*
Gjadër Gjadër is a settlement in the Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality of Lezhë. It is known for the former military air base made famous during the Cold War. History Accordi ...
* Piraj At the end of the eighteenth century, Zadrima came to also encompass the nearby villages of Vjerdha, Lisna, Gajtani, and Rragami. The settlements of the former Guri i Zi Municipality, located to the immediate north of Zadrima, are traditionally connected to Zadrima due to similarities in traditions, customs, and folk clothing. On the other hand, the villages of Kallmet i Vogël, Kallmet i Madh, and Rraboshta, which are a part of the southern Zadrima Plain, differ in their customs and traditions from the rest of the greater region. Zadrima can be further broken down into three main units: 1) The area bordering
Mirdita Mirdita is a region of northern Albania whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name. Etymology The name Mirdita derives from a legendary ancestor named Mir Diti from whom the tribe claims descent. Other ...
, consisting of villages located on the foothills of the mountains separating the two major ethnographic regions (e.g., Troshan, Fishtë, Nënshat); 2) The villages established on the slopes of hills and mountains located within the core territory of Zadrima (e.g., Paçram, Pistull, Dajç); 3) The villages located on the open plains of Zadrima (e.g., Gramsh, Shelqet, Gjadër).


History

Zadrima is first recorded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by Byzantine princess and historian
Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
who refers to the region as highly agricultural and the place of many battles between the Western and Eastern Roman empires. In 1281 the progenitor of the
Dukagjini family The Dukagjini are an Albanian feudal noble family who ruled over an area of Northern Albania and Western Kosovo known as the Principality of Dukagjini in the 14th and 15th centuries. They may have been relatives or descendants of the earlier ...
, ''dux'' Gjin Tanushi (''Ducam Ginium Tanuschium Albanensem''), is recorded as ruling over portions of Zadrima, Guri i Zi (''Montagne noire''), Pulti,
Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike * Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''T ...
, and lands around the Fan. Much of Zadrima and the adjacent territories between Lezha and the Fan would consequently be inherited by the Dukagjini, particularly the branch descending from Tanush II Dukagjini. Other than the Dukagjini, the noble families of the Blinishti and
Zaharia Zaharia is an Albanian and Romanian variant form of the given name or surname Zechariah/Zacharias. Notable people with this surname *Zaharia family, an Albanian noble family **Koja Zaharia **Lekë Zaharia ** Elia Zaharia * Alexandru Zaharia, Ro ...
also held lands in Zadrima. The Blinishti of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries initially held the lands between Gjadër in the west and Mali i Shejtit to the east, Arst in the north and Ndërfanda in the south, with their centre in Blinisht. In the fifteenth century it is recorded that
Koja Zaharia Koja Zaharia or Koja Zakaria ( it, Coia Zaccaria) (? – before 1442) was an Albanian nobleman and a member of the Zaharia family. Name In Ragusan documents he is referred to as Kojčin or Gojčin. Because of that, many scholars like Nicol ...
had received lordship over
Sapa The South African Press Association (SAPA) was the national news agency of South Africa until its closure in 2015. History The agency was established on 1 July 1938 by major South African newspapers to facilitate the sharing of news. Reuters had ...
and
Dagnum Dagnum ( sq, Danjë or Dejë, sr, Danj, it, Dagno) was a town, bishopric and important medieval fortress located on the territory of present-day Albania, which has been under Serbian, Venetian and Ottoman control and remains a Latin Catholic t ...
from the papacy following his conversion to Roman Catholicism from Serbian Orthodoxy in 1414. The Zaharia would continue to rule over much of Zadrima during the medieval and often came into land disputes and conflicts with the Dukagjini whose influence had been primarily limited to Lezha and its environs. Zadrima and Lezha would eventually fall under Venetian occupation. The demographic history of Zadrima is one of heterogeneity and diversity in regards to geographic origins. The old population of the region, descended from the medieval inhabitants and communities of Zadrima, has largely diminished and represents a negligible percentage of modern families. For example, in the seventeenth century only a handful of native households remained in the village of Mjeda, such as that of ''Lazër Mati Koja'' which was descended from the old Zaharia family through Koja's son, Leka. The Ottoman occupation of the region resulted in mass depopulation and movement out of Zadrima, explaining the great reduction in the region's native population. From the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries onwards, Zadrima would come to be repopulated by a number of families and brotherhoods arriving from
Malësia Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia ( sq, Malësia, cnr, / ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision ...
. Examples include a number of the brotherhoods from ''Gjatore'', a quarter in Kallmet, whose ancestors arrived from
Vukël Vukël (definite form: Vukli) is a settlement in the former Kelmend municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Malësi e Madhe Malësi e Madhe () is a municipality in ...
in Kelmend, as well as the ''Lazër-Ilaj'' of Pistull who are believed to have come from Hoti. Numerous families from Mirdita and Puka also settled in Zadrima due to their close proximity to the region, which offered better living conditions due to its lowland terrain. Migrations from other nearby territories would also take place, examples including the ''Imeraj'' of Paçram who descend from the ''Çelaj'' of
Bushat Bushat is a village and a former municipality in the Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Vau i Dejës. The population at the 2011 census was 14,149. Name Its name c ...
and the ''Ranxa'' of Pistull who arrived from Melgushë.


See also

*
Mirditë Mirditë ( sq-definite, Mirdita) is a municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Fan, Kaçinar, Kthellë, Orosh, Rrëshen, Rubik and Selitë. The seat of the municipali ...
*
Malësia Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia ( sq, Malësia, cnr, / ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision ...


Notes


Sources

* * * * {{Authority control Albanian ethnographic regions Geography of Lezhë County Geography of Shkodër County Historical regions in Albania