Dukat, Albania
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Dukat is a community in
Vlorë County Vlorë County (; ) is one of the 12 counties of Albania with the city of Vlorë being the county capital. The county spans and has a total population of 146,681 people as of 2023. It borders the counties of Fier and Gjirokastër, as well as th ...
, southern
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. With the 2015 local government reform, it became part of the municipality
Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...
. 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 The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
. 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 The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...
where the Dukat
lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...
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 The Ionian Sea (, ; or , ; , ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily, and the Salento peninsula to the west, ...
.


History

Two Illyrian
tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...
used in a period spanning from the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
to the
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
have been found in Dukat. The earlier graves offered a variety of
Middle Helladic Helladic chronology is a relative dating system used in archaeology and art history. It complements the Minoan chronology scheme devised by Sir Arthur Evans for the categorisation of Bronze Age artefacts from the Minoan civilization within a his ...
(2000-1550 BC) findings: Aegean type knives and Minyan ware probably of local manufacture. Naue II type swords, typical of 12th century
Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the earliest attested form of the Greek language. It was spoken on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC). The language is preserved in inscriptions in Linear B, a script first atteste ...
culture found through Albania and Greece were also unearthed. The architectural similarity with the tumulus of Torre Santa Sabina in
Brindisi Brindisi ( ; ) is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Historically, the city has played an essential role in trade and culture due to its strategic position ...
,
Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...
, 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 Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
, the foot of the Akrokeraunian Mountains ( Karaburun Peninsula), where the Dukat plain is placed, was inhabited by the southernmost
Illyrians The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European languages, Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan populations, alon ...
. The Akrokeraunian mountains formed a natural separation between the Illyrians to the north and the Epirote
Chaonians The Chaonians () were an Ancient Greeks, ancient Greek people that inhabited the historical Epirus, region of Epirus which today is part of northwestern Greece and southern Albania.; ; ; ; ; Together with the Molossians and the Thesprotians, the ...
to the south. The Llogara Pass connected the regions of
Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...
and
Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
, leading to ancient Palaeste south of the mountains, however this pass is difficult to cross. The ancient Greek city of Oricum was located in the coastal area of the Dukat plain, in southern Illyria. The plain of Dukat formed part of the city's territory in antiquity. A Hellenistic-era brick grave unearthed in Dukat i Ri shows a building technique that is identical to the brick graves of Oricum and reveals that the same burial traditions were practiced. This type of Hellenistic graves were also widely found in Apollonia and
Amantia Amantia (; ) was an ancient city and the main settlement of the Amantes, traditionally located in southern Illyria in classical antiquity. In Hellenistic times the city was either part of Illyrian kingdom, Illyria or Epirus (ancient state), E ...
in southern Illyria, as well as in parts of Chaonia (
Phoenice Phoenice or Phoenike () was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.: "To the north the Chaonians had expelled the Corcyraeans from their holdings on the mainland and built fortifications at Buthrotum, Kalivo and Kara-Ali- ...
). Brick-structured graves appeared for the first time around the second half of the 4th century BC in the Greek polis of Apollonia and started to spread substantially in the area of Oricum and
Amantia Amantia (; ) was an ancient city and the main settlement of the Amantes, traditionally located in southern Illyria in classical antiquity. In Hellenistic times the city was either part of Illyrian kingdom, Illyria or Epirus (ancient state), E ...
around the second half of the 3rd century BC. The grave of Dukat i Ri probably traces back to this period. Together with the Hellenistic necropolises found in the hinterland of Oricum, they show that there was a significant number of rural settlements in the territory that surrounded the ancient city. The tradition and the techniques used to build the graves indicate that the rural population had equal needs as the urban population. As shown by the building techniques of these Hellenistic graves, Oricum developed a local tradition in burial architecture. 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 A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
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, this included the commanders of Sheme Sadiku and Hodo Zeqiri and freed the village from Italian occupation. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
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 The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
.


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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
and Muslim Albanians. "Dukat, which is half Christian and half Mohammedan, but entirely Albanian in speech" The inhabitance of Dukat speak the Lab dialect of the Albanian language which is a sub-dialect of the
Tosk Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
Albanian dialect.


References


Citations


Bibliography

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External links

{{Authority control Populated places in Vlorë Labëria Illyrian Albania