Kolonjë is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Korçë County Korçë County (), officially the County of Korçë (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, fifth most p ...

, southeastern

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 ...

. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Barmash, Çlirim, Ersekë, Leskovik, Mollas,

Novoselë Novoselë ( sq-definite, Novosela) is a village and a former Municipalities of Albania, municipality in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Vlorë. The population ...

Qendër Ersekë Qendër Ersekë is a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern 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 an ...

and Qendër Leskovik. The seat of the municipality is the town Ersekë. The total population is 11,070 (2011 census), in a total area of . It is an ethnographic region. The area of the municipality is with the former Kolonjë District, one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Location

Kolonjë is located in south-east Albania and its capital is Ersekë. Other towns in this district include Leskovik to the south. It is bounded by

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

to the north and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

to the east, including the regional units of

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

and

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

. The town of Ersekë is located at the foot of mount Gramos, Albania's fourth-highest mountain with a peak at 2,525 m above sea level.

History

During the Middle Ages a region under the name Koloneia (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Κολωνεία) is located in the mountain region south of

(southeast Albania) and north of

Konitsa Konitsa (, see also Konitsa#Name, names in other languages) is a town of Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina in Epirus (region), Epirus, Greece. It is located north of the capital Ioannina and near the Albanian Border crossings of Albania, border. ...

and

(northwestern Greece) at the west slopes of

Grammos Gramos ( or Γράμμος; ; , , or ) is a mountain chain situated on the border of Albania and Greece. Part of the larger northern Pindus mountain range, its highest peak, ''Maja e Çukapeçit'', rises at an elevation of . Geography From ...

mountain range. A Byzantine military garrison under the same name was built west of Grammos. According to the account of John Skylitzes, in , after the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria, emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus (; 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (, ), was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but t ...

created new

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

s at Koloneia, Dryinopolis, and Dyrrhachium, and settled former Byzantine prisoners of war to secure the Byzantine positions in

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 ...

against future enemy attacks from central and western Macedonia. At 1040s the theme of Koloneia was incorporated to the Duchy of Dyrrachion. After the

Sack of Constantinople The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusaders sacked and destroyed most of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the city, the Latin Empire ( ...

at 1204 and the following partition of the Byzantine Empire the theme of Koloneia was granted to the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. However, Koloneia came under the control of the

Despotate of Epirus The Despotate of Epirus () was one of the Greek Rump state, successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the ...

and formed one of the themes of the Despotate. Following the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259 Koloneia was ceded to the

Empire of Nicaea The Empire of Nicaea (), also known as the Nicene Empire, was the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by Walter Abel Heurtley, W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C ...

. In a text by Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos (r. 1347-1354) whose 'History' covers the years 1320-1356, there is mention of local

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

; “''While the emperor was spending about eight days in Achrida (

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

), the Albanian nomads living in the region of Deabolis (Devoll) appeared before him, as well as those from Koloneia ( Kolonja) and those from the vicinity of Ohrid.''” This meeting was estimated to have taken place at around February 1328. One source says that one of the two main waves of Albanian movements coming from the north entered Kolonjë in the 14th century, with the wave also affecting the neighboring Dangëllia region. The name Kolonja is related to the

Roman period The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

of the area.

Villages, communities and settlements

* Barmash *

Bezhan Bezhan is a village in the Korçë County, southeastern 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 t ...

* Blush * Borovë *

Butkë Butkë is a community in the Korçë County, 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 Mediterr ...

* Çlirim * Ersekë * Gjonc * Gërmenj * Gostivisht * Helmës * Kabash * Kagjinas * Kaltanj *

Kamnik Kamnik (; ''Leksikon občin kraljestev in dežel zastopanih v državnem zboru,'' vol. 6: ''Kranjsko''. 1906. Vienna: C. Kr. Dvorna in Državna Tiskarna, pp. 26–27. or ''Stein in Oberkrain'') is the ninth-largest town of Slovenia, located in t ...

* Kodras * Kozel * Kreshovë * Kurtez * Lashovë * Lëngëz * Lënckë *

Leshnjë Leshnjë is a village and a former municipality in Berat County, central 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 Ion ...

* Leskovik * Luaras * Mesicke * Milec * Mollas *

* Orgockë * Piskal * Podë * Postenan * Prodan * Psarr i Zi * Qafzes * Qesarakë * Qinam Radovickë * Qinam * Qytezë * Radimisht * Radanj * Rehovë * Selenicë e Pishës * Shalës * Shtikë * Shën Mërtir * Starje * Taç * Vodicë * Vrepckë

Notable people

* Sali Njazi, 1st Dedebaba of the

Bektashi Order Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

Sali Butka Sali Butka (1852 – 24 October 1938), was an Albanian nationalist figure, revolutionary kachak, poet, and one of the delegates of the city of Korçë to the Albanian National Congress of Lushnjë.Nikolaeva Todorova Marii︠a︡''Balkan i ...

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

nationalist figure, revolutionary kachak and a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

Shahin Kolonja Shahin bey Kolonja (; 1865–1919) was an Albanian journalist, politician, and member of the Ottoman Parliament during its Second Constitutional Era. Early life Shahin Kolonja, was born Shahin Teki Ypi in 1865 or 1867 in Starje, Kolonjë, at ...

journalist and politician * Jani Dode

physicist * Petro Dode

politician * Petro Nini Luarasi

rilindas activist, Christian orthodox priest, teacher and journalist * Skënder Luarasi

scholar, writer and anti-fascist activist * Agim Qirjaqi

actor and television director. * Ekrem Bardha Albanian American businessman, co-founder of the National Albanian American Council * Fehim zavalani

journalist and activist of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

* Jim Belushi Albanian-American actor *

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

Albanian-American comedian, actor and musician *John Papajani former Washington State Senator * Kol Tromara

nationalist and political figure *Vasil Tromara

patriot and freedom fighter * Kristo Luarasi

nationalist figure, printer and publisher *

Safet Butka Safet Butka (10 August 190119 September 1943) was an Albanian professor, politician and nationalist. Son of famous patriot Sali Butka, he organized the student demonstrations in April 1939 during the Italian invasion and was interned in Ventote ...

professor, politician and nationalist *

Qemal Butka Qemal Butka (1907 – November 28, 1997) was an Albanian architect, painter, politician, and postage stamps engraver. He was mayor of Tirana from 1935-1936 but departed from Albania in 1939 to live in Turkey and later the United States. He is al ...

architect, painter, politician * Ali Riza Kolonja

army general, diplomat and politician * Bajram Fevziu

army officer and politician * Xhavid Leskoviku

army officer, political activist and diplomat * Jani Vreto

writer, printer, publisher and important figure of the

* Naim Frashëri

actor * Athanas Sina

journalist, teacher and activist of the

*Vasil Ndreko member of the

Society for the Publication of Albanian Writings Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters () (Arvanitika: Σ̈oκ̇ε̰ρι ε τε̰ Σ̈τυπȣρι Σ̈κρoν̇α Σ̈κ̇ιπ) was a patriotic organization of Albanians, Albanian intellectuals, promoting publications in Albanian langu ...

*Riza Kodheli

WW2 commander, National Liberation Movement * Islam Radovicka

Partisan commander 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 ...

* Sejfi Vllamasi

congressman * Zylyftar Poda

leader, who led several revolts against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

* Xhafer Ypi former Prime Minister of Albania * Petrit Dume

general and politician of the Albanian Party of Labour * Hasan Zyko Kamberi

literature *Haki Laho Albanian-American, doctor in the United States

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolonje, Korce Municipalities in Korçë County Albanian ethnographic regions