Dropull

A city called Hadrianopolis was founded in the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138).[6][7] The Synecdemus of Hierocles, which contains a list of the administrative divisions and cities of the Byzantine Empire during the time of Theodosius II (r. 402-450), mentions the city of Αδριανούπολις (Adrianoúpolis) and places it in the region of Dropull.[8][9] With the gradual adoption of Christianity, the city became a diocese sometime before 431;[10] initially under the jurisdiction of the Metropolis of Nicopolis, and later under the Metropolis of Ioannina.[11] The diocese of Adrianoúpolis is mentioned in the sources without interruption, from the 5th century onwards.[12] In a letter of emperor Leo III (r. 717-741) to the metropolitan bishop of Nikopolis, the bishop of Adrianoúpolis (Αδριανουπόλεως) is also mentioned, while in a source at the end of the 12th century the latter is mentioned as bishop of Drinoúpolis (Δρινουπόλεως).[6] The relevant attestations also include the name Adernoboli, as recorded by the Arab traveler Muhammad al-Idrisi at the end of the 12th century.[6] Also, in the Chronicle of the Tocco, which was written at around 1400, the form Δερνόπολιν (Dernópolin) is attested.[6] According to Hammond, the first attestation of the name Drinoúpolis (Δρινούπολις) is from the 8th century, while according to Sakellariou from the 11th century as Dryinoúpolis (Δρυϊνούπολις);[13][14] however Kyriazis supports that this form was a literary creation.[6] The region is today called in Albanian Dropull or def. form Dropulli, and in Modern Greek Δρόπολη (Drópoli), Δερόπολη (Derópoli) or Dhropolis.

During the Middle Helladic period (2100-1550 BC), a double tumulus was dug out in Vodhinë, with strong similarities to the grave circles at Mycenae, showing a common ancestral link with the Myceneans of southern Greece.[18] In classical antiquity, the area was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians.

From the Roman period there was a settlement named Hadrianopolis (of Epirus) in the region, one of several named after the great Roman emperor Hadrian. The settlement was built on a strategic spot in the valley of the river Drino near the modern village of Sofratikë, 11 kilometers south of Gjirokastër.

The foundations of Hadrianopolis were first discovered in 1984 when upper sections of the amphitheater were noticed by local farmers. Italian and Albanian archaeologists subsequently excavated much of the site, revealing a full amphitheater, Roman baths, and changing rooms. The site of the agora (forum) has been detected using ground radar, and excavation is expected in the period 2018 onwards. In the amphitheater, there are post holes for iron railings on first row seats. Also some "changing rooms" - originally for actors - were converted to holding pens for wild animals. This was a site where Romans fed enemies of the state to wild animals.

During the 6th century the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, as part of his fortification plans against barbarian invasions, moved the settlement 4 kilometers southeast in the modern village of Peshkëpi, in order to gain a more secure position. The city is also referred in Byzantine sources as Ioustinianoupolis (or Justinianopolis), after him. Today, ruins of the fortifications are still visible, as are the aqueduct and a medieval Orthodox Christian church.[19]

During the 11th century the city was named Dryinoupolis, a name possibly deriving from its former name or from the nearby river. It was also, from the 5th century, the see of a bishopric (initially part of the Diocese of Nicopolis, Naupactus and then Ioannina).

In 1571 a short lived rebellion broke out under Emmanuel Mormoris, but Ottoman control was restored that same year.[20]

During the 16th and 17th centuries at least 11 Orthodox monasteries were erected in the region with the support of the local population. This unprecedented increase in the number of monasteries has led many scholars to name Dropull as "little Mount Athos".[21]

At the end of the 19th century, many inhabitants migrated to the United States.[22]

At c. 400 a bishopric was established as Diocese of Hadrianopolis in Epirus, a suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdicoese of Nicopolis, capital of the Late Roman province of Epirus Vetus. It was suppressed by the Pope c. 1000, but later got an Orthodox successor. The bishopric of Dryinoupolis included the region of modern southwest Albania and from the early 16th century its center was Argyrokastro (modern Gjirokastër).[23]

Bilingual roadsign, in Albanian and Greek.

According to the 2011 census the total population of Dropull is 3,503. It is inhabited by ethnic Greeks; Dropull has 34 villages, all of which are Greek-speaking.[25]

Politics

• Grigorios Lambovitiadis, activist of the Northern Epirus movement
• Spiro Ksera, politician
• Vasilios Sahinis, leader of the Northern Epirote Liberation Organization

Culture and sports

• Kosmas Thesprotos, scholar
• Leonidas Kokas
• Lefter Millo, international soccer player, capped with the Albania national football team
• Tasos Vidouris, poet
• Kleoniki Delijorgji, Miss Albania 2012 and Miss Globe International 2012[26]
• Konstantinos Koufos (singer), singer[27]
• Christos Tzolis, football player of Norwich City and the Greek National Team

Dropull is twinned with:

Trikala, Greece[28]

• Deropolitissa
• Peshkëpi killing

• Demiraj, Shaban (2006). The origin of the Albanians: linguistically investigated. Academy of Sciences of Albania. ISBN 9789994381715. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020.
• Demiraj, Shaban (2008). "La situation ethnique-linguistique des habitants de Dropulli et de Vurgu au cours des siecles". Studia Albanica. Academy of Sciences of Albania. 1: 77–91. ISSN 0585-5047.
• Pappa, Eftychia (2009). Η Επαρχία Δρυϊνουπόλεως της Β. Ηπείρου κατά τη νεώτερη περίοδο: (Τουρκοκρατία, 20ος αιώνας) (Thesis) (in Greek). Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
• Kyriazis, Doris (2019). "Διατοπικότητα και διαχρονικότητα των νεοελληνικών γλωσσικών ιδιωμάτων της νότιας Αλβανίας" (PDF). Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory. 8th International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (in Greek). Gjirokastër: University of Patras. ISSN 1792-3743.

• GCatholic, with Google satellite photo