Dropull

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.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8]

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".[9]

At the end of the 19th century, many inhabitants migrated to the United States.[10]

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).[11]

Bilingual roadsign, in Albanian and Greek.

Some of the villages of the region are:

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[13]
• Konstantinos Koufos (singer), singer[14]
• Christos Tzolis, soccer player of PAOK Salonica and National Team of Greece

• Deropolitissa
• Peshkëpi killing

• GCatholic, with Google satellite photo