Mat District Explained

Mat District
Other Name:Rrethi i Matit
Type:d
Map:Mat District.svg
Seat:Burrel
Dissolved:2000
Population Total:61,906
Population As Of:2001
Area Total Km2:1028

Mat District was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 61,906 in 2001, and an area of .[1] It was named after the river Mat, which flows through the district. Its capital was the town of Burrel. Its territory is now part of Dibër County: the municipalities of Mat and Klos.

Administrative divisions

The district consisted of the following municipalities:[2]

History

Mat is believed to be one of the oldest Albanian settlements, most likely as old as the 2nd-5th century AD.[3] At the beginning of the 15th century the Lord of Matja was Gjon Kastrioti, father of Skanderbeg.[4] When Skanderbeg began his rebellion against Ottomans he also became the lord of Mat and some other territories as well.[5] A synod of Catholic archdiocese was held in Matja in 1462 by Pal Egnelli known for his baptismal formula.[6]

Notable locals

Hereditary governors

NamePortraitBirth and deathReign startedReign endedMarriagesSuccession right
1Zogu Pasha[Zogu the Great]???Unknown wife
2'Abdu'llah Bey Zogolli???Unknown wifeson of

Zogu Pasha

3Ahmad Bey Zogolli???Unknown wifeson of

'Abdu'llah Bey Zogolli

4Mahmud Pasha Zogolli???Unknown wife[4 childs]son of Ahmad Bey Zogolli
5Xhelal Pasha Zogolli???Ruhijé Hanem[4 childs]son of Mahmud Pasha Zogolli
6Riza Zogolli???Never marriedson of Xhelal Pasha Zogolli
7Xhemal Pasha Zogu1860Castle Burgajet (Albania)

1911

?1911Zenja Malika Khanum1880

[1 child]

Sadiya Khanum

1887

[8 childs]

brother of Riza Zogolli
8Zog I8 October 1895Burgajet Castle (Ottoman Empire)

9 April 1961

Suresnes (France)

(aged 65)

19119 April 1961Countess Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-ApponyiApril 1938

[1 child]

Son of Xhemal Pasha Zogu
9Leka I5 April 1939Tirana

30 November 2011

Tirana

(aged 72)

9 April 196130 November 2011Susan Cullen-Ward1975

[1 child]

Son ofZog I
10Leka II26 March 1982Johannesburg (South Africa)

(age 34)

30 November 2011PresentElia Zaharia2016Son ofLeka I

Notes and References

  1. http://statoids.com/yal.html Districts of Albania
  2. Web site: Portraits of poverty and inequality in Albania . MM. Md ZOHANWorld Bank Group. 2016. 33-40.
  3. Book: Anne., Schmitt, Oliver Jens, 1973- Frantz, Eva. Albanische Geschichte : Stand und Perspektiven der Forschung. 2009. R. Oldenbourg Verlag. 978-3-486-58980-1. 895414194.
  4. Book: Franz Babinger. Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. 25 July 2013. January 1992. Princeton University Press. 978-0-691-01078-6. 53. ....his father, lord of the Matja district in Upper Albania....
  5. Book: John Musachi

    . John Musachi. John Musachi. Early Albania: A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. 26 July 2013. 2003. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. 978-3-447-04783-8. 53. Later, Lord Scanderbeg became not only Lord of Mat but also Lord of Kruja, of Dibra and of Birina, i.e. of Randisia, Tomorista, Misia and the Gjonem country down to the sea..

  6. Book: Robert Elsie

    . Robert Elsie. Robert Elsie. A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. 25 July 2013. 24 December 2012. I.B.Tauris. 978-1-78076-431-3. 13. On his return to Durrës in 1462, Paulus Angelus held a synod in Matja to reorganise his archdiocese. In this connection he is remembered as the author of the baptismal formula he introduced in Albanian, one of the rare records of the Albanian.