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Tepelenë (town)
Encyclopedia
Tepelenë District
The District of Tepelenë is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania, part of Gjirokastër County. It has a population of 23,800 , and an area of 817 km². It is in the south of the country, and its capital is Tepelenë...
of southern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. It is located on the left bank of the Vjosë
Vjosë
Vjosë or Aoös is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania.Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining are in Albania. Vjosë is fed by two secondary branches, both in Albania, the Drino river and the Shushicë.Its source is in Greece, specifically...
river, about three kilometres downstream from its union with the Drino
Drino
The Drin or Drinos is a river in southern Albania and northwestern Greece, tributary of the Vjosë. Its source is in the northwestern part of the Ioannina Prefecture, near the village Delvinaki. It flows initially southwest, then northwest and crosses the Albanian border near Ktismata. It continues...
.
Its location is strategically important and there is a ruined citadel occupying a point 300 metres above the river. Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha
Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...
was born at the nearby village of Beçisht. In 1847, the British writer Edward Lear
Edward Lear
Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...
visited the town and noted the devastated buildings.
History
At the nearby Aoos Narrows ("Aoi Stena"), a MacedonMacedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ian army barred the way to Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
and, in 196 BC, a decisive battle, the Battle of the Aous
Battle of the Aous
The Battle of the Aous was fought in 198 BC between the Roman Republic and The Ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, at or near modern Tepelenë in Albania. The Roman forces were led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus and the Macedonian ones were led by Philip V....
took place between a Roman army commanded by Consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
Titus Quinctius Flamininus
Titus Quinctius Flamininus
Titus Quinctius Flamininus was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece.Member of the gens Quinctia, and brother to Lucius Quinctius Flamininus, he served as a military tribune in the Second Punic war and in 205 BC he was appointed propraetor in Tarentum...
and the Macedonians commanded by Philip V
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
. After an attempt of a truce and an inconclusive battle, the Roman army was led by a shepherd to a point where the Macedonians could be attacked and the Romans won the battle.
The Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
s built a defensive tower which was successively developed during the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
epoch in the 15th century and by Ali Pasha in the early 19th century.
The Young Turk
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
revolutionaries met in Tepelenë in February 1909, in an attempt to persuade Albanian nationalists to join them.
In 1920, an earthquake destroyed the town which was completely rebuilt afterwards: local tradition says that if Tepelenë exceeds 100 buildings then it will be destroyed. In the same year, 400 Italian soldiers surrendered to the Albanians, during the Battle of Vlora.
On 7 April 1939 Italian forces landed in Albania and took control of the country and Tepelenë. After the failed Italian offensive on Greece in October 1940, Greek forces counter-attacked and advanced toward Tepelenë in a general offensive on Vlorë
Vlorë
Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 94,000 . It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912...
. Despite several attacks and assistance from the British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, the Italians managed to hold the town and in late April 1941, following the German invasion of Yugoslavia
Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia , also known as the April War , was the Axis Powers' attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II...
, the Greek army was forced to withdraw.
The local Italian army camp was converted by the post-war Communist regime to a forced labour camp. It had a bad reputation for brutality and disease and was referred to as the "Albanian Belsen". It was closed in the 1950s after a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic had killed most of the inmates.
In 1997, Tepelenë became a focal point for the uprising against Sali Berisha
Sali Berisha
Sali Ram Berisha is an Albanian politician and cardiologist, currently the Prime Minister of Albania and the leader of Democratic Party of Albania ....
's government. A people's committee took charge of the town in March 1997 and released opposition politician, Fatos Nano
Fatos Nano
Fatos Thanas Nano is an Albanian economist who was Prime Minister of Albania during several periods, the first leader of the Socialist Party of Albania, and member of the Albanian Parliament from 1991 to 1996 and 1997 to 2009...
, from the local prison. The movement spread immediately to Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...
where weapons were distributed from Tepelenë.
The local mineral water plant is an important and successful local enterprise.
The football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club is SK Tepelena
SK Tepelena
Sportklub Tepelena is an Albanian football club based on Tepelenë, founded in 1945. Their home ground is "Karafil Muço Stadium" .The team currently played in Albanian Second Division Group B.-Current squad:...
.
Notable people
- Ali PashaAli PashaAli Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...
- Foto StrakoshaFoto StrakoshaFotaq "Foto" Strakosha is a retired Albanian goalkeeper. Strakosha is one of Albania's most popular and greatest goalkeepers who captained the national team for a number of years before his retirement in 2005...
, soccer player AlbaniaAlbania national football teamThe Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
capped - Muhedin TargajMuhedin TargajMuhedin Targaj is a retired Albanian football player and manager.Targaj played for KS Dinamo Tirana from 1973 to 1987, winning five Albanian Superliga championships....
, soccer player AlbaniaAlbania national football teamThe Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
capped - Isuf KaloIsuf KaloIsuf Kalo is an Albanian doctor, and Professor of Medicine.Born in Tepelenë, Albania, he finished the Faculty of Medicine in Tirana University in 1964. He is specialized in several countries of Europe in diabetology and endocrinology. He is one of the pioneers of this specialty in Albania...
, notable physician, personal doctor of Enver HoxhaEnver HoxhaEnver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania... - Gramoz RuçiGramoz RuçiGramoz Ruçi is an Albanian politician, serving as the head of the parliamentarian group of the opposition.-Early life:Gramoz Ruçi was born in 1952 in Salari, a village in Tepelenë District, in southern Albania. He graduated in Chemistry, and started to work as a teacher in Progonat. There, he met...
, head of the Parliamentary Socialist Group - Valentina Leskaj, former Minister of Work and Social Welfare
- Hamza Zeka, Private businessman
- Tafil BuziTafil BuziTafil Buzi was an Albanian leader and fighter, known for his role in various rebellions against Ottoman government in South Albania during the Albanian Revolts of 1833-1839. During his activity he had relations with Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Greek politicians. For his continuous conspiracies he...
, leader of the Albanian Revolts of 1833-39.