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Lezhë

Coordinates:41°46′55″N19°38′40″E/ 41.78194°N 19.64444°E/41.78194; 19.64444
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This article is about the city in Albania. For other uses, seeLezhë (disambiguation).
Lezhë
Municipality
Photomontage of Lezhë
Flag of Lezhë
Flag
Official logo of Lezhë
Emblem
Lezhë is located in Albania
Lezhë
Lezhë
Coordinates:41°46′55″N19°38′40″E/ 41.78194°N 19.64444°E/41.78194; 19.64444
CountryAlbania
CountyLezhë
Settled4th century BC
Government
•MayorPjerin Ndreu[1](PS)
Area
• Municipality509.1 km2(196.6 sq mi)
Population
(2011)
• Municipality
65,633
• Municipality density130/km2(330/sq mi)
• Municipal unit
15,510
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+2(CEST)
Postal Code
4500
Area Code(0)215
Websitelezha.gov.al

Lezhë(Albanian:[ˈlɛˈʒə],Albaniandefinite form:Lezha) is acityin theRepublic of Albaniaand seat ofLezhë Countyand Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania'scontinuously inhabited cities,[2]with roughly 2,400 years ofrecorded history.

One of the main strongholds of theLabeatai,[3]the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typicalIllyrianconstruction and are dated to the late 4th century BC.[4]Lezhë was one of the main centres of theIllyrian kingdom.[5]During the conflicts withMacedon,it was captured byPhilip Vbecoming the Macedonian outlet to theAdriatic Sea.[6]The city was later recovered by the Illyrians. It was subjected toRomeafter theRoman-Illyrian warsand the fall ofGentius' realm.[5]Lezhë was the site of theLeague of LezhëwhereSkanderbegunited theAlbanian lordsin the fight against theOttoman Empire.

Name

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The city is mentioned in ancient sources asLissós(Ancient Greek:Λισσός) andLissus(Latin:Lissus,Lissum).[7]It is also attested innumismaticmaterial. TheethniconΛΙΣΣΙΤΑΝLissitanis found on coin inscriptions of the Hellenistic era. It is considered a Greek toponym, deriving from the Greek λισσός'lissós,meaning 'smooth, smooth rock, gruff'.[8]

The ancient nameLissusevolved into its modern formLezhë(archaic:Lesh[7]) throughAlbaniansound changes.[9]InTurkish,the town is known asLeşorEşimand inItalianasAlessio.Lezhë is also known asAlise,Alexiensis,Eschenderari,orMrtav.[10]

History

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Early history

[edit]
The Iron Age fortification was built on the Mal i Shëlbuemit (413 m high,right), called laterAcrolissus;the proper city ofLissuswas built on an adjacent hill (172 m high,left).[11]

From the early Mycenaean period (1600-1450 BC) a free exchange pattern is confirmed with the centres ofMycenaean Greeceas seen by various swords (C and D type) unearthed in Lezhë.[12]The earliest human constructions have anIllyriancharacter and appear on the site from the LateBronze Ageand EarlyIron Age.[13]The settlement with its fortifications was built on a 413-metre-high mountain, theMal i Shëlbuemit,from at least the 8th century BC,[14]and was located near the mouth of theDrin river.[15]

Lezhë Castleon the 172 m hill.
Ruins of Hellenistic fortification walls built during the Illyrian urban period.

In antiquity the area was described as the territory of theIllyriitribe (the "Illyrians proper";Ancient Greek:Ἰλλυριοί,Illyrioi;Latin:IllyriiorIllyrii propriae dicti).[16]

Diodorus( "Library", 15.1,c.1st century BC) mentions thatDionysius of Syracusefounded a "city calledLissos"in the year 385 BC,[17]as part of a strategy by Dionysius to secure Syracusan trade routes along theAdriatic.[18]Diodorus calls it apolis.[19]It has been suggested that theSyracusancolony mentioned by Diodorus was in fact more likely established atIssanear the island ofPharos,not at Lissus (modern Lezhë) which was too distant for the events described by the ancient historian. Meanwhile, Issa is known from other evidence to be a Syracusan foundation.[20][21][22]Except Diodorus' account there is nothing to connect Lissos with Syracuse, and according to Pierre Cabanes even if Diodorus' account is accepted as accurate, it is very likely that this colony had a short life.[20]

The earliest of the fortification walls of the proto-urban settlement are of typical Illyrian construction and are dated to the late 4th century BC.[23]The transition from the Iron Age fortification of Acrolissus (on the 413 mShëlbuemmountain) to the proper Illyrian city of Lissus was continuous. The city was built on a lower hill (172 m) near the Iron Age fortification.[11]It was surrounded by ramparts that faced the low valley of the Drin river and the sea coast. Its function was to guard the route inland, to ensure defense against possible attacks from the sea, and to furnish a secure anchorage for the Illyrian ships.[15]

By the 3rd century BC, Lissus was one of the main cities of theIllyrian kingdomunder theArdiaeanandLabeatandynasties.[5]In the 228 BC peace treaty with Rome, the Illyrian queenTeutapromised not to sail south of Lissus at the mouth of the Drin river with more than twolembi(Illyrian light ships), even those had to be unarmed.[24]But when Rome was engaged in a war against theCelticpeoples of thePo Valleyin northernItalyabout the years 225–222 BC, Illyrian commanderDemetriusdetached theAtintanitribe from their alliance with Rome. Moreover, he sailed south of Lissus and engaged in piracy in violation of the 228 BC peace treaty. In the summer of 221 BC, tensions inGreeceincreased asMacedoniaallied with theAchaean Leagueagainst theAetolian League,and the Illyrians attacked in their typical manner. Demetrius andScerdilaidassailed with 90lembisouth of Lissus. When they failed an assault onPylos(westernPeloponnese), they separated their fleets and Scerdilaidas returned north with 40 ships, while Demetrius plundered theCycladeswith 50 ships.[25]

In Roman times Lissus was located in a territory inhabited by theLabeatae,however ancient sources never relate it with this tribe. Taking in account archaeological and historical considerations, the city of Lissus should have been founded in a Labeatan context, but perhaps by the time of Teuta's fall in the end of the 3rd century BC, on a Greek model it was organized as apolisturning away from its ethnic context.[26]The dissociation from the ethnic to thepoliscoincided withPhilip V of Macedon's conquest of a number of cities in Illyria.[27]In 211 BC, Philip V captured Acrolissus, thecitadelofLissus,and Lissos surrendered to him,[28]becoming the Macedonian outlet to theAdriatic Sea.[20]The town was later recovered by the Illyrians. It was in Lissus thatPerseus of Macedonnegotiated an alliance against Rome with the Illyrian kingGentius,and it was from Lissus that Gentius organized his army against the Romans. Lissus maintained a large degree of municipal autonomy under both Macedonian and Illyrian rule, as evidenced by the coins minted there.[29]During the reign ofGentiusin the first half of the 2nd century BC, Lissus minted coins for the Illyrian ruler.[30]The city was of some importance in the Roman Civil War, being taken by Marc Antony[31]and then remaining loyal to Caesar. In Roman times, the city was part of the province ofEpirus Nova,[32]

Middle Ages

[edit]
The grave ofSkanderbegandLezhë Castleon its hill. The structure was the formerSelimie Mosque.

During the reign ofJustinian I(527-565) the local fortress was possibly mentioned asAlistionin theSynecdemus of Hierocles.[33]At early 590s Lissus was captured by Slavic populations.[34]Byzantinecontrol was re-established during the early 9th century.[35]

Albanian lordVladislav Jonimaof theJonima familywas acknowledged by the Pope as a ruler of a territory around Lezhë in 1319. He had the title ofCount of Dioclea and of the seaside Albania.[36]At the end of the 14th century, Albanian lordDhimitër Jonimawas lord of a territory betweenMatand Lezhë.[37]

In the Middle Ages, Lezha (known in Italian as Alessio) frequently changed masters until the Venetians took possession of it in 1386. It still belonged to them when Skanderbeg died, but In 1478 it fell into the hands of Turks during thesiege of Shkodra,except for a short period (1501–1506) when it returned to Venetian domination.[10]Because it was under the Venetian control, it was chosen in 1444 byGjergj Kastrioti Skanderbegas a neutral place for the convention of Albanian nobles and lords of the area aiming at organizing their common defence against the Turks.[38]

Lezha was the site of theLeague of LezhëwhereSkanderbegunited theAlbanian princesin the fight against theOttoman Empire.

Skanderbeg was buried in the cathedral of Lezhë which was dedicated toSaint Nicholasand later used asSelimie Mosque.

Contemporary

[edit]

Today Lezhë is a growing city. Its proximity to the port of Shëngjin as well as its location on the national road between the Montenegrin border to the North and Tirana to the South makes it an attractive location for industry and business.

Geography

[edit]
View over Lezhë and theAlbanian Adriatic Sea Coastin the distance.

Lezhë Municipalitylies withinLezhë Countyas part of theNorthern Region of Albaniaand consists of the adjacent administrative units ofBalldren,Blinisht,Dajç,Kallmet,Kolsh,Shëngjin,Shënkoll,Ungrej,Zejmenwith Lezhë constituting the municipal seat.[39][40][41]The municipality spans between thePlain of Zadrimain the north, the Pukë-Mirditë Highlands in the east, the mouth of theMat Riverin the south and theAlbanian Adriatic Sea Coastin the west.[42]It covers 509.1 km2.[39][43]

Climate

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As of theKöppen climate classification,Lezhë falls under the periphery of thehot-summer Mediterranean climate(Csa) zone with an average annual temperature of 14.6 °C (58.3 °F).[44]

Climate data for Lezhë
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.1
(50.2) 		11.7
(53.1) 		15.0
(59.0) 		18.9
(66.0) 		23.9
(75.0) 		27.6
(81.7) 		31.0
(87.8) 		30.9
(87.6) 		27.2
(81.0) 		21.6
(70.9) 		16.1
(61.0) 		11.7
(53.1) 		20.5
(68.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 1.8
(35.2) 		3.0
(37.4) 		5.2
(41.4) 		8.8
(47.8) 		13.0
(55.4) 		14.7
(58.5) 		18.5
(65.3) 		18.2
(64.8) 		15.2
(59.4) 		10.9
(51.6) 		7.0
(44.6) 		4.2
(39.6) 		10.0
(50.1)
Averageprecipitationmm (inches) 165
(6.5) 		143
(5.6) 		129
(5.1) 		118
(4.6) 		87
(3.4) 		60
(2.4) 		36
(1.4) 		52
(2.0) 		104
(4.1) 		136
(5.4) 		191
(7.5) 		179
(7.0) 		1,400
(55)
Average rainy days 13 12 13 13 10 8 5 6 8 10 14 13 125
Averagerelative humidity(%) 74 71 69 69 68 64 59 61 68 71 75 75 69
Mean monthlysunshine hours 130.2 130 173.6 201 269.7 306 362.7 322.4 258 207.7 138 117.8 2,617.1
Mean dailysunshine hours 4.2 4.6 5.6 6.7 8.7 10.2 11.7 10.4 8.6 6.7 4.6 3.8 7.2
Source:Weather2visit[45]

Infrastructure

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There are urban buses throughout the city and international and national buses. Lezhe has a train station not far from the center. The line starts inDurrësand ends inShkodër.It is functional but not frequently.

The main highway in Lezhe isSH 1,connecting it withShkodërto the north and theDurrës-Kukës Highway(A1, intersection atMilot) to the south. The SH32 connects Lezhe withShëngjinon the coast.

Demography

[edit]

The population of the municipality of Lezhë at the 2011 census was 65,633,[a]of which 15,510 in the city proper.[46]

Culture

[edit]

Theassociation footballclub isKS Besëlidhja Lezhë.Although primarily concerned with football andbasketball,KS Besëlidhja also participates in sports such aswrestlingandbeach volleyball.

From 2004 an excavation started around the ancient Acropolis of Lissos and the Skanderbeg Memorial, which revealed Hellenistic, Roman and Early Byzantine buildings, tombs and other findings.[47]

Notable people

[edit]
[edit]


  • The Nënë Tereza court in Lezhë
    The Nënë Tereza court in Lezhë
  • The Grumbullimi court in Lezhë
    The Grumbullimi court in Lezhë
  • The Besëlidhja court in Lezhë
    The Besëlidhja court in Lezhë
  • The Skanderbeg tomb in Lezhë with the fortress of Lezhë and some residential houses in the background
    The Skanderbeg tomb in Lezhë with the fortress of Lezhë and some residential houses in the background
  • The mountain in Lezhë
    The mountain in Lezhë
  • The fortress of Lezhë
    The fortress of Lezhë
  • View of the city of Lezhë from the fortress
    View of the city of Lezhë from the fortress
  • Aerial view of Lezhë
    Aerial view of Lezhë

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^The population of the municipality results from the sum of the administrative units in the former as of the2011 Albanian census.[39]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Kryetari i Bashkisë"(in Albanian). Bashkia Lezhë.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2021.Retrieved8 November2021.
  2. ^Sedlar 2013,p. 111.
  3. ^Waterfield 2014,p. 49.
  4. ^Stylianou 1998,p. 194.
  5. ^abcShehi 2015,p. 34.
  6. ^Cabanes 2008,p. 177;Shehi 2015,p. 34
  7. ^abGaffiot 1934,p. 915:"Lissus".
  8. ^Lippert & Matzinger 2021,p. 132.
  9. ^Katičić 1976,p. 186.
  10. ^abCatholic Encyclopedia, article "Alessio (Lissus, Alexiensis)"
  11. ^abShpuza 2014,p. 118;Shehi 2015,p. 34
  12. ^Bejko, Lorenc (2002)."Mycenaean Presence and Influence in Albania".Greek Influence Along the East Adriatic Coast.Kniževni Krug: 12.ISBN9789531631549.Retrieved4 April2020.The variety of C and D type swords reported from central and northern Albania (Mat river valley, Lezhë, Shkodër), and their provenience from burial contexts, confirm the free exchange pattern with the Mycenaean centers of this part of the country, as in the early Mycenaean period.
  13. ^Shpuza 2014,pp. 106, 116, 118: "All the sites described above are situated in the Lowlands of Shkodra, in small hills, which create a protection system of all the area. A similar fortification can be found also at Akrolissos, [...] The chronological framework for the dating of such fortifications is the Final Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age."
  14. ^Elsie 2010,p. 272.
  15. ^abWilkes 1992,p. 135;Cabanes 2008,p. 177
  16. ^Matijašić 2011,p. 299;Boardman & Sollberger 1982,pp. 628–629
  17. ^Wilkes & Fischer-Hansen 2004,p. 325: "In 385 Dionysios of Syracuse assisted the Parians to establish a settlement on Pharos, having already sent a colony to the Adriatic and founded “a city called Lissos” (no. 82) (Diod. 15.13.4). "p.332:" Lissos was founded shortly before 385 by Dionysios I [...] on the steep slope of a hill, modern Lezha [...] a site already occupied by Illyrian settlers. "
  18. ^Evans, A., Destani, B.,Ancient Illyria, an archeological exploration.IB Tauris, 2007. p. 276.
  19. ^Wilkes & Fischer-Hansen 2004,p. 332.
  20. ^abcCabanes 2008,p. 177.
  21. ^Wilkes 1992,p. 115: "It has been proposed that it was this place [Issa] and not Lissus far to the south at the mouth of the Drin from which help came to the Greeks on Pharos, since Issa lies only 25 miles away."
  22. ^Wilkes & Fischer-Hansen 2004,p. 325: "The place from which Dionysios’ fleet came could be the later Illyrian fortress of Lissos (Lezhe) at the mouth of the river Drin in northern Albania, which has an impressive circuit of late Hellenistic masonry fortifications, but is more likely to be in fact the other Greek colony in the area, Issa (Vis) on the island of the same name and known from other evidence to be a Syracusan foundation."
  23. ^Wilkes 1992,p. 135;Cabanes 2008,p. 177;Stylianou 1998,p. 194;Shehi 2015,p. 34
  24. ^Wilkes 1992,pp. 161–162;Errington 1989,pp. 89–90
  25. ^Wilkes 1992,pp. 162–163;Errington 1989,pp. 91–92
  26. ^Papadopoulos 2016,p. 382.
  27. ^Shpuza 2017,p. 43.
  28. ^Polybius 8.13-14
  29. ^Arthur Evans (2007).Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration.I.B.Tauris. p. 276.ISBN9781845111670.
  30. ^Shpuza 2014,p. 122.
  31. ^Plutarch (1920).Life of Antony.Loeb Classical Edition. p. 7.4.
  32. ^Epirus Vetus: The Archaeology of a Late Antique Province (Duckworth Archaeology) by William Bowden, 2003,ISBN0-7156-3116-0,2003, page 233, of Lissus in Epirus Nova
  33. ^Winnifrith, Tom (2002).Badlands, Borderlands: A History of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania.Duckworth. p. 75.ISBN978-0-7156-3201-7.Also for Justinian's reign there survives a catalogue of towns in the Empire, the Synecdemus of Hierocles. "" In Epirus Nova we find Apollonia, Byllis, Amantia, Pulcheropolis (Berat), Aulon (Vlore), Lychnidus (Ohrid) and the unknown Alistion, possible the modern Lezhe, and Skepton
  34. ^Pohl, Walter (2018).The Avars: A Steppe Empire in Central Europe, 567–822.Cornell University Press. p. 149.ISBN978-1-5017-2940-9.
  35. ^Curta, Florin (2019).Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages (500-1300) (2 vols).BRILL. p. 308.ISBN978-90-04-39519-0.The fortress in Lezhe farther to the north along the coast of the Adriatic Sea, was reoccupied in the early 9th century
  36. ^Schmitt, Oliver Jens(2001),Das venezianische Albanien (1392-1479),München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH München, p. 87,ISBN3-486-56569--9,Vladislav Jonima, als Zupan, später als „Graf von Dioclea und Küstenalbanien "
  37. ^Anamali, Skënder; Prifti (2002) (in Albanian). Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime. Botimet Toena.ISBN99927-1-622-3p. 267
  38. ^Schmitt Jens O.(2009) Skanderbeg, Der neue Alexander auf dem Balkan, Verlag Friedrich Pustet, pp. 55,56
  39. ^abc"Pasaporta e Bashkisë Lezhë"(in Albanian). Porta Vendore.Archivedfrom the original on 8 November 2021.Retrieved8 November2021.
  40. ^"A new Urban–Rural Classification of Albanian Population"(PDF).Instituti i Statistikës(INSTAT). May 2014. p. 15. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 14 November 2019.Retrieved8 November2021.
  41. ^"Law nr. 115/2014"(PDF)(in Albanian). pp. 6373–6374.Retrieved25 February2022.
  42. ^"Strategjia Territoriale Bashkia Lezhë"(PDF)(in Albanian). Bashkia Lezhë. p. 10. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 8 December 2020.Retrieved8 December2020.
  43. ^"Bashkia Lezhë"(in Albanian). Albanian Association of Municipalities (AAM).Archivedfrom the original on 8 November 2021.Retrieved8 November2021.
  44. ^"Climate: Lezhë".Climate-Data.Archivedfrom the original on 12 May 2019.Retrieved8 November2021.
  45. ^"Lezhë monthly weather averages".weather2visit.Retrieved23 February2024.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  46. ^Nurja, Ines."Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave/ Population and Housing Census–Lezhë (2011)"(PDF).Tirana:Institute of Statistics(INSTAT). p. 84.Archived(PDF)from the original on 27 March 2020.Retrieved8 November2021.
  47. ^Karl-Franzens Universitat, Lissus excavation report 2004.Archived2011-06-29 at theWayback Machine

Bibliography

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