Mat District

Mat District (Albanian: Rrethi i Matit) 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 1,028 km² (397 sq mi).^[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.

Mat District Rrethi i Matit
Former district
Coordinates: 41°34′N 20°1′E
Country	Albania
Dissolved	2000
Seat	Burrel
Area
• Total	1,028 km2 (397 sq mi)
Population  (2001)
• Total	61,906
• Density	60/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Administrative divisions

The district consisted of the following municipalities:^[2]

• Baz
• Burrel
• Derjan
• Gurrë
• Klos
• Komsi
• Lis
• Macukull
• Rukaj
• Suç
• Ulëz
• Xibër

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

• Zog of Albania, King of the Albanians
• Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire

Hereditary governors

	Name	Portrait	Birth and death	Reign started	Reign ended	Marriages	Succession right
1	Zogu Pasha [Zogu the Great]		?	?	?	Unknown wife
2	'Abdu'llah Bey Zogolli		?	?	?	Unknown wife	son of Zogu Pasha
3	Ahmad Bey Zogolli		?	?	?	Unknown wife	son of 'Abdu'llah Bey Zogolli
4	Mahmud Pasha Zogolli		?	?	?	Unknown wife [4 childs]	son of Ahmad Bey Zogolli
5	Xhelal Pasha Zogolli		?	?	?	Ruhijé Hanem [4 childs]	son of Mahmud Pasha Zogolli
6	Riza Zogolli		?	?	?	Never married	son of Xhelal Pasha Zogolli
7	Xhemal Pasha Zogu		1860 Castle Burgajet (Albania) – 1911	?	1911	Zenja Malika Khanum 1880 [1 child] Sadiya Khanum 1887 [8 childs]	brother of Riza Zogolli
8	Zog I		8 October 1895 Burgajet Castle (Ottoman Empire) – 9 April 1961 Suresnes (France) (aged 65)	1911	9 April 1961	Countess Geraldine Apponyi de Nagy-Apponyi April 1938 [1 child]	Son of Xhemal Pasha Zogu
9	Leka I		5 April 1939 Tirana – 30 November 2011 Tirana (aged 72)	9 April 1961	30 November 2011	Susan Cullen-Ward 1975 [1 child]	Son of Zog I
10	Leka II		26 March 1982 Johannesburg (South Africa) (age 34)	30 November 2011	Present	Elia Zaharia 2016	Son of Leka I

Gallery

• 
  Ottoman Bridge in Klos
• 
  Klos, Mat
• 
  King Zog monument in Burrel
• 
  Lake of Shkopet

References

1. Districts of Albania, statoids.com
2. "Portraits of poverty and inequality in Albania" (PDF). MM. Md ZOHANWorld Bank Group. 2016. pp. 33–40.
3. Anne., Schmitt, Oliver Jens, 1973- Frantz, Eva (2009). Albanische Geschichte : Stand und Perspektiven der Forschung. R. Oldenbourg Verlag. ISBN 978-3-486-58980-1. OCLC 895414194.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. Franz Babinger (January 1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Princeton University Press. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-691-01078-6. Retrieved 25 July 2013. ....his father, lord of the Matja district in Upper Albania...
5. John Musachi (2003). Early Albania: A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 53. ISBN 978-3-447-04783-8. Retrieved 26 July 2013. 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. Robert Elsie (24 December 2012). A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History. I.B.Tauris. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3. Retrieved 25 July 2013. 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