Poliçan, Gjirokastër
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Poliçan Πολύτσανη |
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|---|---|
| Village | |
 Poliçan
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| Coordinates: 40°7′53″N 20°21′2″E / 40.13139°N 20.35056°ECoordinates: 40°7′53″N 20°21′2″E / 40.13139°N 20.35056°E | |
| Country |
 Albania
|
| County | Gjirokastër |
| Municipality | Dropull |
| Administrative Unit | Pogon |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
Poliçan (Greek: Πολύτσανη, Polytsani) is a village in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Dropull. It is within the wider Pogoni region that stretches in both Greece and Albania. Poliçan was the municipal center of the former Pogon municipality in Albania. It is nicknamed "the Bride of the Pogoni region".
In classical antiquity the region was inhabited by the Chaonians, one of the three major Greek tribes that inhabited ancient Epirus. Polican was identified with the Chaonian settlement Politeiani (Greek: Πολιτειανή) also known as Polyani (Greek: Πολυανή). The name appears to be borrowed from the nearby mountain Polyainos. Ancient coins depicting Alexander the Great have been unearthed in Poliçan.
The ancient name has changed to the present form (Polyts(i)ani) during the Slavic invasion (7th-8th century). In the late Byzantine period (11th-15th century) two Christian Orthodox monasteries were erected next to Polican. After the Fall of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade (1204), Polican became part of the Greek Despotate of Epirus and refuge for various Byzantine noble families.
At the period of Ottoman occupation, that started in mid-15th century, Polican enjoyed a privileged semi-autonomous status which led to economic and cultural flourishing. The settlement was included in the Koinon of Zagori, although geographically it was not part of the Zagori region, but belonged to the Pogoni villages.
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