Brataj is a village and a former

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

Vlorë County Vlorë County (; ) is one of the 12 counties of Albania with the city of Vlorë being the county capital. The county spans and has a total population of 146,681 people as of 2023. It borders the counties of Fier and Gjirokastër, as well as th ...

, southwestern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality

Selenicë Selenicë ( "Selițcă") is a municipality in Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Armen, Brataj, Kotë, Selenicë, Sevaster and Vllahinë, that bec ...

. The population at the 2011 census was 2,849. The municipal unit consists of the villages Brataj, Lepenicë, Gjorm, Velçë, Ramicë, Mesaplik, Matogjin, Bashaj, Vërmik and Malas.

History

The etymology of Brataj may come from the

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

word for brother “brat”, if this is the case the place name would’ve appeared during one of the time periods the Slavs invaded/ ruled over Albania in history. In June 1847 Albanian representatives from Lalëria,

Toskëria Southern Albania () is one of the three NUTS-2 Regions of Albania. It consists of five counties: Berat, Fier, Gjirokastër, Korçë and Vlorë. Combined, they have a population of 700,000 as of the 2023 census. The southwestern part of the c ...

Labëria Labëria is a historic region that is roughly situated in southwestern Albania. Its inhabitants are known as Labs (referred to as , pl. ''Lebër'', also dial. sing. ''Lap'') and its boundaries reach from Vlorë to Himara in the south, to the Gr ...

and

Çamëria Chameria (; , ''Tsamouriá'') is a term used today mostly by Albanians to refer to parts of the coastal region of Epirus in southern Albania and Greece, traditionally associated with the Albanian ethnic subgroup of the Chams.Elsie, Robert and Be ...

met in the village of Mesaplik reacting to the reforms of the Ottoman Empire (

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

).La Ligue albanaise de Prizen 1878-1881: discours et exposés tenus à l'occasion de son centenaire Author Zëri i popullit Publisher Académie des sciences de la RPS d'Albanie , Insitut d'historie 1978 p.68 The event known in Albanian as ''Kuvendimi I Mesaplikut'', highlighted that Albanians – Christians or Muslims – are one and undivided, calling on all without exception to go to war against the Ottoman Empire. The assembly also declared that no taxes would be paid, that Albanians would not send any more soldiers to the Ottoman Empire, and that the new administration would not be accepted. This event led to the Albanian Revolt of 1847. In 1943 the Italian forces of the area were defeated in the

Battle of Gjorm The Battle of Gjorm () was a battle of the Albanian Resistance of World War II against the Kingdom of Italy. The battle took place on January 1–2, 1943, in the areas of Gjorm, Vranisht, Dukat, Tragjas and Tërbaç in south-western Albania. ...

by Balli Kombetar and their Colonel Franco Clementi was killed.

Notable people

Ahmet Myftar Ahmet Myftar Dede (also known as Ahmet Myftari or Ahmet Myftar Ahmataj, 1916–1980) was the 6th Dedebaba (or Kryegjysh) of the Bektashi Order in Islamic Sufi mysticism.Dedebaba Bektashi Dedebabate is the religious leadership of Bektashi Islam. The term ''Dedebaba'' comes from Turkish and means "The grandfather.'" The dedebabas () are the spiritual and religious leaders of the Bektashi community. Bektashis do not conside ...

of the

Bektashi Order Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

References

Former municipalities in Vlorë County Administrative units of Selenicë Villages in Vlorë County {{Vlorë-geo-stub