Abstract
The history of the provincial Dryinoupoleos and the emersion of which was always compared to that of Old Epirus and the rest of Greece, since this province was an inextricable part of Epirus up until 1913, when the greater forces took advantage of Greek government’s weakness and apathy during that period of time, to proceed to divide and section out the age-longed Greek area, as a free and enslaved colony of Greeks end Greeks of National Greek origin as a minority of Albania. The province name Dryinoupoleos comes from a homonym of an Ancient Greek city named Drys or Dryinoupolis, the city of Oak, which got the name from Augustus Caesar after 27 A.C. while Ieroclieus, in his book of prayers named this city among the 12 of those recognized in Old Epirus. Specifically in this province there is the well known Dryiniko mountain and the Drynos river that runs through that area. During the Ottoman Empire, the eparchy and their respectable hierarchs, regardless of some unfair omissions, they w ...
The history of the provincial Dryinoupoleos and the emersion of which was always compared to that of Old Epirus and the rest of Greece, since this province was an inextricable part of Epirus up until 1913, when the greater forces took advantage of Greek government’s weakness and apathy during that period of time, to proceed to divide and section out the age-longed Greek area, as a free and enslaved colony of Greeks end Greeks of National Greek origin as a minority of Albania. The province name Dryinoupoleos comes from a homonym of an Ancient Greek city named Drys or Dryinoupolis, the city of Oak, which got the name from Augustus Caesar after 27 A.C. while Ieroclieus, in his book of prayers named this city among the 12 of those recognized in Old Epirus. Specifically in this province there is the well known Dryiniko mountain and the Drynos river that runs through that area. During the Ottoman Empire, the eparchy and their respectable hierarchs, regardless of some unfair omissions, they were the lever that brought together the Greek population of the area and were accountable for their education. The contribution or benefit of having many Monarchies and very thorough education resulted in the predomination of Orthodoxy and Hellenism throughout the entire province, with the exception of some villages in the Liambouria area which was part of Kourbelesiou. Though in the province of Dryinoupoleos, there weren’t distinct efforts made against the Turkish rule, there was a strong participation in the battle of 1821 where the residents of this province were distinguished for their heroism and their achievements. With the establishment of the Greek State, a vast majority of Hellenics remained outside its borders, including the province of Dryinoupoleos, but they never ceased to be in close contact with Greek Hellenics. This exclusion leads to the need to search for a better way of life, so emigration was the best solution, in some cases by force, for others through cohesion of authorities. The outcome of this situation resulted in the dispersion of the population of this province. The reason for the forced mass emigration of this province was in order to enforce and re-justify native Helenicism rather than to unite the Greek population of Dryinoupoleos. It must be underlined that many personalities and intellectuals of this era increased the spirit of Greece by their strong presence in various fields of public life. Some became famous and renowned, many though remain unknown because they weren’t included in the free Greek state in accordance with the order of 1843 in the Antipatriotic Act which whether native or not divided the Greeks into two separate categories and continues to do so even up until today, but from another perspective. This result in depriving creative development from very early on end even up to the development of the Greek State. In the beginning of the 20th century, this remaining Greek population who was neglected up to a certain point from the official Greek nation, managed to regain momentum and confidence to reconstitute and prepare the grounds for freedom. Despite the acquisition in 1914, the Greek occupation and the liberation in 1940 failed to accomplish the desired result which is none other than to be reunited with the motherland, Greece. In conclusion, the century old dream was refuted, repeatedly, hence the native Greeks and the majority of Albanian speaking Greeks continued to show admirable endurance until the final vindication. The main brunt of the war targeted the church of Mitropolis and Education, starting from the Italian rule and continuing through the 20th century. This resulted in the complete repeal of the Orthodox faith as for its functional purposes; however it was never possible to completely eradicate the deep Cristian faith of that area. A severe blow for the province of Dryinoupoleos was fighting Greek Education from which it was dependent on the continuation and conservation of ideals of our Genus. The final blow came with the annexation of Argyrokastrou in Albania and the non recognition of the bilingual areas as a National Greek Minority. In recognized areas, Greek education in schools was maintained, as far as the language was concerned, however, the nature of education which moulds one’s character was not. The most dramatic points in all of Dryinoupoleos history were imprisonment, exile, religious repeal, the Albanization of Education and forced emigration throughout the 20th century.
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