Zadrima is an ethnographic region situated in north-western Albania between the cities of Shkodra and Lezha, located left of the Lower Drin which eventually drains into the Adriatic Sea from near Lezha. Geography The Zadrima Plain includes villages and settlements administratively split between the modern Shkodra (Vau i Dejës Municipality) and Lezha (Lezhë Municipality) counties. The following belong under the Vau i Dejës Municipality: Laç Kovaç Vau i Dejës Mjeda Shelqet Naraç Kaç Shkjezë Pistull Paçram Kukël Plezhë Hajmel Dheu i Lehtë Nënshat While the settlements below come under the Lezhë Municipality: Krajnë Fishtë Troshan Baqël Blinisht Kodhel Dajç Kotërr Dragushë Mabë Gramsh Zojs Gjadër Piraj At the end of the eighteenth century, Zadrima came to also encompass the nearby villages of Vjerdha, Lisna, Gajtani, and Rragami. The settlements of the former Guri i Zi Municipality, located to the immediate north of Zadrima, are traditionally connected to Zadrima due to similarities in traditions, customs, and folk clothing. On the other hand, the villages of Kallmet i Vogël, Kallmet i Madh, and Rraboshta, which are a part of the southern Zadrima Plain, differ in their customs and traditions from the rest of the greater region. Zadrima can be further broken down into three main units: 1) The area bordering Mirdita, consisting of villages located on the foothills of the mountains separating the two major ethnographic regions (e.g., Troshan, Fishtë, Nënshat); 2) The villages established on the slopes of hills and mountains located within the core territory of Zadrima (e.g., Paçram, Pistull, Dajç); 3) The villages located on the open plains of Zadrima (e.g., Gramsh, Shelqet, Gjadër). History Zadrima is first recorded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by Byzantine princess and historian Anna Komnene who refers to the region as highly agricultural and the place of many battles between the Western and Eastern Roman empires. In 1281 the progenitor of the Dukagjini family, dux Gjin Tanushi (Ducam Ginium Tanuschium Albanensem), is recorded as ruling over portions of Zadrima, Guri i Zi (Montagne noire), Pulti, Sati, and lands around the Fan. Much of Zadrima and the adjacent territories between Lezha and the Fan would consequently be inherited by the Dukagjini, particularly the branch descending from Tanush II Dukagjini. Other than the Dukagjini, the noble families of the Blinishti and Zaharia also held lands in Zadrima. The Blinishti of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries initially held the lands between Gjadër in the west