In antiquity, the Greek colony of
Apollonia was founded near the coast. The site of Apollonia lay on the territory of the
Taulantii, a cluster of Illyrian tribes that remained closely involved with the settlement for centuries and lived alongside the Greek colonists. The Taulantii controlled much of the plain of Myzeqe in classical antiquity. In the
Middle Ages, and was ruled by various Albanian noble families including the
Skuraj and
Muzaka families. At various times it was included in the
Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire, often with the local ruling families serving as vassals to the rulers of the realm. Plenty of
Slavic language toponyms are present in Myzeqe. In the late 13th century the area came under the rule of the officially Catholic and French-tied
Angevin Kingdom of Albania. At first, relations were bad between the kingdom's rulers and the local nobility, and at times the nobility, such Gjin Muzaka, collaborated with the Byzantines against the kingdom. However, over time the local house of Muzaka came to view the
Angevin royal family of Albania as their allies and protectors especially as the threat of
Serbian expansion increased, and became more loyal to them. They were given titles as the region became influenced by the
Western style of feudalism. At the same time, the Angevins allowed the local rulers to keep their Orthodox faith. In 1318,
Andrea I Muzaka became the first ever Orthodox Albanian to be the head general of the kingdom's army, and the Muzakas played a role in
King Charles' battles against the Serbs. In other conflicts, the Muzakas sided again with Byzantium, with
Andrea II Muzaka being honored for his service to the Byzantine cause in 1335 after defeating a Serbian army in the
Pelister mountains near
Bitola. The remnants of Byzantine control over the region collapsed during the 1341-1347 Byzantine civil war, creating an opportunity which was taken by the Serbian ruler Stefan Dushan, at the expense of the Kingdom of Albania. In the middle of the 14th century, the region was conquered by Stefan Dushan of Serbia, but it did not take long for the
Serbian Empire's control over the region to fragment as the local families reasserted control. Four decades later, the
Battle of Savra (as one of the plains of Myzeqe was known in the Middle Ages) marked the ascendancy of the
Ottoman Empire in the region. In the 15th century, the Muzaka family and other local Albanian lords joined
Skanderbeg's
League of Lezhë to try to contain the growing dominance of the Ottomans, but after a long conflict, Myzeqe as well as wider Albania ended up decisively under Ottoman rule until the early 20th century. Some of the local Albanian rulers as well as some of the population ended up fleeing to foreign countries, but some of the rulers stayed and became integrated into the Ottoman power apparatus. In the 18th century,
Ali Pasha of Tepelene, ruled a large despotate spanning large swaths of Albania, Macedonia and Greece, and gained de facto independence for a time from the Ottoman power center. However, ultimately, Myzeqe as well as the rest of Southern Albania was once again brought back under Ottoman control. In the late Ottoman era, Myzeqeja had a high rate of
malaria, as was generally true of wetter areas in the wider region during that time. In 1835 the region rose in rebellion against the Ottoman government, the rebels took victory after victory but due to the corrupt leaders the rebellion failed. In 1837 the region rebelled again but it was quickly crushed by the Ottomans. In the 20th century, the region was included in newly independent Albania. The middle of the century brought massive changes to the region as large numbers of
Cham Albanian refugees from Greece were settled in it, and its wetlands were rapidly drained and industrialized under
Communism, turning it into the "granary" of Albania. == Population ==