Zadrima is first recorded in the twelfth century 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 and Mali i Shejtit to the east, Arst in the north and Ndërfanda in the south, with their centre in Blinisht. In the fifteenth century it is recorded that
Koja Zaharia had received lordship over
Sapa and
Dagnum from the papacy following his conversion to Roman Catholicism from Serbian Orthodoxy in 1414. The Zaharia would continue to rule over much of Zadrima during the medieval and often came into land disputes and conflicts with the Dukagjini whose influence had been primarily limited to Lezha and its environs. Zadrima and Lezha would eventually fall under Venetian occupation. The demographic history of Zadrima is one of heterogeneity and diversity in regards to geographic origins. The old population of the region, descended from the medieval inhabitants and communities of Zadrima, has largely diminished and represents a negligible percentage of modern families. For example, in the seventeenth century only a handful of native households remained in the village of Mjeda, such as that of
Lazër Mati Koja, who descended from the old Zaharia family through Koja's son,
Leka. The Ottoman occupation of the region resulted in mass depopulation and movement out of Zadrima, explaining the great reduction in the region's native population. From the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries onwards, Zadrima would come to be repopulated by a number of families and brotherhoods arriving from
Malësia. Examples include a number of the brotherhoods from
Gjatore, a quarter in Kallmet, whose ancestors arrived from
Vukël in
Kelmend, as well as the
Lazër-Ilaj of Pistull who are believed to have come from
Hoti. Numerous families from Mirdita and
Puka also settled in Zadrima due to their close proximity to the region, which offered better living conditions due to its lowland terrain. Migrations from other nearby territories would also take place, examples including the
Imeraj of Paçram who descend from the
Çelaj of
Bushat and the
Ranxa of Pistull who arrived from
Melgushë. ==See also==