The Albanian name mat originally meant "elevated location", "mountain place". Today's meaning in Albanian, "river bank, river shore", is a consequence of a secondary change through the common use of both the terms mal, "mountain" and breg, "shore", giving the meaning of "elevation". The river Mat was recorded by Roman writer Vibius Sequester (4th or 5th century AD) as Mathis, following a hellenized graphic mode of the term mat.[4] It appeared in written records also as Mathia in 1380.[5]Historical linguistic considerations suggest that Mat and the surrounding regions, including Mirdita, have been among the oldest settlements of the Albanians after their ethnogenesis, which is considered to have been completed between the 2nd and the 5th–6th centuries AD.[6]
Overview
Lake Ulza in the northern Mat valley
The municipality is located on the middle part of the Mat river's course. It encompasses the northern part of the former Mat District; the southern part is now part of Klos. The territory is largely composed of mountains and hills, which has only been opened up by National Road 6, which links the town of Milot with Peshkopi.
The area is bounded by mountain ranges to the east and west. The Mat river is dammed in two locations in the area, forming Lake Ulzë and the smaller Lake Shkopet. The municipality also contains a part of the Zall Gjoçaj National Park.
A notable figure of Mat is King Zog of Albania, born in Burgajet, a village in northern Mat.
Matzinger, Joachim (2009). "Shqiptarët si pasardhës të ilirëve nga këndvështrimi i gjuhësisë historike". In Schmitt, Oliver Jens; Frantz, Eva Anne (eds.). Historia e Shqiptarëve: Gjendja dhe perspektivat e studimeve (in Albanian). Translated by Pandeli Pani and Artan Puto. Botime Përpjekja. ISBN978-99943-0-254-3.
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