Albanian history dates back to the 4th century BC, and there are early traces of Illyria in Greco-Roman historiography. The territory that is now Albania was under Roman (Byzantine) dominion until the Slavs began to overrun it in the 7th century, and the Bulgarian Empire took it over in the 9th century.
During the Middle and Upper Paleolithic eras, the first indications of human presence in Albania were found in the settlements of Xarr, near Sarand, and Mount Dajt, near Tiran. Flint and jasper items, as well as fossilized animal bones, were unearthed in a cave near Xarr, while bone and stone tools similar to those employed by the Aurignacian culture were uncovered in Mount Dajt. Albania’s Paleolithic finds are strikingly similar to those from Crvena Stijena in Montenegro and north-western Greece.
Antiquity
In ancient times, a variety of Illyrian tribes dominated the territory that is now Albania. Illyria was the name of the territory, which roughly corresponded to the area east of the Adriatic Sea to the mouth of the Vjos river in the south. The first account of the Illyrian tribes may be found in Periplus of the Euxine Sea, an ancient Greek treatise written in the middle of the fourth century BC. The Chaonians, whose headquarters were at Phoenice, ruled the south, while Greek city-states on the coast established colonies such as Apollonia, Epidamnos, and Amantia by the 7th century BC.
The Ardiaei were a powerful tribe that ruled across modern-day Albania. The Ardiaen Kingdom reached its pinnacle under Agron, son of Pleuratus II. Agron’s influence was further extended to neighboring tribes. After Agron’s death in 230 BC, Teuta, Agron’s wife, inherited the Ardiaean kingdom. Teuta’s forces pushed their operations southward into the Ionian Sea. In 229 BC, Rome declared war on Illyria for plundering Roman ships. The Illyrians were beaten in 227 BC. In 181 BC, Gentius took Teuta’s seat. Gentius fought for the Romans in 168 BC, beginning off the Third Illyrian War. The conflict concluded in Roman victory and the end of Illyrian independence in 167 BC. The Romans divided the country into three administrative divisions after his defeat.
Middle Ages
The territory that is now Albania was under Roman (Byzantine) dominion until the Slavs began to overrun it in the 7th century, and the Bulgarian Empire took it over in the 9th century. The Serbian Principality seized control of areas of modern-day Albania when the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire were conquered in the middle and late 13th century. In general, the invaders in what would become Albania destroyed or damaged Roman and Byzantine cultural establishments.
The Principality of Arbr and the Kingdom of Albania formed the geographical core of the Albanian state in the Middle Ages. The Principality of Arbr or Albanon (Albanian: Arbr or Arbria) was the first Albanian state in the Middle Ages, created in 1190 in the Kruja region by archon Progon. Progon, the kingdom’s founder, was succeeded by his sons Gjin and Dhimitri, the latter of whom ascended to the throne. The principality fell to the Greek Gregory Kamonas Lord or Prince (archon) of Kruj after the death of Dhimiter, the last of the Progon family, and then to Golem.
In 1255, the Principality was disbanded. Arbanon was the oldest sketch of a “Albanian state,” according to Pipa and Repishti, and it retained semi-autonomous status at the western extremity of an empire (under the Doukai of Epirus or the Laskarids of Nicaea). In 1271, Charles of Anjou established the Kingdom of Albania in the Albanian territory he had taken over from the Despotate of Epirus. He was declared “King of Albania” in February 1272, with a realm extending from Durrs (previously known as Dyrrhachium) south along the coast to Butrint.
Following the formation of the kingdom, the papal goals to spread Catholicism across the Balkans were given a strong basis by a Catholic administrative structure. Helen of Anjou, a cousin of Charles of Anjou, who reigned over territory in North Albania at the time, backed this plan as well. Approximately 30 Catholic churches and monasteries were built in North Albania and Serbia under her rule.
Between 1331 to 1355, the Serbian Empire struggled for control of Albania. Many Albanian principalities arose after the fall of the Serbian Empire, the most notable of which were the Balsha, Thopia, Kastrioti, Muzaka, and Arianiti. In the first half of the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire controlled the bulk of Albania. However, under the leadership of George Castrioti Skanderbeg (Albanian: Gjergj Kastrioti, Skenderbeu), Albania’s national hero, the Albanian kingdoms were united in 1444.
Ottoman Albania
At the time of the Ottoman Empire’s establishment, Southeast Europe’s geopolitical environment was characterized by scattered kingdoms of petty kings. By 1415, the Ottomans had built garrisons across southern Albania, and by 1431, they had conquered the nation in its entirety. However, in 1443, a massive and long-running uprising led by Albanian national hero Skanderbeg broke out, lasting until 1479 and defeating considerable Ottoman troops headed by sultans Murad II and Mehmed II on several occasions.
Skanderbeg became the sovereign Lord of Albania after first uniting the Albanian princes and then consolidating power over the bulk of the unconquered provinces. He also sought, but failed, to organize a European coalition against the Ottomans on many occasions. He thwarted every Turkish attempt to recover Albania, which the Turks saw as a launching pad for an assault on Italy and Western Europe. His valiant fight against Europe’s mightiest army garnered him the admiration of the continent, as well as financial and military support from Naples, the Papacy, Venice, and Ragusa. Islam was established as a third religion in Albania with the arrival of the Turks. As a consequence of this conversion, a considerable number of Albanians emigrated to Christian European countries. Muslim Albanians played an important role in the Ottoman Empire, with Bosniaks, as pillars of Ottoman policy in the Balkans.
With this privileged position in the empire, Muslim Albanians held a variety of high administrative positions, including over two dozen Grand Viziers of Albanian descent, including Gen. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, who led the Ottoman armies during the Ottoman-Persian Wars; Gen. Köprülü Fazl Ahmed, who led the Ottoman armies during the Austro-Turkish War; and, later, Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt.
Albanian towns were separated into four main sanjaks when the Ottomans established a stronghold in the region in the 15th century. The government fostered trade by building a large Jewish colony of immigrants fleeing persecution in Spain (at the end of the 15th century). Velvets, cotton products, mohairs, carpets, spices, and leather were among the imported items from Europe that came via Vlor’s ports from Bursa and Constantinople.
Albanians were also key military and administrative retainers in Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, and the Maghreb. The Devşirme system was blamed in part for this. Beginning with the arrival of the Ottomans in the 14th century, the process of Islamization was slow (to this day, a minority of Albanians are Catholic or Orthodox Christians, though the vast majority became Muslim). Timar owners, who formed the foundation of early Ottoman rule in Southeast Europe, were not necessarily Muslims and sometimes rebelled; Skanderbeg is the most famous of these rebels (his figure would rise up later on, in the 19th century, as a central component of the Albanian national identity). The most significant influence on Albanians was the gradual Islamization of the great majority of the population, which began in the 17th century and ended in the 18th century.
The bulk of Catholics converted in the 17th century, followed by Orthodox Albanians in the next century. The new religion had expanded to the countryside by this time, having been first limited to the main urban cities of Elbasan and Shkoder. According to several experts, conversion motivations differed depending on the situation. A lack of source material is not helpful when investigating such issues.
Albania was a province of the Ottoman Empire until 1912, when it declared independence.
Era of nationalism and League of Prizren
The League of Prizren was created on June 1, 1878, in Prizren, Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. The League of Prizren, whose basic attitude was founded on the religious unity of Muslim landowners and Ottoman administrative officials, was first supported by the Ottoman government. The Ottomans pushed for the security of Muslim areas, including modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, and supported and safeguarded Muslim unity. The League is known as The Committee of the Real Muslims because of this (Albanian: Komiteti I Myslimanve t Vrtet). The League enacted the Kararname decree. The inhabitants of “northern Albania, Epirus, and Bosnia” are ready to defend the Ottoman Empire’s “territoriality” “by whatever means” against the warriors of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro, according to the document’s phrasing. It was signed by 47 Muslim League delegates on June 18, 1878. Around 300 Muslims attended the summit, including delegates from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the central authority’s mutasarrif (sanjakbey) in Prizren, but no delegates from Scutari Vilayet.
The Ottomans withdrew their assistance when the League, encouraged by Abdyl bey Frashri, became more focused on working for Albanian autonomy and attempted to integrate four Ottoman vilayets (Kosovo, Scutari, Monastir, and Ioannina) into a single vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (the Albanian Vilayet). The League used force to prevent Montenegro from annexing the areas of Plav and Gusinje that the Berlin Congress had assigned to it. After numerous successful clashes with Montenegrin troops, most notably in Novsice, the League of Prizren was forced to retire from its disputed areas of Plav and Gusinje under the weight of the great powers, and was later annihilated by the Sultan’s Ottoman army. The 1912 Albanian uprising, the Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars, and the advance of Montenegrin, Serbian, and Greek soldiers into Albanian-controlled territory all led to Ismail Qemali’s proclamation of independence in Vlora on November 28, 1912.
Independence
The Vlor Assembly was established on November 28, 1912, at the All-Albanian Congress in Vlor. An congress of eighty-three leaders assembled in Vlor in November 1912 declared Albania independent and constituted a provisional government. On December 4, 1912, during the second session of the parliament, the Provisional Government of Albania was established. Ismail Qemali led a ten-member cabinet until his resignation on January 22, 1914. The Assembly also established the Senate (Albanian: Pleqsi), which is made up of 18 Assembly members and functions as a government advisory body.
On July 29, 1913, the Conference of London recognized Albania’s independence, but the newly constituted Principality of Albania’s borders ignored the demographic realities of the time. The International Commission of Control was established on October 15, 1913, to monitor the administration of the newly founded Albania until its own political institutions were in place. Vlor served as the organization’s headquarters. As the Principality of Albania’s first law enforcement body, the International Gendarmerie was established. Early in November, the first gendarmerie troops landed in Albania. Wilhelm of Wied was selected as the first prince.
Albanian pro-Ottoman warriors delivered the Albanian crown to Izzet Pasha, the Ottoman army minister of Albanian heritage, in November 1913. The new administration of the Principality of Albania was seen by pro-Ottoman peasants as a puppet of the six Christian Great Powers and local landowners who owned half of the arable land.
On February 28, 1914, the local Greek community in Gjirokastr formed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in protest to Albanian annexation. The southern territories were subsequently integrated into the Albanian Principality in 1921, therefore this endeavor was short-lived. Meanwhile, an Albanian peasant insurrection organized by a group of Muslim clerics gathered around Essad Pasha Toptani, who dubbed himself the savior of Albania and Islam, erupted against the new Albanian government. Prince of Wied selected Prênk Bib Doda, the commander of the Mirdita Catholic volunteers from the northern highlands, as the Principality of Albania’s foreign minister in order to guarantee their support. The International Gendarmerie, assisted by Isa Boletini and his forces, largely from Kosovo, and northern Mirdita Catholics, were defeated by the rebels in May and June 1914. By the end of August, the insurgents had gained control of most of Central Albania. On September 3, 1914, the Prince of Wied’s administration came apart, and he departed the country.
Republic and monarchy
The short-lived principality (1914–1925) was succeeded by the first Albanian Republic (1925–1928). In 1925, the four-member Regency was disbanded, and Ahmed Zoguwas was appointed president of the newly formed country. The capital of Albania was legally recognized as Tirana. The fundamental purpose of Zogu’s authoritarian and conservative administration was to preserve peace and order. Zogu felt driven to seek a collaborative approach with Italy. Italy and Albania signed an agreement on January 20, 1925, giving Italy a monopoly on shipping and trade benefits.
The Albanian republic was deposed in 1928 and replaced by a monarchy. To increase his direct power over the whole country, Zogu promoted road building. Every male Albanian above the age of 16 was required by law to offer the government with ten days of free labor each year. While initiating improvements, King Zogu retained his conservatism. The tradition of adding one’s hometown to one’s name, for example, was abandoned in an attempt to modernize society. Zogu also gave land for the development of schools and hospitals to international organizations. The military forces were instructed and supervised by Italian instructors. Despite intense Italian pressure, Zogu kept British officers in the Gendarmerie as a counterweight. The monarchy was supported by Italy’s fascist government, and the two countries maintained close connections until Italy’s unexpected invasion of the country in 1939. Albania was attacked by Fascist Italy and then Nazi Germany during World War II.
World War II
The Albanian Kingdom was a protectorate and a dependency of Italy from 1939 to 1943, administered by Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and his government after being militarily captured by Italy. Areas of Yugoslavia with a strong Albanian population were annexed to Albania during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, including most of Kosovo, Western Macedonia, the town of Tutin in Central Serbia, and a strip of Eastern Montenegro. The Albanian Communist Party, which had 130 members and was directed by Enver Hoxha and an eleven-man Central Committee, was founded in Tirana in November 1941 by small Albanian Communist groups. The party’s initial appeal was limited, and its young branch received few members.
Following the fall of Italy in 1943, Nazi Germany controlled Albania. The nationalist Balli Kombetar, which had fought against Italy, set up a “neutral” administration in Tirana and battled the communist-led Albanian National Liberation Movement alongside the Germans. Albania is one of Europe’s most devastated countries, according to the Geneva-based Center for Relief to Civilian Populations. Around 10% of the population was relocated, and 60,000 dwellings were damaged. Communist partisans reassembled in January 1944 and seized control of much of southern Albania. However, they were exposed to German attacks, which forced them to flee several areas. At the Congress of Prmet, the NLF formed an Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation to act as Albania’s administration and legislative body. Albania had degraded into a civil war between communists and nationalists by the last year of WWII. By mid-summer 1944, communist warriors in southern Albania had annihilated the last Balli Kombtar forces. The bulk of German forces had fled Tirana by the end of November, and communists had gained control by storming the city. The partisans liberated Albania from German rule on November 29, 1944. Albania was administered by a provisional government set up by communists in Berat in October, with Prime Minister Enver Hoxha.
Communist Albania
By the end of WWII, the Communist Party, the country’s dominant military and political force, had sent soldiers to northern Albania to fight nationalists in order to eliminate its rivals. In Nikaj-Mertur, Dukagjin, and Kelmend, they faced open hostility (Kelmendi was led by Prek Cali). The Tamara Bridge was the site of a combat between partisans of the First Brigade and nationalist soldiers on January 15, 1945, which resulted in the defeat of the nationalist forces. A total of 150 Kelmendi were killed or tortured. This act sparked a plethora of additional issues under Enver Hoxha’s reign of terror. Human rights and freedoms were denied, and class warfare was strictly enforced. The Kelmend region remained isolated for the following 20 years due to the border and a lack of highways, and the development of agricultural cooperatives led to economic collapse. Many Kelmendi managed to flee, while others were murdered trying to cross the border.
Albania became a Communist state, the People’s Republic of Albania (renamed “the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania” in 1976), after being freed from Nazi domination. It was led by Enver Hoxha and the Labour Party of Albania.
Albania’s socialist reconstruction started quickly after the monarchy was deposed and a “People’s Republic” declared. Albania’s first railway line was completed in 1947, followed eight months later by the second. New land reform law was passed, granting land ownership to workers and peasants who worked the land. Albania achieved agricultural self-sufficiency when agriculture became cooperative and production increased significantly. By 1955, illiteracy had been abolished among Albania’s adult population.
Albania became industrialized and had considerable economic growth, as well as significant advancements in education and health care, during this period. Albania’s average annual rate of national income was 56% higher than the European average and 29% higher than the world average. Individual taxes were outlawed under Albania’s Communist constitution; instead, cooperatives and other organizations were taxed, which had a similar effect.
Religious freedoms were severely curtailed during the Communist period, with all forms of worship being outlawed. The August 1945 Agrarian Reform Law nationalized significant swaths of land controlled by religious institutions (mainly Islamic waqfs), as well as monasteries and bishops’ estates. Many Christians were imprisoned and executed, as were the ulema and a handful of priests. A new Decree on Religious Groups, promulgated in 1949, stipulated that all religious communities’ activities be sanctioned only by the state.
In 1967, Hoxha proclaimed Albania the “world’s first atheist state” after the demolition of hundreds of mosques and dozens of Islamic libraries housing precious manuscripts. Churches around the country were not spared, and many were converted into youth cultural centers. In 1967, a law was established that made “fascist, religious, warmongering, antisocialist activity and propaganda” illegal. Three to ten years in prison were the penalties for practicing religion. Despite this, many Albanians practiced their religion in secret. A decade later, the anti-religious crusade of the Hoxha dictatorship found its most fundamental legal and political expression in Communist Albania’s 1976 constitution, which stated, “The state recognizes no religion” and “supports and carries out atheistic propaganda in order to implant in people a scientific materialistic world outlook.”
Ramiz Alia, Hoxha’s political successor, oversaw the demolition of the “Hoxhaist” state after the fall of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s.
Post-Communist Albania
The People’s Republic of Albania was dissolved in 1991–92 and the Republic of Albania was created after protests that started in 1989 and measures enacted by the communist government in 1990. The communists preserved their parliamentary majority after popular support in the 1991 elections. Despite economic failure and social turmoil as a consequence of liberalization policies, a new front led by the new Democratic Party took power in March 1992.
The majority of the country’s wealth was invested in Ponzi pyramid banking frauds in the years that followed, which were heavily encouraged by government officials. The projects consumed anything from a sixth to a third of the population of the nation. Despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in late 1996, then-President Sali Berisha defended the schemes as significant investment businesses, pushing more people to reroute remittances and sell their homes and cattle for cash to participate in the schemes. When the frauds began to fall apart in late 1996, many investors staged initially peaceful protests against the government, demanding their money back. The protests became violent in February when government soldiers opened fire. In March, the police and Republican Guard left, leaving their armories open to the population. They were swiftly vacated by militias and criminal gangs. A considerable number of foreign nationals and refugees were evacuated as a result of the crisis.
After the June General Election, Prime Minister Aleksandr Meksi resigned on March 11, 1997, and President Sali Berisha resigned in July. In April 1997, Operation Alba, a UN peacekeeping force led by Italy, entered the country with two goals in mind: to assist with expatriate evacuation and to secure the ground for international organizations. WEU MAPE’s partnership with the government in revamping the court and police systems was largely responsible for this. There was considerable political stability when the Socialist Party won the elections in 1997.
The Kosovo War in 1999 had an influence on the country, as a considerable number of Albanians from Kosovo sought refuge in Albania.
Albania became a full member of NATO in 2009 and has applied to join the European Union. In 2013, the Socialist Party won the national elections. In June 2014, the Republic of Albania applied to join the European Union as an official candidate.
Albania will definitely stimulate all of your senses with its idyllic beaches, magnificent castles, and the excitement of visiting a nation that just opened its doors to the rest of the globe. From the historical sites you may visit to the
Albania is still one of the most undervalued vacation spots in Europe, but each year more tourists discover the country's beauty, particularly its beaches.
As is customary, precautions should be taken. The local crime scene does not often target foreigners, however pickpocketings do occur. Although bottled water is preferred, tap water is typically safe to use. Albanian cuisine is typically
Albanian history dates back to the 4th century BC, and there are early traces of Illyria in Greco-Roman historiography. The territory that is now Albania was under Roman (Byzantine) dominion until the Slavs began to overrun it in the 7th
Albanian art has a long and dramatic history. Albania, a country in southeastern Europe, has a culture that is unique from that of the rest of Europe. For over five centuries, Albania was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, which had a tremendous
Albanians are quite friendly. Because of their age, elder men in the Balkans expect to be treated with respect more than the rest of the population. Men, in particular, must be respected in the home. Avoid talking about religion or
In all Albanian cities, there are several shops selling a variety of things, including well-known brands, spectacles, ancient objects, and so on. Tourists go to Kruja, Korca, Shkodra, Gjirokastra, and Tirana's old bazaars, where they may
The cuisine of Albania, like the rest of the Balkans, is greatly inspired by Turkish cuisine. The region's 400-year Ottoman domination has had an influence. Following the fall of communism in the early 1990s, Italy and Western Europe in
Albania is hilly or mountainous for over two-thirds of its geographical area. These provide opportunities for outdoor recreation as well as off-road riding. Adventure tourism is gaining popularity in Albania's well-known destinations
With its gorgeous turquoise seas and several islands strewn along it, such as Saranda, Albania's southernmost coastal city, the shoreline is always a nice place to visit. It's worth mentioning that the Albanian Riviera to the south of
The bulk of the tourist industry is concentrated around the Adriatic and Ionian Sea beaches. The Albanian Riviera, as it is called, has the most beautiful and pristine beaches. The Albanian coastline, including the lagoon area, runs about
Nationals of the United States may enter Albania visa-free for up to one year. Nationals of all European Union and European Economic Area member states, plus Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the
Due to the scarcity of such experiences in Europe today, a train ride is a must-see. The fares are modest and the journeys are long, but the scenery and ambiance are often priceless. People working their land with primitive equipment
Flying to Corfu and then taking the hydrofoil to Saranda is another less costly and more pleasant way to see the Albanian Riviera in Southern Albania. Tirana can be reached by coach from: Istanbul, Turkey (20hr, €35 one-w
In traditional Albanian culture, the visitor's rank and person are cherished. In return for this position of honor, the guest is required to show respect. Albanians like taking long walks around the city streets, drinking coffee, and
History Of Albania
History Of Albania
Prehistory
During the Middle and Upper Paleolithic eras, the first indications of human presence in Albania were found in the settlements of Xarr, near Sarand, and Mount Dajt, near Tiran. Flint and jasper items, as well as fossilized animal bones, were unearthed in a cave near Xarr, while bone and stone tools similar to those employed by the Aurignacian culture were uncovered in Mount Dajt. Albania’s Paleolithic finds are strikingly similar to those from Crvena Stijena in Montenegro and north-western Greece.
Antiquity
In ancient times, a variety of Illyrian tribes dominated the territory that is now Albania. Illyria was the name of the territory, which roughly corresponded to the area east of the Adriatic Sea to the mouth of the Vjos river in the south. The first account of the Illyrian tribes may be found in Periplus of the Euxine Sea, an ancient Greek treatise written in the middle of the fourth century BC. The Chaonians, whose headquarters were at Phoenice, ruled the south, while Greek city-states on the coast established colonies such as Apollonia, Epidamnos, and Amantia by the 7th century BC.
The Ardiaei were a powerful tribe that ruled across modern-day Albania. The Ardiaen Kingdom reached its pinnacle under Agron, son of Pleuratus II. Agron’s influence was further extended to neighboring tribes. After Agron’s death in 230 BC, Teuta, Agron’s wife, inherited the Ardiaean kingdom. Teuta’s forces pushed their operations southward into the Ionian Sea. In 229 BC, Rome declared war on Illyria for plundering Roman ships. The Illyrians were beaten in 227 BC. In 181 BC, Gentius took Teuta’s seat. Gentius fought for the Romans in 168 BC, beginning off the Third Illyrian War. The conflict concluded in Roman victory and the end of Illyrian independence in 167 BC. The Romans divided the country into three administrative divisions after his defeat.
Middle Ages
The territory that is now Albania was under Roman (Byzantine) dominion until the Slavs began to overrun it in the 7th century, and the Bulgarian Empire took it over in the 9th century. The Serbian Principality seized control of areas of modern-day Albania when the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire were conquered in the middle and late 13th century. In general, the invaders in what would become Albania destroyed or damaged Roman and Byzantine cultural establishments.
The Principality of Arbr and the Kingdom of Albania formed the geographical core of the Albanian state in the Middle Ages. The Principality of Arbr or Albanon (Albanian: Arbr or Arbria) was the first Albanian state in the Middle Ages, created in 1190 in the Kruja region by archon Progon. Progon, the kingdom’s founder, was succeeded by his sons Gjin and Dhimitri, the latter of whom ascended to the throne. The principality fell to the Greek Gregory Kamonas Lord or Prince (archon) of Kruj after the death of Dhimiter, the last of the Progon family, and then to Golem.
In 1255, the Principality was disbanded. Arbanon was the oldest sketch of a “Albanian state,” according to Pipa and Repishti, and it retained semi-autonomous status at the western extremity of an empire (under the Doukai of Epirus or the Laskarids of Nicaea). In 1271, Charles of Anjou established the Kingdom of Albania in the Albanian territory he had taken over from the Despotate of Epirus. He was declared “King of Albania” in February 1272, with a realm extending from Durrs (previously known as Dyrrhachium) south along the coast to Butrint.
Following the formation of the kingdom, the papal goals to spread Catholicism across the Balkans were given a strong basis by a Catholic administrative structure. Helen of Anjou, a cousin of Charles of Anjou, who reigned over territory in North Albania at the time, backed this plan as well. Approximately 30 Catholic churches and monasteries were built in North Albania and Serbia under her rule.
Between 1331 to 1355, the Serbian Empire struggled for control of Albania. Many Albanian principalities arose after the fall of the Serbian Empire, the most notable of which were the Balsha, Thopia, Kastrioti, Muzaka, and Arianiti. In the first half of the 14th century, the Ottoman Empire controlled the bulk of Albania. However, under the leadership of George Castrioti Skanderbeg (Albanian: Gjergj Kastrioti, Skenderbeu), Albania’s national hero, the Albanian kingdoms were united in 1444.
Ottoman Albania
At the time of the Ottoman Empire’s establishment, Southeast Europe’s geopolitical environment was characterized by scattered kingdoms of petty kings. By 1415, the Ottomans had built garrisons across southern Albania, and by 1431, they had conquered the nation in its entirety. However, in 1443, a massive and long-running uprising led by Albanian national hero Skanderbeg broke out, lasting until 1479 and defeating considerable Ottoman troops headed by sultans Murad II and Mehmed II on several occasions.
Skanderbeg became the sovereign Lord of Albania after first uniting the Albanian princes and then consolidating power over the bulk of the unconquered provinces. He also sought, but failed, to organize a European coalition against the Ottomans on many occasions. He thwarted every Turkish attempt to recover Albania, which the Turks saw as a launching pad for an assault on Italy and Western Europe. His valiant fight against Europe’s mightiest army garnered him the admiration of the continent, as well as financial and military support from Naples, the Papacy, Venice, and Ragusa. Islam was established as a third religion in Albania with the arrival of the Turks. As a consequence of this conversion, a considerable number of Albanians emigrated to Christian European countries. Muslim Albanians played an important role in the Ottoman Empire, with Bosniaks, as pillars of Ottoman policy in the Balkans.
With this privileged position in the empire, Muslim Albanians held a variety of high administrative positions, including over two dozen Grand Viziers of Albanian descent, including Gen. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, who led the Ottoman armies during the Ottoman-Persian Wars; Gen. Köprülü Fazl Ahmed, who led the Ottoman armies during the Austro-Turkish War; and, later, Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt.
Albanian towns were separated into four main sanjaks when the Ottomans established a stronghold in the region in the 15th century. The government fostered trade by building a large Jewish colony of immigrants fleeing persecution in Spain (at the end of the 15th century). Velvets, cotton products, mohairs, carpets, spices, and leather were among the imported items from Europe that came via Vlor’s ports from Bursa and Constantinople.
Albanians were also key military and administrative retainers in Iraq, Egypt, Algeria, and the Maghreb. The Devşirme system was blamed in part for this. Beginning with the arrival of the Ottomans in the 14th century, the process of Islamization was slow (to this day, a minority of Albanians are Catholic or Orthodox Christians, though the vast majority became Muslim). Timar owners, who formed the foundation of early Ottoman rule in Southeast Europe, were not necessarily Muslims and sometimes rebelled; Skanderbeg is the most famous of these rebels (his figure would rise up later on, in the 19th century, as a central component of the Albanian national identity). The most significant influence on Albanians was the gradual Islamization of the great majority of the population, which began in the 17th century and ended in the 18th century.
The bulk of Catholics converted in the 17th century, followed by Orthodox Albanians in the next century. The new religion had expanded to the countryside by this time, having been first limited to the main urban cities of Elbasan and Shkoder. According to several experts, conversion motivations differed depending on the situation. A lack of source material is not helpful when investigating such issues.
Albania was a province of the Ottoman Empire until 1912, when it declared independence.
Era of nationalism and League of Prizren
The League of Prizren was created on June 1, 1878, in Prizren, Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. The League of Prizren, whose basic attitude was founded on the religious unity of Muslim landowners and Ottoman administrative officials, was first supported by the Ottoman government. The Ottomans pushed for the security of Muslim areas, including modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, and supported and safeguarded Muslim unity. The League is known as The Committee of the Real Muslims because of this (Albanian: Komiteti I Myslimanve t Vrtet). The League enacted the Kararname decree. The inhabitants of “northern Albania, Epirus, and Bosnia” are ready to defend the Ottoman Empire’s “territoriality” “by whatever means” against the warriors of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Montenegro, according to the document’s phrasing. It was signed by 47 Muslim League delegates on June 18, 1878. Around 300 Muslims attended the summit, including delegates from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the central authority’s mutasarrif (sanjakbey) in Prizren, but no delegates from Scutari Vilayet.
The Ottomans withdrew their assistance when the League, encouraged by Abdyl bey Frashri, became more focused on working for Albanian autonomy and attempted to integrate four Ottoman vilayets (Kosovo, Scutari, Monastir, and Ioannina) into a single vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (the Albanian Vilayet). The League used force to prevent Montenegro from annexing the areas of Plav and Gusinje that the Berlin Congress had assigned to it. After numerous successful clashes with Montenegrin troops, most notably in Novsice, the League of Prizren was forced to retire from its disputed areas of Plav and Gusinje under the weight of the great powers, and was later annihilated by the Sultan’s Ottoman army. The 1912 Albanian uprising, the Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars, and the advance of Montenegrin, Serbian, and Greek soldiers into Albanian-controlled territory all led to Ismail Qemali’s proclamation of independence in Vlora on November 28, 1912.
Independence
The Vlor Assembly was established on November 28, 1912, at the All-Albanian Congress in Vlor. An congress of eighty-three leaders assembled in Vlor in November 1912 declared Albania independent and constituted a provisional government. On December 4, 1912, during the second session of the parliament, the Provisional Government of Albania was established. Ismail Qemali led a ten-member cabinet until his resignation on January 22, 1914. The Assembly also established the Senate (Albanian: Pleqsi), which is made up of 18 Assembly members and functions as a government advisory body.
On July 29, 1913, the Conference of London recognized Albania’s independence, but the newly constituted Principality of Albania’s borders ignored the demographic realities of the time. The International Commission of Control was established on October 15, 1913, to monitor the administration of the newly founded Albania until its own political institutions were in place. Vlor served as the organization’s headquarters. As the Principality of Albania’s first law enforcement body, the International Gendarmerie was established. Early in November, the first gendarmerie troops landed in Albania. Wilhelm of Wied was selected as the first prince.
Albanian pro-Ottoman warriors delivered the Albanian crown to Izzet Pasha, the Ottoman army minister of Albanian heritage, in November 1913. The new administration of the Principality of Albania was seen by pro-Ottoman peasants as a puppet of the six Christian Great Powers and local landowners who owned half of the arable land.
On February 28, 1914, the local Greek community in Gjirokastr formed the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus in protest to Albanian annexation. The southern territories were subsequently integrated into the Albanian Principality in 1921, therefore this endeavor was short-lived. Meanwhile, an Albanian peasant insurrection organized by a group of Muslim clerics gathered around Essad Pasha Toptani, who dubbed himself the savior of Albania and Islam, erupted against the new Albanian government. Prince of Wied selected Prênk Bib Doda, the commander of the Mirdita Catholic volunteers from the northern highlands, as the Principality of Albania’s foreign minister in order to guarantee their support. The International Gendarmerie, assisted by Isa Boletini and his forces, largely from Kosovo, and northern Mirdita Catholics, were defeated by the rebels in May and June 1914. By the end of August, the insurgents had gained control of most of Central Albania. On September 3, 1914, the Prince of Wied’s administration came apart, and he departed the country.
Republic and monarchy
The short-lived principality (1914–1925) was succeeded by the first Albanian Republic (1925–1928). In 1925, the four-member Regency was disbanded, and Ahmed Zoguwas was appointed president of the newly formed country. The capital of Albania was legally recognized as Tirana. The fundamental purpose of Zogu’s authoritarian and conservative administration was to preserve peace and order. Zogu felt driven to seek a collaborative approach with Italy. Italy and Albania signed an agreement on January 20, 1925, giving Italy a monopoly on shipping and trade benefits.
The Albanian republic was deposed in 1928 and replaced by a monarchy. To increase his direct power over the whole country, Zogu promoted road building. Every male Albanian above the age of 16 was required by law to offer the government with ten days of free labor each year. While initiating improvements, King Zogu retained his conservatism. The tradition of adding one’s hometown to one’s name, for example, was abandoned in an attempt to modernize society. Zogu also gave land for the development of schools and hospitals to international organizations. The military forces were instructed and supervised by Italian instructors. Despite intense Italian pressure, Zogu kept British officers in the Gendarmerie as a counterweight. The monarchy was supported by Italy’s fascist government, and the two countries maintained close connections until Italy’s unexpected invasion of the country in 1939. Albania was attacked by Fascist Italy and then Nazi Germany during World War II.
World War II
The Albanian Kingdom was a protectorate and a dependency of Italy from 1939 to 1943, administered by Italian King Victor Emmanuel III and his government after being militarily captured by Italy. Areas of Yugoslavia with a strong Albanian population were annexed to Albania during the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, including most of Kosovo, Western Macedonia, the town of Tutin in Central Serbia, and a strip of Eastern Montenegro. The Albanian Communist Party, which had 130 members and was directed by Enver Hoxha and an eleven-man Central Committee, was founded in Tirana in November 1941 by small Albanian Communist groups. The party’s initial appeal was limited, and its young branch received few members.
Following the fall of Italy in 1943, Nazi Germany controlled Albania. The nationalist Balli Kombetar, which had fought against Italy, set up a “neutral” administration in Tirana and battled the communist-led Albanian National Liberation Movement alongside the Germans. Albania is one of Europe’s most devastated countries, according to the Geneva-based Center for Relief to Civilian Populations. Around 10% of the population was relocated, and 60,000 dwellings were damaged. Communist partisans reassembled in January 1944 and seized control of much of southern Albania. However, they were exposed to German attacks, which forced them to flee several areas. At the Congress of Prmet, the NLF formed an Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation to act as Albania’s administration and legislative body. Albania had degraded into a civil war between communists and nationalists by the last year of WWII. By mid-summer 1944, communist warriors in southern Albania had annihilated the last Balli Kombtar forces. The bulk of German forces had fled Tirana by the end of November, and communists had gained control by storming the city. The partisans liberated Albania from German rule on November 29, 1944. Albania was administered by a provisional government set up by communists in Berat in October, with Prime Minister Enver Hoxha.
Communist Albania
By the end of WWII, the Communist Party, the country’s dominant military and political force, had sent soldiers to northern Albania to fight nationalists in order to eliminate its rivals. In Nikaj-Mertur, Dukagjin, and Kelmend, they faced open hostility (Kelmendi was led by Prek Cali). The Tamara Bridge was the site of a combat between partisans of the First Brigade and nationalist soldiers on January 15, 1945, which resulted in the defeat of the nationalist forces. A total of 150 Kelmendi were killed or tortured. This act sparked a plethora of additional issues under Enver Hoxha’s reign of terror. Human rights and freedoms were denied, and class warfare was strictly enforced. The Kelmend region remained isolated for the following 20 years due to the border and a lack of highways, and the development of agricultural cooperatives led to economic collapse. Many Kelmendi managed to flee, while others were murdered trying to cross the border.
Albania became a Communist state, the People’s Republic of Albania (renamed “the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania” in 1976), after being freed from Nazi domination. It was led by Enver Hoxha and the Labour Party of Albania.
Albania’s socialist reconstruction started quickly after the monarchy was deposed and a “People’s Republic” declared. Albania’s first railway line was completed in 1947, followed eight months later by the second. New land reform law was passed, granting land ownership to workers and peasants who worked the land. Albania achieved agricultural self-sufficiency when agriculture became cooperative and production increased significantly. By 1955, illiteracy had been abolished among Albania’s adult population.
Albania became industrialized and had considerable economic growth, as well as significant advancements in education and health care, during this period. Albania’s average annual rate of national income was 56% higher than the European average and 29% higher than the world average. Individual taxes were outlawed under Albania’s Communist constitution; instead, cooperatives and other organizations were taxed, which had a similar effect.
Religious freedoms were severely curtailed during the Communist period, with all forms of worship being outlawed. The August 1945 Agrarian Reform Law nationalized significant swaths of land controlled by religious institutions (mainly Islamic waqfs), as well as monasteries and bishops’ estates. Many Christians were imprisoned and executed, as were the ulema and a handful of priests. A new Decree on Religious Groups, promulgated in 1949, stipulated that all religious communities’ activities be sanctioned only by the state.
In 1967, Hoxha proclaimed Albania the “world’s first atheist state” after the demolition of hundreds of mosques and dozens of Islamic libraries housing precious manuscripts. Churches around the country were not spared, and many were converted into youth cultural centers. In 1967, a law was established that made “fascist, religious, warmongering, antisocialist activity and propaganda” illegal. Three to ten years in prison were the penalties for practicing religion. Despite this, many Albanians practiced their religion in secret. A decade later, the anti-religious crusade of the Hoxha dictatorship found its most fundamental legal and political expression in Communist Albania’s 1976 constitution, which stated, “The state recognizes no religion” and “supports and carries out atheistic propaganda in order to implant in people a scientific materialistic world outlook.”
Ramiz Alia, Hoxha’s political successor, oversaw the demolition of the “Hoxhaist” state after the fall of the Eastern Bloc in the late 1980s.
Post-Communist Albania
The People’s Republic of Albania was dissolved in 1991–92 and the Republic of Albania was created after protests that started in 1989 and measures enacted by the communist government in 1990. The communists preserved their parliamentary majority after popular support in the 1991 elections. Despite economic failure and social turmoil as a consequence of liberalization policies, a new front led by the new Democratic Party took power in March 1992.
The majority of the country’s wealth was invested in Ponzi pyramid banking frauds in the years that followed, which were heavily encouraged by government officials. The projects consumed anything from a sixth to a third of the population of the nation. Despite warnings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in late 1996, then-President Sali Berisha defended the schemes as significant investment businesses, pushing more people to reroute remittances and sell their homes and cattle for cash to participate in the schemes. When the frauds began to fall apart in late 1996, many investors staged initially peaceful protests against the government, demanding their money back. The protests became violent in February when government soldiers opened fire. In March, the police and Republican Guard left, leaving their armories open to the population. They were swiftly vacated by militias and criminal gangs. A considerable number of foreign nationals and refugees were evacuated as a result of the crisis.
After the June General Election, Prime Minister Aleksandr Meksi resigned on March 11, 1997, and President Sali Berisha resigned in July. In April 1997, Operation Alba, a UN peacekeeping force led by Italy, entered the country with two goals in mind: to assist with expatriate evacuation and to secure the ground for international organizations. WEU MAPE’s partnership with the government in revamping the court and police systems was largely responsible for this. There was considerable political stability when the Socialist Party won the elections in 1997.
The Kosovo War in 1999 had an influence on the country, as a considerable number of Albanians from Kosovo sought refuge in Albania.
Albania became a full member of NATO in 2009 and has applied to join the European Union. In 2013, the Socialist Party won the national elections. In June 2014, the Republic of Albania applied to join the European Union as an official candidate.
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