History of Albania

Ancient Albania

The territory of present-day Albania was in ancient times home to the Illyrian tribes, whose origins are still disputed today. The ancient Greeks considered them a distinct group with their own language and culture. Still, some historians trace the origins of the present-day Albanian nation and language to the ancient Illyrians.

The Illyrians built castles, as seen in Byllis, Albanopolis and other fortresses. Parallel to the Illyrian settlements, <nbsp;illyrian settlement,=”” <strong=””>Greek colonies were established on the coast, like in today’s Durrës, Butrint and Apollonia.</nbsp;illyrian>

At the end of the 3rd century BC, the Romans defeated the Illyrian tribes united under Queen Teuta. The most prominent imprint of ancient Rome in today’s Albania is the Amphitheatre of Durrës, which was the most important city in this part of the Adriatic Sea in its time. Durrës, or Dyrrachium, was also the start of the important trade and military route Via Egnatia, which led to Constantinople and the eastern Balkans. The Illyrians largely assimilated with the Romans and adopted many words from Latin into their language.

 

Medieval Albania

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the territory of present-day Albania passed into the possession of the successor Byzantine Empire. But it suffered a lot from the repeated raids of barbarian tribes. Slavs were the last people arriving in the area during the Migration Period. Unlike elsewhere in the western Balkans, they assimilated with the native Illyrian population and adopted their language. But you can see the traces of Slavic settlement throughout Albania as many place names still bear Slavic-sounding names such as Beligrad (Berat), Gorica (Korçë) or Crna voda (Çorovoda).

Christianity came to the territory of today’s Albania in the 1st century AD. During the East-West Schism of 1054, the southern part of today’s Albania sided with Constantinople (Orthodoxy) and the north with Rome (Catholicism). During the Byzantine rule, many Orthodox churches were built in the early Middle Ages, which can be seen especially when travelling through southern Albania. Among the most beautiful are the medieval churches in Labovë or the Burtint baptistery.

At the end of the 12th century, the semi-independent principality of Arbanon was established within the Byzantine Empire. It existed for only a few decades but is often referred to as the first Albanian pre-state formation. During the decline of the Byzantine Empire, part of the Albanian coast fell prey to Venice, with its important footholds being Durrës and Butrint.

 

Resistance against the Turks

The Turks began to penetrate the territory of present-day Albania in the late 14th century. The anti-Ottoman resistance was led by the Albanian warlord Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, who united the Albanian princes in 1443 and for more than a quarter of a century waged a successful struggle against the invaders from his seat, the Kruja Castle. The Sultan’s repeated attempts to take over modern-day Albania were repelled by his much smaller army.

After Skanderbeg’s death in Lezhë in 1468, resistance began to crumble, and in 1506 the Turks finally managed to take control of Albania. For his tenacious resistance, Skanderbeg became an Albanian national hero and also earned recognition throughout Europe.

Exhaustive fighting led to the devastation of large areas of Albania and an estimated quarter of the population fled from the Turks. In southern Italy, communities of so-called Arbëresh, the refugees of the time, are still present today.

 

Albania under Ottoman rule

Albania remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for over four centuries. Two-thirds of the population converted to Islam during this period, which was the only way to rise socially and avoid the high taxes imposed on non-Muslims. The oldest mosque on Albanian territory is the one in Elbasan, dating from 1492.

The Turks administered their territories in a feudal manner, with military and other dignitaries being given the use of the land in return for their loyal service to the Sultan. As the Ottoman Empire gradually weakened from the 18th century onwards, local nobles gained more and more power. Ali Pasha of Tepelenë stood out among them in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He ruled large areas of southern Albania and northern Greece de facto independently of Istanbul and even conducted his own foreign policy.

The Ottomans have been instrumental in the development of transport infrastructure, as evidenced by the hundreds of elegant stone bridges scattered throughout the country. The longest and most beautiful is the Mes Bridge near Shkodër.

As in other European countries, Albanian national identity began to grow in the 19th century, with one of its centres being the eastern Albanian city of Korçë. Under the slogan “The religion of the Albanians is Albanianism”, the national movement succeeded in overcoming the confessional differences between Christians and Muslims and creating a modern nation based on a common language. In 1878, the so-called Prizren League was created, which set itself the goal of uniting the Albanian territories into one autonomous entity, as well as promoting the Albanian language and culture.

 

Independent Albania

Albania’s independence was declared on 28 November 1912 in Vlorë, which was chosen as the provisional capital. This came after neighbours Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece threatened to split up Albania’s whole territory during the First Balkan War (1912–1913). Even so, about half of the ethnic Albanians found themselves outside the borders of the newly formed state. Centrally located Tirana did not gain capital status until 1920.

After the chaos of the Balkan Wars and the First World War, Albanian politics in the interwar period was defined by the clash of two interest groups: the first was led by a native of Burrel Ahmet Zogu, who championed the interests of conservatives and former wealthy landowners in the Ottoman era; the second was made up of supporters of radical land reforms and Europeanization. They were led by the Orthodox Metropolitan (bishop) and later Prime Minister Fan Noli.

Zogu emerged victorious from the struggle and overthrew Fan Noli’s government in 1925. Three years later, he declared himself King Zog I. He ruled as a dictator and from the 1930s onwards became increasingly dependent on fascist Italy.

 

Second Word War in Albania

Italian dictator Mussolini invaded Albania in April 1939. When Germany defeated neighbouring Yugoslavia and Greece in 1941, the so-called Greater Albania was created, which included most of Kosovo and parts of Montenegro and western Macedonia.

The Albanian communists, led by former teacher Enver Hoxha, became the main force of resistance against Italian and later German occupiers, who often behaved with extreme cruelty towards the local population. In the village of Borovë in the south of the country alone, they slaughtered over a hundred civilians, including women and children. By the end of 1944, the guerrillas emerged victorious in their fight against both Italian and German troops, as well as against Albanian nationalists associated with the Balli Kombëtar organization and Zog’s monarchists.

 

Communist Albania

The communists did not let go of the power they gained at the end of the Second World War. The country became a republic in 1946, agriculture was collectivised and industry nationalised. Enver Hoxha gradually got rid of all opponents within the Party of Labour of Albania and ruled as a no-holds-barred leader with a cult of personality. In Tirana and other cities, many buildings were constructed in the style of socialist realism.

Albania changed its closest ally three times during the Cold War. First, it was oriented towards Yugoslavia (1944-1948), then towards the Soviet Union (1948-1961) and finally towards China (1961-1978). Each time the alliance ended in a deep rift. When Albania fell out with the Soviets, it seized their submarine fleet moored in Albanian ports. The last of these vessels can be seen at the Pashaliman base near Orikum. After the latest spat with China, Albania was left in complete isolation.

Panicked by the fear of external attack, Hoxha decided to build a system of concrete bunkers and fortresses, of which around 170,000 were built across the country. You will encounter them everywhere. But extensive underground shelters were also created, including in Tirana and Gjirokastër, which are now open to the public.

Hoxha’s Stalinist regime has been considered the most brutal in Europe and is being compared to the USSR in the 1930s or contemporary North Korea. Labour camps for political or ideological opponents were an integral part of Hoxha’s regime, with the correction facility in Spaç being particularly notorious. Repression peaked during the campaign against religion in the late 1960s, when Albania declared itself the world’s first atheist state. Hundreds of churches, monasteries and mosques were razed to the ground.

 

Albania after 1991

The communist regime began to crumble not long after Hoxha died in 1985. The first multi-party elections were held in 1991, but Albania struggled throughout the 1990s with the inability of the state to provide its basic functions. The chaos peaked in 1997, when the widespread Ponzi schemes collapsed, impoverishing entire segments of the population. The country descended into anarchy for weeks afterwards. The social unrest and economic collapse of the 1990s caused a mass emigration abroad that continues to this day.

It was not until the first decade of the 21st century that the situation calmed down, as the international community helped to kick-start the economy and stabilise the security situation. Albania’s accession to NATO in 2009 was an important milestone. Since 2014, Albania has been an EU candidate country. Under the long-serving Prime Minister Edi Rama (since 2013 in office), Albania presents itself as a tourism-oriented country, with the whole tourist sector growing rapidly.