The Albanians call their Shqipëria, and have their roots in ancient Illyrian tribes. They descended from the Illyrian language, so it’s a rare family of Rome and the Slavic immigration and Europe’s linguistic oddity is on par with the Basque. Illyrians occupied the western Balkans during the second millennium BC. They built a large fortified cities, silver and copper mines burned and became adept at sailing in the Mediterranean. The Greeks arrived in the 7th century BC, to establish self-governing colony Epidamnos (now Durrës), Apollonia and Butrint. They exchanged peacefully Illyrians, which consists of the tribes says the 4th century BC.
Inevitably, the expansion of the kingdom of Illyria Ardiaei based in Shkodra, came into conflict with Rome, which sent a fleet of 200 ships against Queen Teuta in 229 BC. A long war has resulted in the extension of Roman rule in the Balkans, in 167 BC.
Under the Romans, Illyria enjoyed peace and prosperity, despite the large farms were worked by slaves. Like the Greeks, Illyrians retained their language and traditions despite centuries of Roman rule. Over time, the population gradually replaced their old gods, with the new Christian faith prohibited by Emperor Constantine. The main trade route between Rome and Constantinople, the Via Egnatia ran from the port of Durres.
When the Roman Empire was divided in 395, Illyria remained under the Byzantine Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire. The first three Byzantine emperors (Anastasius I, Justin and Justinian II) were of Illyrian origin. The invasions of migration of peoples (Visigoths, Huns, Ostrogoths and Slavs) went through the fifth and sixth centuries.
In 1344, Albania was annexed to Serbia, but after the defeat of the Turks in Serbia in 1389 the whole area was open to Ottoman invasion. Venetians use of some coastal cities, and the 1443-1468 national hero Skanderbeg (Gjergj Kastrioti) led the Albanian resistance to the Turks in his castle Kruja. Skanderbeg has won all 25 fights, has fought against the Turks, and even-Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the conqueror of Constantinople, could not Kruja. When the death of Skanderbeg was only a matter of time before the Turks overwhelmed by the Albanian resistance, dominates the country in 1479, 26 years after Constantinople fell.
For over 400 years Albania was under Ottoman rule. Muslim citizens were privileged and were exempt from their Janissary where Christian families have to give their son to convert to Islam and to serve in the army. Why many Albanians have embraced the new faith.
In 1878, the Albanian League of Prizren (Kosovo Today) began a struggle for independence, which was slaughtered by the Turkish army in 1881. more uprisings between 1910 and 1912 led to an announcement of independence and the formation of a provisional government headed by Ismail Qemali in Vlora in 1912. These results have been seriously compromised when Kosovo, about one third of Albania, was ceded to Serbia in 1913. Great Powers tried to install a young German prince, William Weld, who reigns over the cross in Albania, but it was never accepted, and returned home after six months. With the outbreak of the First World War, Albania was occupied successively by the armies of Greece, Serbia, France, Italy and Austria-Hungary.
In 1920 the capital was moved to Tirana, Durres less susceptible. republican government of Fan Noli Orthodox helped to stabilize the country, but in 1924 he defeated the interior minister, Ahmed Bey Zogu. Northern warlord, declared himself King Zog I in 1928, but its close cooperation with Italy failed in April 1939, when Mussolini ordered the invasion of Albania. Zogu fled to Britain with his young wife Geraldine and infant son, Leka, and used the gold stolen from Albanian to rent their own on the floor of the Ritz Hotel in London.
8. November 1941 the Albanian Communist Party was founded with the first secretary of Enver Hoxha, a position he held until his death in April 1985. Communists led the resistance movement in Italian and the years after 1943, the Germans finally tied to a combined 15 of the regions Italian and German.
The rise of communism
When the fight was off, the Communists consolidated power. January 1946 Albania was proclaimed in China, with Hoxha as chairman and chief mate.
In September 1948 Albania broke off relations with Yugoslavia, which had hoped to integrate the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from the country. Instead, it is combined with Stalin’s Soviet Union and put a series of Soviet-style economic plans – the anger the United States and Britain, who made a failed attempt to overthrow the government.
Albania has cooperated closely with the Soviet Union until 1960, when the heavy hand Khrushchev demanded a submarine base made up of Vlora. Interruption of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1961, the country shifted to the PRC.
From 1966 to 1967 Albania has experienced a Chinese-style Cultural Revolution. Administrative workers were suddenly transferred to remote areas and young professionals have been placed in leadership positions. Collectivization of agriculture was completed and organized religion prohibited.
After the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Albania left the Warsaw Pact and began to self-reliant defense policies. Approximately 700 000 bunker-shaped igloo cement serves as a reminder of this policy. The communist authorities have made progress in draining the malarial swamps of the central coastal plains, building hydroelectric projects to improve and strengthen the culture of the country’s railways.
With the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 and the subsequent changes in China after 1978, Albania’s unique relationship with China also ended, and the country has been isolated and without allies. The economy has been devastated and food shortages have become more common.
Post-Hoxha
Hoxha died in April 1985, and its long-term combined Ramiz Alia took the lead. Restrictions eased half a notch, but the whole system is still falling apart. People no longer groped the work of the collective farms, the shortage of food in cities and industries began to fail as spare parts ran out. Party leaders have promised to reform, but was paralyzed.
In June 1990, inspired by the changes that have occurred elsewhere in Eastern Europe, about 4,500 Albanians took refuge in Western embassies in Tirana. After a brief confrontation with police and Sigurimi (secret police), these people were allowed to board ships to Brindisi in Italy, where they received political asylum.
When the student demonstrations in December 1990 the government decided to allow opposition parties. The Democratic Party, led by Sali Berisha heart surgeon, was born. In addition to the events produced new concessions, including the promise of free elections and independent trade unions. Government announced the reform agenda and the hardliners of the party were killed.
In early March 1991 election date approached, about 20,000 Albanians have fled the country in economic freefall and non-existent infrastructure, finding a “better life” abroad. They sat in Vlora to Brindisi ferry, which creates a crisis for the Italian Government, which had begun to see them as economic refugees. Most were eventually allowed to stay.
Elections in March 1992 ended 47 years of communist rule. After the resignation of Alia Sali Berisha Parliament elected president in April. In September 1992, former President Alia has been placed under house arrest after he wrote articles critical of the democratic government. In August 1993, the Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano, was also arrested, accused of corruption.
Meanwhile, Albania has changed from a communist regime tightly controlled to an exuberant free-market free for all. A racket of smuggling large leaps, which Mercedes-Benz stolen in the country and some former collective farms have been converted to plantations of marijuana. The port of Vlora, a large crossing point for illegal migrants from Asia and the Middle East to Italy. A major change occurred as the population collective farms were dismantled and recycled by the former owners, forcing the peasants of the land. population of Tirana has tripled that people are now able to move freely in the city, ending the internal exile, forced out of the former collective farms.
A serious crisis developed in late 1996 when private equity schemes of the pyramid – widely considered to have been supported by the government – inevitably collapsed. About 70% of Albanians lost their savings (in total more than $ 1 billion), causing disruption of national unrest. New elections were called, and the Socialist Party’s victory in Nano – who was released from prison by the mob – was able to restore a degree of security and confidence of investors. But the new wave of violence destroyed most of the other industries that remain from the Communist era. Cities in which the entire workforce employed by a mine or factory remained in poverty while the economy collapsed again.
In spring 1999, Albania is facing a crisis of another kind. This time, the influx of 465,000 refugees from neighboring Kosovo under Serb ethnic cleansing campaign. Although this put enormous pressure on resources, the net effect was actually positive. Significant amounts of money from international aid poured into the service sector has increased and inflation fell to single digits.
Since 2002, the country was in a mini-boom with a lot of money invested in construction projects and infrastructure renewal.
The 2005 general election saw the return of the government of Berisha’s Democratic Party. Albania’s policy and the economy was stable, but the work must be done to ensure there is an end to power shortages and other infrastructure deficiencies that affect the country. There are high hopes that joining NATO will be achieved by 2008, while the invitation to the club of EU remains an elusive goal.
Tags: Byzantine Emperors, Byzantine Empire, Coastal Cities, Copper Mines, Durres, Emperor Constantine, Illyrian Language, Millennium Bc, National Hero, Old Gods, Ostrogoths, Ottoman Invasion, Roman Empire, Roman Rule, Sixth Centuries, Teuta, Venetians, Via Egnatia, Visigoths, Western Balkans