Vfrdtyky

Albanians

Shqiptarët
Total population
c. 5 to 11.6 million[1][dubious – discuss]
Regions with significant populations
Albania 2,525,263 (2018)[2]  Kosovo 1,772,152 (2018)[3]
Other regions
Northern Europe  Sweden 54,000[4]  United Kingdom 30,000[5]  Norway 11,949c[6]  Finland 10,391[7][8]  Denmark 8,223[9]  Ireland 953–2,133[10][11]
Eastern Europe  Romania 10,000[12]  Ukraine 5,000[13]  Czech Republic 1,512[14]  Latvia 19[15]
Southern Europe  Greece 280,000–600,000[16][17][18]  Italy 800,000 a[19][20][21]  Turkey 500,000–5,000,000 b[22][23][24][25][26][27]  Macedonia 509,083[28][29]  Montenegro 30,439[30]  Croatia 17,513[31]  Serbia 5,809[citation needed]  Spain 1,781[32]  Portugal 34–50[33]
Western Europe  Germany 200,000–300,000[34][35][36]   Switzerland 200,000[37][38]  Austria 28,212[39]  France 20,000[40]  Belgium 5,600–30,000[41][42]  Netherlands 2,893c[43]
Americas  United States 194,028[44]  Argentina 40,000[45]  Canada 36,185[46]  Panama 9[47]
Oceania  Australia 11,315[48]  New Zealand 243[49]
Languages
Albanian
Religion
Islam (majority) Sunnism · Bektashism Christianity (minority) Catholicism (Albanian Greek Catholic · Italian Albanian Catholic) · Eastern Orthodoxy (Albanian Orthodox) · Protestantism Irreligion
a 502,546 Albanian citizens, an additional 43,751 Kosovo Albanians and 260,000 Arbëreshë people[19][20][50] b Albanians are not recognized as a minority in Turkey. However approximately 500,000 people are reported to profess an Albanian identity. Of those with full or partial Albanian ancestry and others who have adopted Turkish language, culture and identity their number is estimated at 1,300,000–5,000,000 many whom do not speak Albanian.[23][26] c Number includes Kosovo Albanians

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v t e

The Albanians (Albanian: Shqiptarët, pronounced [ʃcipˈta:ɾət]) are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula and are characterised by a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language.^[51] They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo^[a], Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as in Croatia, Greece and Italy. They also form a diaspora with communities established in the Americas, Europe and Oceania.

The history of the Albanian diaspora is centuries old and has its roots in migration from the Middle Ages, initially established in Southern Europe and subsequently on across other parts of the world. Between the 13th and 18th centuries, sizeable numbers of Albanians migrated to escape either various social, economic or political difficulties.^{[52][53][54][55]}

One population who became the Arvanites settled Southern Greece between the 13th and 16th centuries assimilating into and now self-identifying as Greeks.^{[55][56][57][58][59][60]} Another population who emerged as the Arbëreshës settled Sicily and Southern Italy constituting the oldest continuous Albanian diaspora.^[53] Smaller populations such as the Arbanasis whose migration dates back to the 18th century are located in Southern Croatia and scattered across Southern Ukraine.^[61][62]

Albanians are primarily composed of two sub-ethnic groups known as the Ghegs and Tosks. In the 13th century, the Ghegs converted to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy as a means to resist the Slavic Serbs.^[63][64][65] In the 15th century, Skanderbeg led the medieval Albanian resistance to the Ottoman conquest. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Albanians in large numbers converted to Islam, in part due to the privileged legal and social position of Muslims in the empire^[66][67][68] and coercion by Ottoman authorities in times of war.^[69][70][71] Albanians attained important political and military positions within the empire and culturally contributed to the wider Muslim world.^[72] Following the Albanian National Awakening, during the Balkan Wars, in 1912, Albanians were partitioned between the newly-formed Independent Albania and Serbia, Greece and Montenegro.^[73] From 1945 to 1992, Albania was ruled by a communist government. Albanians in neighbouring Yugoslavia underwent periods of discrimination that concluded with the breakup of that state in the early 1990s and eventually the independence of Kosovo in 2008.

Ethnonym

The Albanians (Albanian: Shqiptarët) and their country Albania (Albanian: Shqipëria) have been identified by many ethnonyms. The most common native ethnonym is "Shqiptar", plural "Shqiptarë"; the name "Albanians" (Byzantine Greek: Albanoi/Arbanitai/Arbanites; Latin: Albanenses/Arbanenses) was used in medieval documents, that gradually entered European languages from which other similar derivative names emerged.^[74]

From these ethnonyms, names for Albanians were also derived in other languages, that were or still are in use.^[75][76][77] In English "Albanians"; Italian "Albanesi"; German "Albaner"; Greek "Arvanites", "Alvanitis" (Αλβανίτης) plural: "Alvanites" (Αλβανίτες), "Alvanos" (Αλβανός) plural: "Alvanoi" (Αλβανοί); Turkish "Arnaut", "Arnavut"; South Slavic languages "Arbanasi" (Арбанаси), "Albanci" (Албанци); Aromanian "Arbineş" and so on.^{[58][75][76][77][78][79]}

The term "Albanoi" (Αλβανοί) is first encountered twice in the works of Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates, and the term "Arvanitai" (Αρβανίται) is used once by the same author. He referred to the "Albanoi" as having taken part in a revolt against the Byzantine Empire in 1043, and to the "Arbanitai" as subjects of the Duke of Dyrrachium (modern Durrës).^[80] These references have been disputed as to whether they refer to the people of Albania.^[80][81] Historian E. Vranoussi believes that these "Albanoi" were Normans from Sicily. She also notes that the same term (as "Albani") in medieval Latin meant "foreigners".^[82]

The reference to "Arvanitai" from Attaliates regarding the participation of Albanians in a rebellion around 1078 is undisputed.^[83] In later Byzantine usage, the terms "Arbanitai" and "Albanoi" with a range of variants were used interchangeably, while sometimes the same groups were also called by the classicising name Illyrians.^[84][85][86] The first reference to the Albanian language dates to the latter 13th century (around 1285).^[87]

The ethnonym Albanian has been hypothesized to be connected to and stem from the Albanoi,^[88][89][90] an Illyrian tribe mentioned by Ptolemy with their centre at the city of Albanopolis.^[75][91] Linguists believe that the alb part in the root word originates from an Indo-European term for a type of mountainous topography, from which other words such as alps are derived.^[92] Through the root word alban and its rhotacized equivalents arban, albar, and arbar, the term in Albanian became rendered as Arbëneshë/Arbëreshë for the people and Arbënia/Arbëria for the country.^[74][75] The Albanian language was referred to as Arbnisht and Arbërisht.^[91] While the exonym Albania for the general region inhabited by the Albanians does have connotations to Classical Antiquity, the Albanian language employs a different ethnonym, with modern Albanians referring to themselves as Shqip(ë)tarë and to their country as Shqipëria.^[75] Two etymologies have been proposed for this ethnonym: one, derived from the etymology from the Albanian word for eagle (shqipe, var., shqiponjë).^[77] In Albanian folk etymology, this word denotes a bird totem, dating from the times of Skanderbeg as displayed on the Albanian flag.^[77][93] The other is within scholarship that connects it to the verb 'to speak' (me shqiptue) from the Latin "excipere".^[77] In this instance the Albanian endonym like Slav and others would originally have been a term connoting "those who speak [intelligibly, the same language]".^[77] The new ethnonyms Shqip(ë)tarë and Shqipëria emerged and replaced the older ethnonyms Arbëneshë/Arbëreshë and Arbënia/Arbëria between the late 17th and early 18th centuries.^[75] That era brought about religious and other sociopolitical changes.^[75] As such a new and generalised response by Albanians based on ethnic and linguistic consciousness to this new and different Ottoman world emerging around them was a change in ethnonym.^[75]

Distribution

Balkans

Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born to Albanian parents in Macedonia.

Approximately 5 million Albanians are geographically distributed across the Balkan Peninsula with about half this number living in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro as well as to a much smaller extent in Croatia and Serbia. There are also significant Albanian populations in Greece. Insignificant comunities are available in Bulgaria and Romania.

In the Republic of Macedonia, there are approximately 500.000 Albanians constituting the largest minority group in the country.^[28][29] The vast majority of the Albanians are largely concentrated around the municipalities of Tetovo, Gostivar, Struga and Skopje in the northwest and southwest of Macedonia along the borders of Kosovo and Albania.

In Montenegro, the Albanian population of Montenegro is currently estimated to be around 30.000 forming as well as one of the constituent minority groups of the country.^[30][94] They predominantly live in the coastal region of Montenegro around the municipalities of Ulcinj and Bar but also around Plav and the capital city of Podgorica.^[30] The cities of Ulcinj and Tuzi constitute the major centres of the Albanian community in Montenegro.

In Romania, the Albanians are recognized as a minority group and are hence represented in Parliament of Romania and enjoy ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious rights in the country.^[95][96] The Albanian migration to Romanian territory dates back to the 16th century however the actual number of Albanians in Romania is unofficially estimated at around 500 to 10.000.

An estimated 2.2 million Albanians live in the territory of Former Yugoslavia, the greater part, which is close to two million, in Kosovo.^[a] Rights to use the Albanian language in education and government were given and guaranteed by the 1974 Constitution of SFRY and were widely utilized in Macedonia and in Montenegro before the Dissolution of Yugoslavia.^[97]

The Albanians of Kosovo are traditionally Sunni Muslims and Roman Catholics.

The presence of Albanians in Kosovo as well as in the adjacent regions of Toplica and Morava is recorded since the Middle Ages.^[98] As the Serbs expelled many Albanians from the wider Toplica and Morava regions in Southern Serbia, which the 1878 Congress of Berlin had given to the Principality of Serbia, many of them settled in Kosovo.^[99] In Kosovo, they and their descendants are known as Muhaxher (meaning the exiled, from the Arabic muhajir).^[100][101]

During the First Balkan War, Serbia and Montenegro, after expelling the Ottoman forces in present-day Albania and Kosovo, committed numerous war crimes against the Albanians, which were reported by the European, American and Serbian opposition press.^[102] Further during the Kosovo War, Serbian paramilitary forces committed war crimes in Kosovo, although the Serbian government claims that the army was only going after suspected Albanian terrorists. This triggered a 78-day NATO campaign in 1999. Nowadays, Albanians in Kosovo constitute the majority with 1,616,869 million.^[103]

Culturally, Albanians in Kosovo are very closely related to Albanians in Albania. Traditions and customs differ even from town to town in Kosovo itself. The spoken dialect is Gheg, typical of northern Albanians. The language of state institutions, education, books, media and newspapers is the standard dialect of Albanian, which is closer to the Tosk dialect. The most widespread religion among Albanians in Kosovo is Islam, mostly Sunni, and Roman Catholicism.

There are small Albanian populations dating to migrations from the 18th century. One group known as the Arbanas are located on Croatia's Dalmatian coast and fled Ottoman repression.^[61] The second known as the Албанці (Albantsi) are located in scattered communities across southern Ukraine and descend from Albanian warriors who fought against the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish wars and allowed to settle in the Russian Empire.^[62]

Italy

Giovanni Francesco Albani served as the Pope from 1700 to 1721.

The Albanian migration to Italy can be broadly categorised into several migration cycles that occurred throughout history which in turn can be attributed to factors such as political or religious difficulties that emerged in the Balkan Peninsula. It dates back between the 15th and 17th centuries as once numerous Albanian and other Balkan soldiers, known as the Stratioti, were recruited to the Italian Peninsula as prominent mercenaries by the Neapolitans, Sicilians and Venetians.^[104][105] The Stratiotis, composed of Christians and Muslims, served initially for the Republic of Venice in their campaigns, among others, against the Ottoman Empire.^[106]

Francesco Crispi served as Prime Minister of Italy.

The Arbëreshës are the traditional Albanian population of Italy and started to settle Southern Italy following the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans and Constantinople between the 14th and 16th centuries.^[107] Today, the Albanian community constitute one of the largest ethnolinguistic minority in Italy which is protected by law.^{[108][109][110]}

The total number of Arbëreshës is approximately 260,000 scattered across Sicily, Calabria and Apulia.^[53] There are as well numbers outside of Italy such as in North and South America, especially in such countries as Argentina, Canada, Chile, Uruguay and the United States.

Centuries later in the end of the 20th century occurred another and simultaneously the largest migration cycle of Albanians to Italy surpassing the earlier migration of the Arbëreshë. Their migration stems from severe political and social oppression during decades of isolation from the outside world under the communist regime leaded by Enver Hoxha.^[111]

Between 2015 and 2016, the number of Albanians regularly residing in Italy was numbered to be around 480,000 and 500,000.^[111][112]Tuscany, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna represent the regions with the strongest presence of the modern Albanian population in Italy.^[111] In 2012, 41.5% of the Albanian population were counted as Muslim, 38.9% as Christian including 27.7% as Roman Catholic and 11% as Eastern Orthodox and 17.8% as Irreligious.^[113]

Croatia

The church of Gospe Loretske is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zadar and located in Arbanasi, Zadar.

In Croatia, the Albanian language is one of the officially recognized minority languages of the country and is primarily spoken by the Albanians and Arbanasis.^[114] As defined in the 2011 census, the number of Albanians in the country was estimated to be 17,513.^[115] They are mostly concentrated in the coastal cities of Croatia and the capital city of Zagreb.

The relief of the entrance of the Cathedral of Trogir worked by Andrea Nikollë Aleksi.

The history of Albanian presence in Croatia can be traced back to the Middle Ages^[vague].^[116] In this period, there was a significant Albanian community in Ragusa with numerous families of Albanian origin inclusively the Sorgo family who came from the Cape of Rodon in central Albania, across Kotor in eastern Montenegro, to Dalmatia.^[117]

By the 13th century, Albanian merchants were trading directly with the peoples of the Republic of Ragusa which increased familiarity between Albanians and Ragusans.^[118] The capture of Albania by the Ottoman Empire and the death of Skanderbeg caused many Christian Albanians to flee to Dalmatia and other countries including Italy and Greece.^[119][120]

In the 18th century, the suppression of Catholicism increased rapidly and dramatically which led the Arbanasis to flee to Dalmatia.^[121][122] They found initially refuge in Kotor and moved further north to Zadar where they established the village Borgo Erizzo which is at the present day a neighbourhood of Zadar.

Greece

An estimated 275,000–600,000 (Includes dual citizens, temporary migrants, and undocumented) Albanians live in Greece, forming the largest immigrant community in the country.^[123] They are economic migrants whose migration began in 1991, following the collapse of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania.

The Arvanites and Albanian-speakers of Western Thrace are a group descended from Tosks who migrated to southern and central Greece between the 13th and 16th centuries.^[54] They are Greek Orthodox Christians, and though they traditionally speak a dialect of Tosk Albanian known as Arvanitika, they have fully assimilated into the Greek nation and do not identify as Albanians.^[55][56][60] Arvanitika is in a state of attrition due to language shift towards Greek and large-scale internal migration to the cities and subsequent intermingling of the population during the 20th century.

The Cham Albanians were a group that formerly inhabited a region of Epirus known as Chameria, nowadays Thesprotia in northwestern Greece. Many Cham Albanians converted to Islam during the Ottoman era. Muslim Chams were expelled from Greece during World War II, by an anti-communist resistance group, as a result of their participation in a communist resistance group and the collaboration with the Axis occupation, while Orthodox Chams have largely assimilated into the Greek nation..^{[citation needed]}

Diaspora

Europe

In Switzerland, Albanians live predominantly in Zürich and other parts of German-speaking Switzerland.^[124]

In the 20th and 21st centuries, there have been increasingly large numbers of Albanian people settling in other parts of Western and Northern Europe. In Albania, the collapse of communism triggered a new wave of migration and led to the emergence of a new diaspora, largely within Southern Europe, in such countries as Greece and Italy.^{[125][125][126][127]} In the 1990s, the estimated number of Albanians outside the territory of Albania was approximately 500,000 of whom 90% was settling in neighbouring Greece.^[127]

There are approximately 200.000 Albanians in Switzerland with the main concentration in the cantons of Zürich, Basel, Lucerne, Bern and St. Gallen.^[37][124] The neighbouring Germany is home to around 250.000 to 300.000 Albanians while in Austria there are around 40.000 and 80.000 Albanians concentrated in the states of Vienna, Styria, Salzburg, Lower and Upper Austria.^{[35][36][128][129]} A large proportion of these people are from Kosovo and Macedonia with a lesser extent from Albania and other territories however, the number of Albanians in all three countries has sharply increased following the conflicts in the Balkans and the human tragedy in Kosovo.

The largest number of Albanians in Scandinavia is to be found in Sweden where 100,000 people of Albanian descent are thought to live. However, according to official data, only around 50,000 people have declared Albanian as their first language. A smaller number of Albanians have also settled in Norway and Denmark with more than 11,000 and 8,000 Albanians respecitvely.^[130]

In the United Kingdom, the number of Albanian nationals living in the UK increased from around 2,000 in 2004 to around 14,600 in 2015.^[131] As of other estimations, the population of Albanians in the UK lies between 70,000 and 100,000. Albanian migrants live in all parts of the UK especially in England.

Asia and Egypt

Köprülü Mehmed Pasha

Muhammad Ali of Egypt

The Albanian diaspora in Turkey was formed during the Ottoman era through economic migration and early years of the Turkish republic through migration due to sociopolitical discrimination and violence experienced by Albanians in Balkan countries.^[132] According to a 2008 report prepared for the National Security Council of Turkey by academics of three Turkish universities in eastern Anatolia, there were approximately 1,300,000 people of Albanian descent living in Turkey.^[133] According to that study, more than 500,000 Albanian descendants still recognize their ancestry and or their language, culture and traditions.^[134] There are also other estimates regarding the Albanian population in Turkey that range from being 3–4 million people^[134] up to a total of 5 million in number, although most of these are Turkish citizens of either full or partial Albanian ancestry being no longer fluent in Albanian (cf. German Americans).^[23][26] This was due to various degrees of either linguistic and or cultural assimilation occurring amongst the Albanian diaspora in Turkey.^[26] Nonetheless, a sizable proportion of the Albanian community in Turkey, such as that of Istanbul, has maintained its distinct Albanian identity.^[26] Albanians are active in the civic life of Turkey.^[134][135]

In Egypt there are 18,000 Albanians, mostly Tosk speakers.^[26] Many are descendants of the Janissaries of Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Albanian who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan.^[26] In addition to the dynasty that he established, a large part of the former Egyptian and Sudanese aristocracy was of Albanian origin.^[26] Albanian Sunnis, Bektashis and Orthodox Christians were all represented in this diaspora, whose members at some point included major Renaissance figures (Rilindasit), including Thimi Mitko, Spiro Dine, Andon Zako Çajupi, Milo Duçi, Fan Noli and others who lived in Egypt for a time.^[136] With the ascension of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt and rise of Arab nationalism, the last remnants of Albanian community there were forced to leave.^[137] Albanians have been present in Arab countries such as Syria, Lebanon,^[136] Iraq, Jordan, and for about five centuries as a legacy of Ottoman Turkish rule.

Americas

Toronto is home to around 17,000 Albanians.^[138]

The first immigration of Albanians to Canada began already in the 19th and 20th centuries though the largest wave of migration from the Balkan Peninsula to Canada was in 1999, when 7,000 people mostly Albanians from Kosovo, arrived in that country. They primarily settled in Canada's industrial cities, mostly Toronto, Montreal and Edmonton, which was besides the United States a major centre of Albanian migration to North America.

Albanian Canadians have their roots in Albania, although the country of their birth could be Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Italy or Greece. In 2016, Canada was home to approximately 36,185 Albanians from Albania and 2,870 Albanians from Kosovo predominantly distributed in Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver.^[46]

The largest population of Albanians in the Americas is predominantly to be found in the United States. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, there are 194,028 Albanian Americans (American citizens of full or partial Albanian descent).^[44]

The descendants of the Arbëreshës from Italy were the first ethnic Albanians to arrive in the United States.^[139] The immigration of the Arbëreshës to the country occurred at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.^[140] Having a strong sense of identity, the Arbëreshë Americans are often distinguishable from other Albanian Americans with regard to their italianized names and a common religion. They are often indistinguishable from Italian Americans because of being assimilated into the Italian American community.^[141]

Oceania

In 1933, most of Orthodox Albanians settled in Brisbane.^[142]

Albanian immigration to Australia took place in the late 19th century and much of the 20th century.^[143] Following the introduction of migration quotas by the United States, people who had planned to immigrate to the States were forced to choose Australia instead. The majority of them had Muslim and Orthodox backgrounds and tended to live in Victoria and Queensland but also in Western and Northern Australia.^[143]

Italy's annexation of Albania and its alliance with Nazi Germany against the allies marked a difficult time for Albanian and Italian Australians as they were thought by Australian authorities to pose a fascist threat. However, the number of Albanian immigrants slowed consequently during that time but also due to immigration restrictions placed by the communist regime in Albania.

The most recent Albanian immigrants came mostly from Kosovo and the former Yugoslavian countries inclusively Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro. The immigrants were mostly Muslims but also Orthodox and Catholics among them the relatives of the renowned Albanian nun and missionary Mother Teresa.^[143]

In 2016, approximately 4,041 persons resident in Australia identified themselves as having been born in Albania, while 15,901 persons identified themselves as having Albanian ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry.^[144] There are many Albanian Australians that were born in Italy, Macedonia as well as Kosovo, due to this they are recorded under those statistics.

History

Ethnogenesis

Middle Ages

An old Bulgarian text compiled around the beginning of the 11th century contains a possible reference to Albanians.^[145] It is preserved in a Serbian manuscript dated 1628 and was first published in 1934 by Radoslav Grujic. It is a fragment of a once longer text that endeavours to explain the origins of peoples and languages in a question-and-answer form similar to a catechism. It divides the world into seventy-two languages and three religious categories: Orthodox Christians, half-believers (i.e. non-Orthodox Christians) and non-believers. Grujic dated it to the early 11th century and if this and the identification of the Arbanasi as Albanians are correct it would be the earliest written document referring to the Albanians as a people or language group.^[145]

It can be seen that there are various languages on earth. Of them, there are five Orthodox languages: Bulgarian, Greek, Syrian, Iberian (Georgian) and Russian. Three of these have Orthodox alphabets: Greek, Bulgarian and Iberian. There are twelve languages of half-believers: Alamanians, Franks, Magyars (Hungarians), Indians, Jacobites, Armenians, Saxons, Lechs (Poles), Arbanasi (Albanians), Croatians, Hizi, Germans.

The first undisputed mention of Albanians in the historical record is attested in Byzantine source for the first time in 1079–1080, in a work titled History by Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates, who referred to the Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of Dyrrachium. It is disputed, however, whether the "Albanoi" of the events of 1043 refers to Albanians in an ethnic sense or whether "Albanoi" is a reference to Normans from Sicily under an archaic name (there was also a tribe in Italy by the name of "Albanoi").^[80] However a later reference to Albanians from the same Attaleiates, regarding the participation of Albanians in a rebellion around 1078, is undisputed.^[83] At this point, they are already fully Christianized, although Albanian mythology and folklore are part of the Paleo-Balkan pagan mythology,^[146] in particular showing Greek influence.^[147]

From the late 11th century the Albanians were called Arbën/Arbër and their country as Arbanon,^[148] a mountainous area to the west of Lake Ochrida and the upper valley of the river Shkumbin.^[149] It was in 1190, when the rulers of Arbanon (local Albanian noble called Progon and his sons Dhimitër and Gjin) created their principality with its capital at Krujë.^[150] After the fall of Progon Dynasty in 1216, the principality came under Grigor Kamona and Gulam of Albania. Finally the Principality was dissolved in 1255. Around 1230 the two main centers of Albanian settlements, one around Devoll river in what is now central Albania,^[151] and the other around the region which was known with the name Arbanon.^[152]

In 1271 Charles of Anjou created the Kingdom of Albania, after he captured a part of the Despotate of Epirus.^[153] A major attempt to advance further in direction of Constantinople failed at the Siege of Berat (1280–1281). A Byzantine counteroffensive soon ensued, which drove the Angevins out of the interior by 1281. The Sicilian Vespers further weakened the position of Charles, and the Kingdom was soon reduced by the Epirotes to a small area around Durrës. The kingdom however held out until 1368, when the city was captured by Karl Thopia. The presence of the kingdom reinforced the influence of Catholicism and the conversion to its rite, not only in the region of Durrës but in other parts of the country.^[154] A new wave of Catholic dioceses, churches and monasteries were founded, a number of different religious orders began spreading into the country, and papal missionaries also reached the territories of the Kingdom of Albania. Those who were not Catholic in Central and North Albania converted and a great number of Albanian clerics and monks were present in the Dalmatian Catholic institutions.^[155]

In the 14th century a number of Albanian principalities were created. These included Principality of Kastrioti, Principality of Dukagjini, Princedom of Albania, and Principality of Gjirokastër. At the beginning of the 15th century these principalities became stronger, especially because of the fall of the Serbian Empire. Some of these principalities were united in 1444 under the military alliance called League of Lezha.

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  The Principality of Arbanon in 1210 as part of the Despotate of Epirus
  

  
  

  
  


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  Kingdom of Albania, 1272-1365. Charles of Naples established it after he conquered a part from the Despotate of Epirus.
  

  
  

  
  


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  Princedom of Albania 1368-1392
  

  
  

  
  


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  Population movements, 14th century
  

  
  

  
  


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  Borders of the Principality of Albania 1914-1925, recognized by the Treaty of Bucharest
  

  
  

  
  

After serving the Ottoman Empire for 20 years Skanderbeg deserted and began a rebellion that halted Ottoman advance into Europe for 25 years (left). Ali Pasha of Tepelena was notably one of the most powerful autonomous Muslim Albanian rulers, he ruled over the Pashalik of Yanina, and even attempted to rival the Dey of Algiers in the seas (right).

At the dawn of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in Southeast Europe, the geopolitical landscape was marked by scattered kingdoms of small principalities. The Ottomans erected their garrisons throughout southern Albania by 1415 and established formal jurisdiction over most of Albania by 1431.^[156] However, in 1443 a great and longstanding revolt broke under the lead of the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, which lasted until 1479, many times defeating major Ottoman armies led by sultans Murad II and Mehmed II. Skanderbeg united initially the Albanian princes and later established a centralized authority over most of the non-conquered territories, becoming Lord of Albania. He also tried relentlessly but rather unsuccessfully to create a European coalition against the Ottomans. He frustrated every attempt by the Turks to regain Albania, which they envisioned as a springboard for the invasion of Italy and western Europe. His unequal fight against the mightiest power of the time won the esteem of Europe as well as some support in the form of money and military aid from Naples, the papacy, Venice, and Ragusa.^[157] Finally after decades of resistance, Ottomans captured Shkodër in 1479 and Durrës in 1501.^[158] Skanderbeg's long struggle to keep Albania free became highly significant to the Albanian people, as it strengthened their solidarity, made them more conscious of their national identity, and served later as a great source of inspiration in their struggle for national unity, freedom, and independence.^[157][159] The invasion triggered a several waves of migration of Albanians from Albania, Epirus and Peloponnese to the south of Italy, constituting an Arbereshe community. Albanians were recruited all over Europe as a light cavalry known as stratioti. The stratioti were pioneers of light cavalry tactics during this era. In the early 16th century heavy cavalry in the European armies was principally remodeled after Albanian stradioti of the Venetian army, Hungarian hussars and German mercenary cavalry units (Schwarzreitern).^[160]
By the 16th century, Ottoman rule over Southeast Europe was largely secure. The Ottomans proceeded in stages, first appointing a qadi along with governors and then military retainers in the cities. Timar holders, not necessarily converts to Islam, would occasionally rebel, the most famous case of which is Skanderbeg. His figure would be used later in the 19th century as a central component of Albanian national identity. Ottoman control over the Albanian territories was secured in 1571 when Ulcinj, presently in Montenegro, was captured.

Albanian men in the 16th century – Codice de trajes 1547

The most significant impact on the Albanians was the gradual Islamization process of a large majority of the population, although such a process only became widespread in the 17th century.^[72] Mainly Catholics converted in the 17th century, while the Orthodox Albanians became Muslim mainly in the following century. Initially confined to the main city centres of Elbasan and Shkodër, by this time the countryside was also embracing the new religion.^[72] In Elbasan Muslims made up just over half the population in 1569–70 whereas in Shkodër this was almost 90% and in Berat closer to 60%. In the 17th century, however, Catholic conversion to Islam increased, even in the countryside. The motives for conversion according to scholars were diverse, depending on the context. The lack of source-material does not help when investigating such issues.^[72] Reasons in various different contexts included the incentive to escape high taxes levied on Christian subjects, ecclesiastical decay,^[161] coercion by Ottoman authorities in times of war,^[69][70][71] and the privileged legal and social position Muslims had over that of Christians within the empire.^[67][66][68]

Areas such as Albania, Western Macedonia, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, parts of northern Greece and southern Montenegro in Ottoman sources were referred to as Arnavudluk or Albania.^{[162][163][164]} The Ottoman period that followed in Albania after the end of Skanderbeg's resistance was characterized by other changes. Many Albanians gained prominent positions in the Ottoman government such as: Iljaz Hoxha, Hamza Kastrioti, Koca Davud Pasha, Zağanos Pasha, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (head of the Köprülü family of Grand Viziers), the Bushati family, Sulejman Pasha, Edhem Pasha, Nezim Frakulla, Haxhi Shekreti, Hasan Zyko Kamberi, Ali Pasha of Gucia, Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Ali Pasha of Tepelena who rose to become one of the most powerful Muslim Albanian rulers in western Rumelia. During the Ottoman era Albanians involved in imperial service could also be found across the empire in Egypt, Algeria and across the Maghreb as vital military and administrative retainers.^[165]

Modern

Flag used during the National Renaissance by Albanian rebels

In the 1870s, the Sublime Porte's reforms aimed at checking the Ottoman Empire's disintegration had clearly failed. The image of the "Turkish yoke" had become fixed in the nationalist mythologies and psyches of the people in the Balkan peninsula, and their march toward independence quickened. Because of the higher degree of Islamic influence, the Albanians internal social divisions, and the fear that they would lose their Albanian-inhabited territories to the emerging Balkan states, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece, were the last of the peoples in the Balkans to desire division from the Ottomans.^[166]

The national awakening as a coherent political movement began after the Treaty of San Stefano, according to which Albanian-inhabited territories were to be ceded to other states of the Balkans, and focused on preventing that partition.^[167][168] The Treaty of San Stefano was the impetus for the nation-building movement, which was based more on fear of partition than national identity.^[168] Even after, Albania declared independence on 28 November 1912, national identity was fragmented and possibly non-existent in much of the newly proposed country.^[168] The state of disunity and fragmentation would remain until the communist period following second World War, when the communist nation-building project would achieve greater success in nation-building and reach more people than any previous regime, thus creating Albanian national communist identity.^[168]

Culture

Language

The dialects of the Albanian language in Southern Europe.

The majority of the Albanian people speak the Albanian language which comprise an independent branch within the Indo-European languages. It is a language isolate to any other known living language in Europe and indeed no other language in the world has been conclusively associated to its branch.

The origin of the Albanian langauge is a contentious subject that has given rise to numerous hypotheses. The hypothesis of Albanian being one of the descendant of the Illyrian languages is based on geography where the languages were spoken however not enough archaeological evidence is left behind to come therefore to a definite conclusion.

Another hypothesis associates the Albanian language with the Thracian language. This theory takes exception to the territory, since the language was spoken in an area distinct from Albania, and no significant population movements have been recorded in the period when the shift from one language to the other is supposed to have occurred.^[169]

Albanians can be divided into two cultural and linguistic groups which include the northern Ghegs and the southern Tosks.^[170][171] Gheg is mostly spoken, along with the Albanians in Croatia (Arbanasi), Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia. Tosk speaker include the Albanians of Greece (Arvanites, Çam), Macedonia and Italy (Arbëreshë). The diversity between Ghegs and Tosks can be substantial, both sides identify strongly with the common national and ethnic culture.

The Albanian language is spoken by approximately 4 million people throughout the Balkan Peninsula as well as by communities around the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Numerous variants and dialects of Albanian are used as an official language in Albania and Kosovo.^[172][173] The language is also spoken in other countries whence it is officially recognised as a minority language in such countries as Croatia, Italy, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.^{[114][174][175]}

It is the second most spoken language in Greece (Arvanitika and Çam), Macedonia and the third most spoken language in Italy (Arbëreshë).^[176] In consideration to the large Albanian diaspora, the total number of Albanian speakers is much higher than the native speakers in Southern Europe.

Most Albanians in Albania speak foreign languages as revealed by a new study carried out by Eurostat, the statistical agency of the European Union, which analyzed the demography of the adult population 25-64 of several European countries as of 2016. The results of the Adult Education Survey, released in May 2018, showed that the 39.9% of the 25–64 years old albanians is able to use at least one foreign language. The main foreign language known is English with 40.0%, followed by Italian with 27.8% and Greek with 22.9%. The English speakers were mostly young people, the knowledge of Italian is stable in every age group, while there is a decrease of the speakers of Greek in the youngest group.^[177]

The Albanians in Italy are either Albanian immigrants from the 1990s, who came in Italy following the breakdown of the communist regime in Albania in 1990 and speak standard Albanian and the Italian language, or the Arbëreshë people, Albanian refugees who fled from Albania for Southern Italy between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries in consequence of the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans, who nowadays speak the Arbëresh language, a variety of Albanian that derives from Tosk spoken in southern Albania and follows a similar divergence pattern to Arvanitika.

Religion

The King's Mosque of Sultan Mehmet Fatih in Pristina, Kosovo

Ardenica Monastery, an Orthodox Monastery near the city of Lushnja in Central Albania

The Albanian people are traditionally adherents of different spiritual traditions and religious faiths and beliefs.
Nowadays most Albanians are non observant with many who are irreligious. A majority among Albanian Muslims are Sunni, while a large minority are Bektashi (an esoteric Shia-derived sect known for liberal attitudes) and there are also smaller Sufi groups, while Christians are split between Orthodox and Catholics with a smaller presence of Protestant sects.^[178]

The Albanians first appear in the historical record in Byzantine sources of the late 11th century.^[179] At this point, they were already fully Christianized. All Albanians were Orthodox Christians until the middle of the 13th century when the Ghegs were converted to Catholicism as a mean to resist the Slavs.^[63][64][65]Christianity was later overtaken by Islam, which kept the scepter of the major religion during the period of Ottoman Turkish rule from the 15th century until 1912. Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism continued to be practiced with less frequency.

During the 20th century the monarchy and later the totalitarian state followed a systematic secularization of the nation and the national culture. This policy was chiefly applied within the borders of the current Albanian state. It produced a secular majority in the population. All forms of Christianity, Islam and other religious practices were prohibited except for old non-institutional pagan practices in the rural areas, which were seen as identifying with the national culture. The current Albanian state has revived some pagan festivals, such as the Spring festival (Albanian: Dita e Verës) held yearly on 14 March in the city of Elbasan. It is a national holiday.^[180]

The Arabati Baba Teḱe, a traditionally Bektashi Sufi tekke in Tetovo, Macedonia

The communist regime which ruled Albania after World War II persecuted and suppressed religious observance and institutions, and entirely banned religion to the point where Albania was officially declared to be the world's first atheist state. Religious freedom returned to Albania following the regime's change in 1992. Albanian Sunni Muslims are found throughout the country, Albanian Orthodox Christians as well as Bektashis are concentrated in the south, while Roman Catholics are found primarily in the north of the country.^[181]

According to 2011 census, 58.79% of Albania adheres to Islam, making it the largest religion in the country. The majority of Albanian Muslims are Sunni with a Bektashi minority. Christianity is practiced by 16.99% of the population, making it the second largest religion in the country. The remaining population is either irreligious or belongs to other religious groups.^[182] Before World War II, there was given a distribution of 70% Muslims, 20% Eastern Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholics.^[183] Today, Gallup Global Reports 2010 shows that religion plays a role in the lives of only 39% of Albanians, and ranks Albania the thirteenth least religious country in the world.^[184]
The results of the 2011 census, however, have been criticized as questionable on a number of grounds, and have been said to drastically underrepresent the number of Orthodox, Bektashi and irreligious Albanians, with problems including whole communities reporting that they had not been contacted, workers filling out questions without even asking the respondents and a drastic difference between the final results and the preliminary results with regard to religion (which showed over 70% declining to answer the question about religion).^{[185][186][187][188][189][190][191][192]}

For part of its history, Albania has also had a Jewish community. Members of the Jewish community were saved by a group of Albanians during the Nazi occupation.^[193] Many left for Israel c. 1990–1992 when the borders were opened after the fall of the communist regime, but about 200 Jews still live in Albania.

Albanian Catholic nun Mother Teresa won the Nobel peace prize in 1979 for her efforts to help the poor.

Literature

A modest amount of literature written by early Albanians was about religious themes.^[195] The earliest known use of written Albanian is a baptismal formula (1462) written by the Archbishop of Durrës Paulus Angelus.^[196] In 1555, a Catholic clergyman Gjon Buzuku from the Shestan region published the earliest known book written in Albanian titled Meshari (The Missal) regarding Catholic prayers and rites containing archaic medieval language, lexemes and expressions obsolete in contemporary Albanian.^[197] Other Christian clergy such as Luca Matranga in the Arbëresh diaspora published (1592) in the Tosk dialect while other notable authors were from northern Albanian lands and included Pjetër Budi, Frang Bardhi, and Pjetër Bogdani.^[198] With the conversion to Islam of many Albanians, Muslim poetic and other literary traditions were adopted giving rise to authors such as the Bejtexhinj (Albanian poets) and included individuals like Nezim Frakulla, Hasan Zyko Kamberi, Muhamet Kyçyku, and brothers Shahin and Dalip Frashëri.^[199] They compiled Albanian literature infused with expressions, language and themes stemming from the Middle East and their local socio-cultural environment.^[199] Albanian literature was composed in the Arbëresh diaspora by individuals such as Giulio Variboba, Nicola Chetta, Giuseppe Schirò, Giuseppe Serembe, Girolamo de Rada and others relating to religious, secular, poetic and eventually patriotic themes like Skanderbeg.^[200] From the 19th century Rilindja (Albanian national awakening), a corpus of Albanian literature with patriotic and other themes emerged calling for Albanian unity, self-determination and celebrating Albanian culture, language, legends and other figures of sociopoltical, cultural and historic importance.^[201] Figures who left their mark during this period were the poet brothers Naim and Sami Frashëri, Pashko Vasa, Luigj Gurakuqi and others.^[201]

Albanian independence (1912) until the advent of the Second World War marked a transition from patriotic and political Rilindja related literature to more distinctive, expressive and matured forms of Albanian literature, prose and poetry focusing upon additional themes of contemporary life.^[202]Andon Zako Çajupi, Ndre Mjeda, Faik Konitza, Fan Noli who translated many foreign works into Albanian, Gjergj Fishta who composed the epic the Highland Lute, Ernest Koliqi, modernist poets Migjeni and Lasgush Poradeci and others.^[202] Albania, post World War Two emerged as a communist state and Socialist realism became part of the literary scene.^[203] Authors and poets emerged such as Sejfulla Malëshova, Dritero Agolli and Ismail Kadare who has become an internationally acclaimed novelist and others who challenged the regime through various sociopolitical and historic themes in their works.^[203]Martin Camaj wrote in the diaspora while in neighbouring Yugoslavia, the emergence of Albanian cultural expression resulted in sociopolitical and poetic literature by notable authors like Adem Demaçi, Rexhep Qosja, Jusuf Buxhovi.^[204] The Albanian literary scene at the beginning of the 21st century remains vibrant producing new novelists, authors, poets and other writers.^[205]

Music

Albanian folk music displays a variety of influences. Albanian folk music traditions differ by region, with major stylistic differences between the traditional music of the Ghegs in the north and Tosks in the south. Modern popular music has developed around the centers of Korca, Shkodër and Tirana. Since the 1920s, some composers such as Fan S. Noli have also produced works of Albanian classical music.

Gallery

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  An Arnaut in Cairo, Egypt
  

  
  

  
  


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  Albanian custom Catholic woman from Shkodra, Albania
  

  
  

  
  


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  Man and woman from Elbasan, Albania
  

  
  

  
  


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  Shkodra man in traditional dress
  

  
  

  
  


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  Albanian woman, end of the 19th century
  

  
  

  
  


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  A traditional male folk group from Skrapar, Albania
  

  
  

  
  


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  Albanians in Macedonia
  

  
  

  
  


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  Albanian shepherds of Macedonia
  

  
  

  
  


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  Albanian folk dance from Civita, Calabria, Italy
  

  
  

  
  

See also

• List of Albanians


• History of Albania


• Culture of Albania


• Geography of Albania

Notes

Sources

References

Further reading

• 
  Durham, Edith (1905). The Burden of the Balkans. peacelink.nu. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  


• 
  Matzinger, Joachim (2013). "Shqip bei den altalbanischen Autoren vom 16. bis zum frühen 18. Jahrhundert [Shqip within Old Albanian authors from the 16th to the early 18th century]". Zeitschrift für Balkanologie. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albanians.

• Albanians in Turkey


• Albanian Canadian League Information Service (ACLIS)


• 
  Albanians in the Balkans U.S. Institute of Peace Report, November 2001


• 
  Books about Albania and the Albanian people (scribd.com) Reference of books (and some journal articles) about Albania and the Albanian people; their history, language, origin, culture, literature, and so on Public domain books, fully accessible online.