THE ALBANIAN QUESTION

The mystery enveloping Albania and the Albanians, has not been examined for who they are as a people. Today, the world is entertaining the wildest fancies about the actual conditions of the Albanians, and have hazy notions about their existence. Who are the Albanians and what are they striving for? The answer to the question is "The Albanian Question".

In the course of her long history, Albania has been invaded by various civilized, half-civilized, and barbarian races. The Gauls, Romans, Goths, Slavs, Normans, Venetians and finally, the Turks, set foot on and have obtained temporary mastery over the Albanian territory. In the course of time, the natives have gradually been driven out or assimilated the invaders. A series of historical events, described by the Greek and Roman writers, centuries ago, apply to the current conditions, in such a way, as to make one imagine that the old writings are contemporary history. It is those events, then and now, that have forced the Albanians to cling with tenacity to their national traditions, language, and customs.

More than a thousand years before the arrival of Slavs, in the sixth century A.D. , the lands east of the Adriatic were the home of peoples known to the ancient world as Illyrians, the precursors of the present Albanians. The Illyrian territory comprised much of what is now inhabited by the Yugoslavs and Albanians. The Illyrian territory comprised the river of Danube in the north, the Adriatic in the west, the Gulf of Ambrakia (Greece) in the south, the Lakeland basin Scupi (Skopje) and the Kosova region in the east. The ancient districts of Calabria and Appulia in southern Italy were included.

The Illyrians had close interrelationship with the Greeks. Being the most ancient people in the region, they shared many old customs and traditions. The Greek colonies, along the coast of the Adriatic, played a great role in the infusion of the Greek civilization into the Illyrian hinterland. For nearly three millennia, except for the present chauvinistic-shadowed century, these two original neighbors have never been in conflict with each other.

The earliest information about the Illyrians can be found in Homer. In the fourteenth book of Iliad, The Paeonians, an Illyrian tribe, are quoted as horsemen who came "from their fertile regions, under the leadership of Asteroups", and took part in the Trojan War. According to Homer, Ulysses landed on the fertile coasts of the Illyrian tribe of Thesprotians. On his return from Troy, Ulysses was welcomed by Phaeton, their generous and heroic king. The Illyrians were also related to the Macedonians. The mother of Alexander the Great was an Illyrian princess from Epirus.

According to Strabo's Geography, the Greek tradition identified the Illyrians as an ethnos different from Macedonians and Thracians, as well as from the Greeks. They spoke a language, of which no trace has survived. This language belonged to the "family" of Indo-European languages, as shown from the many names of Illyrian peoples and places preserved in Greek and Roman records, both literally and epigraphically. The Greeks had a word for speaking of the Illyrians, "illurizein", and recognized this language as distinct from Greek. The Albanian language of today is entirely distinct from the tongues spoken by the neighboring nationalities. This language is particularly interesting for it is the only surviving representative of the Illyrian group of languages, which formed the primitive speech of the inhabitants in the Balkan Peninsula. In the course of time, the Albanian language has been impregnated by a number of foreign words, mainly of Greek and Latin origin, which are younger than the Albanian language.

The Albanian language is the best available means for a rational explanation of the meaning of names of the ancient Greek gods, as well as the rest of the mythological creations. The Homeric poems abound in words that have survived in the spoken Albanian language. According to the German scholars, who laid the foundations of the Albanian studies in the 19th century, the present day Albanian language represents the latest phase of the old Illyrian language or more precisely, Illyrian dialect. The current version of the theory of the Albanians origin, is centered on the unbroken descend of modern Albanians from the Illyrian people, formed in the Bronze Age. Geographically, it coincides with the territory inhabited presently by the Albanians.

Frequent wars forced the Illyrian tribes to establish alliances with each other. Eventually, these alliances developed into tribal federations. The most important of them, was the federation of the Taulantis, comprising western Illyria, eastern Illyria or Dardania (present Kosova and western Macedonia), and Mollosia (Epirus). In the 3rd century D.C., Alexander the Great of Macedonia incorporated part of Illyria into his own Empire. The Illyrian kingdom culminated with the Queen Teuta, in the 2nd century B.C. She led the Illyrian navy to attack Sicily and the Greek coast colonies. She practiced piracy on a large scale in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, thus antagonizing Rome, which finally sent a large fleet to defeat the Illyrian navy. The Roman-Illyrian wars continued for nearly a century, ending with the conquest of the whole Balkan Peninsula by the Romans and the surrender of the last Illyrian king, Genthius, in 167 B.C.

The spread of Roman citizenship in subsequent generations bound Illyria more closely to the Roman Empire. Most importantly, the fighting men of lllyria became a principal source of soldiers for the Roman army. Most the Roman soldier- emperors, after the later part of the 3rd centery A.D., were of Illyrian origin, 'Virtus Illyrici' or 'Genius Illyrici'. When Septimus Severus, governor of the Danube provinces, seized the throne in 193 A.D., he disbanded the Italian Praetorian Guard, replacing them with soldiers recruited largely in Illyria and Thrace. In 268 A.D. this Preatorian Guard killed Emperor Gallienus and replaced him with Claudius II, one of the brilliant young Illyrian officers, promoted by the ranks. He was succeeded by Aurelian, another skillful Illyrian general, who secured the Danubian frontiers. Aurelian restored both Eastern and Western Provinces to the Roman Empire he reconquered Gaul and stabilized the Roman economy. Later in Roman history, the army of Eastern Rome proclaimed another Illyrian as Emperor, Probus. He liberated Gaul from the Franks and Alemani, and freed Egypt from Sudanese invaders.

Between 282 and 285 A.D., another Illyrian, Marcus Aurelius Carus, was declared Emperor. Upon his death, his son Carinus claimed the throne. The Army of Eastern Rome ignored Carinus, and selected as Emperor one of their own officers, Diocletian, also an Illyrian. He restored the Roman Empire to its former greatness and in 286 A.D., promoted a fellow Illyrian, Maximilian, to the rank of Caesar and Augustus, in recognition of his victories. To further strengthen the imperial power and to assist in ruling, both Diocletian and Maximian chose young Illyrian men as Caesar. Diocletian selected Gaius Galerius in the East, and Maximian chose C. Flavius Constantinus in the West. The latter was the father of the future Constantine the Great. Diocletian and Maximian adopted these young men and gave them their daughters' hand in marriage, thereby cementing the ties between the East and the West.

Illyria was one the first scenes of the evangelic activities of Paul the Apostle, in which the Christian message was preached. According to the Bible, Paul the Apostle "fully preached the gospel of Christ roundabout Illyricum", and in the flourishing cities of Dyrrachium and Appolonia, still in existence in present Albania. Octavius Augustus had studied at a military academy in Appolonia, before returning to Rome to become its Emperor, when his uncle, Julius Caesar was assassinated. Cicero called Appolonia a "beautiful and imposing city". William Shakespeare had chosen Appolonia as an attractive scene of events in his famous play "The Twelfth Night".

It was during this period of time, the worst persecution of Christians took place. The first martyrs of Christendom in Europe, Florin in 117 A.D. and Lorin in 138 A.D., both Illyrians, had been killed in Ulpiana (near present Prishtina). The Roman Emperor Galerius from Illyria, convinced of the futility of the persecutions on the Christians, issued the Edict of Toleration, which granted Christians the freedom of worship. To the newly instituted Christian Empire, Illyria contributed the men who instituted it. Constantine the Great converted to Christianity and put the symbol of Christ on his soldiers' shields. He was a native of Naissus ( Kosova), which at that time was an Albanian town, just as it is now a Serbian one. Saint Jerome, the first translator of the Holy Scriptures into Latin, and the Father of Church of Christ, is noted in Butler's book, Lives of Saints, as born in Illyria and speaking the Illyrian language. Pope Sylvester, and the Emperors of Byzantium, during the 6th century A.D., Justin and his nephew Justinian, were also of Illyrian descent.

The division of the Roman Empire made Illyria, a continuous bone of contention between these two parts of the Empire. One particularly irritating dispute between these two halves of the Empire, was a territorial one. Illyria lay west of the north-south line separating them, and was usually considered part of the West. The Court of Constantinople coveted and seized part of it. This action resented the West and caused Illyria to serve as a perpetual reason for enmity between the two, the same as Albania is doing today.

During the periods of the great tribal migrations, Illyria was repeatedly subject to the first invasions. In 395 A.D., the Visigoths under Alaric, descended upon Illyria, Macedonia and Greece. Their assault was followed by the Huns and then by the Ostrogoths in 461 A.D. From the late 6th century to the mid 7th century, the Slavs, natives of the regions between the Don River and Black Sea, in present Russia and Ukraine, flooded the Balkans, putting an end to Byzantine authority as well as the Roman civilization in this area. Four distinct Slav groups may be identified in the Balkans in the 10th century. They were respectively the ancestors of the present day Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and Bulgarians. Within this territory, there were many non-Slav people, mostly survivors of the Illyrians. The memories of Pax Romana, found in the coastal cities of the Adriatic, whether under Byzantium or Slav rule, still evoke strong memories, today. They are the Romanized Illyrians, who retained their Latin culture and dominated the Albanian language. Secondly, the ruins of Diocletian's Palace at Split, and the remnants of Via Egnatia evoked these memories. This route, Via Egnatia, crossing the Balkan peninsula, linked Rome with the Illyrian ports of Appolonia and Dyrrachium to Constantinople. Via Egnatia was used by the Albanians until late in the last century.

After the barbarian invasions and Slav migrations, the Romanized Illyrians of the north were gradually assimilated or disappeared from the historical scene. Those in the south, who populated New Epirus, Old Epirus, Dardania (present Kosova and western Macedonia) and the south of Prevalitania (present Montenegro) resisted on, by retaining intact a separate Illyrian identity and their own order and social system. In the course of centuries, this old population, with its tormented history, was to lose its ancient name of Illyrian, and entered medieval times under the name of Albanian. The last time, the Illyrians have been mentioned as an ethnic group, was in the 7th century A.D. document of the Byzantine Empire called Miracula Sancti Demetrii. The habitat of the Illyrian tribe of Albanoi was distinguished in the 2nd century A.D., by the Alexandrin geographer Claudius Ptolemy. In the 11th century, the Byzantine historian Michael Attalaite had mentioned the Albanians, as participating in the military revolt fermented by General George Maniaces against Constantinople in 1043. By the end of the 11th century, the Normans occupied these territories and referred to them as Albania. Due to the depression of the Byzantine Empire in the late 12th century, the first Albanian state, Albanoi, reigned by native kings, was recorded.

The Bulgarians, since the 9th century, occupied vast territories of the Byzantines, including Albania. With some intervals, the Bulgarian rule lasted until the year 1241. In 1272, Albania was occupied by Anguins of France, and Charles I was proclaimed Regnum Albaniae, with Dyrrachium (present Durres) as the capital. It was during this time, the first recognizable Serb state, known today as Old Serbia, was born in Rashka ( present Serbia proper), with Stephen Nemanja (1168-1196) as its founder. After conquering part of present Kosova and Macedonia in 1185, Nemanja proclaimed his independence from the Byzantines. The remaining Albanian territories continued to be under the Norman rule even during the 13th century.

In the middle of the 14th century, the whole Kingdom of Albania, as well as Greece and Macedonia was overrun by the Serbian Empire. The Serb Czar Stephan Dushan the Great (1331-1355) proclaimed himself Emperor of the Serbs, Greeks, Bulgarians and Albanians. The Serbs relocated their capital from Rashka to Scupi, the former capital of Illyrian Dardania. This region began to be called Kosova. As the Emperors had to be crowned by a patriarch, Dushan raised the status of the bishop of the Serb Church to that of a patriarch. A Serb Patriarchate was created in 1375, in the town of Peia in Kosova.

The Turks continued to become a growing menace to the Balkan kingdoms and principalities. Following the Battle of the Maritza River, in 1388, Bulgaria was forced into subjection. The Sultan turned against the Serbs. A coalition of Balkan forces: Albanians, Hungarians,Serbs and Bosnians, led by prince Lazar of Serbia, met the Turks in the Field of Kosova. The battle of Kosova, in 1389, ended with the total defeat of the coalition, and the Serb state ceased to exist. Some Albanian feudals managed to form powerful independent principalities in the mountainous regions of Albania: Prince Balscia established his principality in present Montenegro and Kosova. Prince Thopia established his principality in present Albania proper, and Prince Shpata in Epirus.

During the first half of the 15th century, Albanians fought against the Turks under their national hero, King George Castriotti. He was taken captive as a child by the Turks, and brought to the Court of the Sultan. He converted to Islam, and eventually was titled Scanderbeg (Alexander the Commander), in recognition of his performance as one of the Sultan's best field commanders. When Scanderbeg learned in 1443, the Albanians were revolting, he came to Albania with 300 faithful cavalrymen, renounced Islam, and returned to Christianity. Scanderbeg united all the Albanian princes under his banner, and began a long fight against the Turks until his death in 1468. Scanderbeg made great efforts to organize an alliance of the European Christian states to halt the penetration of the Turks into Europe, envisaging a crusade against them. Scanderbeg traveled to Rome to meet the Pope and ask for his help. Pope Pius II was enthusiastic of this plan and promised support for Scanderbeg, whom he called the "Champion of Christianity". Preoccupied with their own conflicts, the Europeans were slow in responding to the appeal, and with the death of Pius II in 1464, all plans were abandoned.

After Scanderbeg's death in 1468, the Albanians continued their fight for independence, but resources had come to an end. After a two year siege, the Albanian capital Croya, fell to the Turks, followed by Scodra in 1478 and Durres (Dyrrachium) in 1502. Albania was the last Balkan country to be occupied by the Turks. The Albanian resistance continued in the mountains well into the next century. In 1681, Austria invaded the Turkish-occupied territories of the Balkans, and led to uprisings of its oppressed peoples. The Albanians, in an effort to get rid of Turks, welcomed the Austrian invasion in Kosova. They fought under the leadership of Pietro Bogdani, a distinguished Albanian scholar of the time and Catholic priest. The Turks pushed the Austrians back and hopes of liberation vanished once again.

It is interesting to note, the name of Albania has been thought to be derived from the Latin word 'Alba', meaning 'dawn' in English. Albania is the place where the sun rises to be seen by the West. While called Albania from the westerners, the Albanians called their own country 'Arberi', and themselves Arber or Arbereshe. During the 16-17th centuries, the Albanians in Albania began to call their country 'Skiperi', meaning in their language 'the nest of eagles'. In their mountainous lands, the Albanians felt themselves free as eagles. The symbol of the Albanian national flag has been, throughout their history, the double-headed eagle. According to Plutarch, the soldiers called Pyrrhus, King of Epirus from the Illyrian tribe of Mollosia, 'the Eagle'. Pyrrhus replied to his soldiers: "If I am an eagle, I owe it to you ". The names 'Arberi' and 'Arbereshe' are preserved to this day, by the Albanians who have migrated from their country. They have formed enclaves in southern Italy, Morea of Greece, and Dubrovnik of Croatia.

Perhaps, the most unusual group of Albanian-speaking people today, live across the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy and western Sicily . Together, they are known as the Arbereshi and arrived in Italy more than five centuries ago . The very first Albanians to land in Italy were recorded in 1448, as soldiers led by King George Castriotti Scanderbeg. They came to defend the Kingdom of Naples against attacks of the Frankish prince of Aragon. In 1459, the Albanian army of Scanderbeg came again, this time to help his ally put down a revolt against the King of Naples. In return for Skanderbeg's assistance, he was given land near Taranto, some 250 miles south of Rome. Beginning from 1488, around two hundred thousand Albanians crossed the Adriatic from the shores of Albania, with well-armed Turks in hot pursuit . The settlers clung to rocky rural Mediterranean areas of Italy and Sicily, reminding them of their mountainous native land of Albania. Today, most of the people in these areas, with Albanian ancestry, still speak an old form of the Albanian language, and call themselves Arbereshe.

By the beginning of the 18th century, the Turkish pashas (princes) of Albanian descent, began to play an important role in the Ottoman Empire, as the Turks dominated Albania. The Koprulus family, natives of Albania, has given several remarkable prime ministers, governing the Ottoman Empire to its heights in the 17th century. Mohammed Ali, an Albanian pasha, was sent to Egypt to oppress a revolt . After suppressing this revolt he proclaimed himself King of Egypt, disassociating Egypt from Turkey. The most important of pashas, Kara Mohammed Pasha of Scodra in northern Albania, and Ali Pasha Tepelena of Iannina, in the south, extinguished Turkish rule in Albania for nearly a century . They failed to implement a new social order as Mohammed Ali had done in Egypt . Ali Pasha Tepelena was known in the West as the 'Lion of Iannina'. He made the town of Iannina in Epirus, the veritable capital of a small state, totally removed from Constantinople's influence. He entered into independent relations with Napoleon of France, and hosted Lord Gordon Byron of Britain, when he visited Albania during the early 19th century .

In the 19th century, the Albanian struggle for national liberation entered a phase with the achievement of political, economic and cultural independence becoming paramount for the Albanians. At the same time, relations had been established with the national movements of Greece, Romania and Italy. Albanians participated actively in these countries' movements, which has led to their freedom. The first Greek President, Kounduriotis, and the first Italian Prime Minister Crispi, were of Albanian descent. The Albanians in Greece, contributed greatly to the independence of Greece. In the history of the Greek revolution, the Albanian leaders Marco Botzari the Captain of Suliots, Bouboulina the Lady Admiral, and Miauli the Great Admiral, became heroes of this revolution. Today, they are still honored by the Greek people.

The Balkan national liberation movements shook the Turkish Empire, by creating, what is called "The Eastern Question". In 1878 Russia appeared at the gates of the Balkans, trying to impose a Russian solution of who should control the Balkan region. After attacking and defeating Turkey, Russia concluded the San Stefano peace treaty in favour of the Balkan Slavs. The most important provision of the treaty was the enlargement of Serbia and Montenegro, at the expense of the Albanian populated territories. Since then, Russia has been the most important player in the partition of the Albanian lands, thus creating "the Albanian Question", which threatens peace in Europe, today.

In 1878, the Congress of Berlin was held, to revise the provisions of the San Stefano treaty. This Congress failed to recognize the national rights of the Albanian people. Its decision to again divide the Illyrian lands gave immediate impetus for the formation of the Albanian National League(ANL) in Prizren. The ANL decided to defend the Albanian territories and establish Albania's independence. The Albanians fought battles against both Turkish and Slav troops, particularly in Ulcin (present Montenegro), Shtimle and Kacanik (present Kosova). The Turks could crush the League's forces in 1881. Trials were staged in Scupi, the capital city of the vilayet (province) of Kosova, and in other Albanian provincial capitals-Scodra, Monastir and Iannina. The reprisals against the Albanians created the first division of the Albanian lands. The Congress of Berlin ceded to Serbia ,the regions stretching from Leskovac and Vranie to Nish . Montenegro was given the littoral regions of Tivar and Ulcin, and the mountainous regions of Plava and Gucia.

Large scale uprisings broke out in Kosova and northern Albania in 1904 and 1910. The insurgents took Prishtina and Vucitern. After fierce fighting against a 40 thousand strong Turkish army in Kacanik of Kosova, the insurgents had to retreat. Another uprising broke out in 1911 in northern Albania. This uprising spilt into Kosova, Pollog (Macedonia), and southern Albania. The Turkish Sultan went to Kosova to try to placate the rebels, but without result, as they insisted on full independence. In 1912, the Albanian uprising engulfed all of the Albanian lands. In Kosova alone, there were 70 thousand insurgents, liberating all the towns of the region, including the capital, Scupi. It compelled the Turkish Government to resign. The new Turkish Government sent a delegation to Prishtina to negotiate peace. But it was too late.

In the Autumn of 1912, the Balkan states formed an alliance against Turkey, and the First Balkan War began. Within a month, the armies of Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece penetrated deep into the Albanian territories. Delegations from all over the country met at a National Congress in the town of Vlora (southern Albania) and, on November 28, 1912, proclaimed the independence of Albania. Unfortunately, it could not stop the second division of Albania, taking place less than three decades from the former one. The London Conference of the six European powers was held in 1913. It gave Serbia the whole of Kosova and Macedonia, predominantly populated by the Albanians. Montenegro was again enlarged at the expense of northwestern Albania. Greece was given a considerable portion of southern Albania. More than two thirds of Albania's territory was detached from its trunk. Kosova (the Illyrian Dardania), the cradle of the Albanization, was still left under foreign yoke. Serbia, at this time, decided to abolish the oldest language of the Balkan region and all of Europe. The Illyrian-Albanian language was prohibited to be used in public, by people who spoke it, tens of centuries before.

In 1919, international plans for a third division of Albania were being discussed at the Versailles Conference. An Albanian delegation was invited and attended. They vigorously opposed the redivision of their country. Fortunately, for the first time, the United States participated in the international decision-making process of the Balkan region. At that time, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, established the principle of self-determination for nations, and he was a strong advocate for this principle, thus backing the Albanian interests. A delegation of American citizens of Albanian heritage traveled to Paris, and attended the Versailles Conference under the leadership of Bishop Fan Noli. A true believer of democracy, Bishop Fan Noli established the paradigm of democracy in Albania, and became the first democratic Prime Minister of Albania, in the year 1924. Within six months, democracy was overthrown by feudals, ...  "TheAlbanian Question".  continued  . . .