The Ohio State University- Discovering Albania
The Early Middle Ages
After the region fell under Roman control in 168 BC it was incorporated into Epirus Nova, which was in turn a part of the Roman Macedonia province. When the Roman Empire was split into East and West in 395 AD, the territories of Albania became part of the Eastern Empire (Byzantine Empire). During the early stages of Byzantine rule (until about 461 AD), the region experienced numerous raids conducted by various groups of goths and vandals (Germanic tribes). In the 6th and 7th centuries, the migrations of Slavic peoples resulted in Albanian tribes moving to mountainous regions and becoming nomadic, while some fled to what would later become Greece.
A map showing Visigoth migrations across Europe.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Visigoth_migrations.jpg
During the 9th century, the eastern territory of Albania became part of the Bulgarian Empire. The Byzantines, however, were able to slowly conquer the parts of Albania that were under Bulgarian rule (around 900 AD) and defeat the First Bulgarian Empire. With the rise of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1200 AD, the eastern part of Albania once again fell under Bulgarian rule during the Second Empire until the Ottoman Empire began its conquest of the region around 1380 AD.
In the late 11th and 12th centuries, the western region of Albania was the epicenter of the Byzantine–Norman Wars. These wars were a series of conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and French kings. Because of the wars, at the end of the 12th century, Byzantine authority in the region had weakened. As a result, the region became divided into several independent principalities that competed for power. Northern Albania became known as Arbanon and was ruled by hereditary princes. The Kingdom of Sicily conquered much of central and southern Albania. in 1272, the King of Sicily, Charles of Anjou, established the Kingdom of Albania, which he ruled over with the help of Albanian noble families. Charles of Anjou used the Kingdom of Albania to begin an ambitious war with the Byzantine Empire. The war effort launched by Charles of Anjou was eventually crushed by the Byzantine Empire at the siege of Berat in 1281. Albania once again fell under the control of the Byzantine Empire.
The kingdom of Albania in 1272 AD.
By Aigest – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15256101
A statue of Charles of Anjou.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palazzo_Reale_di_Napoli_-_Carlo_I_d%27Angi%C3%B2.jpg
The High and Late Middle Ages
The League of Lezhë
In the mid-1300s, the Byzantine Empire faced a series of civil wars. The instability created by the wars allowed the Serbian Empire to gain control over the Albanian territories. However, after the death of the Serbian leader Uroš V in 1371, the Serbian Empire dissolved. This resulted in several principalities emerging in Albania ruled over by local noble families. The three strongest principalities were the Principality of Kastrioti, the Principality of Albania, and the Despotate of Epirus. In the late 14th and the early 15th century the Ottoman Empire conquered parts of south and central Albania. The Albanians were able to regain control of their territories in 1444 with the League of Lezhë. This league was a political and military alliance between the noble families of Albania with George Kastrioti Skanderbeg as the leader. The league was also supported by the Venetian Empire, which was competing with the Ottoman Empire for control over portions of southeast Europe. Skanderbeg was able to amass an army of 10,000 men, and from 1443 to 1468, he managed to defeat Ottoman forces and regain territory. In 1468, Skanderbeg died and the league slowly dissolved. Because of this, the Ottomans regained control over much of the Albanian territories. To this day, George Kastrioti Skanderbeg is known as the national hero of Albania.
George Kastrioti Skanderbeg.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gjergj_Kastrioti_Sk%C3%ABnderbeu.jpg
Skanderbeg’s Castle.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Gjergj_Kastrioti_Skanderbeg_Museum_inaugurated_in_1981.jpg
The Ottomans
The Ottoman Empire gained control over most of the west Balkan region after the Battle of Savra in 1385. In 1415, the empire established the Sanjak of Albania. Sanjaks were regional governments throughout the Ottoman Empire. In 1419, the Ottomans made the town of Gjirokastra the capital of the Sanjak of Albania, where local governors controlled the region.
In northern Albania, the noble families still acted as rulers of the territories, although they paid tribute to the Ottoman Empire. The southern parts of Albania were under full Ottoman control. Albanian villagers were made to pay heavy taxes to local Ottoman landowners and the empire, but in doing so, they were able to maintain their religions (prominently Christians). The Ottoman Empire was a Muslim / Islamic Empire but allowed its subjects to practice their religions. Many Albanians did not like that they were forced to pay heavy taxes and this led to a series of revolts. Most notable were the actions of Skanderbeg and the League of Lezhë mentioned above.
After the Ottomans defeated the Albanians and stopped the revolts, the empire consolidated power in 1479. During this time, many Albanians fled to Italy and other parts of Europe. Those who fled started communities outside of Albania and maintained their culture and language. One example of this is the Arbëreshë communities in Italy who still live there today and speak a dialect of the Albanian language. Because the Ottoman territories of Albanian were located very far from the capital of the empire in Constantinople (later called Istanbul), the Sultan relied on local Muslim Albanian governors to rule over the Albanian territories. By the 1700s, however, the local pashas (governors) began ruling on their own and it was hard for the Sultan to maintain full control over the Albanian territories.
Members of the Arbereshe community in Calabria, Italy wearing traditional costumes.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arb%C3%ABresh%C3%AB_costume_(Spezzano_Albanese)01.jpg
The Ottoman period that followed (1500-1800) was characterized by a change in village life with the introduction of new towns, bazaars, mosques, and military barracks. During this period, nearly half of the Albanian population gradually converted to Islam. Converting to Islam from Christianity came with many advantages, because under the Ottoman Empire, being Muslim allowed for more opportunities to make money and obtain wealth, hold positions in the government, and have paid positions in the military. Many male Albanians who converted to Islam became members of the Ottoman’s elite military group, the Janissaries, who served directly under the sultan.
In the 1770s, a local Muslim Albanian landowner named Ali Pasha of Tepelene slowly rose to power to eventually become the most powerful Albanian ruler in Rumeli (Albania, northern Greece, and Macedonia). He established his court in the city of Ioannina and became the ruler over a territory that encompassed most of Albania, northern Greece, called the Pashalik of Yanina. He later became known as Ali Pasha of Ioannina.
In Albania, a period of semi-independence began in the 1750s. As local Ottoman power began to decline in the 18th century, the authority of the sultan was replaced by local pashas. The most prominent of these local rulers were the pashas of the Bushati Family, who controlled most of the northernmost part of Albania from 1757 to 1831, and Ali Pasha of Ioannina in southern Albania. These pashas created semi-independent states within the Ottoman Empire until they were eventually overthrown by the sultan: Ali Pasha in 1822 and the Bushati family in 1830.
The Pashalik of Yanina at the height of Ali Pasha’s rule.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashalik_of_Yanina#/media/File:Albanian_Pashaliks,_1815-1821.png
An engraving of Ali Pasha by William Finden.
Kara Mahmut of the Bushati family.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kara_mahmut_bushatliu.jpg
Conclusion
This will end our lesson on the history of Albania during the Middle Ages. In the next section, we will discuss the creation of an independent Albanian country and follow its history up to more recent times.
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(Edited and prepared for publication by the team of the @CSSDMacedonia)
