"Moreover, you scorned our people, and compared the Albanese to sheep, and according to your custom think of us with insults. Nor have you shown yourself to have any knowledge of my race. Our elders were Epirotes, where this Pirro came from, whose force could scarcely support the Romans. This Pirro, who Taranto and many other places of Italy held back with armies. I do not have to speak for the Epiroti. They are very much stronger men than your Tarantini, a species of wet men who are born only to fish. If you want to say that Albania is part of Macedonia I would concede that a lot more of our ancestors were nobles who went as far as India under Alexander the Great and defeated all those peoples with incredible difficulty. From those men come these who you called sheep. But the nature of things is not changed. Why do your men run away in the faces of sheep?"
Letter from Skanderbeg to the Prince of Taranto ▬ Skanderbeg, October 31 1460
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Eagles in cobwebs: nationalism and communism in the Balkans, Paul Lendvai,1969, p. 28: "Yet modern Albanians are the oldest inhabitants of the Balkans, the descendants of the ancient Illyrians, who in the fifth century bc were mentioned by the Greeks as inhabiting the peninsula together with the Thracians".
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Peace handbooks, Great Britain. Foreign Office. Historical Section, George W. Prothero, 1973, 7: "It is now generally believed that the modern Albanians are descendants of the Illyrians and Thracians of classical times, and that to this source may be traced those singular elements in their language which distinguish it so markedly..."
P.S: Citati nuk eshte i teri per shkak se s'arrita dot ta nxjerrja prej 'books.google". Do te ishte mire qe edhe dikush te provonte per ta plotesuar.
P.S: Citati nuk eshte i teri per shkak se s'arrita dot ta nxjerrja prej 'books.google". Do te ishte mire qe edhe dikush te provonte per ta plotesuar.
Ne sot po hedhim faren me emrin Bashkim,
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Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
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Harvard Slavic studies: Volume 1, 1953, p.365: "...the Albanians (descendants of the aboriginal Illyrians and Thracians)".
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Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
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The International geographic encyclopedia and atlas, Houghton Mifflin Company,1979,p. 14: "The Albanians are reputedly descendants of Illyrian and Thracian tribes".
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The provinces of the Roman Empire: from Caesar to Diocletian, Volume 1, Theodor Mommsen, 1909, p.199: “Illyricum, that is the Roman territory between Italy and Macedonia, was in the republican time united, as to its lesser portion, with the Grraeco-Macedonian governorship, as to its greater, administrered as a land adjacent to Italy, and, after the institution of the governorship of Cisalpine Gaul, as a portion of the latter. The territory coincides to a certain degree with the widely diffused stock from which the Romans named it; it is the same whose scanty remnant still at present day, at the southern end of its formerly far-extended possessions, has preserved its own nationality and its old language under the name of Skipetars, which they assign to themselves, or, as their neighbours call them, the Arnauts or Albanians. […]This nation in its original extent filled the coast of the Adriatic Sea from the mouth of the Po through Istria, Dalmatia, and Epirus, as far as Acarnania and Aetolia, and also in the interior upper Macedonia, as well as the modern Servia and Bosnia and the Hungarian territory on the right bank of the Danube; it bordered thus on the east with the Thracian tribes, on the west with the Celtic, from which latter Tacitus expressly distinguishes them”
Ibid p. 201: Bosnia, Servia, above all Albania, were in the imperial period Illyrian, and Albania is so still”.
p.297: “Northern Epirus, which, like the adjoining Illyricum bordering on Macedonia, was in greater part inhabited by Albanian tribes and was not placed under Nicopolis, continued during the imperial period in its primitive condition, which still subsists in some measure at the present day. “Epirus and Illyricum,” says Strabo, “are in great part a desert; where men are found, they dwell in villages and in ruins of earlier towns; even the oracle of Dodona,” – laid waste in the Mithradatic war by the Thracians, - ‘is extinct like everything else”.
p. 347: “that the regions to the north of Hellas, Thessaly, and Macedonia, and at least from Trajan’s time Epirus, were in the imperial period separated administratively from Greece”.
Ibid p. 201: Bosnia, Servia, above all Albania, were in the imperial period Illyrian, and Albania is so still”.
p.297: “Northern Epirus, which, like the adjoining Illyricum bordering on Macedonia, was in greater part inhabited by Albanian tribes and was not placed under Nicopolis, continued during the imperial period in its primitive condition, which still subsists in some measure at the present day. “Epirus and Illyricum,” says Strabo, “are in great part a desert; where men are found, they dwell in villages and in ruins of earlier towns; even the oracle of Dodona,” – laid waste in the Mithradatic war by the Thracians, - ‘is extinct like everything else”.
p. 347: “that the regions to the north of Hellas, Thessaly, and Macedonia, and at least from Trajan’s time Epirus, were in the imperial period separated administratively from Greece”.
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Albania, in modern geography, called by the Turks, Arnaut, is a province which, though in fact nearly independent, nominally forms one of the provinces of the Turkish empire. It extends from the thirty-ninth to the forty-third degree of latitude, for the space of about 250 miles along the east of the Adriatic and Ionian seas.— The breadth inland nowhere exceeds one hundred miles, and in the southern part not more than thirty. It is bounded on the north by Dalmatia and Servia, and on the south by Livadia. Its eastern boundaries are not distinctly ascertained. The chain of Pindus,now the mountains of Sagori, Metzovo, and of Suli, separate it by an ill-defined line, from Macedonia and Thessaly. To use the language of a late publication, ' Were a line drawn in the Suli mountains, from about the narrowest breadth from the sea above cited, and extended to the country of the Montenegrins, a distance of about 250 miles, where this province has its greatest breadth, it would complete as correct an outline of Albania, as in the present imperfect state of its geography our latest travellers will enable us to describe.'— loannina, the capital of a district of that name, eastward, would be about twenty miles to the south-east of this line, and here resided the enterprizing Albanian chief, AH Pasha, who lately commanded the entire resources of this interesting country.' Albania thus comprehends in its widest sense the ancient Illyricum and Epirus, and is included by the Turks in the government of Romania.
The natural features and beauties of this country, together with its most striking topography are exhibited in the following beautiful lines from Lord Byron's Childe Harold:
Through lands scarce noticed in historic tales ;
Yet famed in Attica, such lovely dales
Are rarely seen ; nor can fair Tempe boast,
A charm they know not; loved Parnassus fails.
Though classic ground, and consecrated most
To match some spots that lurk within this lowering
Land of Albania ! where Iskander rose,
Thpme of the young, and beacon of the wise,
And he his name-sake* whose oft baffled foes
Shrunk from his deeds of chivalrous empriz^ :
Land of Albania! let me bend mine eyes
On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage" men !
The cross descends, thy minarets arise.
And the pale crescent sparkles in the glen,
Through many a cypress grove within each city's ken.
Morn dawns, and with it stern Albania's hills,
Dark SuhV rocks, and Pindus* inland peak,
Rob'd half in mist, bedewed with snowy rills,
Arrayed in many a dun and purple streak,
Arise ; and, as the clouds along them break,
Disclose the dwelling of the mountaineer •
Here roams the wolf, the eagle wets his beak,
Birds., beasts of prey, and wilder men appear,
And gathering storms around convulse the closing
year. °
Ambracia's gulf behold, where once was lost!
A world for woman, lovely, harmless thing
In yonder ripling bay, their naval host
Did many a Roman chief and Asian kins;
Look where the second Cesar's trophies "rose !
To doubtful conflict, certain slaughter bring :
Now like the hands that rear'd them withering :
Imperial anarchs doubling human woes ! [lose ?
Cod! was thy globe ordained for such to win and
from the dark barriers of that rugged clime,
Ev'n to the centre of Illyria's vales,
Childe Harold passed o'er many a mount sublime,
* Iskander is the Turkish word for Alexander, uio Christian name for Scandcrbcrg ; whose countO»'an Mr. Gibbon makes Alexander the Great,
The capital of Albania was formerly Albanopoli; but it is now Durazzo. The other principal towns are Scutari, Dulcigno, Antivari, Croya, Alesso, Velona, Dataro, Dibra, &c. Amongst the lakes we may reckon Scutari. The most remarkable river is the Delichi, formerly called Acheron; and, to the class of mountains, we may refer the Acroceraunian, or mountains of Chimaera. The soil of this province is extremely fertile, producing excellent wine. Its manufactures are chiefly carpets.
The climate of Albania is mild and healthy. In the spring there is seldom much rain, or a long continued drought. The autumnal rains last about a month. In the close of the season, the country is truly delightful; the sky presents the most perfect clearness, and the middle of the day is as warm as our June. The winter lasts but two months in the year, and in summer the heat is oppressive.
Though Albania has frequently changed its name, its masters, and its boundaries, a "people have been embosomed in its mountains from time immemorial. The Greek Illyricum, and the Roman Epirus, of which Albania nearly occupies the site, were, however, described as barbarous, because unexplored and unconquered regions. The natives called by the Turks Arnauts, are descended from the ancient Illyrians, whose language and habits are still preserved amongst the mountaineers, and have been called, from their simple and primitive mode of life, the Scythians of the Turkish empire.
Thucydides denominated the Albanians by the general term barbarous, and applies it to a people on die coast of Epirus, opposite the island of Sybota; and Strabo expressly states, that the Epirotic tribes were mixed with the Illyrian, and spoke two languages, probably their own vernacular tongue and the Greek language, as the Albanians do to this day. The people have been commonly represented as extremely uncivilized. Polybius calls the Illyrians the enemies of all nations • and Livy attributes the ferocity of one of the four Ixoman divisions of Macedonia, to the fact of its lymg contiguous to these people. Epirus and that part of Illyricum, subsequently distinguished by the term New Epirus, neither the Creeks nor the Romans were able properly to civilize. Ptolemy, the earliest seo*rapher, who mentions the Albani of this district, represents them as a small tribe cf Illyrians, possessing the small town of Albanopolis, of which we hear no more tor several centuries. It is then described as Albanon, Arbanon, and Elbanon, a town commanding the passes < leading from' the country ahout Lychmdus, to the maritime plains.' Anna Comment. 1. xiii.—Accropolita, c. 14, 25 A tradition exists in the country, that the name of this town was derived from some obscure con nexion with Alba in Italy. The situation of the country induced the Greeks of the lower empire
to apply the name of Albanoi, to all the nations of these, and the contiguous mountains; and to the country itself, that of AX/3avta, AX/3ai'7jrta, and Apfiavijna. But the inhabitants call the country Skiperi, and an Albanian, they call Skipetar. The great divisions of modem Albania, according to Major Leake, who is allowed to be the best informed traveller on this head, are those formed by the varieties of the native tribes. Those which are principally recognized, are the Ngege, the Toske, the Liape, and the Tzami. The Ngege, or Ghegides, possess the northern district, as far. as the ancient Genusus, and Kavaia. Their principal towns are Dulcigno, Scutari, and Durazzo. The Toske inhabit the great plains of Mizakie and Malakastra, extending from the hills of Dyrrhachium to Berat and Avlowa, also the mountains bordering on the south side of these plains as far as Lopesi, Tepelini, and Klisara, which are situated on the ancient Aous, the modern Vios.a, and the mountains which stretch into Macedonia as far as the district of Koretza. Their chief towns are Berat and Elbasan, the latter of which is the ancient Albanopolis; and the former, next to Skodre, the most important place in the Albanian territory. The Liape, a poor predatory race, inhabit the wild mountains and the sea coast, extending from Toskeri, south as far as the plain of Delvino. The Tzami inhabit all the regions south of the river Kalama, anciently called Thyamis, of which the present name of the tribe is supposed to be a corruption. It extends inland towards loannina, and is called Dai by the Albanians, Tzamouria by the Greeks. The chief places are Suli (the Selli of Strabo), Paramithia, Parga, Liuarati, Aghia, and Margarita. The inferior districts, which, it is presumed, have been detached from the above by the different masters of Albania, comprehend the maritime region opposite Corfu, called Parakalamo, the plain of Delvino, near the ancient Phcenice, Deropul, Zagonia, and the mountains east of Deropul, Reze, Kara-Murata, Kolonia, Premedi, and Khimara. The districts of Konitza, Paleo-Pogoniana and loannina, are considered rather as conquests of the Albanians than proper divisions of the country.
Although Albania from time immemorial has been distinguished by the rude valour of its inhabitants, its remote situation, and want of union among its tribes, generally prevented it from acting any conspicuous part in Grecian politics. The only remarkable exception occurs in the reign of Pyrrhus II. who has been justly celebrated as one of the greatest captains of antiquity. After the death of this illustrious commander, the country was again divided into a number of petty states, which fell under the power of the kingdom of Macedon.
The Romans gladly availed themselves of the many fine harbours of the coast; and the traces of the Ignatian road which communicated from Apolloma to Thessalonica, a distance of 262 Roman miles, are still visible. After the decay of the Roman power, Alaric and the Goths took possession of the country. Some of their descendants are afterwards mentioned as having retained possession of the northern district?
Sidismund is particularized for his alliance with Theodoric the Great. It was afterwards the prey of the Sclavonian tribes during the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. Of these, the Bulgarians were the most prominent. In 870, Achris, or Ocreda, the ancient Lychnidus, was the residence of the Bulgarian kings,and the see of an archbishop; the ancient Nicopolis, and ultimately the whole region, fell under the power of the same race, ay is evident from the united testimony of many celebrated historians. * It was in these ages of the Bulgarian prowess,' says Major Leake, in his Researches in Greece, 4to. p. 240, 241,—< that the remains of the Illyrian and Epirotic nations became finally included within the boundaries which they have ever since held.
It was during the decline of the Greek empire that the Albanians gradually rose to distinction; and at last, to independence. Such was their valour, that they were able to maintain their ground against the Bulgarians, who had occupied all the neighbouring districts of Greece. In the year 1079, historians particularly distinguish them. They formed one of the four divisions of the army of Nicephorus Basilaces, and were found to be very important auxiliaries. The Roman kings of Sicily obtained settlements on this coast, as did the I7ranks and other nations, in their alliance, during the period of the crusades. On the dismemberment of the Oriental empire, by the conquest of Constantinople in 1204, Michael Angelus, illegitimately related to the imperial family, established a despotate in this district, embracing Acarnania, TEtolia, and Epirus, together with the towns of loannina, Arta, and Naupactus. This, with some trifling interruption, continued an independent kingdom until 1431, when it fell under the Turkish yoke. The despots of Epirus during this period were counted as allies, not only by the surrounding states, but even the imperial family; and exercised a powerful influence on the neighbouring politics. In 1383 they were defeated by the Turks ; but under the command of their celebrated leader, George Castriot, commonly called Scanderberg, they survived and baffled all the efforts of Mahomet II. the conqueror of Constantinople, who, after his entrance into Albania, experienced a succession of defeats and mortifications, till he was ultimately obliged to acknowledge its independence by a formal treaty. The porte had undisputed dominion over the rest of northern Greece. On the death of Scanderberg the Turks redoubled their efforts, and at length reduced Albania to nominal subjection. The siege of Scutari, or Scodra, in 1478, which is perpetuated by Marinus Barletius, a contemporary biographer and eye-witness, formed the termination of this memorable struggle. The subjection, however, was always imperfect; revolts were frequent; and the Venetians who, after aiding them in the siege, obtained some towns, and established themselves in the contiguous Ionian islands, co-operated in preserving their independence, and preventing their complete subjection to the Ottoman faith. Islamism has therefore been far from common; and the Porte has rarely been able to enforce a more absolute submission to its orders than of late years, when
every provincial governor first establishes his influence over the country ; and afterwards applies to the Constantinopohtan government for a sanction to his authority. Motives of pay and plunder appear to have had more weight in Albania than any other species of influence; and this was the ruling motive which prevailed upon the Albanian soldiers to unite themselves with the Turkish army. In proportion, however, as the Ottoman empire declined in vigour, its hold of this celebrated kingdom became less firm, till at length the enterprizing genius of Ali Pasha, again converted this dependency into what may almost be called a separate kingdom. From the vigorous influence of the above-mentioned chief upon the history and politics of Albania, we shall here present the reader with a brief narration of his history, referring the detail of his memoirs to a separate article.
Until the middle of the last century the kingdom of Albania was divided into several independent pashaliks; of which those of loannina, Delvino, and Berat, possessed considerable military force. In 1751, the chief in question was born at Tepelini, a small town in the interior, where his father, a pasha of two tails, exercised a limited jurisdiction. When he was of the age of fifteen years his father deceased, and left the young chief in a very critical situation. He used to boast that he began his fortunate career with sixty paras and a musket; and an Albanian who attended Mr. Hobhouse said, he remembered to have seen the pasha with his jacket out at elbows. Ali shortly after his inauguration was driven from Tepelini, and abandoned by almost all his followers. The inhabitants of Gardiki, a neighbouring town, next formed a plan for his destruction ; and for this purpose, surrounded him in a village in the night time, where, although he effected his escape, they seized his mother and his sister, and treated them with every indignity, —injuries for which he took a dreadful vengeance. After his escape, he first entered into the service of Coul, the neighbouring pasha at Berat, and the most important of the chiefs of Albania ; where, by his address and activity, he so far insinuated'himself as to marry the pasha's daughter. Shortly afterwards he overthrew the pashalik of loannina, which (under the sanction of the Porte) he made the centre of his future fortunes ; and whence, by money, artifice, force, and treachery, he extended his authority. The pashalik of Arta now submitted to his arms; and the Porte appointed him derveni-pasha of Romelia, guardian of all the passes of the country. In 1798 he was appointed vizier, or a pasha of three tails (a title of honour derived from the number of horses' tails carried before great officers in procession.) His father-in-law being dead, he attacked and defeated the pashas of Berat and Delvino in 1811 and 1812 ; by which means, he gained the finest parts of Albania, and a population of between 200,000 and 300,000 souls. He was induced for some time to preserve pasha Ibrahim in authority at Berat, and contracted ^'ith the family, marriages for his sons. The reduction of Prevesa, Vonitza, and Karlili, or Acarnania, conferred new bistre on his enterprizes; ftnd Tepelini (with its inhabitants) now fell into
his power. His series of good fortune had not obliterated the remembrance of the wrongs he formerly received from these people, and he resolved upon taking a signal revenge: he pretended, with his usual duplicity, an oblivion of all grounds of resentment, until he had completely enclosed the city with his troops, when he ordered all the inhabitants who were supposed to have been involved in the guilt, to the number of 700, to be dragged into a large khan near the city, where they were bound together with cords, and on a signal given by Ali, the soldiery stationed on the walls with their musquetry, commenced a most unmerciful fire, which they continued till they were all destroyed. The Suliotes, a people inhabiting the Suli, an almost inaccessible range of mountains, proved the most formidable adversaries with whom Ali had to contend. The Suli are placed in the southern extremity of the Albanian territory; and beneath them winds a river, conjectured by Dr. Holland and others, to be the Acheron of the ancients; the strength of these native bulwarks, the warlike habits of the people, and their contempt of death, rendered them the terror of the Albanians, whom they frequently invaded, while no foreign power ventured to scale the tremendous barriers by which they were guarded. Ali, however, accomplished the difficult project, and entered their retreat; where, after a furious resistance, till the natives were partly extirpated, he acquired permanent possession.
The extent of this chiefs dominions are difficult to define, or the degree of authority which he possessed. Even within Albania, Scutari was independent. They are supposed to have been bounded on the north by an irregular line, from Durazzo to the Gulf of Salonica,and to have included the mountainous district of Macedonia, nearly the whole of Thessaly, and part of Livadia. On the east they were bounded by those of Ismael Bey, who rules over the plains of Macedonia. The power of this great man was almost absolute ; and while little attention was paid to the imperial firman, a letter with the signature commanded implicit obedience. The Albanians are said to have been enthusiastically attached to him, and to have admired the energy of his character; .so that when they heard of any other chief, they used to cry, ' he has not a head like Ali.' It was this, in all probability, which, if it did not invite, at least accelerated, the hand of rivalry
The terms on which the Albanian vizier held his government, in relation to Constantinople, may be understood from the preceding account of his character and progress. The Porte acknowleged his titles as conferred by the sultan, and the vizier made -a formal acknowledgment of the imperial authority by the respectful reception of an annual tirman from Constantinople, to which he remitted considerable sums in the shape of a karach or capitation-tax, rents, impost, &c. But in the internal government of Albania the Turks had no interference whatever; nor in Ali Pasha's alliances with foreign states, from which he received and sent agents regularly in his own name. England, France, and Russia, generally kept a consul here ; and the political uiloimation of the court of loannina was said to be superior to that of Constantinople. The progress of this enterprizing chief was long viewed with jealousy and alarm, but a mutual fear prevented hostilities between him and the Porte ; the latter not being in a condition to hazard driving him into an open rebellion. Prudential reasons therefore suggested the propriety of their investing him, by means of their firman, with the sovereignty of all the provinces he won by his sword. Similar motives, perhaps, induced him to pay an outward deference to the Porte, and aid them against foreign enemies. He marched against Paswan Oglou, and was present at the siege of Widden. His son Mouctar Pasha, also distinguished himself greatly in the late war against the Russians. The Porte most ardently wished him to repair to Constantinople; and even offered him, in that case, the dignity of grand vizier ; but Ali uniformly refused their kindness, knowing that his arrival at that metropolis would be the immediate signal for striking off his head. The late emperor, Napoleon, courted his favour, and is said to have offered him the dignity of king of Albania; but Ali viewed the designs of that ambitious despot with too much alarm to admit him as an auxiliary. To England, therefore, he invariably attached himself, with whose interests and politics Dr. Holland thought him well acquainted.
The military force of Ali was calculated at 100,000 men ; his disposable force in the field, however, seldom exceeded 15,000, or his standing army 10,000, of which 5000 were generally stationed round his capital. His treasures arose, first, from a land-tax, amounting to about ten per cent, of the produce ; secondly, a tax levied on cities and towns in the shape of a requisition; thirdly, customs which he raised, to about' six per cent.; and fourthly, the inheritance of all who die without male heirs, together with other sources too numerous to particularize. His residence was in an immense building near loannina, the outer courts of which were crowded with soldiers, and persons of all descriptions who might have petitions to present to him. The mysterious awe which he commanded, was, to Dr. Holland, astonishing. He exercised in person the whole judicial capacity, in which his decisions were equitable; and all petitioners, on their approach, used to kneel and kiss his garments. He rose at six in the morning, and, with the exception of an hour at dinner and an hour at supper, spent the whole day in business. He is said to have been extremely temperate at table; and in his haram, seldom retaining more than 300 females. According to the most accurate information we have been able to obtain, the following description of his character, from a late publication, is just and impartial; and although written in Ali's lifetime, we transcribe entire. 'Ali is now (1815) sixty or sixty-one years of age; his figure is corpulent and unwieldy, his neck short, his stature about five feet nine inches. The expression of his countenance is striking and majestic ; and his features give no indications of those terrible qualities by which he is characterized. His abilities are certainly of no mean order. He displays that union of deep thought and contrivance
with prompt and decisive action, which indicates a mind equally formed for politics and for war. He is remarkable for his address, both in gaining friends, and in lulling asleep the suspicions of his bitterest enemies. But if his abilities are of a superior order, his dispositions are of a kind which render him an object of fear and detestation. His cruelty rather resembles that of an Indian savage, than of even the least civilized European. Impaling and roasting alive are among the common punishments reserved for those who have unhappily offended him. The fierceness of his cruelty is only exceeded by the depth of his dissimulation. It is impossible for the most skilful observer to conjecture, from his outward deportment, the real sentiments with which he regards any individual. The only observable difference consists in a peculiar kindness of manner towards those unfortunates, whose cruel doom he has silently and unrelentingly sealed. ' It is nevertheless pleasant/ says Dr. Holland, ' to be able to allege, as one proof of his superior understanding, a degree of freedom from national and religious prejudices rarely to be found among Turkish rulers. He has studiously adopted into his territory several of the improvements of the more cultivated nations ; he has destroyed the numerous bands of robbers who infested the peaceful inhabitants of the country ; by his direction roads have been made, bridges constructed, and agricultural improvements attempted. This laudable spirit has added respect to the terror inspired by his government ; and even those who, out of the immediate reach of his power, can venture to express hatred of his tyranny, are obliged to allow, that Albania is more happy and prosperous under his single and stern dominion, than when divided among numerous chieftains, and harassed by incessant wars. From this opinion, 1no deference to the principles of despotism can be inferred. The experience of history has proved that a single tyrant is less injurious to the happiness of a people, than tyranny divided among several; and the vizier of Albania has himself become a despot, only by the annihilation of the many despots who preyed on that heretofore distracted and divided country.'
Lord Byron describes his visit to the Pasha's court,, in the following beautiful lines :
To greet Albania's chief, whose dread command
Is lawless law ; for with a bloody hand
He sways a nation, turbulent and bold :
Yet here and there some daring mountain-band
Disdain his power, and from their rocky hold
Hurl their defiance far, nor yield, unless to gold.
In marble-paved pavilion, where a spring
Of living water from the centre rose,
Whose bubbling did a genial freshness fling,
And soft voluptuous couches breathed repose,
Ali reclined, a man of war and woes;
Yet in his lineaments we cannot trace,
While gentleness her milder radiance throws
Along that aged venerable face, [grace.
The deeds that lurk beneath, and stain him with dis.
So sings the Teian, and he sings in sooth—
But crimes that scorn the tender voice of truth,
Beseeming all men ill, but most the man
In years, have marked him with a tyger's tooth ;
Blood follows blood, and, through their mortal
span,
In bloodier acts conclude those who with blood began.
This despot was finally defeated by the Turks, and died in a manner suited to his desperate life, being cut down by Turkish officers in 1822. See Alt Pasha.
The physicians of Albania, in the consklerable towns, are Greeks, and are for the most part well informed men. The surgeons are Albanians, and very ignorant. Some of their methods are very curious. Mr. Hobhouse describes the practice of kneading the shoulders, and pulling the limbs for a cold ; and another practice in case of fevers, equally curious.—The patient stretches out his arm, and the doctor rubs his thumb along the principal artery, from the wrist up to the shoulder : having by a repetition of this operation thrown the man into a perspiration, he covers him up warm, and leaves him in a fair way of recovery.
The Albanians are of a middle stature; small round the loins, the chests full and broad, the eyes quick and lively. They wear a tight girdle round the waist, and puncture and stain their skin. The women bear many marks of misery, and are rather masculine in their appearance. Their common dress is a coarse cotton, with the head covered by a shawl, clasped under the ears. Some of them have a white woollen dress; and the young women have frequently a scull-cap, under which the hair is braided, and flows down, strung with all their smaller pieces of money. The women in general have a fantastic taste in their dress, and are not very cleanly in their habits. The common attire of the men is a shirt of cotion, drawers of the same materials, a white woollen mantle, and a large great coat or capote with loose open sleeves, and a white woollen or horse-hair band, which often hangs in a small piece behind, but when used upon the head, is pinned into form by a long needle or a pistol ramrod. Their girdle is a coarse shawl, drawn very tight by a belt, containing their pistols; when they rest, they loosen mem, and draw their capote about them, and seldom have any other covering. In the summer they throw off the capote and mantle. The poorest Albanian has his pistols in his belt, and also a case knife ornamented, and die handle strung with amulets, and the calamaro, a sort of portable ink-stand and pen, of which they are very proud. Their dress is the most elegant of any used in the Turkish empire, and the agas who can afford it, have it made of rich velvet, embroidered and worked with gold and silver; superadding another, which is a kind of jacket without sleeves. Lord Byron says, the resemblance between the Albanians and the Highlanders struck mm forcibly. The inhabitants are very dextrous at the long gun, one of which is to be found in every cottage.
The cottages are neat, consisting for the most part of one floor, divided into two rooms, in one
of which they keep their maize in the stalk or their grapes, which they sprinkle with salt to preserve them. Each person has a small garden, and each village a green for holiday sports, and a circular piece of paved ground attached to it, on which their corn is trodden out by eight or nine horses driven abreast from a stake fixed in the centre. Their food is chiefly vegetables; all classes drink wine, and also an ardent spirit called rackee, extracted from grapes, husks, and barley; they also drink water in large draughts during the most violent exercise without inconvenience. The inhabitants are generally temperate and avaricious, but withal are idle and ignorant. They think it honourable to rob, but disgraceful to steal.
Their forms of salutation are curious : from the rising of the sun to three hours afterwards, they say, * mire nestrasciaj or * nestrascia emire,' good morning. From the third hour to noon, * mire minghiessi,1 a good cheese-making to you, this being cheese-making time. Good day, good evening, and good night, are much the same as with us. To a man in his own house, they say, ' mire mbe sctepij,' well at home. To a person at work, they say, < mire mbe pune] well at your work; and to those who are reclining in the sun, * mire mbe dieli,' well in the sun. They are fond of music and dancing; but their execution in both these exercises is extremely imperfect. Notwithstanding these deficiencies, as soon as the daily occupation is over, they begin to sing and play; and each Albanian is his own composer and poet. In their dances there is only one variety : either the hands of the party are locked in each other behind their backs; or every man has a handkerchief in his hand, which is held by the next to him, and so on through a long string of them. The first is a slow dance; the party stand in a semicircle, and their musicians in the middle, continually walking from side to side, accompanying the movements with their music, which are nothing but the bending and unbending the two ends of the semicircle, with some slow footing, and now and then a hop. In the handkerchief dance, which is accompanied with a song from themselves, they are often violent. It is upon the leader of the string that all the principal movements devolve ; and all the party take this place by turns. He begins with the song, footing quietly from side to side ; then he hops forward, dragging the whole string after him in a circle; and then twirls about, dropping frequently on his knee; and rebounding from the ground with a shout, continues hopping, twirling, rebounding, &c., and then gives his place to the next man, and so on all round the company, each endeavouring to exceed his predecessor m the quickness of his evolutions and movements. Two or three old men often sit in the middle to set the songs, &c. The same dance can be executed by one performer. Mr. Hobhouse saw a boy of about fifteen, who, by the ease with which he performed the pirenettc, and other difficult movements, made a very agreeable spectacle. Their chief instruments are the lute, threestringed guitar, with a very long neck, and a small round base, played with a plectrum formed of a piece of quill half an inch in length.
The London encyclopaedia: or, Universal dictionary of science, art ..., Volume 1 edited by Thomas Curtis
The natural features and beauties of this country, together with its most striking topography are exhibited in the following beautiful lines from Lord Byron's Childe Harold:
Through lands scarce noticed in historic tales ;
Yet famed in Attica, such lovely dales
Are rarely seen ; nor can fair Tempe boast,
A charm they know not; loved Parnassus fails.
Though classic ground, and consecrated most
To match some spots that lurk within this lowering
Land of Albania ! where Iskander rose,
Thpme of the young, and beacon of the wise,
And he his name-sake* whose oft baffled foes
Shrunk from his deeds of chivalrous empriz^ :
Land of Albania! let me bend mine eyes
On thee, thou rugged nurse of savage" men !
The cross descends, thy minarets arise.
And the pale crescent sparkles in the glen,
Through many a cypress grove within each city's ken.
Morn dawns, and with it stern Albania's hills,
Dark SuhV rocks, and Pindus* inland peak,
Rob'd half in mist, bedewed with snowy rills,
Arrayed in many a dun and purple streak,
Arise ; and, as the clouds along them break,
Disclose the dwelling of the mountaineer •
Here roams the wolf, the eagle wets his beak,
Birds., beasts of prey, and wilder men appear,
And gathering storms around convulse the closing
year. °
Ambracia's gulf behold, where once was lost!
A world for woman, lovely, harmless thing
In yonder ripling bay, their naval host
Did many a Roman chief and Asian kins;
Look where the second Cesar's trophies "rose !
To doubtful conflict, certain slaughter bring :
Now like the hands that rear'd them withering :
Imperial anarchs doubling human woes ! [lose ?
Cod! was thy globe ordained for such to win and
from the dark barriers of that rugged clime,
Ev'n to the centre of Illyria's vales,
Childe Harold passed o'er many a mount sublime,
* Iskander is the Turkish word for Alexander, uio Christian name for Scandcrbcrg ; whose countO»'an Mr. Gibbon makes Alexander the Great,
The capital of Albania was formerly Albanopoli; but it is now Durazzo. The other principal towns are Scutari, Dulcigno, Antivari, Croya, Alesso, Velona, Dataro, Dibra, &c. Amongst the lakes we may reckon Scutari. The most remarkable river is the Delichi, formerly called Acheron; and, to the class of mountains, we may refer the Acroceraunian, or mountains of Chimaera. The soil of this province is extremely fertile, producing excellent wine. Its manufactures are chiefly carpets.
The climate of Albania is mild and healthy. In the spring there is seldom much rain, or a long continued drought. The autumnal rains last about a month. In the close of the season, the country is truly delightful; the sky presents the most perfect clearness, and the middle of the day is as warm as our June. The winter lasts but two months in the year, and in summer the heat is oppressive.
Though Albania has frequently changed its name, its masters, and its boundaries, a "people have been embosomed in its mountains from time immemorial. The Greek Illyricum, and the Roman Epirus, of which Albania nearly occupies the site, were, however, described as barbarous, because unexplored and unconquered regions. The natives called by the Turks Arnauts, are descended from the ancient Illyrians, whose language and habits are still preserved amongst the mountaineers, and have been called, from their simple and primitive mode of life, the Scythians of the Turkish empire.
Thucydides denominated the Albanians by the general term barbarous, and applies it to a people on die coast of Epirus, opposite the island of Sybota; and Strabo expressly states, that the Epirotic tribes were mixed with the Illyrian, and spoke two languages, probably their own vernacular tongue and the Greek language, as the Albanians do to this day. The people have been commonly represented as extremely uncivilized. Polybius calls the Illyrians the enemies of all nations • and Livy attributes the ferocity of one of the four Ixoman divisions of Macedonia, to the fact of its lymg contiguous to these people. Epirus and that part of Illyricum, subsequently distinguished by the term New Epirus, neither the Creeks nor the Romans were able properly to civilize. Ptolemy, the earliest seo*rapher, who mentions the Albani of this district, represents them as a small tribe cf Illyrians, possessing the small town of Albanopolis, of which we hear no more tor several centuries. It is then described as Albanon, Arbanon, and Elbanon, a town commanding the passes < leading from' the country ahout Lychmdus, to the maritime plains.' Anna Comment. 1. xiii.—Accropolita, c. 14, 25 A tradition exists in the country, that the name of this town was derived from some obscure con nexion with Alba in Italy. The situation of the country induced the Greeks of the lower empire
to apply the name of Albanoi, to all the nations of these, and the contiguous mountains; and to the country itself, that of AX/3avta, AX/3ai'7jrta, and Apfiavijna. But the inhabitants call the country Skiperi, and an Albanian, they call Skipetar. The great divisions of modem Albania, according to Major Leake, who is allowed to be the best informed traveller on this head, are those formed by the varieties of the native tribes. Those which are principally recognized, are the Ngege, the Toske, the Liape, and the Tzami. The Ngege, or Ghegides, possess the northern district, as far. as the ancient Genusus, and Kavaia. Their principal towns are Dulcigno, Scutari, and Durazzo. The Toske inhabit the great plains of Mizakie and Malakastra, extending from the hills of Dyrrhachium to Berat and Avlowa, also the mountains bordering on the south side of these plains as far as Lopesi, Tepelini, and Klisara, which are situated on the ancient Aous, the modern Vios.a, and the mountains which stretch into Macedonia as far as the district of Koretza. Their chief towns are Berat and Elbasan, the latter of which is the ancient Albanopolis; and the former, next to Skodre, the most important place in the Albanian territory. The Liape, a poor predatory race, inhabit the wild mountains and the sea coast, extending from Toskeri, south as far as the plain of Delvino. The Tzami inhabit all the regions south of the river Kalama, anciently called Thyamis, of which the present name of the tribe is supposed to be a corruption. It extends inland towards loannina, and is called Dai by the Albanians, Tzamouria by the Greeks. The chief places are Suli (the Selli of Strabo), Paramithia, Parga, Liuarati, Aghia, and Margarita. The inferior districts, which, it is presumed, have been detached from the above by the different masters of Albania, comprehend the maritime region opposite Corfu, called Parakalamo, the plain of Delvino, near the ancient Phcenice, Deropul, Zagonia, and the mountains east of Deropul, Reze, Kara-Murata, Kolonia, Premedi, and Khimara. The districts of Konitza, Paleo-Pogoniana and loannina, are considered rather as conquests of the Albanians than proper divisions of the country.
Although Albania from time immemorial has been distinguished by the rude valour of its inhabitants, its remote situation, and want of union among its tribes, generally prevented it from acting any conspicuous part in Grecian politics. The only remarkable exception occurs in the reign of Pyrrhus II. who has been justly celebrated as one of the greatest captains of antiquity. After the death of this illustrious commander, the country was again divided into a number of petty states, which fell under the power of the kingdom of Macedon.
The Romans gladly availed themselves of the many fine harbours of the coast; and the traces of the Ignatian road which communicated from Apolloma to Thessalonica, a distance of 262 Roman miles, are still visible. After the decay of the Roman power, Alaric and the Goths took possession of the country. Some of their descendants are afterwards mentioned as having retained possession of the northern district?
Sidismund is particularized for his alliance with Theodoric the Great. It was afterwards the prey of the Sclavonian tribes during the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. Of these, the Bulgarians were the most prominent. In 870, Achris, or Ocreda, the ancient Lychnidus, was the residence of the Bulgarian kings,and the see of an archbishop; the ancient Nicopolis, and ultimately the whole region, fell under the power of the same race, ay is evident from the united testimony of many celebrated historians. * It was in these ages of the Bulgarian prowess,' says Major Leake, in his Researches in Greece, 4to. p. 240, 241,—< that the remains of the Illyrian and Epirotic nations became finally included within the boundaries which they have ever since held.
It was during the decline of the Greek empire that the Albanians gradually rose to distinction; and at last, to independence. Such was their valour, that they were able to maintain their ground against the Bulgarians, who had occupied all the neighbouring districts of Greece. In the year 1079, historians particularly distinguish them. They formed one of the four divisions of the army of Nicephorus Basilaces, and were found to be very important auxiliaries. The Roman kings of Sicily obtained settlements on this coast, as did the I7ranks and other nations, in their alliance, during the period of the crusades. On the dismemberment of the Oriental empire, by the conquest of Constantinople in 1204, Michael Angelus, illegitimately related to the imperial family, established a despotate in this district, embracing Acarnania, TEtolia, and Epirus, together with the towns of loannina, Arta, and Naupactus. This, with some trifling interruption, continued an independent kingdom until 1431, when it fell under the Turkish yoke. The despots of Epirus during this period were counted as allies, not only by the surrounding states, but even the imperial family; and exercised a powerful influence on the neighbouring politics. In 1383 they were defeated by the Turks ; but under the command of their celebrated leader, George Castriot, commonly called Scanderberg, they survived and baffled all the efforts of Mahomet II. the conqueror of Constantinople, who, after his entrance into Albania, experienced a succession of defeats and mortifications, till he was ultimately obliged to acknowledge its independence by a formal treaty. The porte had undisputed dominion over the rest of northern Greece. On the death of Scanderberg the Turks redoubled their efforts, and at length reduced Albania to nominal subjection. The siege of Scutari, or Scodra, in 1478, which is perpetuated by Marinus Barletius, a contemporary biographer and eye-witness, formed the termination of this memorable struggle. The subjection, however, was always imperfect; revolts were frequent; and the Venetians who, after aiding them in the siege, obtained some towns, and established themselves in the contiguous Ionian islands, co-operated in preserving their independence, and preventing their complete subjection to the Ottoman faith. Islamism has therefore been far from common; and the Porte has rarely been able to enforce a more absolute submission to its orders than of late years, when
every provincial governor first establishes his influence over the country ; and afterwards applies to the Constantinopohtan government for a sanction to his authority. Motives of pay and plunder appear to have had more weight in Albania than any other species of influence; and this was the ruling motive which prevailed upon the Albanian soldiers to unite themselves with the Turkish army. In proportion, however, as the Ottoman empire declined in vigour, its hold of this celebrated kingdom became less firm, till at length the enterprizing genius of Ali Pasha, again converted this dependency into what may almost be called a separate kingdom. From the vigorous influence of the above-mentioned chief upon the history and politics of Albania, we shall here present the reader with a brief narration of his history, referring the detail of his memoirs to a separate article.
Until the middle of the last century the kingdom of Albania was divided into several independent pashaliks; of which those of loannina, Delvino, and Berat, possessed considerable military force. In 1751, the chief in question was born at Tepelini, a small town in the interior, where his father, a pasha of two tails, exercised a limited jurisdiction. When he was of the age of fifteen years his father deceased, and left the young chief in a very critical situation. He used to boast that he began his fortunate career with sixty paras and a musket; and an Albanian who attended Mr. Hobhouse said, he remembered to have seen the pasha with his jacket out at elbows. Ali shortly after his inauguration was driven from Tepelini, and abandoned by almost all his followers. The inhabitants of Gardiki, a neighbouring town, next formed a plan for his destruction ; and for this purpose, surrounded him in a village in the night time, where, although he effected his escape, they seized his mother and his sister, and treated them with every indignity, —injuries for which he took a dreadful vengeance. After his escape, he first entered into the service of Coul, the neighbouring pasha at Berat, and the most important of the chiefs of Albania ; where, by his address and activity, he so far insinuated'himself as to marry the pasha's daughter. Shortly afterwards he overthrew the pashalik of loannina, which (under the sanction of the Porte) he made the centre of his future fortunes ; and whence, by money, artifice, force, and treachery, he extended his authority. The pashalik of Arta now submitted to his arms; and the Porte appointed him derveni-pasha of Romelia, guardian of all the passes of the country. In 1798 he was appointed vizier, or a pasha of three tails (a title of honour derived from the number of horses' tails carried before great officers in procession.) His father-in-law being dead, he attacked and defeated the pashas of Berat and Delvino in 1811 and 1812 ; by which means, he gained the finest parts of Albania, and a population of between 200,000 and 300,000 souls. He was induced for some time to preserve pasha Ibrahim in authority at Berat, and contracted ^'ith the family, marriages for his sons. The reduction of Prevesa, Vonitza, and Karlili, or Acarnania, conferred new bistre on his enterprizes; ftnd Tepelini (with its inhabitants) now fell into
his power. His series of good fortune had not obliterated the remembrance of the wrongs he formerly received from these people, and he resolved upon taking a signal revenge: he pretended, with his usual duplicity, an oblivion of all grounds of resentment, until he had completely enclosed the city with his troops, when he ordered all the inhabitants who were supposed to have been involved in the guilt, to the number of 700, to be dragged into a large khan near the city, where they were bound together with cords, and on a signal given by Ali, the soldiery stationed on the walls with their musquetry, commenced a most unmerciful fire, which they continued till they were all destroyed. The Suliotes, a people inhabiting the Suli, an almost inaccessible range of mountains, proved the most formidable adversaries with whom Ali had to contend. The Suli are placed in the southern extremity of the Albanian territory; and beneath them winds a river, conjectured by Dr. Holland and others, to be the Acheron of the ancients; the strength of these native bulwarks, the warlike habits of the people, and their contempt of death, rendered them the terror of the Albanians, whom they frequently invaded, while no foreign power ventured to scale the tremendous barriers by which they were guarded. Ali, however, accomplished the difficult project, and entered their retreat; where, after a furious resistance, till the natives were partly extirpated, he acquired permanent possession.
The extent of this chiefs dominions are difficult to define, or the degree of authority which he possessed. Even within Albania, Scutari was independent. They are supposed to have been bounded on the north by an irregular line, from Durazzo to the Gulf of Salonica,and to have included the mountainous district of Macedonia, nearly the whole of Thessaly, and part of Livadia. On the east they were bounded by those of Ismael Bey, who rules over the plains of Macedonia. The power of this great man was almost absolute ; and while little attention was paid to the imperial firman, a letter with the signature commanded implicit obedience. The Albanians are said to have been enthusiastically attached to him, and to have admired the energy of his character; .so that when they heard of any other chief, they used to cry, ' he has not a head like Ali.' It was this, in all probability, which, if it did not invite, at least accelerated, the hand of rivalry
The terms on which the Albanian vizier held his government, in relation to Constantinople, may be understood from the preceding account of his character and progress. The Porte acknowleged his titles as conferred by the sultan, and the vizier made -a formal acknowledgment of the imperial authority by the respectful reception of an annual tirman from Constantinople, to which he remitted considerable sums in the shape of a karach or capitation-tax, rents, impost, &c. But in the internal government of Albania the Turks had no interference whatever; nor in Ali Pasha's alliances with foreign states, from which he received and sent agents regularly in his own name. England, France, and Russia, generally kept a consul here ; and the political uiloimation of the court of loannina was said to be superior to that of Constantinople. The progress of this enterprizing chief was long viewed with jealousy and alarm, but a mutual fear prevented hostilities between him and the Porte ; the latter not being in a condition to hazard driving him into an open rebellion. Prudential reasons therefore suggested the propriety of their investing him, by means of their firman, with the sovereignty of all the provinces he won by his sword. Similar motives, perhaps, induced him to pay an outward deference to the Porte, and aid them against foreign enemies. He marched against Paswan Oglou, and was present at the siege of Widden. His son Mouctar Pasha, also distinguished himself greatly in the late war against the Russians. The Porte most ardently wished him to repair to Constantinople; and even offered him, in that case, the dignity of grand vizier ; but Ali uniformly refused their kindness, knowing that his arrival at that metropolis would be the immediate signal for striking off his head. The late emperor, Napoleon, courted his favour, and is said to have offered him the dignity of king of Albania; but Ali viewed the designs of that ambitious despot with too much alarm to admit him as an auxiliary. To England, therefore, he invariably attached himself, with whose interests and politics Dr. Holland thought him well acquainted.
The military force of Ali was calculated at 100,000 men ; his disposable force in the field, however, seldom exceeded 15,000, or his standing army 10,000, of which 5000 were generally stationed round his capital. His treasures arose, first, from a land-tax, amounting to about ten per cent, of the produce ; secondly, a tax levied on cities and towns in the shape of a requisition; thirdly, customs which he raised, to about' six per cent.; and fourthly, the inheritance of all who die without male heirs, together with other sources too numerous to particularize. His residence was in an immense building near loannina, the outer courts of which were crowded with soldiers, and persons of all descriptions who might have petitions to present to him. The mysterious awe which he commanded, was, to Dr. Holland, astonishing. He exercised in person the whole judicial capacity, in which his decisions were equitable; and all petitioners, on their approach, used to kneel and kiss his garments. He rose at six in the morning, and, with the exception of an hour at dinner and an hour at supper, spent the whole day in business. He is said to have been extremely temperate at table; and in his haram, seldom retaining more than 300 females. According to the most accurate information we have been able to obtain, the following description of his character, from a late publication, is just and impartial; and although written in Ali's lifetime, we transcribe entire. 'Ali is now (1815) sixty or sixty-one years of age; his figure is corpulent and unwieldy, his neck short, his stature about five feet nine inches. The expression of his countenance is striking and majestic ; and his features give no indications of those terrible qualities by which he is characterized. His abilities are certainly of no mean order. He displays that union of deep thought and contrivance
with prompt and decisive action, which indicates a mind equally formed for politics and for war. He is remarkable for his address, both in gaining friends, and in lulling asleep the suspicions of his bitterest enemies. But if his abilities are of a superior order, his dispositions are of a kind which render him an object of fear and detestation. His cruelty rather resembles that of an Indian savage, than of even the least civilized European. Impaling and roasting alive are among the common punishments reserved for those who have unhappily offended him. The fierceness of his cruelty is only exceeded by the depth of his dissimulation. It is impossible for the most skilful observer to conjecture, from his outward deportment, the real sentiments with which he regards any individual. The only observable difference consists in a peculiar kindness of manner towards those unfortunates, whose cruel doom he has silently and unrelentingly sealed. ' It is nevertheless pleasant/ says Dr. Holland, ' to be able to allege, as one proof of his superior understanding, a degree of freedom from national and religious prejudices rarely to be found among Turkish rulers. He has studiously adopted into his territory several of the improvements of the more cultivated nations ; he has destroyed the numerous bands of robbers who infested the peaceful inhabitants of the country ; by his direction roads have been made, bridges constructed, and agricultural improvements attempted. This laudable spirit has added respect to the terror inspired by his government ; and even those who, out of the immediate reach of his power, can venture to express hatred of his tyranny, are obliged to allow, that Albania is more happy and prosperous under his single and stern dominion, than when divided among numerous chieftains, and harassed by incessant wars. From this opinion, 1no deference to the principles of despotism can be inferred. The experience of history has proved that a single tyrant is less injurious to the happiness of a people, than tyranny divided among several; and the vizier of Albania has himself become a despot, only by the annihilation of the many despots who preyed on that heretofore distracted and divided country.'
Lord Byron describes his visit to the Pasha's court,, in the following beautiful lines :
To greet Albania's chief, whose dread command
Is lawless law ; for with a bloody hand
He sways a nation, turbulent and bold :
Yet here and there some daring mountain-band
Disdain his power, and from their rocky hold
Hurl their defiance far, nor yield, unless to gold.
In marble-paved pavilion, where a spring
Of living water from the centre rose,
Whose bubbling did a genial freshness fling,
And soft voluptuous couches breathed repose,
Ali reclined, a man of war and woes;
Yet in his lineaments we cannot trace,
While gentleness her milder radiance throws
Along that aged venerable face, [grace.
The deeds that lurk beneath, and stain him with dis.
So sings the Teian, and he sings in sooth—
But crimes that scorn the tender voice of truth,
Beseeming all men ill, but most the man
In years, have marked him with a tyger's tooth ;
Blood follows blood, and, through their mortal
span,
In bloodier acts conclude those who with blood began.
This despot was finally defeated by the Turks, and died in a manner suited to his desperate life, being cut down by Turkish officers in 1822. See Alt Pasha.
The physicians of Albania, in the consklerable towns, are Greeks, and are for the most part well informed men. The surgeons are Albanians, and very ignorant. Some of their methods are very curious. Mr. Hobhouse describes the practice of kneading the shoulders, and pulling the limbs for a cold ; and another practice in case of fevers, equally curious.—The patient stretches out his arm, and the doctor rubs his thumb along the principal artery, from the wrist up to the shoulder : having by a repetition of this operation thrown the man into a perspiration, he covers him up warm, and leaves him in a fair way of recovery.
The Albanians are of a middle stature; small round the loins, the chests full and broad, the eyes quick and lively. They wear a tight girdle round the waist, and puncture and stain their skin. The women bear many marks of misery, and are rather masculine in their appearance. Their common dress is a coarse cotton, with the head covered by a shawl, clasped under the ears. Some of them have a white woollen dress; and the young women have frequently a scull-cap, under which the hair is braided, and flows down, strung with all their smaller pieces of money. The women in general have a fantastic taste in their dress, and are not very cleanly in their habits. The common attire of the men is a shirt of cotion, drawers of the same materials, a white woollen mantle, and a large great coat or capote with loose open sleeves, and a white woollen or horse-hair band, which often hangs in a small piece behind, but when used upon the head, is pinned into form by a long needle or a pistol ramrod. Their girdle is a coarse shawl, drawn very tight by a belt, containing their pistols; when they rest, they loosen mem, and draw their capote about them, and seldom have any other covering. In the summer they throw off the capote and mantle. The poorest Albanian has his pistols in his belt, and also a case knife ornamented, and die handle strung with amulets, and the calamaro, a sort of portable ink-stand and pen, of which they are very proud. Their dress is the most elegant of any used in the Turkish empire, and the agas who can afford it, have it made of rich velvet, embroidered and worked with gold and silver; superadding another, which is a kind of jacket without sleeves. Lord Byron says, the resemblance between the Albanians and the Highlanders struck mm forcibly. The inhabitants are very dextrous at the long gun, one of which is to be found in every cottage.
The cottages are neat, consisting for the most part of one floor, divided into two rooms, in one
of which they keep their maize in the stalk or their grapes, which they sprinkle with salt to preserve them. Each person has a small garden, and each village a green for holiday sports, and a circular piece of paved ground attached to it, on which their corn is trodden out by eight or nine horses driven abreast from a stake fixed in the centre. Their food is chiefly vegetables; all classes drink wine, and also an ardent spirit called rackee, extracted from grapes, husks, and barley; they also drink water in large draughts during the most violent exercise without inconvenience. The inhabitants are generally temperate and avaricious, but withal are idle and ignorant. They think it honourable to rob, but disgraceful to steal.
Their forms of salutation are curious : from the rising of the sun to three hours afterwards, they say, * mire nestrasciaj or * nestrascia emire,' good morning. From the third hour to noon, * mire minghiessi,1 a good cheese-making to you, this being cheese-making time. Good day, good evening, and good night, are much the same as with us. To a man in his own house, they say, ' mire mbe sctepij,' well at home. To a person at work, they say, < mire mbe pune] well at your work; and to those who are reclining in the sun, * mire mbe dieli,' well in the sun. They are fond of music and dancing; but their execution in both these exercises is extremely imperfect. Notwithstanding these deficiencies, as soon as the daily occupation is over, they begin to sing and play; and each Albanian is his own composer and poet. In their dances there is only one variety : either the hands of the party are locked in each other behind their backs; or every man has a handkerchief in his hand, which is held by the next to him, and so on through a long string of them. The first is a slow dance; the party stand in a semicircle, and their musicians in the middle, continually walking from side to side, accompanying the movements with their music, which are nothing but the bending and unbending the two ends of the semicircle, with some slow footing, and now and then a hop. In the handkerchief dance, which is accompanied with a song from themselves, they are often violent. It is upon the leader of the string that all the principal movements devolve ; and all the party take this place by turns. He begins with the song, footing quietly from side to side ; then he hops forward, dragging the whole string after him in a circle; and then twirls about, dropping frequently on his knee; and rebounding from the ground with a shout, continues hopping, twirling, rebounding, &c., and then gives his place to the next man, and so on all round the company, each endeavouring to exceed his predecessor m the quickness of his evolutions and movements. Two or three old men often sit in the middle to set the songs, &c. The same dance can be executed by one performer. Mr. Hobhouse saw a boy of about fifteen, who, by the ease with which he performed the pirenettc, and other difficult movements, made a very agreeable spectacle. Their chief instruments are the lute, threestringed guitar, with a very long neck, and a small round base, played with a plectrum formed of a piece of quill half an inch in length.
The London encyclopaedia: or, Universal dictionary of science, art ..., Volume 1 edited by Thomas Curtis
Ne sot po hedhim faren me emrin Bashkim,
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
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ALBPelasgian
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
The treasury of languages p.7: "Albanian. The vernacular tongue of modern Albania, a maritime province of European Turkey, which answers to the ancient Epirus; the inhabitants are a mixed race, including Arnauts, who areprobably descended from the ancient Illyrians, Greeks, and Turks. The ancient language, called old ILLYRIAN, and closely allied to Greek, has become mingled with SLAVONIC, written in GREEk characters. The native name of the Albanian dialect is SKIPETAR. Both terms mean ‘mountaineers’. The modern language is sub-divided into the Ghegh and the Toski."
Ne sot po hedhim faren me emrin Bashkim,
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
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ALBPelasgian
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
The Universal magazine of knowledge and pleasure, p.127: The inhabitants speak a language different from and alike unknown to both the Greeks and the Sclavonians; from which circumstance, some learned men have conceived them to be a sept or colony from the country of Albania, bordering upon Colchos, in Asiatic Scythia ; as it is well known, that in former ages inundations of Barbarians have frequently overrun the provinces of both Greece and Italy.
http://books.google.com/books?id=yQEYAQ ... &q&f=false
Eshte tejet interesante sesi hipoteza absurde e prejardhjes kaukazike te shqiptareve vie si pasoje e origjinalitetit te gjuhes shqipe dhe te qenurit e saj plotesisht e dallueshme prej gjuheve fqinje. Keta studiues europian menduan se shpjegimi i vetem i kesaj ndryshueshmerie duhet te kerkohet si pasoje e ndonje ardhjeje per Kaukazit (!?), mirepo me vone e kuptuan se origjinaliteti i Shqipes dhe mos-lidhja e saj me gjuhet perreth vie si pasoje e prejardhesise prej Pellazgjishtes ose ndonje dialekti te saj: ilirishtes, psh.
http://books.google.com/books?id=yQEYAQ ... &q&f=false
Eshte tejet interesante sesi hipoteza absurde e prejardhjes kaukazike te shqiptareve vie si pasoje e origjinalitetit te gjuhes shqipe dhe te qenurit e saj plotesisht e dallueshme prej gjuheve fqinje. Keta studiues europian menduan se shpjegimi i vetem i kesaj ndryshueshmerie duhet te kerkohet si pasoje e ndonje ardhjeje per Kaukazit (!?), mirepo me vone e kuptuan se origjinaliteti i Shqipes dhe mos-lidhja e saj me gjuhet perreth vie si pasoje e prejardhesise prej Pellazgjishtes ose ndonje dialekti te saj: ilirishtes, psh.
Ne sot po hedhim faren me emrin Bashkim,
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
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elikranon
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
PETER OLUF BRONDSTED: Me Ali pashen vjeshten e vitit 1812.
(Ka shkruar nje tekst rreth 40 faqesh, ku ben edhe ca vleresime per Shqiptaret. Po ju sjell ca pjese te perkthyera nga botimi ne greqisht)
“Eshte pa dyshim rezultat i aftesive te vecanta te Ali pashes, fakti qe ky fis energjik, i guximshem dhe luftarak, eshte shnderruar gjysmen e dyte te shekullit nga nje popull hajdutesh dhe gjysme te eger ne nje komb luftetaresh, qe luan nje rol te vecante ndermjet fiseve qe popullojne territoret e pafundme te Perandorise Otomane.
Ngaqe fama e Shqiptareve per trimerine e tyre ka si pasoje te jene te shume kerkuar nga komandantet Turq akoma dhe te provincave te largeta, per te mbushur ushtrite e tyre, jane pak a shume sic ishin dikur Zviceranet dhe vazhdojne edhe sot per shume vende te Perendimit. Keshtu ne kohet e sotme Shqiptaret jane te vendosur kudo ne Lindje, jo vetem ne provincat e Turqise Evropiane, por edhe ne Azine e Vogel, Siri, Egjipt dhe tjeterkund.”
“Mjaftohem ne observimin se pas studimit te kujdesshem te emigrimeve mesjetare ne ato vende ku ekziston dialekti i sotem i Shqiptareve, do rezultonte sipas mendimit tim, qe popullsia qe sot banon ne Epir, e terheq origjinen e saj nga perzierja e popullsive autoktone me fiset Ilire qe erdhen nga veriu, nderkohe qe pushteti romak me qender ne Kontandinopol u dobesua. Do te mund te pranoja qe fillimi i emigrimit te Ilireve ne Epir, datohet ne nje periudhe shume me te hershme se katastrofa e tmerrshme qe pesoj Epiri nga ushtria romake pas pushtimit te Maqedonise nga Emilio Pavllo.
Vecanerisht nepermjet studimit te dialektit Skipetarik(keshtu e percaktojne shqiptaret dialektin e tyre gjuhesor), mund te kete qartesime te kesaj ceshtjeje, dhe do ishte shume e rendesishme per historin e ketij populli te vazhdonin studimet qe filloj koloneli Martin Leake. Nga ane te tjera nuk ekzistojne shume ngacmime per ndonje qe te studioje nje dialekt, i cili nuk ofron asgje qe te ngjaje me letersi, ngaqe Skipetarik eshte plotesisht gjuhe gojore dhe jane te detyruar te perdorin germa greke kur shkruajne ne te.
Cdo i krishtere Shqiptar me pak shkollim kupton greqishten e re, shpesh shume me mire se gjuhen e nenes. Te gjitha njohurite letrare transmetohen nepermjet greqishtes, me perjashtim te ca fiseve qe ketu e ca shekuj kane perqafuar Islamizmin, tek i cili , nuk jane ngjitur me ndonje rreptesi te madhe. Me gjithe ndryshimin e plote ne marredheniet politike qe ekzistonin qe shume heret midis ketyre dy popujve, ne vija te pergjithshme lidhjet kulturore te Shqiptareve me Greket e sotem paraqesin ngjashmeri te madhe me ate te Epiroteve ndaj Grekeve te Lashte. Se Greket mbeten akoma mesuesit e tyre per cdo gje qe ka te beje me kulturen dhe mjetet (pa dyshim te pakta dhe ta varfra) per zhvillimin kulturor te ketij vendi. Mungesa e plote e cdo perpjekjeje per ta ngritur kete gjuhe ne nivelin e nje gjuhe te shkruar, ose te pakten, te behet ajo arke per ruajten e mendimeve dhe ideve personale – mungese aq e ndjeshme ne nje fis njerezor qe perbehet nga nje milion e me shume njerez, qe komunikon vazhdimisht per shkak te arsyeve politike dhe arsyeve te tjera, me dy kombe te medhenj ( Greket dhe Turqit), qe cdo nje prej tyre disponon letersi te tij – ky fenomen kultural mesa duket nenkupton nje mungese te vecante dhe te rendesishme te ideve dhe mendimeve, nje shterpesi te madhe shpirterore.
Megjithate me duket se predispozicioni i aftesive shpirterore per kulturen, nje aftesi psikike e vecante ose ndoshta, sipas terminologjise se nje teorie moderne, mundesia per perfeksion, perben nje veti te pacmueshme te Grekut ne antidiastole me Shqiptarin dhe nqs sipas menyres se te lashteve mund te beja nje krahasim, do thosha se i fundit ngjan me te parin, sic ngjan ujku me nje qen te nje race konkrete”.
“Shqiptari eshte korrekt, i afte dhe energjik ne te gjitha manifestimet e perditshme te jetes se tij, ne te gjitha rrethanat dhe ceshtjet qe nuk tejkalojne aftesite e tij mendore, eshte besnik, i perkushtuar dhe durues ne sherbim te atij qe di te njoh perkushtimin e tij, dhe kjo me nje menyre qe tejkalon nje perkushtim te thjeshte. Eshte ama “panurgos”, i fshehte, hipokrit dhe i eger si nje tiger ndaj armiqve te tij.
Keto karakteristika me duket se jane me kombetaret dhe gjithe perfshirese nga ana e karakterit dhe fiziognomise e ketij populli.
Se cfare jane ne gjendje te bejne, sidomos ne kohe lufte, eshte provuar ne ditet tona ne menyren me tmerruese nga Ali pasha, tipin me te kompletuar te Shqiptarit qe ka ekzistuar ndonbjehere, dhe nqs do mund te perdorja kete shprehje, lulen e Shqiptarizmes.
Kohet e fundit pame te bie kjo koke, e njollosur me vite aktiviteti kriminal dhe e shenuar nga mallkimet e mijera viktimave te tij midis popullsise greke te territorit te tij. Nuk ishin ama krimet e Ali pashes qe e cuan ne kete perfundim fatal – gje qe vertet do te mund te perbente ngushellim per njerezimin, per fat te keq behet fjale per krejt te kunderten. Sistemi i mireorganizuar i padrejtesive te tij dhe i zbatuar me korrektesi ishte qe e ngriti gradualisht ne nivelin e fuqishem te nje dinasti tmerrues lindor. Por shkaterrimi i tij erdhi nga nje e mete e vetme, “filargyria”- pangopesia e tij, sepse kjo ishte arsyeja e vertet e katastrofes se Ali pashes. Kjo pangopesi e kishte verbuar ne nje shkalle te tille, qe nderkohe qe ishte i mbyllur ne keshtjellen e Janines me nje grusht njerezish besnik, vazhdonte te ushqente shpresen paraloge se mund te shpetonte, pa hapur thesaret e tij tek Greket dhe Shqiptaret, qe ishin po ashtu te afte ti shpetonin jeten ose ta shisnin per ar.
Kushtet qe pergatiten perfundimin fatal te tiranit te Epirit, me sjellin ndermend pikerisht ato qe i paraprine rrenies se tiranit te fundit te pavlere te Maqedonise se Lashte, Perseut, ne pangopesine e te cilit, sipas Plutarkut, Emilio Pavllo dhe Romaket kane borxh fatin e tyre te mire.. Keshtu, pikerisht ne kete ngulmim te verber te Ali pashes gjendet dhe fati i Hurshit pashes dhe Turqve te tij, qe ishin mjaft te dobet per te lidhur ne zinxhire tigrin mbreteror te moshuar te Shqiptareve, nqs kjo e mete konkrete, demoni i tij personal, Κακοδαιμονια e tijnuk kishte rendur ti ndihmonte”.
(Ka shkruar nje tekst rreth 40 faqesh, ku ben edhe ca vleresime per Shqiptaret. Po ju sjell ca pjese te perkthyera nga botimi ne greqisht)
“Eshte pa dyshim rezultat i aftesive te vecanta te Ali pashes, fakti qe ky fis energjik, i guximshem dhe luftarak, eshte shnderruar gjysmen e dyte te shekullit nga nje popull hajdutesh dhe gjysme te eger ne nje komb luftetaresh, qe luan nje rol te vecante ndermjet fiseve qe popullojne territoret e pafundme te Perandorise Otomane.
Ngaqe fama e Shqiptareve per trimerine e tyre ka si pasoje te jene te shume kerkuar nga komandantet Turq akoma dhe te provincave te largeta, per te mbushur ushtrite e tyre, jane pak a shume sic ishin dikur Zviceranet dhe vazhdojne edhe sot per shume vende te Perendimit. Keshtu ne kohet e sotme Shqiptaret jane te vendosur kudo ne Lindje, jo vetem ne provincat e Turqise Evropiane, por edhe ne Azine e Vogel, Siri, Egjipt dhe tjeterkund.”
“Mjaftohem ne observimin se pas studimit te kujdesshem te emigrimeve mesjetare ne ato vende ku ekziston dialekti i sotem i Shqiptareve, do rezultonte sipas mendimit tim, qe popullsia qe sot banon ne Epir, e terheq origjinen e saj nga perzierja e popullsive autoktone me fiset Ilire qe erdhen nga veriu, nderkohe qe pushteti romak me qender ne Kontandinopol u dobesua. Do te mund te pranoja qe fillimi i emigrimit te Ilireve ne Epir, datohet ne nje periudhe shume me te hershme se katastrofa e tmerrshme qe pesoj Epiri nga ushtria romake pas pushtimit te Maqedonise nga Emilio Pavllo.
Vecanerisht nepermjet studimit te dialektit Skipetarik(keshtu e percaktojne shqiptaret dialektin e tyre gjuhesor), mund te kete qartesime te kesaj ceshtjeje, dhe do ishte shume e rendesishme per historin e ketij populli te vazhdonin studimet qe filloj koloneli Martin Leake. Nga ane te tjera nuk ekzistojne shume ngacmime per ndonje qe te studioje nje dialekt, i cili nuk ofron asgje qe te ngjaje me letersi, ngaqe Skipetarik eshte plotesisht gjuhe gojore dhe jane te detyruar te perdorin germa greke kur shkruajne ne te.
Cdo i krishtere Shqiptar me pak shkollim kupton greqishten e re, shpesh shume me mire se gjuhen e nenes. Te gjitha njohurite letrare transmetohen nepermjet greqishtes, me perjashtim te ca fiseve qe ketu e ca shekuj kane perqafuar Islamizmin, tek i cili , nuk jane ngjitur me ndonje rreptesi te madhe. Me gjithe ndryshimin e plote ne marredheniet politike qe ekzistonin qe shume heret midis ketyre dy popujve, ne vija te pergjithshme lidhjet kulturore te Shqiptareve me Greket e sotem paraqesin ngjashmeri te madhe me ate te Epiroteve ndaj Grekeve te Lashte. Se Greket mbeten akoma mesuesit e tyre per cdo gje qe ka te beje me kulturen dhe mjetet (pa dyshim te pakta dhe ta varfra) per zhvillimin kulturor te ketij vendi. Mungesa e plote e cdo perpjekjeje per ta ngritur kete gjuhe ne nivelin e nje gjuhe te shkruar, ose te pakten, te behet ajo arke per ruajten e mendimeve dhe ideve personale – mungese aq e ndjeshme ne nje fis njerezor qe perbehet nga nje milion e me shume njerez, qe komunikon vazhdimisht per shkak te arsyeve politike dhe arsyeve te tjera, me dy kombe te medhenj ( Greket dhe Turqit), qe cdo nje prej tyre disponon letersi te tij – ky fenomen kultural mesa duket nenkupton nje mungese te vecante dhe te rendesishme te ideve dhe mendimeve, nje shterpesi te madhe shpirterore.
Megjithate me duket se predispozicioni i aftesive shpirterore per kulturen, nje aftesi psikike e vecante ose ndoshta, sipas terminologjise se nje teorie moderne, mundesia per perfeksion, perben nje veti te pacmueshme te Grekut ne antidiastole me Shqiptarin dhe nqs sipas menyres se te lashteve mund te beja nje krahasim, do thosha se i fundit ngjan me te parin, sic ngjan ujku me nje qen te nje race konkrete”.
“Shqiptari eshte korrekt, i afte dhe energjik ne te gjitha manifestimet e perditshme te jetes se tij, ne te gjitha rrethanat dhe ceshtjet qe nuk tejkalojne aftesite e tij mendore, eshte besnik, i perkushtuar dhe durues ne sherbim te atij qe di te njoh perkushtimin e tij, dhe kjo me nje menyre qe tejkalon nje perkushtim te thjeshte. Eshte ama “panurgos”, i fshehte, hipokrit dhe i eger si nje tiger ndaj armiqve te tij.
Keto karakteristika me duket se jane me kombetaret dhe gjithe perfshirese nga ana e karakterit dhe fiziognomise e ketij populli.
Se cfare jane ne gjendje te bejne, sidomos ne kohe lufte, eshte provuar ne ditet tona ne menyren me tmerruese nga Ali pasha, tipin me te kompletuar te Shqiptarit qe ka ekzistuar ndonbjehere, dhe nqs do mund te perdorja kete shprehje, lulen e Shqiptarizmes.
Kohet e fundit pame te bie kjo koke, e njollosur me vite aktiviteti kriminal dhe e shenuar nga mallkimet e mijera viktimave te tij midis popullsise greke te territorit te tij. Nuk ishin ama krimet e Ali pashes qe e cuan ne kete perfundim fatal – gje qe vertet do te mund te perbente ngushellim per njerezimin, per fat te keq behet fjale per krejt te kunderten. Sistemi i mireorganizuar i padrejtesive te tij dhe i zbatuar me korrektesi ishte qe e ngriti gradualisht ne nivelin e fuqishem te nje dinasti tmerrues lindor. Por shkaterrimi i tij erdhi nga nje e mete e vetme, “filargyria”- pangopesia e tij, sepse kjo ishte arsyeja e vertet e katastrofes se Ali pashes. Kjo pangopesi e kishte verbuar ne nje shkalle te tille, qe nderkohe qe ishte i mbyllur ne keshtjellen e Janines me nje grusht njerezish besnik, vazhdonte te ushqente shpresen paraloge se mund te shpetonte, pa hapur thesaret e tij tek Greket dhe Shqiptaret, qe ishin po ashtu te afte ti shpetonin jeten ose ta shisnin per ar.
Kushtet qe pergatiten perfundimin fatal te tiranit te Epirit, me sjellin ndermend pikerisht ato qe i paraprine rrenies se tiranit te fundit te pavlere te Maqedonise se Lashte, Perseut, ne pangopesine e te cilit, sipas Plutarkut, Emilio Pavllo dhe Romaket kane borxh fatin e tyre te mire.. Keshtu, pikerisht ne kete ngulmim te verber te Ali pashes gjendet dhe fati i Hurshit pashes dhe Turqve te tij, qe ishin mjaft te dobet per te lidhur ne zinxhire tigrin mbreteror te moshuar te Shqiptareve, nqs kjo e mete konkrete, demoni i tij personal, Κακοδαιμονια e tijnuk kishte rendur ti ndihmonte”.
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ALBPelasgian
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
No portion of European Turkey has been more visited than Albania by men of sense and science. Major Leake and Dr. Holland represent this martial race as the descendants of the IUyrians. Their description by Byron is peculiarly graphic: " The Arnaouts struck me forcibly by their resemblance to the Highlanders of Scotland, in dress, figure, and manner of living. * No nation are so detested and dreaded by their neighbours as the Albanese; the Greeks hardly regard them as Christians, or the Turks as Moslems; and, in fact, they are a mixture of both, and sometimes neither. The Montenegrins, Chemariots, and Geydes are treacherous;" but the first are regarded as a Servian colony, and are Greek Christians. Byron adds: " As far as my own experience goes, I can speak favourably of the Albanians."
Turkey, past and present By John Reynell Morell
Turkey, past and present By John Reynell Morell
Ne sot po hedhim faren me emrin Bashkim,
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
Qe neser te korrim frutin me emrin Bashkim!
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AgrianShigjetari
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
The Albanians are apparently the most ancient people in the
Balkans. History and legend offer no record of their arrival in the
Peninsula. They are probably descendants of the earliest Aryan
immigrants, who were represented in historical times by the kindred
Illyrians, who spoke a language unrelated to other tongues in the
Balkans. Still known as clannish mountaineers, impatient of interference in their tribal customs, spurning civilizing influences, the Albanians submitted only with much sullenness to a superiorpower. The ancient Greeks imposed their authority over the regionbut never really Hellenized the stubborn inhabitants. Under the
Romans obedience to the emperors depended precisely on military
forces stationed in the region. The Albanians were superficially
converted to Christianity, but probably nowhere did paganism
survive longer or leave greater traces of superstition than in this
inaccessible country. Despite a considerable mingling with Slavs,
modern Albanians have physical characteristics which identify
them with an earlier ethnic substratum. The Albanian language is
not Slavic; it is a unigue tongue of the Thraco-Illyrian family. The
Albanians called themselves Skipetare (Shqipetar, etc.), “children
of the eagle,” and their country Skiperia, “land of the eagle.”
A History of the Balkan Peoples 205
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AgrianShigjetari
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
"The Illyrians themselves partly amalgamated with the Huns and their Slavic conquerors, and partly were driven southwards, where one of their tribes, the Albani, survive, at all events in name, in the modern Albanians". (Chambers's encyclopaedia: a dictionary of universal knowledge: Volume 6, 1901, f.84)
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AgrianShigjetari
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
Albanians originate from Illyrians, one of the indigenous peoples of the Balkan Peninsula. They are the descendants of the Illyrian tribes that, living in isolated mountain areas, although to some extent Romanized under the rule of the ancient Rome, avoided assimilation to the Slavs invading the area sometime during the seventh century. (The rule of law in comparative perspective, Mortimer Sellers, Tadeusz Tomaszewski – 2010, p.202)
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AgrianShigjetari
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
"Neighbors to the Greeks are the speakers of the Thraco-Illyrian group, today represented only by Albanian. They number over 5 million and reside mainly in Albania, Kosovo province in Yugoslavia, and western Macedonia. A scattering of Albanian villages can also be found in southern Italy, Crna Gora, and Greece. In the main, contiguous Balkan area of Albanian speech, a dialect net survives, mutually unintelligible in extreme forms. One of the northern, or Tosk dialects, has become the standardized form of the language. The ancestral Thraco-Illyrian group, belonging to the Eastern Indo-European division, perhaps orgniated in the Maritsa Valley of Bulgaria, but the ancient geographical development remains poorly understood. Apparently, the Thraco-Illyrian speakers evolved at some point into a mountain people, diffusing through the Stara Planina and Rodopi range. This may have happened as early as the time of the Black sea flood. They went as mountain folk over into Illyria, in the Dinaric range, the present seat of the Albanian language. Eventually, Thraco-Illyrian died out altogether in the eastern Balkans, and modern Albanian occupies a refuge unlike that of Celtic".
(The European culture area: a systematic geography
By Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov, Bella Bychkova Jordan, 2002, f. 132-133
(The European culture area: a systematic geography
By Terry G. Jordan-Bychkov, Bella Bychkova Jordan, 2002, f. 132-133
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AgrianShigjetari
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Re: Quota per shqiptaret.
"Albanians, however,are one of southeastern Europe's oldest inhabitants. It is believed that they descended from the Illyrians, who in a series of migration waves settled in what is now Albania around 1200 BC". (Greece, Zoran Pavlović, Charles F. Gritzner,2006, Page 46