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Albanians
Shqiptarët

Total population
7.5– 12.2 million
Regions with significant populations
Albania 2,810,000 (2011)  Kosovo 1,616,869 (2011)
Rest of Balkans:	ca. 1.4 million– 4.2 million
Turkey	500,000-5,000,000
Macedonia	509,083 (2002)
Greece	280,000 to 600,000 (Includes dual citizens, temporary migrants, and undocumented)
Montenegro	30,439
Croatia	17,513 (2011)
Romania	10,000
Serbia	5,809
Slovenia	4,020
Rest of Europe:	ca. 1,513,600
Italy	800,000
Germany	300,000
Switzerland	200,000
Sweden	54,000
United Kingdom	30,000
Austria	28,212
France	20,000
Netherlands	5,000-20,000
Norway	10,000
Denmark	8,223
Finland	8,214
Belgium	5,600–30,000
Ukraine	5,000
Rest of World:	ca. 250.000
United States	193,813
Canada	28,270
Egypt	18,000
Australia	11,315
Languages
Albanian (Gheg and Tosk Dialects)
Religion
Islam Sunni · Bektashi · Sufism Christianity: Roman Catholicism · Albanian Orthodox · Protestantism Irreligion
502,546 Albanian citizens, an additional 43,751 Kosovo Albanians and 260,000 Arbëreshë people) Albanians are not recognized as a minority in Turkey. However approximately 500,000 people are reported to profess an Albanian identity. With those that have only partial Albanian ancestry and the Turkified ones the number is about 1,300,000- 5,000,000 most of whom do not speak Albanian.

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Albanians
Geographical distribution Native Albania Kosovo Croatia Greece Italy Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Diaspora Greece Italy Australia Bulgaria Denmark Egypt Finland Germany Norway Romania South America Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United States
Albanian culture Architecture Art (Traditional tattooing) Besa Cuisine Customary law Dance Dress Epic poetry (Kângë Kreshnikësh) Folklore Gjakmarrje Gjamë/Vajtim Literature Music Oda Paganism Symbols Traditions Tribes (farefisní)
Albanian language Gheg Arbanasi Upper Reka Istrian Tosk Arbëresh Arvanitika Cham Lab
Religion Christianity Catholicism Italo-Albanian Church Albanian Greek-Catholic Church Orthodoxy Islam Sunnism Bektashism Judaism
History of Albania Origin of the Albanians
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Albanians (Template:Lang-sq) are defined as an ethnic group native to Albania and neighboring countries. The term is also used sometimes to refer to the citizens of the Republic of Albania regardless of ethnicity. Ethnic Albanians speak the Albanian language and more than half of ethnic Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo. The Albanian diaspora also exists in a number of other countries, notable examples are the Arvanites and Arbëreshë, both which were influential in their respective countries and produced many prominent figures.

Ethnonym

The ethnonym Albanians is believed to be derived from Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe mentioned by Ptolemy in the city of Albanopolis. While the exonym Albania for the general region inhabited by the Albanians does hark back to Classical Antiquity, the Albanian language employs a different ethnonym, with modern Albanians referring to themselves as shqipëtarë and to their country as Shqipëria. Two etymologies have been conjectured for this ethnonym: one, associated with Maximilian Lambertz, derives the etymology from the Albanian for eagle (shqipe, var.,shqiponjë), perhaps denoting denizens of a mountainous region. In Albanian folk etymology, this word denotes a bird totem dating from the times of Skanderbeg, as displayed on the Albanian flag. The other suggestion connects it to the verb 'to speak' (me shqiptue). If the latter conjecture were correct, the Albanian endonym, like Slav and others, would originally have been a term for "those who speak ".

In History written in 1079–1080, the Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates referred to the Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of Dyrrachium. It is disputed, however, whether that refers to Albanians in an ethnic sense. However a later reference to Albanians from the same Attaliates, regarding the participation of Albanians in a rebellion around 1078, is undisputed. In later Byzantine usage, the terms "Arbanitai" and "Albanoi", with a range of variants, were used interchangeably, while sometimes the same groups were also called by the classicising name Illyrians. The first reference to the Albanian language dates to the later 13th century (around 1285).

The Albanians are and have been referred to by other terms as well. Some of them are:

• Arbër, Arbën, Arbëreshë and Arbëneshë; the old native term denoting ancient and medieval Albanians and sharing the same root with the latter. At the time the country was called Arbër (Gheg: Arbën) and Arbëria (Gheg: Arbënia) by Albanians. This term is still used for the Albanians that migrated to Italy during the Middle Ages, the Arbëreshë. Within the Balkans, Vlachs still use a similar term Arbineş in the Aromanian language for contemporary (Orthodox) Albanians.
• Arbanas/i; old term used by Balkan Slavic peoples such as the Bulgarians and Serbians to refer to Albanians. The term Arbănas was also used by Romanians for Albanians.
• Arvanitis (plural: Arvanites); is a term that was historically used to describe an Albanian speaker regardless of their religious affiliations amongst the wider Greek-speaking population until the interwar period. Today, the term Arvanites is used by Greeks to refer to descendants of Albanians or Arbëreshë that migrated to southern Greece during the medieval era and who currently self identify as Greeks. In Epirus today, the term Arvanitis is still used for an Albanian speaker regardless of their citizenship and religion.
• Arnaut/s (ارناود); old term used mainly from Turks and by extension by some European authors during the Ottoman Empire. A derivate of the Turkish Arvanid (Arnavut) (اروانيد), which derives from the Greek term Arvanites.
• Shqip(ë)tar and Shqyptar (in northern Albanian dialects) is the contemporary endonym used by Albanians for themselves while Shqipëria and Shqypnia/Shqipnia are native toponyms used by Albanians to name their country with all terms sharing the same root. At the end of 17th and beginning of the early 18th centuries, the placename Shqipëria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptarë gradually replaced Arbëria/Arbënia and Arbëresh/Arbënesh amongst Albanian speakers. This was due to socio-political, cultural, economic and religious complexities that Albanians experienced during the Ottoman era. Skipetar/s is a historical rendering or exonym of the term Shqiptar by some French, Austrian, English and German authors in use from the 18th century (but probably earlier) to the present. The term Šiptari is a derivation used by Balkan Slavic peoples and former states like Yugoslavia which Albanians consider derogatory due to its negative connotations thereby preferring Albanci instead.

History

Studies in genetic anthropology show that the Albanians share the same ancestry as most other European peoples.

Albanians in the Middle Ages

What is possibly the earliest written reference to the Albanians is that to be found in an old Bulgarian text compiled around the beginning of the 11th century. It was discovered in a Serbian manuscript dated 1628 and was first published in 1934 by Radoslav Grujic. This fragment of a legend from the time of Tsar Samuel endeavours, in a catechismal 'question and answer' form, to explain the origins of peoples and languages. It divides the world into seventy-two languages and three religious categories: Orthodox, half-believers (i.e. non-Orthodox Christians) and non-believers. The Albanians find their place among the nations of half-believers. If the dating of Grujic is accepted, which is based primarily upon the contents of the text as a whole, this would be the earliest written document referring to the Albanians as a people or language group.

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

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

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

In 1271 Charles of Anjou created the Kingdom of Albania, after he captured a part of the Despotate of Epirus. In the 14th century a number of Albanian principalities were created.

• Location of Arbanon in the 11th century. According to Ducellier the castle of Petrela was the access point to the region known with this name
• Population movements, 14th century.

Albanians under the Ottoman Empire

At the dawn of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in Southeast Europe, the geopolitical landscape was marked by scattered kingdoms of small principalities. The Ottomans erected their garrisons throughout southern Albania by 1415 and established formal jurisdiction over most of Albania by 1431. However, on 1443 a great and longstanding revolt broke under the lead of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg, which lasted until 1479, many times defeating major Ottoman armies led by sultans Murad II and Mehmed II. Skanderbeg united initially the Albanian princes and later established a centralized authority over most of the non-conquered territories, becoming Lord of Albania. He also tried relentlessly but rather unsuccessfully to create a European coalition against the Ottomans. He frustrated every attempt by the Turks to regain Albania, which they envisioned as a springboard for the invasion of Italy and western Europe. His unequal fight against the mightiest power of the time won the esteem of Europe as well as some support in the form of money and military aid from Naples, the papacy, Venice, and Ragusa. Finally after decades of resistance, Ottomans captured Shkodër in 1479 and Durrës in 1501. Skanderbeg’s long struggle to keep Albania free became highly significant to the Albanian people, as it strengthened their solidarity, made them more conscious of their national identity, and served later as a great source of inspiration in their struggle for national unity, freedom, and independence. The invasion triggered a several waves of migration of Albanians from Albania, Epir and Peoponesse to the south of Italy, constituting an Arbereshe community. Albanians were recruited all over Europe as a light cavalry known as stratioti. The stratioti were pioneers of light cavalry tactics during this era. In the early 16th century heavy cavalry in the European armies was principally remodeled after Albanian stradioti of the Venetian army, Hungarian hussars and German mercenary cavalry units (Schwarzreitern). By the 16th century, Ottoman rule over Southeast Europe was largely secure. The Ottomans proceeded in stages, first appointing a qadi along with governors and then military retainers in the cities. Timar holders, not necessarily converts to Islam, would occasionally rebel, the most famous case of which is Skanderbeg. His figure would be used later in the 19th century as a central component of Albanian national identity. Ottoman control over the Albanian territories was secured in 1571 when Ulcinj, presently in Montenegro, was captured. The most significant impact on the Albanians was the gradual Islamisation process of a large majority of the population- although such a process only became widespread in the 17th century. Mainly Catholics converted in the 17th century, while the Orthodox Albanians became Muslim mainly in the following century. Initially confined to the main city centres of Elbasan and Shkodër, by this time the countryside was also embracing the new religion. In Elbasan Muslims made up just over half the population in 1569–70 whereas in Shkodër this was almost 90% and in Berat closer to 60%. In the 17th century, however, Catholic conversion to Islam increased, even in the countryside. The motives for conversion according to scholars were diverse, depending on the context. The lack of source-material does not help when investigating such issues. Albanians could also be found across the empire, in Egypt, Algeria, and across the Maghreb as vital military and administrative retainers.

Albanian national awakening

By the 1870s, the Sublime Porte's reforms aimed at checking the Ottoman Empire's disintegration had clearly failed. The image of the "Turkish yoke" had become fixed in the nationalist mythologies and psyches of the empire's Balkan peoples, and their march toward independence quickened. The Albanians, because of the higher degree of Islamic influence, their internal social divisions, and the fear that they would lose their Albanian-populated lands to the emerging Balkan states—Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece—were the last of the Balkan peoples to desire division from the Ottoman Empire. The Albanian national awakening as a coherent political movement began after the Treaty of San Stefano, according to which Albanian-inhabited areas were to be ceded to other states of the Balkans, and focused on preventing that partition. The Treaty of San Stefano was the impetus for the nation-building movement, which was based more on fear of partition than national identity. Even after Albania became independent in 1912, Albanian national identity was fragmented and possible non-existent in much of the new country. The state of disunity and fragmentation would remain until the communist period following World War II, when the communist nation-building project would achieve greater success in nation-building and reach more people than any previous regime, thus creating Albanian national communist identity.

Distribution

Southeast Europe

Approximately 7 million Albanians are to be found within the Balkan peninsula with about half this number residing in Albania and the other divided between Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia, Greece and to a much smaller extent Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, and Slovenia.

Albania

Albania has an estimated 3 million inhabitants, with ethnic Albanians comprising approximately 95% of the total.

Former Yugoslavia

An estimated 2.2 million Albanians live in the territory of Former Yugoslavia, the greater part (close to two million) in Kosovo.

Rights to use the Albanian language in education and government were given and guaranteed by the 1974 Constitution of SFRY and were widely utilized in Macedonia and in Montenegro before the Dissolution of Yugoslavia.

Greece

An estimated 275,000–600,000 Albanians live in Greece, forming the largest immigrant community in the country. They are economic migrants whose migration began in 1991, following the collapse of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania.

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

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

Diaspora

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Europe

Approximately 1 million are dispersed throughout the rest of Europe, most of these in Italy (502,546), Germany (320,000), Switzerland (200,000), Sweden (60,000), and the UK.

Italy has a historical Albanian minority known as the Arbëreshë (260,000) which are scattered across Southern Italy, but the majority of Albanians in Italy arrived in 1991 and have since surpassed the older populations of Arbëreshë.

Turkey

According to a 2008 report prepared for the National Security Council of Turkey by academics of three Turkish universities in eastern Anatolia, there were approximately 1,300,000 people of Albanian descent living in Turkey. According to that study, more than 500,000 Albanian descendants still recognize their ancestry and or their language, culture and traditions. There are also other estimates regarding the Albanian population in Turkey that range from being 3-4 million people up to a total of 5 million in number, although most of these are Turkish citizens of partial Albanian ancestry and no longer fluent in Albanian (cf. German Americans). This was due to various degrees of either linguistic and or cultural assimilation occurring amongst the Albanian diaspora in Turkey. Nonetheless, a sizable proportion of the Albanian community in Turkey, such as that of Istanbul, has maintained its distinct Albanian identity. Albanians are active in the civic life of Turkey. For example, after the Turks and Kurds, Albanians are the third most represented ethnic group of parliamentarians in the Turkish parliament, though belonging to different political parties. State relations of Albania and Kosovo with Turkey are friendly and close, due in part to the Albanian population of Turkey maintaining close links with Albanians of the Balkans.

Egypt

In Egypt there are 18,000 Albanians, mostly Tosk speakers. Many are descendants of the Janissary of Muhammad Ali Pasha, an Albanian who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. In addition to the dynasty that he established, a large part of the former Egyptian and Sudanese aristocracy was of Albanian origin. Albanian Sunnis, Bektashis and Orthodox Christians were all represented in this diaspora, whose members at some point included major Renaissance figures (Rilindasit), including Fan Noli who lived in Egypt for a time. With the ascension of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt and his ideology of Arab nationalism, the last remnants of Albanian community there were forced to leave.

Overseas

According to the 2010 American Community Survey, there are 193,813 Albanian Americans (American citizens of full or partial Albanian descent).

In Australia and New Zealand there are a total of 22,000 Albanians. Albanians are also known to reside in China, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore, but the numbers are generally small. Albanians have been present in Arab countries such as Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria for about five centuries as a legacy of Ottoman Turkish rule.

Language

The Albanian language forms a separate branch of the Indo-European languages family tree. A traditional view, based mainly on the territory where the languages were spoken, links the origin of Albanian with Illyrian. Not enough Illyrian archaeological evidence is left behind however, to come to a definite conclusion. Another theory links the Albanian as originating from the Thracian language: however this theory takes exception to the territory, since the Thracian language was spoken in an area distinct from Albania, and no significant population movements have been recorded in the period when the shift from one language to the other is supposed to have occurred.

Albanian in a revised form of the Tosk dialect is the official language of Albania and Kosovo; and is official in the municipalities where there are more than 20% ethnic Albanian inhabitants in the Republic of Macedonia. It is also an official language of Montenegro where it is spoken in the municipalities with ethnic Albanian populations.

Religion

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

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

According to 2011 census, 58.79% of Albania adheres to Islam, making it the largest religion in the country. The majority of Albanian Muslims are Secular Sunni with a significant Bektashi Shia minority. Christianity is practiced by 16.99% of the population, making it the second largest religion in the country. The remaining population is either irreligious or belongs to other religious groups. Before World War II, there was given a distribution of 70% Muslims, 20% Eastern Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholics. Today, Gallup Global Reports 2010 shows that religion plays a role in the lives of only 39% of Albanians, and ranks Albania the thirteenth least religious country in the world.

The results of the 2011 census, however, have been criticized as questionable on a number of grounds, and have been said to drastically underrepresent the number of Orthodox, Bektashi and irreligious Albanians, with problems including whole communities reporting that they had not been contacted, workers filling out questions without even asking the respondents and a drastic difference between the final results and the preliminary results with regard to religion (which showed over 70% declining to answer the question about religion).

The Communist regime that took control of Albania after World War II persecuted and suppressed religious observance and institutions and entirely banned religion to the point where Albania was officially declared to be the world's first atheist state. Religious freedom has returned to Albania since the regime's change in 1992. Albanian Muslim populations (mainly secular and of the Sunni branch) are found throughout the country whereas Albanian Orthodox Christians as well as Bektashis are concentrated in the south; Roman Catholics are found primarily in the north of the country.

For part of its history, Albania has also had a Jewish community. Members of the Jewish community were saved by a group of Albanians during the Nazi occupation. Many left for Israel c. 1990 – 1992 after borders were open due to fall of communist regime in Albania, while in modern times about 200 Albanian Jews still live in Albania.

Culture

Part of a series on
Indo-European topics
Languages List of Indo-European languages Extant Albanoid Albanian Armenian Balto-Slavic Baltic Slavic Celtic Germanic Hellenic Greek Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Nuristani Italic Romance Extinct Anatolian Tocharian Paleo-Balkan Dacian Illyrian Liburnian Messapic Mysian Paeonian Phrygian Thracian Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language Phonology: Sound laws, Accent, Ablaut Hypothetical Balkanic Daco-Thracian Graeco-Albanian Graeco-Armenian Graeco-Aryan Graeco-Phrygian Indo-Hittite Italo-Celtic Thraco-Illyrian Grammar Vocabulary Root Verbs Nouns Pronouns Numerals Particles Other Proto-Albanian Proto-Anatolian Proto-Armenian Proto-Germanic (Proto-Norse) Proto-Italo-Celtic (Proto-Celtic · Proto-Italic) Proto-Greek Proto-Balto-Slavic (Proto-Slavic · Proto-Baltic) Proto-Indo-Iranian (Proto-Iranian)
Philology Hittite inscriptions Hieroglyphic Luwian Linear B Rigveda Avesta Homer Behistun Greek epigraphy Phrygian epigraphy Messapic epigraphy Latin epigraphy Gaulish epigraphy Runic epigraphy Ogham Gothic Bible Bible translations into Armenian Tocharian script Old Irish glosses Albanian Kanun
Origins Homeland Proto-Indo-Europeans Society Religion Mainstream Kurgan hypothesis Indo-European migrations Eurasian nomads Alternative and fringe Anatolian hypothesis Armenian hypothesis Beech argument Indigenous Aryanism Baltic homeland Paleolithic continuity theory
Archaeology Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Pontic Steppe Domestication of the horse Kurgan Kurgan stelae Kurgan culture Steppe cultures Bug–Dniester Sredny Stog Dnieper–Donets Samara Khvalynsk Yamnaya Mikhaylovka culture Novotitarovskaya culture Caucasus Maykop East Asia Afanasievo Eastern Europe Usatovo Cernavodă Cucuteni Northern Europe Corded ware Baden Middle Dnieper Bronze Age Pontic Steppe Chariot Yamnaya Catacomb Multi-cordoned ware Poltavka Srubnaya Northern/Eastern Steppe Abashevo culture Andronovo Sintashta Europe Globular Amphora Corded ware Bell Beaker Únětice Trzciniec Nordic Bronze Age Terramare Tumulus Urnfield Lusatian South Asia BMAC Yaz Gandhara grave Iron Age Steppe Chernoles Europe Thraco-Cimmerian Hallstatt Jastorf Caucasus Colchian India Painted Grey Ware Northern Black Polished Ware
Peoples and societies Bronze Age Anatolian peoples (Hittites) Armenians Mycenaean Greeks Indo-Iranians Iron Age Indo-Aryans Indo-Aryans Iranians Iranians East Asia Wusun Yuezhi Europe Celts Gauls Celtiberians Insular Celts Cimmerians Hellenic peoples Italic peoples Germanic peoples Paleo-Balkan/Anatolia Thracians Dacians Illyrians Paeonians Phrygians Scythians Middle Ages East Asia Tocharians Europe Albanians Balts Slavs Norsemen/Medieval Scandinavians Middle Ages Indo-Aryan Medieval India Iranian Greater Iran
Religion and mythology Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European mythology Proto-Indo-Iranian paganism Historical Vedic religion Ancient Iranian religion Historical Hittite Indo-Aryan Vedic Hinduism Buddhism Jainism Sikhism Iranian Persian Zoroastrianism Kurdish Yazidism Yarsanism Scythian Ossetian Others Armenian European Paleo-Balkan (Albanian · Illyrian · Thracian · Dacian) Greek Roman Celtic Irish Scottish Breton Welsh Cornish Germanic Anglo-Saxon Continental Norse Baltic Latvian Lithuanian Slavic Practices Fire rituals Horse sacrifice Sati Winter solstice/Yule
Indo-European studies Scholars Marija Gimbutas J. P. Mallory Institutes Copenhagen Studies in Indo-European Publications Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture The Horse, the Wheel, and Language Journal of Indo-European Studies Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch Indo-European Etymological Dictionary
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Albanian folk music displays a variety of influences. Albanian folk music traditions differ by region, with major stylistic differences between the traditional music of the Ghegs in the north and Tosks in the south. Modern popular music has developed around the centers of Korca, Shkodër and Tirana. Since the 1920s, some composers such as Fan S. Noli have also produced works of Albanian classical music.

Notable Albanians

• Skanderbeg – 15th-century Albanian lord, leader of the League of Lezhë
• Gjon Buzuku – Catholic cleric; author of the first book written in Albanian
• George Ghica - Prince of Moldavia and Wallachia
• Viktor Karpaçi – painter of Renaissance
• Sedefkar Mehmed Agha – architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque") in Istanbul
• Ali Pasha of Tepelena - Albanian ruler
• Mohammed Ali Pasha – Viceroy of Egypt and Sudan
• Karl Gega – architect
• Jeronim de Rada - Italian Arbëresh writer
• Mit’hat Frashëri – Albanian diplomat, writer and politician
• Ali Pasha of Gusinje - one of the founders of the League of Prizren
• Aleksander Moisiu – stage actor
• Ismail Qemali - Founder of the Independent Albania
• Isa Boletini - Albanian revolutionary and nationalist
• Ali Sami Yen 20 May 1886 – 29 July 1951 – founder of the Galatasaray Sports Club
• Zog I of Albania - prime minister, later King of Albania
• Fan S. Noli - writer, scholar, diplomat, historian, orator, prime minister and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church
• Faik Konica - stylist, critic, publicist, diplomat and prominent political figure
• Cyril of Bulgaria - Patriarch of Bulgaria
• Enver Hoxha - teacher, partisan, Communist dictator
• Gjon Mili – Albanian-American photographer
• Naim Kryeziu – football player
• Ibrahim Rugova – former president of Kosovo
• Ismail Kadare – writer
• Rexhep Qosja – Albanian politician and literary critic
• Dritëro Agolli – poet, writer
• Ernesto Sabato (1911–2011) – Argentinian writer, painter and physicist of Arbëreshë descent
• Mother Teresa – beatified Catholic nun
• Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani – 20th century Islamic scholar of hadith and fiqh, author of over 100 works, mostly on hadith
• Adem Jashari - a founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army and prominent political activist
• Ali Ahmeti - a founder of the KLA and later the National Liberation Army. Currently a prominent Albanian politician in Macedonia
• Inva Mula – opera soprano
• Jim Belushi – American actor and comedian
• John Belushi – American actor and comedian
• James Biberi – actor
• Eliza Dushku – American actor
• Agim Kaba – Emmy-nominated actor and artist
• Rita Ora – British singer
• Hakan Şükür - football player
• Xherdan Shaqiri - football player
• Luan Krasniqi - boxer
• Lorik Cana – football player
• Adnan Januzaj – football player

Gallery

• An Arnaut in Cairo, Egypt
• Albanian costumes fustanella of south-central Albania Albanian costumes fustanella of south-central Albania
• Albanian custom Catholic woman from Shkodra, Albania
• Man and woman from Elbasan, Albania
• Shkodra man in traditional dress
• Albanian Woman, end of the 19th century
• A traditional male folk group from Skrapar, Albania
• Albanians in Macedonia
• Albanian shepherds of Macedonia
• Albanian folk dance from Civita, Calabria, Italy
• Albanian traditional costumes from Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, Italy Albanian traditional costumes from Piana degli Albanesi, Sicily, Italy

See also

• Albanian American
• Albanian diaspora
• Albanians in Ukraine
• Albanoi
• Arbanasi (group)
• Arbëreshë
• Arvanites
• Cham Albanians
• Demographics of Albania
• EURALIUS
• List of Albanian-Americans
• List of Albanians
• Mandritsa

Notes

1. The totals are obtained as the sum of the referenced populations (lowest and highest figures) below in the infobox.

Footnotes

1. ^ Template:Kosovo-note

Further reading

• Edith Durham. The Burden of the Balkans, (1905)
• Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press (The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group Incorporated). ISBN 0-8108-6188-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Matzinger, Joachim (2013). "Shqip bei den altalbanischen Autoren vom 16. bis zum frühen 18. Jahrhundert [Shqip within Old Albanian authors from the 16th to the early 18th century]". Zeitschrift für Balkanologie. Retrieved 31 October 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Citations

1. "Main Results of Population and Housing Census 2011". INSTAT. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
2. "2011 Census: Population and Housing Census in Kosovo Preliminary Results" (PDF). June 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2012. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 17 January 2012 suggested (help)
   The preliminary results of the 2011 census in the Republic of Kosovo show the national population at 1,733,872 but the census was boycotted in North Kosovo and this figure does not include the entire population of Kosovo. The 2011 census revealed a figure of 1,616,869 people declaring as Albanians.
3. Marta Petricioli (2008). L'Europe Méditerranéenne. Peter Lang. p. 46. ISBN 978-90-5201-354-1. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
4. ^ Christopher Deliso (2007). The Coming Balkan Caliphate: The Threat of Radical Islam to Europe and the West. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-275-99525-6. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
5. "Türkiyedeki Kürtlerin Sayısı!" (in Turkish). Milliyet. 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
6. "Albanians in Turkey celebrate their cultural heritage". Todayszaman.com. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
7. Robert A. Saunders (2011). Ethnopolitics in Cyberspace: The Internet, Minority Nationalism, and the Web of Identity. Lexington Books. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-7391-4194-6.
8. Cuneyt Yenigun. "GCC Model: Conflict Management for the "Greater Albania"" (PDF). Süleyman Demirel University:Faculty of Arts and Sciences Journal of Social Sciences. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
9. "2002 Macedonian Census" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. Managing Migration: The Promise of Cooperation. By Philip L. Martin, Susan Forbes Martin, Patrick Weil
11. "Announcement of the demographic and social characteristics of the Resident Population of Greece according to the 2011 Population - Housing Census" (PDF). Greek National Statistics Agency. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
12. Rainer Bauböck; Eva Ersbøll; Kees Groenendijk; Harald Waldrauch (2006). Acquisition and Loss of Nationality: Comparative Analyses - Policies and Trends in 15 European Countries. Amsterdam University Press. p. 416. ISBN 978-90-5356-920-7. Retrieved 4 November 2015. approximately 200,000 of these immigrants have been granted the status of homogeneis
13. "Official Results of Monenegrin Census 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 24 December 2013.
14. "Population by Ethnicity, by Towns/Municipalities, 2011 Census". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
15. "Date demografice" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
16. "Serbia Census 2011" (PDF). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
17. "Slovenia: Languages (Immigrant Languages)".
18. ^ "Kosovari in Italia".
19. ^ Albanian, Arbëreshë - A language of Italy - Ethnic population: 260,000 (Stephens 1976).
20. "Cittadini non comunitari regolarmente presenti". istat.it. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
21. Hans-Peter Bartels: Deutscher Bundestag - 16. Wahlperiode - 166. Sitzung. Berlin, Donnerstag, den 5. Juni 2008 Archived 2013-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
22. "Die Albaner in der Schweiz: Geschichtliches – Albaner in der Schweiz seit 1431" (PDF). Retrieved 22 September 2010.
23. "Im Namen aller Albaner eine Moschee?". Infowilplus.ch. 2007-05-25. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
24. "Total Population of Albanians in the Sweden".
25. Bennetto, Jason (2002-11-25). "Total Population of Albanians in the United Kingdom". London: Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
26. "Statistik Austria". Statistik.at. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
27. "Étrangers - Immigrés: Publications et statistiques pour la France ou les régions" (in French). Insee.fr. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
28. "National statistics of Denmark". Dst.dk. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010. Retrieved 22 September 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
29. "Demographics of Finland".
30. "Population par nationalité, sexe, groupe et classe d'âges au 1er janvier 2010" (in French). Retrieved 12 January 2012.
31. "Anderlecht, Molenbeek, Schaarbeek: repères du crime à Bruxelles". cafebabel.com. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
32. Olson, James S., An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of the Russian and Soviet Empires. (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1994) p. 28–29
33. ^ "Total ancestry categories tallied for people with one or more ancestry categories reported 2010 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
34. "Ethnic Origin (264), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age Groups (10) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2011 National Household Survey".
35. "Egypt: Languages (Immigrant Languages)".
36. "20680-Ancestry (full classification list) by Sex - Australia" (Microsoft Excel download). 2006 Census. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2 June 2008. Total responses: 25,451,383 for total count of persons: 19,855,288.
37. Ethnobotany in the New Europe: People, Health and Wild Plant Resources, vol. 14, Manuel Pardo de Santayana, Andrea Pieroni, Rajindra K. Puri, Berghahn Books, 2010, ISBN 1845458141, p. 18.
38. Gëzim Krasniqi. "Citizenship in an emigrant nation-state: the case of Albania" (PDF). University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
39. History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453 By Alexander A. Vasiliev Edition: 2, illustrated Published by Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1958 ISBN 0-299-80926-9, ISBN 978-0-299-80926-3 (page 613)
40. History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries By Barbara Jelavich Edition: reprint, illustrated Published by Cambridge University Press, 1983 ISBN 0-521-27458-3, ISBN 978-0-521-27458-6 (page 25)
41. The Indo-European languages By Anna Giacalone Ramat, Paolo Ramat Edition: illustrated Published by Taylor & Francis, 1998 ISBN 0-415-06449-X, 9780415064491 (page 481)
42. "ALBANCI". Enciklopedija Jugoslavije 2nd ed. Vol. Supplement. Zagreb: JLZ. 1984. p. 1.
43. Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries,The Balkans: A Post-Communist History, Routledge 2006 p.26.
44. The theory linking the ethnoym to the verb 'to speak' was advanced by Hahn who suggested it was perhaps a Latin loan word from excipio. See Robert Elsie, A dictionary of Albanian religion, mythology and folk culture, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2001, ISBN 978-1-85065-570-1, p. 79.
45. Pritsak, Omeljan (1991). "Albanians". Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Vol. 1. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 52–53.
46. ^ The wars of the Balkan Peninsula: their medieval origins G – Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series Authors Alexandru Madgearu, Martin Gordon Editor Martin Gordon Translated by Alexandru Madgearu Edition illustrated Publisher Scarecrow Press, 2008 ISBN 0-8108-5846-0, ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6 It was supposed that those Albanoi from 1042 were Normans from Sicily, called by an archaic name (the Albanoi were an independent tribe from Southern Italy). The following instance is indisputable. It comes from the same Attaliates, who wrote that the Albanians (Arbanitai) were involved in the 1078; rebellion of... p. 25
47. Mazaris 1975, pp. 76–79.
48. N. Gregoras (ed. Bonn) V, 6; XI, 6.
49. George Finlay (1851). The History of Greece: From Its Conquest by the Crusaders to Its Conquest by the Turks, and of the Empire of Trebizond: 1204-1461. Blackwood. p. 37. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
50. "Robert Elsie, ''The earliest reference to the existence of the Albanian Language''". Scribd.com. 2007-05-28. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
51. ^ Lloshi, Xhevat (1999). “Albanian”. In Hinrichs, Uwe, & Uwe Büttner (eds). Handbuch der Südosteuropa-Linguistik. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 277. "The Albanians of today call themselves shqiptarë, their country Shqipëri, and their language shqipe. These terms came into use between the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. Foreigners call them albanesi (Italian), Albaner (German), Albanians (English), Alvanos (Greek), and Arbanasi (old Serbian), the country Albania, Albanie, Albanien, Alvania, and Albanija, and the language Albanese, Albanisch, Albanian, Alvaniki, and Arbanashki respectively. All these words are derived from the name Albanoi of an Illyrian tribe and their center Albanopolis, noted by the astronomer of Alexandria, Ptolemy, in the 2nd century AD. Alban could he a plural of alb- arb-, denoting the inhabitants of the plains (ÇABEJ 1976). The name passed over the boundaries of the Illyrian tribe in central Albania, and was generalised for all the Albanians. They called themselves arbënesh, arbëresh, the country Arbëni, Arbëri, and the language arbëneshe, arbëreshe. In the foreign languages, the Middle Ages denominations of these names survived, but for the Albanians they were substituted by shqiptarë, Shqipëri and shqipe. The primary root is the adverb shqip, meaning “clearly, intelligibly”. There is a very close semantic parallel to this in the German noun Deutsche, “the Germans” and “the German language” (Lloshi 1984) Shqip spread out from the north to the south, and Shqipni/Shqipëri is probably a collective noun, following the common pattern of Arbëni, Arbëri. The change happened after the Ottoman conquest because of the conflict in the whole line of the political, social, economic, religious, and cultural spheres with a totally alien world of the Oriental type. A new and more generalised ethnic and linguistic consciousness of all these people responded to this.”
52. ^ Kamusella, Tomasz (2009). The politics of language and nationalism in modern Central Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 241. "Prior to the emergence of the modern self-ethnonym Shqiptarë in the mid-16th century (for the first time it was recorded in 1555 by the Catholic Gheg, Gjon Buzuku, in his missal), North Albanians (Ghegs) refereed to themselves as Arbën, and South Albanians (Tosks) Arbër. Hence, the self-ethnonym Arbëreshë of the present-day Italo-Albanians (numbering about 100,000) in southern Italy and Sicily, whose ancestors, in the wake of the Ottoman wars, emigrated from their homeland in the 14th century. hese self-ethnonyms perhaps influenced the Byzantine Greek Arvanites for ‘Albanians,’ which was followed by similar ones in Bulgarian and Serbian (Arbanasi), Ottoman (Arnaut), Romanian (Arbănas), and Aromanian (Arbineş)."
53. Nitsiakos, Vassilis (2010). On the border: Transborder mobility, ethnic groups and boundaries along the Albanian-Greek frontier. LIT Verlag. p. 143. "Gjergj has married an Albanian Christian Orthodox, Zerina, who works as a nurse in the country surgery of the village. His mother says meaningfully about her daughter-in-law that, even though she is not “one of ours” (nu iasti di anuastrë) she is good (iasti bunë). And of course she never refers to her daughter-in- law by her name. She calls her “nviasta” (the bride) or “aistë” (she). This, too, is part of the moral code of communication revealing the nature of relationships among the members of a Vlach family. I know this well from my own family. But, at this moment, I am thinking more about the categories “one of ours” and “stranger” inside the same family, again in relation to whatever we call “identities”. Zerina is “stranger” to her mother-in- law, in the sense that she is not a Vlach. She is “arbiniasë’ (an Albanian or, better, an Arvanite). This, too, is very familiar to me. My own wife is not “one of ours” for my parents, namely she is not a Vlach but a “Greka”. We shall return to this category, “Grekos”, but here the parallelism is useful for understanding how relative and fluid ethnic classifications and categories are, as they depend on what people define as theirs or other in practice. I corrected the term “Albanian” above and used “Arvanite” instead, because I believe it expresses the perspective of these people more accurately. If the bride were Muslim, her mother in-law would most certainly not say that she is not one of our own, she would simply say she is a Turk (though she would have tried to conceal that). The basic distinction established in the wider area of the Balkans and in the context of Ottoman domination was one between Muslims and Christians."
54. ^ Baltsiotis, Lambros (2011). The Muslim Chams of Northwestern Greece: The grounds for the expulsion of a "non-existent" minority community. European Journal of Turkish Studies. "Until the Interwar period Arvanitis (plural Arvanitēs) was the term used by Greek speakers to describe an Albanian speaker regardless of his/hers religious background. In official language of that time the term Alvanos was used instead. The term Arvanitis coined for an Albanian speaker independently of religion and citizenship survives until today in Epirus (see Lambros Baltsiotis and Léonidas Embirikos, “De la formation d’un ethnonyme. Le terme Arvanitis et son evolution dans l’État hellénique”, in G. Grivaud-S. Petmezas (eds.), Byzantina et Moderna, Alexandreia, Athens, 2006, pp. 417-448."
55. Liotta, Peter H. (2001). Dismembering the state: The death of Yugoslavia and why it matters. Lexington Books. p.198. "Among Greeks, the term “Alvanitis”—or “Arvanitis”—means a Christian of Albanian ancestry, one who speaks both Greek and Albanian, but possesses Greek “consciousness.” Numerous “Arvanites” live in Greece today, although the ability to speak both languages is shrinking as the differences (due to technology and information access and vastly different economic bases) between Greece and Albania increase. The Greek communities of Elefsis, Marousi, Koropi, Keratea, and Markopoulo (all in the Attikan peninsula) once held significant Arvanite communities. “Arvanitis” is not necessarily a pejorative term; a recent Pan Hellenic socialist foreign minister spoke both Albanian and Greek (but not English). A former Greek foreign minister, Theodoros Pangalos, was an “Arvanite” from Elefsis."
56. Theißen, Ulrich (2007). "Die Namen für das Gänseblümchen Bellis perennis im Bulgarischen und seinen Nachbarsprachen–Etymologische und benennungstheoretische Aspekte." Zeitschrift für Balkanologie. 43.(1): 90. Der ursprüngliche Name Άλβανίτης (abgeleitet von Άλβάνος) wurde im Neugriechischen zu Άρβανίτης… In türkischer Vermittlung erfuhr die Silbe -van- eine Metathese zu -nav-, so dass die türkische Form des Namens für die Albaner arnavut bzw. arnaut Lautet. In dieser Form gelangte das Wort ins Bulgarische (BER I/1971: 15). "
57. Guzina, Dejan (2003). "Kosovo or Kosova – Could it be both? The Case of Interlocking Serbian and Albanian Nationalisms". In Florian Bieber and Židas Daskalovski (eds.). Understanding the war in Kosovo. Psychology Press. p.30. There is similar terminological confusion over the name for the inhabitants of the region. After 1945, in pursuit of a policy of national equality, the Communist Party designated the Albanian community as ‘Šiptari’ (Shqiptare, in Albanian), the term used by Albanians themselves to mark the ethnic identity of any member of the Albanian nation, whether living in Albania or elsewhere.… However, with the increased territorial autonomy of Kosovo in the late 1960s, the Albanian leadership requested that the term ‘Albanians’ be used instead—thus stressing national, rather than ethnic, self-identification of the Kosovar population. The term ‘Albanians’ was accepted and included in the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. In the process, however, the Serbian version of the Albanian term for ethnic Albanians—‘Šiptari’—had acquired an openly pejorative flavor, implying cultural and racial inferiority. Nowadays, even though in the documents of post- socialist Serbia the term ‘Albanians’ is accepted as official, many state and opposition party leaders use the term ‘Šiptari’ indiscriminately in an effort to relegate the Kosovo Albanians to the status of one among many minority groups in Serbia. Thus the quarrel over the terms used to identify the region and its inhabitants has acquired a powerful emotional and political significance for both communities.
58. Neofotistos, Vasiliki P. (2010). "Cultural Intimacy and Subversive Disorder: The Politics of Romance in the Republic of Macedonia". Anthropological Quarterly. 83. (2): 288. “Because of their allegedly rampant aggression and concerted attempts to destroy national integrity, Albanians in Macedonia are stigmatized with the pejorative term Šiptar (singular)/Šiptari (plural) as an ethic Other. Especially important for the purposes of this paper, as I show below, is the ambivalent character of the stereotype Šiptar/i—after all, as Bhabha ( 2004:95) reminds us "the stereotype an ambivalent mode of knowledge and power," a "contradictory mode of representation, as anxious as it is assertive" (2004:100). In particular, the stereotype declares Albanians to be utterly incapable of participating in political and social life as Macedonian nationals who are committed to respecting and upholding state laws, and the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Macedonia. In this sense, they are allegedly intrinsically "inferior"—"stupid," "dirty," "smelly," "uncultured," "backward," and so on. By the same token, however, and in the context of an ethnic-chauvinist and masculinist ideology (which I discuss in the next section), the stereotype also declares Albanians to be aggressive and capable of violating the territorial integrity of the Macedonian state and the moral integrity of Macedonian women. In this sense then, the stereotype invests Albanians with an excessive, disorderly energy that cannot be regulated and, hence, is dangerous (also see Lambevski 1997; for an analysis of the production and transgression of stereotypes, see Neofotistos 2004).
59. Neofotistos, Vasiliki P. (2010). "Postsocialism, Social Value, and Identity Politics among Albanians in Macedonia". Slavic Review. 69. (4): 884-891.
60. Michele Belledi, Estella S. Poloni, Rosa Casalotti, Franco Conterio, Ilia Mikerezi, James Tagliavini and Laurent Excoffier. "Maternal and paternal lineages in Albania and the genetic structure of Indo-European populations". European Journal of Human Genetics, July 2000, Volume 8, Number 7, pp. 480-486. "Mitochondrial DNA HV1 sequences and Y chromosome haplotypes (DYS19 STR and YAP) were characterized in an Albanian sample and compared with those of several other Indo-European populations from the European continent. No significant difference was observed between Albanians and most other Europeans, despite the fact that Albanians are clearly different from all other Indo-Europeans linguistically. We observe a general lack of genetic structure among Indo-European populations for both maternal and paternal polymorphisms, as well as low levels of correlation between linguistics and genetics, even though slightly more significant for the Y chromosome than for mtDNA. Altogether, our results show that the linguistic structure of continental Indo-European populations is not reflected in the variability of the mitochondrial and Y chromosome markers. This discrepancy could be due to very recent differentiation of Indo-European populations in Europe and/or substantial amounts of gene flow among these populations."
61. R. Elsie: Early Albania, a Reader of Historical Texts, 11th – 17th Centuries, Wiesbaden 2003, p. 3
62. Extract from: Grujic, Radoslav: Legenda iz vremena Cara Samuila o poreklu naroda. in: Glasnik skopskog naucnog drustva, Skopje, 13 (1934), p. 198 200. Translated from the Old Church Slavonic by Robert Elsie. First published in R. Elsie: Early Albania, a Reader of Historical Texts, 11th – 17th Centuries, Wiesbaden 2003, p. 3. Albanian History Archived 2013-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
63. Alexandru Madgearu; Martin Gordon (2008). The Wars of the Balkan Peninsula: Their Medieval Origins. Scarecrow Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6. Retrieved 4 November 2015. It is still disputed by scholars that those Albanoi from 1042 were Normans from Sicily, , or if they are in fact the Albanoi found in Albanian lands during this time frame.
64. Bonnefoy, Yves (1993-05-15). American, African, and Old European mythologies. University of Chicago Press. p. 253. ISBN 978-0-226-06457-4. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
65. Mircea Eliade, Charles J. Adams, The Encyclopedia of religion, Macmillan, 1987, ISBN 978-0-02-909700-7, p. 179.
66. Islam in the Balkans: religion and society between Europe and the Arab world Author H. T. Norris Publisher Univ of South Carolina Press, 1993 ISBN 0-87249-977-4, ISBN 978-0-87249-977-5 p.35
67. Studies in late Byzantine history and prosopography Volume 242 of Collected studies Variorum reprints ; CS242 Volume 242 of Variorum reprint Author Donald MacGillivray Nicol Edition illustrated Publisher Variorum Reprints, 1986 ISBN 0-86078-190-9, ISBN 978-0-86078-190-5 page. 160 "The geographical location of the mysterious 'Arbanon' has at last no doubt been settled by the researches of Alain Ducellier. In the 11th century at least it was the name given to the mountainous area to the west of Lake Ohrid and the upper valley of the river Shkumbin..."
68. The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 1198 – c. 1300 Volume 5 of The New Cambridge Medieval History, Rosamond McKitterick, ISBN 0-521-85360-5, ISBN 978-0-521-85360-6 Author David Abulafia Editors David Abulafia, Rosamond McKitterick Contributors David Abulafia, Rosamond McKitterick Edition illustrated, reprint Publisher Cambridge University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-521-36289-X, 9780521362894 page 780
69. The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 1198-c. 1300 Volume 5. Cambridge University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-521-36289-X, 9780521362894 page 780-781: "the Albanians dominated the central regions of what is now the Albanian republic, in the areas which are drained by the Devollit river"
70. The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 1198 – c. 1300 Volume 5 of The New Cambridge Medieval History, Rosamond McKitterick, ISBN 0-521-85360-5, ISBN 978-0-521-85360-6 Author David Abulafia Editors David Abulafia, Rosamond McKitterick Contributors David Abulafia, Rosamond McKitterick Edition illustrated, reprint Publisher Cambridge University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-521-36289-X, 9780521362894 page 780-781
71. Prifti, Skënder (2002). Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime (in Albanian). Botimet Toena. p. 207. ISBN 978-99927-1-622-9.
72. L'Albanie entre Byzance et Venise" Volume 248 of Collected studies Variorum Collected Studies Volume 248 of Variorum reprint Author Alain Ducellier Edition illustrated, reprint Publisher Variorum Reprints, 1987 ISBN 0-86078-196-8, ISBN 978-0-86078-196-7. "Par deux fois, Anne Comnene laisse entendre que la place forte de Petrela constitue la voie d'acces principale de cette region ..."
73. Licursi, Emiddio Pietro (2011). Empire of Nations: The Consolidation of Albanian and Turkish National Identities in theLate Ottoman Empire, 1878–1913. New York: Columbia University. p. 19.
74. ^ "Albania :: The decline of Byzantium -- Encyclopedia Britannica". britannica.com. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
75. Barletius, Marinus. De obsidione Scodrensi. Venice: Bernardino de Vitabilus, 1504.
76. "In Italy Online - Ethnic Italy - The History of Albanians in Italy". initaly.com. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
77. Downing 1992, p. 66.
78. ^ Clayer, Nathalie (2012), "Albania", in Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam, vol. Three, Brill Online {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |displayeditors= ignored (|display-editors= suggested) (help)
79. H. T. Norris, Islam in the Balkans: Religion and Society Between Europe and the Arab World, p. 196.
80. Elsie 2010, "Flag, Albanian", p. 140: "The eagle was a common heraldic symbol for many Albanian dynasties in the Late Middle Ages and came to be a symbol of the Albanians in general. It is also said to have been the flag of Skanderbeg.... As a symbol of modern Albania, the flag began to be seen during the years of the national awakening and was in common use during the uprisings of 1909-1912."
81. Raymond Zickel; Walter R. Iwaskiw, eds. (1994). "National Awakening and the Birth of Albania". Retrieved 9 April 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
82. Karl Kaser, Frank Kressing. Albania – A country in transition Aspects of changing identities in a south-east European country. Baden-Baden: Nomos-Verlag Extracts, 2002, p. 15
83. ^ Tara Ashley O' Brien. Manufacturing Homogeneity in the Modern Albanian Nation-Building Project. University of Budapest, 2008, p. 4-5
84. "Distribution of family income – Gini index". The World Factbook. CIA. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
85. Civil resistance in Kosovo By Howard Clark, pg. 12
86. Vathi, Zana. Migrating and Settling in a Mobile World: Albanian Migrants and Their Children in Europe Springer, 2015 ISBN 978-3319130248 p. 22
87. Milliyet, Türkiyedeki Kürtlerin Sayısı. 2008-06-06.
88. ^ "Albanians in Turkey celebrate their cultural heritage". Today's Zaman. 21 August 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
89. Deliso, Christopher (2007). The coming Balkan caliphate: the threat of radical Islam to Europe and the West. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 38.
90. ^ Saunders, Robert A. (2011). Ethnopolitics in cyberspace: The internet, minority nationalism, and the web of identity. Lexington Books. p. 98. "In addition to the recent emigrants, there are older diasporic communities around the world. There are upwards of 5 million ethnic Albanians in the Turkish Republic; however, the vast majority of this population is assimilated and no longer possesses fluency in the language, though a vibrant Albanian community maintains its distinct identity in Istanbul to this day. Egypt also lays claim to some 18,000 Albanians, supposedly lingering remnants of Mohammad Ali’s army."
91. ^ Tabak, Hüsrev (03 March 2013). "Albanian awakening: The worm has turned!". Today's Zaman. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
92. "Genci Muçaj: Albania enjoys magnificent relations with Turkey". Koha Jonë. 14 Mars 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
93. Elsie, Robert. Historical Dictionary of Albania. Entry: EGYPT, ALBANIANS IN, pages 125-126. Quote: "With the advent of Gamal Abdel Nasser and the Arab nationalization of Egypt, not only the royal family but also the entire Albanian community- some 4,000 families- were forced to leave the country, thus bringing the chapter of Albanians on the Nile to a swift close".
94. Hans Henrich Hock, Brian D. Joseph: Language history, language change, and language relationship, pp. 54
95. Comnena, Anna. The Alexiad, Book IV.
96. Leften Stavros Stavrianos (January 2000). The Balkans Since 1453. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 498. ISBN 978-1-85065-551-0. Retrieved 17 July 2013. Religious differences also existed before the coming of the Turks. Originally, all Albanians had belonged to the Eastern Orthodox Church... Then the Ghegs in the North adopted in order to better resist the pressure of Orthodox Serbs.
97. Hugh Chisholm (1910). Encyclopaedia britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature and general information. Encyclopaedia Britannica. p. 485. Retrieved 18 July 2013. The Roman Catholic Ghegs appear to liave abandoned the Eastern for the Western Church in the middle of the 13th century
98. Ramet, Sabrina P. (1989). Religion and Nationalism in Soviet and East European Politics. Duke University Press. p. 381. ISBN 0-8223-0891-6. Prior to the Turkish conquest, the ghegs (the chief tribal group in northern Albania) had found in Roman Catholicism a means of resisting the Slavs, and though Albanian Orthodoxy remained important among the tosks (the chief tribal group in southern Albania), ...
99. 2011 Albanian Census
100. "The World Factbook: Albania". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
101. "Gallup Global Reports". Gallup.com. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
102. "Official Declaration: The results of the 2011 Census regarding the Orthodox Christians in Albania are totally incorrect and unacceptable". orthodoxalbania.org. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
103. "Final census findings lead to concerns over accuracy". Tirana Times. 19 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
104. Kisha Ortodokse: S’njohim censusin - Top Channel
105. AK- Nishanit: Hiqi ‘Urdhrin e Skënderbeut’ Janullatosit, dekoro themeluesit e Kishës Autoqefale Shqiptare (LETRA) | Gazeta Tema
106. Prifti: Në Shqipëri ka një axhendë anti-ortodokse | Gazeta Tema
107. INTERVISTA/ Vangjel Dule: Autorët e censusit, manipulatorë të realitetit. Rezoluta çame? historia nuk ribëhet | Gazeta Tema
108. Censusi, shumë prej pyetjeve plotësoheshin nga vetë anketuesit | Gazeta Tema
109. "Censusi permbys fete, 70 per qind refuzojne ose nuk e deklarojne besimin". Shqiperia.com.
110. "Albania: International Religious Freedom Report 2007". State.gov. 14 September 2007. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
111. Samer, Haroey (1997), "Rescue in Albania: One Hundred Percent of Jews in Albania Rescued from Holocaust", The Jews of Albania, California: Brunswick Press, archived from the original on 10 May 2008, retrieved 21 October 2012
112. "Durham.html". peacelink.nu. Retrieved 3 October 2014.

External links

• Albanians in Turkey
• Albanian Canadian League Information Service (ACLIS)
• Albanians in the Balkans U.S. Institute of Peace Report, November 2001
• Books about Albania and the Albanian people (scribd.com) Reference of books (and some journal articles) about Albania and the Albanian people; their history, language, origin, culture, literature, and so on Public domain books, fully accessible online.

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