The history of the Albanian people is filled with glorious events and important dates, marked by victories and tragic losses that have left deep traces over the centuries. This favored subject has always been studied, both in the past and today, by local and foreign authors, who have viewed the history of our people from different perspectives.
Many regions and cities—civilized for their time—have been the subject of study and general description, as well as detailed analysis, depending on their importance as major inhabited centers.
In the region of Shkodra and the Highlands, according to ancient authors, the inhabitants of the well-known ancient city were not considered barbaric.
Historians have written extensively about Illyrian studies and Illyrianism. Above all, a well-established and historically proven view prevailed: that the Illyrians had always lived in these territories, where they still are today. There is abundant data from historians, geographers, and philosophers regarding Illyrianism and many Illyrian tribes.
Thus, according to important ancient authors—such as Homer, Hesiod, Virgil, Herodotus, Thucydides, Isocrates, Scylax, Scymnus, Polybius, Apollodorus, Strabo, Pliny, Lucan, and Ptolemy—the role of the Dardanians and Etruscan tribes is significant.
With the founding of Rome, Athens, Ragusa, Crete, Troy, Naissus (modern Niš), Mycenae, and many other cities built by Dardanian-Etruscan tribes and other groups of Pelasgian origin, these peoples became historically notable.
According to historical sources, all these tribes are known since the 8th century BC. This is particularly true for the Etruscans and the spread of the Pelasgians in Central Balkans, as well as in Western and Northern Europe, the Mediterranean coasts, North Africa, Asia Minor, and even as far as India. This suggests a broad Euro-Asian extent of Pelasgian political and economic influence.
The renowned German philosopher Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1647–1717) was among the first to study the Albanian language and people. In a letter dated December 10, 1707 (later cited in 1897 in the magazine Albania in Bucharest), he stated that his studies—including an Albanian dictionary—convinced him that Albanian is the language of the ancient Illyrians. Other European archival research also suggests that Albanian was among the earliest written languages in the Balkans.
The Swedish historian Hans Erik Tunmann (1746–1788), a professor at the University of Halle, was one of the first Albanologists to scientifically study the origin of the Albanian language and people. By examining ancient Greek and Byzantine sources and a trilingual dictionary (Greek-Slavic-Albanian) published in 1770, he concluded in 1774 that Albanians are the oldest people in the Balkans and direct descendants of the ancient Illyrians, unrelated to Slavs or Greeks.
Similarly, German historian Franz Bopp, in his work Über das Albanesische, stated clearly that the Albanian language and people have no close relatives in Europe, basing this on its grammatical structure.
The Austrian historian Johann Georg von Hahn (1811–1869) conducted extensive studies among the Arvanites of Greece and their Albanian language. In 1854, he published his major work Albanesische Studien. He concluded from ancient sources that Illyrians, Epirotes, and Macedonians were not Greek but descended from ancient Pelasgians. He also determined that Albanian derives from Illyrian, which in turn derives from Pelasgian.
According to German historian Karl Otfried Müller, the Albanian people are among the oldest prehistoric populations with origins in antiquity.
An Italo-Arbëresh scholar (1846), after studying Sanskrit, Persian, Latin, Greek, and Albanian, concluded that Albanian is one of the oldest languages in Europe.
Historian Jacques Edwin, in his work The Albanians, described the Pelasgians as arriving in the Balkans in the early second millennium BC, bringing early civilization from the Euphrates and Nile regions. They spread throughout the Aegean, Balkans, and Italy, especially in southern Balkans (later Greece), where cities like Athens, Sparta, Mycenae, and Argos were major Pelasgian centers.
The Greek poet Hesiod (8th–7th century BC), in Theogony, wrote that Greek gods were derived from the Pelasgians, and that culture and writing spread from the Pelasgian world into Greece and the Balkans.
Historian Thucydides (5th century BC) documented Illyrian tribes like the Taulantii, who fought alongside Sparta in the Peloponnesian conflicts, showing great bravery.
According to Homer, in The Iliad, Illyrian Dardanian tribes under King Priam fought heroically in the Trojan War.
Historian Appian of Alexandria (1st century BC) wrote extensively about Illyrians and Pelasgians in Roman History, describing them as among the oldest peoples before Greeks and Romans.
It is also said that Illyrians were among the first to bring civilization to the Balkans and contributed to European cultural development.
Strabo noted that in central Albania lived a people called Epirotes around 20 AD. They were considered autochthonous inhabitants who resisted Roman forces bravely.
Ancient sources such as Scylax and Appian described the population of regions like Kruja, Lezha, Shkodra, and Montenegro as Illyrian, forming a stronghold of the Illyrian kingdom.
Later historians like Stephanus of Byzantium also addressed Illyrian history, describing their territories, tribes, and cities in detail.
According to Albanian scholar Spiro N. Konda, Greeks have historically attempted to deny the Illyrian autochthonous presence, despite evidence that Pelasgian lands included ancient Greece.
Konda emphasized that Illyrians were the earliest population to civilize the western Balkans.
With the weakening of Illyria, Slavic groups migrated into the region during the 6th century AD, often destroying Illyrian culture and attempting to erase their identity.
Over time, Slavs promoted the idea that Illyrians were newcomers, while portraying themselves as native—contradicting historical evidence.
The Serbian Empire under Tsar Dušan (1321–1355) expanded widely, conquering many territories including Albanian lands, often through violence and forced assimilation.
After his death, Albanian principalities (Balsha, Kastrioti, Topia, Muzaka) regained control, leading to a period of relative freedom until Ottoman invasions.
The Ottoman conquest intensified after the Battle of Kosovo (1389), led by Serbian prince Lazar, where Albanians also fought. The Ottomans, under Sultan Murad I, defeated the Balkan coalition. Ottoman rule lasted until November 28, 1912, when Ismail Qemali declared Albania’s independence in Vlora.
During Ottoman rule, forced Islamization, violence, and oppression led many Albanians to emigrate across Europe, forming Arbëresh communities that preserved language, culture, and traditions. Despite centuries of hardship, Albanians maintained their identity, heritage, and historical memory across generations.
