The origins of Greek settlement
The ancestors of the Greeks penetrated Albania six or seven centuries before the Illyrians. Indeed, traces of Mycenaean settlement can be found in the northern part of Epirus throughout the 2nd millennium BC. The southern part is home to the oldest Greek oracular sanctuary, Dodona, near Ioannina. Dodona, with its wide aura, played a key role in the Hellenization of southern Albania. Epirus was also well known to the ancient Greeks: close to the island of Ulysses (Ithaca), the region is quoted extensively in Homer's Odyssey. As for Greek mythology, it provides an explanation for the settlement of Greek tribes in Albania from the 10th century BC onwards. According to tradition, Cadmos, the legendary founder of Thebes, followed the advice of the Pythia at Delphi and led the Aeneleans to take over Epirus. This is not entirely untrue, as the Encheleians, Illyrians from the Ohrid region, were often allies of the Albanian Greeks.
The Greek tribes
In the 1st millennium BC, several peoples settled in Albania, including the Illyrians and Greek tribes. The latter settled in Epirus, on either side of today's border. Fourteen in number, they were dominated by the Chaonians, Thesprotes and Molosses. Over the centuries, the southern Illyrians were Hellenized to varying degrees, notably the Bylliones. The Greeks and Illyrians of Epirus also shared a tribal and dynastic system quite different from the classical model of the Greek city-state.
The Chaonians. Of all the Greek tribes, they have left the most vestiges in Albania, starting with Bouthroton, now Butrint, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Settled between the Vjosa valley and the Ionian coast, the Chaonians established their political center at Phœnicè, a city with powerful Cyclopean walls that became the capital of the Greek tribes of Epirus in the 3rd century B.C. They also founded Antigonia, near Gjirokastra, as well as several ports such as Chimaera (Himara) and Onchesmos (Saranda).
The Thesprotes. Established in southern Epirus, they controlled three Greek peoples in Albania: the Parauians in central Epirus, the Tripolissians along the Pindus massif and the Chavnis, undoubtedly the ancestors of the Chaonians. While the Thesprotes left a wealth of remains on the Greek side, no sites have survived in Albania. The only known city, Artichia, was founded by the Parauians around Permët. But it has never been located.
The Molosses. Renowned for their king Pyrrhus and their fighting dogs, they established themselves as the most powerful tribe from the 6th century BC onwards. Among their Greek affiliates, the Amantes left the beautiful site of Amantia. As for the Dassaretes, they founded Ohrid (North Macedonia), Gertous and Kreonion (unlocated) as well as Kodrion, near the village of Tunja. In 370 BC, the Molosses took over the leadership of the Epirote League, bringing together all the Greek tribes. King Pyrrhus I (318-272 BC) led this alliance all the way to Sicily. But a series of costly victories against the Romans finally brought him defeat. The expression "a Pyrrhic victory" remains to this day.
The Bylliones. Settled in the territories of the Chaonians, these Illyrians were so Hellenized that some researchers now believe they were Greek. In fact, around 200 BC, the Bylliones were even invited to take part in the Pythian Games at Delphi. In any case, they are the only Illyrians to have left genuine urban remains in Albania. In particular, the remarkable site of Byllis, founded in the 4th century in the Vjosa valley. A nearby peak is home to the site of Nikai, a city built on the model of Amantia with the same Cyclopean walls.
The Greek cities
From the 7th century BC onwards, settlers mainly from Corinth, Corfu and the island of Evia (east of Athens) founded six city-states on the Albanian coast. These maintained complex, sometimes violent relations with each other and with the Greek and Illyrian tribes. Corinth launched the movement in the 8th century BC with the creation of Corcyra (Corfu) and Syracuse (Sicily). Its aim was to control trade in the Adriatic, counter the expansion of the Illyrian Liburnian tribe (Montenegro), and seize "Albania's black gold", Apollonian bitumen.
Durrës. Founded under the name of Epidamnos, Albania's oldest city is today the country's leading port. It was founded in 627 BC by Corcyra. It was then a colony of Corinth. But in 664 BC, Corcyra gained quasi-independence after winning the first great maritime victory in history against the Corinthian fleet. Nevertheless, settlers from both towns coexisted in the new city, which was established on the territory of the Illyrian Taulantine tribe. Epidamnos grew, but retained an oligarchic system that angered its inhabitants. In 435 BC, the conflict between nobles and democrats degenerated into the long Peloponnesian War. The city emerged weakened. It fell under the control of the Molossians and then the Macedonians. In 229 BC, it was annexed by the Romans under the name of Dyrrachium. As the starting point of the via Egnatia to Constantinople, it saw many invaders pass through, from Robert Guiscard's Normans (1081) to Mussolini's Fascist troops (1939). Constantly altered, Durrës has preserved little more than its Roman amphitheatre, the largest in the Balkans. Its archaeological museum contains rare remains of the Bryges, an oriental people who arrived in Albania at the same time as the Illyrians and Greeks.
Apollonia of Illyria. With its hillside theater and slender portico, this is one of the country's most beautiful archaeological sites. But it has to be earned. To get there, you have to pass through the gloomy town of Fier and oil, gas and bitumen extraction fields. It was the latter that made the fortune of Apollonia of Illyria. The richest ancient city in Albania, it was also the most important of the twenty-four Mediterranean Greek cities named after the god Apollo. It was founded in 588 BC by Corcyra and Corinth on a territory where the Amantes (Greeks) and Taulantians (Illyrians) lived side by side. With up to 60,000 inhabitants, the city adopted the oligarchic model. Illyrian serfs and slaves were put to work exploiting bitumen from the Selenica mine, located 30 km to the south and still active today. This blackish, flammable material was mainly used to waterproof amphorae destined for trade. Conquered by the Molosses and then the Romans, the city fell into decline as its port silted up. Abandoned at the end of the5th century , it was rediscovered by French archaeologists Léon Rey (1920s) and Pierre Cabanes (1990s). The site now houses a fine museum in a former monastery.
Vlora. Albania's first capital in 1912, Vlora was founded by the Corinthians in the 6th century BC. Situated just 72 km from Italy, it was given the name Aulon (or Avlona), which means "strait" in Greek. Benefiting from a well-protected bay close to the Selenica bitumen, it was directly defended by the imposing fortress of Kanina, erected from the 4th century B.C. Linked to Butrint by a coastal road, Aulon also forged close links with the tribes of the hinterland, notably the Greeks of Amantia. But competition from Apollonia and Epidamnos prevented it from really developing until the arrival of the Romans.
Orikum. Home to the country's only marina, this port south of the bay of Vlora is famous for having served as Pompey's base during his war against Julius Caesar (49-45 BC). It may well have been the first Greek settlement in Albania, since Orikos - its Greek name - is said to have been founded by Eretrians from Euboea around 734 B.C. But the earliest discoveries date back to the 6th century B.C. Long inhabited by Illyrian and Greek natives, it was once again occupied by Euboean settlers in the 3rd century BC. The port later took on a military role, hosting both Roman galleys and Soviet submarines. The archaeological site, still housed in an Albanian naval base, doesn't boast any grandiose monuments. It does, however, offer a pleasant walk at the entrance to the Karaburun-Sazan National Marine Park.
Treport. Just north of the bay of Vlora, near the small island of Zvërnec, the walls of an ancient fortress falling into the sea are probably the only remains of the city of Thronion. It was founded by settlers from Locride (central Greece) and Euboea in the 6th century BC, but destroyed by Apollonia around 450 BC. The latter celebrated its victory over Thronion by erecting a monument at the sanctuary of Olympia.
Lezha. Bastion of resistance to the Ottomans in the 15th century with the League of Lezha, the town is home to the tomb of Skanderbeg. It was founded under the name of Lissos by the Corinthians of Syracuse in 385 B.C. after a crushing victory over the Molossians with the help of the Illyrian kingdom of Dardania. An enormous enclosure was quickly erected on the site of the present-day citadel. With its 2,500 m-long walls, Lissos was considered the best-protected city in ancient Albania. But this was not enough. In the 3rd century BC, it was conquered by the Labeates (Illyrians), then by the Macedonians. Recaptured by the Labeatian king Gentius (after whom the gentian is named), it was the last Illyrian stronghold to fall to the Romans in 168 BC.
From Macedonians to Byzantines
Alexander the Great. He occupies a special place in the Albanian collective imagination. His name was taken over by Skanderbeg(Iskander bey in Turkish, literally "Prince Alexander"). Many locals claim that the Greek-Macedonian king was "half-Albanian". In fact, Alexander's mother, Olympias, was a Greek from Epirus, daughter of Neoptolemos I, king of the Molosses. In any case, it was in Albania that the famous conqueror won his first great victory: the siege of Pelion in December 335 BC. At a time when the Macedonians had been battling the Greeks and Illyrians around the Ohrid and Prespa lakes for over a century, the 21-year-old king succeeded in seizing the Illyrian capital of Dardania. The exact location of the confrontation is not known, but it may well have been the site of the royal tombs of Lower Selca, the richest Illyrian necropolis in Albania. As Alexander returned to battle in Greece, he left behind a small army supported by Greeks and Illyrians to capture the Albanian coastal cities. Inland, the Macedonians took over the fortresses of the Dassaretes. This is how the only Macedonian city in Albania was founded, around 305 B.C. Located in today's Berat citadel, it took the name Antipatreia in homage to Antipater, one of Alexander's best generals.
Rome. The Macedonian invasion and Alexander's difficult succession put Albania in turmoil. Weakened by internal conflicts, the inhabitants were caught unawares by the Celtic irruption of 279 BC. But in Shkodra and the Bay of Kotor (Montenegro), the Illyrian tribe of the Ardiaei managed to unite. Their pirates gradually took control of the Adriatic. Under the leadership of Queen Teuta and Demetrios of Pharos, a Greek from what is now Croatia, the Ardiaei founded Albania. In 229 BC, Epidamnos was saved only by the intervention of the Roman fleet. Thus began the Illyrian Wars. For forty years, the Romans faced shifting alliances between Greeks, Macedonians and Illyrians. But thanks to the support of Apollonia and Epidamnos, Albania was conquered in 168 BC. From then on, the Romans relied on the Greek elite and Hellenized Illyrians to control the territory. The Greek cities were embellished, but few new ones were created. The only exceptions were Claudiana (Peqin) and Masio Scampa (Elbasan), which served as staging posts on the via Egnatia opened in the 2nd century BC, and Hadrianopolis. In the 3rd century AD, Albania was divided into three provinces: from Lezha to Vlora, the central part of the territory, considered relatively reliable and Hellenized, formed New Epirus; the southern part, mainly populated by Greeks and Aromanians, integrated Old Epirus with Corfu and the north-west of present-day Greece; to the north, the Shkodra region, considered barbaric and Illyrian, integrated Prevalitania with present-day Montenegro.
Byzantium. In 395, the Eastern Roman Empire reclaimed present-day Albania. It continued to favor Greek-speaking regions. By the5th century, three-quarters of the territory had been Christianized. However, the division between north and south grew as a result of invasions: the Goths and Huns ravaged New Epirus in the5th century, and the Slavs settled in the Shkodra region in the 7th century. The conflict between the Eastern and Western Churches also split Albania in two at Vlora, with Catholic-influenced Illyrians and Slavs in the northern part, and diverse but Orthodox populations in the south. As a result, New Epirus, which was always well controlled, was covered with rich ecclesiastical buildings, such as thechurch of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Labova (6th century) and the monastery of St. Nicholas in Mesopotam (9th century). It also benefited from the creation of the towns of Argyropolis (Gjirokastra) in the 12th century and Episkopi (Korça) in the 13th century. It was the southern part of the region, with the despotate of Epirus, that served as a base for the Byzantine reconquest when Constantinople was captured by the Crusaders in 1204. On the other hand, when the Ottomans entered Albania from the 13th century onwards, it was the northern part that offered the most resistance. But it was also the part of Albania that converted most massively to Islam.
