Italian government; in all these institutions Italian is the
language of instruction. There are two Servian seminaries at
Prizren. In southern Albania there are Greek schools in the
towns and a large Greek gymnasium at Iannina. The priests
of the Greek Church, on whom the rural population depend for
instruction, are often deplorably ignorant. The merchant
families of Iannina are Well educated; the dialect spoken
in that town is the purest specimen of colloquial Greek.
Language.---Albanian is peculiarly interesting as the only
surviving representative of the so-called Thraco-Illyrian
group of languages which formed the primitive speech of the
peninsula. It has afforded an attractive study to philologists,
amongst whom may be mentioned Malte-Brun, Leake, Xylander,
Hahn, Miklosich and G. Meyer. The analysis of the language
presents great difficulties, as, owing to the absence of literary
monuments, no certainty can be arrived at With regard to its
earlier forms and later development. The groundwork, so far
as it can be ascertained, and the grammar are Indo-European,
but a large number of words have been borrowed from the Latin
or Italian and Greek, and it is not always easy to decide
Whether the mutilated and curtailed forms now in use represent
adopted words or belong to the original vocabulary. There
is also a considerable admixture of Turkish and Slavonic
words. Notwithstanding certain points of resemblance in
structure and phonetics, Albanian is entirely distinct from
the neighbouring languages; in its relation to early Latin and
Greek it may bc regarded as a co-ordinate member of the Aryan
stock. It possesses seven vowels; among the consonants are the
aspirated d and t, as in Greek, and many other sounds, such
as b, d, sh, zh (French.j), and hard g, which are wanting in
Greek, but exist in the Slavonic languages. There are three
declensions, each with a definite and indefinite form; the
genitive, dative and ablative are usually represented by a
single termination; the vocative is formed by a final o,
as memmo from memme, ``mother.'' The neuter gender is
absent. There are two conjugations; the passive formation,
now Wanting in most Indo-European languages, has been retained,
as in Greek; thus kerko-iy, ``I seek,'' forms kerko-n-em,
``I am sought.'' The,infinitive is not found; as in Greek,
Rumanian and Bulgarian, it is replaced by the subjunctive with a
particle. The two auxiliary verbs are kam, ``I have,'' and
yam, ``I am.'' An interesting and characteristic feature
of the language is the definite article, which is attached
to the end of the word: e.g. mik (``friend,'' amicus),
mik-u (``the friend''); kien (``dog''), kien-i Shkumb,
Shkumb-i. The suffix-article likewise appears in Rumanian and
Bulgarian, but in no other Latin or Slavobic language; it is
in each case a form of the demonstrative pronoun. Another
remarkable analogy between the Albanian and the neighbouring
languages is found in the formation of the future; the Albanian
do (3rd pers. sing. of dova, ``I will''), like the Greek
tha, is prefixed without change to all persons of the verb: a
similar usage in Servian and Bulgarian, as well as in Rumanian
(especially the Macedonian dialect), is peculiar to these
languages in the Slavonic and Latin groups. These and other
points of similarity, possibly only accidental, have led to
the conjecture that the primitive Illyrian language may have
exerted some kind of influence on the other idioms of the
peninsula. In the absence of literary culture the Albanian
dialects, as might be expected, are widely divergent; the
limits of the two principal dialects correspond with the racial
boundaries of the Ghegs and Tosks, who understand each other
with dilficulty; the Albanians in Greece and Italy have also
separate dialects. In writing Albanian the Latin character
is employed by the Ghegs, the Greek by the Tosks; neither
alphabet sufiices to represent the manifold sounds of the
language, and various supplementary letters or distinguishing
signs are necessary. In the use of these no uniform system
has yet been adopted. An alphabet of fifty-two letters, some
presenting ancient Phoenician and Cretan forms, was found by
Hahn in partial use at Elbassan and Tirana; its antiquity,
however, has not been established. The Tosks generally use
the Greek language for written communications. The native
folklore and poetry of the Albanians can hardly compare
with that of the neighbouring nations in originality and
beauty. The earliest printed works in Albanian are those of
the Catholic missionaries; the first book containing specimens
of the language was the Dictionarium Latino-Epirolicum of
Bianchi, printed in 1635. The literature of the last two
centuries consists mainly of translations and religious works
written by ecclesiastics, some of whom were natives of the
Albanian colonies in Italy. The most noteworthy Albanian
writer was Girolamo di Rada (b. 1815), a poet, philologist
and collector of national folklore. Among his successors
may be mentioned Vincenzo Dorsa and Demetrio Camarda.
Antiquities.---Albania abounds in ancient remains, which
as yet have been little explored. Fragments of ``Cyclopean''
structures were discovered by Hahn at Kretzunista, Arinista,
and other sites in the district of Argyrokastro; the walls,
partly ``Cyclopean,'' of an ancient city (perhaps Bullis)
are Visible at Gradisti on the Viossa. Masonry of this
type, however, occurring in Illyria and Dalmatia (e.g.
at Soalato and on the island of Lesina) has been shown by
modern archaeologists to belong to the Roman period. In
general, the remains of the classical epoch attest the
influence of Roman rather than of Greek civilization. At
Pollina, the ancient Apollonia, are the remnants of a
Doric temple, of which a single column is still standing.
A little north of Preveza are the considerable ruins of
Nikopohs, founded by Octavian to commemorate the victory of
Actium. At Khimara (anc. Chimaera) the remains of an
old Greek city may still be seen; at Santi Quaranta (anc.
Cnchesmos) the walls and towers of a later town are in good
preservation. Few traces remain of the once celebrated
Dyrrhachium. The ruins of Pandosia, Ephyra, Elatea, Phoenike,
Bathrotum, Akrolissos and other towns may be identified. The
most important and interesting remains, however, are those
of Dodona (q.v..) Of the medieval ruins those of Kroia,
the stronghold of Scanderbeg, are the most interesting.
Medieval History.---After the division of the Roman empire,
the lands inhabited by the Albanian race became provinces of
the Byzantine empire; northern Albania from Scutari to Berat
formed the thema or province of Dyrrachium (Durazzo,
Albanian Dourtz), southern Albania and Epirus the thema of
Nikopolis. The country was overrun by the Goths in the 4th
and 5th centuries, but reconquered by Justinian in 535. In 640
northern Albania was invaded by the Serbo-Croats; it continued
with interruptions under Servian rule till 1360. In 861 the
Bulgarians conquered the southern portion of the country and
Epirus as far as Khimara; under their powerful tsar Simeon
(893-927), who defeated the Servians, they established their
rule on the Adriatic littoral, except at Durazzo, which remained
Ilyzantine, and colonized these regions in great numbers. A
new Bulgarian dynasty, that of Shishman, was founded at Ochrida
after the death of Simeon. Shishman's son Samuel (976-1014)
captured Durazzo; he extended his sway over a great part of
the Balkan Peninsula, but was eventually defeated in 1014 by
the emperor Basil II., who put out the eyes of 15,000 Bulgarian
prisoners. Southern Albania and Epirus fell once more
under Byzantine rule, which, however, was shaken by numerous
revolts. In 1081 the Normans under Robert Guiscard possessed
themselves of Durazzo; Guiscard,s son Bohemund defeated the
Greeks in several battles and again (1107) laid siege to
Durazzo, which had been surrendered to them by treachery;
failing to take the city, he retired to Italy in 1109.
Southern Albania and Epirus remained under Byzantine domination
till 1204, when, after the capture of Constantinople by the
crusaders, Michael Comnenus, a member of the imperial family,
withdrew to Epirus and founded an independent sovereignty
known as the Despotate of Epirus at Iannina; his realm
included the whole of southern Albania, Acarnania and
Aetolia. The despotate of Epirus was held by the Comnenus
family till 1318, and by princes of the house of Orsini till
1358. Meanwhile Durazzo, with Berat and Central Albania, had
passed into the hands of the Sicilian kings of the house of
Anjou, who ruled these regions, which they styled the ``Kingdom
of Albania,'' from 1271 to 1368, maintaining a constant warfare
with the Byzantine emperors. The Servians again installed
themselves in Upper Albania about 1180, and the provinces of
Scutari and Prizren were ruled by kings of the house of Nemanya
till 1360; Stefan Dushan (1331-1358), the greatest of these
monarchs, included all Albania in his extensive but short-lived
empire, and took the title of 1mperotor Romaniae Slavoniae
et Albaniae (emperor of the Greeks, Slavs and Albanians).
Period of Native Rule.---After the death of Dushan and the
break-up of the Servian empire, a new epoch began when Albania
fell under the rule of chieftains more or less of native
origin. A portion of Upper Albania was ruled by the Balsha
dynasty (1366-1421), which, though apparently Servian by
descent, assimilated itself with its Albanian subjects
and embraced the faith of Pome. Alessio and a tract of
the interior in the direction of Ipek was governed by the
Dukajin. The northern portion of the ``kingdom of Albania,''
including Durazzo and Kroia, was ruled by the family of
Thopia (1359-1392) and afterwards by that of Lastriota, to
which Scanderbeg belonged; the southern portion with Berat,
by the Musaki (1368--1476). In the middle of the 14th century
a great migration of Albanians from the mountainous districts
of the north took place, under the chiefs Jin Bua Spata and
Peter Liosha; they advanced southwards as far as Acarnania and
Aetolia (1358), occupied the greater portion of the despotate of
Epirus, and took Iannina and Arta. In the latter half of the
century large colonies of Tosks were planted in the Morea by the
despots of Mistra, and in Attica and Boeotia by Luke Nerio of
Athens. As the power of the Balshas declined, the Venetians
towards the close of the 14th century established themselves at
Scutari, Budua, Antivari and elsewhere in northern Albania.
Period of Turkish Rule.---The advance of the Turks into
Albania began with the capture of Iannina in 1431. For once
in the history of the country the Albanian chiefs combined
against the invader under a single leader, the celebrated
Georce Eastriota (see SCANDERBEG), who fought thirteen
campaigns in the period 1444--1466. In 1478 Kroia, which the
Venetians had occupied after Scanderbeg's death, surrendered
to Mahommed II., and in 1479 Scutari, after a memorable defence
by the Venetians and their Montenegrin allies, was reduced by
blockade. Nany of its native Christian defenders emigrated
to Dallratia and Italy; others took refuge in the mountains
with the Loiran Catholic Ghegs. In 1502 the Turks captured
Durazzo, and in 1571 Antivari and Dulcigno, the last Venetian
possessions in Albania. Notwithstanding the abandonment of
Christianity by a large section of the population after the
Turkish conquest, the authority of the sultans was never
effectively established, and succeeding centuries present
