Antiquity

Illyrians

Main articles: Illyria, Illyrians, and Thraco-Illyrian

The territory of Albania in antiquity was mainly inhabited by Illyrian tribes,^[11] who, like other ancient people, were subdivided into tribes and clans.^[12] The region was also inhabited by Bryges,^[13] a Phrygian people and the Chaones, an ancient Greek people.

The Illyrians (Ancient Greek: Ἰλλυριοί; Latin: Illyrii or Illyri) were a group of tribes who inhabited the Western Balkans during classical antiquity. The territory the tribes covered came to be known as Illyria to Hellenistic and Roman authors, corresponding roughly to the area between Adriatic sea in west, Drava river in North, Morava^{[disambiguation needed ]} river in east and the mouth of Vjosë river in south.^[14][15] The first account of Illyrian peoples comes from Periplus or Coastal passage an ancient Greek text of the middle of the 4th century BC.^[16]

The Illyrian tribes that resided in the region of modern Albania were the Taulantii in central Albania^[17] the Parthini, the Abri and the Caviii in the north, the Enchelei in the east,^[18] the Bylliones in the south and several others. In the westernmost parts of the territory of Albania along with the Illyrian tribes lived the Bryges,^[19] a Phrygian people, and in the south^[20][21] lived the Greek tribe of the Chaonians.^[19][22][23]

In the 4th century BC, the Illyrian king Bardyllis united several Illyrian tribes and engaged in conflict with Macedon to the southeast, but was defeated. Bardyllis was succeeded byGrabos,^[24] then by Bardyllis II,^[25] and then by Cleitus the Illyrian,^[25] who was defeated by Alexander the Great. Later on, in 229 BC, Queen Teuta^[26] of the Ardiaei clashed with the Romans and initiated the Illyrian Wars, which resulted in defeat and in the end of Illyrian independence by 168 BC, when King Gentius was defeated by a Roman army.

[edit]Greeks

Beginning in the 7th century BC, Greek colonies were established on the Illyrian coast. The most important were Apollonia, Avlona (modern-day Vlorë), Epidamnos (modern-day Durrës), and Lissus (modern-day Lezhë). The rediscovered Greek city of Buthrotum (Ancient Greek: Βουθρωτόν, Vouthrotón) (modern-day Butrint), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is probably more significant today than it was when Julius Caesar used it as a provisions depot for his troops during his campaigns in the 1st century BC. At that time, it was considered an unimportant outpost, overshadowed by Apollonia and Epidamnos.^[27]

Roman Era

Route of the Via Egnatia

The lands comprising modern-day Albania were incorporated into the Roman Empire as part of the province of Illyricum above the river Drin, and Roman Macedonia (specifically as Epirus Nova) below it. The western part of the Via Egnatia ran inside modern Albania, ending at Dyrrachium. Illyricum was later divided into the provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia.

The Roman province of Illyricum or^[28][29] Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon River in modern Albania to Istria (Croatia) in the west and to the Sava River (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the north. Salona (near modern Split in Croatia) functioned as its capital. The regions which it included changed through the centuries though a great part of ancient Illyria remained part of Illyricum. South Illyria became Epirus Nova, part of the Roman province of Macedonia. In 357 AD the region was part of the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum one of four large praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. By 395 AD dioceses in which the region was divided were theDiocese of Dacia (as Pravealitana), and the Diocese of Macedonia (as Epirus Nova). Most of the region of modern Albania corresponds to the Epirus Nova.

Christianization

Christianity came to Epirus nova, then part of the Roman province of Macedonia.^[30] Since the 1st and 2nd century AD, Christianity had become the established religion in Byzantium, supplanting pagan polytheism and eclipsing for the most part the humanistic world outlook and institutions inherited from the Greek and Roman civilizations.

When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in AD 395, Illyria east of the Drinus River (Drina between Bosnia and Serbia), including the lands that now form Albania, were administered by the Eastern Empire but were ecclesiastically dependent on Rome. But, though the country was in the fold of Byzantium, Christians in the region remained under the jurisdiction of the Roman pope until 732. In that year the iconoclast Byzantine emperor Leo III, angered by archbishops of the region because they had supported Rome in the Iconoclastic Controversy, detached the church of the province from the Roman pope and placed it under the patriarch of Constantinople. When the Christian church split in 1054 between the East and Rome, the region of southern Albania retained its ties to Constantinople while the north reverted to the jurisdiction of Rome. This split in marked the first significant religious fragmentation of the country.

After the formation of the Slav principality of Dioclia (modern Montenegro), the metropolitan see of Bar was created in 1089, and dioceses in northern Albania (Shkodër, Ulcinj) became its suffragans. Starting in 1019, Albanian dioceses of the Byzantine rite were suffragans of the independent Archdiocese of Ohrid until Dyrrachion and Nicopolis, were re-established as metropolitan sees. Thereafter, on