Timeline of Albanian history to 1993
Chronology of Important Events of Albania=BC=
ca. 1000 BC
Illyrians, descendants of ancient Indo-European peoples, settled in western part of the Balkan Peninsula.358 BC
Illyrians defeated by Philip II of Macedonia.|
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312 BC
King Glaucius of Illyria expels Greeks from Durrės.229 BC and 219 BC
Roman soldiers overrun Illyrian settlements in Neretva River valley.165 BC
Roman forces capture Illyria's King Gentius at Shkodėr.=1st century AD= Christianity comes to Illyrian populated areas.
AD 9
Romans, under Emperor Tiberius, subjugate Illyrians and divide present-day Albania between Dalmatia, Epirus, and Macedonia.AD 395
Roman Empire's division into eastern and western parts leaves the lands that now comprise Albania administratively under the Eastern Empire but ecclesiastically under Rome.=4th century - seventh century= Goths, Huns, Avars, Serbs, Croats, and Bulgars successively invade Illyrian lands in present-day Albania.
732
Illyrian people subordinated to the patriarchate of Constantinople by the Byzantine emperor, Leo the Isaurian.1054
Christianity divides into Catholic and Orthodox churches, leaving Christians in southern Albania under ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople and those in northern Albania under pope in Rome.1081
Albania and Albanians mentioned, for the first time in a historical record, by Byzantine emperor.=12th century= Serbs occupy parts of northern and eastern Albania.
1204
Venice wins control over most of Albania, but Byzantines regain control of southern portion and establish Despotate of Epirus.1272
Forces of the King of Naples occupy Durrės and establish an Albanian kingdom.1385
Albanian ruler of Durrės invites Ottoman forces to intervene against a rival; subsequently, Albanian clans pay tribute and swear fealty to Ottomans.1389
At Kosovo Polje, Albanians join Serbian-led Balkan army that is crushed by Ottoman forces; coordinated resistance to Ottoman westward progress evaporates.1403
Gjergj Kastrioti born, later becomes Albanian national hero known as Skanderbeg.1443
After losing a battle near Nis, Skanderbeg defects from Ottoman Empire, reembraces Roman Catholicism, and begins holy war against the Ottomans.1444
Skanderbeg proclaimed chief of Albanian resistance.1449
Albanians, under Skanderbeg, rout Ottoman forces under Sultan Murad II.1468
Skanderbeg dies.1478
Krujė falls to Ottoman Turks; Shkodėr falls a year later. Subsequently, many Albanians flee to southern Italy, Greece, Egypt, and elsewhere; many remaining are forced to convert to Islam.=Early 17th century= Some Albanians who convert to Islam find careers in Ottoman Empire's government and military service.
=17th century - 18th century= About two-thirds of Albanians convert to Islam.
1785
Kara Mahmud Bushati, chief of Albanian tribe based in Shkodėr, attacks Montenegrin territory; subsequently named governor of Shkodėr by Ottoman authorities.=19th century and 20th century=
1822
Albanian leader Ali Pasha of Tepelenė assassinated by Ottoman agents for promoting an autonomous state.1830
1000 Albanian leaders invited to meet with Ottoman general who kills about half of them.1835
Ottoman Sublime Porte divides Albanian-populated lands into vilayets of Janina and Rumelia with Ottoman administrators.1861
First school known to use Albanian language in modern times opens in Shkodėr.1877-1878
Russia's defeat of Ottoman Empire seriously weakens Ottoman power over Albanian-populated areas.1878
Treaty of San Stefano, signed after the Russo-Turkish War, assigned Albanian-populated lands to Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Serbia; but Austria-Hungary and Britain block the treaty's implementation. Albanian leaders meet in Prizren, Kosovo, to form the Prizren League, initially advocating a unified Albania under Ottoman suzerainty. During the Congress of Berlin, the Great Powers overturn the Treaty of San Stefano and divide Albanian lands among several states. The Prizren League begins to organize resistance to the Treaty of Berlin's provisions that affect Albanians.1879
Society for Printing of Albanian Writings, composed of Roman Catholic, Muslim, and Orthodox Albanians, founded in Constantinople.1881
Ottoman forces crush Albanian resistance fighters at Prizren. Prizren League's leaders and families arrested and deported.1897
Ottoman authorities disband a reactivated Prizren League, execute its leader later, then ban Albanian language books.1906
Albanians begin joining the Committee of Union and Progress (Young Turks), which formed in Constantinople, hoping to gain autonomy for their nation within the Ottoman Empire.1908
Albanian intellectuals meet in Bitola and choose the Latin alphabet as standard script rather than Arabic or Cyrillic.1912
MayAlbanians rise against the Ottoman authorities and seize Skopje.
October
First Balkan War begins, and Albanian leaders affirm Albania
as an independent state.
November
Muslim and Christian delegates at Vlorė declare Albania
independent and establish a provisional government.
December
Ambassadorial conference opens in London and discusses
Albania's fate.
1913
MayTreaty of London ends First Balkan War. Second Balkan War begins.
August
Treaty of Bucharest ends Second Balkan War. Great Powers
recognize an independent Albanian state ruled by a
constitutional monarchy.
1914
MarchPrince Wilhelm, German army captain, installed as head of the new Albanian state by the International Control Commission, arrives in Albania.
September
New Albanian state collapses following outbreak of World War
I; Prince Wilhelm is stripped of authority and departs from
Albania.
1918
NovemberWorld War I ends, with Italian army occupying most of Albania and Serbian, Greek and French force occupying remainder. Italian and Yugoslav powers begin struggle for dominance over Albanians.
December
Albanian leaders meet at Durrės to discuss presentation of
Albania's interests at the Paris Peace Conference.
1919
JanuarySerbs attack Albania's inhabited cities. Albanians adopt guerrilla warfare.
June
Albania denied official representation at the Paris Peace
Conference; British, French, and Greek negotiators later
decide to divide Albania among Greece, Italy, and
Yugoslavia.
1920
JanuaryAlbanian leaders meeting at Lushnjė reject the partitioning of Albania by the Treaty of Paris, warn that Albanians will take up arms in defense of their territory, and create a bicameral parliament.
February
Albanian government moves to Tiranė, which becomes the
capital.
September
Albania forces Italy to withdraw its troops and abandon
territorial claims to almost all Albanian territory.
December
Albania admitted to League of Nations as sovereign and
independent state.
1921
NovemberYugoslav troops invade Albanian territories they had not previously occupied; League of Nations commission forces Yugoslav withdrawal and reaffirms Albania's 1913 borders.
December
Popular Party, headed by Xhafer Ypi, forms government with
Ahmed Zogu, the future King Zog, as internal affairs
minister.
1922
AugustEcumenical patriarch in Constantinople recognizes the Autocephalous Albanian Orthodox Church.
September
Zogu assumes position of prime minister of government;
opposition to him becomes formidable.
1923
Albania's Sunni Muslims break last ties with Constantinople and pledge primary allegiance to native country.1924
MarchZogu's party wins elections for National Assembly, but Zogu steps down after financial scandal and an assassination attempt.
July
A peasant-backed insurgency wins control of Tiranė; Fan S.
Noli becomes prime minister; Zogu flees to Yugoslavia.
December
Zogu, backed by Yugoslav army, returns to power and begins
to smother parliamentary democracy; Noli flees to Italy.
1925
MayItaly, under Mussolini, begins penetration of Albanian public and economic life.
1926
NovemberItaly and Albania sign First Treaty of Tiranė, which guarantees Zogu's political position and Albania's boundaries.
1928
AugustZogu pressures the parliament to dissolve itself; a new constituent assembly declares Albania a kingdom and Zogu becomes Zog I, "King of the Albanians."
1931
Zog, standing up to Italians, refuses to renew the First Treaty of Tiranė; Italians continue political and economic pressure.1934
After Albania signs trade agreements with Greece and Yugoslavia, Italy suspends economic support, then attempts to threaten Albania.1935
Mussolini presents a gift of 3,000,000 gold francs to Albania; other economic aid follows.1939
March- March 17 In Rome, the German Ambassador to Italy informs Mussolini that Germany is ready to support Italy in occupying Albania.
- March 25 In Tiranė, the Italian Ambassador to Albania hands over to King Zog an ultimatum demanding the surrender of Albania to an Italian protectorate.
- April 5 Leka, the heir to the Albanian throne, is born.
- King Zog appeals to the democracies.
- April 6 King Zog appeals to the Balkan Entente.
- April 7 Italian troops invade Albania: 50,000 Italian marines land in the ports of Durrės, Vlorė, Shėngjin and Sarandė. The Albanian army resists, especially in Durrės.
- King Zog's wife, Queen Geraldine Apponyi, and their infant son Leka flee to Greece. King Zog follows them.
- April 8 Italian troops occupy Tiranė at 9:30 AM. During the afternoon motorized columns reach Shkodėr and Elbasan. The Italian commander, General Alfredo Guzzoni, lands in Tiranė and shortly afterwards the Italian foreign minister, Count Ciano, also arrives by air and tells an Albanian delegation that the Italian troops have come to ensure order, prosperity, and progress, without interfering with Albania's existence as a nation.
- April 12 A Constituent Assembly, summoned by the provisional committee of pro-Italian notables which has taken over the administration, meets in Tiranė and approves a personal union with Italy: Italy's King Victor Emmanuel III is to become the King of Albania.
- Shefqet Bej Verlaci becomes prime minister. His cabinet includes Xhemil Dino (foreign minister), Fejzi Alizoti (finance), Xhafer Ypi (justice), Andon Beēa (economy), and Ernest Koliqi (education).
- Shefqet Bej Verlaci also becomes the acting Head of State until Victor Emmanuel III comes to the throne.
- April 14 Albania withdraws from the League of Nations.
- April 16 An Albanian delegation headed by the new prime minister goes to the Quirinale in Rome to formally offer the crown of Albania to Victor Emmanuel III. Italy's King accepts the crown.
- April 22 Francesco Jacomoni di San Savino is appointed the king's lieutenant-general (viceroy) in Albania.
1940
The constitution of Albania is voided. A local Fascist party is established. The Albanian army is merged in the Italian army. The National Assembly and the government are subject to the Italian viceroy and his officials. Italy wins the support of a part of Albanians by defending Albania's claims to Kosovo and Ēamėria.
October Italian army attacks Greece through Albania.
- October 28 From Albania, Italian forces (157,000 men) commanded by General Visconti Prasca invade Greece. A contingent of Albanian auxiliary forces (12,000 men) participate in Italy's campaign against Greece.
1941
April Germany, with support of Italy and other allies defeat Greece and Yugoslavia.October Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav communist leader, directs organizing of Albanian communists.
November Albanian Communist Party founded; Enver Hoxha becomes first secretary.
- November 8 The Albanian Communist Party is founded.
- December 3 Mustafa Merlika Kruja becomes Prime Minister.
1942
September 1942The Albanian Communist Party organizes the National Liberation Movement, a popular front resistance organization.
September 16, 1942
At the Peza Conference, the National Liberation Movement is established.
October 1942
Noncommunist nationalist groups form to resist the Italian
occupation.
1943
AugustItaly's surrender to Allied forces weakens Italian hold on Albania; Albanian resistance fighters overwhelm five Italian divisions.
September
German forces invade and occupy Albania.
1944
JanuaryThe Communist partisans, supplied with British weapons, gain control of the southern Albania.
May 1944
The Communists meet to organize an Albanian government; Hoxha
becomes chairman of executive committee and supreme
commander of the National Liberation Army.
July 1944
The Communist forces enter central and northern Albania.
October 1944
The Communists establish a provisional government with Hoxha as
prime minister.
November 1944
The Germans withdraw from Tiranė, the Communists move into the
capital.
December 1944
The Communist provisional government adopts laws allowing state
regulation of commercial enterprises, foreign and domestic
trade.
1945
JanuaryCommunist provisional government agrees to restore Kosovo to Yugoslavia as an autonomous region; tribunals begin to condemn thousands of "war criminals" and "enemies of the people" to death or to prison. Communist regime begins to nationalize industry, transportation, forests, pastures.
April
Yugoslavia recognizes communist government in Albania.
August
Sweeping agricultural reforms begin; about half of arable
land eventually redistributed to peasants from large
landowners; most church properties nationalized. United
Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration begins
sending supplies to Albania.
November
Soviet Union recognizes provisional government; Britain and
United States make full diplomatic recognition conditional.
December
In elections for the People's Assembly only candidates from
the Democratic Front are on ballot.
1946
JanuaryPeople's Assembly proclaims Albania a "people's republic"; purges of noncommunists from positions of power in government begins.
Spring People's Assembly adopts new constitution, Hoxha becomes prime minister, foreign minister, defense minister, and commander-in-chief; Soviet-style central planning begins.
July
Treaty of friendship and cooperation signed with Yugoslavia;
Yugoslav advisers and grain begin pouring into Albania.
October
British destroyers hit mines off Albania's coast; United
Nations (UN) and the International Court of Justice
subsequently condemn Albania.
November
Albania breaks diplomatic relations with the United States
after latter withdraws its informal mission.
1947
AprilEconomic Planning Commission draws up first economic plan that established production targets for mining, manufacturing and agricultural enterprises.
May
UN commission concludes that Albania, together with Bulgaria
and Yugoslavia, supports communist guerrillas in Greece;
Yugoslav leaders launch verbal offensive against anti-
Yugoslav Albanian communists, including Hoxha; pro-Yugoslav
faction begins to wield power.
July
Albania refuses participation in the Marshall Plan of the
United States.
1948
February-MarchAlbanian Communist Party leaders vote to merge Albanian and Yugoslav economies and militaries.
June
Cominform expels Yugoslavia; Albanian leaders launch anti-
Yugoslav propaganda campaign, cut economic ties, and force
Yugoslav advisers to leave; Stalin becomes national hero in
Albania.
September
Hoxha begins purging high-ranking party members accused of
"Titoism"; treaty of friendship with Yugoslavia abrogated by
Albania; Soviet Union begins giving economic aid to Albania
and Soviet advisers replace ousted Yugoslavs.
November
First Party Congress changes name of Albanian Communist
Party to Albanian Party of Labor.
1949
JanuaryRegime issues Decree on Religious Communities.
February
Albania joins Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
(Comecon); all foreign trade conducted with member
countries.
December
Pro-Tito Albanian communists purged.
1950
Britain and United States begin inserting anticommunist Albanian guerrilla units into Albania; all are unsuccessful.
July
A new constitution is approved by People's Assembly. Hoxha
becomes minister of defense and foreign minister.
1951
FebruaryAlbania and Soviet Union sign agreement on mutual economic assistance.
1954
JulyHoxha relinquishes post of prime minister to Mehmet Shehu but retains primary power as party leader.
1955
MayAlbania becomes a founding member of the Warsaw Pact.
1956
FebruaryAfter Nikita Khrushchev's "secret speech" exposes Stalin's crimes, Hoxha defends Stalin; close relations with Soviet Union become strained.
1959
Large amounts of economic aid from Soviet Union, East European countries, and China begin pouring into Albania.
May
Khrushchev visits Albania.
1960
JuneAlbania sides with China in Sino-Soviet ideological dispute; consequently Soviet economic support to Albania is curtailed and Chinese aid is increased.
November
Hoxha rails against Khrushchev and supports China during an
international communist conference in Moscow.
1961
FebruaryHoxha harangues against the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia at Albania's Fourth Party Congress.
December
Soviet Union breaks diplomatic relations; other East
European countries severely reduce contacts but do not break
relations; Albania looks toward China for support.
1962
Albanian regime introduces austerity program in attempt to compensate for withdrawal of Soviet economic support; China incapable of delivering sufficient aid; Albania becomes China's spokesman at UN.1964
Hoxha hails Khrushchev's removal as leader of the Soviet Union; diplomatic relations fail to improve.1966
FebruaryHoxha initiates Cultural and Ideological Revolution.
March
Albanian Party of Labor "open letter" to the people
establishes egalitarian wage and job structure for all
workers.
1967
Hoxha regime conducts violent campaign to extinguish religious life in Albania; by year's end over two thousand religious buildings were closed or converted to other uses.1968
AugustAlbania condemns Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, subsequently Albania withdraws from Warsaw Pact.
1976
SeptemberHoxha begins criticizing new Chinese regime after Mao's death.
December
A new constitution promulgated superceeding the 1950
version; Albania becomes a people's socialist republic.
1977
Top military officials purged after "Chinese conspiracy" is uncovered.1978
JulyChina terminates all economic and military aid to Albania.
1980
Hoxha selects Ramiz Alia as the next party head, bypassing Shehu.1981
DecemberShehu, after rebuke by Politburo, dies, possibly murdered on Hoxha's orders.
1982
NovemberAlia becomes chairman of Presidium of the People's Assembly.
1983
Hoxha begins semiretirement; Alia starts administering Albania.1985
AprilHoxha dies.
1986
NovemberAlia featured as party's and country's undisputed leader at Ninth Party Congress.
1987
AugustGreece ends state of war that existed since World War II.
November
Albania and Greece sign a series of long-term agreements.
1989
SeptemberAlia, addressing the Eighth Plenum of the Central Committee, signals that radical changes to the economic system are necessary.
1990
JanuaryNinth Plenum of the Central Committee; demonstrations at Shkodėr force authorities to declare state of emergency.
April
Alia declares willingness to establish diplomatic relations
with the Soviet Union and the United States.
May
The Secretary General of the UN visits Albania.
May
Regime announces desire to join the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe. People's Assembly passes laws
liberalizing criminal code, reforming court system, lifting
some restrictions on freedom of worship, and guaranteeing
the right to travel abroad.
Summer Unemployment throughout the economy increases as a result of government's reform measures; drought reduces electric- power production, forcing plant shutdowns.
July
Young people demonstrate against regime in Tiranė, and 5,000
citizens seek refuge in foreign embassies; Central Committee
plenum makes significant changes in leadership of party and
state. Soviet Union and Albania sign protocol normalizing
relations.
August
Government abandons its monopoly on foreign commerce and
begins to open Albania to foreign trade.
September
Alia addresses the UN General Assembly in New York.
October
Tiranė hosts the Balkan Foreign Ministers' Conference, the
first international political meeting in Albania since the
end of World War II. Ismail Kadare, Albania's most prominent
writer, defects to France.
December
University students demonstrate in streets and call for
dictatorship to end; Alia meets with students; Thirteenth
Plenum of the Central Committee of the APL authorizes a
multiparty system; Albanian Democratic Party, first
opposition party established; regime authorizes political
pluralism; draft constitution is published; by year's end,
5,000 Albanian refugees had crossed the mountains into
Greece.
1991
JanuaryFirst opposition newspaper Rilindja Demokratike begins publishing. Thousands of Albanians seek refuge in Greece.
March
Albania and the United States reestablish diplomatic
relations after a thirty-five year break. Thousands more
Albanians attempt to gain asylum in Italy.
March-April
First multiparty elections held since the 1920s; 98.9
percent of voters participated; Albanian Party of Labor wins
over 67 percent of vote for People's Assembly seats;
Albanian Democratic Party wins about 30 percent.
April
Communist-dominated People's Assembly reelects Alia to new
presidential term. Ministry of Internal Affairs replaced by
Ministry of Public Order; Frontier Guards and Directorate of
Prison Administration are placed under the Ministry of
Defense and the Ministry of Justice, respectively. People's
Assembly passes Law on Major Constitutional Provisions
providing for fundamental human rights and separation of
powers and invalidates 1976 constitution. People's Assembly
appoints commission to draft new constitution.
June
Prime Minister Nano and rest of cabinet resign after trade
unions call for general strike to protest worsening economic
conditions and killing of opposition demonstrators in
Shkodėr. Coalition government led by Prime Minister Ylli
Buti takes office; Tenth Party Congress of the Albanian
Party of Labor meets and renames party the Socialist Party
of Albania (SPA); Albania accepted as a full member of CSCE;
United States secretary of state, James A. Baker, visits Albania.
July
Sigurimi, notorious secret police, is abolished and replaced
by National Information Service.
August
Up to 18,000 Albanians cross the Adriatic Sea to seek asylum
in Italy; most are returned. People's Assembly passes law on
economic activity that authorizes private ownership of
property, privatizing of state property, investment by
foreigners, and private employment of workers.
October
United States Embassy opens in Tiranė. Albania joins
International Monetary Fund.
December
Coalition government dissolves when opposition parties
accuse communists of blocking reform and Albanian Democratic
Party withdraws its ministers from the cabinet. Prime
Minister Bufi resigns and Alia names Vilson Ahmeti as prime
minister. Alia sets March 1992 for new elections.
1992
FebruaryThe People's Assembly prevents OMONIA, the party representing Greek Albanians, from fielding candidates in the elections planned for March.
March 22 and 29
In the midst of economic freefall and social chaos, a decisive electoral victory is won by the anticommunist opposition led by the Democratic Party. The Democrats win 62% of the votes and achieve an overall majority with 92 of the 140 seats in the parliament. The Socialists, with 26% of the vote, win 38 seats. Turnout is 90%.
April 3
Alia resigns as president and is succeeded on April 9 by Sali Berisha, the first democratic leader of Albania since Bishop Noli. The first non-Communist government, headed by Aleksander Meksi, is elected on April 13. Its stated priority is to establish law and order to transform the paralyzed economy through a reform program emphasizing a free-market economy and privatization.
April 16
Eduard Selami is elected chairman of the Democratic Party.
June
Albania signs the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Pact with ten other countries, including six former Soviet republics.
Mid-July
The Albanian Communist Party is outlawed, and its chairman, Hysni Milloshi, is arrested in Tiranė and charged with illegally carrying a gun.
July 26
Four months after its March defeat, the Socialist Party makes impressive gains in the country's first democratic local elections. The Democratic Party wins 43.2% of the vote, compared to 41.3% cast for the Socialists. Continued economic hardships, general apathy, and a split within the Democratic Party contributed to its poor showing. It holds local administrative control in most large cities, while the Socialists control much of the countryside.
Mid-September
Former President Alia is detained, joining eighteen other former communist officials, including Nexhmije Hoxha, who are charged with corruption and other offenses.
November 3
The split in the Democratic Party grows into a rift when a group of reform-minded Democrats break away and form a new party, the Democratic Alliance.
December
Albania is granted membership of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and in the same month applies to join NATO, becoming the first former Warsaw Pact country formally to seek membership in the Western alliance.
1993
January 27
Nexhmije Hoxha is sentenced to nine years' imprisonment, having been found guilty of embezzling state funds.
February
Former prime minister Vilson Ahmeti is placed under house arrest, following charges of corruption.
March
The secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization visits Tiranė.
April
Albania recognizes the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
April 25
Pope John Paul II makes a historic visit. (The last pope to travel to Albania - in 1464 - died en route.)
May
Nexhmije Hoxha's prison sentence is increased by two years.
July
Albania expels a Greek Orthodox cleric, who is alleged to have distributed maps showing southern Albania as Greek territory. Greece subsequently deports thousands of illegal Albanian migrant workers.
July 30
The leader of the Socialist Party, former prime minister Nano, is arrested on allegations of abuse of power.
August
Alia is arrested on charges of abuse of power.
September
Ahmeti is sentenced to two years' imprisonment.
September
President Berisha and President Momir Bulatovic of Montenegro meet in Tiranė to discuss ways of improving Albanian-Montenegrin relations.
October
Greece recalls its ambassador for consultations after a series of border incidents and alleged human rights abuses in Albania.
Reference
Data as of 1993. Much of the material in this articles comes from the Library of Congress Country Studies website.See also
External links
- Country Studies On-Line at the Library of Congress