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PANORAMA

Section 1 of 1

Albania

Table A. Chronology of Important Events


Period
     Description

ca. 1000 B.C.
     Illyrians, descendants of ancient Indo-European peoples,
     settled in western part of the Balkan Peninsula.

358 B.C.
     Illyrians defeated by Philip II of Macedonia.

312 B.C.
     King Glaucius of Illyria expels Greeks from Durrės.

229 B.C. and 219 B.C.
     Roman soldiers overrun Illyrian settlements in Neretva River
     valley.

165 B.C.
     Roman forces capture Illyria's King Gentius at Shkodėr.

FIRST CENTURY A.D.
     Christianity comes to Illyrian populated areas.

A.D. 9
     Romans, under Emperor Tiberius, subjugate Illyrians and
     divide present-day Albania between Dalmatia, Epirus, and
     Macedonia.

A.D. 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.

FOURTH 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.

TWELFTH 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 SEVENTEENTH CENTURY
     Some Albanians who convert to Islam find careers in Ottoman
     Empire's government and military service.

SEVENTEENTH CENTURY-EIGHTEENTH 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.

NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES

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.

1877-78
     Russia's defeat of Ottoman Empire seriously weakens Ottoman
     power over Albanian-populated areas.

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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 May Albanians 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 May Treaty 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 March Prince 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 November World 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 January Serbs 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 January Albanian 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.

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December Albania admitted to League of Nations as sovereign and independent state. 1921 November Yugoslav 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 August Ecumenical 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 March Zogu'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 May Italy, under Mussolini, begins penetration of Albanian public and economic life. 1926 November Italy and Albania sign First Treaty of Tiranė, which guarantees Zogu's political position and Albania's boundaries. 1928 August Zogu 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 Mussolini delivers ultimatum to Albania. April Mussolini's troops invade and occupy Albania; Albanian parliament votes to unite country with Italy; Zog flees to Greece; Italy's King Victor Emmanual III assumes Albanian crown. 1940 October Italian army attacks Greece through Albania. 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. 1942 September Communist party organizes the National Liberation Movement, a popular front resistance organization. October Noncommunist nationalist groups form to resist the Italian occupation. 1943 August Italy'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 January Communist partisans, supplied with British weapons, gain control of southern Albania. May Communists meet to organize an Albanian government; Hoxha becomes chairman of executive committee and supreme commander of the Army of National Liberation. July Communist forces enter central and northern Albania. October Communists establish provisional government with Hoxha as prime minister. November Germans withdraw from Tiranė, communists move into the capital. December Communist provisional government adopts laws allowing state regulation of commercial enterprises, foreign and domestic trade. 1945 January Communist 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.

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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 January People'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 April Economic 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-March Albanian 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.

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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 January Regime 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 February Albania and Soviet Union sign agreement on mutual economic assistance. 1954 July Hoxha relinquishes post of prime minister to Mehmet Shehu but retains primary power as party leader. 1955 May Albania becomes a founding member of the Warsaw Pact. 1956 February After 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 June Albania 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 February Hoxha 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 February Hoxha 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 August Albania condemns Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia, subsequently Albania withdraws from Warsaw Pact. 1976 September Hoxha 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 July China terminates all economic and military aid to Albania. 1980 Hoxha selects Ramiz Alia as the next party head, bypassing Shehu. 1981 December Shehu, after rebuke by Politburo, dies, possibly murdered on Hoxha's orders. 1982 November Alia becomes chairman of Presidium of the People's Assembly.

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1983 Hoxha begins semiretirement; Alia starts administering Albania. 1985 April Hoxha dies. 1986 November Alia featured as party's and country's undisputed leader at Ninth Party Congress. 1987 August Greece ends state of war that existed since World War II. November Albania and Greece sign a series of long-term agreements. 1989 September Alia, addressing the Eighth Plenum of the Central Committee, signals that radical changes to the economic system are necessary. 1990 January Ninth 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 January First 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.

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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 February Albanian People's Assembly prevents OMONIA, the party representing Greek Albanians, from fielding candidates in the elections planned for March. March Albanian Democratic Party scores decisive election victory over the Socialist Party of Albania in the midst of economic freefall and social chaos. April Sali Berisha, a leader of the Albanian Democratic Party, becomes the first democratically elected president. June Albania signs Black Sea economic cooperation part with ten other countries, including six former Soviet republics. July Socialist Party of Albania gains significantly in local elections. September Former President Alia and eighteen other former communist officials, including Nexhmije Hoxha, arrested and charged with corruption and other offenses. December Albania joins the Organization of the Islamic Conference. 1993 March Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization visits Tiranė. April Albania recognizes the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 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 series of border incidents and alleged human rights abuses in Albania.

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