Albania Essay Research Paper The destruction of — страница 2
cultures, the tribes of southern Illyria underwent a transformation, and a transition occurred from the old Illyrian population to a new Albanian one (BRS Albania 3).” In 1081, for the first time in historical record, Alexius I Commenus would mention Albania and the Albanians. Unfortunately, he was referring to the Albanians in an account of resistance, to an offensive by the Normans. This became a reoccurring pattern for Albania. It would not be for joyful reasons that Albania would be refereed to; instead, it would be due to disastrous ones, accounts of invasion. Waves of Invasions and Foreign Domination Due to the weakness of the Byzantine Empire, Albania would be invaded by Serbia in the Twelfth century. Then, in 1204, after western crusaders sacked Constaninople, Venice won nominal control over Albania and the Epirus region of northern Greece and took possession of Durres (BRS Ottoman Conquest of Albania 2). With the assistance of a prince, from an overthrown Byzantine family, Albania successfully forced Venice from its country. Then, in 1272 the king of Naples, Charles I of Anjou, occupied Durres and formed an Albanian Kingdom, which flourished for the next century. Unfortunately, due to the weakness of the Byzantine Empire, Serbia was able to established in Empire in Albania during the fourteenth century. Serbians would not remain in power for long. The division of the Albanian populated lands into small, quarreling fiefdoms ruled by independent feudal lords and tribal chiefs made them easy prey for the ottoman armies. In 1385, the Albanian ruler of Durres, Karl Thopia, appealed to the sultan for support against his rivals, the Balsha family. An Ottoman force quickly marched into Albania along the Via Egnatia and routed the Balsha. The principal in the Balkans in 1423, and the Turks took Janina in 1431 and Arta on the Ionian coast, in 1449. The Turks allowed the conquered Albanian clan chiefs to maintain their position and property, but they had to pay tribute, send their sons to the Turkish court as hostages, and provide the Ottoman Army with Auxiliary troops (BRS Ottoman Conquest of Albania 2). Turks would enjoy present conditions until Gjergi Kastriot, one of Albania s greatest national heroes, declared a holy war against the Turks. As a young boy, Kastriot, who was later named Skanderbeg, was converted to Islam. This was one of the above-mentioned conditions, which allowed Albanian chiefs to maintain their position. However, as soon as Skanderbeg was given the opportunity to defect, he did and he reembraced Roman Catholicism as well. On March 1, 1444, Albanian chieftains gathered in the cathedral of Lezhe with the prince of Montenegro and the delegates from Venice and proclaimed Skanderbeg commander of the Albanian resistance (BRS Albania Under Ottoman Rule 1). For the following twenty-four years, Skanderbeg held off ferocious Ottoman campaigns. He was even able to fight off attacks lead by Sultan Mehmed II. Would there be a chance for Albania to establish itself as a country? Would the people of Albania not have to covert to Islam? Unfortunately not, in 1468 Skanderbeg died. This brought great joy to the Sultan, who is said to have said, Asia and Europe are mine at last. Woe to Christendom! She has lost her sword and shield (BRS Albania Reemergence after World War I 1). Even with the assistance of Naples and the Vatican, Albania was not able to hold of the Ottoman Empire. In 1478, Kruja fell to the Ottoman Empire. At the same time, in fear of assimilation, many Albanians flee to neighboring countries such as Sicily, Greece, Romania, and Egypt, and converted to Roman Catholicism. As for the ones who decided to stay behind, they were forced to convert to Islam. The Ottoman Turks first focused their conversions campaigns on the Roman Catholics, Albanians of the north and then on the Orthodox population of the south. For example, the authorities increased taxes, especially poll taxes, to make conversions economically attractive. During and after a Christian counteroffensive against the Ottoman Empire from 1687 to 1690, when Albanian Catholics revolted against the Muslim overlords, the Ottoman Pasha of Pec, a town in the south of present day Yugoslavia, retaliated by forcing the entire Albanian villages to accept Islam. Albanians who converted to Islam, found jobs in the military and government, but it did not mean that they were unconditionally accepted by the Ottoman Military. In fact in 1830, 1000 Albanian leaders were invited to meet an Ottoman General, who killed approximately half of them. Then, in 1835 Albanian populated lands are divided into vilayets of Janina, Manastir, Shkodra, and Kosovo with Ottoman administrators.
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