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{{Cleanup|date=September 2009}}
{{histalbania}}
{{Infobox Former Country
|native_name = <!--Ottoman Turkish name should go here, as that would have been official -->
|conventional_long_name = Pashalik of Yanina
|common_name = Pashalik of Yanina
|
|continent = Europe
|region = Balkans
|country = [[Albania]], [[Greece]]
|era = Early modern
|status = [[Pashalik]] of the [[Ottoman Empire]]
|empire = Ottoman Empire
|government_type = [[Pashalik]]
|
|year_start = 1430
|year_end = 1868
|
|event_start = <!--- Default: "Established" --->
|date_start =
|event_end = <!--- Default: "Disestablished" --->
|date_end =
|
|image_flag =
|flag = <!--- Link target under flag image. Default: Flag of {{{common_name}}} --->
|flag_type =
|
|p1 = Ottoman Empire
|flag_p1 = Ottoman Flag.svg
|s1 = Ottoman Empire
|flag_s1 = Ottoman Flag.svg
|
|capital = [[Ioannina]]
|
|common_languages = [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]], [[Yevanic]]
|religion = [[Sunni Islam]], [[Sufi Islam]], [[Bektashi]], [[Eastern Orthodoxy]]
|
|leader1 = [[Ali Pasha]]
|year_leader1 = 1787–1822
|title_leader = Pasha
|
|image_map =
|image_map_caption =
|
}}


The '''Pashalik of Yanina''' or '''Janina''' (1430–1868) was an subdivision in the [[Ottoman Empire]], created in 1430. It reached its zenith in the early 19th century under [[Ali Pasha]], when it became a semi-independent entity encompassing large areas of modern [[Greece]] and [[Albania]]. During Ali's reign it was considered as an [[Albanian Pashaliks|Albanian Pashalik]].<ref>The Albanians: a modern history By Miranda Vickers page 18-19 I.B.Taurus 2006 ISBN:1860645419 ([http://books.google.com/books?id=IzI0uOZ2j6gC&pg=PA11&dq=Albanian+Pashaliks&cd=1#v=onepage&q=Albanian%20Pashaliks&f=false])</ref> It was also known as ''Yanya Eyaleti'' ("[[Eyalet]] of Ioannina") between 1670–1787.
The '''History of [[Albania]]''' emerges from the [[Prehistoric Balkans|prehistoric stage]] from the 4th century BCE, with early records of [[Illyria]] in [[Greco-Roman historiography]]. The modern territory of Albania has no counterpart in antiquity, comprising parts of the Roman provinces of [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]] (southern [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]]), [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]] (particularly [[Epirus Nova]]), and [[Moesia Superior]]. The territory remained under Roman ([[Albania under the Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]]) control until the [[Slavic migrations]] of the 7th century, and was integrated into the [[Albania under the Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] in the 9th century.
==1430-1787==
{{Expand|date=February 2010}}


==Ali Pasha's rule==
The territorial nucleus of the Albanian state forms in the Middle Ages, as the [[Principality of Arbër]] and the [[Kingdom of Albania]]. The [[Origins of the Albanians|first records]] of the [[Albanian people]] as a distinct ethnicity also date to this period. The area was conquered in the 15th century by the [[Ottoman Empire]] and remained under Ottoman control as part of the [[Rumelia]] province until 1912, when the first independent Albanian state was [[Albanian Declaration of Independence|declared]]. The formation of an [[National Renaissance of Albania|Albanian national consciousness]] dates to the later 19th century and is part of the larger phenomenon of [[rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire]].
In 1787 Ali Pasha was awarded the [[pashaluk]] of [[Trikala]] in reward for his support for the sultan's war against [[Habsburg Monarchy|Austria]]. This was not enough to satisfy his ambitions; shortly afterwards, in 1788, he seized control of Ioánnina, which remained his power base for the next 33 years.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=MeopAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA43&dq=ali+pasha&cd=4#v=onepage&q=ali%20pasha&f=false "Albania past and present"] By Constantine Anastasi Chekrezi, The MacMillan Company New York 1919 p43</ref> Like other semi-autonomous regional leaders that emerged in that time, such as [[Osman Pazvantoğlu]], he took advantage of a weak Ottoman government to expand his territory still further until he gained ''de facto'' control of most of Southern Albania, western Greece and the [[Peloponnese]], either directly or through his sons.
A short-lived [[Principality of Albania|monarchy]] (1914-1925) was succeeded by an even shorter-lived first [[Albanian Republic]] (1925-1928), to be replaced by another [[Albanian Kingdom|monarchy]] (1928-1939), which was [[Albania under Italy|conquered]] into [[Fascist Italy]] during World War II. After the collapse of the Axis powers, Albania became a communist state, the [[Socialist People's Republic of Albania]], which for the most part of its duration was dominated by [[Enver Hoxha]] (d. 1985). Hoxha's political heir [[Ramiz Alia]] oversaw the disintegration of the "[[Hoxhaist]]" state during the wider collapse of the [[Eastern Bloc]] in the later 1980s.


Ali's policy as ruler of Ioánnina was governed by little more than simple expediency; he operated as a semi-independent despot and allied himself with whoever offered the most advantage at the time. In order to gain a seaport on the Ionian coast Ali formed an alliance with [[Napoleon I of France]] who had established [[Francois Pouqueville]] as his general consul in Ioánnina. After the [[Tilsit Conference|Treaty of Tilsitt]] where Napoleon granted the Czar his plan to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, Ali switched sides and allied with the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] in 1807. His machinations were permitted by the Ottoman government in [[Istanbul]] for a mixture of expediency - it was deemed better to have Ali as a semi-ally than as an enemy - and weakness, as the central government did not have enough strength to oust him at that time.
The communist regime collapsed in 1990, and the [[Republic of Albania]] was founded in 1991 and the former communist party was routed in elections March 1992, amid economic collapse and social unrest. Further crisis during the 1990s, peaking in the 1997 [[1997 rebellion in Albania|Lottery Uprising]], led to [[Albanian diaspora|mass emigration of Albanians]], mostly to [[Albanians in Italy|Italy]], [[Albanian communities in Greece|Greece]], [[Albanians in Switzerland|Switzerland]], [[Albanians in Germany|Germany]] and to North America during the 1990s.
Albania became a full member of [[NATO]] in 2009. The country is [[Accession of Albania to the European Union|applying]] to join the [[European Union]].


The poet [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron]] visited Ali's court in Ioánnina in 1809 and recorded the encounter in his work ''[[Childe Harold]]''. He evidently had mixed feelings about the despot, noting the splendour of Ali's court and the Greek cultural revival that he had encouraged in Ioánnina, which Byron described as being "superior in wealth, refinement and learning" to any other Greek town. In a letter to his mother, however, Byron deplored Ali's cruelty: "His Highness is a remorseless tyrant, guilty of the most horrible cruelties, very brave, so good a general that they call him the Mahometan Buonaparte ... but as barbarous as he is successful, roasting rebels, etc, etc.."
==Prehistory==
{{Main|Prehistoric Balkans}}
The Illyrians derive from early [[Indo-European]] presence in western [[Balkan Peninsula]]. Their formation can be assumed to coincide with the beginning Iron Age in the Balkans, during the early 1st millennium BC.<ref>The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes, ISBN 0631198075, 1996, page 39: "... the other hand, the beginnings of the Iron Age around 1000 BC is held to coincide with the formation of the historical Illyrian peoples. ..."</ref>


==Downfall==
Archaeologists associate the Illyrians with the [[Hallstatt culture]], an [[Iron Age]] people noted for production of iron, bronze swords with winged-shaped handles, and domestication of horses.
[[Image:Ali Pashas Grave (Medium).JPG|right|thumb|200px|Ali Pasha's grave.]]
It is impossible to delineate [[Illyrian tribes]] from [[Paleo-Balkans]] in a strict linguistic sense, but areas classically included under "Illyrian" for the Balkans Iron Age include the area of the [[Danube]], [[Sava]], and [[Morava River, Central Europe|Morava]] rivers to the [[Adriatic Sea]] and the [[Šar Mountains]].
In 1820, Ali ordered the assassination of a political opponent in [[Constantinople]]. The reformist Sultan [[Mahmud II]], who sought to restore the authority of the [[Sublime Porte]], took this opportunity to move against Ali by ordering his deposition. Ali refused to resign his official posts and put up a formidable resistance to Ottoman troop movements, indirectly helping the Greek Independence as some 20,000 Turkish troops were fighting Ali's formidable army. In January 1822, however, Ottoman agents assassinated Ali Pasha and sent his head to the Sultan. After his death, the pashalik ceased to exist and was merged with [[Pashalik of Berat]] for creating again Yanya Eyaleti (Ioannina Province) with sanjaks of [[Ioannina]], [[Berat]], [[Gjirokastër]] and [[Preveza]].


==Antiquity==
==Pasha==
*[[Ali Pasha]] (1787-1822)
{{Main|Illyria|Illyrians}}
The territory of Albania in antiquity was mainly inhabited by [[List of ancient tribes in Illyria|Illyrian tribes]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3235.htm|title=Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs September 2007}}</ref> who, like other ancient people, were subdivided into tribes and clans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9052237/Messapic-language|title=Encyclopedia Britannica - Messapic language}}</ref>.The region was also inhabited by [[Bryges]]<ref>The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes, 1996, ISBN 978-0631198079, page 111</ref>, a [[Phrygian]] people and the [[Chaones]], an [[ancient Greek]] people.

The ''Illyrians'' ({{lang-grc|''Ἰλλυριοί''}}; {{lang-la|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 civilization|Greek]] and [[Roman Republic|Roman]] authors, corresponding roughly to the area between Adriatic sea in west, [[Drava]] river in North, [[Morava]] river in east and the mouth of [[Vjosë]] river in south<ref> The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes, 1996, ISBN 978-0631198079, page 92, "Appian's description of the Illyrian territories records a southern boundary with Chaonia and Thesprotia, where ancient Epirus began south of river Aoous (Vjose)" [http://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C&lpg=PP1&dq=illyrians%20wilkes&pg=PR20 also map]</ref><ref>Cambridge University Press. [http://books.google.com/books?id=0qAoqP4g1fEC&pg=PA266&dq=campridge+ancient+history+epirus&hl=el#v=onepage&q=epirus&f=false ''The Cambridge ancient history'']. 2000. ISBN 0521234476, page 261,"...down to the mouth of Aous"</ref>.The first account of Illyrian peoples comes from ''Periplus'' or Coastal passage an ancient Greek text of the middle of the [[4th century BC]].<ref>The Illyrians (The Peoples of Europe) by John Wilkes,1996,page 94</ref>

The [[Roman province]] of ''Illyricum'' or<ref>Enzyklopädie der klassischen Altertumskunde by Ludwig Schaaff, 2002, ISBN 0543800466, page 17</ref><ref>An ancient geography, classical and sacred. By S. Augustus Mitchell. by Michigan Historical Reprint Series, 2005, ISBN 1425537782, page 215</ref> ''Illyris Romana'' or ''Illyris Barbara'' or ''Illyria Barbara'' replaced most of the region of [[Illyria]]. It stretched from the [[Drin River|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 (city)|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]] as a province while south Illyria became [[Epirus Nova]].

==Christianization==
[[Christianity]] came to [[Epirus nova]], then part of the Roman province of [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]].<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=pbePRvOCPaAC&pg=PA248&dq=illyria+map&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=2000&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=0&hl=el&cd=80#v=onepage&q=illyria%20map&f=false Paul: His Story by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor,page 247]</ref> In 357 AD the region was part of the [[Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum]] one of four large [[praetorian prefecture]]s into which the Late [[Roman Empire]] was divided.

Since the first and second 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. 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, only the dioceses in inner Albania (Elbasan, Krujë) remained attached to Ohrid. In the 13th century during the Venetian occupation, the Latin Archdiocese of Durrës was founded.

==Middle Ages==
{{Main|Albania in the Middle Ages}}
===Barbarian invasions and Early Middle Ages===
After the region fell to the Romans in [[168 BC]] it became part of [[Epirus nova]] that was in turn part of the Roman province of [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]].Later it was part of provinces of the [[Byzantine empire]] called ''Themes''.

In the first decades under Byzantine rule (until 461),[[Epirus nova]] suffered the devastation of raids by Visigoths, Huns, and Ostrogoths. Not long after these barbarian invaders swept through the Balkans, the Slavs appeared. Between the 6th and 8th centuries they settled in Roman territories.
In the 4th century, barbarian tribes began to prey upon the Roman Empire. The [[Germanic Goths]] and Asiatic [[Huns]] were the first to arrive, invading in mid-century; the Avars attacked in A.D. 570; and the Croatian tribes invaded in the early 7th century. In general, the invaders destroyed or weakened Roman and [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] cultural centers in the lands that would become Albania.<ref name="Barbarian Invasions">{{cite web | author= Raymond Zickel and Walter R. Iwaskiw, editors.| date= 1994 | title= "The Barbarian Invasions and the Middle Ages," Albania: A Country Study | url=http://countrystudies.us/albania/15.htm | work=[http://countrystudies.us/albania/index.htm] | accessdate=9 April 2008 }}</ref>

===Late Middle Ages===
[[File:13001350ALBANIANMIGRATIONS.png|thumb|right|Albanian migrations in 1300-1350 AD]]
The territory of modern ''[[Albania]] was part of the [[Bulgarian Empire]]'' during certain periods in the [[Middle Ages]], and parts of what is now eastern Albania were populated and ruled by the [[Bulgarians]] for centuries. The Serbs occupied parts of northern and eastern Albania toward the end of the 12th century. In 1204, after Western crusaders sacked [[Constantinople]], [[Venice]] won nominal control over Albania and the [[Epirus (region)|Epirus]] region of northern Greece and took possession of [[Durrës]]. During the [[Serbian Empire|Serbian Occupation]] the first [[Albanians|Albanian]] state of the Middle Ages was created. The proclamation of the [[Principality of Arbër]] of Arberia, in the northern Albania, with Kruja as the capital took place on 1190. The founder of this state was Progoni and was succeeded by Gjini and then by Dhimiter. After the fall of the [[Principality of Arber]] in territories captured by the [[Despotate of Epiros]], the [[Kingdom of Albania]] was established by [[Charles I of Naples|Charles of Anjou]]. He took the title of King of [[Albania]] in February, 1272. In the mid 14th century, Albania was entirely independent save for the Durres which was part of the [[Serbian Empire]].

In ''History'' written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian [[Michael Attaliates]] referred to the ''Albanoi'' as having taken part in a revolt against [[Constantinople]] in 1043 and to the ''Arbanitai'' as subjects of the duke of [[Durrës|Dyrrachium]]. It is disputed, however, whether that refers to Albanians in an ethnic sense.<ref>Pritsak, Omeljan (1991). "Albanians". Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. 1. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 52-53.</ref>

==Ottoman rule==
{{Main|Ottoman Albania}}
[[Image:Balkans-ethnic (1877).jpg|thumb|right|Ethnic composition map of the Balkans by A. Synvet of 1877, a French professor of the Ottoman Lyceum of Constantinople.]]
[[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] supremacy in the [[Balkan]] region began in 1385 with the [[Battle of Savra]] but was briefly interrupted in the 15th century, when [[Skanderbeg|Gjergj Kastrioti]], an Albanian warrior known as [[Skanderbeg]], allied with some Albanian chiefs and fought-off Turkish rule from 1443-1478 (although '''Kastrioti''' died in 1468). Kastrioti's strongholds included [[Kruja]], [[Petrela]] and [[Berat]].
Upon the [[Ottomans]]' return, a large number of [[Albanians]] fled to Italy, Greece and [[Egypt]] and maintained their [[Arbëresh]] identity. Many Albanians won fame and fortune as soldiers, administrators, and merchants in far-flung parts of the Empire. As the centuries passed, however, [[Ottoman Dynasty|Ottoman]] rulers lost the capacity to command the loyalty of local [[pasha]]s, which threatened stability in the region. The [[Ottoman Dynasty|Ottoman]] rulers of the nineteenth century struggled to shore up central authority, introducing reforms aimed at harnessing unruly pashas and checking the spread of nationalist ideas. [[Albania]] would be a part of the [[Ottoman Empire]] until the early 20th century.
The Ottoman Empire did permit the Albanian population to teach the Albanian language in its schools as well as any minority living in the Ottoman Empire. {{Citation needed|date=June 2009}}

===Birth of nationalism===
{{Main|National awakening and the birth of Albania}}
{{See|Albanian nationalism}}
By the 1870s, the [[Sublime Porte]]'s reforms aimed at checking the Ottoman Empire's disintegration had clearly failed. The image of the "Turkish yoke" had become fixed in the nationalist mythologies and psyches of the empire's Balkan peoples, and their march toward independence quickened. The [[Albanians]], because of the higher degree of Islamic influence, their internal social divisions, and the fear that they would lose their Albanian-populated lands to the emerging Balkan states--[[Serbia]], [[Montenegro]], [[Bulgaria]], and [[Greece]] were the last of the Balkan peoples to desire division from the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Birth of Albania">{{cite web | author= Raymond Zickel and Walter R. Iwaskiw, editors. date= 1994 | title= "NATIONAL AWAKENING AND THE BIRTH OF ALBANIA, mut.us/albania/index.htm] | accessdate=9 April 2008 }}</ref>

Albanian leaders formed the [[League of Prizren]] in 1878 with the backing of sultan Abdulhamid II, through which they pressed for territorial autonomy and defending their lands from the onslaught of their neighbours. After decades of unrest a major uprising exploded in the Albanian-populated Ottoman territories in 1912, on the eve of the [[First Balkan War]]. When Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece laid claim to Albanian lands during the war, the Albanians declared independence.<ref name = "Birth of Albania" />

The European [[Great Powers]] endorsed an independent Albania in 1913, after the [[Second Balkan War]] leaving outside the Albanian border more than half of the Albanian population and their lands, that were partitioned between Montenegro,Serbia and Greece. They were assisted by [[Aubrey Herbert]], a British [[Member of Parliament|MP]] who passionately advocated their cause in London. As a result, Herbert was offered the crown of Albania, but was dissuaded by the British prime minister, [[H. H. Asquith]], from accepting. Instead the offer went to [[William of Wied]], a German prince who accepted and became sovereign of the new [[Principality of Albania]].

The young state, however, collapsed within weeks of the outbreak of [[World War I]].<ref name = "Birth of Albania" /> Before this, Albanians rebelled against the German prince and declared the independence of their country from the jurisdiction of the great powers and established throughout the country a Muslim regime under the leadership of a local warrior, Haji Qamil. The same time in the country's south local Greeks, formed the [[Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus]]. This situation did not last for a long time as [[World War I]] erupted and Albania was invaded by Montenegro, Serbia, Austria-Hungary, Greece, Italy, and France. After [[World War I]], Albania was still under the occupation of Serbian and Italian forces. It was a rebellion of the respective populations of Northern and Southern Albania that pushed back the Serbs and Italians behind the recognized borders of Albania.

==20th century==
===World War I and its effects===
{{Main|History of Albania (1919–1939)}}

[[Albania]] achieved a degree of statehood after [[World War I]], in part because of the diplomatic intercession of the United States. The country suffered from a debilitating lack of economic and social development, however, and its first years of independence were fraught with political instability. Unable to survive a predatory environment without a foreign protector, Albania became the object of tensions between [[Italy]] and the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]] (the later [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]), which both sought to dominate the country.<ref name="Interwar Albania">{{cite web | author= Raymond Zickel and Walter R. Iwaskiw, editors. date= 1994 | title= "Interwar Albania," Albania: A Country Study | url=http://countrystudies.us/albania/24.htm | work=[http://countrystudies.us/albania/index.htm] | accessdate=9 April 2008 }}</ref>

With [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] military assistance, [[Zog of Albania|Ahmed Bey Zogu]], the son of a [[clan]] Chieftain, emerged victorious from an internal political power struggle in late 1924. Zogu, however, quickly turned his back on [[Belgrade]] and looked instead to [[Benito Mussolini]]'s modernist Italy for patronage.<ref name = "Interwar Albania" /> Under him, Albania joined the Italian coalition against Yugoslavia of [[Italy|Kingdom of Italy]], Hungary, and [[Bulgaria]] in 1924-1927. After the United Kingdom's and France's political intervention in 1927 with the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]], the alliance crumbled. In 1928 the country's parliament declared [[Albania]] a kingdom and Zogu King.<ref name = "Interwar Albania" /> King Zog remained a conservative, but initiated reforms, for example, in an attempt at social modernisation the custom of adding one's region to one's name was dropped. Zog also made donations of land to international organisations for the building of schools and hospitals [http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,723720,00.html]. Mussolini's forces overthrew King Zog when [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italy invaded Albania]] in 1939.<ref name = "Interwar Albania" />

===World War II and the rise of communism===
{{See also|Albania under Italy|Albania under Nazi Germany|Military history of Albania during World War II}}

The National Liberation War of the Albanian people started with the Italian invasion in Albanian in April 7, 1939 and ended in November 28 1944. During the antifascist national liberation war, the Albanian people fought against Italy and Germany, which occupied the country. In the 1939-1941 period, the antifascist resistance was led by the National Front nationalist groups and later by the Communist Party. The Albanian communists supported the [[Ribbentrop-Molotov pact]], and did not participate in the antifascist struggle until Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. The communists turned the so-called war of liberation into a civil war, especially after the discovery of the Dalmazzo-Kelcyra protocol, signed by the [[Balli Kombetar]]. The communist forces liberated Albania from the German forces by pursuing the German army till [[Višegrad]], [[Bosnia]] (then [[Yugoslavia]]) in collaboration with the Yugoslav communist forces.

After having taken over power of the country, the Albanian communists launched a tremendous terror campaign, shooting intellectuals and arresting thousands of innocent people. Some died due to suffering torture.

===Communist rule===
{{Main|Socialist People's Republic of Albania}}
[[Enver Hoxha]] and [[Mehmet Shehu]] emerged as communist leaders in Albania. They began to concentrate primarily on securing and maintaining their power base by killing all their political adversaries, and secondarily on preserving Albania's independence and reshaping the country according to the precepts of [[Stalinism]] so they could remain in power forever. Throughout all rule, Hoxha engineered an elaborate cult of personality that elevated him to the status of a blood-thirsty idol. When he died in 1985, grandiose and ridiculous mourning ceremonies were organized, where people were trained to cry.<ref>"Communist Albania">{{cite web | author= Raymond Zickel and Walter R. Iwaskiw, editors. date= 1994 | title= "Communist Albania," Albania: A Country Study | url=http://countrystudies.us/albania/34.htm | work=[http://countrystudies.us/albania/index.htm] | accessdate=9 April 2008 }}</ref>

Soon after Hoxha's death, voices for change emerged in the Albanian society and the government began to seek closer ties with the West in order to improve economic conditions, and initial democratic reforms were introduced including multi-party elections in 1991. Pursuant to a 1991 interim basic law, Albanians ratified a constitution in 1998, establishing a democratic system of government based upon the rule of law and guaranteeing the protection of fundamental human rights. But the question was other. The power fell on hands of communists, with the force of weapons, that blockaded all reforms and gave pretext to rise the corruption. Private property were recognized and returned to their owner. The political prisoners were not compensated for their years of condemnation. The Europeans didn't intervene to oblige the last governments to apply the reforms on that sense.

===1990s===
{{Main|History of post-Communist Albania}}
Since 1992 Albania has been seeking a closer relationship with [[Western World|the West]]. In 1992 the [[Democratic Party of Albania]] took control of the country through democratic elections. What followed were deliberate programs of economic and democratic reform, but Albanian inexperience with [[capitalism]] led to the proliferation of [[pyramid scheme]]s - which were not banned due to the [[political corruption|corruption]] of the government. [[Anomie|Anarchy]] in late 1996 to early 1997, as a result of the collapse of these pyramid schemes, alarmed the world and prompted international mediation.

In 1995, Albania was accepted into the [[Council of Europe]] and requested membership in [[NATO]]. The workforce of Albania has continued to [[Immigration to Europe|emigrate]] to [[Western countries]], especially Greece and Italy.

In the [[1997 unrest in Albania]] the general elections of June 1997 brought the Socialists and their allies to power. [[President Berisha]] resigned from his post, and Socialists elected [[Rexhep Meidani]] as [[president of Albania]]. [[Albanian Socialist Party]] Chairman [[Fatos Nano]] was elected Prime Minister, a post which he held until October 1998, when he resigned as a result of the tense situation created in the country after the assassination of [[Azem Hajdari]], a prominent leader of the Democratic Party. [[Pandeli Majko]] was then elected Prime Minister, and he served in this post until November 1999, when he was replaced by [[Ilir Meta]]. Albania approved its constitution through a popular referendum which was held in November 1998, but which was boycotted by the opposition. The general local elections of October 2000 marked the loss of control of the Democrats over the local governments and a victory for the Socialists.

==Recent history (2001 to present)==
{{See|Politics of Albania|Albanian diaspora|Timeline of Albanian history from 1994}}
Although Albania has made strides toward democratic reform and maintaining the [[rule of law]], serious deficiencies in the electoral code remain to be addressed, as demonstrated in the June 2001 parliamentary elections.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}

International observers judged the 2001 elections to be acceptable, but the [[Union for Victory Coalition]], the second-largest vote recipient, disputed the results and boycotted parliament until January 31, 2002. The Socialists re-elected Ilir Meta as Prime Minister in August 2001, a post which he held till February 2002, when he resigned due to party infighting. Pandeli Majko was re-elected Prime Minister in February 2002. In the June of 2005, the democratic coalition formed a government with prime minuster Sali Berisha. After the president Alfred Moisiu, was elected Bamir Topi, 2006 until 2010.

Despite the [[Politics of Albania|political situation]], the [[economy of Albania]] grew at an [[List of countries by GDP (real) growth rate|estimated]] 5% in 2007. The [[Albanian lek]] has strengthened from 143 lekë to the [[US dollar]] in 2000 to 92 lekë in 2007. In 2008 Albania officially joined the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]].


==See also==
==See also==
*[[Albania in the Middle Ages]]
*[[Pashalik of Shkodra]]
*[[Timeline of Albanian history to 1993]]
*[[Pashalik of Berat]]
*[[Ottoman Albania|Albania under the Ottoman Empire]]
*[[Timeline of Albanian history from 1994]]
*[[Ottoman Greece|Greece under the Ottoman Empire]]
*[[International rankings of Albania]]
*[[Albanian Pashaliks]]
*[[Historiography and nationalism]]
*[[History of the Balkans]]
*[[History of Europe]]
*[[History of present-day nations and states]]


== Notes and references ==
==References==
*{{citation |last= Sakellariou|first= M. V. |title=Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization|publisher=Ekdotike Athenon |year=1997 | pages = 480 |isbn=9789602133712|url=http://books.google.com/books?hl=el&id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ&dq=epirus+4000&q=Erseka&pgis=1#search_anchor |quotation=p. 380}}
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
*Bushkoff, Leonard. "Albania, history of", ''Collier's Encyclopedia''. vol. 1. NY: P.F. Collier, L.P., 1996.
*Oxford Encyclopedic World Atlas 5th Edition, Ed. Keith Lyle, Copyright 2000, Printed in Spain
*Rodgers, Mary M. (ed.). ''Albania...in Pictures''. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Company, 1995.
*[http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3235.htm 2003 U.S. Department of State Background Note] of Albania
*Afrim Krasniqi: The End of Albania's Siberia. Tirana 1998.
*Afrim Krasniqi: Civil Society in Albania. Tirana 2004.
*Afrim Krasniqi: Political Parties in Albania 1920-2006.Tirana 2006.
*Antonello Biagini, ''Storia dell'Albania contemporanea'', Bompiani, 2005

==External links==
* [http://www.albanian.com/main/history/index.html History of Albania]

;Further reading
*[http://www.scribd.com/doc/11444724/Books-about-Albania-and-the-Albanian-people Books about Albania and the Albanian people] ''(scribd.com)'' Reference of books (and some journal articles) about Albania and the Albanian people; their history, language, origin, culture, literature, etc. Public domain books, fully accessible online.

{{History of Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Albania}}
[[Category:History of Albania| ]]

{{Link FA|hu}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Pashalik Of Yanina}}
[[bn:আলবেনিয়ার ইতিহাস]]
[[Category:1822 disestablishments]]
[[bg:История на Албания]]
[[Category:18th century in Greece]]
[[cs:Dějiny Albánie]]
[[Category:19th century in Greece]]
[[cy:Hanes Albania]]
[[Category:Epirus]]
[[da:Albaniens historie]]
[[Category:History of Albania]]
[[de:Geschichte Albaniens]]
[[Category:History of modern Greece]]
[[et:Albaania ajalugu]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1787]]
[[es:Historia de Albania]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1430]]
[[eo:Historio de Albanio]]
[[fr:Histoire de l'Albanie]]
[[hr:Povijest Albanije]]
[[it:Storia dell'Albania]]
[[lt:Albanijos istorija]]
[[hu:Albánia történelme]]
[[mk:Историја на Албанија]]
[[ms:Sejarah Albania]]
[[nl:Geschiedenis van Albanië]]
[[ja:アルバニアの歴史]]
[[no:Albanias historie]]
[[pl:Historia Albanii]]
[[pt:História da Albânia]]
[[ru:История Албании]]
[[sq:Historia e Shqipërisë]]
[[sl:Zgodovina Albanije]]
[[sh:Istorija Albanije]]
[[fi:Albanian historia]]
[[sv:Albaniens historia]]
[[th:ประวัติศาสตร์แอลเบเนีย]]
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[[uk:Історія Албанії]]
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Revision as of 21:33, 24 February 2010

Pashalik of Yanina
1430–1868
StatusPashalik of the Ottoman Empire
CapitalIoannina
Common languagesAlbanian, Aromanian, Greek, Ottoman Turkish, Yevanic
Religion
Sunni Islam, Sufi Islam, Bektashi, Eastern Orthodoxy
GovernmentPashalik
Pasha 
• 1787–1822
Ali Pasha
Historical eraEarly modern
• Established
1430
• Disestablished
1868
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire

The Pashalik of Yanina or Janina (1430–1868) was an subdivision in the Ottoman Empire, created in 1430. It reached its zenith in the early 19th century under Ali Pasha, when it became a semi-independent entity encompassing large areas of modern Greece and Albania. During Ali's reign it was considered as an Albanian Pashalik.[1] It was also known as Yanya Eyaleti ("Eyalet of Ioannina") between 1670–1787.

1430-1787

Ali Pasha's rule

In 1787 Ali Pasha was awarded the pashaluk of Trikala in reward for his support for the sultan's war against Austria. This was not enough to satisfy his ambitions; shortly afterwards, in 1788, he seized control of Ioánnina, which remained his power base for the next 33 years.[2] Like other semi-autonomous regional leaders that emerged in that time, such as Osman Pazvantoğlu, he took advantage of a weak Ottoman government to expand his territory still further until he gained de facto control of most of Southern Albania, western Greece and the Peloponnese, either directly or through his sons.

Ali's policy as ruler of Ioánnina was governed by little more than simple expediency; he operated as a semi-independent despot and allied himself with whoever offered the most advantage at the time. In order to gain a seaport on the Ionian coast Ali formed an alliance with Napoleon I of France who had established Francois Pouqueville as his general consul in Ioánnina. After the Treaty of Tilsitt where Napoleon granted the Czar his plan to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, Ali switched sides and allied with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1807. His machinations were permitted by the Ottoman government in Istanbul for a mixture of expediency - it was deemed better to have Ali as a semi-ally than as an enemy - and weakness, as the central government did not have enough strength to oust him at that time.

The poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron visited Ali's court in Ioánnina in 1809 and recorded the encounter in his work Childe Harold. He evidently had mixed feelings about the despot, noting the splendour of Ali's court and the Greek cultural revival that he had encouraged in Ioánnina, which Byron described as being "superior in wealth, refinement and learning" to any other Greek town. In a letter to his mother, however, Byron deplored Ali's cruelty: "His Highness is a remorseless tyrant, guilty of the most horrible cruelties, very brave, so good a general that they call him the Mahometan Buonaparte ... but as barbarous as he is successful, roasting rebels, etc, etc.."

Downfall

Ali Pasha's grave.

In 1820, Ali ordered the assassination of a political opponent in Constantinople. The reformist Sultan Mahmud II, who sought to restore the authority of the Sublime Porte, took this opportunity to move against Ali by ordering his deposition. Ali refused to resign his official posts and put up a formidable resistance to Ottoman troop movements, indirectly helping the Greek Independence as some 20,000 Turkish troops were fighting Ali's formidable army. In January 1822, however, Ottoman agents assassinated Ali Pasha and sent his head to the Sultan. After his death, the pashalik ceased to exist and was merged with Pashalik of Berat for creating again Yanya Eyaleti (Ioannina Province) with sanjaks of Ioannina, Berat, Gjirokastër and Preveza.

Pasha

See also

Notes and references

  • Sakellariou, M. V. (1997), Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization, Ekdotike Athenon, p. 480, ISBN 9789602133712, p. 380
  1. ^ The Albanians: a modern history By Miranda Vickers page 18-19 I.B.Taurus 2006 ISBN:1860645419 ([1])
  2. ^ "Albania past and present" By Constantine Anastasi Chekrezi, The MacMillan Company New York 1919 p43
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