Albania–Bulgaria relations

Albania-Bulgaria relations

Albania	Bulgaria

Albania–Bulgaria relations refer to the foreign relations between Albania and Bulgaria. Diplomatic relations between Albania and Bulgaria were established in 1922. The Albanian Embassy in Bulgaria is in Sofia. The Bulgarian Embassy in Albania is in Tirana. Both countries are full members of the Union for the Mediterranean and NATO. As an EU Member-State, Bulgaria supports Albania in its euro-integration path.

History

Main article: Albania under the Bulgarian Empire

The territory of modern Albania was part of the Bulgarian Empire during certain periods in the Middle Ages. Most of Albania became part of the First Empire in the early 840s during the reign of Khan Presian, but some coastal towns, such as Durrës, remained in the hands of the Byzantines for most of that period. The castles of the mountainous inner country remained one of the last Bulgarian strongholds to be conquered by the Byzantines in 1018-1019 during the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire. During the Byzantine rule Albania was one of the centers of a major Bulgarian uprising. The last Bulgarian Emperor to govern the whole territory was Ivan Asen II (1218–1241). After his successors the Bulgarian rule diminished. Much of that area corresponded with the Bulgarian historical region Kutmichevitsa. The decline of Bulgaria continued and the country lost its last fortresses in Albania under Constantine Tikh Asen (1257–1277).

Albanians in Bulgaria

Main article: Albanians in Bulgaria

Ethnic map of the Balkans from 1861, by G. Lejean. The map also represents the Albanian village "Arnaut-Köy" from the South of present-day Bulgaria

Albanians (Bulgarian: албанци, albantsi) are a minority ethnic group in Bulgaria (Albanian: Bullgaria). Although their current population is low (in the 2001 census they only numbered 278), their numbers have been much larger in the past. Between the 15th and 17th century, groups of Albanians (both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) settled in many parts of modern northern Bulgaria, along with a smaller group settling in southern Thrace.

See also

• Accession of Albania to the European Union
• Foreign relations of Albania
• Foreign relations of Bulgaria