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 the other idioms of the peninsula. In the absence of literary culture the Albanian dialects, as might be expected, are widely divergent; the limits of the two principal dialects correspond with the racial boundaries of the Ghegs and Tosks, who understand each other with difficulty; the Albanians in Greece and Italy have also separate dialects. In writing Albanian the Latin character is employed by the Ghegs, the Greek by the Tosks; neither alphabet suffices to represent the manifold sounds of the language, and various supplementary letters or distinguishing signs are necessary. In the use of these no uniform system has yet been adopted. An alphabet of fifty-two letters, some presenting ancient Phoenician and Cretan forms, was found by Hahn in partial use at Elbassan and Tirana; its antiquity, however, has not been established. The Tosks generally use the Greek language for written communications. The native folklore and poetry of the Albanians can hardly compare with that of the neighbouring nations in originality and beauty. The earliest printed works in Albanian are those of the Catholic missionaries; the first book containing specimens of the language was the Dictionarium Latino-Epiroticum of Bianchi, printed in 1635. The literature of the last two centuries consists mainly of translations and religious works written by ecclesiastics, some of whom were natives of the Albanian colonies in Italy. The most noteworthy Albanian writer was Girolamo di Rada (b. 1815), a poet, philologist and collector of national folklore. Among his successors may be mentioned Vincenzo Dorsa and Demetrio Camarda.

Antiquities.—Albania abounds in ancient remains, which as yet have been little explored. Fragments of “Cyclopean” structures were discovered by Hahn at Kretzunista, Arinista, and other sites in the district of Argyrokastro; the walls, partly “Cyclopean,” of an ancient city (perhaps Bullis) are visible at Gradisti on the Viossa. Masonry of this type, however, occurring in Illyria and Dalmatia (e.g. at Spalato and on the island of Lesina) has been shown by modern archaeologists to belong to the Roman period. In general, the remains of the classical epoch attest the influence of Roman rather than of Greek civilization. At Pollina, the ancient Apollonia, are the remnants of a Doric temple, of which a single column is still standing. A little north of Preveza are the considerable ruins of Nikopolis, founded by Octavian to commemorate the victory of Actium. At Khimara (anc. Chimaera) the remains of an old Greek city may still be seen; at Santi Quaranta (anc. Onchesmos) the walls and towers of a later town are in good preservation. Few traces remain of the once celebrated Dyrrhachium. The ruins of Pandosia, Ephyra, Elatea, Phoeniké, Buthrotum, Akrolissos and other towns may be identified. The most important and interesting remains, however, are those of (q.v.) Of the medieval ruins those of Kroïa, the stronghold of Scanderbeg, are the most interesting.

Medieval History.—After the division of the Roman empire, the lands inhabited by the Albanian race became provinces of the Byzantine empire; northern Albania from Scutari to Berat formed the thema or province of Dyrrachium (Durazzo, Albanian Dourtz), southern Albania and Epirus the thema of Nikopolis. The country was overrun by the Goths in the 4th and 5th centuries, but reconquered by Justinian in 535. In 640 northern Albania was invaded by the Serbo-Croats; it continued with interruptions under Servian rule till 1360. In 861 the Bulgarians conquered the southern portion of the country and Epirus as far as Khimara; under their powerful tsar Simeon (893–927), who defeated the Servians, they established their rule on the Adriatic littoral, except at Durazzo, which remained Byzantine, and colonized these regions in great numbers. A new Bulgarian dynasty, that of Shishman, was founded at Ochrida after the death of Simeon. Shishman’s son Samuel (976–1014) captured Durazzo; he extended his sway over a great part of the Balkan Peninsula, but was eventually defeated in 1014 by the emperor Basil II., who put out the eyes of 15,000 Bulgarian prisoners. Southern Albania and Epirus fell once more under Byzantine rule, which, however, was shaken by numerous revolts. In 1081 the Normans under Robert Guiscard possessed

themselves of Durazzo; Guiscard’s son Bohemund defeated the Greeks in several battles and again (1107) laid siege to Durazzo, which had been surrendered to them by treachery; failing to take the city, he retired to Italy in 1109. Southern Albania and Epirus remained under Byzantine domination till 1204, when, after the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders, Michael Comnenus, a member of the imperial family, withdrew to Epirus and founded an independent sovereignty known as the Despotate of Epirus at Iannina; his realm included the whole of southern Albania, Acarnania and Aetolia. The despotate of Epirus was held by the Comnenus family till 1318, and by princes of the house of Orsini till 1358. Meanwhile Durazzo, with Berat and Central Albania, had passed into the hands of the Sicilian kings of the house of Anjou, who ruled these regions, which they styled the “Kingdom of Albania,” from 1271 to 1368, maintaining a constant warfare with the Byzantine emperors. The Servians again installed themselves in Upper Albania about 1180, and the provinces of Scutari and Prizren were ruled by kings of the house of Nemanya till 1360; Stefan Dushan (1331–1358), the greatest of these monarchs, included all Albania in his extensive but short-lived empire, and took the title of Imperator Romaniae Slavoniae et Albaniae (emperor of the Greeks, Slavs and Albanians).

Period of Native Rule.—After the death of Dushan and the break-up of the Servian empire, a new epoch began when Albania fell under the rule of chieftains more or less of native origin. A portion of Upper Albania was ruled by the Balsha dynasty (1366–1421), which, though apparently Servian by descent, assimilated itself with its Albanian subjects and embraced the faith of Rome. Alessio and a tract of the interior in the direction of Ipek was governed by the Dukajin. The northern portion of the “kingdom of Albania,” including Durazzo and Kroïa, was ruled by the family of Thopia (1359–1392) and afterwards by that of Kastriota, to which Scanderbeg belonged; the southern portion with Berat, by the Musaki (1368–1476). In the middle of the 14th century a great migration of Albanians from the mountainous districts of the north took place, under the chiefs Jin Bua Spata and Peter Liosha; they advanced southwards as far as Acarnania and Aetolia (1358), occupied the greater portion of the despotate of Epirus, and took Iannina and Arta. In the latter half of the century large colonies of Tosks were planted in the Morea by the despots of Mistra, and in Attica and Boeotia by Duke Nerio of Athens. As the power of the Balshas declined, the Venetians towards the close of the 14th century established themselves at Scutari, Budua, Antivari and elsewhere in northern Albania.

Period of Turkish Rule.—The advance of the Turks into Albania began with the capture of Iannina in 1431. For once in the history of the country the Albanian chiefs combined against the invader under a single leader, the celebrated George Kastriota (see ), who fought thirteen campaigns in the period 1444–1466. In 1478 Kroïa, which the Venetians had occupied after Scanderbeg’s death, surrendered to Mahommed II., and in 1479 Scutari, after a memorable defence by the Venetians and their Montenegrin allies, was reduced by blockade. Many of its native Christian defenders emigrated to Dalmatia and Italy; others took refuge in the mountains with the Roman Catholic Ghegs. In 1502 the Turks captured Durazzo, and in 1571 Antivari and Dulcigno, the last Venetian possessions in Albania. Notwithstanding the abandonment of Christianity by a large section of the population after the Turkish conquest, the authority of the sultans was never effectively established, and succeeding centuries present a record of interminable conflicts between the tribesmen and the Turks, between the Christians and the converts to Islam, or between all combined and the traditional Montenegrin enemy. The decline of the Ottoman power, which began towards the end of the 17th century, was marked by increasing anarchy and lawlessness in the outlying portions of the empire. About 1760 a Moslem chieftain, Mehemet of Bushat, after obtaining the pashalik of Scutari from the Porte, succeeded in establishing an almost independent sovereignty in Upper Albania, which remained hereditary in his family for some generations. In southern