Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume I.djvu/268

 244 ALBANIA ALBANIA (called by the natives ShTciperia, and by the Turks Amautlik), a province of Euro- pean Turkey, between iat. 39 and 43 N. and Ion. 19 and 21 30' E., extending for about 290 miles along the Adriatic and Ionian seas, and having a breadth in the centre and parts of the north of upward of 100 miles, and in the south, near the gulf of Arta, of not more than 40 miles. It is bounded on the N. by Mon- tenegro and Bosnia, on the E. by Turkish Servia, Macedonia, and Thessaly, and on the S. by the modern kingdom of Greece. Pop. estimated at 2,000,000. Albania em- braces ancient Epirus, Illyris Grroca, and the adjoining parts of ancient Dalmatia. The ridge of mountains anciently chiefly known as the Scardus and the Pindus forms its ill-defined northern and eastern boundary. The general character of the country is rugged and moun- tainous. Nine ranges of hills intersect it from N. E. to S. W., with elevations of from 4,000 Albanian Costume. to 8,000 feet above the sea, and covered with snow three fourths of the year. The rivers are inconsiderable, and many of them during the summer are quite or nearly dry ; the most im- portant are the Drin and the Voyutza. There are several lakes, among them those of Scu- tari, Ochrida, and Janina. In the mountains and forests there are bears, wolves, wild hogs, and deer; sheep, goats, and cows are tended in the valleys ; and there is an excel- lent breed of horses. Eagles and various kinds of birds are plentiful, and hawking is the fa- vorite amusement of the wealthy classes. The varied vegetation exhibits many forms similar to those of the Swiss Alps and the mountains of Scotland. The exports of Albania consist of oil, wool, maize, tobacco, horses, sheep, goats, timber, and some embroidered velvets and cloths. Merchandise is carried inland by means of pack horses, four or five of which are attached together by cords and guided by one man. The vigorous administration of Ali Pasha, by building roads and suppressing gangs of robbers, added much to the facility of inter- nal traffic. Lower or southern Albania con- stitutes the eyalet of Janina, and upper Alba- nia comprises the greater part of the divisions of Prisrend, Monastir, and Scutari. Among the most remarkable tribes is that of the Mirdites in the north, whose territory has never been in- vaded by the Turks, and who acknowledge no subjection to the Porte, except in supplying a contingent to the army in case of war. The Albanians are muscular, active, and erect. The women are tall and strong, with an air indi- cating ill treatment and laborious work. The dress of the people is fantastic and complicated. The wealthy Albanian wears over a close-fit- ting vest, buttoned to the throat, an open jack- et, with open sleeves, richly embroidered. A frilled skirt falls to his knees from a broad gir- dle, in which are stuck his silver-mounted pis- tols, on the ornamentation of which he spends extravagant sums, and his yataghan. Cloth leggings, likewise embroidered, cover the legs, and he wears the fez. A peculiar garment, as- sumed when travelling, is the capote, a cloak of wool or horse-hair. The Albanians are a na- tion of warriors, early trained to discipline, and constituting the best soldiers in the Turkish army. Their national name is Shkipetars ; the Turks call them Arnauts. Wallachsand Greeks live scattered among them. A rude kind of Mohammedanism has gradually supplanted the Christianity of the country. Though Albania has several times changed its name, its masters, and its boundaries, a people cherishing un- changed their nationality, language, and man- ners have from the earliest records of history occupied its mountains. First, the fierce tribes of Epirus and the still more savage Illyrians had possession of the country, and withstood alike the efforts of the Greeks and of the Komans to civilize them. On the conquest of Constan- tinople by the Latins in 1204, one of the im- perial family of Comnenus succeeded in estab- lishing a dynasty in this district, and the despots of Albania continued for two centu- ries only second in power to the emperors of Constantinople. Mohammed II., having con- quered Constantinople, marched against the Albanians, only to experience a succession of defeats. The heroism of George Castriota, commonly known in history as Scanderbeg or Iskander, their last independent prince, re- sisted for more than 20 years the whole force of the Ottoman empire, and it was not till his death in 1467 that Albania was annexed to the Turkish dominions. Albania was di- vided into several distinct pashalics till the close of last century, when Ali Pasha, having married the daughter of the principal chief, succeeded in establishing himself as an inde- pendent sovereign over all its territory, and a wide extent beyond. After his overthrow, and during the insurrection of the Greeks, the