Albania:''Albania was also the name of an ancient country in the Eastern Caucasus, now mostly covered by Azerbaijan. – see Caucasian Albania.'' '''Albania''' is a Mediterranean country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro in the north, Kosovo in the north-east ? both still formally part of Serbia-Montenegro, the Republic of Macedonia in the east, and Greece in the south, has a coast on the Adriatic Sea in the west, and a coast on the Ionian Sea in the southwest. The country is an emerging democracy and is formally named the '''Republic of Albania''' (Albanian language|Albanian: ''Republika e Shqipërisë''). {| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaaaaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%; width: 300px;" |+<big><big>'''Republika e Shqipërisë'''</big></big> |- | style="background: #efefef;" align="center" colspan="2" | {| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" |- | align="center" width="140" | Image:Albania_flag_large.png|125px|Flag of Albania | align="center" width="140" | Image:Albania state emblem.png|55px|Emblem of Albania |- | align="center" width="140" | (Flag of Albania|In detail) | align="center" width="140" | (Emblem of Albania|In detail) |} |- | align="center" colspan="2" | ''National motto (not verified): Feja e Shqiptareve është Shqiptaria'' (The religion of the Albanians is Albanian national consciousness) |- | align="center" colspan="2" | image:LocationAlbania.png |- | '''Official language''' || Albanian language|Albanian ("Shqip" or "gjuha shqipe" in Albanian) |- | '''Capital'''  - Population:  - Coordinates: | Tirana (Tiranë) 353,400 (2003) {{coor dm|41|20|N|19|48|E|}} |- | '''List of Presidents of Albania|Head of State''' | Alfred Moisiu|Alfred Moisiu, ''President'' |- | '''List of Prime Ministers of Albania|Head of Government''' | Fatos Nano, ''Prime Minister'' |- | '''Area'''  - Total:  - % water: | List of countries by area|Ranked 139th 1 E10 m²|28,748 km² 4.7% |- | '''Land borders''' '''Coastline''' | 720 km 362 km |- | '''Population'''  - Total:  - Density: | List of countries by population|Ranked 126th 3,582,205 (2003) 125/km² |- | '''Gross domestic product|GDP'''  - Total (List of countries by GDP|2003)  - GDP/capita  - GDP/capita | List of countries by GDP (PPP)| 112th, List of countries by GDP| 106th, List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|130th, List of countries by GDP (Nominal) per capita|93rd US$15.7 Billion (List of countries by GDP|PPP) $4,400 (List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita|PPP) $2,230 (List of countries by GDP (Nominal) per capita|Nominal) |- | '''Independence'''   | From the Ottoman Empire November 28, 1912 |- | '''National Day''' || 28 November |- valign="top" | '''Religions''' || Muslim 70% Greek Orthodox 20% Roman Catholic 10% |- | '''Currency''' || Lek (currency)|Lek (Lk) = 100 qindarka ("cents") |- | '''Time zone''' || UTC+2:00 |- valign="top" | '''National anthem''' || ''Hymni i Flamurit|Hymni i Flamurit (/Rreth Flamurit të përbashkuar)'' Albanian language|Albanian: ''Hymni i Flamurit|Hymn to the Flag (/United around the Flag)'' |- | '''Top-level domain|Internet TLD''' || .al |- | '''List of country calling codes|Calling Code''' | 355 |} == Origin and history of the name == {{Main|Origin and history of the name Albania}} ''Albania'' probably derives from the same Indo-European source as the name of the Alps, which also appears in the Scottish "Albainn", for "highlands". Alternatively, "Albania" may derive from the ancient Proto-Indo-European|Indo-European root ''*albho'', meaning "white", which also gave the name Albion, the ancient name of England. The first known occurance of the word ''Albanoi'' as the name of an Illyrian tribe in what is now north-central Albania goes back to 130 AD, in a work of Ptolemy. ''Albanopolis of the Albani'' is a place located on the map of Ptolemy and also named on an ancient family epitaph at Scupi (near Skopje) , which has been identified with the Zgërdhesh hill-fort near Kruja in northern Albania. Arbanon is likely to be the name of a district - the plain of the Mat has been suggested - rather than a particular place. An indication of movement from higher altitudes in a much earlier period has been detected in the distribution of place-names ending in ''-esh'' that appears to derive from the latin ''-enisis'' or ''-esis'', between the Shkumbin and the Mat rivers, with a concentration between Elbasan and Kruja. The term "Albanoi" may have been slowly spread to other Illyrian tribes until its usage became universal among all the Albanian people. According to the Albanian scholar Faïk bey Konitza, the term "Albania" did not displace "Illyria" completely until the end of the fourteenth century. The word "Alba" or "Arba" seems to be connected with the town Arba (modern Rab, Croatia), in prehistoric times inhabited by the semi-Illyrian Liburnians, first mentioned in 360 BC. Approximately a millennium later, some Byzantine writers used the words "Albanon" and "Arbanon" to indicate the region of Kruja. Under the Angevine rulers, in the 13th century, the names "Albania" and "Albanenses" indicated the whole country and all the population, as is demonstrated by the works of many ancient Albanian writers such as Budi, Blanco and Bogdano. We first learn of Albanians in their native land as the Arbanites of Arbanon in Anna Comnenas' account (Alexiad 4) of the troubles in that region caused by the Normans during the reign of her father Alexius I Comneus (1081-1118). In the ''History'' written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was first to refer to the Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of Dyrrachium. The Italo-Albanians and the Albanian minorities still present in Greece have been known by different names over time: Arbënuer, Arbënor, Arbëneshë, Arbreshë, [http://foreignaffairs.tripod.com/armillotta/albania01_frosina.html Arbëreshë]. There seems to be no doubt that the root ''alb-'' or ''arb-'' is earlier than ''shqip-'', from which the modern name of the state (Shqipëria) derives, a name which appears only in the time of the Turkish invasions. The Albanian name of the country, Shqipëria, translates into English as "Land of the Eagles", hence the two-headed bird on the national flag and emblem, and because of the large presence of these animals in the mountainous zones of Albania. Albanian names, like all nouns, appear under two forms "indefinite" and "definite". Hence Tiranë/Tirana, Krujë/Kruja, Elbasan/Elbasani, Durrës/Durrësi? The definite form is the equivalent of adding the article "the" in front of the noun. The common scholarly usage is to mention feminine names in the definite form, while the masculine are mentioned in the indefinite: Tirana, Kruja, Elbasan, Durrës, etc. But it is not always the case. Since Albanian territories have long been under foreign rule, historical documents may mention Albanian place-names in their Greek, Latin, Italian (Venetian), Turkish, Slavic, or even French versions. For instance, Durrës has been called Dyrrachion, Dyrrachium, Durazzo, Draç, Drac and Duras. Another source of confusion from historical sources may come from a transformation of "-n-" into "-r-", called "rhotacism", which took place in the Southern (Tosk) dialects and prevails in the literary language. Hence, "the Latin "Avlona" which gave the Italian Valona" is now "Vlora". == History == {{Main|History of Albania}} In the area that is today Albania, human activity has been present since the beginning of human history. The earliest inhabitants were probably part of the pre-Indo-European populace that occupied the coastline of most parts of the Mediterranean. However, their physical remains are scarce and concentrated in the coastal region. Soon, these first inhabitants were overrun by the Proto-Hellenic tribes that gradually occupied modern-day Greece, southern Macedonia and the southern part of present-day Albania. This process was completed over the second millennium BC and did not really affect northern or central Albania, an area that at the time presented the image of a political vacuum (in essence a historical paradox). The presence of the Illyrians can be traced back to 1200 BC with King Hyllus , their political structure was formulated in the 7th century BC|7th and 6th century BC|6th centuries BC. Excellent metal craftsmen and fierce warriors, the Illyrians formed warlord based kingdoms that fought amongst themselves for most of their history. Only during the 6th century BC did the Illyrians venture significant raids against their immediate neighbours, the Epirotan kingdom of the Mollosoi in Epirus (present southern Albania), the kingdom of Macedonia and the kingdom of Paionia (now in northern Republic of Macedonia). After the Balkan Wars|First Balkan War, Albania declared its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, becoming a principality. From 1928 on, the country was ruled by Zog I of Albania|King Zog I until 1938.  First page | Prev | Next | Last page |

This article on Albania is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Albania".

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