Aleks Buda (7 September 1910 – 7 July 1993) was an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n historian. After completion of his education in Italy and Austria, he returned to Albania. Although his education was in literature, he made a career as a historian during the socialist period in Albania. He was a member and president of the

Academy of Sciences of Albania The Academy of Sciences of Albania ( sq, Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë), founded in 1972, is the most important scientific institution in Albania. In the 1980s, several research institutes began at the University of Tirana were transferred ...

Early life

Buda was born on 7 September 1910 in Elbasan, Ottoman Empire (modern day Albania). He went to elementary school at Lecce in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and completed secondary school in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, in 1930. After that he enrolled in the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich hist ...

where he studied philosophy and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, but he returned to Albania without graduating.

Professional career

Although his specialty was in literature, he made a career as a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

. He was also referred to as the founder of the Albanian post WWII historiography. Buda belonged to a group of most notable Albanian politician historians during the socialist period in Albania. Buda was a member and a president of the

. In some sources he was referred to as personal confidant of Enver Hoxha. Buda was the only historian to participate in the Albanian Orthography Congress held in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

in 20–25 November 1972. He participated at the National Conference of Ethnographic Studies held in 1976 to commemorate 35th anniversary of the establishment of

Party of Labour of Albania The Party of Labour of Albania ( sq, Partia e Punës e Shqipërisë, PPSh), sometimes referred to as the Albanian Workers' Party (AWP), was the ruling and sole legal party of Albania during the communist period (1945–1991). It was founded o ...

. Buda belonged to a group of historians and Marxist philosophers who attacked contemporary theories and trends outside Albania as capitalist and revisionist. Contemporary historians point to Buda's work as a source for the Albanian position of the origin of Albanians. He was considered as the leading Albanian scholar of Illyrian history who belonged to group of historians who also pointed out that there is no trace of Illyrians between the 6th century (when they were mentioned in historical documents for the last time) and the 11th century (when Albanians were recorded in historical documents for the first time). Based on the hypothesis of Illyrian origin of Albanians, Buda emphasized that Albanians belong to the oldest inhabitants of

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and even

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Buda belonged to a small group of intellectuals allowed by the Albanian communist regime to have access to foreign literature in order to use them to prepare new ideological and theoretical directives for the rest of their colleagues.

Bibliography

Buda's work include: * , (coautorship) * * *

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Buda, Aleks 1910 births 1993 deaths Albanian people of Jewish descent Members of the Academy of Sciences of Albania 20th-century Albanian historians People from Manastir vilayet University of Vienna alumni People from Elbasan