The Albanoi ( grc, Ἀλβανοί, ''Albanoi''; la, Albani) were an
Illyrian tribe
This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria ( grc-gre, Ἰλλυρία; la, Illyria). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks ...
. They were possibly first mentioned by
Hecataeus of Miletus (550-476 BCE) under the name ''Abroi''. Ptolemy (200-118 BCE) is the first authors who mentions them under the name Albanoi. Their central settlement was called
Albanopolis
Albanopolis ( sq, Albanopolis or ''Albanët''; grc, Ἀλβανόπολις, Albanópolis) was a city in ancient Roman Macedon specifically in Epirus Nova, the city of the Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe. Albanopolis has been located by various sc ...
() and was located roughly between the
Mat and
Shkumbin
The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is .
Etymology
It derives from La ...
rivers, in central
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 ...
.
Zgërdhesh has been identified as the likely location of Albanopolis. Stephanus of Byzantium who reproduced Hecataeus added an entry for another settlement named Arbon in
Illyria whose inhabitants were called Arbonioi or Arbonites. Another Arbon which may have been located in central Albania in the same region as Albanopolis was recorded by
Polybius.
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû (fl. 680-690) was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû (Pashati) in the Nile Delta and general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696. He is the author of a ''Chronicle'' extending from Adam to the end of the Muslim ...
wrote in the 7th century CE about a people known as Arbanitai in the Greek translation of the manuscript, who have been identified as the same people as the Albanoi.
In the Middle Ages, the names Albanoi and Arbanitai/Albanitai referred to medieval
Albanians as an ethnic group. The equivalent terms in Latin are ''Albanenses''/''Arbanenses'', in Slavic ''Arbanasi'' and later in Turkish
Arnaut
Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contempora ...
. These names reflect the Albanian ethnic endonym Arbëreshë/Arbëneshë, which itself derives from the Albanoi. In the archaeological record, the Albanoi are mentioned on a funeral inscription in
Stobi
Stobi or Stoboi ( grc, Στόβοι, Stóboi; la, Stobi; mk, Стоби, Stobi), was an ancient town of Paeonia, later conquered by Macedon, and finally turned into the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris. It is located near ...
and Albanopolis is mentioned on another funeral inscription near
Scupi
Scupi (''Σκούποι'' in ancient greek) is an archaeological site located between Zajčev Rid (''Зајчев Рид'' 'Rabbit Hill') and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of Skopje in North Macedonia. A Roman military camp w ...
. Another ethnonym, Arbaios found in
Phoenice
Phoenice or Phoenike ( el, Φοινίκη) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.: "To the north the Chaonians had expelled the Corcyraeans from their holdings on the mainland and built fortifications at Buthrotum, K ...
is likely linked to them.
Ancient and medieval literature
The Albanoi may have likely first appeared under the name
Abroi in ancient literature.
The Abroi may have been a constituent tribe of the larger group of the
Taulantii
Taulantii or Taulantians ('swallow-men'; Ancient Greek: , or , ; la, Taulantii) were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (modern Albania). They dominated at various times much of the plain between the rivers ...
. They are first mentioned by
Hecataeus of Miletus (550-476 BCE) in fragment 69 of ''Periodos Ges''. Hecataeus places them near the Taulanti who lived along the Adriatic and the
Enchelei
The Enchelei were an ancient people that lived around the region of Lake Shkodra and Lake Ohrid,Strabo, Geography (ed. H.C. Hamilton, Esq., W. Falconer, M.A.), book 7, chapter 7: "...had established their sway, and Enchelii, who are also called Se ...
. In 19th century and 20th century cartographies, they are variously placed in the upper
Devoll or the coastal area between
Mat and
Shkumbin
The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is .
Etymology
It derives from La ...
rivers. Their name may have actually been ''Arboi'' as ''Abroi'' may have been produced via a metathesis, another linguistic process or a common misassociation by Hecataeus of their name with the ancient Greek term
abros to better adapt it to Greek. The name ''Arboi'' directly connects them to the later ''Albanoi'' who lived in the same region.
Stephanus of Byzantium who copied much of the work of Hecataeus in the 6th century CE added another entry about a city named Arbon in
Illyria per Polybius and identified its demonyms as ''Arbonios'' and ''Arbonitis''.
Polybius (200-118 BCE) mentions a location named "Arbon" in his description of the
Illyrian Wars
The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ardiaei kingdom. In the ''First Illyrian War'', which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the ...
. "Arbon" in a series of mistranslations has been named an "island" or a "city" even though Polybius never mentions it as such. The place has not been identified, and it is unlikely that it refers to the northern Adriatic island of Rab (attested for the first time as Arba by Pliny). An interdisciplinary reading of the passage indicates that "Arbon" might actually have been in central Albania, roughly in the same location as the later
Albanopolis
Albanopolis ( sq, Albanopolis or ''Albanët''; grc, Ἀλβανόπολις, Albanópolis) was a city in ancient Roman Macedon specifically in Epirus Nova, the city of the Albanoi, an Illyrian tribe. Albanopolis has been located by various sc ...
(
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
) and Arbanon (
Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
).
Wilhelm Tomaschek
Wilhelm Tomaschek, or Vilém Tomášek (May 26, 1841, Olomouc – September 9, 1901, Vienna) was a Czech-Austrian geographer and orientalist. He is known for his work in the fields of historical topography and historical ethnography. (1841-1901) considered ''Arbon'' to be the "first attestation of the modern name of Albania".
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
(100-170 CE) is the first author who mentions the ethnonym of the Albanoi in ''Geographia''. The Albanoi are mentioned in the third book of Geographia. They were a people who lived in the region between Mat and Shkumbin and held the settlement Albanopolis.
Johann Georg von Hahn
Johann Georg von Hahn (11 July 1811 – 23 September 1869) was an Austrian and later Austro-Hungarian diplomat, philologist and specialist in Albanian history, language and culture.
Hahn was born in Frankfurt am Main. In 1847, he was named Aust ...
first noted that the suffix -polis ("city") was probably added at a later date by other authors as in other editions it is mentioned as "Albanos polis" or "Albanos".
Zgërdhesh has been identified as the likely location of Albanopolis. It is not certain if its location corresponds to the region mentioned as
Arbanon
Arbanon ( sq, Arbër or , el, Ἄρβανον, ''Árvanon''; la, Arbanum) was a principality ruled by the native Progoni family, and the first Albanian state to emerge in recorded history. The principality was established in 1190 by the native ...
mentioned by
Anna Komnene
Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...
in the
Alexiad about events related to the
First Norman invasion of the Balkans(1081). An indication of movement from higher altitudes in a much earlier period has been detected in the distribution of Albanian place names ending in ''-esh'', derives from the Latin ''-ensis'' (
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal registers of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve into numerous Romance languages. Its literary counterpa ...
''-ēsis''), between the
Shkumbin
The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is .
Etymology
It derives from La ...
and the
Mat rivers, with a concentration between
Elbasan
Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...
and
Krujë.
John of Nikiû
John of Nikiû (fl. 680-690) was an Egyptian Coptic bishop of Nikiû (Pashati) in the Nile Delta and general administrator of the monasteries of Upper Egypt in 696. He is the author of a ''Chronicle'' extending from Adam to the end of the Muslim ...
(7th century), a Coptic bishop mentions in the French translation of a manuscript titled ''Chronicle'' that ''barbarians, foreign peoples and Illyrians, ravaged the cities of the Christians and took the inhabitants alive'' in the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
.
Hermann Zotenberg who translated the Chronicle from
Geʽez
Geez (; ' , and sometimes referred to in scholarly literature as Classical Ethiopic) is an ancient Ethiopian Semitic language. The language originates from what is now northern Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Today, Geez is used as the main liturgi ...
to French rendered with the term ''Illyrians'', a term which in the original manuscript corresponded to ''Alwerikon''. Alwerikon in the Byzantine Greek translation of the Chronicle corresponded to the term Albani(k/t)on (genitive of Albanitai).
Constantine Sathas (1842-1912) who first recorded the discrepancy between different translations considered the mention of ''Alwerikon'' an attestation of the same population as the Illyrian Albanoi.
Michael Attaleiates Michael Attaleiates or Attaliates ( grc-gre, Μιχαήλ Ἀτταλειάτης, Michaḗl Attaleiátēs, ; – 1080) was a Byzantine Greek chronicler, public servant and historian active in Constantinople and around the empire's provinces in the ...
(1022-1080) mentions the term ''Albanoi'' twice and the term ''Arbanitai'' once. The term ''Albanoi'' is used first to describe the groups which rebelled in southern Italy and Sicily against the Byzantines in 1038-40. The second use of the term ''Albanoi'' is related to groups which supported the revolt of
George Maniakes
George Maniakes (, transliterated as Georgios Maniaces, Maniakis, or Maniaches, , ; died 1043) was a prominent general of the Byzantine Empire of Byzantine Greek origin
during the 11 ...
in 1042 and marched with him throughout the Balkans against the Byzantine capital,
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. The term ''Arvanitai'' is used to describe a revolt of
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
(Boulgaroi) and ''Arbanitai'' in the theme of
Dyrrhachium in 1078-79. It is generally accepted that ''Arbanitai'' refers to the ethnonym of medieval
Albanians. As such, it is considered to be the first attestation of Albanians as an ethnic group in Byzantine historiography.
The use of the term ''Albanoi'' in 1038-49 and 1042 as an ethnonym related to Albanians have been a subject of debate. In what has been termed the "Vranoussi-Ducellier debate", Alain Ducellier proposed that both uses of the term referred to medieval Albanians. Era Vranoussi counter-suggested that the first use referred to
Normans
The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
, while the second didn't have an ethnic connotation necessarily and could be a reference to the Normans as "foreigners" (
aubain) in
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
which Maniakes and his army traversed.
This debate has never been resolved. A newer synthesis about the second use of the term ''Albanoi'' by Pëllumb Xhufi suggests that the term ''Albanoi'' may have referred to Albanians of the specific district of
Arbanon
Arbanon ( sq, Arbër or , el, Ἄρβανον, ''Árvanon''; la, Arbanum) was a principality ruled by the native Progoni family, and the first Albanian state to emerge in recorded history. The principality was established in 1190 by the native ...
, while ''Arbanitai'' to Albanians in general regardless of the specific region they inhabited. From thereon, in the next centuries, the term ''Albanoi'' is used extensively as the ethnonym for medieval Albanians in Byzantine literature. ''Albanoi'' is the formal term for Albanians in modern Greek and until the 20th century it was used interchangeably with the term ''Arbanitai'', which now in Greek refers exclusively to
Arvanites
Arvanites (; Arvanitika: , or , ; Greek: , ) are a bilingual population group in Greece of Albanian origin. They traditionally speak Arvanitika, an Albanian language variety, along with Greek. Their ancestors were first recorded as settl ...
. These names reflect the Albanian endonym Arbër/n + esh which itself derives from the same root as the name of the Albanoi.
Archaeology
In the archaeological record, the Albanoi and Albanopolis have been directly attested on two funeral inscriptions. The toponym Albanopolis has been found on a funeral inscription in
Gorno Sonje, near the city of
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Sk ...
(ancient
Scupi
Scupi (''Σκούποι'' in ancient greek) is an archaeological site located between Zajčev Rid (''Зајчев Рид'' 'Rabbit Hill') and the Vardar River, several kilometers from the center of Skopje in North Macedonia. A Roman military camp w ...
), present-day
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
. It was excavated in 1931 by Nikola Vulić and its text was curated and published in 1982 by
Borka Dragojević-Josifovska
Borka Dragojević-Josifovska, in Serbian: ''Борка Драгојевић-Јосифовска'' (1910 - 2004) was a Bosnian archaeologist, museum curator, numismatist and philologist, who was Professor of Classical Philology at Ss. Cyril an ...
. The inscription in Latin reads "POSIS MESTYLU F
LIUSFL
VIADELVS MVCATI F
LIADOM
ALBANOP
LIIPSA DELVS" ("Posis Mestylu, son of Flavia Delus, daughter of Mucat, who comes from Albanopolis"). It dates to the end of the 1st century CE and the beginning of the 2nd century CE. Dragojević-Josifovska added two lines to the existing reading: VIVA P(OSUIT) SIBI/ ET VIRO SUO. Delus Mucati is an Illyrian name and his home region was Albanopolis (''domo Albanopoli''). Dragojević-Josifovska proposed that like others he had settled in Macedonia from southern Illyria.
The site of
Zgërdhesh, southwest of
Krujë in central Albania, has been identified as the likely location of Albanopolis. The settlement covered 10ha at a hill-fort location. Excavations show that the site was abandoned shortly after the Roman conquest of southern Illyria (
Third Illyrian War
The Illyro-Roman Wars were a series of wars fought between the Roman Republic and the Ardiaei kingdom. In the ''First Illyrian War'', which lasted from 229 BC to 228 BC, Rome's concern was that the trade across the Adriatic Sea increased after the ...
). As an Albanopolis did exist long after as the Scupi inscription highlights, it is possible that the inhabitants had relocated their settlement.
The ethnonym ''Albanos'' was found on a funeral inscription from ancient
Stobi
Stobi or Stoboi ( grc, Στόβοι, Stóboi; la, Stobi; mk, Стоби, Stobi), was an ancient town of Paeonia, later conquered by Macedon, and finally turned into the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris. It is located near ...
, near
Gradsko about 90 km to the southeast of Gorno Sonje. The inscription in ancient Greek reads "ΦΛ(ΑΒΙΩ) ΑΛΒΑΝΩ ΤΩ ΤΕΚΝΩ ΑΙΜΙΛΙΑΝΟΣ ΑΛΒΑΝΟ(Σ) ΜΝΗΜ(Η)Σ
�ΑΡΗΝ ("In memory of Flavios Albanos, his son Aemilianos Albanos"). It dates to the 2nd/3rd century CE.
An inscription in ancient Greek in
Phoenice
Phoenice or Phoenike ( el, Φοινίκη) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.: "To the north the Chaonians had expelled the Corcyraeans from their holdings on the mainland and built fortifications at Buthrotum, K ...
, southern Albania related to the liberation act of the slave Nikarchos Nikomachou Arbaios is linked to the Albanoi as Arbaios is an ethnonym which has the same root as that of the Albanoi and hasn't been attested anywhere else. Arbaios is considered to not have been a local of the city, but someone who had been moved there from more northern areas in central Albania. The inscription was excavated in the 1920s by
Luigi Ugolini. It dates to the 3rd/2nd century BCE.
See also
*
List of Illyrian peoples and tribes
This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria ( grc-gre, Ἰλλυρία; la, Illyria). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks ...
*
Origin of Albanians
*
Names of the Albanians and Albania
The Albanians ( sq, Shqiptarët) and their country Albania (''Shqipëria'') have been identified by many ethnonyms. The native endonym is Shqiptar. The name "Albanians" Latin: ''Albanenses/Arbanenses'') was used in medieval Greek and Latin docu ...
References
Sources
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Albanoi
Illyrian tribes
Ancient tribes in Albania
Illyrian Albania
Tribes conquered by Rome
Tribes conquered by the Roman Republic