ALBANIA, FLAG OF

national flag consisting of a red field (background) with a black two-headed eagle in its centre. Its width-to-length ratio is 5 to 7. On November 28, 1443, the national hero of Albania, a prince known as Skanderbeg (George Kastrioti), raised his flag over the fortress of Kruj in defiance of the Turks who ruled the country. His small mountainous nation was able to resist the forces of the Ottoman Empire, although after Skanderbeg's death in 1468 independence was lost again. His flag was red and bore a black eagle, even today the symbol of Albania. Like the symbol of the Byzantine Empire to which it once belonged, Albania's eagle is double-headed. Albanian immigrants Faik Konitsa of Brussels and Querim Panarity of Boston popularized Skanderbeg in the late 19th century and revived his flag as a national rallying point for Albanians at home and abroad. Independence from Ottoman rule was finally proclaimed on November 28, 1912. Since that time various Albanian regimesrepublic, monarchy, fascist corporate state, and communist people's republichave used the red flag with the double-headed black eagle. There has been no symbol over the heads of the eagle since the fall of communism. Prior to restoration of the simple flag on May 22, 1993, however, separate emblems (a star, a cross, a crown, etc.) had identified the different governments. Whitney Smith History Antiquity The Illyrians The origins of the Albanian people are not definitely known, but data drawn from history and from linguistic, archaeological, and anthropological studies have led to the conclusion that Albanians are the direct descendants of the ancient Illyrians and that the latter were natives of the lands they inhabited. Similarly, the Albanian language derives from the language of the Illyrians, the transition from Illyrian to Albanian apparently occurring between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. (Some scholars, however, dispute such theses, arguing that Illyrians were not autochthonous and that Albanian derives from a dialect of the now-extinct Thracian language.) Illyrian culture is believed to have evolved from the Stone Age and to have manifested itself in the territory of Albania toward the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 2000 BC. The Illyrians were not a uniform body of people but a conglomeration of many tribes that inhabited the western part of the Balkans, from what is now Slovenia in the northwest to (and including) the region of Epirus, which extends about halfway down the mainland of modern Greece. In general, Illyrians in the highlands of Albania were more isolated than those in the lowlands, and their culture evolved more slowlya distinction that persisted throughout Albania's history. Authors of antiquity relate that the Illyrians were a sociable and hospitable people, renowned for their daring and bravery at war. Illyrian women were fairly equal in status to the men, even to the point of becoming heads of tribal federations. In matters of religion, Illyrians were pagans who believed in an afterlife and buried their dead along with arms and various articles intended for personal use. The land of Illyria was rich in mineralsiron, copper, gold, silverand Illyrians became skillful in the mining and processing of metals. They were highly skilled boat builders and sailors as well; indeed, their light, swift galleys known as liburnae were of such superior design that the Romans incorporated them into their own fleet as a type of warship called the Liburnian. The Greeks From the 8th to the 6th century BC the Greeks founded a string of colonies on Illyrian soil, two of the most prominent of which were Epidamnus (modern Durrs) and Apollonia (near modern Vlor). The presence of Greek colonies on their soil brought the Illyrians into contact with a more advanced civilization, which helped them to develop their own culture, while they in turn influenced the economic and political life of the colonies. In the 3rd century BC the colonies began to decline and eventually perished. Roughly parallel with the rise of Greek colonies, Illyrian tribes began to evolve politically from relatively small and simple entities into larger and more complex ones. At first they formed temporary alliances with one another for defensive or offensive purposes, then federations and, still later, kingdoms. The most important of these kingdoms, which flourished from the 5th to the 2nd century BC, were those of the Enkalayes, the Taulantes, the Epirotes, and the Ardianes. After warring for the better part of the 4th century BC against the expansionist Macedonian state of Philip II and Alexander the Great, the Illyrians faced a greater threat from the growing power of the Romans. Seeing Illyrian territory as a bridgehead for conquests east of the Adriatic, Rome in 229 BC attacked and defeated the Illyrians, led by Queen Teuta, and by 168 BC established effective control over Illyria. The economy Before 1991, the ruling communist party directed the country's entire economy through a series of five-year plans. All means of production were under state control, agriculture was fully collectivized and industry nationalized, and private enterprise was strictly forbidden. In addition a provision of the constitution prohibited the government from seeking foreign aid, accepting loans, or allowing foreign investments. The failure of this command economy has forced the government to decentralize the economic decision-making process. Restrictions on private trade have been lifted, and the government now accepts foreign credits and investments and seeks to create joint ventures with foreign partners. Such measures are intended to encourage the growth of light industries, food processing, and agriculture, but they are hampered by chronic shortages of basic foods, a failing infrastructure, a lack of raw materials, shortages of skilled workers and managers, low productivity, and poor labour discipline. Albania remains Europe's poorest country. Resources For a small country, Albania is endowed with considerable resources. The southwestern part of the country is rich in petroleum and natural gas. The northeastern region has substantial reserves of metallic mineral deposits, including chromium, copper, and iron-nickel. Large deposits of lignite (soft coal) are found near Tiran, and natural asphalt is mined near Selenic. Albania is also rich in rivers and streams with significant hydroelectric potential. These have been exploited quite effectively, making the country an energy exporter. A number of huge hydroelectric power plants have been built, mainly on the Drin River, and more than half of the country's arable land is irrigated, largely from the artificial reservoirs created upstream of the dams. The land Relief Albania has a mountainous geography. About three-quarters of its territory consists of mountains and hills with elevations of more than 650 feet (200 metres) above sea level; the remainder consists of coastal and alluvial lowlands. The North Albanian Alps, an extension of the Dinaric mountain system, cover the northern part of the country. With elevations approaching 8,900 feet, this is the most rugged part of the country. It is heavily forested and sparsely populated, and most people there make a living at forestry or livestock raising. In contrast to the Alps, the central mountain region, extending north to south from the Drin River to the central Devoll and lower Osum rivers, is more densely populated and has a generally less rugged terrain. In the region's easternmost portion, the imposing gypsum block of Albania's highest peak, Mount Korab, rises to 9,032 feet (2,753 metres). The region has substantial deposits of such minerals as chromium, iron-nickel, and copper. The principal economic pursuits are forestry, livestock raising, mining, and agriculture. South of the central mountain region is a series of northwestsoutheast-trending mountain ranges, with elevations of up to 8,200 feet. Composed of limestone rock, the ranges are separated by wide valleys. Unlike the Alps and the central region, which are covered with dense forests, the mountains of the southern region are either bare or have a thin covering of Mediterranean shrubs, oaks, and Mediterranean pines. They serve essentially as pasture grounds for livestock. Stretching along the Adriatic coast over a distance of nearly 125 miles and penetrating some 30 miles into the interior are the low, fertile plains of western Albania. This is the most important agricultural and industrial region of the countryand the most densely populated. The 290 miles of coastline along the Adriatic are well known for their splendid beaches and surrounding landscape, which attract large numbers of foreign and native tourists. Drainage The longest river (175 miles in Albania) is the Drin, which originates in the Kosovo region of Serbia. Other main rivers are the Seman, Shkumbin, and Vjos, all of which drain the central part of the western plain. Albania also has many lakes, the most important of which are Lake Scutari (Liqeni i Shkodrs) in the northwest and Lakes Ohrid and Prespa along the eastern border. The people There are an estimated seven million ethnic Albanians in the world, but fewer than half of them live within the boundaries of the Albanian state. The largest concentrations of Albanian-speaking people outside Albania are in the portions of Yugoslavia and Macedonia bordering the country; notable is the Kosovo region, where Albanians constitute a majority population. There are also large Albanian communities in Italy, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania. Since the 1970s, many Albanians have emigrated to western Europe and the United States. No country in Europe has a more homogeneous population than Albania, where non-Albanians account for only 2 percent of the total population. Greeks, concentrated mainly in the southeast, and Slavs, almost all of them Macedonians, constitute the largest minorities. Population growth The Albanian population has been increasing four to five times faster than the average annual rate in other European countries. Nearly all of the growth has been due to natural increase rather than migration. The birth rate has consistently been the highest in Europe since the end of World War II, while the death rate has been one of the continent's lowest. Albania's population, consequently, is the youngest in Europe, with more than one-third of the total under 15 years of age.