Albania shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North
Macedonia to the east and
Greece to the
south. Tirana is its capital and largest city, followed by Durrës, Vlorë and Shkodër. Historically, Albania has been inhabited by different civilisations over
time, such as the Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans. The Albanians established the autonomous Principality of Arbër in the 12th century. The Kingdom of Albania and Principality of Albania formed between the 13th and 14th centuries. Prior to the Ottoman conquest of Albania in the 15th century, the Albanian resistance to Ottoman expansion into Europe led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg won them acclaim over most of Europe. Albania remained under Ottoman rule for nearly
five centuries, during which many Albanians (known as Arnauts) attained high-ranking offices in the empire, especially in the Southern Balkans and Egypt. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having gathered both spiritual and intellectual
strength, conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance. After the defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars, the modern nation state of Albania declared independence in 1912. In the 20th century, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by
Italy which formed Greater Albania before becoming a protectorate of Nazi
Germany (DID NOT HAVE ANY MORE
SPACE TO WRITE)