Illyrian Albania

Durrës ( , ; ) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with roughly 2,500 years of recorded history. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of the Erzen and Ishëm at the southeastern corner of the Adriatic Sea. Durrës's climate is profoundly influenced by a seasonal Mediterranean climate.

Vlorë ( ; ; ) is the third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothills of the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Coasts. It experiences a Mediterranean climate, which is affected by the Ceraunian Mountains and the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.

Elbasan ( , ; , ) 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 Albania.

Berat (; ) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier.

Shkodër ( , ; ; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the fourth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been continuously inhabited since the Early Bronze Age ( 2250–2000 BC), and has roughly 2,200 years of recorded history. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkodër and the foothills of the Albanian Alps on the banks of the Buna, Drin and Kir rivers. Due to its proximity to the Adriatic Sea, Shkodër is affected by a seasonal Mediterranean climate with continental influences.

Lezhë (, ) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest continuously inhabited cities, with roughly 2,400 years of recorded history.

In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , Illyría or , Illyrís; , Illyricum) was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians.

Krujë (; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of Tirana.

thumb|upright=1.3|right|Illyrian tribes in the 1st–2nd centuries AD The Illyrians (, ; ) were a group of Indo-European-speaking people who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, along with the Thracians and Greeks.

Pogradec (,) is the eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a narrow plain between two mountain chains along the southwestern banks of the Lake of Ohrid. Its climate is profoundly influenced by a seasonal Mediterranean and continental climate. The total municipal population is 46,070, of which 17,371 is in the municipal unit as of the 2023 census.

The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös () is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its average discharge is . The main tributaries are Voidomatis, Sarantaporos, Drino and Shushicë.

ancient city in modern Albania

Teuta (Illyrian: *Teutana, 'mistress of the people, queen'; ; ) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC.

Taulantii or Taulantians ('swallow-men'; Ancient Greek: , or , ; ) 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 Drin (Drilon) and Vjosa (Aoös). Their central area was the hinterland of Epidamnos-Dyrrhachion, corresponding to present-day Tirana and the region between the valleys of Mat and Shkumbin (Genusus). The Taulantii are among the oldest attested Illyrian peoples, who established a powerful kingdom in southern Illyria. They are among the peoples who most marked Illyrian h

The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its right bank on the west, and extending to Lake Shkodra to the southeast. From the 3rd century BC to 168 BC the capital cities of the Ardiaean State were Rhizon and Scodra.

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The Enchelei were an ancient people that lived around the River Drin and the region of Lake Shkodra and Lake Ohrid, in modern-day Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. They are one of the oldest known peoples of the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. In ancient sources they sometimes appear as an ethnic group distinct from the Illyrians, but they are mostly mentioned as one of the Illyrian tribes. They held a central position in the earlier phase of Illyrian history. In ancient Greek literature they are linked with the end of the mythical narrative of Cadmus and Harmonia, a tradition deepl

Tentative World Heritage site in Albania

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siege undertaken by Alexander the Great against the Illyrian tribes

thumb|A bronze coin bearing the legend ΛΑΒΙΑΤΑΝ (LABIATAN) and depicting an Lembus|Illyrian lembus with figureheads of serpents.

mountain in Albania

archaeological culture in the Balkan Peninsula

Dyrrhachion (Latin: Dyrrhachium; Ancient Greek: Δυρράχιον), originally founded as Epidamnos (Ancient Greek: Ἐπίδαμνος, Albanian: Epidamn), was a prominent city on the Adriatic coast, located in the territory of the Illyrian Taulantii and corresponding to modern Durrës, Albania. Founded around 627 BC by settlers from Corinth and Corcyra (modern Corfu), the city developed into a major political, commercial, and military hub. While established as a Greek colony, Epidamnos stood within Taulantii territory and long remained entangled with Illyrian power, before becoming a key Roman and later Byzant

thumb|Plan of the Zgërdhesh site thumb|City walls in Zgërdhesh thumb|Acropolis walls in Zgërdhesh

thumb|250px|right|Illyrian tribes in the 1st-2nd centuries CE. The Albanoi (also Albani; , Albanoi; ) were an Illyrian tribe. They were possibly first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus (550-476 BCE) under the name Abroi. Ptolemy (100–170 CE) is the first author who mentions them under the name Albanoi. Their central settlement was called Albanopolis () and was located roughly between the Mat and Shkumbin rivers, in central Albania. The archaeological site of Zgërdhesh has been identified as the likely location of Albanopolis. Stephanus of Byzantium who reproduced Hecataeus added an entry for a

Amantia (; ) was an ancient city and the main settlement of the Amantes, traditionally located in southern Illyria in classical antiquity. In Hellenistic times the city was either part of Illyria or Epirus. In Roman times it was included within Epirus Nova, in the province of Macedonia. The site has been identified with the village of Ploçë, Vlorë County, Albania. Amantia was designated as an archaeological park on 7 April 2003 by the government of Albania.

fortified settlement of the Chaonian tribe of Dexaroi

The Parthini, Partini or Partheenatai were an Illyrian tribe that lived in southern Illyria (modern Albania). They likely were located in the Shkumbin valley controlling the important route between the Adriatic Sea and Macedonia, which corresponded to the Via Egnatia of Roman times. Consequently, their neighbours to the west were the Taulantii and to the east the Dassaretii in the region of Lychnidus.

Kaninë is a settlement in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vlorë. It is home to the Kaninë Castle.

Damastion was an ancient city located somewhere in the west-central Balkans, known for its silver coins dating back to the 4th century BC. It is attested only in Strabo who says that the city had silver-mines and locates it in Illyria. The ancient author reports that the city was under the authority of the Illyrian tribes of Dyestes and Enchelei-Sesarethii, and that Aegina colonized it. At 356–358 B.C. the mines came under the control of Macedon.

Dimale or Dimallum (Illyrian: Διμάλη /Dimálē; Ancient Greek: Διμάλη or Διμάλλον; Latin: Dimallum) was a town in southern Illyria in classical antiquity which was situated in the vicinity or within the territory of the Parthini, an Illyrian tribe. It was built on a hill of 450 m above sea level, in the hinterland of Apollonia, about 30 km from the eastern coast of the Adriatic. It is located in today Krotinë, Berat County, Albania.

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Bassania was an Illyrian city that came under Roman control during the Illyrian Wars. It was located close to the ancient city of Lissus in southern Illyria, modern Albania. The inhabitants of the city were called Bassanitae. The time when the Bassanitae became socii of the Romans is still unknown. Bassania is believed to be located near the village of Bushat, in Shkodër, Albania.

Opinga (Gheg Albanian: Apânga) are traditional shoes worn by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia (opinci), Montenegro, Greece (by the Klephts), and the Arbëresh villages of Italy.

Uscana or Hyscana was a settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Penestae in southern Illyria. It has been suggested that it is to be identified with Grazhdan Castle, near modern Peshkopi in northern Albania.

Atintanes or Atintanians (, Atintánes or Ἀτιντᾶνιοι, Atintánioi; ) was an ancient tribe that dwelled in the borderlands between Epirus and Illyria, in an inland region which was called Atintania. They have been described as either an Epirote tribe that belonged to the northwestern Greek group, or as an Illyrian tribe. They were occasionally subordinate to the Molossians.

ancient illyrian tribe

Pleurias (Ancient Greek Πλευρίας; ruled c. 337 – 335 BC) was an Illyrian king. According to some scholars Pleurias was probably king of the Autariatae. An Illyrian king called Pleurias is mentioned only in Diodorus (16.93.6). The name is elsewhere unattested in ancient sources, hence some scholars have identified him with Pleuratos, which is on the contrary a very common name among Illyrians.

The Dassaretii (Ancient Greek: Δασσαρῆται, Δασσαρήτιοι, Dassaretai, Dassaretioi; Latin: Dassaretae, Dassaretii) were an Illyrian people that lived in the inlands of southern Illyria, between present-day south-eastern Albania and south-western North Macedonia. Their territory included the entire region between the rivers Asamus and Eordaicus (whose union forms the Apsus), the plateau of Korça locked by the fortress of Pelion and, towards the north it extended to Lake Lychnidus up to the Black Drin. They were directly in contact with the regions of Orestis and Lynkestis of Upper Macedonia. Their

The Abroi () were an Illyrian tribe. They may have been a constituent northern tribe of the larger group of the Taulantii, on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria (present-day Albania).

Ancient settlement in Albania

The Grabaei (also Kambaioi; ) were a minor Illyrian tribe who lived near Lake Skadar. They were mentioned by Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD).

ancient city of Epirus

thumb|Byllis, the chief city and one of the two centres of the koinon of the Bylliones.thumb|View towards the Vjosa valley from Byllis.

thumb|Walls of the acropolis Zgërdhesh is an archeological site in Albania. It is located south of the road from Fushë-Kruja to Kruja. Zgërdhesh is somewhat of a mystery because it is unmentioned in ancient sources. Some scholars believe, however, that it may be the site of ancient Albanopolis, referred to by Ptolemy. The Illyrian settlement here seems to have been founded in the 7th or 6th century BC and flourished in the 4th and 3rd centuries, before being abandoned in the 2nd century BC, when the inhabitants moved to Durrës and Lezha.

cultural heritage monument of Albania

village in Albania

ancient tribe in Albania

village in Albania