Page 61 - Crossroads of the Adriatic: Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Slovenia

The region continued to be attacked by outside invaders including the Visigoths, the Huns,
the Ostrogoths, and the Slavs throughout the 5th and 6th centuries. Beginning around 1344,
disputes between Serbia and the Turks left the region vulnerable and after years of battles,
Albania was eventually taken under the Ottoman Empire around 1479. Albania remained
under the Ottoman Empire for about 400 years, during which time Muslim citizens were given
special treatment, while Christian households were forced to hand over one of their sons to
serve in the army and adopt Islam as their faith. Because of this treatment, Islam was adopted
by many Albanians.

Independence

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their independence. These revolts and uprisings continued into the early 1900s, culminating in
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and Bulgaria. Modern-day Albania was divided between Serbia and Greece, expect for a small
area on the southern coast. Following these events, Albania declared its independence on
November 28, 1912. Their independence was recognized by the Conference of London on July
29, 1913, at which point borders were established between Albania and neighboring countries.
However, these delineations left many ethnic Albanians outside the borders and instead living
within Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece.

World War I

During World War I, Albania eventually fell and was occupied by various surrounding nations,
including Greece, Serbia, Italy, and France. After the end of the war, Albanians once again
revolted and were able to take back their land as the Serbians and Italians that remained were
forced beyond their borders. However, the government in Albania was severely fractioned and
left them vulnerable to further invasions from the Serbs and Greeks.

At the Paris Peace Conference in January 1920, a secret deal was made, in order to alleviate
tensions between Italy and Yugoslavia, to once again divide Albania between Greece, Italy,
and Yugoslavia. Upon learning of the agreement, the Albanian National Assembly advised that
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Wilson stepped in to prevent the Paris agreement. In December, Albania entered the League of
Nations as its own sovereign nation.

World War II

A republican government was formed under the rule of Fan Noli in 1920, but was overthrown
just 4 years later by Ahmed Bey Zogu, who later declared himself King Zogu I. He remained in
power, allying himself with Italy, until Mussolini invaded in 1939 during World War II. During
the Italian occupation, Albanians were encouraged to adopt the Italian language. Mussolini
attempted to use Albania as a base from which to attack and move into Greece and Yugoslavia,
but when his attempts failed, Greece took large parts of Albania under their control. These
territorial gains, however, were reversed once Greece came up against German forces.

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