Origin of the Albanians

The origin of the Albanians has long been a matter of dispute among historians. Little is known about the ancient Balkan people,
and they blended into one another inThraco-Illyrian and Daco-Thracian contact zones even in antiquity.

The Albanians first appear in the historical record in Byzantine sources of the 11th century. At this point, they were already fully
Christianized. Very little evidence of pre-Christian Albanian culture survives, although Albanian mythology and folklore are of
Paleo-Balkanic origin and almost all of their elements arepagan,[1] in particular showingGreek influence.[2]

The Albanian language forms a separate branch ofIndo-European, first attested in the 15th century, and is considered to have evolved
from one of the Paleo-Balkan languagesof antiquity.[3]

Contemporary historians conclude that, like all Balkan peoples, the Albanians are not descendants of a single ancient population;
apart from the main ancestor, prehistoric Balkan populations such as the Illyrians, Dacians or Thracians, there is an additional
admixture from Slavic, Greek, Vlach, Romano-Italian, Celtic and Germanic elements.[4] Studies in genetic anthropology show that
the Albanians share similar ancestry to many other Europeans, and especially other peoples of the Balkans.[5][6][7][8] The Albanians
are also one of Europe's populations that has most common ancestors within their own ethnic group even though they share ancestors
with other ethnic groups.[9]

Contents
Place of origin
Primary sources
References to people of unknown ethnicity in antiquity and the Early Middle Ages
References to Albanians in the High Middle Ages
Ethnonym
Shqiptar
First attestation of the Albanian language
Paleo-Balkanic predecessors
Illyrian origin
Arguments for Illyrian origin
Arguments against Illyrian origin
Thracian or Dacian origin
Theories of influence from an extinct, unidentified Romance language
Archaeological evidence
Genetic studies
Y-DNA
mtDna
Autosomal DNA
Obsolete theories
Caucasian theory
Pelasgian theory
Italian theory
See also
References
Sources
Place of origin
The Albanian language is attested in a written form only in the 15th century AD, when the Albanian ethnos was already formed. In
the absence of prior data on the language, scholars have used the Latin and Slav loans into Albanian for identifying its location of
origin.[10]

The place where the Albanian language was formed is uncertain. Analysis has suggested that it was in a mountainous region, rather
than in a plain or seacoast. While the words for plants and animals characteristic of mountainous regions are entirely original, the
names for fish and for agricultural activities are generally assumed to have been borrowed from other languages. However,
considering the presence of some preserved old terms related to the sea fauna, some have assumed that this vocabulary might have
been lost in the course of time after the proto-Albanian tribes were pushed back into the inland during invasions.[11][12] The Slavic
loans in Albanian suggest that contacts between two populations took place when Albanians dwelt in forests 600–900 metres above
sea level.[13] The overwhelming amount of mountaineering and shepherding vocabulary, coupled with the extensive influence of
Latin makes it likely that the Albanians originated north of the Jireček Line, further north and inland than the current borders of
Albania suggest. It has long been recognized that there are two treatments of Latin loans in Albanian, of Old Dalmatian type and
Romanian type, but that would point out to two geographic layers, coastal Adriatic and inner Balkan region.[14] Some scholars
believe that the Latin influence over Albanian is of Eastern Romance origin, rather than of Dalmatian origin, which would exclude
Dalmatia as a place of origin.[15] Adding to this the several hundred words in Romanian that are cognate only with Albanian
cognates (see Eastern Romance substratum), these scholars assume that Romanians and Albanians lived in close proximity at one
time.[15] The areas where this might have happened is theMorava Valley in eastern Serbia.[15]

Another argument in favor of a northern origin for the Albanian language is the relatively small number of words of Greek origin,
mostly from Doric dialect,[16] even though Southern Illyria neighbored the Classical Greek civilization and there was a number of
Greek colonies along the Illyrian coastline. However, in view of the amount of Albanian-Greek isoglosses, which the scholar
Vladimir Orel considers surprisingly high (in comparison with the Indo-Albanian and Armeno-Albanian ones), the author concludes
[17]
that this particular proximity could be the result of intense secondary contacts of two proto-dialects.

Those scholars who maintain the Illyrian origin of Albanians maintain that the indigenous Illyrian tribes dwelling in South Illyria
went up into the mountains when Slavs occupied the lowlands,[18][19] while another version of this hypothesis maintains that the
[20]
Albanians are the descendants of Illyrian tribes located between Dalmatia and the Danube, who spilled south.

The scholars who support a Dacian origin of Albanians maintain that between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, Albanians moved
southwards from the Moesian area,[21] while those scholars who maintain a Thracian origin hypothesize that the proto-Albanians are
to be located in Thracian territory in the area between Niš, Skopje, Sofia and Albania[22] or from the Rhodope and Balkan
[23]
Mountains, where they moved to Albania before the arrival of the Slavs.

Primary sources

References to people of unknown ethnicity in antiquity

and the Early Middle Ages
In the 2nd century BC, theHistory of the World written by Polybius,
mentions a location namedArbona (Greek: Ἄρβωνα; Latinised form:
Arbo)[24][25] in which some Illyrian troops, under Queen T euta, scattered
and fled to in order to escape the Romans. Arbona was perhaps an
island[26] in Liburnia or another location withinIllyria.[27]
In the 2nd century AD,Ptolemy, the geographer and astronomer from Location of the Albani at 150 AD in
Alexandria, drafted a map that shows the city ofAlbanopolis, located Roman Macedon
Northeast of Durrës) in the Roman province of Macedoniaand the tribe
of Albanoi,[28] which were viewed asIllyrians by later
historians.[29][30][31][32][33]
 In the 6th century AD, Stephanus of Byzantium, in his important geographical dictionaryentitled Ethnica (Ἐθνικά),[34]
mentions a city in Illyria calledArbon (Greek: Ἀρβών), and gives an ethnic name for its inhabitants, in twosingular
number forms, i.e. Arbonios (Greek: Ἀρβώνιος; pl. Ἀρβώνιοι Arbonioi) and Arbonites (Greek: Ἀρβωνίτης; pl.
Ἀρβωνῖται Arbonitai). He cites Polybius[34] (as he does many other times[35][36] in Ethnica).

References to Albanians in the High Middle Ages

The Arbanasi people are recorded as being 'half-believers' (non- Eastern Orthodox Christians) and speaking their
own language in a Bulgarian text found in a Serbian manuscript dating to 1628; the text was written by an
anonymous author that according toRadoslav Grujić (1934) dated to the reign ofSamuel of Bulgaria (997–1014), or
possibly, according to R. Elsie, 1000–1018.[37]
In History written in 1079–1080, Byzantine historianMichael Attaliates referred to the Albanoi as having taken part in
a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke ofDyrrhachium. It is disputed,
however, whether the "Albanoi" of the eventsof 1043 refers to Albanians in an ethnic sense or whether "Albanoi" is a
reference to Normans from southern Italy under an archaic name (there was also a tribe of Italy by the name of
Albani).[38] However a later reference to Albanians from the same Attaliates, regarding the participation of Albanians
in a rebellion in 1078, is undisputed.[39]
Some authors (like Alain Ducellier, 1968) believe that Arvanoi are mentioned in the IV book ofAlexiad by Anna
Comnena (c. 1148). Others believe that this is a wrong reading and interpretation of the Greek phrase εξ Αρβάνων
[40]
(i.e. from Arvana) found in the original manuscript and in one edition (Bonn, 1839) of Alexiad.

The earliest Serbian source mentioning "Albania" (Ar'banas') is a charter by Stefan Nemanja, dated 1198, which lists
the region of Pilot (Pulatum) among the parts Nemanja conquered from Albaniaѡд ( Арьбанась Пилоть, "de
Albania Pulatum").[41]
In the 12th to 13th centuries, Byzantine writers used the nameArbanon (Medieval Greek: Ἄρβανον) for a principality
in the region of Kruja.
The oldest reference to Albanians in Epirus is from a V enetian document dating to 1210, which states that "the
continent facing the island of Corfu is inhabited by Albanians." [42]

A Ragusan document dating to 1285 states: "I heard a voice crying in the mountains in the Albanian language"
.[43]
(Audivi unam vocem clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca)

Ethnonym

Shqiptar
The Albanians call themselves (endonym) "Shqiptar". There are various theories of
the origin of the word:

A theory by Ludwig Thallóczy, Milan Šufflay and Konstantin Jireček,

which is today considered obsolete, derived the name from aDrivastine
family name recorded in varying forms during the 14th century:
Schepuder (1368), Scapuder (1370), Schipudar , Schibudar (1372),
Schipudar (1383, 1392), Schapudar (1402), etc.
Gustav Meyer derived Shqiptar from the Albanian verbsshqipoj (to
speak clearly) and shqiptoj (to speak out, pronounce), which are in turn
derived from the Latin verb excipere, denoting brethren who speak the
Albanian language, similar to the ethno-linguisticdichotomies Sloven-
Nemac and Deutsch-Wälsch.[44] This theory is also sustained byRobert
Elsie.[45]
Petar Skok suggested that the name originated fromScupi (Albanian:
Shkupi), the capital of the Roman province ofDardania.[46]
Albanian migrations in 1300–1350
The most accredited theory, at least among Albanians,[47] is that of
Maximilian Lambertz, who derived the word from the Albanian noun AD
shqipe or shqiponjë (eagle), which, according to Albanianfolk
etymology, denoted a bird totem dating from the times ofSkanderbeg,
as displayed on the Albanian flag.[46] According to Albanologist Robert Elsie the eagle depicted in the Albanian flag
derives from the Byzantine banner.[48]
First attestation of the Albanian language
The oldest known document in Albanian is a 208-page manuscript discovered in the Vatican Secret Archives written by Theodor of
Shkodra in 1210. The manuscript consists of three different works: pages 1–97 deal with theology, 98-146 with philosophy, and 147-
[49]
208 with the history of the known world from 147 AD to December 1209.

Paleo-Balkanic predecessors
While Albanian (shqip) ethnogenesis clearly postdates the Roman era,[50] an element of continuity from the pre-Roman provincial
population is widely held to be plausible on linguistic and archaeological grounds.

The three chief candidates considered by historians are Illyrian, Dacian, or Thracian, but there were other non-Greek groups in the
ancient Balkans, includingPaionians (who lived north of Macedon) and Agrianians. The Illyrian language and the Thracian language
are often considered to have been in different Indo-European branches.[51] Not much is left of the old Illyrian, Dacian or Thracian
languages, which makes it difficult to match Albanian with them.

There is debate on whether the Illyrian language was a centum or a satem language. It is also uncertain whether Illyrians spoke a
homogeneous language or rather a collection of different but related languages that were wrongly considered the same language by
ancient writers. The Venetic tribes, formerly considered Illyrian, are no longer considered categorised with Illyrians.[52][53] The same
is sometimes said of the Thracian language. For example, based on the toponyms and other lexical items, Thracian and Dacian were
probably different but related languages.

In the early 20th century, many scholars thought that Thracian and Illyrian were one language branch, but the lack of evidence has
made most linguists skeptical and now reject the idea. They usually place them on dif
ferent branches.

The debate is often politically charged, and to be conclusive ,more evidence is needed. Such evidence unfortunately may not be easily
forthcoming because of a lack of sources. The area of what is now Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania was a melting pot of Thracian,
Illyrian and Greek cultures in ancient times.

Illyrian origin
The theory that Albanians were related to the Illyrians was proposed for the first time by the Swedish[54] historian Johann Erich
Thunmann in 1774.[55] The scholars who advocate an Illyrian origin are numerous.[56][57][58][59] There are two variants of the
theory: one is that the Albanians are the descendants of indigenous Illyrian tribes dwelling in what is now Albania.[60][61] The other
is that the Albanians are the descendants of Illyrian tribes located north of the Jireček Line and probably north or northeast of
Albania.[62]

Arguments for Illyrian origin

The arguments for the Illyrian-Albanian connection have been as follows:[59][63]

The national name Albania is derived fromAlbanoi,[64][65][66] an Illyrian tribe mentioned byPtolemy about 150 AD.
From what is known from the old Balkan populations territoriesGreeks,
( Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians), the Albanian
language is spoken in the same region where Illyrian was spoken in ancient times. [67]

There is no evidence of any major migration into Albanian territory since the records of Illyrian occupation.[67]
Because descent from Illyrians makes "geographical sense" and there is no linguistic or historical evidence proving a
replacement, then the burden of proof lies on the side of those who would deny a connection of Albanian with
Illyrian.[68]
Many of what remain as attested words to Illyrian have an Albanian explanation and also a number of Illyrian lexical
items (toponyms, hydronyms, oronyms, anthroponyms, etc.) have been linked to Albanian.[69]
Words borrowed from Greek (e.g. Gk (NW) "device, instrument"mākhaná > *mokër "millstone" Gk (NW) drápanon >
[67] and are mostly of the Doric Greek dialect,[70] which
*drapër "sickle" etc.) date back before the Christian era
means that the ancestors of the Albanians were in contact with the northwestern part of Ancient Greek civilization
 and probably borrowed words from Greek cities Dyrrachium,
( Apollonia, etc.) in the Illyrian territory, colonies which
belonged to the Doric division of Greek, or from contacts in theEpirus area.
Words borrowed from Latin (e.g. Latin aurum > ar "gold", gaudium > gaz "joy" etc.[71] ) date back before the Christian
era,[63][67] while the Illyrians on the territory of modern Albania were the first from the old Balkan populations to be
conquered by Romans in 229–167 BC, the Thracians were conquered in 45 AD and the Dacians in 106 AD.
The ancient Illyrian place-names of the region have achieved their current form following Albanian phonetic rules e.g.
Durrachion > Durrës (with the Albanian initial accent)Aulona > Vlonë~Vlorë (with rhotacism) Scodra > Shkodra
etc.[63][67][70][72]
osk and Geg[73] in the treatment of the native and loanwords from other
The characteristics of the Albanian dialects T
Slavic migration to the Balkans[67][74]
languages, have led to the conclusion that the dialectal split preceded the
which means that in that period (5th to 6th century AD) Albanians were occupying pretty much the same area around
Shkumbin river[75] which straddled the Jirecek line.[63][76]

Arguments against Illyrian origin

[77]
The theory of an Illyrian origin of the Albanians is challenged on archaeological and linguistic grounds.

Although the Illyrian tribe of theAlbanoi and the place Albanopolis could be located nearKrujë, nothing proves a
relation of this tribe to the Albanians, whose name appears for the first time in the 11th century in Byzantine
sources[78]
According to Bulgarian linguistVladimir I. Georgiev, the theory of an Illyrian origin for the Albanians is weakened by
a lack of any Albanian names before the 12th century and the relative absence of Greek influence that would surely
be present if the Albanians inhabited their homeland continuously since ancient times. [79] According to Georgiev if
the Albanians originated near modern-day Albania, the number of Greek loanwords in the Albanian language should
be higher.[80]
According to Georgiev, although some Albanian toponyms descend from Illyrian, Illyrian toponyms from antiquity
have not changed according to the usual phonetic laws applying to the evolution of Albanian. Furthermore,
placenames can be a special case and the Albanian language more generally has not been proven to be of Illyrian
stock.[78]
[78][81] Albanian shows traces of
Many linguists have tried to link Albanian with Illyrian, but without clear results.
satemization within the Indo-European languagetree, however the majority of Albanologists[82] hold that unlike most
satem languages it has preserve the distinction of /k ʷ/ and /gʷ/ from /k/ and /g/ before front vowels (merged in satem
languages), and there is a debate whether Illyrian wascentum or satem. On the other hand, Dacian[81] and
Thracian[83] seem to belong to satem.
There is a lack of clear archaeological evidence for a continuous settlement of an Albanian-speaking population
since Illyrian times. For example, while Albanians scholars maintain that the Komani-Kruja burial sites support the
Illyrian-Albanian continuity theory, most scholars reject this and consider that the remains indicate a population of
Romanized Illyrians who spoke aRomance language.[84][85][86]

Thracian or Dacian origin

Aside from an Illyrian origin, a Dacian or Thracian origin is also hypothesized.
There are a number of factors taken as evidence for a Dacian or Thracian origin of
Albanians. According to Vladimir Orel, for example, the territory associated with
proto-Albanian almost certainly does not correspond with that of modern Albania,
[87]
i.e. the Illyrian coast, but rather that of Dacia Ripensis and farther north.

The Romanian historian I. I. Russu has originated the theory that Albanians
represent a massive migration of the Carpi population pressed by the Slavic
migrations. Due to political reasons the book was first published in 1995 and
translated in German byKonrad Gündisch.[88] Albanians from the 5th to 10th
centuries according to the Dacian
The German historian Gottfried Schramm (1994) suggests an origin of the Albanians theory.
in the Bessoi, a Thracian tribe that was Christianized as early as during the 4th
century. Schramm argues that such an early Christianization would explain the
otherwise surprising virtual absence of any traces of a pre-Christian pagan religion among the Albanians as they appear in history
during the Late Middle Ages.[89] According to this theory, the Bessoi were deported en masse by the Byzantines at the beginning of
the 9th century to central Albania for the purpose of fighting against the Bulgarians. In their new homeland, the ancestors of the
Albanians took the geographic name Arbanon as their ethnic name and proceeded to assimilate local populations of Slavs, Greeks,
and Romans.[90]

Linguist Eric Hamp on the other hand posits that Albanian "can be said to be related more closely to Baltic and Slavic than to
[91]
anything else, and certainly not to be close to Thracian".

Cities whose names follow Albanian phonetic laws – such as Shtip (Štip), Shkupi (Skopje) and Nish (Niš) – lie in the areas, believed
to historically been inhabited by Thracians, Paionians and Dardani; the latter is most often considered an Illyrian tribe by ancient
historians. While there still is no clear picture of where the Illyrian-Thracian border was, Niš is mostly considered Illyrian
territory.[92]

There are some close correspondences between Thracian and Albanian words.[93] However, as with Illyrian, most Dacian and
Thracian words and names have not been closely linked with Albanian (v. Hamp). Also, many Dacian and Thracian placenames were
made out of joined names (such as Dacian Sucidava or Thracian Bessapara; see List of Dacian cities and List of ancient Thracian
[93]
cities), while the modern Albanian language does not allow this.

Bulgarian linguist Vladimir I. Georgiev posits that Albanians descend from a Dacian population from Moesia, now the Morava
region of eastern Serbia, and that Illyrian toponyms are found in a far smaller area than the traditional area of Illyrian settlement.[15]
According to Georgiev, Latin loanwords into Albanian show East Balkan Latin (proto-Romanian) phonetics, rather than West Balkan
(Dalmatian) phonetics.[77] Combined with the fact that the Romanian language contains several hundred words similar only to
Albanian, Georgiev proposes the Albanian language formed between the 4th and 6th centuries in or near modern-day Romania,
which was Dacian territory.[80] He suggests that Romanian is a fully Romanised Dacian language, whereas Albanian is only partly
so.[94] Albanian and Eastern Romance also share grammatical features (see Balkan language union) and phonological features, such
as the common phonemes or therhotacism of "n".[95]

Apart from the linguistic theory that Albanian is more akin to East Balkan Romance (i.e. Dacian substrate) than West Balkan
Romance (i.e. Illyrian/Dalmatian substrate), Georgiev also notes that marine words in Albanian are borrowed from other languages,
suggesting that Albanians were not originally a coastal people.[94] According to Georgiev the scarcity of Greek loan words also
supports a Dacian theory – if Albanians originated in the region of Illyria there would surely be a heavy Greek influence.[94] Lastly,
Georgiev also notes that Illyrian toponyms do not follow Albanian phonetic laws.[94] According to historian John Van Antwerp Fine,
who does define "Albanians" in his glossary as "an Indo-European people, probably descended from the ancient Illyrians",[96]
guments that cannot be summarily dismissed."[94]
nevertheless states that "these are serious (non-chauvinistic) ar

Hamp, on the other hand, seems to agree with Geor

giev in relation to Albania with Dacian but disagrees on the chronological order of
events. Hamp argues that Albanians could have arrived in Albania through present-day Kosovo sometime in the late Roman period.
Also, contrary to Georgiev, he indicates there are words that follow Dalmatian phonetic rules in Albanian, giving as an example the
word drejt 'straight' < d(i)rectus matching developments in Old Dalmatiantraita < tract.[97]

There are no records that indicate a major migration of Dacians into present-day Albania, but two Dacian cities existed:
Thermidava[98][99][100] close to Scodra and Quemedava[100] in Dardania. Also, the Thracian settlement of Dardapara existed in
Dardania. Phrygian tribes such as the Bryges were present in Albania near Durrës since before the Roman conquest (v. Hamp).[93]
An argument against a Thracian origin (which does not apply to Dacian) is that most Thracian territory was on the Greek half of the
Jireček Line, aside from varied Thracian populations stretching from Thrace into Albania, passing through Paionia and Dardania and
up into Moesia; it is considered that most Thracians were Hellenized inThrace (v. Hoddinott) and Macedonia.

The Dacian theory could also be consistent with the known patterns of barbarian incursions. Although there is no documentation of
an Albanian migration, "during the fourth to sixth centuries the Rumanian region was heavily affected by large-scale invasion of
Goths and Slavs, and the Morava valley (in Serbia) was a main invasion route and the site of the earliest known Slavic sites. Thus this
[94]
would have been a region from which an indigenous population would naturally have fled".

Theories of influence from an extinct, unidentified Romance language

Romanian scholars such as Vatasescu and Mihaescu, using lexical analysis of the Albanian language, have concluded that Albanian
was heavily influenced by an extinct Romance language that was distinct from both Romanian and Dalmatian. Because the Latin
words common to only Romanian and Albanian are significantly less than those that are common to only Albanian and Western
Romance, Mihaescu argues that the Albanian language evolved in a region with much greater contact to Western Romance regions
than to Romanian-speaking regions, and located this region in present-day Albania, Kosovo and estern
W Macedonia, spanning east to
Bitola and Pristina.[101]

It has been concluded that the partial Latinization of Roman-era Albania was heavy in coastal areas, the plains and along the Via
Egnatia, which passed through Albania. In these regions, Madgearu notes that the survival of Illyrian names and the depiction of
people with Illyrian dress on gravestones is not enough to prove successful resistance against Romanization, and that in these regions
there were many Latin inscriptions and Roman settlements. Madgearu concludes that only the northern mountain regions escaped
Romanization. In some regions, Madgearu concludes that it has been shown that in some areas a Latinate population that survived
until at least the seventh century passed on local placenames, which had mixed characteristics of Eastern and Western Romance, into
the Albanian language.[101]

Archaeological evidence
The Koman culture theory, which is generally viewed by Albanian archaeologists as archaeological evidence of evolution from
"Illyrian" ancestors to medieval Albanians, has found little support outside Albania.[102][103][104] Indeed, Anglo-American
anthropologists highlight that even if regional population continuity can be proven, this does not translate into linguistic, much less
ethnic continuity. Both aspects of culture can be modified or drastically changed even in the absence of large-scale population
flux.[105]

Prominent in the discussions are certain brooch forms, seen to derive from Illyrian prototypes. However, a recent analysis revealed
that whilst broad analogies are indeed evident to Iron Age Illyrian forms, the inspiration behind Komani fibulae is more closely
linked to Late Roman fibulae, particularly those from Balkan forts in the present-day Serbia and northwestern Bulgaria.[103] This
might suggest that after the general collapse of the Roman limes in the early 7th century, some late Roman population withdrew to
Epirus.[103] However, assemblages also have many "barbarian" artefacts, such as Slavic bow-fibulae, Avar-styled belt mounts and
Carolingian glass vessels.[106][107] By contrast, beyond the immediate Adriatic littoral, most of the west Balkans (including
Dardania) appears to have been depopulated after the early 7th century from almost a century.[108] Another aspect of discontinuity is
the design of the tombs: pits lined by limestone rocks, a construction used in the region since the Iron Age period. However the
tombs in the 7th century, such burials are in a Christian context (placed next to churches) rather than reversion to a pagan Illyrian
past.[107]

A further argument against a proto-Albanian affinity of the Komani culture is that very similar material is found in central Dalmatia,
Montenegro, western Macedonia and south-eastern Bulgaria, along theVia Egnatia; and even islands such asCorfu and Sardinia. The
"late Roman" character of the assemblages has led some to hypothesize that it represented Byzantine garrisons.[109] However,
already by this time, literary sources give testimony of widespread Slavic settlements in the central Balkans.[106] Specifically for
Albania, the study of lexicon and toponyms might suggest that speakers of proto-Albanian, Slavic and Romance co-existed but
occupied specific ecologic/ economic niches.[104]

Genetic studies
Various genetic studies have been done on the European population, some of them including current Albanian population, Albanian-
speaking populations outside Albania, and the Balkan region as a whole.

Y-DNA
The three haplogroups most strongly associated with Albanian people (E-V13, R1b and J2b2) are often considered to have arrived in
Europe from the Near East with the Neolithic revolution or late Mesolithic, early in the Holocene epoch. Within the Balkans, all three
have a local peak in Kosovo, and are overall more common among Albanians, Greeks and Vlachs than Slavs (albeit with some
representation among Bulgarians). R1b has much higher frequencies in areas of Europe further to the West, while E1b1b and J2 are
widespread at lower frequencies throughout Europe and also have very large frequencies among Greeks, Italians, Macedonians and
Bulgarians.

Haplogroups in the modern Albanian population is dominated by sub-clade E1b1b1a (E-M78) and specifically by the
most common European sub-clade of E-M78, E-V13. [9] E-M78 most likely originated in northeastern Africa, while its

subclade E-V13 originated in western Asia, and first expanded into Europe some 5300 years ago. [9] The current
distribution of this lineage might be the result of several demographic expansions from the Balkans, such as that
associated with the Neolithic revolution, the Balkan Bronze Age, and more recently , during the Roman era with the
so-called "rise of Illyrican soldiery".[7][8][110][111][112] The peak of the haplogroup in Kosovo, however , has been
attributed to genetic drift.[8]

Y haplogroup J in the modern Balkans is mainly represented by the sub-clade J2b (also known as J-M12 or J-M102).
Like E-V13, J2b is spread throughout Europe with a seeming centre and origin in the Balkans. [7][8][111] Its relatives
within the J2 clade are also found in high frequencies elsewhere in Southern Europe, especially Greece and Italy ,
where it is more diverse. J2b itself is fairly rare outside of ethnic Albanian territory (where it hovers around 14-16%),
but can also be found at significant frequencies among Romanians (8.9%) [113] and Greeks (8.7%).[7] A skeleton

dated 1631-1521BC found in a tumulus in V eliki Vanik, Croatia was tested positive for J2b2a-L283[114] .
Haplogroup R1b is common all over Europe but especially common on the westernAtlantic coast of Europe, and is
also found in the Middle East, the Caucasus and some parts of Africa. In Europe including the Balkans, it tends to be
less common in Slavic speaking areas, where R1a is often more common. It shows similar frequencies among
Albanians and Greeks at around 20% of the male population, but is much less common elsewhere in the Balkans. [8]

Y haplogroup I is represented by I1 more common in northern Europe and I2 where several of its sub-clades are
found in significant amounts in the South Slavic population. The specific I sub-clade which has attracted most
discussion in Balkan studies currently referred to as I2a1b, defined bySNP M423[115][116] This clade has higher
frequencies to the north of the Albanophone area, in Dalmatia and Bosnia. [8] The expansion of I2a-Din took place

with the Slavic migration in the Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages. [117]

Haplogroup R1a is common in Central and Eastern Europe (and is also common inCentral Asia and the Indian
subcontinent). In the Balkans, it is strongly associated withSlavic areas.[8]
A study by Peričić et al. in 2005[8] found the following Y-Dna haplogroup frequencies in Albanians from Kosovo with E-V13
subclade of haplogroup E1b1b representing 43.85% of the total (note that Albanians from other regions have slightly lower
percentages of E-V13, but similar J2b and R1b):

N E-M78* E-V13 E-M81 E-M123 J2b I1 I2a2 R1b R1a P

114 1.75% 43.85% 0.90% 0.90% 16.70% 5.31% 2.65% 21.10% 4.42% 1.77%

A study by Battaglia et al. in 2008[7] found the following haplogroup distributions among Albanians in Albania itself:

N E-M78* E-V13 G I1 I2a1 I2b J1 J2a J2b R1a R1b

55 1.8% 23.6% 1.8% 3.6% 14.5% 3.6% 3.6% 5.4% 14.5% 9.1% 18.2%

The same study by Battaglia et al. (2008) also found the following distributions among
Albanians in Macedonia:

E- E-
N E-V13 G I1 I2a I2a1 I2a2 J1 J2a1b J2b R1a R1b
M78* M123
64 1.6% 34.4% 3.1% 1.6% 4.7% 1.6% 9.4% 1.6% 6.3% 1.6% 14.1% 1.6% 18.8%

A study on the Y chromosome haplotypes DYS19 STR and YAP and on mitochondrial DNA found no significant difference between
Albanians and most other Europeans.[118]

mtDna
Another study of old Balkan populations and their genetic affinities with current European populations was done in 2004, based on
mitochondrial DNA on the skeletal remains of some old Thracian populations from SE of Romania, dating from the Bronze and Iron
Age.[119] This study was during excavations of some human fossil bones of 20 individuals dating about 3200–4100 years, from the
Bronze Age, belonging to some cultures such as Tei, Monteoru and Noua were found in graves from some necropoles SE of
Romania, namely in Zimnicea, Smeeni, Candesti, Cioinagi-Balintesti, Gradistea-Coslogeni and Sultana-Malu Rosu; and the human
fossil bones and teeth of 27 individuals from the early Iron Age, dating from the 10th to 7th centuries BC from the Hallstatt Era (the
Babadag culture), were found extremely SE of Romania near the Black Sea coast, in some settlements from Dobruja, namely:
Jurilovca, Satu Nou, Babadag, Niculitel and Enisala-Palanca.[119] After comparing this material with the present-day European
population, the authors concluded:

Computing the frequency of common point mutations of the present-day European population with the Thracian
population has resulted that the Italian (7.9%), the Albanian (6.3%) and the Greek (5.8%) have shown a bias of closer
[119]
genetic kinship with the Thracian individuals than the Romanian and Bulgarian individuals (only 4.2%).

Autosomal DNA
Analysis of autosomal DNA, which analyses all genetic components has revealed that few rigid genetic discontinuities exist in
European populations, apart from certain outliers such as Saami, Sardinians, Basques, Finns and Kosovar Albanians. They found that
Albanians, on the one hand, have a high amount of identity by descent sharing, suggesting that Albanian-speakers derived from a
relatively small population that expanded recently and rapidly in the last 1,500 years. On the other hand, they are not wholly isolated
or endogamous because Greek and Macedonian samples shared much higher numbers of common ancestors with Albanian speakers
than with other neighbors, possibly a result of historical migrations, or else perhaps smaller effects of the Slavic expansion in these
. [120]
populations. At the same time the sampled Italians shared nearly as much IBD with Albanian speakers as with each other

Obsolete theories

Caucasian theory
One of the earliest theories on the origins of the Albanians, now considered obsolete, identified the proto-Albanians with an area of
the Caucasus referred to by classical geographers as "Albania", which roughly corresponds with modern-day Azerbaijan. This theory
supposed that the ancestors of the Albanians migrated westward to the Balkans in the late classical or early Medieval period. The
Caucasian theory was first proposed by Renaissance humanists who were familiar with the works of classical geographers, and later
developed by early 19th-century French consul and writer François Pouqueville. It was rendered obsolete in the 19th century when
linguists proved that Albanian is anIndo-European, rather than Caucasian language.[121]

Pelasgian theory
Another obsolete[122][123] myth on the origin of the Albanians is that they descend from the Pelasgians, a broad term used by
classical authors to denote the autochthonous inhabitants of Greece. This theory was developed by the
Austrian linguist Johann Georg
von Hahn in his work Albanesische Studien in 1854. According to Hahn, the Pelasgians were the original proto-Albanians and the
language spoken by the Pelasgians, Illyrians, Epirotes and ancient Macedonians were closely related. This theory quickly attracted
support in Albanian circles, as it established a claim of predecence over other Balkan nations, particularly the Greeks. In addition to
establishing "historic right" to territory this theory also established that the ancient Greek civilization and its achievements had an
"Albanian" origin.[124] The theory gained staunch support among early 20th-century Albanian publicists.[125] This theory is rejected
by scholars today.[126] In contemporary times with theArvanite revival of the Pelasgian theory, it has also been recently borrowed by
[127]
other Albanian speaking populations within and from Albania in Greece to counter the negative image of their communities.

Italian theory
Laonikos Chalkokondyles(c. 1423–1490), the Byzantine historian, thought that the Albanians hailed from Italy.[128] The theory has
its origin in the first mention of the Albanians, disputed whether it refers to Albanians in an ethnic sense,[129] made by Attaliates
(11th century): "... For when subsequent commanders made base and shameful plans and decisions, not only was the island lost to
Byzantium, but also the greater part of the army. Unfortunately, the people who had once been our allies and who possessed the same
rights as citizens and the same religion, i.e. the Albanians and the Latins, who live in the Italian regions of our Empire beyond
Western Rome, quite suddenly became enemies whenMichael Dokeianos insanely directed his command against their leaders..."[130]

See also
Albanian language
Albanian nationalism
List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin with correspondence in Albanian
Ethnogenesis
Historiography and nationalism
Origin of the Romanians
Paleo-Balkan languages
Prehistoric Balkans

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populations from the European continent. No significant difference was observed between Albanians and most other
Europeans, despite the fact that Albanians are clearly dif
ferent from all other Indo-Europeans linguistically . We
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T R; Colak, I; et al. (2005). "High-resolution
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Chromosomal Haplogroups E-M78 and J-M12"(http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/24/6/1300) . Molecular
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11. D. Dečev (Charakteristik der thrakischen Sprache 113 [Sofia, 1952])
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13. The Illyrians The Peoples of Europe Author John Wilkes Edition illustrated, reprint Publisher Wiley-Blackwell, 1995
ISBN 0-631-19807-5, ISBN 978-0-631-19807-9 p.278–279
14. The position of Albanian by Eric Hamp Ancient Indo-European Dialects. Publisher University of California Press p.
105
15. John Van Antwerp Fine (1991).The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Latewelfth
T
Century (https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0NBxG9Id58C&pg=P A11). University of Michigan Press. pp. 10–12.
ISBN 978-0-472-08149-3.
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illustrated Published by Noyes Press, 1976 Original from the University of Michigan Digitized Jun 24, 2008ISBN 0-
8155-5047-2, 978-0-8155-5047-1"Illyrian has survived. Geography has played a large part in that survival; for the
mountains of Montenegro and northern Albania have supplied the almost impenetrable home base of the Illyrian-
speaking peoples. They were probably the first occupants, apart from nomadic hunters, of the Accursed Mountains
and their fellow peaks, and they maintained their independence when migrants such as the Slavs occupied the more
fertile lowlands and the highland basins. Their language may lack the cultural qualities of Greek, but it has equalled it
in its power to survive and it too is adapting itself under the name of Albanian to the conditions of the modern world."
p.163
19. Thunman, Hahn, Kretschmer, Ribezzo, La Piana, Sufflay, Erdeljanovic and Stadtmüller view referenced at The
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belonged to Pharos were left unharmed, as a favour to Demetrius; while all the rest scattered and fled to Arbona ".
25. Polybius. "2.11.5". Histories (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0233%3A
book%3D2%3Achapter%3D11%3Asection%3D15)(in Greek). "εἰς τὸν Ἄρβωνα σκεδασθέντες".
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London. "The Libyrnides are the islands of Arbo, Pago, Isola Longa, Coronata, &c., which border the coasts of
ancient Liburnia, now Murlaka".
27. Strabo (1903). "2.5 Note 97".Geography (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0239:
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London. "The Libyrnides are the islands of Arbo, Pago, Isola Longa, Coronata, &c., which border the coasts of
ancient Liburnia, now Murlaka".
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" ρβών". Ethnika kat' epitomen (https://archive.org/stream/stephanibyzanti00meing
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Ἀρβώνιος καὶ Ἀρβωνίτης, ὡς Ἀντρώνιος καὶ Ἀσκαλωνίτης".
35. Encyclopedia of ancient Greece by Nigel Guy Wilson, p. 597, Polybius' own attitude to Rome has been variously
interpreted, pro-Roman, ...frequently cited in reference works such as Stephanus' Ethnica and the Suda. ...
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Series Authors Alexandru Madgearu, Martin Gordon Editor Martin Gordonranslated
T by Alexandru Madgearu
Edition illustrated Publisher Scarecrow Press, 2008ISBN 0-8108-5846-0, ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6 It was supposed
that those Albanoi from 1042 were Normans from Sicily , called by an archaic name (the Albanoi were an
independent tribe from Southern Italy)(https://books.google.com/books?id=EOIhpIu8KAQC&pg=P A25&dq=%22origi
n+of+the+albanians%22&hl=en&ei=W4K3TJySNIyqsAOc1dCdCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved
=0CEMQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22origin%20of%20the%20albanians%22&f=false) , p. 25
39. The wars of the Balkan Peninsula: their medieval origins G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects
Series Authors Alexandru Madgearu, Martin Gordon Editor Martin Gordonranslated
T by Alexandru Madgearu
Edition illustrated Publisher Scarecrow Press, 2008ISBN 0-8108-5846-0, ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6 It was supposed
that those Albanoi from 1042 were Normans from Sicily , called by an archaic name (the Albanoi were an
independent tribe from Southern Italy). The following instance is indisputable. It comes from the same Attaliates, who
wrote that the Albanians (Arbanitai) were involved in the 1078 rebellion of...
p. 25
40. Vranoussi E., "The terms 'Albanoi' and 'Arvanitai' ...", 1970, pp. 239, 240(https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.p
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indobonae, MCMXIII, I, 113 (1198).
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Albanians in Epeiros. The case of Gjirokastër. (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kosta_Giakoumis/publication/23
3673710_Fourteenth-century_Albanian_migration_and_the_relative_autochthony_of_the_Albanians_in_Epeiros._Th
e_case_of_Gjirokaster/links/0deec52ab0987b856e000000.pdf) " Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 27. (1): 176.
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documentary sources: the first is a Venetian document of 1210, which states that the continent facing the island of
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the banner of the Byzantine Empire"
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T Albanian Literature: A Short History. New
York/Westport/London: I.B. Tauris. p. 5.
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Venetic peoples, Veneti, Carni, Histri and Liburni, whose language set them apart from therest of the Illyrians."
53. Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1992.ISBN 0-631-19807-5, p. 81. "In Roman Pannonia the
Latobici and Varciani who dwelt east of the Venetic Catari in the upper Sava valley were Celtic but the Colapiani of
the Colapis (Kulpa) valley were Illyrians..."
54. "Johann Thunmann: On the History and Language of the Albanians and Vlachs" (https://web.archive.org/web/20100
617214314/http://www.albanianhistory.net/texts16-18/AH1774.html). Elsie. Archived from the original (http://www.alb
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57. Stipčević, Alexander. Iliri (2nd edition). Zagreb, 1989 (also published in Italian as "Gli Illiri")
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position of Albanian, E. Hamp 1963)
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62. Jireček as referenced at Hamp see T
( he position of Albanian, E. Hamp 1963)
63. Demiraj, Shaban. Prejardhja e shqiptarëve në dritën e dëshmive të gjuhës shqipe.(Origin of Albanians through the
testimonies of the Albanian language) Shkenca (Tirane) 1999
64. History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453 By Alexander A. Vasiliev Edition: 2, illustrated Published by Univ of
Wisconsin Press, 1958ISBN 0-299-80926-9, ISBN 978-0-299-80926-3 (page 613)
65. History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries By Barbara Jelavich Edition: reprint, illustrated
Published by Cambridge University Press, 1983ISBN 0-521-27458-3, ISBN 978-0-521-27458-6 (page 25)
66. The Indo-European languagesBy Anna Giacalone Ramat, Paolo Ramat Edition: illustrated Published byaylor
T &
Francis, 1998 ISBN 0-415-06449-X, 9780415064491 (page 481)
67. Douglas Q. Adams (January 1997).Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture(https://books.google.com/books?id=tzU
3RIV2BWIC&pg=PA11). Taylor & Francis. pp. 9, 11.ISBN 978-1-884964-98-5. "The Greek and Latin loans have
undergone most of the far-reaching phonological changes which have so altered the shape of inherited words while
Slavic and Turkish words do not show thosechanges. Thus Albanian must have acquired much of its present form
by the time Slavs entered into Balkans in the fifth and sixth centuries AD [...] borrowed words from Greek and Latin
date back to before Christian era[...] Even very common words such as mik "friend" (<Lat. amicus) or këndoj "sing"
(<Lat. cantare) come from Latin and attest to a widespread intermingling of pre-Albanian and Balkan Latin speakers
during the Roman period, roughly from the second century BC to the fifth century AD. "
68. Katicic, Radoslav. 1976. The Ancient Languages of the Balkans. Berlin: Mouton. Page 188.
69. Erik Hamp, The Position of Albanian(http://groznijat.tripod.com/balkan/ehamp.html)
, University of Chicago,..Jokl's
Illyrian-Albanian correspondences (Albaner §3a) are probably the best known. Certain of these require comment...
70. Çabej, E. "Die alteren Wohnsitze der Albaner auf der Balkanhalbinsel im Lichte der Sprache und der Ortsnamen,"
VII Congresso internaz. di sciense onomastiche, 1961 241-251; Albanian version BUShT 1962:1.219-227
71. Çabej, Eqrem. Karakteristikat e huazimeve latine të gjuhës shqipe. (The characteristics of Latin Loans in Albanian
language) SF 1974/2 (In German RL 1962/1) (13-51)
72. Cimochowski, W. "Des recherches sur la toponomastique de l’Albanie," Ling. Posn. 8.133-45 (1960). On Durrës
73. In Tosk /a/ before a nasal has become a central vowel (shwa), and intervocalic /n/ has become /r/. These two sound
changes have affected only the pre-Slav stratum of the Albanian lexicon, that is the native words and loanwords from
Greek and Latin (page 23) Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the WorldBy Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie
Contributor Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie Edition: illustrated Published by Elsevier
, 2008 ISBN 0-08-087774-5,
ISBN 978-0-08-087774-7
74. The dialectal split into Geg and Tosk happened sometime after the region become Christianized in the fourth century
AD; Christian Latin loanwords show T osk rhotacism, such as Tosk murgu"monk" (Geg mungu) from Lat. monachus.
(page 392) Indo-European language and culture: an introduction By Benjamin W . Fortson Edition: 5, illustrated
Published by Wiley-Blackwell, 2004ISBN 1-4051-0316-7, ISBN 978-1-4051-0316-9
75. The river Shkumbin in central Albania historically forms the boundary between those two dialects, with the population
on the north speaking varieties of Geg and the population on the south varieties ofosk.
T (page 23) Concise
Encyclopedia of Languages of the World By Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie Contributor Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie
Edition: illustrated Published by Elsevier,2008 ISBN 0-08-087774-5, ISBN 978-0-08-087774-7
76. See also Hamp 1963 The isogloss is clear in all dialects I have studied, which embrace nearly all types possible. It
must be relatively old, that is, dating back into the post-Roman first millennium. As a guess, it seems possible that
this isogloss reflects a spread of the speech area, after the settlement of the Albanians in roughly their present
location, so that the speech area straddled the Jireček Line.
 77. Fine, JA. The Early medieval Balkans.Univ. of Michigan Press, 1991. p.10.[1] (https://books.google.com/books?id=
Y0NBxG9Id58C&pg=RA1-PA11&dq=origin%2Balbanians%2Bdacians)
78. Madgearu A, Gordon M.The wars of the Balkan peninsula.Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. p.146.[2] (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=EOIhpIu8KAQC&pg=P A146&dq=albanians%2Borigins%2Bthracian&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=el)
79. Turnock, David. The Making of Eastern Europe, from the Earliest T
imes to 1815. Taylor and Francis, 1988. p.137[3]
(https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYEOAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=T urnock,+Davis)
80. Fine, JA. The Early medieval Balkans.Univ. of Michigan Press, 1991. p.11.[4] (https://books.google.com/books?id=
Y0NBxG9Id58C&pg=RA1-PA11&dq=origin%2Balbanians%2Bdacians)
81. The Cambridge ancient history by John Boederman,
ISBN 0-521-22496-9,2002, page 848
82. Matasović, Ranko (2012)."A Grammatical Sketch of Albanian for students of Indo-European"(http://mudrac.ffzg.uniz
g.hr/~rmatasov/Albanian.pdf). Page 13:"It has been claimed that the difference between the three PIE series of
gutturals is preserved in Albanian before front vowels. This thesis, sometimes referred to as Pedersen’ s law, is often
contested, but still supported by the majority of Albanologists (e. g. Hamp, Huld, and Ölberg). In examining this view ,
one should bear in mind that it seems certain that there were at least two palatalizations in Albanian: the first
palatalization, whereby labiovelars were palatalized to s and z before front vowels and ,*yand the second
palatalization, whereby all the remaining velars (*k and *g) were palatalized to q and gj, in the same environment.
PIE palatalized velars are affected by neither palatalization (they yield Alb. th, d, dh, cf. Alb. thom ‘I say’ < *k’ensmi,
cf. OInd. śa m s- ‘praise’,L c e nse o ‘reckon’). It may be that th yielded f before a consonant, if Alb. ënfle ‘sleep’ is
from *nthle < *n-k’loye- (cf. G klínō ‘recline’). "
83. The Illyrian Language (http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/LLDescription.cfm?code=xil)
84. Madgearu A, Gordon M.The wars of the Balkan peninsula.Rowman & Littlefield, 2007. p.147.[5] (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=EOIhpIu8KAQC&pg=P A146&dq=albanians%2Borigins%2Bthracian&lr=&as_brr=3&hl=el)
85. Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1992,ISBN 0-631-19807-5, p. 278. "...likely identification
seems to be with a Romanized population of Illyrian origin driven out by Slav settlements further north, the 'Romanoi'
mentioned..."
86. Jirecek, Konstantin. "The history of the Serbians" Geschichte
( der Serben), Gotha, 1911
87. V. Orel. Albanian Etymological DictionaryBrill, 1988, page X.
88. I.I. Russu, Obârșia tracică a românilor și albanezilor
. Clarificări comparativ-istorice șietnologice. Der thrakische
Ursprung der Rumänen und Albanesen. Komparativ-historische und ethnologische Klärungen. Cluj-Napoca: Dacia
1995
89. Schramm, Gottfried, Anfänge des albanischen Christentums: Die frühe Bekehrung der Bessen und ihre langen
Folgen (1994).
90. Alexandru Madgearu; Martin Gordon (2008).The Wars of the Balkan Peninsula: Their Medieval Origins (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=EOIhpIu8KAQC&pg=P A151). Scarecrow Press. p. 151.ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6.
91. Hamp, Eric (1980) It [i.e. the Albanian language] can be said to be related more closely to Baltic and Slavic than to
anything else, and certainly not to be close to Thraciansee http://www.lituanus.org/1993_2/93_2_05.htm
92. Eric P. Hamp, University of Chicago, 1963The Position of Albanian(http://groznijat.tripod.com/balkan/ehamp.html#
6), "...we still do not know exactly where the Illyrian-Thracian line was, and NaissoV (Nis) is regarded by many as
Illyrian territory."
93. Malcolm, Noel. "Kosovo, a short history". London: Macmillan, 1998, p. 22-40.
94. Fine, JA. The Early medieval Balkans.Univ. of Michigan Press, 1991. p.11.
95. Eric P. Hamp, University of ChicagoThe Position of Albanian(http://members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/balkan/ehamp.ht
ml) (Ancient IE dialects, Proceedings of the Conference on IE linguistics held at the University of California, Los
Angeles, April 25–27, 1963, ed. By Henrik Birnbaum and Jaan Puhvel)
96. Fine, John Van Antwerp. Early Medieval Balkans. p304 (glossary): "Albanians: An Indo-European people, probably
descended from the ancient Illyrians, living now in Albania as well as in Greece andugoslavia.
Y
97. Eric P. Hamp, 1963, University of ChicagoThe Position of Albanian(http://members.tripod.com/~Groznijat/balkan/eh
amp.html#6)
98. Bernard William Henderson (1969).Five Roman emperors: Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Nerva, Trajan, A.D. 69-117.
p. 278. "At Thermidava he was warmly greeted by folk quite obviously Dacians
"
99. The Geography by Ptolemy, Edward Luther Stevenson, 1991, page 36
100. Ethnic continuity in the Carpatho-Danubian area by Elemér Illyés,1988,
ISBN 0880331461, page 223
101. Madgearu, Alexandru and Gordon, Martin.The Wars of the Balkan Peninsula: Their Medieval Origins. Pages 146-
147.
102. Bowden (2004)
103. Curta (2013)
104. Wilkes (1996, pp. 278–9)
105. Jones (2002, pp. 43, 63)
106. Filipovski (2010)
107. Curta (2006, pp. 103–104)
108. Wilkes (2013, p. 756)
109. Curta (2012)
110. Bird, Steven (2007). "Haplogroup E3b1a2 as a Possible Indicator of Settlement in Roman Britain by Soldiers of
Balkan Origin" (http://www.jogg.info/32/bird.htm). Journal of Genetic Genealogy. 3 (2).
111. Semino, O; Passarino, G; Oefner, PJ; Lin, AA; Arbuzova, S; Beckman, LE; De Benedictis, G; Francalacci, P;et al.
(2000). "The Genetic Legacy of PaleolithicHomo sapiens sapiensin Extant Europeans: A Y Chromosome
Perspective" (https://web.archive.org/web/20031125151213/http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/Science_2000_v29
0_p1155.pdf) (PDF). Science. 290 (5494): 1155–59. Bibcode:2000Sci...290.1155S (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2
000Sci...290.1155S). doi:10.1126/science.290.5494.1155(https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.290.5494.1155) .
PMID 11073453 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11073453). Archived from the original (http://hpgl.stanford.ed
u/publications/Science_2000_v290_p1155.pdf)(PDF) on 2003-11-25.
112. Cruciani, F; La Fratta, R; Santolamazza, P; Sellitto, D; Pascone, R; Moral, P; W
atson, E; Guida, V; et al. (May 2004).
"Phylogeographic Analysis of Haplogroup E3b (E-M215) Y Chromosomes Reveals Multiple Migratory Events Within
and Out Of Africa" (https://web.archive.org/web/20060522200621/http://www .familytreedna.com/pdf/hape3b.pdf)
(PDF). American Journal of Human Genetics. 74 (5): 1014–1022. doi:10.1086/386294 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F3
86294). PMC 1181964 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1181964). PMID 15042509 (https://www.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15042509). Archived from the original (http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/hape3b.pdf) (PDF) on
2006-05-22.
113. Martinez-Cruz B, Ioana M, Calafell F
, Arauna LR, Sanz P, Ionescu R, Boengiu S, Kalaydjieva L, Pamjav H, Makukh
H, Plantinga T, van der Meer JW, Comas D, Netea MG (2012).Kivisild T, ed. "Y-chromosome analysis in individuals
bearing the Basarab name of the first dynasty of W
allachian kings" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3
404992). PLoS ONE. 7 (7): e41803. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...741803M(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012PLoSO...7
41803M). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0041803(https://doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0041803) . PMC 3404992 (http
s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404992). PMID 22848614 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22848
614).
114. Iain Mathieson; Songül Alpaslan-Roodenberg; David Reich; Cosimo Posth; Anna Szécsényi-Nagy; Nadin Rohland;
Swapan Mallick; Iñigo Olalde; Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht; Francesca Candilio; Olivia Cheronet; Daniel
Fernandes (2018). "The Genomic History of Southeastern Europe".doi:10.1038/nature25778 (https://doi.org/10.103
8%2Fnature25778).
115. Latest designations can be found on the [www
.isogg.org ISOGG] website. In some articles this is described as I-
P37.2 not including I-M26.
116. Rootsi et al. (2004) Phylogeography of Y-Chromosome Haplogroup I Reveals Distinct Domains of Prehistoric Gene
Flow in Europe (http://evolutsioon.ut.ee/publications/Rootsi2004.pdf)
117. Ken Nordtvedt et al., 2009
118. Belledi et al., "Maternal and paternal lineages in Albania ...",Eur J Human Genetics. 2000 Jul;8(7):480-6. 2000.
Abstract (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10909846)
119. Cardos G., Stoian V., Miritoiu N., Comsa A., Kroll A., Voss S., Rodewald A. (2004 Romanian Society of Legal
Medicine) Paleo-mtDNA analysis and population genetic aspects of old Thracian populations from South-East of
Romania (https://www.scribd.com/doc/326027/PaleomtDNA-analysis-and-population-genetic-aspects-of-old-Thracia
n-populations-from-SouthEast-of-Romania)Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20090212105834/http://www .scrib
d.com/doc/326027/PaleomtDNA-analysis-and-population-genetic-aspects-of-old-Thracian-populations-from-SouthEa
st-of-Romania) 2009-02-12 at the Wayback Machine.
120. The Geography of Recent Genetic Ancestry across Europe by Peter Ralph and Graham Coop 2013
[6] (http://journal
s.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1001555&type=printable)
121. Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie; Fischer
, Bernd Jürgen (September 2002).Albanian identities: myth and history(htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=RnDeHFOX8yIC&pg=P A74). Indiana University Press. p. 74.ISBN 978-0-253-
21570-3
122. Peter, Mackridge. "Aspects of language and identity in the Greek peninsula since the eighteenth century" (http://ww
w.farsarotul.org/nl29_1.htm). Newsletter of the Society Farsarotul, Vol, XXI & XXII, Issues 1 & 2. Retrieved
2 February 2014. "the “Pelasgian theory” was formulated, according to which the Greek and Albanian languages
were claimed to have a common origin in Pelasgian, the Albanians themselves are Pelasgians... Needless to say ,
there is absolutely no scientific evidence to support any of theses theories.
"
123. Bayraktar, Uğur Bahadır (December 2011)."Mythifying the Albanians : A Historiographical Discussion on aVsa
Efendi's "Albania and the Albanians" " (http://balkanologie.revues.org/2272). Balkanologie. 13 (1–2). Retrieved
2 February 2014.
124. Malcolm N (2002) "Myths of Albanian national identity: Some key elements". In Albanian identities, Schwandner-
Sievers S, Fischer JB eds., Indiana University Press. p. 77
125. Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie; Fischer
, Bernd Jürgen (September 2002).Albanian identities: myth and history(htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=RnDeHFOX8yIC&pg=P A74). Indiana University Press. pp. 77–79.ISBN 978-0-
253-21570-3
126. Schwandner-Sievers, Stephanie; Fischer , Bernd Jürgen (September 2002).Albanian identities: myth and history(htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=RnDeHFOX8yIC&pg=P A74). Indiana University Press. pp. 78–79.ISBN 978-0-
253-21570-3. "...Such derivations, almost all of which would be rejected by modern scholars...
"
127. De Rapper, Gilles (2009). "Pelasgic Encounters in the Greek–Albanian Borderland: Border Dynamics and Reversion
to Ancient Past in Southern Albania.(http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00400327/document) " Anthropological
Journal of European Cultures. 18. (1): 60-61. “In 2002, another important book was translated from Greek: Aristides
Kollias’ Arvanites and the Origin of Greeks, first published in Athens in 1983 and re-edited several times since then
(Kollias 1983; Kolia 2002). In this book, which is considered a cornerstone of the rehabilitation of Arvanites in post-
dictatorial Greece, the author presents the Albanian speaking population of Greece, known as Arvanites, as the most
authentic Greeks because their language is closer to ancient Pelasgic, who were the first inhabitants of Greece.
According to him, ancient Greek was formed on the basis of Pelasgic, so that man Greek words have an Albanian
etymology. In the Greek context, the book initiated a ‘counterdiscourse’ (Gefou-Madianou 1999: 122) aiming at
giving Arvanitic communities of southern Greece a positive role in Greek history . This was achieved by using
nineteenth-century ideas on Pelasgians and by melting together Greeks and Albanians in one historical genealogy
(Baltsiotis and Embirikos 2007: 130—431, 445). In the Albanian context of the 1990s and 2000s, the book is read as
proving the anteriority of Albanians not only in Albania but also in Greece; it serves mainly the rehabilitation of
Albanians as an antique and autochthonous population in the Balkans. These ideas legitimise the presence of
Albanians in Greece and give them a decisive role in the development of ancient Greek civilisation and, later on, the
creation of the modern Greek state, in contrast to the general negative image of Albanians in contemporary Greek
society. They also reverse the unequal relation between the migrants and the host country , making the former the
heirs of an autochthonous and civilised population from whom the latter owes everything that makes their superiority
in the present day.”
128. The Albanians, Henry Skene, Journal of the Ethnological Society of London (1848–1856)
129. The wars of the Balkan Peninsula: their medieval origins G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects
Series Authors Alexandru Madgearu, Martin Gordon Editor Martin Gordonranslated
T by Alexandru Madgearu
Edition illustrated Publisher Scarecrow Press, 2008ISBN 0-8108-5846-0, ISBN 978-0-8108-5846-6 It was supposed
that those Albanoi from 1042 were Normans from Sicily , called by an archaic name (the Albanoi were an
independent tribe from Southern Italy), p. 25,
130. Michaelis Attaliotae: Historia, Bonn 1853, p. 8, 18, 297. rTanslated by Robert Elsie. First published in R. Elsie: Early
Albania, a Reader of Historical Texts, 11th – 17th Centuries, Wiesbaden 2003, p. 4–5.

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