Nobody's Kingdom: A History of Northern Albania

After a relatively stable period as part of the Byzantine Empire in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Albania endured rather than enjoyed many different kinds of rule in the next three hundred years. Rule is perhaps hardly the right word for the various forms of suzerainty exercised by major or minor rulers over the average Albanian. Such an inhabitant of a village in the plains and even in the mountains might owe some fleeting loyalty to a minor baron who would in his turn show shifting allegiance to some major family like the Kastriots or the Thopias who would also from time to time acknowledge the overlordship of a dominant power like the Angevins or Serbia or Venice. A large section of the population for a large section of this period owed allegiance to nobody except themselves. Annual transhumance, other forms of community movement and the prevalence of brigandage, though uncomfortable features of Northern Albanian life, were useful devices for avoiding taxation and conscription. The Ottomans changed all this...The Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, foreign invasion, communism and tribal conflict: these have been the realities of life in Northern Albania for centuries. In this rich and comprehensive history, Tom Winnifrith examines the many different elements that have shaped this independent and little-known region of the Balkans. He explores the fundamental division between the South of Albania and its mysterious, romantic North - more feudal, more tribal, more Catholic and more prone to Austrian and Italian influence. It is also a region less affected by Greece, both ancient and modern, and by medieval Byzantium or the Orthodox faith. Northern Albania, with a terrain and climate much harsher than the south of the country, has traditionally had little respect for law and authority while its inhabitants remain in thrall to an ancient honour code - the kanun - demanding blood feuds and terrible revenge.Nobody’s Kingdom traces the history of this ruggedly beautiful region, frequently disturbed by both invaders and internal strife yet retaining a distinct national identity and character. From its origins in the ancient kingdom of Illyria and the Roman province of Illyricum, through Byzantine and Ottoman rule, the granting of Albanian independence in 1912, the rise and fall of communism to its current fragile democracy, Northern Albania can be seen as a cultural crossroads - especially remarkable given its mountainous and difficult landscape. This book, both scholarly and readable, is the first modern comprehensive history of Northern Albania and is a timely and accessible introduction to a remote and inaccessible region. Read more