ABSTRACT
Prior to the establishment of an independent Albania, and, subsequently the lands inhabited by the Albanians in the southern Balkans retain the characterization within changing historical and political contexts. Tradition, toponymic arid other evidence suggests that the Albanian lands encompass the entire western portion of the Balkan Peninsula. While the last among the Balkan peoples to secure their national independence, the Albanians were clearly among the first to occupy the region, in the person of the ancient Thraco-Illyrians. Disputes over the origins of Albanian settlement aside, a broad distribution of Albanians in the southwestern Balkans are recognized throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Language was to be the most important formative element in the development of Albanian national consciousness. The imprint of religion upon the Albanian lands was even more complex in its result.
