ABSTRACT
Although the longest-established people in the Balkans the Albanians are the most remote and the least-known. The mountainous terrain has largely isolated them from the outside world. Greek settlements were established on the coast and the Romans dominated the region from the second century BC to the fifth century AD, one of their most impressive achievements being to drive a road, the Via Egnatia, from Dyrrachium (present-day Durres) through the mountains to Macedonia, the Aegean coast and Constantinople. The only other force to establish itself in the interior of the country was the Ottoman empire, though it never fully dominated the northern mountains. The Ottomans brought Islam which was adopted by approximately 70 per cent of the population, the remainder being divided between Orthodoxy, around 20 per cent, and Catholicism, approximately 10 per cent, though in Albania there is less of a division between the religions than between the two main dialect groups, the Ghegs of the north and the Tosks of the south. In general, Albania remained loyal to the Ottoman sultans in return for which the Albanians were exempted from many central government exactions. Albanian traditional culture continued. This was based upon the clan, particularly in the northern mountains, and in it the blood feud played an important part.
