Albania forms the south-western portion of the remaining immediate possessions of European Turkey, and extends along the western shore of the Balkan Peninsula, from the river Bojana to the Gulf of Arta. To the north it is bounded, since 1878-80, by the newly-won Montenegrin territory, including Dulcigno, and by Bosnia; on the south it is separated, since 1881, from Greece by the river Arta. The eastern boundary is vaguely defined by a mountain-range, which to the north attains a maximum altitude of 7990 feet. Westward of this range lie parallel chains, inclosing on the one side long elevated valleys, and sinking on the other in terraces, down to level strips along the coast, which mostly consist of unhealthy swamps and lagoons. Pindus, to the south (its loftiest summit, 7071 feet, belongs now to Greece), is likewise flanked by isolated basins or hollows, whose western edges pass into the jagged and thick-wooded Epirote highlands. These highlands advance to the sea, forming steep rocky coasts. One promontory, the Acroceranian, projecting in Cape Linguetta far into the sea, reaches a height of 6642 feet.
A fine climate, the heat of which is tempered by high mountains and the proximity of the sea, and a favourable soil, would seem to invite the inhabitants to agriculture; but for the most part in vain. In the north, little is cultivated but maize, with some rice and barley, in the valleys; whilst the mountain terraces are used as pastures for numerous herds of cattle and sheep. In the south there is more variety. Here the slopes of the lower valleys are covered with olives, fruit, and mulberry trees, intermixed with patches of vines and maize, while the densely wooded mountain-ridges furnish valuable supplies of timber. The plateau of Janina yields abundance of grain; and in the valleys opening to the south, the finer fruits are produced, along with maize, rice, and wheat. Even cotton and indigo might be profitably cultivated in the moist valleys, but in its present wretched condition the country can barely support its scanty population.
Upper or Northern Albania formed part of the Illyria of the Romans; Lower or Southern Albania corresponds to ancient Epirus. The inhabitants form a peculiar people, the Albanians, called by the Turks Arnauts, and by themselves Skipetars. According to Lord Strangford, 'the true Albanian part of their language, after precipitation of the foreign elements, is distinctly Indo-European, and is more closely connected with Greek than with any other Indo-European language existing or recorded. . . . My own conjecture is, that the language in its present diffusion is quite modern, that is to say, of the Roman imperial times; that, at the time of the first mention of the name, Ptolemy's Albanopolis, it was confined to a comparatively small area in the Central Pindus, one probably of many other dialects, either Epirotic or Illyrian. . . . This is tame work after Hahn and the people who make Achilles and Deucalion speak modern Albanian' (Letters on Philological Subjects, 1878). The Albanians are half-civilised mountaineers, frank to a friend, vindictive to an enemy. They are constantly under arms, and are more devoted to robbery than to cattle-rearing and agriculture. They live in perpetual anarchy, every village being at war with its neighbour, and even the several quarters of the same town carrying on mutual hostilities.
Many of them serve as mercenaries in other countries, and they form the best soldiers of the Turkish army. At one time the Albanians were all Christians; but after the death of their last chief, the hero Scanderbeg (q.v.), in 1467, and their subjugation by the Turks, a large part became Mohammedans, who distinguished themselves by cruelty and treachery towards the tribes that remained true to their old faith. The Albanians are by most writers divided tribally into Gheghs, Tosks, Ljaps, &c.; but again, to quote Lord Strangford, 'the true and intelligible division is that of religious denomination. The typical region of the Mussulmans is in the centre; that of the Latins is in the northern district; and that of the Albanians in communion with the Greek Church, corresponding fairly to Epirus, is in the south, with Janina for its capital. As a whole, the Christians of the north are Roman Catholics, devotedly attached to their church,' and bitter foes of the Orthodox Montenegrians. Of the 1,400,000 Albanians of the Ottoman Empire, it is estimated that 1,000,000 are Mohammedans, 280,000 members of the Greek Church, and 120,000 Roman Catholics. There are, besides, some 250,000 Albanians in Greece; and 100,000 in Italy (Sicily mostly), whither they emigrated towards the close of the 15th century. By the treaty concluded then, in 1478, between the Turks and the Venetians, Albania became a Turkish province, which almost gained independence under Ali Pasha (q.v.), but which, during the insurrection of Greece (1821-8), returned to at least nominal allegiance to the Porte. Ten rebellions have since broken out, the last in 1883. See Von Hahn's Albanische Studien (1854), and his Reise im Jahr 1863 (1870); Herguard's Haute Albanie (1858); Knight's Travel in Albania (1880); Trübner's Grammaire Albanaise (1887); and other works cited in the full bibliography of Meyer's Albanische Studien (1883).