Etymology of Albania

Ancient site temple of Apollonia.

Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country which is called Shqipëri by its inhabitants. In Medieval Greek, the country's name is Albania besides variants Albaētia, Arbanētia.^[1] The ultimate origin of the root Alb- has been traced to an Illyrian (alb "hill"). In the 2nd century BC, Polybius's History of the World mentions a tribe named Arbon in present-day central Albania. The people who lived there were called Albanoí and Arbanitai.^[2]

Another suggestion is derivation from the Illyrian tribe of the Albani recorded by Ptolemy, the geographer and astronomer from Alexandria who drafted a map of remarkable significance for the history of Illyria. This map shows the city of Albanopolis (located Northeast of Durrës) which was later called Albanon and Arbanon.^[2][3]

In his History written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was the first to refer to Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of Dyrrachium.^[4] During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbër or Arbën and referred to themselves as Arbëresh or Arbnesh.^[5][6] As early as the 16th century, a new name for their home evolved among Albanian people: Shqipëria, popularly interpreted as "Land of the Eagles" or "Land of the Mountain Eagle" hence the two-headed bird on the national flag,^[7] though most likely the origin lies in Skanderbeg's use of the Byzantine double-headed eagle on his seals.^[8][9]

References:

1. ^ OED


2. ^ ^{a b} Constantine A. Chekrezi. Albania Past and Present. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1919. p. 116.


3. ^ Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (ISBN 0-691-03169-X), Map 49 & notes.


4. ^ Robert Elsei. The Albanian lexicon of Arnold von Harff, Earliest reference to the existence of the Albanian language, p. 113-122.


5. ^ http://www.pinocacozza.it/ (Italian)(Albanian)


6. ^ http://www.radio-arberesh.eu/ (Italian)


7. ^ Kristo Frasheri. History of Albania (A Brief Overview). Tirana, 1964.


8. ^ "Flags Of The World, Albania".


9. ^ Albanian Etymological Dictionary by Vladimir E. Orel, Brill 1998

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