By Tim Lambert
Early Albania
c 2,100 BC The people of Albania learn to use bronze
c 1,000 BC The people of Albania learn to use iron
167 BC The Romans conquer Albania
395 AD The Roman Empire permanently splits into east and west
1081 The Normans land and capture Durresi but they are driven out 2 years later
1204 The Crusaders capture Constantinople
1343 The Serbians invade Albania
1415-23 The Turks conquer southern and central Albania
1443 The Albanians rebel against the Turks
1479 All resistance to the Turks in northern Albania ends
Modern Albania
1912 Albania declares independence from the Turkish Empire
1920 Elections are held in Albania
1922 Ahmed Zogu becomes leader of Albania
1928 Zogu makes himself King Zog of Albania
1939 The Italians invade Albania
1941 The Albanian Communist Party is formed
1944 The Communists enter Tirana
1948 Albania isolates itself from the Soviet Union and the rest of Eastern Europe
1961 Albania breaks off diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union
1967 Albania is declared the world’s first atheistic state
1985 The Communist leader Enver Hoxha dies
1990 Some reforms are introduced in Albania. Religious freedom is introduced.
1991 Elections are held in Albania
1996 A pyramid selling scheme in Albania collapses
1998 The Albanian economy starts to grow
2009 Albania joins NATO
