A Timeline of Albania

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