Looking for Illyrian remains in Albania

Albania sounds to be the right place to find traces of Illyria, if any are to be found. 

We know that Alexander spent time in Illyria but not where. There were no cities of importance, but people scattered around in small tribes fighting among themselves and invading Macedonia on a regular base in search of fertile land. The borders of Illyria were not clearly drawn. Those of today's Albania are but don't match neither with old Illyria, although roughly in its center, nor with Epirus in the south where it is shared with Greece.

Honestly, I don't know what proof of Illyria I can find or will come across, for they had no alphabet, cities, or art of their own – at least to my knowledge. Albania is not making things easier either since the country has been locked away for half a century with a totalitarian regime that only can be compared to North Korea. It is now trying to emerge in the hope of meeting Western standards, although the Albanians have only scant notions of what that means, especially those living in the eastern mountains where time has come to a standstill. I am on a general tour of one week which is supposed to touch base with the key periods of Albania's history, the Macedonians and Greeks, the Romans and Byzantines, the Ottomans and Skanderberg (National Albanian Awakening), the Slavs, King Zog with WW1, the many foreign rulers during WW2 and the authoritarian communist regime under Enver Hoxha. An extremely long and varied timeline although I am interested only in the very first centuries. Whatever I'll learn about the Illyrians themselves and the Macedonian occupation is a welcome bonus.

In a previous blog about the Illyrians (see: A closer look at Illyria), I summarized the roles played by King Philip II of Macedonia and his son Alexander the Great in putting Illyria on the map. After becoming king of Macedonia, Philip prioritized signing a treaty with the Illyrians, including his marriage with Audata, King Bardylis' granddaughter. This was only a way to win time because one year later, Philip marched north. He met the Illyrian army near Lake Ohrid, where he was victorious, and demanded that the Illyrians pull out of Upper Macedonia north to Lake Lychnitis. Alexander, in turn, sought refuge in Illyria after the brawl during his father's wedding to Cleopatra, Attalus' niece, in 337 BC. Attalus brought a toast to a lawful successor of Macedonia, implying that Alexander was a bastard. We know how Alexander reacted, especially since his father took Attalus' side. This was when Alexander left for Illyria, taking his mother, Olympias, to the safety of her brother's court in Epirus.

Peace with Illyria lasted while it lasted for as soon they heard that King Philip was assassinated in 336 BC, they felt free from any obligation towards Macedonia. Alexander could not afford to have these troublesome tribes raiding his northern borders while preparing to cross to Asia. So, as soon as the most urgent matters were settled in Pella, Alexander took his army north and not only defeated the Illyrians but mopped up all the resistance. Ultimately, the Illyrians became faithful allies and fought at his side throughout his Asian campaign.

I am curious to see the landscape Alexander crossed to understand where he may have been during his self-imposed exile. I will soon be rewarded when we drive over the most horrible road from Pogradec to Gjirokastra through the mountainous region of southeastern Albania.

Pogradec lies on the crossroad linking Tirana, the Albanian capital, to Elbasan and Korce and on the southern bank of Lake Ohrid, where King Philip made history. This was an essential stop along the Via Egnatia in antiquity that connected Byzantium to Rome. Today Lake Ohrid is shared between Albania and FYROM (meanwhile renamed the Republic of Northern Macedonia). It is one of the three geological wonders in the world harboring endemic species that cover the entire food chain. As we drive down to the shores of the lake, the views are superb, and I am impressed by the sheer size of the lake; it must have looked like a sea to people in antiquity. Unlike the more inland parts, our stop in Ohrid has a very Mediterranean feeling. But Alexander has been remembered in these parts, for I find restaurants and wine carrying the name Aleksandrija.

The next day we pick up the main road from Korca south to Gjirokastra, but our maximum speed on this bumpy, degraded, deteriorated, and unmaintained road is 25 km/hour. It takes us all day to get there, but nobody is complaining, for the landscape is absolutely breathtaking! There are no cities or towns, hardly an occasional cluster of houses, recent constructions next to dilapidated shacks that may be stables or housing, who knows. Small gardens, a few fruit trees, a couple of cows, and donkeys are all that people have to live. I am told that in winter, the snow is two meters deep in these parts, making it impossible for cars or buses to get through. Even today, there is no regular bus service in those parts – how isolated can one live? Was it like this in Alexander's days, I wonder. It cannot have been much better, if any, for the land and weather are still what it was. No wonder the Illyrians were envious of the fertile plains of Lower Macedonia! Overall the landscape is green with a wide assortment of trees and low bushes between patches of rocky grassland framed with high barren peaks. Occasionally, a river or stream meanders through the valleys, reflecting the sunlight or threatening clouds. The productive patches of land along those waterways are thriftily cultivated, a pleasant sign in this otherwise austere land.

Then we reach Gjirokastra, whose Greek name is Argyropolis (meaning silver castle), which must have been a fortified place in Epirus (yes, we are in Epirus here!). The oldest finds so far are the city walls from the 3rd century AD. The remains of today's citadel, built between the 6th and 12th centuries, still command the otherwise Ottoman city.

It is funny when I come across a Rruga Antipatrea, which is the old name for Berat, and most probably, this street and city was named after Antipater. A restaurant proudly shows off the name Antigoni. What a shame that there are no written records in Illyria and that the Macedonians or the Greeks didn't bother to write about them.

The most rewarding moments of my tour were those when I faced Illyrian artifacts in the local museums. In Apollonia, I saw my first Illyrian shield from the 4th century BC, which looked so closely like a Macedonian one. I was told that the difference was to be found in its curving; whether that is true or not, I don't know, for it had the same semi-circles and the Medusa head in the center, complete with shiny inlaid eyes that intensified her glance. Another shield was shown at the Skanderberg Museum, with the same semi-circles but carrying the Macedonian star in its center, with an Illyrian helmet and some arrows and spearheads. More helmets were exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Tirana, where a mold for an Illyrian shield was also displayed.

Yet, the most unexpected highlights are the Royal Tombs of Selca e Poshtme, a place in the middle of nowhere with no decent road leading to it. This is supposedly the ancient city of Pelium, perched high on an acropolis that overlooks the river Shkumbin. In the middle of the 4th century BC, the Illyrian town was protected by a wall, and its life was intensive. They made pottery out of grey clay imitating Greek shapes and decorations, created metal and bronze tools, and traded their goods over the roads along the river, which would later become the Via Egnatia. It was the residence of the Illyrian kings. However, excavations are still in an early stage, and Pelium's role is mainly based on the coins found in cities like Apollonia and Dyrrhachion (modern Dürres). The main discovery is four royal tombs right under the cliff of the acropolis; definitely Illyrian but, at first glance, very Macedonian. More about these great tombs in my next post, Alexander's psychological warfare in Pelium, Illyria.

Last but not least, I should focus on the route followed by the Via Egnatia, although I have yet to come across any visible pavement like in Philippi, Greece, for instance. From Ohrid, it ran through Elbasan, where it split in two. One arm connected directly to Dyrrhachion (Dürres), and another crossed Apollonia and Antipatrea (Berat) to end at Dyrrhachion on the Adriatic coast. From here, ships ferried people and goods to Brindisi on the Italian side. I regret that I have not seen a remnant of this famous road but have only been pointed to the line it followed through the cities. Maybe next time?