History of Albania | From Illyrians to 173,000 Bunkers

#HistoryOfAlbania #Albania #HistoryDocumentary Albania explained: the history of Albania from the Illyrians and the Greek port of Epidamnos, founded around 627 BC, to 2026. This history documentary follows how a small mountain nation survived Rome, Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire, then sealed itself off from the world behind concrete bunkers. Between 1975 and 1983, Albania built more than 170,000 concrete bunkers for an invasion that never came. Today, the same small country is negotiating to join the European Union. How did Albanians keep their people and their language through centuries of empires, and how did a country that sheltered Jews during the Holocaust end up banning religion? This documentary covers the history of Albania step by step: the Greek colony of Epidamnos and the city of Durrës, the Illyrians and Queen Teuta, Roman Dyrrachium, the Byzantine Empire, the first mention of the Albanians, the 2026 ancient DNA study on Albanian origins, Skanderbeg and the sieges of Krujë, Sultan Murad II and Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman Albania, the declaration of independence in Vlorë in 1912, Prince Wilhelm of Wied, King Zog, the Italian invasion of 1939, the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust and the code of besa, Enver Hoxha and his splits with Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and China, the world's first atheist state, the bunkers of Josif Zagali, the fall of communism in 1991, the exodus on the ship Vlora, the pyramid scheme collapse of 1997, the Kosovo refugee crisis of 1999, NATO membership, Edi Rama, the AI minister Diella and Albania's road to the European Union. Albania survived its empires mostly by dealing with them, not by shutting them out. Seen that way, Hoxha's total isolation was the great exception in Albanian history, and the bunkers built to stop an invasion from the sea now serve coffee and wine. This documentary is based on academic research, archival records and primary historical sources. Contested claims and figures are attributed to their sources, and different interpretations are presented side by side. CHAPTERS 0:00 History of Albania: 173,000 Bunkers 1:15 Illyrians & Ancient Durrës 2:31 Origin of Albanians: DNA Study 3:15 Skanderbeg vs the Ottoman Empire 5:42 Ottoman Albania & Independence 1912 6:56 Italian Invasion of Albania 1939 7:26 Albania Saved Jews in WWII (Besa) 7:52 Enver Hoxha & Communist Albania 9:00 Albania's Bunkers Explained 10:05 Fall of Communism & 1997 Pyramid Collapse 11:32 Albania EU Membership Today 12:23 Albania History Explained ▶ Watch next: History of Oman | From Burned Port to Superpower Mediator [   • Видео  ] Subscribe to Pastline History for the stories of countries and cities, told with stickman animation. SOURCES Davranoglou et al., "Ancient DNA evidence for the history of the Albanians," Nature Human Behaviour (2026) Encyclopaedia Britannica: Skanderbeg, Enver Hoxha, Vlorë proclamation Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, Imperial Armoury: Skanderbeg's helmet Bunk'Art Museum and the Institute for the Study of Communist Crimes and Consequences Yad Vashem, "Besa: A Code of Honor" Chris Jarvis, "The Rise and Fall of the Pyramid Schemes in Albania," IMF Staff Papers (2000) US Committee for Refugees, World Refugee Survey 2000 INSTAT, Census 2023 Council of the European Union (2026) #Skanderbeg #EnverHoxha #Illyrians #OttomanEmpire #Balkans #BalkanHistory #ColdWar #EuropeanHistory #WorldHistory #Bunkers