{"id":547,"date":"2024-10-04T10:49:18","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T14:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/?p=547"},"modified":"2025-08-26T10:26:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T14:26:43","slug":"greater-albania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/greater-albania\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Albania"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"is-style-rounded wp-block-image alignwide size-full is-style-rounded--1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1236\" height=\"939\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/2025_08_26_0he_Kleki.png?fit=1236%2C939&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2475\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/2025_08_26_0he_Kleki.png?w=1236&amp;ssl=1 1236w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/2025_08_26_0he_Kleki.png?resize=300%2C228&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/2025_08_26_0he_Kleki.png?resize=1024%2C778&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/2025_08_26_0he_Kleki.png?resize=768%2C583&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA&#8230;.(Evil laughter intensifies)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, I said in &#8220;Proposed new map of the Balkans&#8221;, that I would go further in depth of why I made Albania get so much stuff, so that what this post is explaining, along with the other stuff I gave to Albania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in order to understand how we got this far, we need to know the history of Albania f first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This story begins back in Illyrian times, when there were Illyrian tribes ruling over most of the western Balkans.(Yellow) The Illyrian&#8217;s were the ancestors of modern day Albanian&#8217;s, which is why Albanian&#8217;s used to be more widespread until recently, like in Serbia and Greece. However, the Romans took over, and incorporated them into the empire. For the next several centuries, the Albanian&#8217;s belonged ether to the Roman or Byzantine empires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the 1100&#8217;s, as the Byzantine started to collapse, the Principality of Arbanon(Albania) became an autonomous region. In the 1200&#8217;s, the kingdom of Sicily, took Corfu, so Albania would get that back in the present. Soon after that, the Serbia and the Venetian Republic started taking Albanian territories in the west and the north, including Kosovo, Nis(To Serbia), and Montenegro(To Venezia). In the 1260&#8217;s, Charles I of Anjou, the King of Sicily, made an agreement with Arbanon to protect them from invaders. Soon, he founded the Kingdom of Albania. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, this would be short lived, as Albania(Except for Durres), was taken by the Serbian Empire. Now is a good time to mention that, unlike now, where Serbia and Albania are mortal enemies, there was once a time when they had good relationships, as there were similar ethnic groups with shared history and religion. However, this was now starting to fall apart, as, while Serbia was majority Eastern Orthodox, Albania was becoming Catholic due to Sicilian influence. This divide would grow over the coming centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After several years, the Serbian Empire would collapse, and Albania would become several principalities, who united behind Skanderbeg to fight against the Ottoman Empire. The stand lasted for 50 years, but after Skanderbeg died, the rebellion fell apart, and became incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. Due to thousands of Albanian&#8217;s not wanting to be occupied by the Ottomans, fled to Italy, becoming the Arb\u00ebresh\u00eb, who mostly live in Apulia and Calabria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During Ottoman times, most of the Albanian population converted to Islam. Next door was Serbia, which was also occupied by the Ottoman Empire. They stayed Christian Orthodox, and thought that the Albanian&#8217;s betrayed them. This would begin the eternal rivalry between Serbia and Albania. However, Albania&#8217;s time in the Ottoman Empire was no picnic either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1878, Russia invaded the Ottoman Empire, and took most of the Balkan&#8217;s. One of the nations to become independent because of this was Serbia. During this time, there was a growing Serb nationalist movement to get Kosovo, which was partially populated by Albanians. However, in 1878, they did not get Kosovo, but they got Nis, which was still mostly populated by Albanians. The Serbs did not like this, so they made the Albanian&#8217;s flee, most of which moved to Kosovo, which is nearly completely Albanian now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1912, the Balkan League(Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece) made one last attempt to expel the Ottoman Empire from Europe, thus beginning the First Balkan War. In November 1912, Albanian rebels rose up and declared independence. However, while the great powers were deciding how the borders should be, Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, wanted to make the new Albania as small as possible, so the three nations began a huge genocide that was responsible for the deaths of 500,000 Albanians. The &#8220;Great&#8221; Powers did not lift a finger to prevent this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the First Balkan War, Albania was finally independent&#8230; for about a year, as the Central Powers and the allies both occupied the country during World War 1. But afterword&#8217;s, Albania got its current borders, and complete independence. But in 1939, Benito Mussolini, the dictator of Italy, demanded control over Albania so he could control the entrance to the Adriatic. Albania refused, so Italy invaded, and occupied Albania.(Again)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the Italian occupation, Italy, through Albania, attempted to invade Greece, which went horribly, until the Germans came. However, as Greece was being liberated, in 1944, Greece committed genocide on Albanians living in the region, accusing them of being collaborators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After World War 2, a brutal communist regime had taken control in Albania, which ruled the country for the next 50 years. In 1992, the communist regime in Albania fell, and Albania became it&#8217;s current republic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1998, Yugoslavia was falling apart, as Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia already left. All they had left was Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. Now, the KLA was trying to make Kosovo leave also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leader of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u0107 was not about to let this happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Slobodan Milo\u0161evi\u0107 was a Serb Nationalist, and he wanted to unify all Serb peoples under Greater Serbia. Kosovo, although mostly Albania, still had some Serb populations. So, while he was President of Yugoslavia(Before the wars), he revoked Kosovo&#8217;s autonomy, and placed restrictions on the Albanian language. Now, in 1998, as the KLA was waging an insurgency for independence, Milo\u0161evi\u0107 decided to commit genocide on the Kosovar Albanians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This time, unlike every single other time Albanian&#8217;s had been genocided, the world was not going to let this happen. NATO began a series of airstrikes on Yugoslavia to make them give up, which they did. In 2008, Kosovo declared independence(Which Serbia still denies today.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, why am I giving this overly long explanation? Well, this shows that, ever since Illyrian times, Albania has been shrinking, occupied or genocided. So that&#8217;s why they got so much, because they used to have it at some point in time, until they were taken away. So, Albania should get all this stuff back in exchange<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other hand, this probably will never happen, so I shouldn&#8217;t dwell on it too much. Maybe I should focus on being an American instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Probably&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA&#8230;.(Evil laughter intensifies) So, I said in &#8220;Proposed new map of the Balkans&#8221;, that I would go further in depth of why I made Albania get so much stuff, so that what this post is explaining, along with the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,10],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history","category-maps"],"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/feed\/podcast\/the-corner-podcast","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"EzbR9TMm0N\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/greater-albania\/\">Greater Albania<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qatipi.com\/andyscorner\/greater-albania\/embed\/#?secret=EzbR9TMm0N\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Greater Albania&#8221; &#8212; Andy&#039;s Corner\" data-secret=\"EzbR9TMm0N\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! 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