ALBANIA, a country of considerable extent, which, though frequently ruled by turbulent and nearly independent chiefs, ranks as one of the provinces of the Turkish empire. It extends from the thirty-ninth to the forty-third degree of north latitude, for the space of about 250 miles, along the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Venice. The extent inland nowhere exceeds 100 miles, and is in the southern part not more than 30. The chain of Pindus, called now the mountains of Sagori, of Met-zovo, and of Suli, separate it by an ill-defined line from Macedonia and Thessaly. The Turks divided it into pachalics, of which the principal are those of Scutari, Ochrida; Vallona, and Butrinto; but these distinctions, amid late revolutions, have been in a great measure obliterated. The divisions chiefly recognised are those formed by the varieties of the native tribes. Major Leake, who is allowed to be the best informed traveller on this head, divides them into the Ngege, or Ghegides, whose principal towns are Dulcigno, Scutari, and Durazzo; the Toske or Toskides, who occupy Berat and Elbasan; the Liape, a poor and predatory race, who inhabit the mountains between the Toske and Delvino; and the Tsami, who inhabit the most southerly district, and whose principal towns are Suli and Paramithia. There are, besides, a great number of smaller divisions, too tedious to enumerate. (Leake’s Researches in Greece.)

Albania nearly coincides with the country known to the ancients under the name of Epirus. This country was then, as now, distinguished by the rude valour of its inhabitants. Its remote situation, and the want of union among its tribes, generally prevented it from acting any conspicuous part in Grecian politics. The only remarkable exception occurs in the reign of Pyrrhus IL, who was justly ranked with the greatest captains of antiquity. After his death the country was again split into a number of petty states, which were unable to resist the united strength of Macedon; and to that kingdom Epirus continued subject, till both were alike subdued by the Roman arms.

It was during the time of the Greek empire that the name of Albania was first given to this district. During the decline of the empire the Albanians gradually rose to distinction, and at last to independence. Their valour enabled them to maintain their ground against the Bulgarians, who had occupied all the neighbouring districts of Greece. Nor were they less successful against the Turks, a more formidable enemy. Under the command of the celebrated George Castriot, commonly called Scan-derbeg, they baffled all the efforts of Mahomet II. the conqueror of Constantinople. That powerful monarch entered Albania only to experience a succession of defeats, and was at length compelled to acknowledge its independence by a formal treaty. On the death of Scander-bcg the Turks redoubled their efforts against Albania, which was at length reduced to a state of nominal subjection. The siege of Scutari, in 1478, formed the termination of this memorable struggle. The subjection, however, was always imperfect; revolts were frequent, and the inhabitants of the mountainous districts still preserved their independence. It was by the motives of pay and plunder, rather than by compulsion, that these hardy soldicrs[7:2:377] were allured into the Turkish ranks. In proportion as the Ottoman empire declined in vigour, its hold of Albania became less firm; and the vigorous and enterprising genius of Ali Pacha again converted this dependency into what might almost be called a separate kingdom.

Ali was born at Tepellene, a small town in the interior of Albania. His father held the rank of a pacha of two tails, but was not possessed of any extensive power; and he died when Ali was only fifteen. In a district so turbulent, and filled with warlike and hostile leaders, the young chief was necessarily placed in a very critical situation. He was himself accustomed to boast, that he began his fortune with sixty paras and a musket; and an Albanian who attended a late traveller (Mr Hobhouse) declared, that he remembered to have seen Ali with his jacket out at elbows. Ali was ere long driven from Te-pellene, his native place, and was abandoned by almost every follower. A plan was next formed for his destruction, by the inhabitants of Gardiki, a neighbouring town; and for this purpose they surrounded, in the night-time, a village where he had taken refuge. Ali escaped through a garden, but his mother and sister fell into the hands of the Gardikiotes, and were treated with every species of indignity; Wrongs for Which he afterwards took a dreadful vengeance. His address and activity enabled him gradually to repair his fortunes. He insinuated himself into the favour of Coul Pacha, then the principal chief of Albania, whose daughter he at length married. Having thus been enabled to collect some followers, he succeeded in surprising Yanina, the capital, and in prevailing upon the Porte to recognise him as pacha of that important district. From this time he took the lead among the Albanian chiefs; employing sometimes force, sometimes money, and sometimes treachery, to increase his authority, and add to the extent of his dominions.

The most formidable adversaries with whom Ali had to contend were the Suliotes, a people placed in the southern extremity of Albania. They inhabit an almost inaccessible range of mountains, beneath whose gloomy shade winds a river, which Dr Holland conjectures, on very plausible grounds, to be the Aeheron of the ancients. ( Travels in the Ionian Isles and Albania.') The strength of their native bulwarks, their passion for war, and contempt of death, made them the terror of Albania, which they frequently invaded; while no foreign power had ever ventured to scale the tremendous barriers by which they were guarded. Ali at length succeeded, partly by force and partly by bribery,’ in gaining the passes which led into their country; and the whole nation, after a furious resistance, was reduced to subjection, and partly extirpated.

In 1811 and 1812 Ali attacked and defeated the pachas of Berat and Delvino; by which means he gained possession of some of the finest parts of Albania, and a population of between 200,000 and 300,000 souls. Tepellene, his native place, now fell into his power; and now also it was that he obtained the means of inflicting signal vengeance on Gardiki. With his accustomed duplicity he pretended a complete oblivion of all grounds of resentment, until he had surrounded and inclosed the city with his troops; when upwards of 700 of those of the inhabitants who were supposed to have been most deeply involved in the ancient guilt, were dragged into a large khan near the city, and bound together with cords. On a signal given by Ali, the Albanian soldiery, who were stationed on the walls of the khan, began a discharge of musketry, which continued until the destruction of the whole 700 was completed.

The dominions of Ali were not confined within the limits of Albania; he extended his sway over the mountainous district of Macedonia, nearly the whole of Thessaly, and great part of Livadia. He was kept in check by Ismael Bey, possessing an authority nearly as independent over the plains of Macedonia. In Albania, his power Was almost absolute; and while little regard was paid to the imperial firman, a letter with the signature of Ali commanded implicit obedience. The Albanians were enthusiastically attached to him; they viewed him as a native sovereign; they admired the energy of his character, and, when they heard of any other chief, commonly remarked, “he has not a head like Ali.”

The natives estimated Ali’s' military force so high as 50,000, 60,000, or even 100,000 men. This could only apply to the ease of a general levy en masse, in the event of invasion. It does not appear that Ali ever brought into the field a greater disposable force than 15,000. His standing army was supposed to be about 10,000, of whom 4000 or 5000 were stationed round his capital Yanina. The amount of his revenues was still more uncertain. They arose from the following sources :—1. A land-tax, amounting generally to about 10 per cent. of the produce; 2. a tax on cities and towns, levied in the form of requisition; 3. the customs, which he raised to six per cent.; 4. the inheritance of all who died without male heirs.

Ali s figure was corpulent and unwieldy, his neck short, his stature about five feet nine inches. The expression of his countenance was striking and majestic; and his features gave no indications of those terrible qualities by which he was characterized. His abilities were certainly of no mean order. He displayed that union of deep thought and contrivance with prompt and decisive action, which indicate a mind equally formed for polities and for war. He was remarkable for his address, both in gaining friends, and in lulling asleep the suspicions of his bitterest enemies. But, if his abilitiés were of a superior order, his dispositions were of a kind which rendered him an object of fear and detestation. His cruelty rather resembled that of an Indian savage, than of even the least civilized European. Impaling and roasting alive were among the common punishments reserved for those who had unhappily offended him. The fierceness of his cruelty was only exceeded by the depth of his dissimulation. It was impossible for the most skilful observer to conjecture, from his outward deportment, the real sentiments with which he regarded any individual. The only observable difference consisted in a peculiar kindness of manner towards those unfortunates whose cruel doom he had silently and unrelentingly sealed.

Ali’s ordinary residence was near Yanina, in an immense building, which combines the characters of a palace and a fortress. The outer courts were irregularly crowded with Albanian soldiers, and with persons of all descriptions, who attended upon him, or had petitions to present. Each petitioner, in approaching, knelt and kissed his garment. He exercised in person the whole judicial authority; and his decisions, though necessarily given too promptly, are, however, said to have been guided by an apparent wish of arriving at the truth, and of doing justice. He rose at six in the morning, and, with the exception of an hour at dinner and an hour at supper, spent the whole day in business. His habits at table were extremely temperate, though he was not so strict a Mussulman as to decline the use of wine. His haram contained 390 females of various descriptions. It formed an edifice entirely distinct from the rest of the seraglio, and is said to have been furnished in a style of the most gorgeous magnificence; but no European ever found admission into it.

Although the government of Ali was completely des[7:2:378]potical, yet, viewed comparatively, it appears to have been better for Albania than -the terrible anarchy to which it was formerly exposed. He freed that country from a race of petty tyrants, and from perpetual scenes of internal warfare. His vigorous administration nearly extirpated those numerous predatory hordes who found shelter in the mountainous districts, and spread terror and desolation over the plains.

In the relations between Ali and the court of Constantinople, mutual fear long preserved an outward good understanding. The progress of this enterprising chief was viewed with jealousy and alarm; but the Porte was never in a condition to hazard driving him into open rebellion. It was found prudent, therefore, to invest him, by its firman, with the government of those provinces which the sword had already placed in his possession. Ali, on the other hand, paid an outward deference to the Porte, and remitted to it some portion of the revenue which he collected. He also uniformly supported that power with nearly his whole force, against the foreign enemies with which it has had to contend. He even marched against Paswun Oglou, and was present at the siege of Widdin; and his son Mouktar Pacha distinguished himself greatly against the Russians. In all other respects, whether as to the internal government of Albania, or its foreign relations, he acted completely as an independent monarch. The Porte omitted no means of inducing him to repair to Constantinople, and even proffered to him the dignity of grand vizier; but Ali uniformly resisted every such invitation, well knowing that his arrival at that capital would be the immediate signal for striking off his head.

The Porte, however, has various resources, by which it seldom fails to crush in the end those refractory pachas who succeed in setting a temporary defiance to its authority. Ali was now past 60 years of age; and the dissensions among his sons afforded no prospect of a succession sufficiently vigorous and firm to maintain itself amid so many rivals, and against the whole power of the empire. Pacho Bey, who, from being one of the most favoured adherents of Ali, had incurred his displeasure, and been driven out of Albania, insinuated himself into favour at the. court of Constantinople. He fomented all the dissatisfaction then prevalent against his former master, and even laid down plans for his destruction, of which Ali was not long in being apprized. All the surrounding pachalics were bestowed upon his known enemies, who soon hemmed him in on every side. In these circumstances Ali determined to overawe his enemies by one of those fierce and bloody deeds which were familiar to him. He found among his devoted adherents two who undertook to assassinate Pacho Bey. They made the. attempt, accordingly, in a public place at Constantinople; but Pacho was only slightly wounded; and the assassins, being seized and led to execution, acknowledged that they were hired by the tyrant of Albania. Incensed by this daring outrage, Mahmood, the present energetic ruler of Turkey, determined no longer to keep any measures. He issued a firmanley i placing Ali under the ban of the empire, and calling upon all the surrounding pachas to march their united forces against him as a common enemy. This crisis showed the hollowness of that strength on which Ali had so firmly relied, and by which he had inspired such terror. All the tribes whom, in the zenith of his power, fear or interest had attached to his standard, deserted him in this hour of his terrible need. „ Pacho Bey had boasted that he would march upon Yanina without firing a gun; and this proud boast t he actually fulfilled, Ali being unable to collect any army which could make head against the mass of force now brought to bear upon him. Even his sons made only faint efforts to rally round the falling fortunes of their family. Veli, invested in Prevesa by the captain-pacha, surrendered with all his troops and treasures, obtaining very favourable terms. Mouktar, who defended Berat, was obliged to take refuge with a small forcé in the citadel of that place.

The Turkish army was now before Yanina, yet Ali was not yet vanquished. He now adopted a measure in entire accordance with his ferocious and desperate character. He gave up that fine capital to indiscriminate pillage by his bandit adherents, after which it was set on fire and destroyed. Ali then retreated to a strong castle in the lake, where he shut himself up with about ten thousand of those who were still ready to follow him through life and death. His position was almost impregnable. He had still an immense treasure, was master of die navigation of the lake, and could communicate with the mountaineer tribes, among whom there yet prevailed an extensive devotion to his cause. In this state of affairs the operations of the besieging army were necessarily reduced to an impotent blockade. In such circumstances an irregular army, without magazines or resources, cannot be long kept together. They began to disperse and return to their homes; and the Turkish ranks were soon so thinned, that the army was obliged to retreat upon Arta, leaving all central Albania again in the possession of AIL

Mahmood felt of course highly dissatisfied with this result of the extensive operations undertaken against his rebellious viceroy. Chourschid, pacha of the Morea, an officer of high distinction, and who had once held the place of grand vizier,· was invested with the supreme command. Having assembled the forces of all the surrounding pachalics, he soon made himself master of the plain country of Albania, and again hemmed in Ali within the precincts of his castle. He was again, however, obliged to slacken the blockade, in consequence of the grand insurrection of the Greeks; which Ali hoped, by declaring loudly in its favour, to use as an instrument in retrieving his fortunes. But his hands had been too deeply dyed in the best blood of Greece; and that people, governed rather by passion than policy, repelled this strange alliance with their mortal enemy. Chourschid, as soon as circumstances admitted, renewed the siege, and pressed it closer and closer; yet there appeared little prospect of success, till treason was resorted to. By immense bribes and promises he gained over Tahir Abbas, an old and hitherto one of the most faithful adherents of Ali. Through this person the castle gates were opened, and the Turks admitted. Yet Ali had still a resource in this last extremity. With a hundred followers, who were personally and entirely devoted to him, and with his wives and his treasure, he retired into a solitary tower, entirely insulated from the rest of the edifice. There he announced his determination, that the instant an enemy should set foot within this last retreat, the whole should be instantly blown into the air. He understood well, that so far as regarded himself, this threat was quite nugatory; but his treasure had long been an eager object of Turkish cupidity, and much would be sacrificed in order to preserve it. Chourschid now redoubled his arts, and bound himself by every vow which the Moslem faith holds most sacred, that Ah, on surrendering, should have not only life, buta secure and splendid retreat. It may be wondered how the jealous old tyrant, so deeply versant in Turkish treasons, should have given in to this snare. He was now closely beset with destruction, and thought perhaps that compliance afforded almost the only hope of life. He came down into the citadel, leaving orders, however, with Selim, his most trusty officer, on a particular signal given, [7:2:379] instantly to blow up the tower. Chourschid immediately dispatched a messenger to the Porte, announcing that its arch-enemy was in his hands. He then, by persuasion or threats, obtained from Ali orders for the surrender of the tower and all its contents. Scarcely had this transaction been closed, when Mehemed Pacha arrived with a finnan from the Porte, decreeing the immediate death of Ali. The particulars of the last scene shave been variously reported. According to some, Mehemed entered, saluted Ali as an old friend, and, amid the exchange of courtesies, stabbed him to the heart. Others report that Ali made a desperate resistance, and that fifty of his followers fought and fell around him. He fell justly, covered with crimes which cried for vengeance to heaven and earth; yet it. may be doubted if any of the treasons which rendered him infamous equalled in atrocity that of which he was the victim. His head was carried to Constantinople, and shown to the exulting populace, with a yafìa, or inscription, expressing the crimes which had. drawn upon him the just vengeance of the sublime Porte. The treasure found in the tower, chiefly in jewels, is said to have amounted to about L.800,000; a sum which fell short of the sanguine anticipations which had been formed respecting it.

The Albanians, accustomed to view with disdain the Ottoman yoke, showed a considerable disposition to make common cause with the Greeks; and their co-operation would have almost insured success. But the Greeks, imprudently and unhappily, could not divest themselves of the feelings of enmity cherished during the long series of wars which Ali had waged against them. At the siege of Tripolizza overtures were made to them by a corps of 3000 Albanians, who formed part of the garrison; but the Greeks, having succeeded in entering the place, began a dreadful and indiscriminate massacre, in which the Albanians were equally involved. At the siege of Arta, although, the capture was much facilitated by the coming over of a corps of Albanians, the Greeks treated them extremely ill. ∣ The Albanian nation was thus forcibly thrown into the arms of the Porte, to which it has since continued attached.

The inhabitants of Albania are estimated at 1,200,000, of which a considerable prcportion are Turks and Greeks; but the basis of the population consists of the original race, called Amauts. This remarkable people differ completely from every other included within the limits of the Turkish empire. Their conversion to Mahometan tenets has been very imperfect, and chiefly induced by political motives. In every family the males usually go to the mosque, the females to church; and some members of a family are seen in the most amicable manner eating from the same table, and even from the same plate, meats forbidden to the others. With the Turks, accordingly, infidel and Albanian arc terms nearly synonymous. Ali did not appear to make religion .a ground of any the slightest distinction between the different classes of his subjects.

The native Albanian is of a middle stature; his face is oval, with high cheek-bones; his neck long, his chest full and broad. His air is erect and majestic to a degree which never fails to surprise the traveller. He holds in utter contempt that dissimulation which is characteristic of the Greek, and piques himself upon giving utterance to every sentiment without the smallest reserve. Equally remote from the grave and sluggish deportment of the Turk, he is gay, lively, and active. Averse, however, to regular industry, his whole delight is in arms and plunder. He goes constantly armed; and there are few Albanians who, in the prime of their life, have not belonged to some of the numerous bands of robbers who infest the mountains of their native country, of Thessaly, and of Macedonia. This profession carries with it no disgrace; it is common for the Albanian to mention circumstances which occurred “when he was a robber.” In proportion as the trade of robbing becomes overstocked, part of those engaged in it seek employment in the service of the sultan, and of the different pachas throughout the Turkish empire; by all of whom the Albanians are regarded as the most valuable of their troops.

An Albanian military force, according to the description of Dr Holland, cannot so properly be called an army, as a tumultuous assemblage of armed men. There is no regular distribution into corps; nor is ríiuch regard paid to the authority of any officer, with the single exception of the pacha himself. Yet such is their activity and intrepidity, that they have sometimés proved formidable to the best disciplined European armies. The main strength of the Turkish infantry in the late Russian campaigns has consisted of Albanians.

This fierce and haughty race display a greater degree of contempt for the female sex than is usual even among the most barbarous nations. The females are literally regarded as inferior animals, and treated as such; but in the country districts they are not confined or veiled, as is customary in Mahometan countries.

The dress of the Albanian consists of a cotton shirt, a jacket, a mantle, sandals, and a red cap; to which is added a large capote, or great coat, as a shelter from the weather. Every part except the shirt consists of woollen. As they have usually only one suit, which they wear day and night, it soon exhibits a dreadful assemblage of dirt and vermin, and at length literally falls to pieces. The dress of the females is more various, and often fantastical. A singular custom prevails among the’ girls, of stringing together the pieces of money which they have collected for their portion, and wearing them upon their heads. Some of them have their hair hanging down in braids to a great length, loaded with this species of ornament.

Yanina, the present capital, is beautifully situated on the banks of a small lake, inclosed within a circuit of lofty mountains. The houses in general are not externally either splendid or elegant; and they are built in the most irregular manner, with scarcely anÿ approach to the form of streets. The intermixture, however, of gardens and trees gives to the city a fine appearance from a distance; particularly when combined with the magnificent back-ground which everywhere crowns the landscape.· There is a considerable number of Greeks at Yanina, who display an active and intelligent character, arid cultivate with ardour the different branches of science and literature. The total number of inhabitants is estimated at upwards of 35,000.

The commerce of Albania is chiefly carried on through Arta, a small city situated on a gulf of the Same name, in the most southern district of the country. The principal merchants, however, are Greeks residing at Yanina, among whom a very active commercial spirit appears to prevail. The mercantile houses of this city have often branches in other countries, particularly Germany and Russia; and several of them suffered considerably by the conflagration of Moscow. Under the continental system of the late French ruler, Malta became the great channel for the trade of Albania, and, notwithstanding the subsequent political changes, probably retains it to a certain extent. The exports consist almost entirely of unmanufactured produce. Notwithstanding its mountainous character, the fertility of its plains affords a surplus of grain, of which upwards of fifty cargoes are sent to Italy, the Ionian Isles, Malta, [7:2:380]and other places. Wool is exported chiefly unmanufactured, but partly also wrought into coarse cloth. Other important articles of export are, oil, tobacco of good quality, cotton and cotton yarn, chiefly from Thessaly. Some cargoes of wood for building and fire are annually sent to Malta. The chief imports consist of woollen cloths, used for winter coverings. For this purpose the preference is given to a coarser and cheaper species than any that is usually manufactured in Greaf Britain. This is supplied from Germany. Albania imports also guns, gunpowder, hardware, coffee, and sugar. On the 8th of October an annual fair is opened in the neighbourhood of Yanina, and continues for fourteen days, when the imported articles are exchanged for native commodities, which then pour in from every quarter.

The reader will find much interesting information in regard to this country, and its present ruley, in the Travels of Mr Hobhouse and of Dr Holland. The latter resided for some time at Ali’s court, where, in quality of physician, he enjoyed the privilege of a familiar intercourse with that extraordinary personage; and the anecdotes which he relates give no small share of interest to his otherwise valuable and instructive publication, (e.) Albania, a country of Asia, bounded on the west by Iberia; on the east by the, Caspian Sea; on the north by Sarmatia; on the south by Armenia and the river Cyrus, now Kur, which, springing from the Moschian Mountains, that separate Colchis from Armenia, falls into the Caspian Sea within a small distance from the southern borders of this country. The whole country, formerly called Albania, now goes under the names of Daghistan, Schirwan, and East Georgia, and is extremely fruitful and pleasant. The ancient historians take notice of the Albanian men being tall, strong-bodied, and, generally speaking, of a very graceful appearance; far excelling all other nations in comeliness as well as stature. Modern travellers extol the beauty of the women. The Albanians were anciently an independent and pretty powerful people; but we find no mention made of their kings till the reign of Alexander the Great, to whom the king of Albania is said to have presented a dog of an extraordinary fierceness and size. It does not appear that the Albanians were ever conquered by the Romans, even when their power was at the greatest height; though, when they ventured to engage in war with that powerful empire, they were always defeated, as might naturally be expected.