12 Best Books to Understand the Albanians

The following is a list of recommended reading for those interested in deepening their understanding of the Albanians. Composed by the Arbanon Magazine Editorial Team, it is meant to be a robust starting point rather than the final word on the best works covering this unique culture. Add your own picks in the comments below or through our social media sites.

Valton's Picks:

1. Father Shtjefën Gjeçovi’s Compilation of the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini (1933)

The Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini, compiled by this formidable Catholic priest, is one of the prime demonstrations of, and windows into, the Albanian psyche and social structures. It has grown quite controversial in recent years as the Kanun’s contents are “remnants of an age that has long passed” according to many critics. Much of this argument rests on the view that certain parts of its laws and socially binding rules are primitive and no longer necessary, and otherwise unfitting to the culture of a modern liberal democracy. What such critiques fail to appreciate is the importance and sheer necessity of the Kanun. The contents of the ancient code are thought to have formed through an amalgamation of ancient paleo-Balkanic tribal law, Roman civil law and later the Church Canon, and ultimately influenced by the introduction of Islamic law, most commonly known as Sharia. 

The Kanun is a code that Gheg Albanians of the North lived and breathed for centuries. Traditionally committed to memory and passed down orally from generation to generation, Gjeçovi’s compendium of the laws provided new insight on the spiritual and material sustenance that the Kanun provided by committing it to the written word. The Kanun’s laws present arguably a full guideline of the conduct that the Albanian people held themselves accountable to, spanning from laws regarding the inheritance and boundaries of property, to judicial law, exact and detailed payments of fines, family structure and the role of besa — an irrevocable, metaphysical act of giving one’s word in Albanian culture.

Most infamously, the Kanun lays out the rules of the blood feud, or gjakmarrje, a tradition of vengeance for the murder of a tribesman. However, this variant of the Kanun must be taken with a slight grain of salt, as it originally did not represent all Albanian regions. Gjeçovi, as a Catholic friar, took the liberty of compiling the Kanun of the Catholic region of Mirdita. This area was ruled by the aristocratic House of Gjonmarkaj, generally considered to be one of the descendants of feudal medieval lord and ally of Skendërbeu, Lekë Dukagjini — hence the name of Gjeçovi’s edition. As such, the first book of this collection concerns laws regarding the Church and her holdings, as well as Christian law that did not apply in regions like Kosova, where the Islamic judicial system held more of an influence on the Kanun.  What can be concluded, though, is that the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini is among the most important works on the cultural life of the Albanian people. Gjeçovi’s compilation provides a coherent understanding of what it long meant to be an Albanian, and one’s duties to family, tribe and nation.

2. Ukshin Hoti’s Political Philosophy of the Albanian Cause (1995)

Ukshin Hoti was truly the Alexis de Tocqueville of the Albanian late 20th century. This great mind combined metaphysical inquiry through philosophy with political activism, valuing the self-determination and liberty of his people while also seeking to balance freedom with order and national consciousness. The ideas Hoti conveyed, through his work as a political scientist and philosopher and passionate advocate for Albanian sovereignty, would bring him under the ever-tightening scrutiny of the socialist Yugoslav state. Suffering several prison sentences, the activist eventually disappeared under the occupying authorities’ watch in 1999, though information released in 2020 indicated that he was murdered by Serbian forces. Hoti’s magnum opus The Political Philosophy of the Albanian Cause is a corpus of several transcripts of speeches and written works spanning much of  his career. 

This collectanea is a foundational work of Albanian political thought that seeks to explain the Albanian condition — more specifically Kosova’s struggle under Yugoslavia — through moral political responsibility and realism rather than sentiment or myth. Written under the intense repression of Yugoslavia’s waning years, Hoti argues that Albanians were politically weakened not only by external domination but also the evolution of politics into a technical instrument of control. He argued that economics and state power came to dominate political life while excluding Albanians from genuine participation. In this way, Hoti rejects both Machiavellian cynicism and liberal formalism, insisting that politics is simultaneously an art and a moral practice the methods of which shape the fate of nations.

He further argues that immoral techniques may initially work as intended, but will eventually come to corrode society as a whole. Hoti critiques Western theories that reduce nations to states and relegate Albanians to a mere “nationality” within Yugoslavia. He also sought to expose how such frameworks deny the historical continuity and self-determination of ethnic groups. The ultimate takeaway of Hoti’s work of sacrifice for the reader, Albanian or otherwise, is that, as a small yet resilient people, the Albanians struggled not only for territory or recognition, but also for the moral, conceptual and political means to exist as a nation with dignity and agency.

3. George Gawyrch’s The Crescent and the Eagle (2006)

The Albanian people and its role and status under the Ottoman Empire is a hotly debated subject, ranging from secular scholars and laymen who seek to demonize the Turks without exception, to religious fanatics who see the Sultan and his imperialistic hegemony over Albanian lands as a venerable victory of Islam. What George Gawyrch offers in The Crescent and the Eagle is a more nuanced interpretation of Ottoman rule, neither explicitly affirming nor rejecting the aforementioned views.

Gawyrch analyzes the awakening of modern Albanian identity by drawing from Ottoman and European archival material, even using the works of Albanian National Renaissance (Rilindas) thinkers such as Sami bey Frashëri. The main argument presented in the examination of the Ottoman policies towards Albanians is that much of the conflict and attempts at establishing rule over Albanian subjects came as a result of competing fealties rather than discord between the Ottoman government and Albanian resistance on national grounds. While the book challenges the traditional negative stereotypes of Ottoman domination, Gawyrch also provides considerable insight into the violence associated with their presence as well as the misadministration of Albanian-inhabited territories by her Turkish and Ottomanized Albanian provincial overlords.

The principal takeaway from the work is that the Albanians of the late Ottoman period were initially pragmatists who sought to remain within an Ottoman administrative framework for the sake of preserving their positions of authority and privileges, but came to find Turkish control under the Young Turks unappealing, prejudiced and corrosive, thereby fueling the desire for autonomy and eventual independence. It is a well-crafted insight into the political dynamics of the dying Ottoman Empire which proves helpful for understanding the fragile authority under which the Albanian people existed in their search for self-direction.

4.  Pashko Vasa’s The Truth on Albania and Albanians (1879)

“The religion of the Albanian is Albania!” (“Feja e shqyptarit asht Shqyptaria!”). This line by Ottoman Catholic Albanian statesman and author Pashko Vasa in his 1878 poem “O Albania” (O moj Shqypni) is one of the most famous lines of Albanian literature. It captures the foundation of the modern national identity that came to be; not one bound to religious division, but the unity of all Albanians through heritage and land.

In 1879, Vasa would publish The Truth on Albania and the Albanians, a work that aimed to present the Albanian people to a growing global — mainly European — audience. To this end, Vasa had the book translated to several languages, including French, English, German, Greek and later Ottoman Turkish. Vasa would trace the ethnogenesis and origin of the Albanian people and their culture as well as Albanians’ conditions of life during the Hamidian period. 

Vasa asserted that the Albanians had a distinct identity as an ancient people of the Balkans, separate from their Greek neighbors to the south. He championed Skendërbeu’s struggle against the Empire in the 15th century, and especially focused on the military skill and loyalty of the medieval Albanians under his command. He used this work to propose either appointing local Albanians to government or training Ottoman officials to respect the traditions of the Albanian people. At the same time, he placed a heavy emphasis on Albanian unity, downplaying the religious and regional differences between Ghegs and Tosks — the main dialectal and cultural subdivisions among Albanians.

Vasa also argued that the Albanian vilayets must be unified into one administrative unit, framing this as aiding Ottoman interests, as the Muslims of Albania did not seek to undermine the Empire. Widely reviewed in the European press, even making its way to The London Times, the book sought to assert Albanian political identity, national rights and cohesion in response to profound geopolitical threats, making it a foundational text of Albanian nationalism and political thought.

Bleron's Picks:

1. Mitrush Kuteli’s Old Albanian Tales (1965)

Old Albanian Tales (‘Tregime të Moçme Shqiptare’) is a collection of folktales and legends retold by Mitrush Kuteli, which is the pen name of the renowned writer Dhimitër Pasko from Pogradec. Drawn directly from Albania’s rich oral tradition, the collection is a foundational work primarily geared towards children and adolescents, yet it speaks just as powerfully to adult readers. The work belongs in every Albanian household: for the young, it introduces the myths, values and moral codes of a long tradition. while offering a vital glimpse into the ancient cultural inheritance that has been passed down through generations to those who did not grow up hearing them. Certain recurring themes can be identified across the collection, such as besa, honor, loyalty, sacrifice and fate. These themes reveal the fundamental aspects of Albanian culture and what values ought to be emphasized in our communities, while the often tragic nature of the tales reflects the grim and sombre reality of Albanian history.

2. Gjergj Fishta’s Highland Lute (1937)

Widely regarded as Albania’s equivalent to the Iliad, The Highland Lute (Lahuta e Malcís) is the Albanian national epic poem written by Gjergj Fishta, a priest from the Zadrima region of Lezha who became one of the most influential figures of the Albanian National Renaissance (Rilindja). Centred on the Albanian struggle for independence, the epic consists of 15,613 lines that focus primarily on northern Albanian history from the years of 1862 to 1913, and it is considered to be the first major contribution to international literature written in the Albanian language. The epic weaves traditional mythology, folklore, and oral tradition into a song-like narrative that recounts historical events, struggles and figures of this period of Albanian history. Through its verses, the epic conveys the core values that sustained the Albanians throughout centuries of hardship as well as their unwavering attachment to land and identity. By preserving history in poetic form, Fishta ensured that the Albanian past would not only be remembered, but deeply felt by all those who read his work.

3. Edith Durham’s High Albania (1909)

Written by esteemed British anthropologist and Albanophile Edith Durham, High Albania offers a rare glimpse into Albanian society at the beginning of the 20th century. The book captures Durham’s experiences while travelling through northern Albania and Kosova during a turbulent time, only a few years prior to the 1912 Declaration of Independence. Far more than a travelogue, the volume offers an intimate and often stark portrayal of life in northern Albanian communities, revealing a society governed by customary law rather than formal institutions. Durham preserves not only a disappearing world in the form of many customs and traditions which may no longer be present among Albanians but also records a lifestyle many would now find harsh and primitive. 

The book is mainly based on Durham’s direct experiences, yet there are a few instances in which she repeats incorrect information heard from others (such as attributing a “gypsy” origin to part of the Nikaj tribe), but this is not altogether rare for such old publications. Nonetheless, such works are essential in understanding the origins and development of the Albanian North. What is made abundantly clear in Durham’s work is that the Albanians were a harsh people with a history characterized by suffering and poverty, yet the mere fact that such a society endured and retained its language, culture and identity is something of a miracle, and ultimately a source of pride for every Albanian.

4. Bernd Jürgen Fischer and Oliver Schmitt’s A Concise History of Albania (2022)

This work by reputable scholars Bernd J. Fischer and Oliver Jens Schmitt is one of the most reliable and balanced introductory overviews of Albanian history available in English. Written by two leading historians of the Balkans, the book traces Albania’s historical development from antiquity to the modern era within broader regional and European contexts. What sets this work apart is its commitment to scholarly rigor free of ideological bias: it neither romanticizes nor diminishes the Albanian past, but presents it with clarity, nuance and respect for historical complexity. For Albanians, it offers a grounded framework through which to understand our collective journey; for non-Albanians, it provides an essential, well-informed entry point into the history of one of Europe’s most frequently misrepresented peoples.

Enri's Picks:

1. Faik Konica’s Dr. Gjilpëra and Four Tales from Zululand (1924)

Even over four score years after his passing, you would be hard-pressed to find a writer as incisive on the Albanians as Faik Bey Konica. Many of his pithy citations, most often of a profoundly self-critical nature, have embedded themselves in the national psyche. The domestically well-known “Albania, I have damned you, I never did understand you,” perhaps best represents this quality.

This volume both reaffirms and expands this cutting wit which distinguished Konica’s work from his peers in the Albanian National Renaissance. Published in a series of articles in his Boston-based newspaper Dielli (The Sun), Dr. Gjilpëra was left incomplete at the time of the author’s passing. It tells of a worldly and cultured, yet deeply patriotic, medical student who returns from his studies in Sweden’s prestigious Uppsala University to serve his countrymen. His grand visions are shattered by a society which, from the streets to his medical colleagues and up to the highest levels of government, demonstrates little but corruption and ignorance.

Four Tales from Zululand describes the rise to pre-eminence of a diplomat from the fictional Eastern African nation of Zululand, whose abysmal letter-writing becomes a laughingstock in the capitals of Western European powers. Once the diplomat forwards Western responses to his home country, crowds erupt in jubilation at this newfound national glory. Their merriment is only interrupted by one man, whose name translates to “plow” in reference to his insistence that work, rather than words or force, can be the only national salvation; “Work is loftier than bravery, the pickaxe nobler than the sword,” he urges.

The true architect of Zululand’s national project, he dares to plead that his compatriots change their ways and wake up to how the world truly perceives them. Their violent response results in his flight to safety, and ultimately dejected exile away from its shores. Though some of its characterizations may appear problematic to contemporary readers, Konica’s allegorical use of Africa as the backdrop to his frustrations with Albanian society is deeply revealing. It is hard to determine which of the two short tales is a funnier indictment of the society Konica observed – but both remain painfully resonant in the present day.

2. Ismail Kadare’s Chronicle in Stone (1971)

There are many disagreements about Ismail Kadare’s role in Albanian political life. No one, however, has seriously challenged the sterling quality of his work. Questions of character and talent are often separate and Kadare’s imagination in capturing the traditions and mental lives of those around him remains unparalleled.

Chronicle in Stone is among the best such examples. It reveals the Gjirokastra of Kadare’s childhood in the throes of World War II. The resilient ancient city, its old eccentric characters and idealistic youth make for a stunning contrast as seen through a child’s eyes. Written at the height of the communist regime, it also predictably includes prominent political throughlines; for one, we are subtly led to perceive the heroism of the youth who join the ranks of the Partisans – led by a native of the city, Enver Hoxha. The characterizations of opposing Albanian forces, however, are somewhat more nuanced than one might expect – though the claim by the well-known Albanian-American author Arshi Pipa that Kadare, through references to androgyny and other unorthodox phenomena, portrayed the dictator as a homosexual remains unfounded.

Throughout the occupation of Italian, Greek, and German forces alike, the city retains its stubborn, enchanting character. Its last sentence, describing the return of its residents after the initial thunderous German occupation, is likely to also linger in your mind: “Again the tender flesh of life was filling the carapace of stone.”

3. Noel Malcom’s Rebels, Believers, Survivors: Studies in the History of the Albanians (2020)

This is the last work on the history of the Albanians by an author with a unique record of contribution. A talented polyglot and archival researcher, Sir Noel has demonstrated an unfailingly elegant treatment of the complexities of the Balkans, which he has traveled and studied extensively since the 1990s. The region was not, in fact, his original focus; this was the thought of Thombas Hobbes and connections between the Western and Islamic worlds.

Following a 1994 work on Bosnian history, the author published Kosovo: A Short History in 1998, just before full-scale war seized the territory. Both volumes filled a woeful vacuum in Western understanding of these regions and the conflicts they were then engulfed in. This was followed up with the masterful Agents of Empire in 2015, a multigenerational history of the Albanian Bruni family, who, in roles ranging from commanders of papal naval forces to merchants and interpreters for the Ottomans, epitomize the period's extensive links between East and West – and how deeply Albanians were woven into this fabric.

Readers may well find Rebels, Believers, Survivors the most accessible of his works, not only because it is penned by an author with decades of experience in the subject matter, but also in virtue of its episodic nature. It is not an exhaustive study of the millenia of history associated with his subjects, but rather a revealing look at several chapters in their long life, ranging from the accounts of pilgrims passing through the Adriatic in the 15th-century to ethnic Albanians at the hands of the Inquisition, Ali Pasha’s diplomatic maneuvers vis-à-vis Britain and Napoleonic France, and far beyond. This would prove ideal reading for those who are already familiar with the broad themes of Albanian history and wish to expand on them.

4. Mit’hat Frashëri’s Selected Works (2017-)

As I mentioned in a recent article, a part of Frashëri’s enduring value comes from his presence at several key chapters of the Albanian 20th century. This is well-captured in his Selected Works. The titanic effort to compile these twelve total volumes was led by Uran Butka, the historian from an eminent patriotic family and former political prisoner of the communist regime, who begins the first volume with a long biographical foreword. Its publication reflects a flourishing of interest in Frashëri’s thought over the last few decades, a triumph over the singular brutality with which the dictatorship sought to vandalize his memory – a development which somehow appears at once unexpected and inevitable.

Each volume contains a different focus, from his newspaper publications to memoirs, official documents as well as literary and critical work alike. Most entries are brief, averaging only a few pages, and Frashëri’s tone is strikingly personal and resonant – which makes sense as many of the texts are epistolary.

In one of the entries, “Are You Really Working?” Frashëri describes his unsettling conversation with a German foreign correspondent who poses the titular question about the national movement in 1915. In response, Frashëri expresses his conviction that Albania would find a robust path to development. After his interlocutor departs, however, he reveals a more interesting depth of psyche: “In my mind, for an instant, like thunder, struck a doubt, a pressing thought: ‘Did I utter a lie? Are we really working and trying our best?’ But this, like the thunder, came and went quickly.” It is this honesty and range which makes the work of Frashëri essential to understanding the last century of Albanian history.

The volumes’ sole major shortcoming is that they are only available in their entirety in the original Albanian. It was the gift of a previous generation of historians to overcome major obstacles and bring his thought to light; it falls upon the shoulders of the next to open the door to the wider world.