Durrës County Qarku i Durrësit

Foundation and ancient names of DurrësAnálise aprofundada

Durrës was founded around 627 BC under the name Epidamnos by Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra, acting in cooperation with the Taulantii, a local Illyrian tribe. The Taulantii are estimated to have occupied the site no later than the 10th century BC, and the Liburni had expanded southwards through the area in the 9th century BC. According to ancient sources, the Greek colonists helped the Taulantii expel the Liburnians and mixed with the local population, establishing a Greek mercantile presence at the port. By around the 6th century BC, the citizens of Epidamnos had constructed a Doric-style treasury at Olympia, indicating that the city ranked among the wealthiest in the ancient Greek world.

The city carried two distinct ancient names whose origins remain partly debated. Epidamnos is the older attested toponym, found in Thucydides (5th century BC), Aristotle (4th century BC), and Polybius (2nd century BC), and is widely regarded as Illyrian in origin, a view first proposed by linguist Hans Krahe. Linguist Eqrem Çabej suggested it may be etymologically connected to Proto-Albanian *dami, meaning a young animal or young bull. The name Dyrrhachion is usually explained as a Greek compound from δυσ- ('bad') and ῥαχία ('rocky shore, roaring waves'), referring to the difficulties of the coastline; this explanation was already noted in antiquity by Cassius Dio. Archaeological research has found two distinct early settlements on the site: a hill site predating the colony, likely the territory called Epidamnos, and a port-area site on a rocky, wave-struck shore, reflecting the toponym Dyrrhachion.

After Rome defeated the Illyrians in 229 BC, the name Dyrrachium was adopted as the sole official name. Roman writers, including Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder, recorded that the Romans preferred Dyrrachium because Epidamnos sounded too close to the Latin word damnum, meaning loss or harm. The modern Albanian name Durrës and the Italian name Durazzo both derive from Dyrrachium, but independently: an intermediate form Dyrratio is attested in the early centuries AD, and the difference in stress between the Albanian and Italian forms indicates that each evolved from a different post-Roman linguistic tradition.

Durrës under the Roman Republic and Roman EmpireAnálise aprofundada

Following Rome's victory in the Illyrian Wars, Dyrrachium became a major Roman military and naval base. It was developed as the western terminus of the Via Egnatia, the great road that led east to Thessalonica and on to Constantinople. A lesser road led south to Buthrotum, modern Butrint. The poet Catullus described the city as Durrachium Hadriae tabernam, 'the taberna of the Adriatic', one of the customary stopping points for Roman travellers making the Adriatic crossing, as he himself had done in the sailing season of 56 BC.

During the Great Roman Civil War, the Battle of Dyrrachium was fought there between Julius Caesar and Gnaeus Pompey. Pompey won that engagement, though Caesar subsequently prevailed at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece. After the Battle of Actium, the emperor Caesar Augustus designated the city a civitas libera (free town) and settled veterans of his legions there as colonists.

In the 4th century, Dyrrachium was made the capital of the Roman province of Epirus Nova. Emperor Anastasius I, who was born in the city around 430 AD, rebuilt and strengthened its walls after a powerful earthquake had destroyed the city's defences. The resulting fortifications—walls 12 metres high that were, according to the Byzantine historian Anna Komnene, wide enough for four horsemen to ride abreast—were considered the strongest in the western Balkans. Significant portions of these walls survive, though much reduced. In the period of the Migrations, the city was besieged in 481 by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths.

Durrës in the Byzantine and medieval periodsAnálise aprofundada

Durrës became a Byzantine province, the Theme of Dyrrhachium, probably in the first decade of the 9th century. Its bishopric had been established around 58 AD and was raised to an archbishopric in 449. In the late 10th century, the city passed from Byzantine control to Samuel of Bulgaria, possibly through his marriage to Agatha, daughter of the local magnate John Chryselios. Around 1005, the city was returned to Byzantium after the governor Ashot Taronites and his wife Miroslava fled to Constantinople and notified Emperor Basil II, who dispatched a fleet under Eustathios Daphnomeles.

The city suffered two significant Norman incursions: Alexios I Komnenos lost Dyrrachium to Robert Guiscard and Bohemund in the Battle of Dyrrhachium in February 1082, Byzantine control was restored within a few years, but Bohemund returned to besiege the city in 1107–08, and it was sacked again in 1185 under King William II of Sicily. After the Fourth Crusade in 1205, Venice took control and formed the Duchy of Durazzo, which was conquered in 1213 by the Despotate of Epirus under Michael I Komnenos Doukas.

In 1257, the city was occupied by Manfred of Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily, whose rule lasted until his death at the Battle of Benevento in 1267, after which it passed to Charles d'Anjou. A devastating earthquake struck around 1273. The city changed hands repeatedly over the following century, passing through Serbian, Thopian, Navarrese, and Venetian control. In 1380, the Venetians established the theological University of Dyrrhachium in the city, which was transferred to Zadar in 1396 as Ottoman pressure increased. Venice ultimately held Durrës from 1392 until 1501, successfully repelling a siege by Sultan Mehmed II in 1466 before the city finally fell to Ottoman forces.

411 years of Ottoman rule, 1501–1912Análise aprofundada

Under Ottoman rule, Durrës was renamed Dırac (دراج) and experienced a prolonged economic decline during its first two Ottoman centuries, becoming, according to the sources, a centre of piracy. The Ottoman chronicler Evliya Çelebi visited in 1670–71 and recorded in his Seyahatname that the city contained around 150 houses and a mosque named after Sultan Bayezid II. Much of the civilian population, including the local kadı, chose to live further inland at places such as the newly established town of Kavajë, 14 km to the south. The city's strategic castle and its salt deposits were its main assets for the Ottomans; the port itself was of minor importance since Ottoman forces controlled the entire Albanian coast.

Economic recovery began from the late 17th century, driven by the salt trade. According to diplomat and Turkologist François Pouqueville, by 1699 around 100 Turkish and Greek merchants were exporting goods including 300 tons of beeswax, 1,500 tons of finished cloth, 15,000 pieces of fine leather, and large quantities of grain to Venice annually, despite an official prohibition from Constantinople. France, England, the Netherlands, and Austria all established consulates in Durrës in 1700.

By the mid-19th century the population had fallen to roughly 1,000 people in about 200 households. In the late 19th century the city contained around 1,200 Orthodox Aromanians among a larger population of Muslim Albanians and a significant number of Catholic Albanians. Administrative reorganisation during the Tanzimat era created the Sanjak of Durrës within the İşkodra Vilayet in 1880. By 1892–93, the population of the kaza of Durrës had grown to approximately 4,781, comprising 3,018 Muslims, 1,514 Orthodox, 201 Catholics, and 48 foreigners. On 26 November 1912, as the Ottoman Empire was engaged in the First Balkan War, nationalists led by Ismail Qemali raised the Albanian flag over the city; Albania declared independence two days later.

Durrës as a national capital and through the World WarsAnálise aprofundada

Albanian independence was declared in November 1912, but Durrës was occupied by the Kingdom of Serbia three days after Ismail Qemali raised the flag there. The Serbian army organised Durrës County—covering districts of Durrës, Lezha, Elbasan, and Tirana—before withdrawing in April 1913. The city became Albania's second national capital on 7 March 1914 under Prince Wilhelm of Albania. It remained the capital until 11 February 1920, when the Congress of Lushnjë transferred that status to Tirana.

During the First World War, Durrës was occupied by Italy in 1915 and by Austria-Hungary in 1916–1918. On 2 October 1918, Allied ships bombarded the city and attacked Austrian vessels in the harbour. The Old City, adjacent to the harbour, was largely destroyed in the bombardment, including the Royal Palace of Durrës and other principal public buildings; civilian casualties were inflicted despite attempts to evacuate. Italian troops captured the city on 16 October 1918. A modern harbour was constructed in 1927 under King Zog, who also built the Royal Villa of Durrës as a summer palace at that time.

Albania and Durrës were occupied and annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in April 1939. The city saw the initial Italian landings on 7 April 1939, which were resisted by defenders including Mujo Ulqinaku. Durrës also served as the launch point for the Italian invasion of Greece. Following the Italian armistice in 1943, the city was occupied by Nazi Germany until autumn 1944. Allied bombing caused heavy damage during the war, and retreating German forces destroyed the port installations in autumn 1944. In the late 1980s, the city was briefly renamed Durrës-Enver Hoxha during the communist period.

Post-communist Durrës and the crises of the 1990sAnálise aprofundada

Following the end of communist rule in 1990, Durrës became the focal point of mass emigrations from Albania. Ships were hijacked in the harbour and sailed to Italy; in August 1991 alone, more than 20,000 people migrated to Italy in this manner. Italy intervened militarily, placing the port area under its control, and the city became the centre of the European Community's Operation Pelican, a food-aid programme.

In 1997, the collapse of a large pyramid scheme pushed Albania into widespread disorder. An Italian-led peacekeeping force was deployed to Durrës and other Albanian cities under Operation Alba. The stated goal was to restore order, though there were widespread suggestions that preventing further migration to Italy through Albanian ports was a significant underlying objective.

Geography and climate of DurrësAnálise aprofundada

Durrës stands on a flat alluvial plain on the Bay of Durrës, between the river mouths of the Erzen and the Ishëm along the Adriatic coast. The municipality extends from the mouth of the Ishëm River at Cape Rodon in the north, across the Bay of Lalzi, to Shkëmbi i Kavajës in the south. The administrative units making up the municipality are Ishëm, Katund i Ri, Manëz, Rrashbull, Sukth, and the city of Durrës as the seat.

Under the Köppen classification, Durrës falls within the hot-summer Mediterranean climate zone (Csa). The annual average temperature is 15.9 °C (60.6 °F). Monthly mean temperatures range from 7.5 °C (45.5 °F) in winter to 23.8 °C (74.8 °F) in summer. The highest recorded temperature was 39 °C (102 °F) on 14 August 1957; the lowest was −6.2 °C (20.8 °F) on 26 January 1954. Mean annual precipitation ranges between 1,000 mm (39 in) and 1,273 mm (50.1 in), concentrated mainly in winter months.

The Amphitheatre of Durrës and archaeological heritageAnálise aprofundada

The Amphitheatre of Durrës, located close to the city's harbour, is the largest amphitheatre in the Balkan Peninsula and once had a capacity of approximately 20,000 people. Built in the 5th century, it is included on Albania's tentative list for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the venue for the annual International Film Summerfest of Durrës, founded in 2008.

The Durrës Archaeological Museum is the largest archaeological museum in Albania and is situated near the beach. The Byzantine walls north of the museum date from the 6th century and were built following the Visigoth invasion of 481. The museum's collection spans the Illyrian, ancient Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman periods and includes Roman funeral steles, stone sarcophagi, and a collection of miniature Venus busts from the period when Durrës was a centre of her worship. A notable item is an elliptical mosaic measuring 17 by 10 feet (5 m × 3 m), known as The Beauty of Durrës.

Economy, port, and transport linksAnálise aprofundada

The Port of Durrës, located in the south-west of the city, is one of the major ports on the Adriatic Sea and handles more than 1.5 million passengers per year. The port is situated on an artificial basin formed between two moles. It is a key node on the Pan-European Corridor VIII, which runs from Durrës on the Adriatic to Varna on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria. The port opened a new terminal in July 2012. Daily ferry services connect Durrës to Bari, Italy, and the port also supports a significant shipyard and manufacturing industries producing leather, plastic, and tobacco products.

Durrës is the starting point of the national roads SH2 and SH4 and the main station of Albanian Railways. The Albania–Kosovo Highway, a four-lane road constructed between 2006 and 2013, connects Durrës to Pristina as part of the South-East European Route 7. The Durrës–Tirana railway, a 38-kilometre (24-mile) line connecting Albania's two largest cities, was begun in 1947 as the country's first railway; it connects at Vorë with the Shkodër–Vorë railway and at Durrës with the Durrës–Vlorë railway. A rail connection between Durrës and Pristina was proposed in 2021, with a feasibility study under preparation in 2022.

According to the World Bank, Durrës ranked ninth among 22 cities in Southeastern Europe for ease of starting a business in 2016, placing ahead of Tirana, Belgrade, and Sarajevo. The southern coastal strip at Golem has developed as a mass beach tourism zone, though with uncontrolled urban development. The northern coastal stretch at Lalzit Bay has been characterised as largely undeveloped, with beach resort construction under way from 2009.