The Origin of the Albanians

Most scholars consider that the Albanians are direct descendants of an Illyrian tribe that was named "Albanoi" that was located in present day Albania. Some scholars dispute this. See Origin of Albanians. Some scholars have claimed that the Albanians and the Illyrians are the descendants of the ancient Pelasgians, and thus their history goes back at least 4000 years before Christ.

Those who support the Illyrian-Albanian continuity theory maintain that all the Illyrian tribes except the Albanians disappeared during the Early Middle Ages under the waves of migrating barbarians. A forbidding mountain homeland and resilient tribal society enabled the Albanians to survive into modern times with their identity and their Indo-European language intact.

The name Albania is said by these scholars to be derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Arber, or Arbereshë, and later Albanoi, that lived near Durres.