Henry Skene, Esq., on the Albanians, 313 



authors to notice them, distinctly places them in Illyria.* 

 Anna Cornnena makes the next allusion to them ;-|- so that 

 history is totally silent on the subject of this people during 

 ten centuries. It appears, however, that they were known, 

 at a much more remote period ; for Dion Cassino, in enume- 

 rating the Roman conquests, implies that he knew of another 

 Albania. Therefore it is impossible to assign a later date 

 to their settlement in Illyria, with any degree of plausibility, 

 as some do, because this proves that they had then already 

 separated from their mother tribe in Asia. They had pro- 

 bably become incorporated with the ancient Illyrians, and 

 both races are now represented by the modern Albanians. 

 As the remains of the Illyrians, they have perhaps altered 

 less, during this long succession of ages, than any other 

 people of Europe. The study of this tribe is, therefore, 

 the more interesting, inasmuch as it is almost an initiation 

 into the habits and condition of a nation of past time, while 

 much remains, even in their physical appearance, to recal 

 the admixture with a still more ancient Asiatic tribe. This 

 is corroborated by one of the most intelligent and also learned 

 of the English who have seen this people. J He says, that 

 " the features of the Albanian, his narrow forehead, his keen 

 grey eye, small mouth, thin arched eyebrow, high cheek- 

 bones, and pointed chin, strongly mark a Scythian phy- 

 siognomy.'' 



After Anna Comnena, the first mention of the Albanians, 

 in the middle ages, is by Nicephorus Bryennius,§ who de- 

 scribes them as having formed part of the army of Nicepho- 

 rus Basilaces, when he rebelled against his Emperor Nice- 

 phorus Botaniates, and was vanquished and taken by Alexius 

 Comnenus, in the year 1109. They next received the aid of 

 the Normans against the Greeks, and Robert Guiscard, who 

 led them, together with his son Bohemoud, took Durazzo, 

 Ochrida, and Jannina.|| Durazzo was well defended by 

 George Palaeologus, who waited for the coming of Alexius 

 Comnenus, the father of the historian Anna Comnena. Again, 



* Ptolem. Geog., lib. iii., c. 13. t Lib. xiii., p. 390. 



X Dr Hughes. § Lib. iv., c. 27. || Anna Comnena. b. 6. 



