Help building the largest human-edited directory of the web Suggest URL - Open Directory Project - Become an editor

directopedia.org uses links and structure from dmoz Open Directory Project.
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.

Elbasan (Albanian: Elbasan or Elbasani) is a city in central Albania. It is located on the Shkumbin River in the District of Elbasan and the County of Elbasan, at 41°06′N 20°04′E. It is one of the largest cities in Albania, with a population of around 100,000 (2003 estimate) and an area of 1,290 square km.

Contents 1 History 2 Culture and religion 3 Economy 4 See also 5 External links

History

The ancient city of Masio Scampa was built by the Romans around the 1st century CE. It featured strong stone walls. During the 3rd and 4th centuries it became known as Hiskampis, and was an important trade center near the junction of two branches of the Via Egnatia coming from Apollonia and Dyrrachium. In the 4th century, 26 towers were added to protect it against invading barbarians. However, Hiskampis was destroyed by the Bulgars and Ostrogoths during the Slav invasions of the Balkans.

Elbasan was founded by the Turks in the 15th century on the same site. The city was rebuilt in 1466, after becoming a military base, by Sultan Mehmed II who renamed it El Basan ("the Fortress"). The city had 2000 inhabitants by the end of the 17th century. The fortress was dismantled by Reshit Pasha in 1832.

Culture and religion

Elbasan has been occupied by several different groups, including the Serbs, Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]], Bulgarians, Austrians and Italians. Elbasan remained a center of Islam in Albania even after the Ottoman occupation. After the 1908 Congress of Manastir (in modern Bitola, Republic of Macedonia) decided to use the Latin alphabet for the written Albanian language, muslim clerics influenced by the Young Turks held various demonstrations in favor of the Arabic script in Elbasan. The muslim majority also opposed the installation of Prince William of Wied in 1914.

Economy

Industrial development began during the Zog regime with the production of tobacco and alcoholic beverages, and culminated during the communist regime. The city gained prominence after the Chinese built a steel mill in 1974. There were also other industries operating in the city during the communist regime, and as a result the city now suffers from pollution.

See also

• History of Albania
• List of cities in Albania

External links

• Municipality of Elbasan (official website, in Albanian)
• Photos
• ALBoZONE: Cities of Albania

This article is based on the article "Elbasan" from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. Here you find the list of authors of this article. The article can only edited within Wikipedia. Edit this article in Wikipedia.