Albanian Flag

Albanian Flag

Albanian Flag

From the 4th century a.d. until 1347, Albania was part of the Byzantine Empire, after which followed decades of invasions by Bulgarians, Serbs, Venetians and, in 1385, Turks. The fight for independence was led during the 1440s by George Castriota, (1403-68), also known as Skanderberg or Iskander Bey, an Albanian Christian and former Turkish general. In 1443, Skanderberg first hoisted a red flag bearing the figure of a double-headed eagle (in Albanian, the country's name, Shqiperise, means 'land of the eagle'). In 1478, Albania became part of the Ottoman Empire.

Independence was gained in 1912 and the red flag bearing the eagle was officially adopted. Albania declared itself a republic in 1925, but in 1928 President Ahmed Beg Zogu was proclaimed King Zog. During World War II, Albania was overrun by Germany and Italy (and parts of the Italian arms were added to the flag). Although the original flag was restored in 1942, in 1946 Albania became a republic ruled by a strict communist government, who added a gold-fimbriated, red star (representing the communist regime) to the flag. In 1991, free, multiparty elections were held and the new Albanian government ordered the removal of the star, returning the flag of Albania to its form of 1912.