Albanian Tattoos

Internet Bingo

2007-09-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Play internet bingo with the UK’s number one bingo site - AstroBingo. AstroBingo has fantastic free cash bonuses and daily promotions to keep you interested and keep you having fun.

Internet Bingo

Find more information on internet bingo.

Popular Albanian Tattoos

2007-08-14T04:16:00.000-07:00

Albanians seem to love tattoos more than any group of people. I'm not sure why it is but just about every Albanian male I've met has a tattoo and quite a few women too. Well, it more like young girls who are getting tattoos, especially in the lower back region.

So what kind of tattoos do Albanians prefer? They often choose something related to their country and choose one of the following:

Albanian flag.
Albanian eagle.
Map of Albania.
Map of greater Albania.
Picture of a famous Albanian.
The name of their home town.

What is your favourite Albanian tattoo design?

History of Tattoos

2007-08-14T04:15:00.003-07:00

Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice at least since Neolithic times. Mummies bearing tattoos and dating from the end of the second millennium BC have been discovered at Pazyryk on the Ukok Plateau. Tattooing in Japan is thought to go back to the Paleolithic era, some ten thousand years ago. Various other cultures have had their own tattoo traditions, ranging from rubbing cuts and other wounds with ashes, to hand-pricking the skin to insert dyes.

Tattoo Terms

2007-08-14T04:15:00.001-07:00

It is commonly believed that the original root word of "tattoo" comes from the Tongan or the Tahitian word tatau, meaning to mark or strike twice (the latter referring to traditional methods of applying the designs). The first syllable "ta", meaning "hand", is repeated twice as an onomatopoeic reference to the repetitive nature of the action, and the final syllable "U" translates to "color".[citation needed] The instrument used to pierce the skin in Polynesian tattooing is called a hahau, the syllable "ha" meaning to "strike or pierce".[citation needed]

The OED gives the etymology of tattoo as "In 18th c. tattaow, tattow. From Polynesian (Tahitian, Samoan, Tongan, etc.) tatau. In Marquesan, tatu." The first closest known usage of the word in English was recorded in the diary of Captain James Cook in 1769 during his voyage to the Marquesas Islands. The text reads, “...they print signs on people’s body and call this tattaw”, referring to the Polynesian customs.[citation needed] Sailors on the voyage later introduced both the word and reintroduced the concept of tattooing to Europe.

In Japanese the most common word used for traditional designs or those that are applied using traditional methods is irezumi ("insertion of ink"), while "tattoo" is used for non-Japanese designs.

Tattoo enthusiasts may refer to tattoos as "tats," "ink," "art," or "work," and to tattooists as "artists." The latter usage is gaining greater support, with mainstream art galleries holding exhibitions of tattoo designs and photographs of tattoos. Tattoo designs that are mass-produced and sold to tattoo artists and studios and displayed in shop are known as flash.

Tattoos

2007-08-14T04:14:00.001-07:00

A tattoo, or dermal pigmentation, is a mark made by inserting pigment into the skin for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos may be made on human or animal skin. Decorative tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding.

Tattooing has been practiced worldwide. The Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan, wore facial tattoos. Tattooing was widespread among Polynesian peoples, and among certain tribal groups in the Philippines, Borneo, Africa, North America, South America, Mesoamerica, Europe, Japan, Cambodia and China. Despite some taboos surrounding tattooing, the art continues to be popular all over the world.

Ottoman Era

2007-08-14T04:13:00.004-07:00

The Ottoman Turks expanded their empire from Anatolia to the Balkans in the 14th century. By the 15th century, the Turks has brought under subjection nearly all of the Balkan Peninsula except for a small coastal strip which is included in present-day Albania. The Albanians' resistance to the Turks in the mid-15th century won them acclaim all over Europe. Albania became a symbol of resistance to the Ottoman Turks but suffered an almost continuous state of warfare.[9]

One of the most successful resistance against the invading Ottomans, was led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg from 1443 to 1468. Under a red flag bearing Skanderbeg's heraldic emblem, an Albanian force of about 30,000 men held off brutal Ottoman campaigns against their lands for twenty-four years. Skanderbeg then re-embraced Roman Catholicism and declared a holy war against the Turks.[10] Twice the Albanians overcame sieges of Krujë (see Siege of Krujë).

After the death of Skanderbeg, resistance continued until 1478, although with only moderate success. The loyalties and alliances created and nurtured by Skanderbeg faltered and fell apart, and the Ottomans conquered the territory of Albania shortly after the fall of Kruje's castle. Albania then became part of the Ottoman Empire. Following this, many Albanians fled to neighboring Italy, mostly to Calabria and Sicily.The majority of the Albanian population that remained were converted to Islam. They would remain a part of the Ottoman Empire as the provinces of İşkodra, Manastır and Yanya until 1912. In the Middle Ages, the name Arberia (see Origin and history of the name Albania) began to be increasingly applied to the region now comprising the nation of Albania.

Roman and Byzantine Era

2007-08-14T04:13:00.003-07:00

It was the Romans who destroyed Illyrian autonomy through military defeat in 165 BC. Roman Albania was traversed by the Via Egnatia, the Roman road that linked east with west and Rome with the far eastern reaches of its empire. After being conquered by the Roman Empire, Illyria was reorganized as a Roman province. Illyricum was later divided into the provinces of Dalmatia and Pannonia, the lands comprising modern-day Albania.

There are,two outstanding features of Roman influence:

In the first place, the Albanian language borrowed a great number of words, mostly religious and liturgical terms, owing to the fact that Albania was at first attached to the See of Rome, though the religion of Jesus was preached to the Albanians by St. Paul himself during a visit he made to Durazzo (Albanian:Durrës).

In the second place, the Albanians had more than their share in the election of the Roman Emperors during the turbulent period of the Empire, by virtue of the fact that the notorious Prætorian Guard, the emperor-making power, consisted mainly of Illyrian troops.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, Albania was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire, administered from Constantinople. Albania was under Byzantine rule until the fourteenth century AD when the Ottoman Turks began to make incursions into the Empire. The Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453 and by 1460 almost all former Byzantine territories were in the hands of the Turks.

Hellenistic Era

2007-08-14T04:13:00.001-07:00

From the 8th to the 6th century BC the Greeks founded a string of colonies on Illyrian soil, two of the most prominent of which were Epidamnus (modern Durrës) and Apollonia (near modern Vlorë).

Roughly parallel with the rise of Greek colonies,Illyrian tribes began to evolve politically from relatively small and simple entities into larger and more complex ones. At first they formed temporary alliances with one another for defensive or offensive purposes, then federations and, still later, kingdoms.

Under the rule of King Glaukia, the Illyrian state strengthens rapidly. In 355 BC war broke out against Alexander of Macedonia to free the eastern territories and in the meantime Apollonia is freed from the Macedonian subjugation. Glaukia's successors -- Monun and Mytyl -- strengthen the Illyrian state economically and mint both bronze and silver coins. Soon after the mid-3d century BC, under the reign of Pleurat and Agron, the Illyrian state starts to prosper again.

In 231 BC they enter into alliance with Acarnania and apparently turn out to be the most powerful force in the Balkans.

The Kingdom of Illyria 1225 - 167 BC

2007-08-14T04:11:00.002-07:00

In its beginning, the kingdom of Illyria comprised the actual territories of modern Albania but in the course of its development, it extended all along the eastern littoral of the Adriatic Sea. Scodra (Albanian:Shkodra)was its capital, just as she is now the capital of Northern and Central Albania.

The earliest known king of Illyria was Hylli (Albanian:Ylli;Star) who is recorded to have died in the year 1225 B. C. The kingdom, however, reached the zenith of its expansion and development in the fourth century B. C., when King Bardhyllus (Albanian:Bardhyli:White Star), one of the most prominent of the Illyrian kings, united under his scepter the kingdoms of Illyria, Molossia and a good part of Macedonia. But its decay began under the same ruler as a result of the attacks made on it by Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.

The Illyrians created and developed their culture, language and anthropological features in the western part of the Balkans, where ancient writers mention them in their works. The regions that the Illyrians inhabited are expansive. They include the entire western peninsula, north to central Europe, and east around the Lyhind Lake (Ohrid Lake). Other Illyrian tribes also migrated and developed in Italy. Among them were the Messapii and Iapyges. The name 'Illyria' is mentioned in works since the fifth century BC while some tribe names are mentioned as early as the twelfth century BC by Homer. The ethnic formation of the Illyrians, however, is much older.

The beginning of Illyrian origins in by the fifteenth century BC, from the mid-Bronze Age, when Illyrian ethnic features began to form. By the Iron Age, the Illyrians were fully distinct and had inherited their developing anthropological features and language from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. The old theory that the Illyrians came from Central Europe during the seventh to ninth centuries has been disproved by studies performed following World War II. The fact that graves with urns, characteristic of Central Europe, are not found in Illyrian settlements severely damages the theory. Central European influence on the Illyrians is a result of cultural exchanges and movement of artisans.

In the first decades under Byzantine rule (until 461), Illyria suffered the devastation of raids by Visigoths, Huns, and Ostrogoths. Not long after these barbarian invaders swept through the Balkans, the Slavs appeared. Between the 6th and 8th centuries they settled in Illyrian territories and proceeded to assimilate Illyrian tribes in much of what is now Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia.The tribes of southern Illyria, however including modern Albania averted assimilation and preserved their native tongue.

Pelasgians

2007-08-14T04:11:00.001-07:00

The Bronze Age is characterized with shifting demographics. Stockbreeding people came from the east around the mid 3000s BC to the early 2000s BC. This population is believed to be the ancient Pelasgians, which have been mentioned frequently by ancient writers such as Homer, Herodotus, and Thucydides.[5][6][7] The differentiation of populations by ethnicity began during the Bronze Age. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian in the fifth century BC, writes about the Pelasgians that continued to live in Greece. Ancient writers references to the Pelasgians are confusing, however, with some writers stating that Pelasgians had spoken a "barbaric" or "non Hellenic” language, while others maintained that they were Greek-speaking. A theory dating back to the seventeenth century attempted to connect the pre-Indo-European Pelasgian language with Albanian. Today, however, Albanian is universally classified as an Indo-European language by linguists. See Origin of the Albanians for a discussion of the theories surrounding the origin of the Albanians and the Albanian language.

Antiquity

2007-08-14T04:10:00.000-07:00

Albania, in the southeastern corner of Europe, has been populated since prehistoric times and was settled by the Illyrians, possible ancestors of present-day Albanians, in Paleolithic times. Situated where it is and surrounded by powerful, warring empires, Albania has seen a lot of violence throughout its history. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans swept through, leaving their mark and their ruins. Bato is one of few leaders of the Illyrian uprising against the Romans in 6 A.D.

Archaeological research shows that the lands that are today inhabited by Albanians were first populated in the Paleolithic Age (Stone Age). The first areas settled were those with favourable climatic and geographic conditions. In Albania, the earliest settlements have been discovered in the Gajtan cavern (Shkodra), in Konispol, at Mount Dajti, and at Saranda.

Fragments of Cyclopean structures, of the Cyclopean-Pelasgian period, were discovered at Kretsunitsa, Arinishta, and other sites of the district of Gjirokastra. The walls, partly Cyclopean, of an ancient city (perhaps Byllis) are visible at Gradishti on the picturesque Viosa River. Few traces remain of the once celebrated Dyrrhachium (today Durrës). Central and Northern Albania abound in unexplored remains of the Illyrian period. The traces of the early Illyrian civilization lie still covered under the dust and ashes of nearly thirty centuries.

The rediscovered city of Butrint is probably more significant today than it was when Julius Caesar used it as a provisions depot for his troops during his campaigns in the 1st century BC. It was considered an unimportant outpost,overshadowed by the likes of Apollonia and Durrës.In 2000, the Albanian government established Butrint National Park, which draws about 70,000 visitors annually and is Albania's second World Heritage site. Cultural performances are held in the huge amphitheater.

Republic of Albania

2007-08-14T04:08:00.000-07:00

The Republic of Albania (Albanian: Republika e Shqipërisë, IPA or simply Shqipëria) is a Balkan country in Southeastern Europe. It borders Montenegro to the north, the Serbian province of Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west and a coast on the Ionian Sea to the southwest.

Albania has played a relevant role in managing inter-ethnic tensions in southeastern Europe and is a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and NATO.

Albanian Tattoos

2007-08-14T03:20:00.000-07:00

So this is the first post of Albanian Tattoos, my latest blog about everything Albanian. I'll write about the latest Albanian news, where to find Albanian gifts and souvenirs, Albanian clothing such as Albanian designed t-shirts, and of course I'll be writing about Albanaian tattoos.

You can subscribe to posts by Albanian Tattoos in a feed reader such as Google Reader or Bloglines and that way you can easily keep informed with what is happening around here at Albanian Tattoos.