The Byzantine Era

Albania suffered repeated invasion during the centuries of barbarian migration. In 395 the Visigoths passed through. The sixth century brought destructive attacks by Huns, Avars, and Slavs. Many Illyrians of the Dalmatian coast were forced southward into the Albanian Alps. There, with the southern Illyrian tribes, they were able to repulse the invaders and preserve their own identity. Some of the people of Thrace, to the east, also found refuge in the mountains of Albania.

In the late ninth century Bulgaria annexed most of Albania. It was restored to the Byzantine Empire in 1018 by Emperor Basil II. The Venetians, however, seized several port cities, but lost them to a Byzantine prince in the early 13th century. In the 14th century Serbia conquered Albania, and Venice regained its ports.