Židé v Albánii – vznik a vývoj židovského osídlení do konce 17. století
Jews in Albania – The Rise and Development of Jewish Settlement up to the End of the 17th Century

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes the beginnings and the development of Jewish settlement within present-day Albania. We mainly focus on the situation in Durrës, Vlora, and Berat, the cities with a large Jewish population. In the case of Vlora this was even a Jewish majority, and they were instrumental to the city’s economic prosperity. They dealt in the salt trade with Dubrovnik. This paper also covers the question of Jews’ ethnic and religious divisions. Initially, Albanian cities housed Romaniots, Jews with a Greek language and cultural tradition. The Romaniots were pushed out by Sephards, Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, beginning in the 15th century and more strongly in the 16th. By the end of the 17th century, all Jews were forced to leave Vlora due to the Venetian-Ottoman war. This incident marks the end of the era that we cover. The development of Jewish presence in Albania is a neglected historical topic in and beyond Czech historiography. Most works focus on better-known events—primarily the rescue of Albanian Jews during World War II.

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