Albanians
For the country, see Albania.
The Albanians are an ethnicity that mainly resides in the Balkans. They are the main ethnic group of 
Albania and 
Kosovo, and they also live in the neighboring countries of 
North Macedonia, 
Montenegro, 
Greece, and 
Serbia, as well as in 
Italy, 
Croatia, 
Bulgaria, and 
Turkey. Albanians also constitute a large diaspora with several communities established across 
Europe and the other continents.
Albanians are believed to have a western Paleo-Balkanic origin, and due to geographic and historical factors, many scholars agree that they are at least partially descended from the 
Illyrians. However, the question of which specific Paleo-Balkan groups contributed to the ethnogenesis of the Albanians remains a topic of academic debate.
History
The first mention of the ethnonym Albanoi occurred in the 2nd century AD by 
Ptolemy describing an Illyrian tribe who lived around present-day central Albania. Though, the first certain reference to Albanians as an ethnic group comes from much later, in the 11th century and from the chronicler 
Michael Attaleiates who describes them as living in the 
theme of Dyrrhachium.
The first certain attestation of medieval Albanians as an ethnic group is in Byzantine historiography in the work of Michael Attaleiates (1022–1080). Attaleiates mentions the term Albanoi twice and the term Arbanitai once.
Ethnonym
The Albanians (Albanian: Shqiptarët) and their country Albania (Albanian: Shqipëria) have been identified by many ethnonyms. The most common native ethnonym is "Shqiptar", plural "Shqiptarë"; the name "Albanians" ( Byzantine Greek: Albanoi/Arbanitai/Arbanites; Latin: Albanenses/Arbanenses) was used in medieval documents and gradually entered 
European Languages from which other similar derivative names emerged, many of which were or still are in use, such as 
English "Albanians"; 
Italian "Albanesi"; 
German "Albaner"; 
Greek "Arvanites", "Alvanitis" (Αλβανίτης) plural: "Alvanites" (Αλβανίτες), "Alvanos" (Αλβανός) plural: "Alvanoi" (Αλβανοί); 
Turkish "Arnaut", "Arnavut"; 
South Slavic languages "Arbanasi" (Арбанаси), "Albanci" (Албанци); 
Aromanian "Arbinesh" and so on.
List of Notable Albanians
Edi Rama (1964-)
