The history of the double-headed eagle, the red and black flag and the Albanian anthem

- Summary published in 2012, on Telegrafi.com, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Albania's Independence -

ABOUT THE UNITED FLAG

The Albanian flag - the black double-crested eagle on a red background - is the most sublime symbol of the expression of the identity of Albanians, wherever they live. This flag has kept the Albanian essence alive in the resistance against foreign invaders, especially during the 20th century. The flag is proof of loyalty to the homeland and to the nation. Therefore, while in almost all countries of the world the president swears on the Bible or the Koran, in Albania such an oath is taken in front of the flag.

After November 28, 1912, the Albanians of Albania were free to use this national symbol, but the same did not apply to the Albanians of Kosovo. It was precisely this denial that most affected their ethnicity, but also strengthened their patriotic convictions and the feeling of resistance to the Yugoslav government.

The history of the use of the Albanian flag in the former Yugoslavia differed depending on the political climate: sometimes its use was allowed, sometimes it was prohibited - how about the Serbs who did not hold us accountable. After the Second World War, with the unfair remaining of Kosovo in the former Yugoslavia, its use was quietly and without any decision banned. In fact, many Albanians were sentenced to heavy prison terms, just because they found this flag.

Things began to change after the fall of Aleksandër Ranković at the Brijuni Plenum of 1966. In 1967, the Kosovo delegation led by Veli Deva, in the first meeting with the leader of the former Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, had, among other things, initiated also the issue of allowing the use of the Albanian national flag. The officialization of this permission was made at the meeting of the Presidency of the Socialist League of Kosovo, on October 4, 1968, in Pristina, after the agreement had previously been given at the highest state levels of the Yugoslav Federation. However, this decision came after the demonstrations of Kosovo Albanian students erupted in 1968, who demanded their national rights: the use of the Albanian language and the national flag.

These demonstrations were the main turning point in the political trends of Kosovo. The request to use the flag was a struggle for identity. Well, this identity was obvious to the Serbs. Therefore, in 1968, the father of the Serbian nation, Dobrica Qosić, said: "If we allowed them the flag, they would then ask for the republic, the state, and even union with Albania."

The flag was allowed, but in the 80s of the century, discussions began about changing its appearance, only to distinguish it from the national flag used in Albania. Such a thing was achieved to some extent, by imposing a large star to the left, that is, in front of the double-headed eagle. But, the more the flag was violated and played with, the more the star grew, the more angry the Albanian became and the more persistent he became in his fight for freedom.

Kosovo became a state 40 years after the "legalization" of 1968. Qosiq's prophecy was not fully fulfilled, because the union with Albania did not happen. Meanwhile, the flag of Kosovo became a yellow map of Kosovo with six high stars, on a blue background. Idea enough to be, and a bad combination of colors.

However, the Albanians of Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Greece and the Presheva Valley, although in the administrative aspect they "obey" the state flags, still express their identity through the national flag. To prove their loyalty to the national issue and the Albanian identity, they bow to the flag and kiss it with piets, as Isa Boletini did in Vlora in 1912.

The flag is also the essence of the national anthem. While among other peoples the essence of anthems is related to the homeland, nation, war, freedom, rulers, God, among Albanians the flag is in the center.

"O Flag, flag, holy sign/ we swear to you here/ for Albania, the dear homeland/ for your honor and glory", says a verse of the hymn.

Albania's independence was declared with this flag on November 28, 1912. Throughout history, "decorations" were added to it: sometimes the helmet of Skënderbeu, sometimes fascist symbols, sometimes the Star of David or the communist one. But the essence was not changed: the black double-headed eagle with a red background. With this red and black flag, the oath was taken in the last war in Kosovo, in Macedonia and in the Presheva Valley.

But things have changed a bit lately. The Euro-Atlantic policy has made Kosovo Albanian politicians more "wise". And, with this wisdom, they put the national flag in the background. Someone can say that this is a political game, someone else that we didn't cry, and someone that we "enjoyed it". To know what the truth is, it is good to remember the Albanians living in Montenegro, the Preševo ​​Valley, Macedonia and Greece, and their demands for the free use of this national symbol, as well as the hatred that others express it to the Albanians precisely by burning him, which made us burst out of anger.

Therefore, "around the united flag/ With one desire and one goal", it should be all of us, as the first lines of our national anthem say.

Regardless of the frustrations that Albanians have with the origin of this anthem, with music and lyrics adapted from Romanian, this anthem is embodied in Albanian psychology and patriotism. Therefore, the great Albanian writer, Ismail Kadare, rightly says that the Albanians' fear and optimism of not being extinguished as a nation has also been reinforced by the National Anthem.

And, as you know, the national anthem is the Anthem of the Flag. Therefore, who does not fight for the flag, "he is born a traitor". Point.

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ONE VERSION OF THE ORIGIN OF THE TWO-CROWNED ALGAE

The eagle was once a symbol of this state in the period of ancient Rome. As a symbol of Rome, the eagle was also used by its strategists such as Caius Mari, Luc Serg Catiline, Pompey the Great, Caesar, etc. For example, the latter used as its symbol the golden eagle placed on a red field. His nephew Octavian Augustus, who was later succeeded by Constantine the Great, also acted in the same way with Caesar's coat of arms.

With the division of the Roman Empire in 395, the eagle was transformed with two heads, symbolizing one of the Western Empire centered on Rome and the other of the Eastern Empire centered on Constantinople (Byzantium). Meanwhile, the West was invaded by the barbarians in 476, losing the oldest traditions of antiquity, and with them its symbol. While the East (Byzantium) continued to live for another 10 centuries, preserving this symbol that came from the "eternal city" (Rome). According to Kasem Biçok, the double-headed eagle was used as a symbol of power and is documented to have been used for the first time by the emperor of Illyrian origin, Constantine, and then became a local tradition throughout the Balkans. It was also used by Skenderbeu, to show that he was a representative of the pre-Ottoman rule.

What is the historical flow, Biçaku tells: "In ancient times, totemism was very widespread (type of belief that worshiped animals and birds, considering them as protectors and founders of humanity). The eagle is considered a companion of the gods and a god himself. She and the lion are everywhere regarded as kings, respectively of birds and animals. For this reason, the figure of the eagle and the lion are the most representative in the old heraldry (coats of arms, signs). The eagle is a symbol of power, courage and spiritual elevation. It was a symbol of imperial power, therefore it is also in the heraldry of many countries.

The double-headed eagle has been used as a symbol since the 7th century BC in Turkmenistan. The black one-headed eagle was used as a symbol in the Roman Empire and with the spread of Christianity it was also used by the Catholic Church.

The double-headed eagle was used for the first time by the emperor of Illyrian origin, Constantine (306-337), founder of Constantinople, creating two administrative centers for the Roman Empire: Rome and Constantinople. And the eagle symbolized these two countries. During the reign of the Illyrian emperor, Justinian I (527-565), the union of the two churches took place and the double-headed eagle became a common church symbol, which is why it is found as a symbol in the medieval churches of Albania and the Balkans. In the XNUMXth century, in the Byzantine Empire, the double-headed eagle appears with half-spread wings and continued to appear that way.

The Byzantine flag got its shape and colors during the reign of Justinian (527-562) - the emperor of Illyrian origin. He seemed to like to identify the Eagle's two heads with himself and his wife, Empress Theodora. Later, over time, through marriages and the granting of privileges, Byzantium gave the imperial symbol to the nobility of the nations that were integrated into this multinational Empire, such as: Romanian, Bulgarian, German, Russian, Serbian, Greek, Albanian princes etc. This is the reason that this symbol is used today by a dozen peoples and states, which once had cultural contacts with Byzantium. Meanwhile, it appears as a symbol of the Orthodox Church, the direct successor of the Eastern Empire - Byzantium. The Byzantine flag is preserved today in one of the monasteries of the Holy Mountain (Athos) in Greece, in its original colors: the black double-headed eagle, set on a golden field.

In Albania, as a symbol of power, the Albanian ruling families of the Middle Ages used the eagle, such as: the Kastriots, the Arians, the Muzakas, the Topias, the Gjurashes, as well as the Chernojovics of Montenegro. By using the eagle as a symbol of their power, it is proven that these families were high functionaries during the Byzantine Empire.

With the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, we see that Skenderbeu also used the color of the Byzantine flag, and with this he wanted to show that he was a continuation of the pre-Ottoman power, although he made differences to both the coat of arms and the flag, to distinguish it from that of Byzantium . On the seal of Skenderbeu, where there is a double-headed eagle, a six-pointed star is placed between its two heads. Above this star is another star with eight rays.

However, in the coat of arms of the Kastriots, which is engraved twice in the monumental tomb of Skanderbeg's grandson, Konstantin Kastrioti, the star is eight-pointed and above the eagle's heads are two royal crowns. With these symbols Skanderbeg showed the claim that they were descended from Alexander the Great, which is expressed in the epigraph of Alfonso in a church of Valencia in Spain. So, the double-headed eagle was massively used by rulers as a symbol of power and can be considered a Roman-Byzantine tradition.

During the Renaissance, its activists of all religions and groups worked and acted under the shadow of this flag even though it was not standardized until the time of the creation of the first Albanian state. With Ismail Qemail's return to Vlorë, and the creation of the first Albanian state, the Albanian national flag was standardized, which was also the state flag of the first government of Albania. This flag is considered one of the main elements of their nation.

(Compiled from: Wikipedia)

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JAHO BRAHJ'S VERSION FOR THE EAGLE AND FOR THE FLAG

A version of the origin of the Albanian flag, placed much earlier in history, with the time of the pagan cult of the sun and the symbolism that represented it

The double-headed eagle is clearly documented among our ancestors, since the c. VI per (before the new wind).

Since the Bronze Age, we have from our ancestors, with the form of ancient art, evidence of bird heads with opposite directions in objects of worship and decoration, but these latter always have religious burdens of ancient beliefs.

The two heads of the cultic bird are present in all the eras that our people went through until today.

Our interest is in the double-headed eagle, which is the emblem of the Albanian national flag. We know the double-headed eagle, first, in the Hittite Empire, 12 centuries ago, and almost simultaneously, a little later, we have it in the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia and in the regions of today's Iran.

Anciently and continuously the double-headed eagle represents the solar power in this world and that world, the earthly world and the world beyond, day and night, as a single body that exists only as a unit within a twofold unity. It represents the balance of the rhythmic change of dark-light, of the celestial movement, which brings about the change of seasons in a rhythmic way.

In a dictionary we read that it represents male and female (in vegetation and in living beings), as two opposites of a common unity. We will continue to shed light on the cults, beliefs and rites inherited from our nation, from antiquity to the present day, related to the eagle. Let us pause and single out two of these attributes of the double-headed eagle witnessed in our ancestors.

The double-headed eagle represents light, but also darkness.

This is also inherited from the ancient tradition preserved in the chronicles of Gjon Muzaka. This explains to us that the ancient Epirote symbol from which his door flowed, were two torches: when one was lit, the other was extinguished and so on; when the light shone there was no darkness and when darkness fell there was no light. This is related to the belief of our people (and almost all the peoples of the world), that when the sun illuminates our world, there (in the other world), there is no light and the opposite. The eagle traveled according to ancient beliefs to the sun, this is evidenced in the myths and beliefs of the Pelasgian Dodona, with the eagle with the symbol of lightning in its claws bringing it to Zeus.

That the eagle traveled to the heights of the sky is also proven in the Bible. The eagle guided the sun to rise in our world (according to ancient beliefs), but also carried it to shine in the world beyond. She had power in the direction of the East, where one head was constantly pointed, but also in the West, where she guided the sun, from where she had the other head pointed.

Albanians have presented the eagle, since ancient times, in cult objects and in folk art, that is, thousands of years before they put it on their coats of arms and on the flag.

The most ancient temple in the Balkans, Dodona, had the cult of the messenger eagle of Zeus, and in some cases Zeus himself was depicted graphically in the form of an eagle. Our people continuously preserved the cult of the eagle and had it as part of the spiritual structure, which is also preserved in decorations and cult objects. This does not mean that other ancient peoples did not have it.

We have the double-headed eagle among our ancestors, the Illyrians, documented since the c. VI for, a fact which clarifies that this graphic form of the double-headed eagle was not alienated by other peoples after this time.

Indirect evidence tells us that the double-headed eagle was known from the dawn of history to the ancestral population of the Balkans.

There are references to cult objects representing double-headed eagles have been discovered in the ruins of the temple of Dodona, but this is undocumented graphically, therefore as a time of material evidence it remains certain c. VI for

It is known that many peoples have the cult eagle, even the Aztecs of America, but only the Hittites have two heads. The old population of Iran and the Illyrians knew and practiced it. When we talk about the double-headed eagle in the Balkans, it is the Illyrian-Arbrians who had it, and as a result, they gave it to others.

Later we see that the Byzantines have it, for whom it is not known for sure whether it was fixed on the coat of arms before by them (Byzantines) with the Palaeologians or by the Albanians. The Paleologues (Byzantine emperors) adopted it and fixed it on the coat of arms at the beginning of the XIII century. At this time, among the Albanians, we have the Gropa door (13th century), while we know that the Kastrioti door was owned by the ancestors of Skënderbeu, that is. before the XV century. The Aranites, who also have the double-headed eagle, have their origins documented since the c. XI.

Earlier than other peoples of the Balkans and Europe, we find the single-crested eagle of family heraldic coats of arms on the tree. We have the earliest traces with the Principality of Arbri, where, naturally, in the state flag of this political-state formation, there is a single-crested eagle in the 12th century. This means that the Albanians practiced this symbol on the flag before their Balkan neighbors.

In the century XIV in Arbëri, double-headed eagles were used in emblems and flags. The double-headed eagle in medieval coats of arms and flags is probably contemporary with the Byzantine palaeologists, but it is certain that in Arbri it is long before the Serbs, Russians, Habsburgs of Austria, the Holy Roman Empire, etc. For example, the Russians got it from the marriage of Sofia Paleologu with the son of the Tsar of Russia. The marriage took place in 1472 with the intervention of the Vatican. The double-headed eagle was placed on Russian coats of arms a few years after the groom was crowned Tsar.

After the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottomans, the double-headed eagle was embraced with great rapidity in heraldry in many European countries and families. All wanted to proclaim the legacy or deeds for the defense of this empire. The double-headed eagle was not preserved and inherited by the Hittites in succession, nor by the Iranians. It was preserved since the centuries of the first millennium only in the Balkan territory by the Arbrits and by Byzantium. As a symbol, it quickly spread throughout Europe.

The flag of the XV of our nation with the double-headed eagle was continuously preserved only among Albanians. In Europe, no national flag has continuity in five centuries, therefore the Albanian national flag is ranked as the oldest flag in Europe. Taking into account that the cultic symbol of the double-headed eagle is part of the spiritual and material culture of the Illyrians and continues until our days, then it is concluded that it is the symbol of the most ancient flag in Europe and one of the most ancient in the world.

The figure of our national hero, Gjergj Kastrioti-Skënderbeu, stands at the pinnacle of the pantheon of the Albanian nation, because the glorious activity of his era brought about great comprehensive national historical processes. During the more than one-century period of the war against the conquering frenzy of the Ottomans, especially during the years of resistance under the leadership of Skanderbeg, the national features that came from the depths of the centuries and were cemented at the end of the Middle Ages were crystallized.

It is well known that the double-headed eagle was unanimously accepted as the flag of the Albanian nation on March 2, 1444.

It is known that the flag, which was consecrated as such, was the administrative-political heraldic symbol of the Kastrioti Dynasty, who inherited it, as a sign and flag, long before the 14th century. The preservation of the Albanian national flag during the centuries of five centuries of captivity is also connected in the ancient tradition of the ancestors of the Albanians with the cult of the eagle.

Throughout the path of survival from prehistory and the Illyrian-Arbëresh-Albanians preserved the cult of the eagle, and this is one of the factors that the national heraldic symbol (Albanian national flag), defined by the Albanian Assembly of Lezha, was accepted, because it was also an integral part of traditional spiritual wealth. The fact that the Byzantine Empire took and used the double-headed eagle from the cultural-spiritual fund of the Balkans should not be seen as a later loan to the Albanians. Researchers have noticed and concluded that "Skenderbeu's double-headed eagle was not influenced by the 'Byzantine factor', but was a representation of a cult of Albanian ancestors".

The national flag accepted by the Albanian Assembly of Lezha was not only the act of accepting a national heraldic symbol, but coincided with the fact that this cultic and spiritual symbol also became a political and ethnic identity symbol.

From the 15th century onwards, among us Albanians, this national symbol wrapped around itself many sacred attributes. Albanians, since the 15th century, saw in their flag the symbolic continuation of the cult of the deity, together with the ethnic-historical sign of the state and political union of the Albanian nation. To this day, several monuments and documents are preserved, which reflect the eagle motif of the Kastriots.

This symbol, which is also the eagle of our national flag, is preserved in the tomb of the grandson of our hero Constantin Kastrioti in Naples, in some coats of arms of the castles of Pula, where the descendants of this door lived.

(Text and illustrations: Jaho Brahaj, "Famuri i kombit Albanian - origin, antiquity", Tirana, 2007)

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ALBANIAN HERALDRY

Heraldry is the science that studies the history and evolution of medieval coats of arms and arms. The first Albanian heraldry, in comparative terms, is of the same age as European heraldry. Its earliest traces can be found in the 1444th century, in the emblem of the principality of Arbër, which was followed later by the emblem of the Topiaj, Dukagjin, Skurraj, Muzakaj, Buaj, Balshaj, Gropaj, etc. In Albania it had a rapid development with the exception of some short interruptions during temporary foreign invasions. The peak of its development was during the historical period of Skënderbeu XNUMX, who also cut the Albanian Covenant with a red flag, with a double-headed black Albanian, in the national liberation from the Ottoman yoke.

In 1478, with the fall of Skenderbeu's state, heraldic culture in Albania began to cease, as the Ottoman Empire did not apply heraldry as a cultural and identifying discipline. In 1479, the city of Shkodra, the most flourishing center of heraldic culture, fell. The tradition takes place in the city of Durrës, a city that resisted until 1508, the year when the Ottomans took over the city. Ulqini and Tivari preserved the heraldic tradition, but apparently the year 1508 marked the death of the heraldic culture as it emigrated together with the Albanian nobility to Venice, Ancona, Ragusa, Naples, etc. Then traces were found in 1690 in the city of Prague to remain conserved until 1797, such as the coats of arms of the families Avloniti, Barabati, Basani, Kapodistria, Gonemi, Lança, Trandafili, etc.

There are exactly 33 coats of arms and heraldic signs that once decorated the castles, courtyards, armors of knights and more moderate families, while the National Historical Museum in Tirana has only seven of them.

Albanians therefore have a typical Euro-Western tradition in the creation, materialization and preservation of coats of arms, flags and other princely, royal, national, state and political emblems. But, surprisingly, they have been more diligently collected and preserved, and even studied by foreigners, than by the Albanians themselves. However, Shyqyri Nimani has recently made such an effort in Kosovo, while in Albania Gjin Varfi deals with the study of heraldry.

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THE EAGLE IN THE FIRST STATE OF ARBER

The first state proof of the eagle is the one-crested eagle of the State of Arbër with the ruler Progon (1190-1199). The state of Arbër was founded in 1190 and had Kruja as its capital. After the death of Progon, in 1199, the rule of Arbë was inherited by his son Gjini (1199-1208). During the rule of Gjin, important events will take place: as a result of the Fourth Crusade, the Byzantine rule will be overthrown and new territorial formations will be created. The Despotate of Epirus is established in the south of Arberia, the (Serbian) Kingdom of Rashka in the north, and the Bulgarian Kingdom in the east. At this time, when the Republic of Venice was conquering the Albanian cities one by one: Durrës, Kanina, Jericho... the Arber rulers will create marriage alliances with the rulers of neighboring countries for the purpose of state security.

On the occasion of the celebration of the great jubilee, the 800th anniversary of the state of Arbër (1190-1990), the General Directorate of the Albanian PTT, on January 30, 1991, issued postage stamps with the eagle of the State of Arbër.

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MUZAKAJT …

One of the most prominent people of his time in 1370th century Albania was Prince Andrea II Muzaka. With the help of the Balshays and his other allies, such as the Arians, the Matrengs, he defeated in 2002 near Kosturi the Serbian king Vukashin, who was the master of Kosovo and Western Macedonia (Histori e Populli Albanian. Tirana 294, pg. XNUMX). After this sensational victory, the Byzantine Emperor John V Paleologus confirmed A. Muzaka the title of despot (prince), giving him the Byzantine Imperial coat of arms, such as the black double-headed eagle with a star in the middle placed in a field golden. This replaced the earlier emblem of the Muzakai which depicted a fountain bursting from the earth and dividing into two streams, with a torch in the middle.

The Albanian humanist Gjon Muzaka reflects this change of symbols in his Memorial: "You should know that since ancient times the coat of arms of our door has been a living itch that flowed on the ground with two streams on two sides... Then they had the two-headed eagle crowned with a star in the middle". (John Muzaka. Memory. Tirana 1996. pg.24).

After this first passage from the same source we can mention that in the great Church of Francavila in Otranto (Italy) there is another epitaph engraved on the tombstone of the Despot John Muzaka.

"Almighty Jesus bless you here John Muzaka, the son of Gjin Despot, Lord of Myzeqe and of Epirus, since from the city of Byzantium he inherited the two proud eagles that he carried on the flag".

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SKANDERBEU...

Skanderbeg used the double-headed eagle as a symbol of his state. It is known that he borrowed this symbol from Muzakaj, replacing the coat of arms he had inherited from his father Gjoni. The latter used as a coat of arms the figure of a prince (man) with long hair and a platoon (Gjin Varfi, Heraldika Shqiptare. Tirana 2000, pg. 27). The double-headed eagle was also used as such a symbol by the Arians, the Cernojevics of Zeta, Lekë Dukagjini, etc.

For the first time in history, the emblem of Gjergj Kastriot with the double-headed eagle appears in 1451. It appears in a book of urats that was presented to Skanderbeg by Alfonso V, King of Naples on the occasion of the signing of the Treaty of Gaeta - March 26, 1451 (Gj. Varfi. Albanian Heraldry, pg. 32). He handed it over to the ambassadors of Skanderbeg who signed this treaty, Bishop Stefan of Kruja and father Nikola Berguc from the Prothonotary of Alfons Arrnaldo Fonoleda.

The representative symbol of Skanderbeg's state appears again in a Venetian catalog of coats of arms in 1463, when Gjon Kastrioti, the hero's son, received the title "Noble of the Republic" (Academy of Science, History of the Albanian People, pg.434). Likewise, this symbol is preserved engraved in the monumental tomb of Konstantin Kastriot, built in 1500 by his grandmother Donika, in the church of Saint Mary of the Angels in Naples (Italy). Just like on the flag, Skënderbeu used the double-crested eagle with lowered wings and the six-pointed star above also on his great seal, which he used on official documents (Historia e Populli Albanian, pg. 433). Meanwhile, when the Kastriots fled to Italy after the death of Skanderbeg on January 17, 1468, they not only kept their symbol but widely used it as a coat of arms of their heraldry...

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RED DISCOVERY AND IDENTITY

"Perhaps you know that none of the flags of our Balkan neighbors are older than one hundred and fifty years. Some of them haven't even turned a hundred yet. Our flag is at least 500 years old, and maybe a few hundred more years beyond that. It is the historical flag of Skanderbeg, the national leader who fought twenty-five years in a row against the Turks; the last warrior in the Balkans, who has faced the greatest Sultans of Turkey. After Skanderbeg's death, Albania, disgusted by the European powers, fell into the hands of the Turks. For four hundred years in a row, our homeland has groaned under the yoke of sultans. In this period the Flag of Skanderbeg was forgotten, and no one knew it existed, until it was discovered by a young student from the history - in Latin - of Skanderbeg from Barleti. That student was Faik Konica...", said Fan Noli.

"Faik Konica, as you know, has been one of the greatest champions of national independence; without a doubt, he was the greatest master of writing our language and, apart from these, he is the man who revealed Skanderbeg's flag to us. Here are three titles that even the fiercest opponents cannot deny."

When he says this, Noli is based on Faik Konica's three texts about the flag, which are of different genres and were written at different times: a poem: Flag (1899); a critical article: Flag of Albania (1909); and an essay: The Flag (written later). Precisely in the critical article Flag of Albania, published in Albania, volume XII, 1909, we have the information on which Konica is based for his discovery, where in the end, he concluded:

"Let's search in these important works regarding the flag of Skanderbeg and what is saidI. Anonymous of Tivar, 1480 (cited by Biemi, page 23) says: "L'isegna di Skander begh era un'aquila negra distinta in due tete sopra campo rosso". Namely: "The flag of Skender Bey was a black eagle with two heads and open on a red square".

II. Barleti, 1508 (sheet XV) says: "Rubea vexilla nigris et bicipitibus distincta aquilis gerebat Scanderbegus". Namely: "Skënder Bey carried a red flag written with a black and double-headed eagle".

III. Lavardin, 1576 (page 42) says: "Dans ses estendars, qui estoient tous rouges, il portoi une Aigle noire a deux testes". Namely: "On his flags, which were all red, Skender Bey had a black eagle with two heads."

"As you see, brothers, the flag, which is one of the most honest and polished in the world, is without a doubt also one of the oldest."Faik Konica wrote this article on the eve of the declaration of national independence, when the appearance of the flag was imperative. And, since the Declaration of Independence (1912), the Albanian national flag has a black double-headed eagle on a red surface.

Faik Konica in the note "The national flag of the Albanians", published in the magazine "Albania" (September 15, 1901), among other things, writes: "Our national flag is red and black; these colors put together are the national symbol of the Albanians". Marin Barleti, about whom Konica says: "From Shkodran, you had seen Skender Beu with your own eyes."

Likewise, other historians state that the flag of Skanderbeg had these colors. In this context speaks Dr. Nikollaq P. Zografi in the comment "Why was the flag raised in Vlora and not in Durrës" ("Hylli i Drita", no. 9-10, 1937). The author in this paper mentions the devout patriot, the great diplomat, Ismail Qemalin, who with other patriots, in Vlora on November 28, 1912, "proclaimed Albanian Independence with the red-black-red double-crested vulture, two colors that invoke without loving the memories of the dark days and the blood that was shed for Albania".

Based on the old customs of our nation, Bejtullah Destani in the essay "History of our national flag" ("Albanica", Prishtina, no. 73, 2007) says: "The red color was the distinguishing mark of the nobles in the old days . So it is close to mind that even our great-grandfathers used it in this sense".

The symbolism of the colors of our national flag has been given a wider meaning by the magazine "Leka" in the article "Elite, Liberty, Flag" (no author's name), published in the special issue of November 1937 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of Cyprus. In this paper it is written: "The red floor, the land, and the black Albanian, the people." Red is known in heraldry as the most noble color, it has Martin, the God of war for the planets. It represents the sound of the ruby; it divides the will of God and the slave, and therefore union. We see this look at the red lily, which is taken by everyone as an example of love; it exemplifies marren, blood is shed in war, greed for revenge, courage, bravery, power, magnanimity, generosity, nobleness, great mastery. The color black is the color of sadness, anger, rebellion, revenge, despair, death".

As the magazine "Leka" writes (November, 1937), according to popular stories, when talking about the double-headed eagle, it was said: "It seems that there is a view of the union of two kingdoms; and for Albania, there is the view of the union of the two brothers who comprise this nation: Toskë and Gegë.

In the essay "Red and black in discursive writings", published on October 13 in "Zëri", Hysni Hoxha writes: "The symbolism of the colors of our national flag: red and black are often structured in our poetic creativity. The flag, from the first creations, as a poetic inspiration, is evoked as a sacred national symbol, as in Zef Skiroi's poem: 'Flag of the tree':

'Fly to the new sky/ Holy flag stained with blood'.

Fan S. Noli in the well-known poem: 'Dragobi's Cave' created a new symbolic figure: Bajram Curri, brave of our national history, who sacrificed himself for his country, in Noli's imagination he is a bajrak, a living flag, a being alive and wonderful, symbolizing national heroism in the war against the barbaric invaders of our ethnic lands.

In the volume 'Competition for the Anthem of the Flag' no. 2, (Tirana 1937), where the texts of the competition for a new national anthem were published, which was announced with the consent of the Council of Ministers of Albania, the color red, in 16 verses of the hymn genre, as in the verses mentioned, is symbol of sacrifice, sacrifice for the highest national ideal - the liberation of Albania from enemies.

'With blood we soaked the flag between the battles/ When the lightning flashed and thundered...' (verse 28, nicknamed the old man)

'From Prokupje to Nis', sung by our rhapsody and patriot, Dervish Shaqa, is a song, a cry of the blood of our being, a cry against the barbaric forces of Serbia. From the end of 1877 and the beginning of 1878, the barbaric government of Serbia, with organized terror in just three days, forcibly expelled 700 Albanian villages of Sanxhak of Nis! Nishi, Piroti, Pllana, Toplica, Prokupja, Vranja fell into the hands of the Serbian barbarians! Other cities and villages of our ancestors also fell. Our Rhapsody Dervish Shaqa deeply disturbed sings:

'Come on, come on Zeqir Llausha/ Fill three trenches with blood/ Take Zeqir Bajrakun!/ - I can't play it because of blood /- What' Zeqir Bajrakun!/ - I can't play it because of blood'.

In this chilling song, the most tragic, shocking image is created that evokes our national flag reddened, sanctified and weighed down by the shed blood of our braves who sacrificed themselves in defense of our lands.

Both in the oral poetry, about which we have written, as well as in the written poetry, the fate of the Albanian nation is identified with our national flag, the symbol sanctified by the blood of brave patriots, who sacrificed themselves for the liberation of our ethnic lands, as in the poetry of Gjergj Fishta, Asdreni, Fan S. Noli, Lasgush Poradec, Dhimitër Shuteriqi, etc.

In the hymns of our poets, not only courage, willingness to sacrifice in defense of the motherland, but also the high virtues of our national being are evoked.

In the middle of the symbolic field of our national flag that we talked about, is the double-headed eagle, which itself is a symbol that evokes the courage, bravery, power, freedom, antiquity of our nation. Our nation is identified with the eagle itself not only in literary creativity, but also in folk dance. The contemporary American historian, Edwin Jacques in the work 'Albanians' (Kartë e Pendë Publishing House, Tirana) writes: 'They did not call their country 'Albania', but 'Albania', 'Land of the Eagle'. They did not call themselves 'Albanians' but Albanians, 'Sons of the Eagle'. Thus they were identified with the noblest of birds that flies higher, that pairs for life and that makes its nursery among the peaks over two thousand meters high'.

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THE ROUTE OF THE INDEPENDENCE FLAG, ACCORDING TO EJEREM BEJ VLORA

Don Alandro Castrioti was a Spanish prince. A great-grandfather of his had been under the king of Naples. In 1600, this nobleman was married to Marquise Auleta Kastrioti. With such an origin, Don Alandroja announced himself in the early 1900s as a contender for the throne of Albania. With the fame he enjoyed, the propaganda and the financial resources he spent, Alandro Kastrioti had the merit of making the Albanian problem known in European political circles. Sometime in 1907, Eqrem Bej Vlora, one of Ismail Qemali's cousins ​​and one of the most prominent personalities of Albania in the first half of the 2003th century, had the good fortune to visit Don Alandro in Paris (EB Vlora, Kujtime. Tirana 215. pg .XNUMX). He describes the meeting with this "strange personage" as follows: "Don Alandro invited us for dinner in the large palace-like villa where he introduced us to the high society present. After dinner was over, a servant brought a red velvet box on a silver tray and placed it in front of Don Alandros. He got up and gave a beautiful speech... and then he opened the velvet box and took out an Albanian flag from there: a black double-headed eagle on a red field and gave it to me... For five years I kept this flag in my bedroom hanging with a nail by the side of the bed, until the day that don Alandroja had prophesied really came. Quite suddenly and quite by chance, this flag was really raised as a symbol of Albania's Independence...

Regarding the Albanian flag, Eqerem Bej Vlora also writes: "The history of the Albanian flag dissolves in the mist of time. In his work, 'Parallel Lives', Plutarch says that Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, after the battle of Heracles (280 BC), when he heard his warriors singing a song in which they looked like an eagle, he said to them : 'If I were an eagle, you are the wings that brought me here victorious'. On the coins of the Illyrian-Epirote city of Orikum, an eagle is seen, holding in its claws the thunderbolts of Zeus. Likewise, Skanderbeg's knights (According to Barlet's 'De vita... Georgi Castrioti') during his campaign in Pulje, in aid of the king of Naples, in the war against the barons, carried small red flags with a black eagle double-headed in the middle.

The double-headed eagle is a symbol of imperial power (Byzantine, German, Russian). Great and small rulers who broke away from the Byzantine Empire continued to bear this symbol of power.

This is probably what Skenderbeu did as well. However, in the legends of the Arbëresh people, this word is still alive. On the tomb of Skanderbeg's grandson in the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, in Naples, his coat of arms is placed: a heraldic eagle with a white star and a five-pointed egg over two heads.

Between the years 1880-1895, Zef Skiroi and later Anselmo Sorekio, in their Arbëresh monthly, published, almost in every issue, this emblem as the flag of Albania.

After 1900, it was also mentioned by Faik Konica in his monthly "Albania" in Brussels. In September 1909, together with the youth of the city, I organized in my house the performance of the drama 'Pirrua' by Mihal Gramenos. There, when the high priestess of Orikum hands Pyrrhus, who was leaving for Italy, a flag, and in a pathetic tone, destroying the legend of Constantine, says: 'With this sign you will win (in hoc signo vinces)'. . In the presence of the prefect, the Turkish officers, as well as the entire consular body, jokingly, but also with a certain arrogance, I raised the Albanian flag on stage for the first time.

None of the Turkish officials present was moved, while the hall erupted in applause.

Patriotic euphoria created a state of honor. Of course, that was immediately reported in Istanbul, but the only reprimand I heard afterwards came from my uncle, Ferit Pasha, then Minister of the Interior. He called this challenge 'indecent' in my home and in front of my guests...

A week after my return to Vlora, I took Murat Bey Toptan and Hydaj Efendi to Ismail Qemali, begging him to return the flag that I had lent to him. They promised to return it to me immediately, as soon as Mrs. Marigo Posio (a great democrat patriot, but who liked advertising) had sewn and embroidered the new flag. Well, on November 28, the main object of the day, the flag as a symbol of independence, was forgotten with that typical Albanian-Eastern carelessness. Moreover, most did not know what he was like. No one had seen or held it before. No one in Vlora had a flag at home. The statesmen fell into trouble and looked at each other in confusion.

Then my friend Hydai Efendi gets up and says that in Eqrem Bey's bedroom, an Albanian flag hangs on the wall, inserted in a beautiful frame. And asked if it could be taken without the master being there? Ismail Bey gave him permission, and so the flag that Don Aleandro Kastrioti had solemnly presented to me in Paris traveled to the neighboring mansion and fell into the hands of Ismail Bey, who handed it over to Murat Bey Toptan, with the order to hang it outside, while he himself stayed in the window. Thousands of people gathered in the square in front of the house and in the garden, chanting 'long live, long live' even though many of them did not even understand what was happening.

Later, when I raised the Albanian flag in front of our house on the festive days of the declaration of independence as a free and independent state, some good Kosovans told me: 'You did a very good job raising the flag of father Kral ( that is, of Emperor Franz Joseph) that now there is nothing more to do to us, neither the vile Serb, nor the black Montenegrin'. When I asked where I saw the black eagle, they answered me proudly: 'At the soldiers of father Krali, in the New Market'.

But, of course, there was also someone like a certain Haxhi Muhamet Efendi, an important and fanatical cleric in Vlora and a strong supporter of my eti, who expressed his anger that Ismail Bey had chosen a raven as a symbol of free Albania. (Ah, Syria Bey had made Albania, he complained, now we would have the beautiful eyes of the Koran on our flag. But what else can you expect from Ismail Bey, who has spent his whole life in the land of the Turks?)! When I told the story to Ismail Bey, he laughed out loud, but also threatened me with his finger that he would tell the Hoxha that he had not found the flag, but I had found it!

(Eqrem Bej Vlora. Memories, Tirana 2003)

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THE MYSTERY OF THE FLAG OF NOVEMBER 28, 1912

The symbol of independence on November 28, 1912, the flag, continues to have some unsolved puzzles to this day. 100 years later, it has not yet been revealed who was the person who brought the flag to Vlora and gave it to Ismail Qemali, who then proudly waved the first flag of independent Albania. Written documents and photographs are missing. This is the reason why today we are faced with so many hypotheses or facts that leave room for doubt, as to who brought the flag and if the historical truth can be discovered.

The first variant

In the summer of 1911, Mrs. Marigo Pozio, under the pretext that she was going to be treated, traveled to the island of Corfu. There he met with nationalist representatives of the Albanian colonies that had gathered on the Greek island. Among them were also representatives from the USA sent by the patriotic society "Besa-Besan". Patriot Kola, together with his brother Thoma Katundi, handed Mrs. Marigo the flag with which she returned to Vlora wearing it under her clothes. A year later, Marigoja presented this flag to the elder of Vlora, Ismail Qemali, to raise it on November 28, on the balcony of Xhemal Bey's house.

The "Arbëria" newspaper published in Gjirokastër wrote at the time that "The national flag that was raised for the first time in Vlorë by Ismail Qemali was embroidered by Marigo Posio on the piece bought from the Diamant merchant. The embroidery is made according to the Albanian model drawn by patriots Don Mark Vasa and Petro Fotografi. Many other patriots knew this. With her money, she worked with 500 flags for the various offices of the first Albanian state".

The second variant

Many patriots share the same opinion that the flag raised on November 28 was painted by Mrs. Marigo's own hand, according to the Albanian model drawn by Dom Mark Vasa. This hypothesis is also supported by the lady who worked near Marigo all her life. Meanwhile, the flag from America that Marigoja brought was delivered to Llambi Bimbli, intact when they were leaving for Korça and this flag was raised when Korça declared its independence. "The flag we made is not entirely red, but in the color of pepper", remembers Marigo's assistant.

The third variant

The Beylers of Vlora said that this flag was given to them by Don Aladro Kastrioti and that they were the ones who then handed it over to Ismail Qemali.

The fourth variant

The magazine "Hylli i Drita" wrote in the years after independence that Ismail Qemali, coming from Vienna, stopped in Kotor and there he got a flag about two meters long.

The fifth variant

Korça patriot, Thoma Nasi, in his autobiography writes that in 1911, together with a number of other patriots, they returned to their homeland in order to fight against the enemy and at the same time brought the first flag, which was then raised on November 28, 1912 by Ismail Qemali.

The sixth variant

Spiridon Ilo and other patriots show that the group that left Romania to declare independence took with them what would become the first flag of the independent Albanian state. This is documented in the words that Spiridoni told his son: "I carried the flag that we prepared in Bucharest from Bucharest to Vlora and then, after Ismail Qemali waved it, I waved it on the railing with a beak" .

According to this version, the flag that Ismail Qemali raised in Vlora and which symbolically marks independence, is the same one that decorated the podium of the "Continental" hotel in Bucharest, on the evening of November 5, 1912. Ismail Qemali's meeting with the Albanian patriots of Bucharest took place decisive for the declaration of independence, which became a reality 23 days later in Vlora.

The seventh variant

Spyridon, with the flag he had with him, stayed at Marigo Pozio's house, since she was his first cousin. Marigoja embroidered the yellow tassels on the flag, to make it as Spiridoni showed it on the 1920 postcard.

The eighth variant

Eqerem bey Vlora, in his memoirs, writes that the one that was raised on November 28, 1912 was the flag of his house, which he kept in a frame, after it had been given to him by Aladro Kastrioti.

Ninth variant

From the newspaper "Kolonja", in 2001, it was written: "Asim Dika was the one who took the embroidered flag from the Qirjazi sisters and took it to Ismail Qemali in Vlora".

The tenth variant

In his book, "Patriotism and Nationalism", the patriot Kristo Floqi talks about the flag raised in Vlora in 1912, presenting other data on the origin of the flag, data that he has also compared with his brother, the lawyer Thanas Floqi.

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FLAG VERSIONS

Originally, the form of the double-headed black vulture on the red field was not what we know today. It didn't have this classic shape, but it has known shapes that many people still want to use to this day, that is, more natural and perhaps even more beautiful. It is often associated with other symbols, starting from Skanderbeg's helmet to five- or six-pointed stars. Even the color red, in the background of the flag, has often changed its strength or tone, sometimes appearing more fiery and sometimes more closed, almost brown.

During this time, some governments and political groups have wanted to revise the shape of the national symbol several times to show that change begins with them. Thus, for example, several different versions are known during the period of the first years of independence and the creation of the new Albanian state, such as: the years of the Regency Council, the French Autonomous Republic of Korça, the Parliamentary Republic in the early 20s and the time of King Zog.

Then, they are followed by wearing the Albanian vulture with the symbols of the time of the fascist occupation of Albania (Roman axes), the government of the time of the German occupation (regency council). This period is followed by a very long period, that of the communist regime, which recognized the placing of the five-pointed star with yellow shades at the top of the two-headed vulture. Even the shape of the eagle already recognized a change, although not very big, but which is still clearly noticeable, as it became more classic and moved away from the previous version that stuck more to the "proud bird" in its original.

With the fall of communism, the five-pointed star was removed and for some time there were discussions about putting or re-putting Skanderbeg's helmet on the black vulture, which, more or less, has remained in the same form as that of the time of monism. In the first legislatures of the new Assembly, after 1990, there were attempts or thoughts to repair its form and adapt it to the early models, so that it would not be like a stamp, so classic, but more natural and perhaps the form of feathers or scales on its body and wings could also be seen.

However, the flag does not recognize only one version, as they themselves, according to the functions used, often change their form and content. Thus, for example, the navy has its own flag clearly distinguishable from other flags used for state ceremonies, other military units and why not, and other governmental and non-governmental associations and groups throughout the ages.

The flag now has only the black double-headed eagle element on the red field. The coat of arms of the state has the appearance of a red eagle with a black double-headed eagle. On October 21, 1998, the helmet of Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu was added to the coat of arms. The final look of our national symbol was given by the law approved in the Parliament of Albania on July 22, 2002, where the part assigned to the flag determines that it consists of these elements: a blood-red field with a black double-headed eagle in the middle, with arms open to the side. Each wing of the eagle has 9 feathers and the tail has a total of seven. The ratio of the dimensions of the flag is now: 1 x 1,4. According to the law, every Albanian citizen has the right to keep and use the national flag, while for public institutions it is mandatory in external and internal environments.

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THE HISTORY OF THE FLAG ANTHEM AND ATTEMPTS TO CHANGE THIS "PLAGIAR"

An Albanian immigrant from Bucharest, a young poet at that time, Aleks Drenova, wrote some verses - or rather translated and adapted a Romanian poem - sometime in 1907 or 1908, when Albania did not yet exist as a state. The music was made - or adapted - by a Romanian. Albanians from Bucharest managed to bring the hymn, music and words together in Albania. On November 28, 1912, the flag and the anthem were united, finally in Vlora. As the newly unfurled flag heralded the birth of the new state, its anthem was sung for the first time in the same square.

This hymn, adapted with text and music, evokes many reactions among Albanians. During the 100 years of the existence of the state of Albania, there have been many attempts to make another, original Albanian anthem. But these attempts have failed.

Regarding the "Hymn of the Flag", the well-known writer, Ismail Kadare, nevertheless mentions a positive aspect.

"The fear and optimism of not being extinguished as a nation, our people have also concreted in the National Anthem", he said.

The researcher, composer and academician Vasil Tole, in a study about the national anthem, writes: "The problem of examining the history of the creation of our national anthem 'Around the United Flag' (or even of the creation or not of another anthem) is before above all problems to be discussed and beaten by Albanian musicology. The affirmation of this moment in the introduction of our writing has a special importance, since, as we will see below, the lack of analysis, artistic and problematic debates on the subject in question, in most cases has brought distortions and misunderstandings out of place related to the above. For this reason, but also for several other reasons, we have tried to express what we know so far about one of our national symbols through this integral article related to our national anthem 'Around the united flag'.

In a general view, the issue of national anthems of different countries is a problem that first became popular in England, somewhere around the middle of the century. XVIII. In fact, there were hymns even before this time, but their importance and meaning was not on this important scale that we refer to today, since no one thought that this type of new musical formation would represent one of the ingenious findings of the expression of the spirit of peoples. Musicology dates as the first hymn that of Holland, hymn which belongs to the year 1572 – 'Wilhelmus van Nassouwe'. Meanwhile, the hymn with the oldest words in origin belongs to the Japanese hymn, around c. IX, text which derives mainly from folklore. In this reasoning, the longest anthem in execution is 'Marcha de la Patria', of Argentina composed by Blas Parera in 1813; while the national anthem with more verses is that of Greece, etc. So as we can see, the history of the formation of national anthems is different in different countries.

Apparently, in defining or not a musical-literary creation as a national anthem, certain contexts, mainly historical in the history of a country, have played a key role. But there are other examples. Here I find the opportunity to mention the fact that, for example, the official hymn of the Vatican was determined in 1949 by means of an official decision of the Headquarters. The Vatican hymn is based on the music of the French composer Charles Gounod, who wrote this music in 1846 (the work is called 'Marcia Pontificiale' dedicated to Pope Pius XI), music which almost 100 years later was decided to be the hymn official of the Holy See. And there are many such cases.

Until now, the poet Lasgush Poradeci is the one who first described and published the story of the creation of our anthem. In the paper "National Anthem: The Flag near the united and its genesis" L. Poradeci thus becomes the main narrator for this major event. In his story, one detail catches your attention. This detail is related to the simple fact that no one in those historical moments for Albania thought that the song raised and sung for the first time by the choir of the Albanian colony of Bucharest, would be the future anthem. Here's what Lasgushi says: 'In other words, the anthem was not prepared with the special purpose of serving as the National Anthem, to fulfill the sacred mission of the official symbolic song of the people'.

From these ranks, but also from the further development of Albania's history, we noticed that in the conditions when there was no Albanian state, it was out of mind for someone to think that we should first have the anthem and then make the state, as I said: Buxhakun in front of the fireplace'. Many years later, the outstanding poet Migjeni wrote the poem titled 'Kënga que s kuptës', dedicated to our national melody. In an effort to move the title of the poem out of its context, we will see that this designation stands well for it, starting not only from the distance from the date of the creation of the hymn, but also that the historical writings about the genesis of our hymn have served at the same time as a faithful chronicle of his birth, but also as an alibi.

During the research of documentary materials about the subject in question, in the book 'The Guinness Book of Music', it was written as follows: 'The hymn 'Around the united flag' was accepted as the national anthem of Albania in 1912. The words of the anthem were written from Asdren. The music of the anthem was composed by Ciprian Porumbesku'.

Examining them one by one for the above, the truth wants to emphasize the meaningful fact, that before the anthem became the official anthem of the new Albanian state in 1912, according to Lasgushi, 'it seemed that the people liked it; he himself desired it like that, from his bosom he gave it form and spirit, he himself sanctified it, loving it with his heart to the point of self-slaughter and more and beyond self-slaughter. The insurrection squads that were all over the Motherland fought with him, and the martyrs of freedom died a sweet death. With him, the Flag was raised in Vlora'.

In short, this means that the raising of the flag under the sounds and words of 'Betim mi flagum' was only a formal act on the part of Ismail Qemali to recognize this song as our national song.

Secondly, regarding the words of the hymn. In no country in the world, we find a national anthem which is dedicated to another national symbol such as the flag and both are dedicated to the motherland. Here is the complete poem of "Betimi mi flagur" (patriotic anthem) written and published by Asdreni in 1908:

About the united flag
With a desire and a purpose,
Everything seemed to him sworn
Let's make a pledge for salvation.
From the war, he leaves
Who was born a traitor,
Who is a man is not afraid,
I'm dying, I'm dying like a martyr!
We will keep the weapons in hand
Let's praise the motherland with every song,
We do not share our rights;
The enemies have not entered here.
That God himself said it orally
That the nations perish and,
Yes, Albania will live;
We fight for it!
O flag, flag, holy sign,
To you we swear here,
For Albania, the dear ``homeland'',
For your honor and glory.
Brave, a man is called and honored
Who killed the homeland;
He will be remembered for life
My land, my and like a saint!

Regarding the originality of the anthem's poetry, we would again quote Lasgushi who says that "the title 'Oath to my flag', which Asdreni has given to the anthem, is an ethnically Albanian concept and act of fact". Migjeni affirms the same thing in concept, already in the first line of the poem dedicated to the National Melody: 'The song was stolen from the heart of the nation'. That everyone also knows the context of the popular oath on the flag: 'Under its shadow may we be and in our hand may it be'...

We have to say that after the general acceptance of 'Around the United Flag' as the national anthem (1912), songs or even just poems about the national anthem have been continuously written. Poems for the national anthem were written by Father Gjergj Fishta in 1913, Ernest Koliqi in 1921 as the winner of the first place in the competition for the national anthem announced by the Ministry of Education, Fan S. Noli on November 14, 1926 with the title 'Hymn of the flag', Mihal Grameno entitled 'National Song', Hil Mosi 'Hymn of the Freedom Band'. We also have a hymn by the poet Lasgush Poradeci in 1933, published in 'Vallja e yjeve', etc. What all these poems have in common is the fact that they almost all refer back to the symbol of the flag, which is also at the core of Asdren's poetry.

Over the night flag God
He wrote with his own hand:
For the Albanians it will be Szkupnia..

At. Gjergj Fishta

O heartland
O mother and father.

Fan Stilian Noli

We also have an excellent poem in terms of our reference to the flag by Zef Serembja:

Albanian flag
The brightness is not visible on the clear horizon
And it doesn't even forgive the colors for victory
It is no longer grafted onto human glory
As a sign of light or misery.
He fell torn and no one cares about him,
And Arbri's breast, honest and proud
took exile and does not stop at all
on a welcoming shore in safety.
At the mercy of fate, always struggling
Intrigue of diplomats, in bitterness
Every hope and every promise slowly dissolves
And time passes, flight order.
Of everything they promised us, nothing remains.
They trample us worse than the bare ground.

Already in the first year of the establishment of the kingdom by Ahmet Zogu, Albania became the anthem of the kingdom. In contrast to the anthem 'Betimi mi flagum', the new anthem of the kingdom was dedicated entirely to the figure of the king, a tradition known for all the anthems of the kingdoms, with music by Thoma Nas and words by Kristo Floqi. We have another attempt at a royal anthem by Loni Logori, which failed to be recognized as such. A variant of the kingdom's anthem was performed and recorded on CDs by the bands of Selim and Hafize Leskovik in the 20s.

In 1922, the Council of Ministers announced the competition for the creation of the 'Official National Anthem'. The Ministry of Education is appointed to announce the contest and its criteria, where, among other things, the amount of reward of 1000 gold francs for the poet of the anthem and 3000 gold francs for its composer was determined. Further, in 1937, on the 25th anniversary of independence, a competition was organized to create another national anthem. According to the justifications of the Commission set up for the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of self-government, '... today's anthem of the national flag is literally the translation of a Romanian march and also its melody is a complete copy of Romanian music'.

Considering the existence of this anthem "... as a threat to the national consciousness and to our patriotic sedra", the commission composed of Parashqevi Kyrias, Mati Logoreci, Kol Rodhe, Telki Selenica, Sotir Papakristo, Karl Gurakuqi, Zoi Xoxa, Lasgush Poradeci, Qemal Butka and Odhise Paskali at the meeting on 05 decided to compose another anthem with purely Albanian spirit. This committee also set up a jury committee, which would decide on the designation of the artistic creation which would be the new national anthem. The commission consisted of Father Gjergj Fishta, Mid'hat Frashëri and Konstantin Cipo. For the sake of the truth, Mid'hat Frashëri resigns from this Jury - resignation made public with his letter of the 03th. 1937. 26 addressed to the Central Commission of Self-Government Celebrations. Out of 07 creations, the jury composed of Father Gjergj Fishta and Kostaq Cipo announced the winner of the hymn created by Beqir Çela, who had the nickname 'Osoja i Ri'.

O Flag, star of liberty,
Shiny waves;
And from the sky of Albania
To be heard at dawn

The fact is that this hymn poetry competition was not followed by another competition dedicated to his music. For this reason, remaining only a text, this poem was not popular and as such was deleted from circulation, although the participants and creations of this competition were published in the press of the time. As a variation on the well-known flag theme, the competition in question was also called 'Lyrics for the Flag Hymn Competition'. Then we also have a competition for the melody of the national anthem. In the competition, a well-known Italian composer was declared the winner, but even for this there was no further official decision to make it official as our national anthem.

Artistic creations on this topic, considered independent in themselves (but with the title 'Royal Hymn'), are performed with verses by Loni Logoreci... This variant is also published with notes and opens with the stanza:

The blessed time came
Let's go to Albania
We honor our king
And die happy

On the cover of this publication, in addition to the title 'Royal Anthem', we also find the photo of the prominent Arbëre tenor Giuseppe Mauro and the note '...sung by listening to the Albanian tenor Giuseppe Mauro'.

At this time, another attempt to change the existing flag anthem was made by composer Thoma Nasi and poet Kristo Floqi. In contrast to the above, these two authors kept the melodic line of the 'Flag Hymn' intact, but intended to change its verses. On this occasion, the composer Thoma Nasi performed the first piano of our national anthem together with the corresponding harmonization

After the invasion, in the years 1942-43, in the mountains of Albania, the partisan Dhora Leka created the anthem of the liberation army, which is still officially known today as the anthem of our army, alongside many anthems of partisan brigades or other combat formations, etc.

After the liberation of the country on November 29, 1944, around the end of 1945 and the beginning of 1946, the first state competition for the national anthem was organized. In addition to the many creations presented, the best creation was announced as the "Anthem of the new Albania", with poetry by Skënder Luarasi and music by Kristo Kono, a result that became known with the declaration of Albania as a republic on January 11, 1946.

Time showed that even this artistic creation was not legislated to replace the existing hymn for various reasons, although the 'Hymn of New Albania' (in some cases with other words), had different interpretations, mainly by the choir of the army. After that, we have the next serious attempt to write a hymn in the early 70s. The Council of Ministers of that time, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Culture as well as the League of Writers and Artists of Albania, announced a competition for the 'Hymn of the Republic'. The cream of our creators participated in this competition, including Česk Zadeja, Ismail Kadare, Tish Daija, Fatos Arapi, Nikolla Zoraqi, Xhevahir Spahiu, Pjetër Gaci, Feim Ibrahimi, Tasim Hoshafi, etc. According to the former secretary of the association of writers and artists, researcher and music critic, Hamide Stringa, the competition had a very serious organization - both by the creators and the organizers. I remember we had many meetings to look at the materials and select them. After the selection, it was achieved in two variants. In the anthem created by Česk Zadeja and in that of Nikolla Zoraq with a poem by Fatos Arapi entitled 'Our land rose free'. There were thoughts that Pjetër Gaci's song: 'To your home' should also be recognized as an anthem.

The history of anthems continues even further, but still without bringing any result that would affect the change of our national anthem. In all this history of other anthems, what needs to be said is related to the fact that no decision from any artistic or state forum has influenced the replacement or change of the existing flag anthem, for the simple reason that the anthem is deeply embedded with its importance, weight and meaning in the collective memory of Albanians.

Perhaps everything we said above can be a sufficient argument to understand why the attempts to redo the new anthem of Albania have 'failed'. This does not mean that there will not be other efforts, but I think that behind them, even if the anthem 'Around the united flag' is no longer recognized as an official anthem, Albanians wherever they are will continue to sing just the song 'Around the united flag'.

Finally, what needs to be reiterated is the fact that unlike any other anthem in the world, our existing anthem is one with our national flag. This binomial is expressed in the title of the poem of the anthem 'Betimi mi flagur', which, as we repeated, is an ethnically Albanian act. From this point of view, the anthem is both the flag song and our official song at the same time. About the peculiarities of our people, a divided people... factor of national unification, factor of 'breaking' artificial borders, factor of unification, etc. our flag and anthem were also the same. For the above, it would be wise to wait for calmer times, cooler times which will help us to review all together, with the calmness and due prudence, the things that could have been done differently, where one of the things would probably be the anthem.

Until then, the true anthem of the Albanians or 'Our national anthem', as Konica puts it, will be the one that will be known, sung and respected by all Albanians, as it is written in article 14, point 4 of the Constitution: the National Anthem is 'Around the United Flag'".

Meanwhile, researcher Ramadan Sokoli, about the genesis of the "Hymn of the Flag" writes: "It is known that the 'Hymn of the Flag' was composed by Ciprion Porumbescu (1853 - 1883) from Moldova, in the second half of the XNUMXth century, when he was studying at the conservatory of Vienna. There, in the capital of the former Austro-Hungarian empire, a choir of students from the association Romania June (New Romania) sang the hymn 'Pe-al nestin steag', a hymn that exerted a great influence during the efforts of the Romanian people to independence and which later became their national anthem (After liberation, Romanians replaced it with a new anthem).

If we look for the source of the motif of this hymn, it can be found much further. As will be seen below, the motif of this hymn has its parents among some early chivalric ballads, among some work songs, as well as among some patriotic songs of the German tradition. It is also found in some workers' songs of the Czechoslovakian tradition. The earliest evidence for this motif is found in German traditions. First, in a 16th century epic ballad entitled 'Es spielt ein Ritter und einer Magd'.

The same anacrusic beginning with a break in quartets, the same arpeggio of tones in the fifth chord of the tonic that comes as a song or as a hymn, a motif which in these proportions we can find in major symphonic works. Sometimes a foreign motif can be used on purpose, but as a quote, on the contrary, it is often the case that an author unintentionally, so to speak, unconsciously repeats something created by someone else. Meanwhile, due to memory deviations, he thinks he has created something new.

There are also cases where it is not the memory, but the conscience of the author who deliberately confuses genuine creativity with the work of the copyist (the word creativity here does not have any metaphysical view of invention from nothing). No one is born learned, but learns somewhere in some school or from some master, benefiting from experience as well as being more or less influenced by them. The elements of the influence of the school or of the foreign environment are to some extent justified in the works of young authors, but between imitation and genuine creativity there is a wide gradation that goes from the original style to that weakness called "plagiarism". How the case should be reflected in the words influence of the study environment or partial acquisition, conscious imitation, ordinary reminiscence, or something else, let someone judge it as it seems most reasonable. However, the Hymn to the Flag composed by Ciprian Porumbescu stands as a composition, despite the fact that the construction of the main movement that constitutes half of the first theme is almost the same as the stereotypical motif of those early German songs mentioned above, and that precisely from this Borrowed theme begins the elaboration of this hymn.

Attempts to write an Albanian anthem have also been made by patriotic poets and musicians, who during the National Renaissance burned their hearts and souls for our ancient nation to have its own state and everything that derives from it, such as the flag, the national anthem. So, the symbols of a state.

From these poems, we are quoting one of them with pathos, which is:

O flag of Albania,
You are our honor and blood
Today he got up in Vlora
Guide to bravery
Albania opened its pages on you
Albania joined you
May you be free forever
May God glorify him
Eyes like the sun give off rays
Look around Albania
From Tivari to Preveza
He quickly opened his arms to protect her
Albanian raise the boyhood
The art of consecration is given
Than the enemies of Albania
They step on it, men, where are you?
Take the flag between Albanian nails
All courage to rush
Over the mountains, hype shores
Expel the enemies outside the border!

This poem was set to music by Thanas Floqi, who noted in his biography that at that time they sang it every day in Vlora and below expressed his regret that "we did not use it for the anthem of our flag". We add that in the meantime, other songs have been adapted and spread for this flag, but none of them managed to be selected as the national anthem approved by state decree...

The poet Lasgush Poradeci, in his articles, compared Bersan's poem (translated by himself into Albanian), with Asdren's adaptation.

On our flag
(Zaharia Borsan)

Unity is written on our flag
Unity in consciousness and feelings,
And mother his majestic shadow
We will face every blow.
In the heavy struggle he is afraid
That he himself is a fugitive
Yes, we are united at all times
We will be, we will be victorious.
They armed our hand
To protect an expensive country
Our right is proprietary
And our sacred purpose.
And in the book of eternity he writes
That many nations will perish
Yes, our dear Romania
Forever, forever will bloom...

During the history of our anthem, there have been ideas and thoughts of intellectuals, who for the sake of national pride, have constantly presented ideas to have our original anthem, with national colors and based on the motifs of our national tradition with text and music. This natural but also necessary request became the subject of discussions within the 25th anniversary of independence, in 1937. For this reason, a jury was set up, which, after examining the poems of 76 participants, chose only two, which he presented to the Central Commission. The members of this committee were at a loss, because they did not know which of those two poems to decide on. As the Korça newspaper wrote on this occasion (August 12, 1937), for one eye they said it was 'a sublime, majestic chef d'oeuvre', while the other was popular...

We are not going to dwell on the behind-the-scenes and tricks of this competition, about which even the press of the time was not silent (see Gazeta e Korça, dated September 1, 1937), but we are limiting ourselves to pointing out that after being selected, finally the poems signed with the pseudonym 'Osua i ri' (Beqir Çela), was left to think about her music. For this purpose, an invited composer was expected to come even from Italy. Rightfully, the editors of some magazines, hurt in the national sedra, were irritated and exploded with a series of interesting articles from this point of view. Here is, for example, what the 'Gazeta e Korça' wrote on August 19, 1937: 'The commission for the celebration of November 28 is doing a great injustice to our composers. We learn with sadness that the melody, the music, will be entrusted to a stranger. Isn't it a shame that we slap our composers so hard? And those poor people deserve it, that despite the neglect and discouragement, they still tried to spread music among us, to give our country a factor of civilization. At least, a friend tells me, let's hold an international competition and accept our composers in that competition, for a song or an anthem, but also a major work of symphonic proportions. These creations were performed during one evening by the brass band of the capital city.

So, contrary to what is said in a foreign encyclopedia, they were executed by a choir of Albanian girls in the presence of the author himself (see Enciklopedia della Musica-Rizzilo Ricordi Milano 1972 vol. IV. Pg. 130.) The execution took place in the Town Hall in the presence of the commission of four hymns composed by the competitors Luigj Filaj (1898-1978), Kristo Kono (1907-1991) Pjetër Dungu (1907-1989) and EA Mario (pseudonym of the Italian poet and composer Xovani Gaeto 1884-1961, author of songs that were very popular at that time in Italy, among which the 'Legend del Pive' composed in 1918) stands out especially from Italy. As predicted, the latter won the competition. A facsimile of the chosen hymn was published at the time in the newspaper 'Drita' and in the magazine 'Java' no. 28 of 1937, where, ironically, the date of the fascist year is clearly marked next to the composer's signature (EA Mario, Tirana 11- October, 1937. XV). Gazeta e Korça did not remain silent on this occasion either, which wrote: 'It seems that the Anthem of the Flag was accepted by the government and the relevant order is expected to be issued to force the Albanians to accept the national anthem. The old hymn that symbolized self-immolation for the freedom of the motherland is called inappropriate! Whether it was done well or not, history will judge. Today, from the columns of this newspaper, we wish that the example of changing the national anthem will not be repeated frequently'...

Controversies about the flag anthem in the press of the time continued. Especially in the issues of the newspaper 'Java', which in issue 21 (August 1937) wrote about this issue: 'An anthem is made once. Therefore we are of the opinion not to change it because history is not changed'... And in number 23 of the same year under the heading: 'Should the Flag Hymn be changed' he added: 'It is true that today's anthem of our flag is a copy of a foreign anthem. But do you say that this forms a strong reason for his replacement'? So, even the editors of this magazine saw the replacement of the Flag Anthem as unnecessary, because 'this anthem has led so many dreams and excited souls, because it has revived memories of efforts that constitute a source for patriotism, because it has deep roots in Albanian hearts and these hearts will feel the greatest pain when those roots are hurt and uprooted'.

Also of the same mind as the editors of the aforementioned magazine was the "Korça" newspaper, which wrote in the issue of August 12, 1937 that "it is a mistake to replace the Anthem of the Flag with another new one, which is somewhat good, if never can arouse that fiery patriotic enthusiasm of the first'. This same newspaper, in the issue of August 23 of that year, wrote: 'Our old flag anthem should remain as a historical memory and as a symbol of the wars for freedom. No other hymn can take its place, entering the soul of the people, as the march 'Around the flag' has entered... And, it will be a big mistake that this beautiful patriotic song, which has been enthusing for 30 years Albanian hearts to be officially replaced with a new anthem...

In addition, Gazeta e "Korça", in the issue of September 1 of that year, published a long article of five columns under the title: "How a hymn that was sung with a manliness in the times of captivity and blood and its place is buried" another voice woven in times of peace'. These words of a veteran were also published among the columns of this newspaper. "The anthem of the flag should not be changed because it was woven in the time of captivity when Albanian blood was boiling for freedom, when the Albanian people began to feel nationhood, unity and brotherhood"...

It is known that national anthems are, so to speak, the poetic-musical representation of the respective peoples, just as coats of arms and flags are their figurative representation. In general, their genesis and spread is related to some historical event marked for the life of the nation, but although some eyes were born in the circumstances of important political-social movements, in addition to the original hymns intentionally composed in specific circumstances, there is no lack of embraced hymns later borrowed from different countries...

There have also been cases of adaptations such as the anthem of Tsarist Russia composed on the words of two stanzas written by different authors. Specifically, before that, the second stanza was written by P. Cajkovski in 1814, and then 20 years later, the first stanza was written by Aleks Lőoft (1799-1870) by order of Tsar Nicholas the First. This anthem was taken out of use by the October Revolution in 1917. The verse of the Greek anthem was written in 1823, while its music was composed nearly 20 years later by Nikolaes Manxaras. We can mention many national anthems composed by foreign authors, for example the official anthem of Spain, which was replaced after 1931, was composed by an anonymous German author, while the US anthem was composed by an English author. In addition to these, we can mention the anthem of Bolivia, composed in 1845 by the Italian Bente Vincenti. Egypt once adapted an instrumental march composed in 1871 as an anthem.

Among well-known examples, we can mention the case of the Hungarian national anthem, which once replaced the Rakoc march, after a competition announced in 1842 and won by the composition of Franc Erkili (1810-1893).

We emphasize that this composition was also replaced after two years by another hymn chosen through an official competition. Some hymns, despite their charm, do not present great artistic value, and may not even have much value as original creations. Such is the case of the Polish anthem composed by Kuprinski, exchanging one of the arias of the French opera 'Le secret' by YPSolie (1796). This is also the case of the Portuguese national anthem composed in 1822 by Don Pedro I. We emphasize that the melody of this anthem is elaborated like the old Italian arias where, moreover, a whole phrase (Viva, viva, viva e Rey) is distinguished, all the same with that of the Greek national anthem.

In the approval and evaluation of some hymns, subjective factors have also intervened, sometimes even decisively. Often their emotional effect itself is conditioned more strongly by the circumstances than by the relevant qualities. However, many national anthems are known to have exerted significant influence in both peacetime and wartime. It was well said by Victor Hugo that, 'half of the French victories are owed to Marseillaise'. The veterans, the warriors of an ideal, rightly miss when they hear the songs that were once sung in the circumstances of historical efforts, because those songs remind them of the days of battles and sacrifices for freedom, they remember the joyful moments of victories, because in those songs they find themselves and comrades in arms.

Even in our country, it is understandable the connection of some veterans with the Hymn of the Flag that united them 'with one desire, with one purpose'. This anthem that is related to historical circumstances so important for our country, just like how many borrowed patriotic songs without being a strong political weapon...

From 1956 onwards, a competition for a new anthem was announced three times, since the national sedra itself demands that we not be represented with a borrowed creation. Unfortunately, none of the many contestants was chosen, because something more striking was wanted and expected. This failure was undoubtedly influenced by the behind-the-scenes party entanglements of the communist party. However, if in the meantime the sword of the Lictor and the five-pointed star were removed from our flag as borrowed symbols, should we accept an entirely borrowed national anthem?

We hope that the publication of this writing will serve as an incentive for a new hymn seasoned in the fiery tower of our experience. To be the prayerful voice of our people's heart and to be permeated by the passion of this great heart. In short, it should be prepared with national intonations to touch the feelings of Albanian listeners".

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WHAT ARE THE MARIGONAS OF KOSOVO?

The first flag in Kosovo, namely in Pristina, was embroidered by Nixhari Batalli in 1941. Nixhari is dead, but the flag is no more either. The second flag was embroidered by Remzije Spahiu - Alibegu, this year. Its flag is still preserved. The third flag was embroidered by Emine Krasniqi in 1949. Her flag was confiscated and burned by the Serbian police.

Rashid Krasniqi is a well-known activist of the "Shpresa" group, which operated within the NDSH (Albanian National Democratic Party) in Pristina, during the years 1949-1956. This patriot was tasked by his illegal group to draw a national flag, in the infamous Rankovic time.

But, before the flag was drawn by Rashidi and embroidered by Eminja, in Pristina, two other flags were drawn and embroidered before (there is information about these two flags, there may be others that are unknown), for whom Rashidi has collected information, it is said in an article published a few years ago in the Albanian Political Weekly "Zëri".

In Pristina, during the occupation of the first Serbia, as it is popularly known, there was a group of Albanian patriots, who met in the cafe "Siçani", owned by Salih Vala, who was one of these patriots. In this cafe, which was located in front of today's National Theatre, this group decided to raise the flag. But, the bad thing was that this flag was nowhere. The activist Jakup Batalli, together with his son-in-law, Salihu, had drawn a double-headed eagle, which Nixhari Batalli, a cousin of Jakup, had sewn into the flag, with the help of Alija and Magbula Batalli.

These activists want this flag to be carried out within 24 hours. According to the information collected by Rashidi, the patriots wanted the arrival of the Germans from Podujeva to find the flag raised in Pristina and show the Germans that Albanian land was there.

On April 9, 1941, at night, this flag was raised in Salih Vala's cafe, to fly for four consecutive years.

Nijhari died unmarried, while Magbulja moved to Istanbul.

At the end of April 1941, another flag flew in Pristina (always according to the data collected by Rashidi), in Abdullah Spahi's shop. This flag was sewn by Abdullah's sister, Remzije Spahiu-Alibegu, then 16 years old. The eagle for this flag was drawn by Remzije's other brother, Dauti (professor and principal of Medicine - Physiology - who as a doctor contributed to the fight against tuberculosis in Kosovo). Meanwhile, brother Hamdi (professor of Physics in Pristina), was a collaborator of Gjon Serreqi.

This flag was also placed in the gymnasium, while they used it during the visits of patriots from Albania to Kosovo...

For Remzije, as he stated for "Zëri", it does not matter if it will be called Marigona e Kosova. It is enough for her to have preserved this flag during difficult times, which is a precious memory of the brothers...

In 1949, Nysret Novakazi, chairman of the "Shpresa" group of NDSH, gave Rashid Krasniqi the task of making a flag.

"From a faculty of the time of Albania, which had a small eagle, I drew the big eagle. After two weeks of undercover work, above it I wrote the words 'Albania of Albanians', at the end of the eagle 'Death to traitors'. I constructed the words in an elliptical shape and then drew them on the fabric, which was an average size", Rashidi says today.

The embroidery of this flag was done by the wife of Osman Krasniqi, who was the only one married at the time.

"It was the time of Rankovic, a difficult time for all Albanians. I remember like today when Nysret Novakazi came to us with my husband. I was 21 years old. They had come before I started embroidering the flag, to swear that I would do this work in secret and without telling anyone. There was no flag to swear, but there was a black piece and a red one, symbolizing the flag and the Qur'an, in front of which I said: 'I give my soul, I do not betray'", said Eminja for "Zëri".

Determined to get the job done without anyone noticing, she had worked all night, getting only two hours of sleep in the morning.

"We were a big family, I had six brothers-in-law; I had my sister married to my sister-in-law, but I didn't tell her either. I had a chest in which I hid the embroidered flag, which we hoped would fly. One day, when I went with my sister, who was also my sister-in-law, to another sister's house, returning, we noticed that the police had come to the house. They had imprisoned my husband, while they had come to look for weapons, flags and other things. After raiding and demolishing the house, they opened the chest, which also contained the embroidered flag, placed in a box. They asked me what's in there, but I told them I don't know: 'The man gave me this box and told me to leave it in the cash register!' When they opened the box and took out the flag, they were stunned. My mother-in-law and sister and everyone else were also surprised. While one of the policemen said: 'Well, now, we don't need either the rifles or the machine guns, we found what we wanted'. Since that day, I have been called to the investigator for three consecutive months. By beating and cursing me, they tried to make me admit that I was the one who embroidered the flag".

However, Eminja had always denied such a fact, until one day, "Osman was brought from prison to the investigator, who told me: 'Emin, admit that you embroidered the flag!' Then I told them: 'Yes, I embroidered it!' But, in order not to be punished, I lied that I did not know that it was a flag, but only followed an order from my husband. Even in the trial, when Osmani and I appeared, he defended me saying that he forced me to sew the flag, without me knowing what it was. So they released me, while Osmani was sentenced".

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VIEWS OF FLAGS DURING THE 20TH CENTURY

According to the Law of the Assembly of Albania, No. 8926, dated July 22, 2002, "The national flag and the national anthem are national symbols" (Article 2, point 1). "The coat of arms of the Republic of Albania is a state symbol" (Article 2, point 2).

Article 3 defines the forms and dimensions of the national flag.

1. The national flag features a field of blood red, with a black double-headed eagle in the middle, with open wings at the sides. Each of the eagle's wings has nine feathers, while the tail has seven feathers.

2. The dimensions of the national flag are defined in the ratio of 1 to 1,4 units.

3. The appearance of the national flag, the strength of its colors and the ratios are those defined in appendix no. 1, which is attached to this law and is an integral part of it.

Meanwhile, the Constitution of Kosovo, Article 6, says:

1. The flag, coat of arms and anthem are the state symbols of the Republic of Kosovo which reflect its multi-ethnic character.

2. The appearance, manner of use and protection of the flag and other state symbols are regulated by law. The manner of use and protection of national symbols is regulated by law.

Of course, in the case of Kosovo, we are talking about the flag with a map and six stars, as well as the anthem without lyrics, not the national flag or the Anthem of the Flag.

Meanwhile, Article 59 (Rights of communities and their members), states that communities have the right "to use and display community symbols, in accordance with the law and international standards". This article also includes the use of the national flag, within the "rights of communities".

The flag in Albania is a national symbol. After the fall of communism, from 1992 until today, it has not undergone any changes. But this does not apply to the past. Below you can see different forms of the double-headed eagle on the red and black flags of the XNUMXth century.

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VIEWS OF FLAGS DURING THE 20TH CENTURY

The national flag of the Korca insurgents (1910-12)

/Telegraph/