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| Albanian Dancers, Watercolor |
Contemporary sources show that 14th century Albanians were invariably identified as a tribal peoples, with no state of their own.
Thus, depending on their location and to which civilization they subscribed, they could be identified under the following criteria:
Arnaut (Turkish)
Arbanas or Arbanensis (Greek)
Epirotarum or Albanensis (Italian)
Arber, Arben, Arberesh, Epirotas (Native peoples/Albanian)
According to a report by historian Shefqet Pllana, Sami Frasheri in his Kamus-al-Alam maintains that the wording “Dhu lKarnejn” (owner of the two horns) was an appellative attributed to Alexander the Great of Macedon, the very name which Skanderbeg bore in the Islamic form. This second explanation may be the truer, since the theory of the Macedonian-Albanian and Epirot-Albanian continuance is strong not only among Albanians but among all the peoples of Europe.
This opinion agrees with the work of Marin Barleti who writes: “When the people saw all those young and brave men around Skanderbeg, then it was not hard to believe that the armies of [Sultan] Murat were so defeated by the Albanians. Indeed, the times when the star of Macedon shone brilliantly had returned, just as they seemed in those long forgotten times of Pyrrhus and Alexander.”
Origin of the Double-Headed Eagle
The double-headed eagle is a symbol used by several cultures. It is broadly associated with the Holy Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, among other civilizations.
The two heads are understood to represent the sovereignty of the leadership (secular and religious) over both east and west areas of the world.
Several Eastern European nations adopted it from the Byzantines and continue to use it as their national symbol to this day, the most prominent being Russia.
Source: Frosina.