THE CARTOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW ABOUT ALBANIAN TERRITORY

Pellazg were the most ancient people that populated the Ballkans. Illyrians, as successors of the Pellazg and predecessors of Albanians, were among the oldest and autochthonous inhabitants of the Western Balkans, from the river Danube branches, rivers Sava and Drava in the North, to the Ambrakia Bay (Preveze) in the South; and in the east they also populated Western Macedonia. Historic literature and different maps, especially geographic and ethnographic maps, published during the centuries, witness best about the position of the territory and Albanian ethnicity in this part of the Balkans. This paper analyzes, main cartographic material (especially geographic and ethnographic maps) published in different times, and through them assesses spatial spreading of the Albanian territory and occupation of a vast part of the territory by neighbor countries. Based on historic facts and mainly in geographic and cartographic data of Professor Ahmet Gashi, Albanian territory takes up an area of approximately 85000 km2.. Currently, about 45365 km2 of the area of the territory is found under political administration of bordering countries with Albania and Kosovo.