Dilgam ismailov

The independent State of Albania was established at 
the end of IV - beginning of III centuries B.C. There is a 
great deal of information about the boundaries of the Albanian 
State in the works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers. The 
Albanians lived in the territory, located between Iberia 
(Georgia) and the Caspian Sea. This territory shared land 
borders with the Caucasian mountains in the North, Atropatena 
in the South and Asia in the south-west. The ancient Greek 
historian Strabo wrote about the flowing of River Kur into the 
sea, running through the territory of Albania and joining the 
province of Caspiana to Albania. This province was located in 
the lower reaches of the Kur, up the coast of the sea.
The territories of current Azerbaijan, southern regions of 
Dagestan and Alazan Valley of present Georgia and the 
current territory of Armenia were included into the Albanian 
State. The information about Albanian’s social system can be 
found in the works of the ancient Greek and Roman writers. 
Strabo wrote that the whole Albanian tribes had been headed 
by the only-begotten king at that time. But earlier, each tribe 
had its own king. The priest of the temple of the moon was the 
most respected man after the king in Albania. 

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The population of Albania was divided into four classes. 
The king, leader of the army and ruler were included in the 
first, clergymen (priests) - in the second, militaries and farmers 
- in the third and ordinary people, employed in the economy - 
in the fourth class. Most of the employees in the field of 
agriculture, crafts and dealt with trade, were free men in 
Albania. However, slavery was also used in some areas of agri-
culture and handicraft. Slave labour was used in the economy 
of other representatives of the King and upper layers as well. 
But in Albania, slave labour wasn't used as widely as in the 
slave-holding states of the ancient East. The great majority of 
the creators of material and spiritual blessings were free men.
The Greek and Roman writers noted that the soil of 
Albania was very fertile and terrain was densely populated. 
The sown areas on the plains were well-irrigated. Albania was 
also rich with a wide range of pastures. There were favorable 
conditions for the development of cattle – breeding. There were 
a lot of horse herds in Albania. The riding horses were also widely 
used in military affairs. The Albanians fought against the Romans 
with sixty thousand infantry soldiers and twenty – two thousand 
warriors on horseback during Pompey’s campaign to this country. 
Countless tools, weapons, household equipment, decorations and 
so on were found during the archaeological excavations of Alba-
nian monuments. Most of them were made by local craftsmen. 
Metalworking craft was widely spread in Albania. The 
local rich ore deposits created favorable conditions for the 
development of metallurgy and metal working. Pottery had 
been a very important craft area in Albania. Ceramic products 
played an important role in economic life and welfare of the 
population. They made building materials (tiles, bricks), 
different containers, human and animal figures of clay; and 

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these products were fired in a pottery kilns. A lot of pottery 
kilns of the ancient times were found during the archaeological 
excavations in Mingachevir.
Local glass products were made since the first centuries of 
our era in Albania. The seals appeared in connection with the 
creation of states in Albania. The majority of the seals were 
made in the form of a ring and worn as ornaments on the 
fingers. Weaving had also developed in Albania. After the 
formation of the state, domestic and foreign trade significantly 
expanded in Albania. Important caravan routes passed through 
the territory of the state. Passing along the coast of the Caspian 
Sea and connecting the South with the North, the international 
trade route, played a significant role in establishing economic 
and cultural relations. According to the ancient sources, an 
international waterway, passing along the territory of Albania, 
also had become very important. Indian goods were delivered 
to the Black Sea via River Ochs (Amu-Darya), the Hirkan 
(Caspian) sea, the Kur and, partially, overland.
Until the establishment of the Albanian State the local 
population led trade, basically, by the exchange of goods. 
Coins were widely used in trade in the Albanian state. Silver 
coins treasures found in Shamaxa in 1958 and in Gabala in 
1966, prove that the Albanians used coins only in trade and 
minted coins by themselves. The oldest coins, found in the 
territory of Albania, were the silver coins minted on behalf of 
Alexander the Great. Beginning from the first half of the III 
century B.C., people began to mint coins like Alexander’s 
ones. The coins of other states were also used in Albania.
The ancient cities were formed with the emergence of class 
society and the state at a time. The development of handicrafts 
and trade played an important role in the creation of cities. The 

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ancient cities were formed around religious centers (temples) 
and established by the various kings as a result of the develop-
ment of residential areas of local population. The initial condi-
tion for the formation of cities arose in the middle of the first 
millennium B.C. in Albania. The majority of those cities were 
formed as a result of the development of previous settlements. 
In his works, Strabo mentions the names of Ayniana and 
Anariaka cities located in the province of Uti. Roman writer 
Pliny the Elder, who lived in the first century B.C., wrote that 
the main city of the Caucasian Albania was Kabalaka (present 
Qabala). Consequently, there were also other cities in Albania.