@patatofriendly
It flourished as a city in 1614, but the region that today corresponds to its territory has been continuously inhabited since the Iron Age. The area was populated by the Illyrians and was most likely the nucleus of the Illyrian kingdom of the Taulanti, which in classical antiquity was centered in the hinterland of Epidamno. Following the Illyrian wars it was annexed to Rome and became an integral part of the Roman Empire. The heritage of that period is still evident and represented by the “Tirana mosaics”. Later, in the 5th and 6th centuries, an early Christian basilica was built around this site.