Archaeological findings show that the area that is now Tirana has been inhabited since the first century before Christ. When the Gospel was brought to Iliricum (today’s Albania) by the Apostle Paul (Romans 15:19) it was embraced by the people. Later in the 15th century Tirana was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and people began to convert to Islam.
Tirana was proclaimed as the capital of Albania on February 8, 1920. It is where the Communist Party was founded in 1941. In 1990 Tirana had a population of less than 250,000 people. Since then, a massive migration of Albanians from all corners of the nation hoping to find employment and a better life has contributed to the population growing to over 1,000,000 people!