DURAZZO, doo-rat's6 (ancient DYRRHACH IUM or EemAidnus), Turkey, a seaport in the principality of Albania, on the Adriatic, 50 miles south by west of Scutari. A Catholic arch bishopric has been located here since the time of Justinian. The chief exports are raw silk, wool, oil and grain. It was originally founded by a colony of Greeks from Corcyra, in the 7th cen tury B.C., and was long under the name of Epi damnus, the most important maritime town of Illyria. In the early part of the 3d century it fell into the hands of the Romans who changed the name of the city to Dyrrhachium. Caesar besieged the armies of Pompey here. The By zantines gained possession of it at the end of the 4th century, and made it the capital of New Epirus. The Ostrogoths, Bulgarians, Normans, the house of Anjou and Venice owned it suc cessively. It was finally taken by the Turks in 1501, who made it a part of the Vilayet of Scu tari. In the Balkan War (1912-13) it was an
important strategic point because the Servians desired it as an outlet for their commerce on the Adriatic. The final treaty left it in the hands of the new principality of Albania under the government of William of Wied. At the outbreak of the European War, toward the end of July 1914, the prince and the international commission left the province and a state of anarchy followed. Essad Pasha Topdani, the recently expelled Turkish ruler, attempted to establish a military government at Durazzo, but the effort ended in failure (5 Oct. 1914). The Austrians finally overran the country capturing Durazzo on 28 Feb. 1916. A few columns and marble are now almost the only remains of the ancient city. The modern town is a poor place of about 5,000.