Cabanes has close ties with Albania and its history. He visited the southern borders between Albania and Greece for the first time in 1970s being very fond of the antiquity of these territories.

He was a participant in the International Assembly of Albanology in 1972, where theories and theses on the origin of Albanians and their language were established and refined.

About 50 years on, Cabanes is again a participant in an Assembly of Albanology. This time the Assembly is being held with the participation of 182 scholars from around the world who have presented studies, theses and scientific papers that shed more light on history, archaeology, language and continuity of Illyrian-Arberian culture.

Cabanes presented his findings to the first plenary session of the International Assembly of Albanological Studies organized by the Academy of Sciences of Albania and the Academy of Sciences of Kosovo which is continuing the proceedings since November 25 at the Hotel “Plaza” in Tirana, while it will close this Saturday, November 27th.

In his statement, prof. Cabanes has reinforced the thesis of the existence of a single Illyrian state formed by ethnic communities and argued on how it evolved in Southern Illyria.

“The issue of the existence of an Illyrian state in Antiquity is a topic already often addressed. In view of the numerous ethnic communities in Southern Illyria in the IV century BC, one can put in question the formation of a single Illyrian state, alongside numerous small kingdoms or local states. In the 4th century BC, Southern Illyria managed to raise excellent armies, inflicting defeats on the Macedonians as well as the Molossians. The existence of these armies suggests that different communities entrusted contingents of soldiers to a leader, often chosen by the kings of different tribes (Desaret, Taulant, Ardian, etc.). However, the armies are not enough to prove the existence of a permanent and united Illyrian state: they lost all activities in peacetime. However, ties between local communities remained strong, especially with regard to livestock, which presupposed inter-ethnic arrangements for grazing, wintering areas, and herd trails. Therefore, ethnic communities maintained close relations in the sphere of economic life, mainly organized around livestock, as well as for their collective protection by neighbouring states. Apparently, the southern Illyrians conceived an original model, which was neither a united state like the kingdom of Macedonia, nor a federal state like neighbouring Epirus,” said prof. Cabanes. /j.p/p.s./