the
conservative landlords, forcing their leader, Ahmet Zogu, to flee to
Yugoslavia, and formed a new government under Bishop Noli. But Noli was
too radical to command the support of the disparate coalition that had
ousted Zogu. Internally he proposed radical agrarian reforms, the
purging and reduction of the bureaucracy, and the establishment of a
truly democratic regime. In foreign affairs he extended recognition to
the Soviet Union, a move that alienated some of his supporters at home
and alarmed some neighboring states. As a consequence, Zogu, having
secured foreign support, led an army from Yugoslavia and in December
1924 entered the capital city of Tirana and became ruler of the country.
Bishop Noli and his closest supporters fled abroad; some eventually went
to Moscow, and others fell under Communist influence in Western
capitals.

Zogu's rule in the 1925-39 period, first as President Zogu and after
September I, 1928, as Zog I, king of the Albanians, brought political
stability and developed a national political consciousness that had been
unprecedented in Albanian history. To secure his position both
internally and externally, he concluded in 1926 and 1927 bilateral
treaties with Italy, providing for mutual support in maintaining the
territorial status quo and establishing a defensive alliance between the
two countries. These two treaties, however, assured Italian penetration
of Albania, particularly in the military and economic spheres.

King Zog ruled as a moderate dictator, his monarchy being a combination
of despotism and reform. He prohibited political parties but was lenient
to his opponents unless they actually threatened to overthrow his rule,
as happened in 1932, 1935, and 1937. But even during these open revolts,
he showed a good deal of leniency and executed only a few ringleaders.
He effected some substantial reforms both in the administration and in
society, particularly outlawing the traditional vendetta and carrying of
arms, of which the Albanians were very fond. The most significant
contribution of Zog's fourteen-year rule, the longest since the time of
Skanderbeg, was the development of a truly national consciousness and an
identity of the people with the state, although not necessarily with the
monarchy, and the gradual breakdown of the traditional tribal and clan
systems.

In April 1938 Zog married Geraldine Apponyi, a Hungarian countess with
an American mother. Italian Foreign Minister Cou