The area of Tirana has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times with the earliest recognised reference found at the Cave of Pëllumbas belonging to the Palaeolithic period. Illyrians were the first population of the area and formed most likely the core of the Illyrian kingdom of the Taulantii, which in classical antiquity was centered in the hinterland of Epidamnus.^[14] When the Romans arrived in Illyria after their victory of the Illyrian Wars, they populated and integrated the area into their empire under the political control of the city of Rome. The oldest surviving discovery from this period is a Roman house dating to the 3rd century, which was transformed into an aisleless church with a mosaic floor. A castle, possibly known as Tirkan, was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I between the 4th and 6th century and later restored by Ahmed Pasha Toptani in the 18th century.^[15]

Tirana is mentioned in Venetian documents in 1418, one year after the Ottoman conquest of the area: “…the resident Pjeter, son of late Domenik from the village of Tirana…”.^[16] Records of the first land registrations under the Ottomans in 1431–32 show that Tirana consisted of 60 inhabited areas, with nearly 2,028 houses and 7,300 inhabitants.^{[citation needed]} In 1510, Marin Barleti, an Albanian Catholic priest and scholar, in the biography of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg, Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis (The story of life and deeds of Skanderbeg, the prince of Epirotes), referred to this area as a small village, distinguishing between “Little Tirana” and “Great Tirana”.^[16] It is later mentioned in 1572 as Borgo di Tirana.^[17]

According to Hahn, the settlement had already started to develop as a bazaar and included several watermills,^[18] even before 1614, when Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler, built the Old Mosque, a small commercial centre, and a hammam (Turkish bath). This is confirmed by oral sources, which state that there were two earlier mosques 300–400 m from the Old Mosque, towards today’s Ali Demi Street. The Mosque of Reç and the Mosque of Mujo were positioned on the left side of the Lana river and were older than the Old Mosque.^[18] Later, the Et’hem Bey Mosque, built by Molla Bey of Petrela, was constructed. It employed the best artisans in the country and was completed in 1821 by Molla’s son Etëhem, who was also Sulejman Bargjini’s great-nephew.

In 1800, the first newcomers arrived in the settlement^{[clarification needed]}, the so-called ortodoksit. They were Aromanians from villages near Korçë and Pogradec, who settled around modern day Tirana Park on the Artificial Lake.^[19] They started to be known as the llacifac and were the first Christians to arrive after the creation of the town.^[20] In 1807, Tirana became the centre of the Subprefecture of Krujë-Tirana.^{[citation needed]} After 1816, Tirana languished under the control of the Toptani family of Krujë.^{[citation needed]} Later, Tirana became a sub-prefecture of the newly created Vilayet of Shkodër and the Sanjak of Durrës. In 1889, the Albanian language started to be taught in Tirana’s schools,^{[citation needed]} and the patriotic club Bashkimi was founded in 1908.