- Al ban ians ▁with ▁an ▁area ▁of ▁the ▁eastern ▁C au cas us , ▁separately ▁referred ▁to ▁by ▁classical ▁ge ograph ers ▁as ▁C au cas ian ▁Alban ia , ▁located ▁in ▁what ▁roughly ▁corresponds ▁to ▁modern - day ▁southern ▁D ag est an , ▁northern ▁A zer ba ij an ▁and ▁border ing ▁C au cas ian ▁I ber ia ▁to ▁its ▁west . ▁This ▁theory ▁confl ated ▁the ▁two ▁Alban ias ▁supp osing ▁that ▁the ▁ancest ors ▁of ▁the ▁B alk an ▁Alban ians ▁( Sh q ipt ar ë t ) ▁had ▁migr ated ▁west ward ▁in ▁the ▁late ▁classical ▁or ▁early ▁medieval ▁period . ▁The ▁C au cas ian ▁theory ▁was ▁first ▁proposed ▁by ▁Renaissance ▁human ists ▁who ▁were ▁familiar ▁with ▁the ▁works ▁of ▁classical ▁ge ograph ers , ▁and ▁later ▁developed ▁by ▁early ▁ 1 9 th - century ▁French ▁cons ul ▁and ▁writer ▁François ▁P ou que ville . ▁It ▁was ▁soon ▁rendered ▁ob sole te ▁in ▁the ▁ 1 9 th ▁century ▁when ▁lingu ists ▁proved ▁Alban ian ▁as ▁being ▁an ▁Ind o - Europe an , ▁rather ▁than ▁C au cas ian ▁language . ▁ ▁Pel as g ian ▁theory ▁Another ▁ob sole te ▁theory ▁on ▁the ▁origin ▁of ▁the ▁Alban ians ▁is ▁that ▁they ▁descend ▁from ▁the ▁Pel as gi ans , ▁a ▁broad ▁term ▁used ▁by ▁classical ▁authors ▁to ▁denote ▁the ▁aut och th on ous ▁inhabitants ▁of ▁Greece . ▁This ▁theory ▁was ▁developed ▁by ▁the ▁Aust rian ▁lingu ist ▁Johann ▁Georg