Avlona played an important part in the wars between the Normans and the Byzantines, during the 11th and 12th centuries.

On the 10th it was reported that they had taken Klisura, about thirty-five miles from Avlona, in the direction of Monastir.

Avlona occupies an eminence near the Gulf of Avlona, an inlet of the Adriatic, almost surrounded by mountains.

With Saseno under the control of a foreign power, the possessor of Avlona could never make the town into a place of arms.