Albanian revolt of 1847 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Albanian National League
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Omer Vrioni Isuf Pasha Vrioni † Ferid Vrioni † Ismail Pasha (WIA) Shahin Kosturi Pasha Mehmed Reshid Pasha Hasan Pasha † | Çelo Picari Zenel Gjoleka Hodo Nivica Rrapo Hekali (POW) Ahmed Dino Peti Mitko | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
25,000 − 50,000 killed [1] |
History of Albania |
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Timeline |
The Albanian revolt of 1847 was a 19th-century uprising in southern Albania directed against Ottoman Tanzimat reforms which started in 1839 and were gradually being put in action in the regions of Albania.
The primary aim of the Tanzimat reforms was that of creating a strong modern local apparatus with which to govern the empire. The old privileges were abolished and taxes were to be collected from Ottoman officials, rather than by local Albanian beys. [2]
After the Uprising of Dervish Cara in 1844, the Ottoman Porte declared the application of the Tanzimat reforms in southern Albania. Albanian sanjaks were reorganized. In Southern Albania, the Sublime Porte proclaimed the tanzimat reforms in 1846, at a ceremony organized in Janina. But for years the country was feeling the devastating consequences of military expeditions of the Ottomans. In the newly formed Sanjak of Berat, which included the provinces of Vlora, Mallakastra, Skrapar and Përmet, Hysen Pasha Vrioni was assigned with the duty of Sanjakbey. Major military forces, some of which were commanded by Vrioni, began to disarm the populace extort taxes. Demir aga Vlonjati, a religious poet of the time, tells that as "soon as the Turkish expeditions approached, all the people would flee from their homeas if there was a ring of plague." The violent implementation of the reforms, though at first only in some provinces, increased the dissatisfaction of the Albanians towards the Ottoman rulers and became ready for another revolt. Sensing the danger, the Ottoman government, invited the heads of Toskëria to Bitola to convince them to accept the Tanzimat. The same occurred in Janina with about 800 agas and local brigands as well as representatives of the towns and religious institutions. [3]
Albanian peasants, mostly from southern Albania, reacted to the actions of Ottoman administration and in June 1847, their representatives met in Mesaplik. [4] The meeting, known as "Assembly of Mesaplik" (Albanian:Kuvendim i Mesaplikut), opposed the centralist Tanzimat reforms. In a memorandum sent to the Turkish sultan the participants declared that they would not send soldiers in the regular army, would not pay the new taxes and would also not accept the new administration. [3] The Assembly highlighted that the Albanian people, Muslim and Christian, are one and undivided, calling on all, without exception, to go to war against Ottoman rulers and demand that life, honor and wealth of all Albanians be guaranteed regardless of religion. [3] On these grounds was formed the Albanian National League. [3] The League created a committee with Zenel Gjoleka as its leader. The goal of the committee was to better organize political and military activities of Albanian resistance. When the new Ottoman administration tried to gather the new taxes in Kuç, the peasants went into open rebellion in July 1847. 500 men led by Zenel Gjoleka marched toward Delvinë and liberated the city. In a short period of time the uprising expanded in all Vlorë region, Chameria, Përmet and especially in Mallakastër where the local rebels were led by another notable local leader, Rrapo Hekali. [5]
Isuf bey Vrioni with its men attacked the rebels in the Mallakastër area. The Ottoman forces were defeated, with Isuf and his brother being captured during the fighting and executed by the rebels. After that, Rrapo Hekali and the Mallakastriot rebels attacked Berat, but having no artillery they could not capture the castle. They continued the siege without attacking the castle. At the same time, the rebels led by Gjoleka and Çelo Picari defeated an Ottoman force coming from Ioannina. The Gjoleka men also attacked Gjirokastër and kept its castle under siege. The Porte was alarmed by the news and a relief force of 3000 men under Shahin bey Kosturi was sent from Thessaly against the rebels in Gjirokastër, but Kosturi and his Ottoman force were also defeated by the forces of Gjoleka. Gjoleka also tried to cooperate with the Greeks, and negotiated with the Greek government of Ioannis Kolettis, but with little success. [6] Contacts with Kolettis seem to have continued, since Gjoleka has received a large scale participation by Christian chieftains, Albanians and Greeks, in his movement. [7] A new Ottoman army of 5000 men was sent from Ioannina against Gjoleka. With a force of 1500 men Gjoleka was able to defeat again the Ottoman army yet again in the Battle of Dholan on 28 August 1847. [8]
At the same time some 15,000 Ottoman forces under the Turkish marshal Mehmet Reshit Pasha were sent from Manastir to relieve the siege of Berat. In Ohrid an Ottoman force of 6,000 men was summoned. The Ottoman forces attacked the forces of Rrapo Hekali based in the city of Berat and at the same time the Turkish garrison in the castle attacked them from behind. Albanian forces left the siege and withdrew in Mallakastër. From Berat, the Ottoman army tried to enter the heart of the rebellion in the Kurvelesh region, from the Kuç pass where Gjoleka forces were concentrated. They once again resisted the Ottoman forces. At the same time other Ottoman forces attacked Kurvelesh from the Mesaplik region and another Ottoman column disembarked in the Himara region, encircling the forces of Gjoleka. Even under these circumstances Gjoleka's men resisted. Seeing the tough resistance, Mehmed Reshid Pasha declared an amnesty and invited all the leaders to meet him in Zhulat village. Some 85 men who believed his words went to the place of meeting (among whom were the local leader Hodo Nivica and some other minor leaders) and were captured. After that the organised resistance was no longer possible and Albanian forces were divided in small ceta. Ottoman forces entered the regions of uprising and thousands of men were arrested and deported, [2] whereas Rrapo Hekali was sent to a prison in Manastir, where he was poisoned on December 30, 1847. Gjoleka with a small group of fighters retreated to Greece, which ended the uprising.
Both Albanian and Greek inhabited villages in the region suffered when the uprising was suppressed the following autumn by the Ottoman forces. [9]
Ottoman Albania was a period in Albanian history from the Ottoman conquest in the late 15th century to the Albanian declaration of Independence and official secession from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. The Ottomans first entered Albania in 1385 upon the invitation of the Albanian noble Karl Thopia to suppress the forces of the noble Balša II during the Battle of Savra. They had some previous influence in some Albanian regions after the battle of Savra in 1385 but not direct control. The Ottomans placed garrisons throughout southern Albania by 1420s and established formal jurisdiction in central Albania by 1431. Even though The Ottomans claimed rule of all Albanian lands, most Albanian ethnic territories were still governed by medieval Albanian nobility who were free of Ottoman rule. The Sanjak of Albania was established in 1420 or 1430 controlling mostly central Albania, while Ottoman rule became more consolidated in 1481, after the fall of Shkodra and League of Lezhe with the country being mostly free in the period of 1443–1481. Albanians revolted again in 1481 but the Ottomans finally controlled Albania by 1488.
Ali Pasha, commonly known as Ali Pasha of Ioannina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a high degree of autonomy and even managed to stay de facto independent. The capital of the Pashalik was Ioannina, which, along with Tepelena, was Ali's headquarters.
Vizier Omer Pasha Vrioni was an Ottoman Albanian military commander and ruler, and a prominent figure in the Greek War of Independence. He succeeded Ali as Pasha of Yanina.
Reşid Mehmed Pasha, also known as Kütahı, was an Ottoman statesman and general who reached the post of Grand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an important role in the Greek War of Independence.
Abdyl Dume bey Frashëri was an Ottoman Albanian civil servant, politician during the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire, and one of the first Albanian political ideologues of the Albanian National Awakening. During his lifetime Frashëri endeavoured to instill among Albanians patriotism and a strong identity while promoting a reform program based on Albanian language education and literature.
Hekal is a village and a former municipality in the Fier County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Mallakastër. The population at the 2011 census was 2,623.
Greshicë is a village and a former municipality in the Fier County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision of the municipality Mallakastër. The population as recorded in the 2011 census was 1,152.
The Albanian Pashaliks were three semi-independent pashaliks under Ottoman suzerainty that were ruled by Albanian pashas from 1760 to 1831. It covered the territories of modern Albania, Kosovo, most of Montenegro, southern Serbia, western North Macedonia and most of mainland Greece. The degree of independence of these pashaliks varied over time, from semi-autonomous to de facto independent.
The Massacre of the Albanian beys occurred on 9 August 1830, when around 500 Albanian leaders (beys) and their personal guards were killed by Ottoman forces in the town of Manastir. The massacre led to the weakening of the power of the beys of southern Albania and also set the basis for the destruction of the powerful northern Albanian Pashalik of Scutari.
Zenel Gjoleka (1805-1852) was an Albanian revolutionary fighter born in Kuç of Kurvelesh who participated in rebellions against the Ottoman Empire central authority, being against reforms of Tanzimat.
Rrapo Hekali (?-1847) was an Albanian revolutionary born in Hekal, Mallakaster. He is famous for his role in Albanian revolt of 1847. After those events he was captured and prisoned by Ottoman forces. He died in the end of December 1847 in the Ottoman prison of Manastir.
The Uprising of Dervish Cara was a 19th-century uprising in northern Ottoman Albania directed against the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms which started in 1839 and were gradually being put in action in the regions of Albania. Some historians include the actions in Dibër of the same time under the same historical name, though the events in Dibër were independent and headed by other leaders.
The Albanian revolts of 1833–1839 took place in Albania as a reaction against the new centralizing policy of Ottoman administration.
Tafil Buzi was an Albanian leader and fighter, known for his role in various rebellions against the Ottoman government of southern Albania during the Albanian Revolts of 1833-1839. Throughout his uprisings, he maintained contacts with Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Greek politicians. As punishment for his continuous rebellions, he was captured and interned by the Ottoman government in 1840. In 1842, he was pardoned and acted as leader in service of the Ottoman government in Syria. He died there in 1844.
Vrioni is a surname. The Vrioni family is an Albanian family from Vrioni of Berat which was one of the biggest landowners in Albania, most of their lands being in the area around Berat and in the Myzeqe region. They served for several generations as beys of Berat and also held important functions in the Ottoman administration. They are distinguished record in the service of the powerful independent Albanian Pasha in Balkans Ali Pasha Tepelena, in battles in Egypt against Napoleon, and during the Greek War of Independence.
Kurvelesh is a region in southern Albania, within the Southern Mountain Range. In the region, which is divided into the communes of Brataj, Horë-Vranisht, Kurvelesh and Picar, fifteen villages are located. It is considered to be the heart of the larger Labëria region. The Kurvelesh region is inhabited by Lab Albanians. Traditionally neighbourhoods of local villages in the region had houses built as fortresses lacking windows on the ground floor while the blood feud used to be a common feature of the area. The people of Kurvelesh practised endogamy by intermarrying within the villages of the region.
Aziz Pasha Vrioni (1859–1920) was an Ottoman-Albanian politician of the early 20th century. He was a member of the Ottoman Parliament representing Berat, and Albanian Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture and of Mines.
Muhtar Pasha was an Ottoman Albanian ruler and the son of Ali Pasha of the increasingly independent Pashalik of Yanina. He was appointed governor of the Sanjak of Karli-Eli and the Sanjak of Eğriboz in 1792, stretching Ali's control down to Livadia and the Gulf of Corinth, except Attica. He also became governor of the Sanjak of Ohrid in 1796–7, and of the Sanjak of Vlorë and Berat in 1810.
The Albanian revolt of 1845, known Revolt of 1845 between Albanians was one of the 19th-century uprisings in Ottoman Albania directed against the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms.
The Vrioni were an aristocratic Albanian family and one of the largest landowners of Albania, otherwise known as "Konaqe" or "Oxhaqe", among which the most important are: Vrioni of Berat and Fier, Vloraj of Vlora, Toptani of Tirana, Biçakçinjtë of Elbasan, Dino of Ioannina and Preveza, Vërlaci of Elbasan, Bushatllinjtë of Shkodra, Këlcyrajt of Këlcyra, Markagjonët of Mirdita, etc. Insignia titles held by members of these families, usually Pasha or Bey, corresponded to the assigned positions in the Ottoman administration, central or local, which are given by ferman or berat (decrees) by the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
The Gjoleka's Rebellion in Toskaria : The secret, indirect, contacts with Kolettis seem to have continued since Gjoleka achieved a large participation of Christians, both Albanian and Greek, chieftains in it
The same year saw an insurrection led by the Albanian Gionlekka or Gioleka, which attracted some Greek support. Greek as well as Albanian villages suffered when the revolt was suppressed in the autumn of the year it had begun.