Andrea Manesi was an Albanian leader who organized a revolt in 1607 against the Ottoman Empire. He declared himself to be the second Skanderbeg, instructed by celestial beings to depose the Sultan and take his place. Gaining fame as having miraculous abilities and helping the poor, he increased the number of his supporters until the revolt was put to an end by Ottoman armies.
Andrea Manesi was born in Qullëz, a village between Lezhë and Shkodër in northwest Albania. Raised in a period of intense conflict between the Ottoman Empire and Albanians seeking independence, in 1607 he started to claim that he was contacted by celestial beings, and instructed by them to take control of the empire. [1] Manesi claimed that he was a successor of Skanderbeg, the Albanian leader who fought against the Ottomans, and that Sultan Ahmed I had no right to rule. Claims about him making miracles and helping poor people emerged. In front of 3000 Albanian men, he foresaw attempts by the Sultan to kill him. Soon Manesi, supported by ever growing numbers of rebels, reduced taxes and called on local officials to do their job honestly. After some regions of Albania, such as Dukagjini, Kthella and Selita joined the revolt, Andrea Manesi was invited to pay a visit to the Sublime Porte but refused to do so. As a response, the Sultan ordered large armies to attack the rebellious regions, though Manesi and his supporters continued their activities until 1610. After failing to secure support from Spain, the revolt was definitely put to an end. [2]
Andrea Manesi is a rather obscure figure in historiography. His history is valuable not only in the context of Albanian-Ottoman relations of that time, but also in demonstrating mechanisms of myth creation as well. Emerging from the status of an ordinary person, by realizing the importance of gaining fame, he reached the status of a regional leader. [3]
The League of Lezhë, also commonly referred to as the Albanian League, was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unified independent Albanian country in the Medieval age, with Skanderbeg as leader of the regional Albanian chieftains and nobles united against the Ottoman Empire. Skanderbeg was proclaimed "Chief of the League of the Albanian People," while Skanderbeg always signed himself as "DominusAlbaniae".
Gollak or Gallap is a mountainous and ethnographic region in the eastern part of Kosovo and partially in Serbia, bordering the Llap region to the North, the Kosovo field to the west, the Anamorava valley to the south and straddling along the border with Serbia. The cities of Prishtina and Gjilan in Kosovo are located by the mountains. The highest peak, Bjeshka e Artanës, has an elevation of 1260 meters 1,260 m (4,134 ft) above sea level. Gollak itself is split into Upper Gollak and Lower Gollak.
The Muzaka family was an noble Albanian family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mentions the Muzaka family is written by the Byzantine historian Anna Komnene. At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century members of the Muzaka family controlled a region between the rivers of Devoll and Vjosë. Some of them were loyal to the Byzantine Empire while some of them allied with Charles of Anjou who gave them impressive Byzantine-like titles in order to subdue them more easily. In the 1340s, Stefan Dušan pressed further south into Albania, and by 1343-45 had taken central towns and territories in southern Albania, including domains of the Muzaka family. However, they would fall back under local control after his death in 1355. After the Battle of Savra in 1385 the territory of Albania came under the Ottoman Empire; they served the Ottomans until 1444 when Theodor Corona Musachi joined Skanderbeg's rebellion. When the Ottomans suppressed Skanderbeg's rebellion and captured the territory of Venetian Albania in the 15th century many members of the Muzaka family retreated to Italy. Those who stayed in Ottoman Albania lost their feudal rights, some converted to Islam and achieved high ranks in the Ottoman military and administrative hierarchy.
Andrea Vrana was an Albanian nobleman appointed by Manfred of Sicily as captain of Durazzo (Durrës). The Vrana family was based in the castle of Xibër village, today in the Mat District.
The Spani family was a noble Albanian family that emerged in the 14th century. They owned large estates in and around the fortified town of Drivasto and in neighbouring Scutari. During the late 15th century, a faction of the family settled in Venetian territories, primarily Venice itself and Dalmatia.
Pal Dukagjini was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Dukagjini family. He and his kinsman Nicholas Dukagjini were initially subjects of Lekë Zaharia, a Venetian vassal who had possessions around Shkoder. Nicholas murdered Lekë, and the Dukagjini continued to rule over their villages under Venetian vassalage. Pal and Nicholas were part of the League of Lezhë, a military alliance that sought liberation of Albania from the Ottoman Empire, founded by the powerful Skanderbeg. In 1454, the Dukagjini accepted vassalage of Alfonso V of Aragon, as other chieftains had done three years earlier. Pal later abandoned Skanderbeg's army and deserted to the Ottomans.
Nicholas Dukagjini was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family.
Komnen Arianiti was an Albanian nobleman of the Arianiti family, who held an area in central Albania around Durrës. His son Gjergj became a prominent leader of the Albanian-Ottoman wars.
Aqif Pasha Biçaku mostly known as Aqif Pashë Elbasani was an Ottoman Albanian political figure in the Sanjak of Elbasan and after the Young Turk Revolution became an activist for the Albanian national cause.
The Academy of Albanological Studies (AAS) is the main institution of albanology in Albania.
Marenglen Verli is an Albanian historian and scholar. Since 2009, he is a member of the Academy of Sciences of Albania.
The Convention of Mat was organized on 7 November 1594 by Albanian leaders fighting against the Ottoman Empire. Mat was chosen as the place of the meeting due to its role in Albanian revolts of the 16th century. The aim was a better organization of the revolts to achieve independence from the Ottoman Empire. The convention decided that help should be sought from the Pope, and for negotiations were chosen Tom Plezha, Mark Gjini and Nikollë Mekajshi. However, the Pope refused to give help, claiming that it was not the right time to fight the Ottoman Empire. Another decision of Albanian leaders was to not let the Republic of Venice know about their plans as the latter did not want to open a new conflict with the Ottomans. The news came out and Venetians managed to divide the organizers of the convention between themselves. In the following two years, Albanian leaders continued their work to get help from Christian powers, taking heart from geopolitical circumstances. In 1596, 10,000 men marched towards Vlora in hope of receiving arms from Spain but the arms sent were confiscated by Venetians. The events damaged the relations between Albanian leaders and Christian powers but did not weaken the efforts for independence.
The Convention of Dibra was organized on November 1, 1878, in the city of Dibra, on the initiative of the Committee of the Albanian League for the two Dibras chaired by Iljaz Pasha Dibra. The convention adopted a resolution in the form of a memorandum, drafted by Abdyl Frashëri who participated as representative of the whole of Vilayet of Ioannina.
Mark Gjini was an Albanian leader chosen at the Convention of Mat to negotiate with the Pope an alliance against the Ottoman Empire.
The Convention of Kuçi was an interregional assembly held on July 14–15, 1614, in the area of the Kuçi tribe in the region of Malësia in modern northernmost Albania and Montenegro. A second assembly was held on September 8, 1614, which reaffirmed the decisions of the July assembly and also had an enlarged participation. Of the 44 representatives of the first assembly, almost all were from the Albanian tribes and the tribes of Montenegro. Several representatives of tribes are mentioned in the reports of the decisions of the assembly like Gjergj Bardhi from Mirdita and Gjin Gjergji from Dukagjin.
Botushë is a village in the municipality of Gjakova, District of Gjakova, southwest Kosovo. It is located near the border with Albania and is part of the Highlands of Gjakova. It is inhabited exclusively by Albanians.
At the conclusion of the Albanian-Ottoman Wars in the 15th century, the Albanian people revolted against the Ottoman Empire. These actions during this time continued an extended period of conquest and border expansion into Southeastern Europe. The Ottomans were left in control of all the main Albanian cities, besides Durrës and Ulcinj, which were still controlled by the Venice. Albania would be ruled by the Ottomans for over 400 years, but this rule would be frequently disrupted by revolts and uprisings with varying degrees of success.
Sulejman Aga Batusha or Sulejman Aga Botusha was a prominent Albanian resistance fighter and revolutionary leader from the Highlands of Gjakova and the wider Gjakova region who participated in the Albanian National Awakening. Born sometime in the 19th century, Sulejman Aga would repeatedly lead Albanian forces against the Ottomans throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, ultimately contributing to the Albanian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire. He was also a chief of the Gashi tribe and was their head in the Gjakova region.
The Koplik War was a series of battles that occurred between Albania and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1920 and 1921.
Voksh is a village and tribal region situated in western Kosovo[a], which is inhabited by 570 people, all of whom are Albanians. The village of Voksh is also home to the Vokshi tribe which is part of the larger polyphyletic Thaçi tribe.