Mark Gjini

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Mark Gjini was an Albanian leader chosen at the Convention of Mat to negotiate with the Pope an alliance against the Ottoman Empire.

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Life

Mark Gjini held the title of Stradiot captain serving the Republic of Venice. His service to Venetians includes his contribution in the Uskok War with six boats with 300 Albanians. [1] Gjini was a distinguished figure of the Albanian struggle against the Ottoman Empire at the end of the end of 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century. [2] He participated at the Convention of Mat which was held on November 7, 1594 by Albanian leaders for a better organization of their revolts. [3] [4] The convention decided that help should be sought from the Pope, and the trusted and experienced leaders Tom Plezha, Mark Gjini and Nikollë Mekajshi were chosen to undertake the negotiations. [4] This was done secretly from the Republic of Venice as the latter did not want to open a new conflict with the Ottomans. [4] A year later Gjini returned from Italy to recruit men for the implementation of plans, and was almost killed by people employed by Venetians. In 1607, Gjini led a delegation that requested help by the King of Spain. After the failure of the Mat Convention's goals, little is known about Mark Gjini. [3] The documents, however, show that after the 1607-1608 period, he was still one of the most active anti-Ottoman leaders in Albania. [5]

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The Convention of Mat was organized on November 7, 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.

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Tom Plezha was an Albanian leader chosen at the Convention of Mat to negotiate with the Pope an alliance against the Ottoman Empire.

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References

  1. Malcolm, Noel (2015). Agents of Empire: Knights, Corsairs, Jesuits and Spies in the Sixteenth-century Mediterranean World. Oxford University Press. p. 409. ISBN   9780190262785.
  2. Instituti i Historisë (1967). Studime historike. Akademia e Shkencave. p. 123.
  3. 1 2 Aleks Buda (1985). Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar. Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH. p. 585.
  4. 1 2 3 Jehona. 1969. p. 83.
  5. Islami, Selim (1988). Gjurmime albanologjike: Seria e shkencave historike. Instituti. p. 108.

Sources