Ottoman Albania

Ottoman Albania was a period in Albanian history within the Ottoman Empire, 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 (including areas of today's Kosovo, Montenegro

and Macedonia) being mostly free in the period of 1443–1481. Albanians revolted again in 1481 but the Ottomans finally controlled Albania by 1488.

The term used in Ottoman sources for the country was Arnavudluk (Ottoman Turkish: آرناوودلق), including areas such as present-day Albania, Kosovo, western North Macedonia, southern Serbia, southern Montenegro and parts of northern Greece.

In 1431, many Albanian princes including Gjergj Arianiti, Zenevisi family, Andrea Thopia and Gjon Kastrioti started a war against the Ottoman Empire which resulted in a defeat of Kastrioti, but victory in four battles for Arianiti and a victory for Thopia. These victories opened the way for the coming of Skanderbeg in 1443 in Krujë. Independence for most of the Albanian regions was maintained during 1443–1479, with the uprising under the lead of Skanderbeg, that together with other Albanian nobles such Gjergj Arianiti, Andrea Thopia and Lekë Dukagjini, achieved remarkable result of more than thirty victories against the Ottoman Empire.

The Albanian resistance and war against the Ottomans continued for 48 years. The last fortresses captured by the Ottomans were Shkodër in 1479, Durrës in 1501 and Himara in 1509.

Albanians would later on enter in a period of Islamization, starting in the late 14th century and early 15th century, and increasing especially in the 16th and 17th centuries. Albanians, through converting to Islam, would eventually dominate the Ottoman power structures disproportionally to their small population, considering the large territory and huge population of the Ottoman Empire at the time. They would become one of the most important and prestigious nations in the empire, playing an important role in the 15th and 16th centuries, and especially a striking role in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries.

A period of the semi-independence started for local Albanian rulers in the 1750s with the era of the so called Independent Albanian Pashas. In 1754, the autonomous Albanian Pashalik of the Bushati family would be established, with its center being the city of Shkodër, called Pashalik of Shkodra. Later on, the autonomous Pashalik of Berat would be established, and culminating with the Albanian Pashalik of Ali Pashë Tepelena in 1787. The Albanian Pashaliks would end in 1831 with the last one being the Bushati Pashalik. These de facto independent Albanian Pashaliks would extend from Bosnia to south of Morea (Peloponnese) in today's southern Greece.

Meanwhile, an Ottoman-Albanian commander called Mehmet Ali of Egypt, would seize power in Egypt in 1805 through his Albanian mercenaries and establish a dynasty that would last up to 1954. He would take over Sudan and many regions of Saudi Arabia by 1824 and would take over Levant later on in 1831, by even defeating the Ottomans in 1833. The conflict would rise again in what is known as Egyptian-Ottoman War (1839-1841) and only European Powers would stop Mehmet Ali and his son Ibrahim Pasha from seizing Constantinople and replace the Ottoman dynasty with the Albanian one, by thus resolving the Oriental Crisis of 1840. Albanian communities exist up to this day in Egypt and other areas of Levant such as Syria and Palestine.

The territory which today belongs to the Republic of Albania remained part of the Ottoman Empire until it declared independence in 1912, during the Balkan Wars.

History

14th century

thumb|right|alt=Fortress of Krujë|The [[Krujë Castle|fortress of Krujë served as the noble residence of the Kastrioti family. Skanderbeg's struggle to keep Albania independent became significant to Albanian national identity and served centuries later in the Albanian Renaissance as a source of inspiration in their struggle for national unity, freedom and independence.]]

The Ottomans expanded their control from Anatolia to the Balkans in the middle of the 14th century. They entered European territory in 1352, and they defeated a Balkan coalition army led by Serbs, that also included some Albanians and Bosnians in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. Ottoman pressure lessened in 1402 when the Mongol leader Timur (Tamerlane) attacked Anatolia from the east, killed the Sultan, and sparked a civil war. When order was restored, the Ottomans renewed their westward progress. In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II's forces overran Constantinople and killed the last Byzantine emperor.

The division of the Albanian-populated lands into small, quarreling fiefdoms ruled by independent feudal lords and tribal chiefs made them easy prey for the Ottoman armies. In 1385, the Albanian ruler of Durrës, Karl Thopia, appealed to the sultan for support against his rivals, the Balsha noble family. An Ottoman force quickly marched into Albania along the Via Egnatia and routed Balsha II in the Battle of Savra. Some of the Albanian Principalities soon started to become vassals of the Ottoman Empire after 1420. Gjirokastra became the county town of the Sanjak of Albania in 1420. and then Kruja was established as the center of Sanjak of Albania after Gjergj Arianiti defeated the Ottomans between 1431 and 1435.

The Ottomans allowed Albanian clan chiefs to maintain their positions, rule and property, but they had to pay tribute, and sometimes send their sons to the Ottoman court as hostages, and provide the Ottoman army with auxiliary troops. The memory of the mid-15th century resistance under Skanderbeg continues to be important to Albanians, and his family's banner, bearing a black two-headed eagle on a red field, became the flag under which the Albanian national movement rallied centuries later. 11 years after the death of Skenderbeg and the fall of Krujë, the Ottoman Empire gained control of the ethnic Albanian territories and made many political changes.

16th–17th centuries

The Albanian population gradually began to convert to Islam through the teachings of Bektashism, which offered considerable material advantages in Ottoman trade networks, bureaucracy and army. Many Albanians were recruited initially into the Janissary and Devşirme (in many cases sons of Albanian nobles) and later on through becoming Muslims they opened their path for very successful military and political carriers, persuading other Albanians to do so

Albanians would enter later on in the 15th and especially 16th and 17th centuries, a period of Islamization. Albanians through converting to Islam would eventually dominate the Ottoman power structures disporportinally to their small population considering the large territory and huge population of the Ottoman Empire. They would become one of the most important and prestigious nations in the Empire playing a stringing role since the 15th century, but especially in the 17th,18th and 19th centuries.

For example, 48 Grand Viziers were of Albanian origin who managed the Ottoman state approximately 190 years. Some of the most prominent Albanians during Ottoman rule were: George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, Ballaban Badera, Koca Davud Pasha, Hamza Kastrioti, Iljaz Hoxha, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, Mimar Sinan, Nezim Frakulla, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, Ali Pasha, Edhem Pasha, Omer Vrioni, Patrona Halil, Haxhi Shehreti, Ali Pasha of Gucia, Ibrahim Pasha of Berat, Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Kara Mahmud Bushati, Kara Murad Pasha, Ahmet Kurt Pasha, Mustafa Bushati, Ibrahim Bushati, Sedefkar Mehmed Agha.

Albanians also played a crucial role during the Ottoman–Venetian War (1499–1503), Ottoman–Hungarian Wars and Ottoman–Habsburg wars before gaining Independence.

Ottoman Empire would be heavily dependent on Albanian Mercenaries in its warfare between the early 1600s to middle 1800s until the reforms of Tanzimat.

18th–19th centuries and the Albanian Pashaliks

180px|thumb|right|alt=Ali Pasha of Tepelenë|[[Ali Pasha of Ioannina|Ali Pasha of Tepelenë played an instrumental role in late Ottoman-Albanian history. At its peak, his rule extended within the Ottoman Empire over most of central and southern Albania, as well as most of Epirus, western Macedonia, Thessaly, and parts of northern Peloponnese in Greece.]]

The weakening of Ottoman central authority and the timar system brought anarchy to the Albanian-populated lands. In the 18th century, two Albanian centers of power emerged: Shkodër, under the Bushati family; and Ioannina, under Ali Pasha of Tepelenë. When it suited their goals, both places cooperated with the Sublime Porte, and when it was expedient to defy the central government, each acted independently.

thumb|left|The Albanian pashaliks in 1789.

thumb|Audience chamber of Ali Pacha, lithograph by [[Sir George de la Poer Beresford, 2nd Baronet|George de la Poer Beresford, 1855.]]

The Bushati family initially dominated the Shkodër region through a network of alliances with various highland tribes and later expanded in huge areas in today's Montenegro, Northern Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, southern Serbia. Kara Mahmud Bushati attempted to establish a de juro independent principality and expand the lands under his control by playing off Austria and Russia against the Sublime Porte. In 1785, Kara Mahmud's forces attacked and conquered Montenegrin territory, and Austria offered to recognize him as the ruler of all Albania if he would ally himself with Vienna against the Sublime Porte. Seizing an opportunity, Kara Mahmud sent the sultan the heads of an Austrian delegation in 1788, and the Ottomans appointed him governor of Shkodër. When he attempted to wrest the final lands from the last free tribes in Montenegro in 1796, however, he was killed by an ambush in northern Montenegro. Kara Mahmud's brother, Ibrahim Bushati, cooperated with the Sublime Porte until his death in 1810, but his successor, Mustafa Pasha Bushati, proved to be recalcitrant despite important participation in Ottoman military campaigns against Greek revolutionaries and rebel pashas. He cooperated with the mountain tribes and brought a large area in Balkans under his control like Kara Mahmud Bushati. Large numbers of Tosks emigrated to join sizable Albanian émigré communities in Romania, Egypt, Bulgaria, Constantinople, southern Italy, and later the United States.]]

In 1906, opposition groups in the Ottoman Empire emerged, one of which evolved into the Committee of Union and Progress, more commonly known as the Young Turks, which proposed restoring constitutional government in Constantinople, by revolution if necessary. In July 1908, a month after a Young Turk rebellion in Macedonia supported by an Albanian uprising in Kosovo and Vardar Macedonia escalated into widespread insurrection and mutiny within the imperial army, Sultan Abdül Hamid II agreed to demands by the Young Turks to restore constitutional rule. Many Albanians participated in the Young Turks uprising, hoping that it would gain their people autonomy within the empire. The Young Turks lifted the Ottoman ban on Albanian-language schools and on writing the Albanian language. As a consequence, Albanian intellectuals meeting in Manastir (present day town of Bitola) in 1908 chose the Latin alphabet as a standard script. The Young Turks, however, were set on maintaining the empire and not interested in making concessions to the myriad nationalist groups within its borders. After securing the abdication of Abdül Hamid II in April 1909, the new authorities levied taxes, outlawed guerrilla groups and nationalist societies, and attempted to extend Constantinople's control over the northern Albanian mountain men. In addition, the Young Turks legalized the bastinado, or beating with a stick, even for misdemeanors, banned carrying rifles, and denied the existence of an Albanian nationality. The new government also appealed for Islamic solidarity to break the Albanians' unity and used the Muslim clergy to try to impose the Arabic alphabet, while also banning the Albanian national flag.

The Albanians refused to submit to the Young Turks' campaign to "Ottomanize" them by force. New Albanian uprisings began in Kosovo and the northern mountains in early April 1910. Ottoman forces quashed these rebellions after three months, outlawed Albanian organizations, disarmed entire regions, and closed down schools and publications. Montenegro, preparing to grab Albanian-populated lands for itself, supported a 1911 uprising by the mountain tribes against the Young Turks regime that grew into a widespread revolt. Unable to control the Albanians by force, the Ottoman government granted concessions on schools, military recruitment, and taxation and sanctioned the use of the Latin script for the Albanian language. The government refused, however, to unite the four Albanian-inhabited vilayets into one, Albanian vilayet.

Governance

Administratively, the Ottomans divided the Albanian-inhabited lands among a number of districts, or vilayets. The Ottoman authorities did not stress conversion to Islam and the conversion was done initially by Albanian nobles in the end of the 14th century and beginning of 15th one and was gradually accepted by the mass. The Ottomans persecuted non Muslim Albanians and murdered their children and women in masses and those whom they did not murder they cut their tongues or eyes, or they burnt their eyes, as mentioned in Meshari of Gjon Buzuku additional by Gjon Buzuku, when he talked of the treatment of the Albanian people by Turk governance.

By 1479, the entire country, except for Durrës, Ulcinj and Bar, was under Ottoman suzerainty. Prominent viziers and pashas hailed from Albania, and were appointed to their posts long before the majority of Albanians professed Islam.

Administrative divisions

thumb|180px|Albanian ([[Arnaut) mercenaries in the Ottoman Army in the year 1857.]]

: For details of : State Organization

The Ottoman sultan considered himself God's agent on Earth, the leader of a religious—not a national—state whose purpose was to defend and propagate Islam. Non-Muslims paid extra taxes and held an inferior status, but they could retain their old religion and a large measure of local autonomy. By converting to Islam, individuals among the conquered could elevate themselves to the privileged stratum of society. In the early years of the empire, all Ottoman high officials were the sultan's bondsmen the children of Christian subjects chosen in childhood for their promise, converted to Islam, and educated to serve. Some were selected from prisoners of war, others sent as gifts, and still others obtained through devshirme, the tribute of children levied in the Ottoman Empire's Balkan lands. Many of the best fighters in the sultan's elite guard, the janissaries, were conscripted as young boys from Christian Albanian families, and high-ranking Ottoman officials often had Albanian bodyguards.

Nasuhzade Ali Pasha (died in 1822), Ottoman Albanian Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Navy
Mehmed Ferid Pasha (1851 - 1914), Grand Vizier
Elbasanlı Akif Pasha (1860 - 1926), Ottoman Albanian political figure
Said Halim Pasha (1864 - 1921), Grand Vizier
Ibrahim Temo (1865 - 1945), Ottoman-Albanian politician, revolutionary, intellectual, and a medical doctor
Avlonyalı Süreyya Bey (1860 - 1940), Ottoman Albanian politician
Esad Pasha (1863 - 1920), Ottoman army officer, he served as the Albanian deputy in the Ottoman Parliament and later Albanian Prime Minister
Ekrem Bey Vlora (1885 - 1964), Politician, writer, and one of the delegates to the Assembly of Vlorë
Ismail Kemal (1844 - 1919), Founder of modern Albania