Ahmet Zenel Gjonbalaj or Ahmet Zeneli (1803–1893) was an Albanian fighter and commander during the period of the Albanian National Awakening in the 19th century who fought against the Principality of Montenegro's attempts to annex his homeland, Plav- Gusinje, alongside Ali Pasha of Gusinje and other Albanian patriots. He was born in 1803 in the village of

Vusanje Vusanje ( sq, Vuthaj; cnr, Vusanje/Вусање) is a village in Gusinje Municipality, Montenegro. According to the 2003 census, the town had 648 inhabitants. Geography Vusanje is located within the Plav municipality, below the town of Gusinje. I ...

(Albanian: ''Vuthaj'') to the south of Gusinje in the Albanian Alps. He was a descendant of the Gjonbalaj brotherhood which traces its ancestry back to the figure of ''Gjon Bala'' and his sons; who themselves originated from

Nikç Nikç is a settlement in the former Kelmend municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Malësi e Madhe Malësi e Madhe () is a municipality in Shkodër County, in no ...

Kelmendi Kelmendi is a historical Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region in Malësia ( Kelmend municipality) and eastern Montenegro (parts of Gusinje Municipality). It is located in the upper valley of the Cem river and its tributaries in the Accursed Moun ...

. Ahmeti's father, Zenel Mehmeti, was also a well known fighter and had served under the Ottoman forces against the French-led Morea Expedition. During the 1850s, Ahmet Zeneli was among the Albanian fighters under Ali Pasha of Gusinje tasked with defending Plav and Gusinje from outside invasions. His son, Mal Ahmeti, fought against Montenegrin invaders in 1879-1880 and continued to fight for in the Battle of Shkodra in 1912. He died at the age of 60, while Ahmet Zeneli died peacefully in his home at the age of 90.

References

19th-century Albanian people 1803 births 1893 deaths People from Plav, Montenegro Sanjak of Scutari Activists of the Albanian National Awakening {{Sandžak Albanians