Ali Pasha Shabanagaj ( Serbian: Али-паша Шабанагић, Ali-paša Šabanagić; 1828 – 5 March 1888), was an Albanian

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

military commander and one of the leaders of the

League of Prizren The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...

. He governed, as an Ottoman ''kaymakam'' (sub-governor), an area in what is today eastern

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

around Plav and

Gusinje Gusinje ( cyrl, Гусиње, ; sq, Gucia) is a small town in north-eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality. Name Two alternative etymologies ...

. He was commonly known as Ali Pasha of Gusinje ( tr, Gusinyeli Ali Paşa, sq, Ali Pashë Gucia, Serbian: Али-паша Гусињски, Ali-paša Gusinjski). He was the leader of the Albanian irregular troops of the League of Prizren against the

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro ( sr, Књажевина Црна Горa, Knjaževina Crna Gora) was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Nikola I, who then ...

at the

Battle of Novšiće The Battle of Novšiće ( sr, Boj na Novšiću/Бој на Новшићу; Bitka na Novšićima/Битка на Новшићима, sq, Beteja e Nokshiqit) was a battle for control over Plav and Gusinje fought on 4 December 1879 between the for ...

. He was governor of the area of Plav and

located in a valley between steep mountains.

Biography

Ali Pasha was born in an Albanian

family in 1828 in

, to landowner Hasan Pasha Shabanagaj. The Shabanagaj were from the

Gruemiri Gruemiri (alternatively, ''Gruemira'') is a small historical Albanian tribes, Albanian tribe (fis) in the former municipality of Gruemirë in the region of Malësia. Name Historical and linguistic understanding about the patronym and toponym '' ...

tribe (''fis'') and were related via marriage with the

Bushati family The Bushati family ( sq, Bushatllinjtë) was a prominent Ottoman Albanian family that ruled the Pashalik of Scutari from 1757 to 1831. Origins They are descendants of the medieval Bushati tribe, a pastoralist tribe (''fis'') in northern Albani ...

of Shkodra. Shaban Aga, their eponymous ancestor was the son-in-law of Sulejman Pasha Bushati,

sanjakbey ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' ( ota, سنجاق بك) () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak' ...

of Shkodra. He was sent in Gusinje as the commander of the fortress around 1690. The Shabanagaj family owned large estates in

Berane Berane ( cyrl, Беране) is one of the largest towns of northeastern Montenegro and a former administrative centre of the Ivangrad District. The town is located on the Lim river. From 1949 to 1992, it was named Ivangrad ( cyrl, Иванг� ...

. He finished Turkish-language school in medresa in

Peja Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mount ...

and military school in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. In 1845 Ali was appointed as ''

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...

'' (sub-governor) of Gusinje, succeeding his father on this position. In the 1860s he supported the uprising of northern Albanian Muslim tribes against

Tanzimat reforms The Tanzimat (; ota, تنظيمات, translit=Tanzimāt, lit=Reorganization, ''see'' nizām) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. ...

which reduced their privileged status. The

was established with Ottoman support in 1878, after the

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...

decided to cede the towns of Plav and Gusinje, which were notably Muslim Albanian-inhabited, to the

. Ali Pasha, whose lands were part of the proposed cessations to Montenegro hosted a gathering of local Albanian leaders and mobilized Albanians of the area into a military force to resist and prevent territorial losses. He became one of League's founders and military commanders in the region of Plav and Gusinje. He was one of the commanders of irregulars mobilized by the League having assembled some 10,000–20,000 Albanian men and defeated Montenegrin troops in the

with his forces bringing back some sixty heads to Gusinje. He later used his forces against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In the early phases of the

attack against Mehmed Ali Pasha The Attack against Mehmed Ali Pasha, known in Albanian historiography as the Action of Gjakova ( Albanian: Aksioni i Gjakovës), was undertaken from 3–6 September 1878 by the Gjakova Committee of the League of Prizren in the estate of Abdullah P ...

he commanded the volunteer troops that blocked the routes from

Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

to the Ottoman-Montenegrin border. He was also the leader of the Albanian troops of the

against the

at the

. After the irregulars of the League of Prizren were crushed by the Ottomans in 1881, Ali Pasha of Gusinje was arrested. He was released after the Sultan gave general amnesty. Ali Pasha was appointed to the position of

mutesarrif Mutasarrif or mutesarrif ( ota, متصرّف, tr, mutasarrıf) was the title used in the Ottoman Empire and places like post-Ottoman Iraq for the governor of an administrative district. The Ottoman rank of mutasarrif was established as part of a ...

of the Ottoman

Sanjak of İpek The Sanjak of İpek ( tr, İpek Sancağı, al, Sanxhaku i Pejës, sr, Пећки санџак) or Sanjak of Dukakin ( tr, Dukakin Sancağı, al, Sanxhaku i Dukagjinit, sr, Дукађински санџак) was a ''sanjak'' (an administrative ...

because he did not object the Ottoman rule and maintained a close connection with the Porte throughout the conflict being more concerned to prevent Montenegro to capture Plav and Gusinje. The Ottoman state also gave him forestland for his defense of Gusinje against the Montenegrins and later Ali Pasha sent some Albanian youths from the region for training and service in the place guard of sultan Abdulhamid II. In 1881, during his visit to Istanbul, he was promoted to the rank of

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

Death

An attempt to assassinate Ali Pasha was undertaken in the

Rugova Canyon Rugova Canyon or Rugova Gorge ( sq, Gryka e Rugovës; sr, Руговска клисура, Rugovska klisura, italic=yes) is a river canyon near Peja in Western Kosovo, in the Accursed Mountains, close to the border with Montenegro. With a lengt ...

on 29 November 1887, organized by Albanian nationalist

Haxhi Zeka Haxhi Zekë Byberi mostly known as Haxhi Zeka ( tr, Haci Zeka; 20 December 1832 – 21 February 1902) was an Albanian nationalist leader, a member of the League of Prizren, while in 1899 he was part of the establishment and leadership of the Le ...

, which he survived but died on 5 March 1888. The assassination was carried out by Adem Guska.Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv, Politisches Archiv XXXVIII, Karton 263, Prizren report from 5 December 1887, p 4-5, also HHStA, PA XXXVIII, Karton 270, Prizren report from 5 March 1888, p 7, and report from 16 March 1888, p 5.

Lahuta e Malcis

The exploits of Ali Pasha of Gusinje presented material for myth making and in the Albanian national epic poem ''

Lahuta e Malcis ''The Highland Lute'' ( sq, Lahuta e Malcís, original and standard language of the time based on Gheg Albanian) is the Albanian national Epic poetry, epic poem, completed and published by the Albanian friar and poet Gjergj Fishta in 1937. It consi ...

'' ( en, Highland Lute) he is presented as a ''blazing hero'' and is the central figure of the 8th

canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...

and one of the important figures of the 9th canto.

Sources

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Pasha of Gusinje 1828 births 1888 deaths Political people from the Ottoman Empire Albanian Muslims Albanian politicians Activists of the Albanian National Awakening People from Gusinje 19th-century Albanian military personnel Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Albanian Pashas Assassinated Albanian politicians Assassinated Albanian people 19th-century Ottoman military personnel