Haxhi Et'hem Bey also known as Haxhi Et'hem bey Mollaj (1783–1846) was an Ottoman

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

administrator, nobleman and bejtexhi. Et'hem Bey was the son of Molla Bey of Petrela, from one of the prominent families of the Tirana area, back then part of the Ottoman Albania. He is descendant of Sulejman Pasha Bargjini, who gave the main contribution to the development of Tirana as a commercial and religious center. His family was an opponent of the powerful

Toptani family The Toptani family was the leading Albanian noble family in central Ottoman Albania at the beginning of the 20th century. The Toptani family belonged to a small number of noble families appointed by the Ottomans who used local chieftains to contr ...

and with connected to the Bushatlliu family of Shkodra. As a result, Abdyl Rahman Toptani exiled him away from Tirana. He would reconcile later with the Ottoman rulers by joining the Ottoman campaign against

Mustafa Pasha Bushati Mustafa Pasha Bushatli ( tr, Mustafa Paşa Buşatlı, 1797 – May 27, 1860), called ''Işkodralı'' ("from Scutari"), was a semi-independent Albanian Ottoman statesman, the last hereditary governor of the Pashalik of Scutari. In 1810 he succeede ...

in 1831. Etëhem Bey finished in 1819 or 1821 the

Ethem Bey Mosque The Hajji Et'hem Bey Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Haxhi Et'hem Beut) is a mosque in Tirana, Albania. Closed under communist rule, the mosque reopened as a house of worship in 1991. Without permission from the authorities, 10,000 people attended and the p ...

in the main square of Tirana, which bears his name. The mosque was started by his father Molla Bey between 1791-1794. He was buried in Ethem Bey Mosque, next to his wife Balkis. Etëhem Bey was also a '' diwan'' poet. He wrote both in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

and

. His work in Turkish consists of 4 ''diwans''. In Albanian he wrote a Bektashi mystical poem and a ''diwan'', out of which nothing has survived. For the Turkish work, he used the pen-name "Shehidi" (the Martyr).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mollaj, Etehem Bey 18th-century Albanian people 19th-century Albanian people 1783 births 1846 deaths Albanian Muslims Albanian-language poets Turkish-language poets People from Tirana Sanjak of Scutari Albanians from the Ottoman Empire Divan poets from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century Albanian poets 19th-century Albanian poets Bektashi Order Albanian Sufis Albanian male poets 18th-century male writers