Hasan Rıza Pasha (1871 – 30 January 1913) was a general in the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

Life

The son of the distinguished Ottoman statesman

Mehmed Namık Pasha Mehmed Emin Namık Pasha (1804 – 1892) was a prominent Ottoman statesman and military reformer, who is considered to be one of the founding fathers of the modern Ottoman Army. He served under five Sultans and acted as counsellor to at least fou ...

, who was the Governor of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

where Hasan Riza was born. He was of Turkish origin, as Mehmed Namık's grandfather migrated from

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

. He entered the

Ottoman Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy ( tr, Kara Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and ph ...

in 1892 and graduated on March 13, 1895. He continued his studies in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(1899–1900). After serving in Iraq (1901–-1911) he was promoted to the rank of ''General'' and assigned as

wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

. He was the main commander during the Siege of Shkodër and became the symbol of resistance against the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

and Montenegrin invasion. He did his utmost to defend the town and its fortress that were under siege by Montenegrin and Serbian forces for seven months, stating ''"Shkodra is our fate or our grave, but not our shame"''. However, in the midst of the siege, Hasan Riza Pasha was assassinated by agents of Essad Pasha. Edith Durham wrote that after Hasan Riza had supper with Essad, he was shot dead a few yards away from the house by two men disguised as women. Osman Bali and Mehmed Kavaja, both servants of Essad Pasha, boasted afterwards that they had done the deed. The town crier proclaimed that nothing was to be said about the murder, and Essad now took command. Riza Pasha wanted to keep up the defense of the besieged city but Essad Pasha wanted to continue his secret negotiations with Montenegro, which were done through the counsel of Russia in Shkodra. Essad Pasha's plan was to hand over Shkodra to the Serbs and Montenegrins as the price for their support in his attempt to proclaim himself King of Albania. Essad Pasha handed Shkodra over to General Vukotić.

Legacy

Hasan Riza Pasha is well remembered in Shkodër. He was buried at Parrucë Mosque. A Turkish-Albanian college in Shkodër bears his name. He got decorated for "First Class Bravery" ( sq, "Trimëri e Klasit të Parë) in August 1996, by

Albanian President This is a list of heads of state of Albania who have served since the Declaration of Independence of 1912. Since the collapse of the communist regime in 1991, the head of state of Albania is the President of the Republic ( sq, Presidenti i Re ...

Sali Berisha Sali Ram Berisha (; born 15 October 1944) is an Albanian conservative politician and former cardiologist who served as the second President of Albania from 1992 to 1997 and Prime Minister from 2005 to 2013. He is also the current chairman of t ...

. and a monument was erected in his honor in 2007. Hasan Riza Pasha monument in Shkodër

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasan Riza 1871 births 1913 deaths People from Baghdad Ottoman Army generals Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Military College alumni Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars Assassinated people from the Ottoman Empire Deaths by firearm in Albania