Sadije Toptani (

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, 28 August 1876 –

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

, 25 November 1934) was

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

of Albania from September 1928 until her death. She was the mother of

Zog I of Albania Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939), Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27 ...

Biography

Sadije (also Sadijé, Sadiya or Khadija) was a member 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 ...

, Sadije was the daughter of Salah Bey Toptani (1843−1910) and his wife, Annijé Toptani (1855−1899), both members by birth of the Toptani family. Also she was a cousin to

Essad Pasha Toptani Essad Pasha Toptani or Esad Pasha Toptani ( sq, Esad Pashë Toptani; 1863/4 or 1875 – 13 June 1920), mainly known as Essad Pasha, was an Ottoman army officer who served as the Albanian deputy in the Ottoman Parliament. He was a prominent po ...

. She was the second wife of

Xhemal Pasha Zogu Xhemal Pasha Zogu (; 1860–1911), also known as Jamal Pasha or Jamal Pasha Zogolli, was the Hereditary Governor of Mati, Albania (at the time part of the Ottoman Empire). He was the father of King Zog I of Albania. Born at Burgajet Castle, Mati ...

after the death of his first wife, Melek Hanem. After her son became king in 1928, she was raised to the title ''Nëna Mbretëreshë e Shqiptarëve'', or Queen Mother of the Albanians, with the style of Her Majesty on September 1, 1928, a position she held until her death. She supervised the Royal Kitchen to ensure that her son could not be poisoned. She was the official protector of the ''

Gruaja Shqiptare Gruaja Shqiptare was a women's organization in Albania, active between 1928 and 1939. It was a state supported women's rights organization with the task of promoting government policy in women's rights. History Prior to the national organization G ...

''. Sadije Toptani was a Bektashi Muslim.

Death

Sadije died in the Royal Compound in Durrës and was buried in Tirana the next day. A royal mausoleum was constructed to house her remains. The building was destroyed by Albanian communist forces on 17 November 1944.

Issue

References

Bibliography

* Patrice Najbor, Histoire de l'Albanie et de sa maison royale (5 volumes), JePublie, Paris, 2008, (). * Patrice Najbor, la dynastye des Zogu, Textes & Prétextes, Paris, 2002
O.S. Pearson, ''Albania and King Zog''

I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non- ...

. 2005 ().

External links

Maison royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue françaiseFamille royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue anglaise
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toptani, Sadije Toptani, Sadije Toptani, Sadije 20th-century Albanian people 19th-century Albanian people House of Zogu Queen mothers People from Tirana People from Scutari vilayet Albanian Muslims Sadije Sadije 19th-century Albanian women 20th-century Albanian women