The Sanjak of Avlona ( tr, Avlonya Sancağı, al, Sanxhaku i Vlorës; sometimes referred to as the Sanjak of Berat because of its county town) was one of the

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг ('' okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province ...

s of 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) ...

which

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

was

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in t ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares l ...

. It was established in 1466, after the construction of the Elbasan Castle of the territory that belonged to the preceding Ottoman sanjak, Sanjak of Albania.

Geography

The territory of the Sanjak of Avlona extends between the

Shkumbin The Shkumbin (; ; la, Genusus, also la, Genessus, label=none or la, Scampis, label=none), also commonly Shkembi, is a river in Southern Europe. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Etymology It derives from ...

river to the north and the

Ceraunian Mountains The Ceraunian Mountains ( sq, Malet e Vetëtimës, "Thunderbolt mountains"; el, Κεραύνια Όρη, ''Keravnia ori''; la, Cerauni Montes), also commonly Akroceraunian Mountains ( grc, Ἀκροκεραύνια, sq, Malet Akrokeraune "male ...

to the south. This sanjak had two

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

s: kaza of

and kaza of Valona. Before the establishment of the Sanjak of Delvina in the middle of the 16th century, the following towns (kazas) also belonged to the Sanjak of Avlona: Delvina,

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea lev ...

Myzeqe The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; rup, Muzachia) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands. Location The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by ...

and Labëria.

Politics

Valona was conquered by the Ottomans in June 1417. In 1431, the Sanjak of Albania was created out of areas in present-day western Albania. At the end of the 15th century, in order to stimulate trading, Ottomans settled small community of

Sephardi Jews Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...

Gedik Ahmed Pasha Gedik Ahmed Pasha (; died 18 November 1482) was an Ottoman statesman and admiral who served as Grand Vizier and Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy) during the reigns of sultans Mehmed II and Bayezid II. Very little was known abou ...

was

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 the Sanjak of Avlona in 1479. Bali Bey, son of Yahya Pasha, became sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Avlona in 1506. Mehmed Beg Isaković, son of Isa-Beg Isaković, was appointed as sanjabey of Avlona in January 1516. Muzaffer Pasha was sanjakbey of Avlona before he was appointed for the first governor of

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

in 1570, after Cyprus was captured by the Ottoman Empire. Mustafa Pasha (Bin Abdullah), who had been on position of sanjakbey of Bosnia and Morea, was sanjakbey of Valona at the end of the 16th century and beginning of the 17th century. Avlonya was captured by Venetians in 1690, but it was recaptured by Ottomans in 1691. In 1691, centre of sanjak was relocated to Berat and the sanjak was gradually named as Sanjak of Berat. Sari Ahmed Pasha was appointed as sanjakbey of Avlona at the end of 1712 and in the 1714 he was transferred to position of beglerbeg of

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a hi ...

. In the middle of the 18th century a sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Avlona was Ahmet Pasha Kurt from the

Muzaka family The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe ( southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muz ...

who was later appointed to the position of '' derbendci aga'' (guardian of the mountain passes) which he held until the sultan appointed Ahemt's grandson, Ali Pasha Tepelena, instead of him. In 1809, the sanjakbey of the Avlona was Ibrahim Pasha. According to

Eqrem Vlora Eqrem Bey Vlora (1 December 1885 – 30 March 1964) was an Albanian lord, politician, writer, and one of the delegates to the Assembly of Vlorë, which proclaimed the Albanian Declaration of Independence on November 28, 1912. He is described as ...

members of his family were ''de facto'' (not ''de jure'') sanjakbeys of Sanjak of Avlona in period 1481—1828. In 1834 Mahmood Hamdi pasha was appointed to govern the Sanjak of Delvina, Yanina and Avlona.

Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian person. ...

, first Prime Minister of Albania, was elected a member of

Ottoman parliament The General Assembly ( tr, Meclis-i Umumî (French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" ) or ''Genel Parlamento''; french: Assemblée Générale) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Al ...

in December 1908 for the Sanjak of Berat.

Geography

Politics

References

Further reading