The Toptani family was the leading Albanian noble family in central

Ottoman Albania Albania under the Ottoman Empire refers to a period in History of Albania, Albanian history from the Ottoman conquest in the late 15th century to the Albanian Declaration of Independence, Albanian declaration of Independence and official secessi ...

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 control Ottoman Albania more easily.

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 ...

, the head of the family at the beginning of the 20th century, claimed that the family descended from the

Thopia family The Thopia family was one of the most powerful Albanian feudal families in the Late Middle Ages. It was initially part of the nobility of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. Early history The first attestation of the Thopia can be found in an Ang ...

. According to some sources, the name is derived from the word ''

top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

,'' which means cannon, as the family owned a cannon at a time when artillery was rare.

Estates

The Toptani family initially lived in Krujë before moving to

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 ...

during the 17th century, when many

sipahi ''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial '' timarli sipahi'', which constituted ...

s moved from rural regions of the Ottoman Empire to cities. Their move from Krujë to Tirana probably contributed to the development of

sharecropping Sharecropping is a legal arrangement with regard to agricultural land in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping has a long history and there are a wide range ...

in Albania. The Toptani family possessed around 50,000 hectares near Tirana and

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 ...

and remained one of the main landowners until the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The 19th century house of the Toptani family situated in the center of

was turned into a museum.

Notable members

Notable members of the family include: *

Abdi Toptani Abdi Toptani (28 August 1864 – 1 August 1942) was a 19th-century Albanian politician. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence along with his relative Murat. He served as Minister of Finances in the Provisional ...

* Blendi Fevziu *

* Fuat Toptani * Gani Toptani *

Murad Toptani Murad bej Toptani (13 July 1867 – 11 February 1918) was an Albanian poet, artist and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. Along with his relative Abdi Toptani he became one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independ ...

Sadije Toptani Sadije Toptani (Tirana, 28 August 1876 – Durrës, 25 November 1934) was queen mother of Albania from September 1928 until her death. She was the mother of Zog I of Albania. Biography Sadije (also Sadijé, Sadiya or Khadija) was a member of the ...

, Queen Mother of the Albanians

References

External links

Toptani family website
{{Albanian noble families People from Tirana Families from the Ottoman Empire