Đerzelez Alija or Gjergj Elez Alia is a legendary character found in the epic poetry and literature of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

, Gora and northern

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 ...

. According to one opinion, Muslims from

Bosnian Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крајина, ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by a number of rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrbas ...

modeled the poetic image of Alija Đerzelez after the image of Christian

Prince Marko Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep. He ...

, based on the historic person

Ali Bey Mihaloğlu ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam. ...

. Songs about Đerzelez Alija were transmitted by bilingual singers from South Slavic milieu to northern Albanian milieu, where he is known as ''Gjergj Elez Alia''.

Name

The most popular spelling of the name is ''Đerzelez Alija'', while there are many variants, such as bs, Đerđelez Alija (Djerdjelez Alija), sq, Gjergj Elez Alia, tr, Gürz Ilyas, and hu, Gerz Ilyas. His name is derived from the Turkish word ''gürzi'' ( mace) and means warrior with the mace.

Historical background

Some historians believed that epic figure of Đerzelez was inspired by Ali Bey Mihaloglu an Ottoman military commander in 15th century and the first

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 Smederevo The Sanjak of Smederevo ( tr, Semendire Sancağı; sr, / ), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade ( tr, Belgrad Paşalığı; sr, / ), was an Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak), that existed between the 15th and the out ...

. According to Ottoman census of 1485 he was in charge for

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

of Dobrun near

Višegrad Višegrad ( sr-cyrl, Вишеград, ) is a town and municipality located in eastern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It rests at the confluence of the Drina and the Rzav river. As of 2013, it has a population of 10,668 ...

as his ''

timar A timar was a land grant by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted as compensation for military service ...

'' (land grant). There is a ''turbe'' (mausoleum) in the village of Gerzovo (near

Mrkonjić Grad Mrkonjić Grad ( sr-cyrl, Мркоњић Град, ) is a town and municipality located in the western part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the region of Bosanska Krajina, between Banja Luka and Jajce. A ...

) which according to legend is his burial place. The first written record of the epic figure of Đerzelez (in the form of "Ali-beg") was a form of South Slavic ''

bugarštica Bugarštica ( or ), originally known as Bugaršćica, is a form of epic and ballad oral poetry, which was popular among South Slavs mainly in Dalmatia and Bay of Kotor from 15th until the 18th century, sung in long verses of mostly fifteen and ...

'' (long form epic and ballad poem), ''The Marriage of Vuk the Dragon-Despot'', recorded by Đuro Matei at the end of 17th or beginning of 18th century. In songs recorded in the Erlangen Manuscript, Đerzelez is mentioned in the form of "Turk elder Balibeg". Đerzelez was an epic hero of the

(frontier region) from the end of 15th century. Songs which emerged in South Slavic milieu were transmitted by bilingual singers to

n milieu, Đerzelez from Bosnian songs became Gjergj Elez Alia in Albanian songs. He is one of many Muslim heroes of South Slavic poetry who exists also in Albanian poetry.

South Slavic folklore and literature

Ottoman historian and chronicler Ibn Kemal (1468–1534) wrote about his popularity in folk songs in Bosnia. Some of the poems which include the name of Đerzelez in their titles are: , width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0", * Đerđelez Alija, the Emperor's Champion * Đerđelez Alija i Vuk Despotović * Marko Kraljević i Đerzelez Alija (Marko Kralyević and Djerzelez Aliya) * Banović Sekul i Đerđelez Alija * Oblačić Rade i Đerđelez Alija * Đerđelez Alija i Starina Novak * Đerđelez Alija deli mejdan sa Sibinjanin Jankom * Ženidba Đerđelez Alije * Sedam kralja traže glavu Đerđelez Alije * Junaštvo Đerđelez Alije , width="50%" align="left" valign="top" style="border:0", * Đerđelez Alija i tri gorska hajduka * Vuk Jajčanin i Đerđelez Alija * Komlen kapetan traži glavu Đerđelez Alije * Đerđelez Alija i ban od Karlova * Zadarski ban i Đerđelez Alija * Smrt Đerđelez Alije * Đerđelez Alija ide u Toku * Tokalija kralj traži glavu Đerđelez Alije * Đerzelezovo bolovanje * Otkud je Đerđelez Đerzelez is one of the main characters of many other poems without his name in their title, like: * Porča of Avala and Vuk the Fiery Dragon * The Marriage of Vuk the Dragon-Despot

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

modeled the poetic image of (Christian) ruler Marko Kraljević (Prince Marko) after the image of Bosniak hero Đerzelez. According to the legend, Đerzelez also has an epic horse (sometimes called Šarac, as the horse of Marko) and he is a good friend of fairies who help him when he is in danger. Legend says that he was killed during his prayer ( salat) because he did not want to interrupt it despite being aware that he would be killed.

Ivo Andrić Ivo Andrić ( sr-Cyrl, Иво Андрић, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in ...

, the 1961 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, wrote ''Put Alije Đerzeleza'' (), published in 1920, after two fragments (''Djerzelez at the Inn'' and ''Djerzelez on the Road'') were published in 1918 and 1919. One of the oldest houses in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

, "The House of Alija Đerzelez", is named after him. There are streets in several towns in

(

Bihać Bihać ( cyrl, Бихаћ) is a city and the administrative centre of Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of river Una in northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

, Gračanica,

Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. The city is k ...

, etc.) named after him.

Albanian folklore

In Albanian folklore, Gjergj Elez Alia was a great warrior. The song ''Gjergj Elez Alia'' was recorded by Bernardin Palaj and Donat Kurti in Nikaj ( Tropojë District) and published in Tirana in 1937. The song is usually sung accompanied by the ''lahuta'' ( gusle), or occasionally with '' çifteli'', by the ''rapsodi'' (performer). The song is part of the larger cycle of the ''

Albanian Songs of the Frontier Warriors 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 ...

'' ( sq, Këngë Kreshnikësh or Cikli i Kreshnikëve) that crystallized in the 17th and 18th centuries and recorded in written form in the first decades of 20th century by the

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

priests Shtjefën Gjeçovi and Bernardin Palaj. Although they were transmitted from South Slavic milieu of Bosnia they are not simply translated from Serbo-Croatian, but have independently evolved in the northern Albanian highlands.

References

Sources