Baca Kurti Gjokaj ( 1807–1881) was an

Albanian 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 ...

leader who participated in the Battle of Ržanicë against the Principality of Montenegro.

Life

Baca was born around 1807 in the village of Milješ (Milesh) in the Gruda tribal region near the town of Tuzi, to an Albanian highlander ( Malësor) family. In 1856, he became voivode of Gruda after putting down a band of rebels in Fundna. He also killed the brother of

Marko Miljanov Marko Miljanov Popović ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Миљанов Поповић, ; 25 April 1833 – 2 February 1901) was a Brda chieftain and Montenegrin general and writer. He entered the service of Danilo I, the first secular Prince of Monteneg ...

that year. He was one of 15 Ottoman delegates from northern Albania sent during the talks of the Congress of Berlin (13 June–13 July 1878). Apart from three guards from

Mirditë Mirditë ( sq-definite, Mirdita) is a municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Fan, Kaçinar, Kthellë, Orosh, Rrëshen, Rubik and Selitë. The seat of the municipa ...

, of the Catholic delegates included chiefs

Çun Mula Çun Mula (1818-1896) was the '' bajraktar'' ("flag-bearer") of the Hoti tribe (today divided between Montenegro and Albania) and an Albanian freedom fighter. His family, the Lucgjonaj, descended from the Junçaj family of Hoti. According to the ...

from Hoti, Baca Kurti from Gruda, Marash Dashi from Shkreli, Cil Vuksani from Kastrati,

Mark Lula Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

from Shala, Mark Kola from Shosha and Con Geda from Shllaku. He joined the Albanian nationalist League of Prizren after the decision of the Congress of Berlin to hand over the Albanian-inhabited regions of Hoti, Gruda, Plav, Gusinje, Kastrati, etc. to the Principality of Montenegro. When Prince Nicholas I of Montenegro entered the territory which had been ceded to him by the Congress of Berlin, Baca Kurti and other chiefs of

Malësia Malësia e Madhe ("Great Highlands"), known simply as Malësia ( sq, Malësia, cnr, / ), is a historical and ethnographic region in northern Albania and eastern central Montenegro corresponding to the highlands of the geographical subdivision ...

organized a resistance against Montenegro. The northern Albanian highlanders defeated the Montenegrins in the

Battle of Ržanica A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

. He was distinguished as one of the best commanders of

during the battle. He mobilized not only the members of his clan, but also the members of other towns of

, to fight against the Montenegrin army and to have the Montenegrins leave Albanian territory: all males from 7 to 70 years old, united, forced the Montenegrin forces to retire. Today he is known to Albanians worldwide as many songs and poems were created in his honor.

Life

Annotations

References

Further reading