The Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights was formed in the city of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, then

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) ...

on December 18, 1877, by an influential group of

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 ...

n intellectuals, patriots, and politicians, such as Hasan Tahsini,

Abdyl Frashëri Abdyl Dume bey Frashëri ( tr, Fraşerli Abdül Bey; 1 June 1839 – 23 October 1892) was an Ottoman Albanian civil servant, politician during the First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire, and one of the first Albanian political ideologues ...

, , Iljaz Pasha Dibra,

Ymer Prizreni Haxhi Ymer bey Effendi Prizreni or Ymer Drini (c. 1820 – 12 June 1887) was an Ottoman-Albanian 'alim, hoxha and the political leader of the League of Prizren. He was Prime Minister of its Autonomous Provisional Government, formed in the per ...

, Sami Frashëri, Zija Prishtina,

Ahmet Koronica Ahmet Koronica (also known as Ahmet Gjakova) was an Albanian military commander and regional leader of the League of Prizren. In 1877 he joined the Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights in Konstantiniyye. The organisation, whose aim was t ...

Mehmet Ali Vrioni Mehmet Ali Vrioni was an Albanian politician and the vice president of the League of Prizren. Life Mehmet Ali Bey was from the famous landowning bey family of Berat named Vrioni. In 1877 he became one of the founders of the Central Committ ...

, Said Toptani, ,

Pashko Vasa Pashko is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Gramoz Pashko (1955–2006), Albanian economist and politician * Josif Pashko (1918–1963), Albanian politician * Walter Pashko (1930–2006), American painter See also * Pasco (di ...

Jani Vreto Jani Vreto (14 January 1822 – 9 July 1900) was an Albanian writer, printer, publisher and important figure of the Albanian National Awakening. He was responsible for setting up and overseeing the work of the first Albanian printing house in Buc ...

, ,

Pandeli Sotiri Pandeli Sotiri (1842–1892) was an Albanian activist that acted as director of the first Albanian school of modern times in Korçë. Sotiri was one of the most important Rilindas figures that contributed in the propagation of the Albanian languag ...

Koto Hoxhi Konstandin Hoxhi, known as Koto Hoxhi (1824–1895) was an advocate of the Albanian language. He taught the language secretly to his students in Qestorat in Southern Albania. He was imprisoned and died in prison for his beliefs. Biography Koto Ho ...

, and

Mane Tahiri Mane may refer to: *Mane (horse), the line of hair along the spine of the neck *Mane (lion), the hair found around the male mammal's neck In arts and entertainment * ''Mane'' (film) is a 1990 Kannada language film directed by Girish Kasaravalli ...

. The chairman of the committee was elected Abdyl Frashëri. The committee would be referred later with a more practical name as ''Komiteti i Stambollit'' ("Istambul Committee").

The goal of the committee was to disseminate the idea of an autonomous Albanian region within the steadily diminishing

. The committee's plan and ideals were printed in the Tercuman i Sark paper, and anticipated the founding of a single

Albanian vilayet The Albanian Vilayet ( ota, ولايت ارناود, ''Vilâyet-i Arnavid'') was a projected ''vilayet'' of the Ottoman Empire in the western Balkan Peninsula, which was to include the four Ottoman vilayets with substantial ethnic Albanian popula ...

that would encompass the vilayets of

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, Monastir,

Janina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

and Scutari. Contrary to what is often said, a claim for territories very often included the

Salonica Vilayet The Vilayet of Salonica ( ota, ولايت سلانيك, Vilâyet-i Selânik) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire from 1867 to 1912. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of .Prizren ) , settlement_type = Municipality and city , image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg , imagesize = 290px , image_caption = View of Prizren , image_alt = View of Prizren , image_flag ...

. This became the first meeting of what came to be known as the League of Prizren. In October 1879, elite members of the committee formed the

Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters ( sq, Shoqëri e të Shtypuri Shkronja Shqip) (Arvanitika: Σ̈oκ̇ε̰ρι ε τε̰ Σ̈τυπȣρι Σ̈κρoν̇α Σ̈κ̇ιπ) was a patriotic organization of Albanian intellectuals, promotin ...

, which would perform the difficult tasks of establishing a unified alphabet and primer, and spreading the Albanian writings.

References

Organizations of the Albanian National Awakening 1877 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Albanian Question {{Europe-org-stub