Jani Vreto (14 January 1822 – 9 July 1900) was an Albanian writer, printer, publisher and important figure of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( sq, Rilindja or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political and social movement in the Albanian history where the ...

. He was responsible for setting up and overseeing the work of the first Albanian printing house in Bucharest in 1886.

Life

Jani Vreto was born in

Postenan Postenan is a community in the Korçë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Kolonjë. Notable people * Athanas Sina, writer and activist of the Albanian National Awakening. *Jani Vreto, ...

, a village near

Leskovik Leskovik is a town and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Kolonjë. It is located right at the Greek-Albanian border. The population ...

, southern

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 ...

in 1820. He went to the local school where he took his first lessons from ''Nikolla Ikonomi'', who would teach him both

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and Albanian. Some years before the establishment of the

League of Prizren The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...

during the Great Eastern Crisis, Vreto met with six other Albanian intellectuals regarding the alphabet question and he supported the use of the

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as we ...

to write Albanian due to the

Pelasgian The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...

theory. Vreto became a member of the Central Committee for Defending Albanian Rights (founded 1877) which was a group of Albanian intelligentsia based in Istanbul advocating for the territorial integrity and unity of Albanian inhabited areas in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee for Defending Albanian Rights appointed Vreto along with

Sami Frashëri Sami bey Frashëri ( tr, Şemseddin Sami Bey; June 1, 1850 – June 18, 1904) or Şemseddin Sâmi was an Ottoman Albanian writer, philosopher, playwright and a pr ...

Vaso Pasha Vaso is a village located in Kheda district of Gujarat, India. The zip code is 387380. Places of interest Vithalbhai Haveli is a of late 18th century ''haveli A ''haveli'' is a traditional townhouse, mansion, manor house, in the ...

and

Hasan Tahsini Khawaja, Hoxhë Hasan Tahsini or simply Hoxha Tahsim (7 April 1811 – 3 July 1881) was an Albanians, Albanian ulama, alim, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher. He was the first rector of Istanbul University and one of the founders o ...

to create an Albanian alphabet. During discussions about the Albanian alphabet Frashëri and Vreto wanted the inclusion of a

character on the premise that Albanians and Greeks have the same ancestors, the

Pelasgians The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...

. By 19 March 1879 the group approved Frashëri's 36 letter alphabet consisting mostly of Latin characters. In 1878, he represented the Albanian population of the Ottoman Empire alongside Abdyl Frashëri at the

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...

. In 1879 he became one of the founders of

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, promoti ...

, ( sq, Shoqëri e të shtypurit shkronjavet shqip), an organization responsible for publishing Albanian textbooks and opening Albanian schools. Vreto transferred its headquarters from

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, ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

after the organization was banned by the Ottoman authorities. As a member of this society Vreto set up and operated the Albanian printing house of Bucharest playing an important role in the advancement of the Albanian movement. At the same time he was excommunicated by the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

metropolitan of

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 le ...

, who accused him of having committed heresy by "creating an Albanian question". Many of the works of

Naim Frashëri Naim bey Frashëri, more commonly Naim Frashëri (; ; 25 May 184620 October 1900), was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet, rilindas and translator who was proclaimed as the national poet of Albania. He is regarded as the pioneer of modern ...

, national poet of Albania were published by this organization. In 1882, Vreto left Bucharest for

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

to develop nationalist content among the Albanian diaspora.

Works

Jani Vreto's most known work is an epic poem titled ''Histori e Skënderbeut'' ( en, History of Skanderbeg), dedicated to national hero of Albania

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

. In 1888 he edited and published the poem ''Erveheja'' of Muhamet Kyçyku transliterating it into Latin script completely removing all Turkish or Arabic words Kyçyku had used. Part of Vreto's own work was published in

Spiro Dine Spiro(s) may refer to: * Spiro, Oklahoma, a town in the U.S. ** Spiro Mounds, an archaeological site * Spiro (band), a British music group * Spiro (name), including a list of people with the name * Špiro, South Slavic masculine given name * ARA ...

's work ''Valët e Detit'' ( en, Waves at the Sea), a collection of Albanian history and literature.

Recognition

On 13 January 2012 the President of

Bamir Topi Bamir Myrteza Topi (; born 24 April 1957)CV at Albanian presidency website
. i ...

decorate Jani Vreto after death

Honor of Nation Order The "Honour of the Nation" Decoration ( sq, Dekorata "Nderi i Kombit") is the highest decoration to be given in Albania, among the Civil awards and decorations of Albania, and was instituted by special law No. 8113, of 28 March 1996, entitled ''Pë ...

. There is a statue of him in the town of Leskovik.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vreto, Jani 1822 births 1900 deaths People from Kolonjë Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania Albanian writers Activists of the Albanian National Awakening

Life

Works

Recognition

See also

Sources