Murad bej Toptani (13 July 1867 – 11 February 1918) was an Albanian poet, artist and activist 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 ...

. Along with his relative

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 ...

he became one of the signatories of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Ass ...

in 1912. As a sculptor, Toptani created the first

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

George Kastrioti 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 ...

, the national hero 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 ...

Life

Family

He was born in 1867 in the

Caucasus Mountains The Caucasus Mountains, : pronounced * hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ, : pronounced * az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced * rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ * tr, Kafkas Dağla ...

, where his father Seit was interned as a political prisoner. From 1875 to 1881, their family lived in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, capital of the

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) ...

, but they settled again in the Caucasus Mountains, where Seit was again interned because of his membership in 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 ...

. In the early 1890, he studied in Istanbul, where he lived in

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 ...

's house. There he met his future wife Asije Frashëri, daughter of Sherif Frashëri, younger brother of Naim. In 1895, he married Asije Frashëri and moved 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 ...

, where he later died, age 50–51, in 1918. His three sons were: Enver, Sherif and Ibrahim. Toptani's younger brother Refik was the head of the local branch of ''Bashkimi'' in Tirana. His sister Vesime was married to Mehmet Frashëri, another brother of Naim Frashëri.

Exile

During 1897, Toptani along with

Faik Konitza Faik Bey Konica (later named ''Faïk Dominik Konitza'', 15 March 1875 – 15 December 1942) was an important figure in Albanian language and culture in the early decades of the twentieth century. Prewar Albanian minister to Washington, his litera ...

visited the Albanian diaspora in

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 ...

and he proposed that Albanian guerilla bands be formed to combat Ottoman, Bulgarian and Greek forces. In Tirana, Toptani was active in the promotion of education in Albanian. In 1897, Toptani successfully requested the instruction of all lessons in Albanian in the newly founded Austrian school of the city. His activities and influence led to his arrest on 28 October 1897 by the Ottoman authorities. Toptani was exiled and initially interned in Manastir and later in Galipoli, from where he was sent to

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...

. In 1898, he escaped and migrated to Italy, where he settled in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

and Brindisi. On 14 July 1898, he protested against his sentence and requested amnesty from the

wali A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

of Manastir, but did not receive any reply. While in Italy, he created the first bust of Skanderbeg, the Albanian national hero. In 1899, he spent a few months in

and finally returned to Istanbul, where he received amnesty. However, in 1900 he was again interned and held in indefinite detention in

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

and

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...

until 1908, when many prisoners were given amnesty.

Legacy

A pedestrian road in the center of Tirana is named after ''Murat Toptani''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toptani, Murat Date of death missing 1867 births 1918 deaths 19th-century Albanian poets 19th-century Albanian politicians 19th-century sculptors 20th-century Albanian poets 20th-century Albanian politicians 20th-century Albanian sculptors Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence

Murat Murat may refer to: Places Australia * Murat Bay, a bay in South Australia * Murat Marine Park, a marine protected area France * Murat, Allier, a commune in the department of Allier * Murat, Cantal, a commune in the department of Cantal Elsewhe ...

Politicians from Tirana All-Albanian Congress delegates

Life

Family

Exile

Legacy

See also

References