Nezim Berati (ca. 1680-1760), alternatively known as ''Nezim Frakulla'' or ''Ibrahim Nezimi'', was the first major poet among the Bejtexhinj, popular poets in the Muslim tradition who wrote in Albanian but used Arabic script. He was born in the village of Frakull near

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri) is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in the north, the Vjos ...

and lived part of his life in

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in ...

. Frakulla studied in Istanbul where he wrote his first poetry in Turkish,

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

and perhaps

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, including two

divan A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...

s. About 1731, he returned to Berat where he is known to have been involved in literary rivalry with other poets of the period, notably with Imam Ali, mufti of Berat. Between 1731 and 1735 he composed a divan and various other poetry in Albanian, including an Albanian-Turkish mini-dictionary in verse form. Although we do not possess the whole of the original divan, we do have copies of ca. 110 poems from it. Some of his verse was put to music and survived the centuries orally. Nezim Frakulla asserts that he was the first person to compose a

in Albanian. Frakulla’s divan includes verse ranging from panegyrics on local

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...

s and military campaigns, to odes on friends and patrons, poems on separation from and longing for his friends and lovers, descriptions of nature in the springtime, religious verse and, in particular, love lyrics. The imagery of the latter ghazal, some of which are devoted to his nephew, is that of Arabic, Persian and Turkish poetry with many of the classical themes, metaphors and allusions.

External links

Nezim Frakulla's Divans in Albanian Aljamiado
translated by Robert Elsie
Official website
of Robert Elsie {{DEFAULTSORT:Frakulla, Nezim 1680 births 1760 deaths People from Berat Albanian-language poets 18th-century Albanian people Albanian Sufis 17th-century Albanian poets 18th-century Albanian poets

See also

External links