Çerçiz Topulli
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Çerçiz Topulli (20 September 1880 – 17 July 1915) 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 ...
revolutionary and guerrilla fighter involved in the Albanian national movement operating in the mountainous areas of
southern Albania Southern Albania () is one of the three NUTS-2 Regions of Albania. It consists of five counties: Berat, Fier, Gjirokastër, Korçë and Vlorë. Combined, they have a population of 700,000 as of the 2023 census. The southwestern part of the c ...
. He was the younger brother of
Bajo Topulli Bajo Topulli (1868 – 24 July 1930), born Bajram Fehmi Topulli, was an Albanian nationalist figure of the Albanian National Awakening. Bajo was the older brother of Çerçiz Topulli. Biography Bajo Topulli was a Muslim Tosk Albanian, sc ...
. He was known for fighting the Ottomans before Albania declared its independence from the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
in 1912, as well as the
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
and
Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
during the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
.


Biography

Çerçiz Topulli was the scion of a notable
Tosk Tosk ( sq-definite, toskërishtja) is the southern group of dialects of the Albanian language, spoken by the ethnographic group known as Tosks. The line of demarcation between Tosk and Gheg (the northern variety) is the Shkumbin River. Tosk is ...
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 ...
family of Gjirokastra who were Bektashi Muslims in faith. He was born to Ago Topulli and Hasije, daughter of Laze Mullai from Kardhiq.


Armed resistance

In early 1906, he and his brother
Bajo Topulli Bajo Topulli (1868 – 24 July 1930), born Bajram Fehmi Topulli, was an Albanian nationalist figure of the Albanian National Awakening. Bajo was the older brother of Çerçiz Topulli. Biography Bajo Topulli was a Muslim Tosk Albanian, sc ...
founded the first Albanian armed guerrilla band. The group was active for three years, with both brothers taking a winter break during 1906-1907 and spending it in
Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
and
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
. Both brothers had been professionals who decided to engage in guerilla warfare after leaving the comforts of town life. The guerilla band viewed the Ottoman regime of
Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
along with Greeks and
Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
as the enemy. The purpose was to spread Albanian national consciousness among the people, including the immediate need for administrative autonomy for Albanians within the Ottoman Empire. They also brought books in Albanian for the people. He wrote an article "From the Mountains of Albania" in the journal "The Hope of Albania" in its issue. In that article, he condemned the many thefts that the Turkish administration would commit toward the Albanians and asked for the full independence of Albania. In the article, he made calls for an armed insurgency. Soon, campaigns of agitation were prepared so as to lead an armed uprising in 1908. The armed bands of Çerçiz Topulli cooperated and were on good terms with armed groups of Bulgarian-Macedonian revolutionaries operating in the
Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greec ...
region and
Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...
area, a bond formed due to their hostility toward Greeks. On 25 February 1908, Çerçiz and his followers had assassinated the Ottoman binbashi Binbaşı (Lieutenant Colonel)'' of Gjirokastër, who had brutally suppressed those Albanians working for Albanian political ends. Five of them, including Çerçiz Topulli, then fled to Mashkullorë, a village near the town of Gjirokastër. On 18 March they were surrounded in Mashkullorë by Ottoman forces from Yanya (modern
Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...
).


Young Turk Revolution (1908) and post revolution

During the
Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...
(1908), Adjuntant Major Ahmed Niyazi Bey devoted his energies toward recruiting Çerçiz whom he regarded as "the Chief of the Tosk Committee of Albanians". Niyazi sent a letter to Topulli inviting him for a meeting to talk about conditions for a union with the
Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...
(CUP). Albanian representatives met with Niyazi in
Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...
. After the discussion Albanian delegates accepted the CUP invitation. All joined through an oath ceremony and were enrolled with promises to bring Topulli and other prominent Albanian committee members for a final meeting to talk about details of the agreement. Hyrsev Starova Bey, a local Albanian notable and friend of Niyazi's father was tasked with arranging the meeting that was scheduled to occur in
Pogradec Pogradec (,) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eleventh most populous city in Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality. It is located on a List of settlements on the Lake Ohrid coastline, narrow plain between two mountain ch ...
. Hyrsev also contacted Hysen Baba, an Albanian Bektashi sheikh from the Melçan tekke who acted as mediator between Topulli and Niyazi that influenced the latter along with other brigand leaders to support the CUP cause. Niyazi viewed the meeting as mainly unimportant due to local Albanians already pledging allegiance to the CUP. During negotiations with Albanian committee members the significance of Albanian participation made Niyazi remark that "most of the leaders and partisans of he movement forconstitutional administration were not Turkish". The Korçë Albanian committee lent support to Niyazi and at the request of the CUP called upon guerillas based in the mountains around Korçë to join Ottoman insurgent bands with the Ohri Albanian committee heeding the directive. Topulli was hard pressed by fellow Albanians to meet with Niyazi to talk about joint action and he arrived in Pogradec with his band on 21 July 1908. An oath of alliance was made by Topulli for the CUP cause. Ottoman documents depicted as the most important Albanian band being the group under Topulli's command consisting of 50 individuals, "Muslims and Bulgarians" while there is no clarity about if these Bulgarians belonged to the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...
(IMRO) or they just joined to fight Greek bands. Niyazi described that Albanian Tosk bands and Bulgarian bands had been united under Topulli in Ohri. Topulli's guerilla band gave important support to Niyazi and his forces during their capture of the Resne garrison and the event was a small military victory in the campaign to oust the Hamidian regime. During July 1908, Topulli attempted to take the town of
Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...
, but his forces were pushed back by Ottoman troops. On 23 July Niyazi met with guerilla leaders Topulli and Mihal Grameno in Resne where he expressed his gratitude and viewed the declaration of the CUP constitution as advantageous for the Albanian nation. Topulli alongside Niyazi and Grameno appeared in photographs taken by the Manakis brothers during the revolution. Individuals that were less prominent "heroes" of the revolution like Topulli had their image distributed through media tools of the time. For example on postcards Topulli appears in an image alongside Atıf Bey and Adem Bey symbolising the cooperation of different communal groups of people involved in the revolution. During the 31 March Incident, among the 15,000 volunteers assisting the larger Ottoman army Topulli along with
Bajram Curri Bajram Curri (16 January 1862 – 29 March 1925) was an Albanian chieftain, politician and activist who struggled for the independence of Albania, later struggling for Kosovo's incorporation into it following the 1913 Treaty of London. He w ...
mobilized 8,000 Albanians that put down the revolt in Istanbul. Topulli, a former ally of the CUP commented that there was no further need "to shed a single drop of blood for the Turks anymore". He was of the view that Albanians were "one of the most perfect branches of the European races" and had no commonalities with an empire whose roots were from peoples originating from the Asian steppe.


After independence

After the proclamation of the independence of Albania on 28 November 1912 Topulli was also active in the defense of national interests after independence. Topulli went to the north to help with the efforts against Montenegrin forces. He was killed in the ''Fusha e Shtoit'' (
Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...
) by the Montenegrin forces. In 1937 his bones were brought back to
Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...
.


References


Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Topulli, Cerciz 1880 births 1915 deaths People from Gjirokastër People from Janina vilayet Heroes of Albania Albanian revolutionaries Albanian military personnel Activists of the Albanian National Awakening