Abdullah Pashë Dreni (1820–1878) was a 19th-century

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 ...

tribal leader and military of the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

Life

Abdullah Pashë Dreni was born in 1820 in

Gjakova Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

. He served in 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 ...

military, where he notably fought in the

Siege of Plevna The siege of Plevna or Pleven, was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, fought by the joint army of the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Romania against the Ottoman Empire. After the Russian army crossed the Danube at ...

, a major battle of the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

, after which he received the title of

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

. Mehmed Ali Pasha, Marshal, Chief of Staff of the

was residing in Dreni's house, when both of them, as well as Dreni's son, were killed under an armed attack of Albanian rebels, which is known as Gjakova's attack in Albanian's historiography. He is mentioned in

Gjergj Fishta Gjergj Fishta (; 23 October 187130 December 1940) was an Albanian Franciscan friar, poet, educator, rilindas, politician, translator and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of the 20th century, particularly ...

Lahuta e Malcís ''The Highland Lute'' (, original and standard language of the time based on Gheg Albanian) is the Albanian national epic poem, completed and published by the Albanian friar and poet Gjergj Fishta in 1937. It consists of 30 songs and over 17,000 ve ...

, a national

epic poem In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. With regard to ...

, where Dreni is described as forced to defend his unwanted guest, because of hospitality laws prescribed in the Albanian kanun.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dreni, Abdullah 1820 births 1878 deaths Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)