Albanian Pashaliks

The Albanian Pashaliks (Albanian: Pashallëqet e Shqiptare) were three Ottoman pashaliks ruled by Albanian pashas from about 1760 to 1831 and covering roughly the territory of modern Albania, Kosovo, and Greek Epirus.

List of Albanian Pashaliks
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1) Pashalik of Shkodra Kara Mahmud Bushati 1757-1831
2) Pashalik of Janina Ali Pasha 1787-1822
3) Pashalik of Berat Ahmet Kurt Pasha 1774–1809


The Pashalik of Iskodra, or Pashalik of Shkodra (1757-1831) was a semi-independent entity under the Ottoman Empire, created by Albanian leaders of Northern Ottoman Albania, today's Northern Albania, Southeast Montenegro, most of Kosovo and West Macedonia. The weakening of Ottoman central authority and the timar system brought anarchy to the Albanian-populated lands. In the late 18th century, two Albanian centers of power emerged: Shkodër, under the Bushati family; and Janina, under Ali Pasha of Tepelenë. When it suited their goals, both places cooperated with the Sublime Porte, and when it was expedient to defy the central government, each acted independently.In 1757, Mehmed Bey Bushati proclaimed himself Pasha of Shkodër, eying at a degree of autonomy/independence Mehmed Ali Pasha had established for himself in Egypt. His son and successor Kara Mahmoud pursued a policy of military expansion; he established his control over northern Albania (up to the Shkumbi River) and over Kosovo. He launched two attacks on Montenegro (1785, 1796) and defeated resp. outlasted several Ottoman expeditions dispatched to subdue him. Kara Mahmoud's autonomous pashalik did receive the attention of the Austrian and Russian foreign office, both regarding him a potential ally against the Sublime Porte. In 1796, Kara Mahmoud was killed when he suffered defeat at the hands of the Montenegrins. He was succeeded by his brother Ibrahim Pasha, a less warlike personality loyal to the Ottoman Empire (-1810). The Bushati Dynasti continued to hold on to the Pashalik until an Ottoman army under Mehmet Reshid Pasha besieged Rozafat Castle at Shkodër in 1831 and forced Mustafa Bushati to surrender (1831). The pashalik was dissolved, the Vilayets of Shkodër and of Kosovo established. An uprising in Shkodër in 1833-1836 failed in reestablishing the autonomy enjoyed under the Bushati. The latter established the Bushati Library in the 1840es, which played an important role in the cultural awakening of northern Albania.


The Pashalik of Yanina, or Pashalik of Janina (1787-1822) was a semi-independent albanian entity under the Ottoman Empire, created by Ali Pasha, an Albanian leader of Southern Ottoman Albania, encompassing areas of modern northern Greece and southern Albania. In 1787 Ali Pasha was awarded the pashaluk of Trikala in reward for his support for the sultan's war against Austria. This was not enough to satisfy his ambitions; shortly afterwards, he seized control of Ioánnina, which remained his power base for the next 33 years. Like other semi-autonomous regional leaders that emerged in that time, such as Osman Pazvantoğlu, he took advantage of a weak Ottoman government to expand his territory still further until he gained de facto control of most of Albania, western Greece and the Peloponnese, either directly or through his sons. Ali's policy as ruler of Ioánnina was governed by little more than simple expediency; he operated as a semi-independent despot and allied himself with whoever offered the most advantage at the time. In order to gain a seaport on the Albanian coast Ali formed an alliance with Napoleon I of France who had established Francois Pouqueville as his general consul in Ioánnina. After the Treaty of Tilsitt where Napoleon granted the Czar his plan to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, Ali switched sides and allied with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1807. His machinations were permitted by the Ottoman government in Istanbul for a mixture of expediency - it was deemed better to have Ali as a semi-ally than as an enemy - and weakness, as the central government did not have enough strength to oust him at that time. The poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron visited Ali's court in Ioánnina in 1809 and recorded the encounter in his work Childe Harold.In a letter to his mother, however, Byron deplored Ali's cruelty: "His Highness is a remorseless tyrant, guilty of the most horrible cruelties, very brave, so good a general that they call him the Mahometan Buonaparte ... but as barbarous as he is successful, roasting rebels, etc, etc.."In 1820, Ali ordered the assassination of a political opponent in Constantinople. The reformist Sultan Mahmud II, who sought to restore the authority of the Sublime Porte, took this opportunity to move against Ali by ordering his deposition. Ali refused to resign his official posts and put up a formidable resistance to Ottoman troop movements, indirectly helping the Greek Independence as some 20,000 Turkish troops were fighting Ali's formidable army. In January 1822, however, Ottoman agents assassinated Ali Pasha and sent his head to the Sultan. After his death the pashalik ceased to exist.


The Pashalik of Berat was a pashalik created in modern day central Albania by Ahmet Kurt Pasha in 1774 and dissolved after Ahmet's ally, Ibrahim Pasha of Berat was defeated by Ali Pasha in 1809, thus incorporating the pashalik, with the Pashalik of Janina. This pashalik was one of the three pashaliks created by Albanians in the period of lbanian Pashaliks. The Pashalik of Berat was created after Ahmet Kurt Pasha managed to complot with the Sublime Porte against Mehmed Pasha Bushati in 1774. For his service, the sultan gave him territories in central Albania. He managed to grow his pashalik until his death in 1787, incorporating territories of all central Albania, bordering to the north with the Pashalik of Shkodra and to the south with the Pashalik of Janina. Ahmet Kurt Pasha was the grandfather of Ali Pasha, and father of Ali's mother, Hanka. After the death of Ahmet Kurt Pasha, the territory of the pashalik was ruled by a close ally of him, Ibrahim Pasha of Berat. As this territory belonged to the Middle Albania, Ibrahim Pasha was roused at this encroachment. This made, Ali Pasha to start a war with the Pashalik of Berat. After some fruitless negotiation, Ibrahim Pasha sent a body of troops under the command of his brother Sephir, bey of Avlona. Against these, Ali summoned the armatoles of Thessaly; and after villages had been burnt, peasants robbed and hanged, and flocks carried oif on both sides, peace was made. Ibrahim gave his daughter in marriage to Mookhtar, the eldest son of Ali, and the disputed territory as her dower. As Sephir bey had displayed qualities which might prove formidable hereafter, Ali contrived to have him poisoned by a physician ; and, after his usual fasliion, he hanged the agent of the crime, that no witness might remain of it. Ali Pasha has said that he should prevail over the pasha of Berat, become vizir of Epirus, fight with the Sultan, and go to Constantinople. In 1808, Ali Pasha defeated Ibrahim Pasha, incorporating its territory in the Pashalik of Janina.

Illyrian Tribes

In the beginning,the territory of Illyria comprised the actual territory of Epirus, Albania, Kosovo, Croatia,Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a large part of modern Serbia, Dalmatia and Montenegro. At its peak, it extended all along the eastern part of the Adriatic Sea. It's capital was Scutari. The Illyrians had a tumultuous history and their direct descendants are Albanians.The name Albania comes from the name of the Illyrian tribe called the Arber, or Arbereshë, and later Albanoi, that lived near Durrës.There were many tribes that comprised the Illyrians. The tribes that inhabited the borderlands of Illyria seemed to have intergrated or assimilated with the peoples they were in contact with, e.g., Italic, Celtic, Thracic, and Hellenic. Therefore, the tribes mentioned in this section are grouped as follows:

Illyrian-Italic tribes
Illyrian-Celtic tribes
Illyrian-Thraco tribes
Illyrian-Hellenic tribes
Illyrian-Proper tribes


Illyrian-Italic tribes
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There were a number of peoples, of Illyrian origins, that settled the eastern Italian coasts prior to the Iron Age. Strong similarities of proper names and artifacts supports an Illyrian presence on the Italian coast, although, their languages appear to have been distinct from those of Illyria Proper.

Messapi - They once occupied the area of present day Apulia or the southern heel of Italy. Based on ancient inscriptions and artifacts, an Illyrian sub-culture appears evident.

Iapyges or Japyges - There is a strong resemblance between the name 'Iapyges' and the 'Iapodes or Japodes,' an Illyri-Celtic tribe, of the western Balkans. A Japodic migration by land or, more probable, by sea could have taken place.

Picenti - Archaeology has exposed a strong Illyrian presence among them in central Italy. Many tumuli or burials show a strong liking to those of the Liburni who were seafarers and known to have exploited both coasts of the Adriatic.


Histri or Istri - The name, Istra penninsula - off the Gulf of Venice - comes from them. Notorious for piracy in the third century BC, they warred against Rome led by their chieftain, Aepulo.



Illyrian-Celtic tribes
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The Celts began to settle the area between the Drave and Save Rivers that stretch from eastern Croatia to western Serbia in the fourth century BC. This region was once known as Pannonia and it was believed that Pannonia was named after an Illyrian tribe of the same name, the Pannonians.

However, Pannonia was probably a name applied by the ancient writers for geographical purposes and not necessarily for a tribe known to have inhabited the region. The name could have sprung from the Paeonians, an Illyri-Thraco tribe, who once occupied modern northern Macedonia. The ancient Roman historian, Appian, described those who occupied Pannonia as lacking central authority. This could be explained by the several tribes that inhabited Pannonia like the Breuci and the Scordisci. The lack of central authority implies that these tribes were independent of each other and not bound to a dominant tribe, which would leave Pannonia as only a place name. Nonetheless, those who did occupy this region were called Pannonians.

Breuci - This tribe rebelled against the Roman occupation of Pannonia in 14 BC and again in 6 AD under a leader named Bato. The Romans with the help of the Scordisci defeated them.

Scordisci - They may have migrated from the Scordus mountain range bordering Albania and Macedonia as the name suggests. They are refered to as a blood thirsty people engaging in human sacrifice and drinking out of human skulls.

Iapodes or Japodes - The ancient geographer, Strabo, described their armor as Celtic, but that they were tattooed like the other Illyrians. This 'war-crazy' tribe as Strabo describes them, were defeated by Augustus, in 35 BC.


Illyrian-Thraco tribes
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Although it is probable that the Illyrians in general had a kinship with the Thracians, the Agrianes, Triballi, and Paeones tribes were considered to be both Illyrian and Thracian. The ancient writer, Herodotus, even compared the Illyrians to the Thracians as a rude and barbaric people.

Triballi - They warred with Macedon during the reign of Philip the Great in 339 BC and even succeeded in taking the booty gained by Philip on his Thracian raids. They declined after the Roman conquests.

Agrianes - They became allies to Macedon and their chieftain, Langarus, even assisted Alexander the Great's advances into Illyria, in, 335 BC by engaging the Autariatae who were planning to attack Alexander.

Paeones or Paeonians - The Paeonians allied themselves with southern Illyrians on many occassions to regained territory conquered by Macedon. Through the course of these conflicts, however, the Paeonians were weakened and incorporated into the Macedonian Kingdom.


Illyrian-Hellenic tribes
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The Greeks were known to have Hellenized many peoples in and around the region of Greece like the Macedonians, who some believe, have Thracian or even Illyrian roots. In the extreme south of Illyria (Epirus) laid several mxed Illyrian-Greek tribes such as the Chaoni and Molossi.

Chaoni or Chaones - The Roman historian, Appian, mentions Chaonia, land of the Chaones, as the southern border in his description and geography of Illyria. They were regarded as a people who knew little about cultivation and ate uncooked foods.

Molossi - They were the most powerful of the Epirote tribes. The Molossians were a dynastic tribe very much in control of Epirus and, at times, controlled southern Illyria as far north as the city of Epidamnus in central Albania.


Thesprotians-Were an ancient illyrian tribe of Epirus, akin to the Molossians.According to Strabo, the Thesprotians (along with the Chaonians and the Molossians) were the most famous tribes of Epirus, as they once ruled over the whole region. The Chaonians ruled Epirus first while the Thesprotians and Molossians ruled afterwards.


Illyrian-Proper tribes
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These are the tribes of Illyria proper that had the largest impact on the ancient writers in their day and the best known, not to mention, truly regarded as Illyrian.


Albani or Albanoi (Greek: Ἀλβανοί) was an Illyrian tribe whose first historical account, in a work of Ptolemy,[5] places them in modern north-central Albania), in 150 AD in ancient Roman Macedon specifically in Epirus Nova. This places them almost 300 years after the Roman conquest of the region, in the Roman province of Macedon. Albanopolis of the Albani is a place located on the map of Ptolemy and also named on an ancient family epitaph at Scupi (near modern Skopje), which has been identified with the Zgardhesh hill-fort near Kruja in northern Albania. Arbanon is likely to be the name of a district — the plain of the Mat has been suggested — rather than a particular place.


Ardiaei - They were once an inland tribe, but forced to move by oncoming Celts eventually settling on the Adriatic (Montenegrin coast). The ancient geographer, Strabo, lists the Ardiaei as one of the three strongest tribes - the other two being the Autariatae and the Dardani. They rose to power in the third century BC and came into conflict with Rome because of piracy and alliances with Macedon and were conquered in 168 BC. They were pressed back inland by the Romans and disappeared from history.

Autariatae - The ancient historian Arrian mentions the Autariatae planning an attack on Alexander the Great's army on his march into Illyria. Strabo expresses the Autariatae as the most powerful of the Illyrians. The Ardiaei warred with this tribe over salt mines and were defeated soundly by them.


Dassareti(Greek Δασσαρῆται) was an Illyrian tribe.They were located between the Dardani and the Ardiaei.Appian of Alexandria wrote in his "Illyrian wars" that according to the Ancient Greeks, Illyrius, the ancestor of the Illyrians, had a daughter, Dassaro, from whom sprang the Dassaretae.

Dardani or Dardanians - Strabo writes of them as "so utterly wild that they dig caves beneath their dung hills and live there" mentioning as well their love for music and dance. The Dardanians fell into many conflicts with Macedon from the fourth to second centuries BC. They would eventually be subdued by the Ardiaei and then later by the Romans. It has been suggested that these Dardanians even shared a kinship with the ancient Trojans (see Origins).

Delmatae or Dalmatians - This tribe came on the historical scene during the Roman conquests when they declared independence from Gentius, the Illyrian king. The Delmatae continued to rebel against the Romans and were one of the last Illyrian tribes to be conquered by them and not until 9 AD.

Encheleae - They controlled most of southern Illyria and were at the height of their power in the eighth and seventh centuries BC. They were the first to have an organized Illyrian tribal-state (around Lake Ohrid in Albania). The ancient historian Herodotus seems to implicate this group as attacking the temple of Apollo at Delphi (Greece).

Liburni - These seafarers were described as the masters of the Adriatic Sea and once occupied the northern Croatian coast and surrounding islands. Their swift sailing craft would later be adopted by the Romans and named after them.
Strabo recorded the oldest known conflict between the Greeks and Illyrians when Chersicrates, the Corinthian, succeeded in driving the Liburni from the island of Corcyca - today's Corfu. The Greek mariner, Scylax, wrote of the Liburni as being dominated by women who were sexually free to engage with whomever they pleased. The Roman writer, Varro, extends this sexual freedom to the unmarried women of the Liburni as well suggesting a matriarchal society.

Taulanti - The Taulanti were known to have dominated the area of central Albania for many centuries and were one of the notable tribes in the recorded histories of the Greeks and Romans. The Taulanti, noted enemies of Macedon, struggled to keep Dyrrachium out of Macedon's hands in the late fourth century BC. During the Roman-Illyrian wars the Taulanti sided with Rome as they did in earlier times with Corcyra and Athens (see Dynasties) setting politics and economics above everything else.



Complete List of Illyrian Tribes
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Abri
Albanoi
Amantini
Andizetes
Arbanitai (Arbanios)
Ardiaei
Ardiani
Arrianes
Atitani (Atintanes)
Autariatae (Autariates)
Azali
Breuci
Briges
Bylliones
Carni
Catari
Celegeri
Chaones
Chelidones
Colapiani (Colapani)
Cornacates
Daesitiates
Dalmatae (Delmatae)
Daorsoi
Dardani
Dassaretae (Dassarstae,Dassarenses,Dasaretae)
Daversi
Deraemestae
Deuri
Dindari
Ditiones
Docleatae
Enchelaeae (Enchelleae)
Eravisci
Glintidiones
Grabaei
Histri
Iapydes (Iapodes)
Iasi (Jasi)
Illyrioi
Labeatae (Labeates)
Liburni
Lopsi
Maezaei
Meslcumani
Messapii
Molosoi
Naransii
Oseriates (Osseriates)
Pannoni
Parthini
Penestae (Perestae)
Pirustae (Pipustae)
Plearaei
Sardeaties
Scirtari
Seleiitan
Soirtones
Taulanti (Taulani)
Thesprotii
Vardaei

Historical Ethnic Albania

Ethnic Albania is a given geographical area of the territory which is home to the Albanians. Despite the attitudes of neighboring countries this geographical area was and still is the birthplace of Albanians.The term 'Great Albania'is a concept especially coined by modern serbian propaganda,in order to establish the albanian populated lands,as a destabilizing factor in region. In Serbian political discussion, the entire Albanian national movement - from its beginnings with the League of Prizren in 1878 - is seen as a movement for the formation of 'Great Albania'.Prior to the Balkan wars of the beginning of the 20th century, Albanians were subjects of the Ottoman Empire,devided in four albanian Vilayets(Kosova,Shkodra,Manastir and Janina)..Ethnic Albania besides today's Albania and Kosovo also included parts of Serbia (Toplica, Sandschak, Niš and Preševo valley), Montenegro (Plav, Rožaje, Podgorica and Ulcinj), Macedonia (Kumanovo, Skopje, Tetovo, Gostivar, Kičevo, Struga, Ohrid and Bitola) and Greece (Tschameria-Epirus). All these areas were divided and administered during the Ottoman rule to four Vilayets (Kosova,Shkodra,Manastir and Janina). The Albanian independence movement emerged in 1878 with the League of Prizren whose goal was cultural and political autonomy for ethnic Albanians inside the framework of the Ottoman Empire. However, the Ottomans were not prepared to grant The League's demands. Ottoman opposition to the League's cultural goals eventually helped transform it into an Albanian national movement.The 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War dealt a decisive blow to Ottoman power in the Balkan Peninsula, leaving the empire with only a precarious hold on Macedonia and the Albanian-populated lands. The Albanians' fear that the lands they inhabited would be partitioned among Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece fueled the rise of resistance. The first postwar treaty, the abortive Treaty of San Stefano signed on 3 March 1878, assigned Albanian-populated lands to Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. Austria-Hungary and the United Kingdom blocked the arrangement because it awarded Russia a predominant position in the Balkans and thereby upset the European balance of power. A peace conference to settle the dispute was held later in the year in Berlin.The Congress of Berlin ignored the league's memorandum, and Germany's Otto von Bismarck even proclaimed that an Albanian nation did not exist - later he declared he had made a mistake proclaiming Albania was 'just a geographic notion'. The congress ceded to Montenegro the cities of Bar and Podgorica and areas around the mountain villages of Gusi and Plav, which Albanian leaders considered Albanian territory. Serbia also won Albanian-inhabited lands. The Albanians,vehemently opposed the territorial losses. Albanians also feared the possible loss of Epirus to Greece. The League of Prizren organized armed resistance efforts in Gucia, Plava, Shkodër, Prizren, Prevesa, and Janina. A border tribesman at the time described the frontier as "floating on blood". In July 1878, the 60 member board of the League of Prizren, led by Abdyl Bey Frashëri, sent a letter to the Great Powers at the Congress of Berlin, asking for the settling of the Albanian issues resulting from the Turkish War. The memorandum was ignored by the congress, which recognised the competing claims of Serbia and Bulgaria to territories surrendered by the Ottoman Empire, and over those of Albanians. The League of Prizren feared that Albanians would not win their claims to Epirus to Greece, and organized an armed resistance in Guci (Gusinje), Shkodër, Prizren, and Janina. The San Stefano treaty was later superseded by the Treaty of Berlin at the insistence of Austria-Hungary and Britain. This latter Treaty, however, recognized the rival claims of other nations in the region over those of the Greater Albania nationalists.Failing to win their claims on a diplomatic level, Albanians embarked on the route of military conflict with their Balkan neighbours. Possessing a huge advantage with donated Turkish arms, Albanian military efforts were successful in wresting control of northern Epirus, however some lands were still ceded to Greece by 1881. The Prizren League had 16,000 armed members under its control, who launched a revolution against the Ottoman Empire after the debacle at the Congress of Berlin and the official dissolvement of the League ordered by the Ottomans who feared the League would seek total independence from the empire. The Albanian fighters were able to kill Mehmed Ali Pasha, the Turkish emissary, in Gjakova in August 1878. The League took over control from the Turks in the Kosovo towns of Vushtri, Peja, Mitrovica, Prizren, and Gjakova. Guided by the autonomous movement, the League rejected Turkish authority and sought complete secession from Turkey. The Ottoman Empire sought to suppress the League and they dispatched an army led by Turkish commander Dervish Pasha, that by April 1881 had captured Prizren and crushed the resistance at Ulqin. The leaders of the league and their families were either killed or arrested and deported. In August 1878, the Congress of Berlin ordered a commission to trace a border between the Ottoman Empire and Montenegro. The congress also directed Greece and the Ottoman Empire to negotiate a solution to their border dispute. The Albanians' successful resistance to the treaty forced the Great Powers to return Guci and Plav to the Ottoman Empire and grant Montenegro the mostly Albanian-populated coastal town of Ulqin. But the Albanians there refused to surrender. Finally, the Great Powers blockaded Ulqin by sea and pressured the Ottoman authorities to bring the Albanians under control. The Great Powers decided in 1881 to cede Greece Thessaly and the district of Arta.



Maps showing Historical Ethnic Albania
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