Ali Pasha | |
|---|---|
| Ali Tepelena | |
.jpg) Ali Pasha at the Lake of Butrint, by Louis Dupré | |
| Pasha of Yanina | |
| In office 1788–1822 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1740 Tepelena, Sanjak of Delvina, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | January 24, 1822 (aged 81–82) Ioannina, Pashalik of Yanina, Ottoman Empire |
| Spouse(s) | Emine (daughter of Kaplan Pasha of Gjirokastër) |
| Relations | Fatma Hikmet İşmen (descendant) |
| Children | |
| Parent(s) | Veli Bey and Hamko |
| Signature | .svg) |
| Nickname(s) | "Aslan" (Turkish: Lion) "Lion of Yannina"[1] |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | |
Ali Pasha, or Ali Pasha of Tepelena (Albanian: Ali Tepelena; 1740 – January 24, 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Ioannina, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a high degree of autonomy and even managed to stay de facto independent. The capital of the Pashalik was Ioannina, which, along with Tepelena, was Ali's headquarters.[2]
Conceiving his territory in increasingly independent terms, Ali Pasha's correspondence and foreign Western correspondence frequently refer to the territories under Ali's control as "Albania."[3] This, by Ali's definition, included central and southern Albania, and parts of mainland Greece; in particular, most of the district of Epirus and the western parts of Thessaly and Macedonia.[4] He managed to stretch his control over the sanjaks of Yanina, Delvina, Vlora and Berat, Elbasan, Ohrid and Monastir, Görice, and Tirhala. Ali was granted the Sanjak of Tirhala in 1787, and he delegated its government in 1788 to his second-born Veli Pasha, who also became Pasha of the Morea Eyalet in 1807. Ali's eldest son, Muhtar Pasha, was granted the Sanjak of Karli-Eli and the Sanjak of Eğriboz in 1792, stretching for the first time Ali's control down to Livadia and the Gulf of Corinth, except Attica. Muhtar Pasha also became governor of the Sanjak of Ohrid in 1796–7 and of the Sanjak of Vlora and Berat in 1810.[5][6]
Ali first appears in historical accounts as the leader of a band of Albanian brigands who became involved in many confrontations with Ottoman state officials in Albania and Epirus. He joined the administrative-military apparatus of the Ottoman Empire, holding various posts until 1788, when he was appointed pasha, ruler of the Sanjak of Ioannina. His diplomatic and administrative skills, his interest in modernist ideas and concepts, his popular Muslim piety, his respect towards other religions, his suppression of banditry, his vengefulness and harshness in imposing law and order, and his looting practices towards persons and communities in order to increase his profits caused both the admiration and the criticism of his contemporaries, as well as an ongoing controversy among historians regarding his personality. As his influence grew, his involvement in Ottoman politics increased culminating in his active opposition to the ongoing Ottoman military reforms. He was one of the most prominent leaders. After being declared a rebel in 1820, he was captured and killed in 1822 at the age of 81 or 82, after a successful military campaign against his forces. In Western literature, Ali Pasha became the personification of an "oriental despot."[1]
- ^ a b Clayer 2014.
- ^ Tanner 2014, p. 21: "That the word 'Albania' was known at all to the English-speaking public in the early nineteenth century was largely down to Byron, who passed through on his first expedition to Greece, aged 21. After reaching Patras in September 1809, he made a detour lasting several weeks to Ioannina, which now lies in Greece but was then considered the de facto capital of south-ern Albania, the honor normally being accorded to Shkodra in the north. He also visited Tepelena, which, alongside Ioannina, was the headquarters of the notorious warlord, Ali Pasha. He then returned to Patras and continued to Athens."
- ^ Fleming 2014, p. 116.
- ^ Fleming 2014, p. 112–113: "Ali assured Leake that were "Albania" (which, by Ali's figuring, included sizable portions of Greek Epiros, Thrace, and Macedonia) attacked, he would not hesitate in taking military action against the French."
- ^ "TEPEDELENLİ ALİ PAŞA'NIN OGULLARI" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 5, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2023.
- ^ Sellheim, R. (1992). Oriens. BRILL. p. 303. ISBN 978-90-04-09651-6. Retrieved October 21, 2010.