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Bajo Topulli

Bajo Topulli
Bajo Topulli in a rare photo
Born1868 (1868)
Gjirokastër, Janina Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (modern Albania)
Died24 July 1930(1930-07-24) (aged 61–62)
Sarandë, Kingdom of Albania
NationalityAlbanian
Occupation(s)Teacher, Politician
MovementAlbanian National Revival
SpouseMerushe Topulli
Parents
  • Ago Topulli (father)
  • Hasije Mullai (mother)
FamilyÇerçiz Topulli (brother)
Awards Hero of the People
Signature

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.[1]

Biography

Bajo Topulli was a Muslim Tosk Albanian, scion of a notable family of Gjirokastra, born to Ago Topulli and Hasije, daughter of Laze Mullai from Kardhiq.

In Monastir while he was a director in the Ottoman Secondary school (idadiye) Topulli founded in November 1905 the Secret Committee for the Liberation of Albania.[2][3][4] Members of the committee were tasked with preparation for armed activities against the Ottoman Empire and Topulli was sent for agitation to the Prespa and Korçë regions.[2][3] In March 1906 at the Bektashi tekke of Melçan he and his brother Çerçiz founded the first Albanian nationalist armed guerrilla band.[2][3][4] It was based in the Kolonjë region and consisted of several of his students from Monastir who had left their studies and some local peasants to fight against Ottoman rule.[2][3] The group was active for three years, with both brothers taking a winter break during 1906-1907 and spending it in Sofia and Bucharest.[4] Both brothers had been professionals who decided to engage in guerilla warfare after leaving the comforts of town life.[4] The guerilla band viewed the Ottoman regime of Abdul Hamid II along with Greeks and Slavs as the enemy.[4] On September 22, 1906 Bajo Topulli's band killed the Greek Orthodox bishop of Görice (now Korçë), Photios,[5] who was said to be responsible for the death of Papa Kristo Negovani[2] and to avenge the Albanian priest.[6]

During 1907 the Bashkimi (Union) Society in Bucharest sent Topulli to Boston on a mission to the Albanian diaspora in United States to collect funds and recruit young men to join guerilla bands back in Ottoman Albania and prepare to fight in a planned uprising for 1908.[7] In 1908, Topulli along with Shahin Kolonja went to Üsküb (modern Skopje) to establish an Albanian club for local Albanians.[8]

References

  1. ^ Robert Elsie (2004). Historical dictionary of Albania. Scarecrow Press. p. 418. ISBN 978-0-8108-4872-6. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b c d e Robert Elsie (30 March 2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Scarecrow Press. p. 449. ISBN 978-0-8108-6188-6. Retrieved 29 May 2012. Bajo Topulli was born in Gjirokastra and worked as the deputy principal of a Turkish secondary school in Monastir (Bitola). In November 1905, he founded a secret committee of Albanian nationalists called Për lirinë e Shqipërisë (For the Freedom of Albania), which led to the establishment of similar committees elsewhere in southern Albania (Korça, Kolonja, and Gjirokastra). The objective of these committees was to prepare for an armed uprising against Ottoman rule. In March 1906, he formed the first armed guerrilla band (Alb. çeta) in the Korça region, with its headquarters in the Bektashi monastery of Melçan. On 22 September 1906, they killed Photios, the Greek bishop of Korça, who was said to be responsible for the death of Papa Kristo Negovani
  3. ^ a b c d Skendi 1967, pp. 207–210.
  4. ^ a b c d e Gawrych 2006, p. 147.
  5. ^ Skendi 1967, p. 210. "On September 22, 1906 men of Bajo Topulli's band murdered the Metropolitan of Korçë, Photios."
  6. ^ Gawrych, George (2006). The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874–1913. London: IB Tauris. pp. 91. ISBN 9781845112875. "In one case, a guerilla band executed Father Kristo Negovani (1875-1905) on 12 February 1905, two days after he had performed a church service in Albanian. To avenge his death, a guerilla leader named Bajo Topulli (1868-1930) waylaid and murdered Phiotos, the bishop of Görice, in September 1906."
  7. ^ Skendi 1967, p. 213.
  8. ^ Skendi, Stavro (1967). The Albanian national awakening. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 378. ISBN 9781400847761.
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