The Bushati family (Albanian: Bushatllinjtë) is an Albanian Muslim family that ruled the Pashalik of Scutari from 1757 to 1831.

Origins

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They are descendants of the medieval Bushati tribe, a pastoralist tribe (fis) in northern Albania and Montenegro.The name Bushat is compound of mbë fshat (above the village).[1] This is a reference to them being pastoralists that weren't permanently settled. The Bushati started to settle permanently in the 15th century and this process had been completed in the late 16th century. Their settlement includes the village of Bushat in Shkodër in the Zadrima plain from where the Bushati family came. Another part settled with the tribe of Bukumiri in the would-be territory of the Piperi tribe, where they gradually became part of the new, larger tribe in the late 16th century. In the defter of 1497 they appear as katun Bushat in Piperi with 35 households.[2]

The Bushati family traces their origin to the Begaj brotherhood of Bushati that had converted to Islam possibly in the early 17th century. To promote their status and political goals statesmen, commanders and leaders from that family put forward different theories about their origins. Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi in his time recorded a story about them being descendants of a Jusuf Bey Plaku, who traced his origin and status to the era of Mehmed II (r. 1444–1446, 1451–1481). In the period of the Pashalik of Shkodra, Kara Mahmud sought to expand northwards in the old lands of Ivan Crnojević of the Middle Ages. In order to legitimize and strengthen his claim, he put forward another theory that he descended from Skenderbeg Crnojević, Ivan's Muslim son.[3][4]

Albanian writer Sami Frashëri asserted that the Bushati family were descendants of the Dukagjini family.[5]

History

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Their dominance of the Shkodër region was gained through a network of alliances with various highland tribes. Even after the fall of the pashalik in 1831, the Bushatis continued to play an important role in Albanian society. During the 19th century, Shkodër was also known as a cultural centre and in the 1840s the Bushati library was built.

Bushati family tree

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 Mehmed Pasha
 
  
 Dervish Bey
Omer Bey
 
 
 Sulejman Pasha
Vali of Rumelia, 1115 AH
 
      
Halil Pasha
Ali Bey
Hasan Pasha
Arslan Pasha
Deli Hysen Pasha
Kapudan Mehmed Bey
 
  
 Mustafa Bey
Abdullah Pasha
 
  
 Haxhi Sulejman Pasha
Mehmed Pasha Plaku
 
    
 Mustafa Pasha Qorri
Ibrahim Pasha
Ahmed Pasha
Kara Mahmud Pasha
 
 
 Mehmed Pasha
died in Tirana, in 1217 AH
 
 
 Sherif Mustafa Pasha
 
    
 Mahmud Pasha
Isuf Bey
Hasan Pasha
Riza Bey
 
 
 Xhelal Pasha

List of prominent family members

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See also

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For the village in Kosovo also sometimes called Bushati, see Komorane.

Sources

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  • Jazexhiu, Olsi (2002). The Albanian Pashalik of Shkodra under Bushatlis 1757 – 1831. Kuala Lumpur: IIUM. Archived from the original on 2015-06-27. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
  • Blumi, Isa (2011). Reinstating the Ottomans: Alternative Balkan Modernities, 1800-1912. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-11908-6.
  • Pllumi, Zef. Frati i Pashallarëve Bushatli të Shkodrës:(Át Erasmo Balneo):(1756-1788); kronikë e gojdhanë. Botime Françeskane, 2004.
  • Stavri, N. Pashalleku i Shkodrës nën sundimin e Bushatllive në gjysmën e dytë të shekullit të XVIII, 1757–1796.(La Pachalik de Shkodër sous les Bushatli à la deuxieme moitié du XVIIIe siècle. Résumé.). 1964.

References

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  1. ^ Landi, Addolorata (2002). Variazioni linguistiche in albanese. Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane. p. 46. ISBN 8881148455. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  2. ^ Pulaha, Selami (1975). "Kontribut për studimin e ngulitjes së katuneve dhe krijimin e fiseve në Shqipe ̈rine ̈ e veriut shekujt XV-XVI' [Contribution to the Study of Village Settlements and the Formation of the Tribes of Northern Albania in the 15th century]". Studime Historike. 12: 87–89. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  3. ^ Đoko M. Slijepčević (1983). Srpsko-arbanaški odnosi kroz vekove sa posebnim osvrtom na novije vreme. D. Slijepčević. ... упадима и организованим нападима Скадарскога везира Махмуд-паше Бушатлије. У кући Бушатлија чувала се традици- ја о њиховом пореклу од потурченога сина Ивана Црнојевића. «Та традиција о пореклу Бушатлија јачала ...
  4. ^ Vasilije Crnogorski; Paisij Khilendarski; Armando Pitassio; Sofronij Vrachanski (2003). Balcani nel caos. Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane. p. 22. ISBN 978-88-495-0742-3. Bushatli, sicché in seguito i vizir albanesi di Bushatli pretesero di discendere dai Crnojevic
  5. ^ Frashëri, Sami (2002). Shqipëria dhe shqiptarët: Materiali nxjerrë nga "Diksionieri historik e gjeografik". Tiranë: Dajti 2000. p. 244. ISBN 9789992772027.
  6. ^ Gawrych, George (2006). The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874–1913. London: IB Tauris. p. 85. ISBN 9781845112875.