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Albanians Question ‘Negative’ View of Ottomans
Aggressive invader or friendly administration? The portrayal of the Ottoman Empire in Albania’s history books remains the subject of fierce debate for Albanians and Turks alike.
Extracts: The History of the Albanian People*
“The struggle against the national yoke of the Ottomans to create an independent state, which has been the fundamental intention of the National Liberation Movement was, in itself, a democratic measure. The fulfillment of such objective would pave the way for the country’s economic and cultural development."
"Furthermore, the National Movement was directed towards a specific social class, against the semi-feudal, Turkic-Ottoman one (with the Sultan at its head),which had the political power and oppressed and kept the Albanians, and other non-Turkish nations, under its yoke.”
“Albania was ruled by a medieval and despotic invader, with the ugliest features of economic and political violence, like heavy taxation, political discrimination that led to the denial of identity of the Albanian nation, the barring of teaching in the native tongue in schools, the absence of most elementary human rights, and even the massacring of the Albanian population through punitive expeditions.”
“The diffusion of national culture and education would help in the emancipation of the Albanian nation from fanaticism, backwardness, intolerance and religious divisions, which had been planted by the Ottoman rulers.”
* Fragments retrieved from The History of the Albanian People, published by the Albanian Academy of Sciences, 2002, Vol II
When Dorina Zhupa decided to take advantage of free Turkish language classes in the Albanian capital Tirana, she found herself on the receiving end of a history lesson she had not bargain for at all. While the 27-year-old expected to spend the lesson practising her Turkish, she was surprised to discover that Albania had never been a subject state of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were not so much invader as friendly administrator, the professor declared.
“We were discussing Albanian history in the class and, at some point I said that Albania was freed from Turkish occupation in 1912. However, Professor Derjaj corrected me immediately by saying that, indeed, the Ottoman Empire administered Albania and had not occupied it,” says Zhupa.
“I think that living together with the Ottomans was welcomed by Albanians. If we analyse the language and customs of Albanians today, we can see that Albanians and Turks lived together and Turks were welcomed.”
The Ottoman Grand Viziers acted as de facto prime ministers and effectively run the empire. They came second only to the Sultan himself. However, like most Albanians, Zhupa learned little about these Albanian-born viziers. Instead, she was taught that the Ottomans invaded Albania and occupied the country by force for five centuries until the 1912-1913 Balkans War.
As was the case with other nations in the Balkans, not only is the Ottoman presence in Albania seen as an invasion, it is widely regarded as a national tragedy. The Ottomans are still blamed for arresting Albania’s development to such an extent that Albanians still suffer the consequences today. To be told the Ottomans were friendly administrators came as something of a shock to Zhupa.
Nascent nationalism
While Derjaj’s views may be controversial for Albanians, he is certainly not alone in questioning whether Ottoman rule in Albania was an occupation by force. Many historians now believe that, in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, Albania’s new leaders and nation-builders set about deliberately constructing a new, unifying western identity that cast the Ottoman past as a tragic accident.
Similarly the official histories of other Balkan states, notably Bulgaria and Serbia, describe their past in terms of a centuries-long fight to liberate themselves from their Ottoman yoke. However, while such predominantly Christian countries could portray their history in such terms with relative ease, the issue among Muslim-majority Albanians was more complex.
In an attempt to unify and strengthen the newly-independent Albania, the political elites downplayed religious differences, choosing instead to focus on cutting links with the Ottoman past.
Turkish words were purged from the Albanian language and those Albanian-born grand viziers who ruled the Ottoman Empire are not even mentioned in the country’s official historical records.
That official version, recently republished by the Academy of Sciences of Albania, state that the political leaders of the new Albania believed that subjugating individual identities in favour of a national consciousness and education would “help in the emancipation of the Albanian nation from fanaticism, backwardness, intolerance and religious divisions, which had been planted by the Ottoman rulers”.
This new, post-Ottoman and purposely western identity was forged at the expense of historical accuracy, argue some historians, as these new leaders – some of whom were former Ottoman Empire officials - sought to falsely emphasise Albanian resistance against their Ottoman oppressors.
“Creating a western identity was a matter of survival for Albanian elites in the late 19 century,” explains Tirana-based sociologist Enis Sulstarova. “The kind of history that portrays Turks simply as enemies of Albanians begun in the late 19th century as part of the Albanian nation-building process known as the ‘national revival’… this practice of nationalistic history-telling continued under communism and continues today. “Today, the legacy of Ottoman Empire is considered in Albania as responsible for almost every economic, cultural or political issue that the country encounters. This is a banal historicism where many people find it easier to blame today’s problems on the Turks. Some say that if we were not invaded by the Ottomans (referred to simply as Turks in Albania), we would be a developed western nation today.”
Propaganda
Historians generally agree that Albanian historical records were influenced by nationalistic propaganda during the ‘national revival’ of the 19th century and the communist regime during the second half of 20th century.
Ferid Duka, a historian and Ottoman era specialist at the European University of Tirana, says: “Albanian history under communism portrayed the Ottoman period in an extremely negative way by unreasonably emphasising… underdevelopment, subjugation and the violence used by the Ottomans and by defining that period simply by the popular uprising against the Ottoman rule. “This point of view also dominated the historiography of other countries in the Balkans, but to a lesser extent. The main reason for this kind of history was simply that the official ideology of the communism dictated that any reality created by foreign rule must always be considered as dark and hated.”
Indeed, the historical records of many Balkan states have been strongly criticised as unbalanced and containing highly prejudicial portrayals of the Ottomans and neighbouring states. So much so, the Balkan Trust for Democracy appointed a group of 60 historians from 11 southeast European countries to revise regional history books.
In September this year, the group produced four new books to be used by history teachers across the Balkans.
“The new workbooks… do not offer a new, single ‘truth’ about past controversies, but provide a variety of information and sources through comments, documents, letters and pictures,” says historian Dubravka Stojanovic, the editor of the Serbian history books.
Some historians believe that people in the Balkans, after a period of prolonged and often difficult nation-building, are now ready to view the Ottoman era with less antagonism.
Dritan Egro, an Ottoman era historian at Albania’s Institute of History, says this “softening” towards the Ottomans is a result of a more sophisticated approach to social sciences combined with a renewed, general curiosity about the period
“After the creation and solidification of nation states in the Balkans, that needed… [historical accounts portraying] the Ottoman Empire as subjecting its peoples to 500 years of darkness and a choking oppression… [has developed into] a curiosity about what really happened during the Ottoman Empire,” says Egro.
Yet, revising historical accounts is still seen as an attack on Albanian’s national identity by some. Others have mixed feelings with regard to renewed ties with the Turks.
03 Dec 2010
Gjergj Erebara, Tirana, Albania
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/arti...ew-of-ottomans
Aggressive invader or friendly administration? The portrayal of the Ottoman Empire in Albania’s history books remains the subject of fierce debate for Albanians and Turks alike.
Extracts: The History of the Albanian People*
“The struggle against the national yoke of the Ottomans to create an independent state, which has been the fundamental intention of the National Liberation Movement was, in itself, a democratic measure. The fulfillment of such objective would pave the way for the country’s economic and cultural development."
"Furthermore, the National Movement was directed towards a specific social class, against the semi-feudal, Turkic-Ottoman one (with the Sultan at its head),which had the political power and oppressed and kept the Albanians, and other non-Turkish nations, under its yoke.”
“Albania was ruled by a medieval and despotic invader, with the ugliest features of economic and political violence, like heavy taxation, political discrimination that led to the denial of identity of the Albanian nation, the barring of teaching in the native tongue in schools, the absence of most elementary human rights, and even the massacring of the Albanian population through punitive expeditions.”
“The diffusion of national culture and education would help in the emancipation of the Albanian nation from fanaticism, backwardness, intolerance and religious divisions, which had been planted by the Ottoman rulers.”
* Fragments retrieved from The History of the Albanian People, published by the Albanian Academy of Sciences, 2002, Vol II
When Dorina Zhupa decided to take advantage of free Turkish language classes in the Albanian capital Tirana, she found herself on the receiving end of a history lesson she had not bargain for at all. While the 27-year-old expected to spend the lesson practising her Turkish, she was surprised to discover that Albania had never been a subject state of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans were not so much invader as friendly administrator, the professor declared.
“We were discussing Albanian history in the class and, at some point I said that Albania was freed from Turkish occupation in 1912. However, Professor Derjaj corrected me immediately by saying that, indeed, the Ottoman Empire administered Albania and had not occupied it,” says Zhupa.
“I think that living together with the Ottomans was welcomed by Albanians. If we analyse the language and customs of Albanians today, we can see that Albanians and Turks lived together and Turks were welcomed.”
The Ottoman Grand Viziers acted as de facto prime ministers and effectively run the empire. They came second only to the Sultan himself. However, like most Albanians, Zhupa learned little about these Albanian-born viziers. Instead, she was taught that the Ottomans invaded Albania and occupied the country by force for five centuries until the 1912-1913 Balkans War.
As was the case with other nations in the Balkans, not only is the Ottoman presence in Albania seen as an invasion, it is widely regarded as a national tragedy. The Ottomans are still blamed for arresting Albania’s development to such an extent that Albanians still suffer the consequences today. To be told the Ottomans were friendly administrators came as something of a shock to Zhupa.
Nascent nationalism
While Derjaj’s views may be controversial for Albanians, he is certainly not alone in questioning whether Ottoman rule in Albania was an occupation by force. Many historians now believe that, in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, Albania’s new leaders and nation-builders set about deliberately constructing a new, unifying western identity that cast the Ottoman past as a tragic accident.
Similarly the official histories of other Balkan states, notably Bulgaria and Serbia, describe their past in terms of a centuries-long fight to liberate themselves from their Ottoman yoke. However, while such predominantly Christian countries could portray their history in such terms with relative ease, the issue among Muslim-majority Albanians was more complex.
In an attempt to unify and strengthen the newly-independent Albania, the political elites downplayed religious differences, choosing instead to focus on cutting links with the Ottoman past.
Turkish words were purged from the Albanian language and those Albanian-born grand viziers who ruled the Ottoman Empire are not even mentioned in the country’s official historical records.
That official version, recently republished by the Academy of Sciences of Albania, state that the political leaders of the new Albania believed that subjugating individual identities in favour of a national consciousness and education would “help in the emancipation of the Albanian nation from fanaticism, backwardness, intolerance and religious divisions, which had been planted by the Ottoman rulers”.
This new, post-Ottoman and purposely western identity was forged at the expense of historical accuracy, argue some historians, as these new leaders – some of whom were former Ottoman Empire officials - sought to falsely emphasise Albanian resistance against their Ottoman oppressors.
“Creating a western identity was a matter of survival for Albanian elites in the late 19 century,” explains Tirana-based sociologist Enis Sulstarova. “The kind of history that portrays Turks simply as enemies of Albanians begun in the late 19th century as part of the Albanian nation-building process known as the ‘national revival’… this practice of nationalistic history-telling continued under communism and continues today. “Today, the legacy of Ottoman Empire is considered in Albania as responsible for almost every economic, cultural or political issue that the country encounters. This is a banal historicism where many people find it easier to blame today’s problems on the Turks. Some say that if we were not invaded by the Ottomans (referred to simply as Turks in Albania), we would be a developed western nation today.”
Propaganda
Historians generally agree that Albanian historical records were influenced by nationalistic propaganda during the ‘national revival’ of the 19th century and the communist regime during the second half of 20th century.
Ferid Duka, a historian and Ottoman era specialist at the European University of Tirana, says: “Albanian history under communism portrayed the Ottoman period in an extremely negative way by unreasonably emphasising… underdevelopment, subjugation and the violence used by the Ottomans and by defining that period simply by the popular uprising against the Ottoman rule. “This point of view also dominated the historiography of other countries in the Balkans, but to a lesser extent. The main reason for this kind of history was simply that the official ideology of the communism dictated that any reality created by foreign rule must always be considered as dark and hated.”
Indeed, the historical records of many Balkan states have been strongly criticised as unbalanced and containing highly prejudicial portrayals of the Ottomans and neighbouring states. So much so, the Balkan Trust for Democracy appointed a group of 60 historians from 11 southeast European countries to revise regional history books.
In September this year, the group produced four new books to be used by history teachers across the Balkans.
“The new workbooks… do not offer a new, single ‘truth’ about past controversies, but provide a variety of information and sources through comments, documents, letters and pictures,” says historian Dubravka Stojanovic, the editor of the Serbian history books.
Some historians believe that people in the Balkans, after a period of prolonged and often difficult nation-building, are now ready to view the Ottoman era with less antagonism.
Dritan Egro, an Ottoman era historian at Albania’s Institute of History, says this “softening” towards the Ottomans is a result of a more sophisticated approach to social sciences combined with a renewed, general curiosity about the period
“After the creation and solidification of nation states in the Balkans, that needed… [historical accounts portraying] the Ottoman Empire as subjecting its peoples to 500 years of darkness and a choking oppression… [has developed into] a curiosity about what really happened during the Ottoman Empire,” says Egro.
Yet, revising historical accounts is still seen as an attack on Albanian’s national identity by some. Others have mixed feelings with regard to renewed ties with the Turks.
03 Dec 2010
Gjergj Erebara, Tirana, Albania
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/arti...ew-of-ottomans
This article really surprised me cuz i had no idea about the Albanians negative point of view about Ottoman era in their history books for children. Especially the excerpts from the publication by the Albanian Academy of Science is really absurd!
Oppressed Albanians? Heavy taxation? Massacring Albanians??? I mean, WTF is that? When Turks oppressed and massacred Albanians. "barring of teaching in the native tongue in schools" LOL? The very first document in Albanian language was from 17th century and they say Turks forbid them learning their own language!!! They cant provide a single proof for that but it`s ridicules to claim that!!! Albania always ruled by Albanian viziers themselves in Ottoman era and obviously there was no such a thing as forbidding Albanian language.
I can even say that Albanians lived in much better conditions than Turks of Anatolia in Ottoman era cuz there was both ethnic and religious tensions in Anatolia in the last decades of Ottoman Empire but Albania had none of these problems. While millions of Turkish people died in that time, Albanians was enjoying their privileged conditions in Macedonia and ruling in Albania however they like.
It`s very funny to read that they blame Turks for their backwardness instead of blaming communist era. They should look to the situation of Japan now after two catastrophic atomic bombs in late 1945. Still blaming us after 100 years is stupid. Who believes that crap?
I also wonder what they teach in history classes if they totally erased Ottoman era. Maybe few sentences of their Illyrian myth? How they can even write an history book of Albania without properly mentioning Ottoman era? At least philhellenes of western Europe produced more than enough fantasy to teach Greek children but Albanians doesn't have that privilege either. I just pity for them...cuz there was dozens of Albanian grand viziers who ruled in all over the Balkans and middle-east from Tirana to Egypt. It`s their loss if they totally wiped out their own people`s history, not ours.
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