According to Eqrem Bey Vlora, referring to the four volumes of the work "Sixhili Osmani" by Syrja Bey Vlora published in Istanbul (you can also find the below information in the  3 volumes of "Materiale" of Syrja and Eqrem bey Vlora), it is said that:

"The list of prominent Albanians in the Ottoman service could fill a whole book. During the 450 years of belonging to the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian people have given it 38 High Viziers, 3 Sheikh-u-Islame, 28 Viziers of the High Council of the Crown, 95 janissaries' leaders, 8 High Admirals, and hundreds of lower-rank viziers.

Half of the janissaries were Albanian. The most important architect of the Empire, Mimar Sinani, was an Albanian from Skrapari. Ibrahim Pasha, the Grand Vizier and the favorite of Sultan Suleiman, to whom the sultan gave his sister in marriage, was an Albanian from Parga.

Some of the brightest personal teachers of two or three sultans were also Albanian. According to the chroniclers of the time, the Albanian element was so prominent in the Ottoman Empire that it created a high class.

However - continues Vlora - the Albanians have always preserved their national characteristics and personal national life." Read more about this in our blog post "The Albanian remained Albanian"

In the end, when all the nations under the Ottoman Empire gained independence when the latter disintegrated, the Albanians (the only ones who believed in the code of honor and morality and who did not have the habit of stabbing even their opponents in the back) were the only ones that got sacrificed to satisfy the appetites of Russians, Serbs, Montenegrins, and Greeks. Read more about how Albanians turned from leaders to deportees.

February 04, 2023