Ahmet Zenel Gjonbalaj or Ahmet Zeneli (1803–1893) was an Albanian fighter and commander during the period of the

Albanian National Awakening The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

in the 19th century who fought against the Principality of Montenegro's attempts to annex his homeland, Plav-

Gusinje Gusinje (, ; ) is a small town in Montenegro in the northern region. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality. Name Two alternative etymologies have been proposed ...

, alongside

Ali Pasha of Gusinje Ali Pasha Shabanagaj (1828 – 5 March 1888) was an Albanian military commander and one of the leaders of the League of Prizren. He governed, as an Ottoman ''kaymakam'' (sub-governor), an area in what is today eastern Montenegro around Plav a ...

and other Albanian patriots. He was born in 1803 in the village of

Vusanje Vusanje ( cnr-Cyrl, Вусање; ) is a village in Gusinje Municipality, Montenegro. According to the 2003 census, the town had 648 inhabitants. Geography Vusanje is located within the Plav municipality, below the town of Gusinje. It is located ...

(Albanian: ''Vuthaj'') to the south of Gusinje in the

Albanian Alps The Accursed Mountains (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Prokletije, Проклетије, separator=" / ", ; both translated as "Cursed Mountains"), also known as the Albanian Alps (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Albanski Alpi, Албански Алпи, separator=" / ", li ...

. He was a descendant of the Gjonbalaj brotherhood which traces its ancestry back to the figure of ''Gjon Bala'' and his sons; who themselves originated from

Nikç Nikç is a settlement in the former Kelmend municipality, Shkodër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Malësi e Madhe Malësi e Madhe () is a municipality in Shkodër County, in ...

Kelmendi Kelmendi is a historical Albanian tribes, Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region in Malësia (Kelmend (municipality), Kelmend municipality) and eastern Montenegro (parts of Gusinje Municipality). It is located in the upper valley of the Cem (river), ...

. Ahmeti's father, Zenel Mehmeti, was also a well known fighter and had served under the Ottoman forces against the French-led

Morea Expedition The Morea expedition () is the name given to the land intervention of the French Army in the Peloponnese between 1828 and 1833, at the time of the Greek War of Independence, with the aim of expelling the Ottoman-Egyptian occupation forces from ...

. During the 1850s, Ahmet Zeneli was among the Albanian fighters under Ali Pasha of Gusinje tasked with defending Plav and Gusinje from outside invasions. His son, Mal Ahmeti, fought against Montenegrin invaders in 1879-1880 and continued to fight for in the Battle of Shkodra in 1912. He died at the age of 60, while Ahmet Zeneli died peacefully in his home at the age of 90.

References

19th-century Albanian people 1803 births 1893 deaths People from Plav, Montenegro Sanjak of Scutari Activists of the Albanian National Awakening {{Albania-bio-stub