Andrea Manesi was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

leader who organized a revolt in 1607 against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He declared himself to be the second

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

, instructed by celestial beings to depose the

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

and take his place. Gaining fame as having miraculous abilities and helping the poor, he increased the number of his supporters until the revolt was put to an end by the Ottoman army.

Life

Andrea Manesi was born in Qullëz, a village between

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously i ...

and

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

in northwest

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. Raised in a period of intense conflict between the Ottoman Empire and Albanians seeking independence, in 1607 he started to claim that he was contacted by celestial beings, and instructed by them to take control of the empire. Manesi claimed that he was a successor of Skanderbeg, the Albanian leader who fought against the Ottomans, and that Sultan

Ahmed I Ahmed I ( '; ; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 to 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth, Ottoman rulers would no ...

had no right to rule. Claims about him making miracles and helping poor people emerged. In front of 3000 Albanian men, he foresaw attempts by the Sultan to kill him. Soon Manesi, after taking control of the area and supported by ever growing numbers of rebels, reduced taxes and called on local officials to do their job honestly. After some regions of Albania, such as Dukagjini, Kthella and Selita joined the revolt, Andrea Manesi was invited to pay a visit to the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildi ...

but refused to do so. As a response, the Sultan ordered a large number of troops to attack the rebellious regions, though Manesi and his supporters continued their activities until 1610. After failing to secure support from Spain, the revolt was definitely put to an end.

Legacy

Andrea Manesi is a rather obscure figure in

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods used by historians in developing history as an academic discipline. By extension, the term ":wikt:historiography, historiography" is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiog ...

. His history is valuable not only in the context of Albanian-Ottoman relations of that time, but also in demonstrating mechanisms of myth creation as well. Emerging from the status of an ordinary person, by realizing the importance of gaining fame, he reached the status of a regional leader.

References

Sources

* * *{{cite web, url=http://www.gazetadita.al/dy-shqiptare-te-4-shekujve-me-pare/, title=Dy shqiptarë të 4 shekujve më parë, last=Zeqo, first=Moikom, date=July 17, 2010, website=gazetadita.al, publisher=Dita, access-date=June 10, 2018, archive-date=June 12, 2018, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140312/http://www.gazetadita.al/dy-shqiptare-te-4-shekujve-me-pare/, url-status=dead 17th-century Albanian people Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Sanjak of Scutari

Life

Legacy

See also

References

Sources