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

Origins

They are descendants of the medieval Bushati tribe, a pastoralist tribe () in

northern Albania Northern Albania () is one of the three NUTS-2 regions of Albania, along with Central Albania and Southern Albania (). It consists of the counties of Dibër, Durrës, Kukës, Lezhë and Shkodër. Historically and in ethnography, Northern ...

and Montenegro. The name Bushat is compound of (above the village). 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 Bushat is a village and a former municipality in the Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Vau i Dejës. The population at the 2011 census was 14,149. Geography Bu ...

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 in Piperi with 35 households. The Bushati family traces their origin to the Begaj brotherhood of Bushati that had converted to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

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 Dervish Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi (), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman explorer who travelled through his home country during its cultural zenith as well as neighboring lands. He travelled for over 40 years, rec ...

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 Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

(). 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 Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Ser ...

, Ivan's

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

son. Albanian writer Sami Frashëri asserted that the Bushati family were descendants of the

Dukagjini family The House of Dukagjini is an Albanian noble family which ruled over an area of Northern Albania and Western Kosovo known as the Principality of Dukagjini in the 14th and 15th centuries. They may have been descendants of the earlier Progoni f ...

History

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 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 ...

was also known as a

cultural centre A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Africa * ...

and in the 1840s the Bushati library was built.

Bushati family tree

List of prominent family members

* Süleyman Bushati, sanjak-bey of Scutari, noted for his wars against Montenegrins. * Kara Mahmud Bushati, chief of Albanian tribe based in

, named governor of Shkodër by the Ottoman authorities. * Ibrahim Bushati * Mustafa Pasha Bushati * Xhelal Pasha, Ottoman official and related to sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

through marriage * Petrit Bushati, Senior Albanian Diplomat, Has served as Ambassador of Albania to Sweden, USA,

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

* Maliq Bushati, Prime Minister * Sali Bushati, former member of the Assembly of Albania * Astrit Bushati, member of the Assembly of Albania * Ahmet Bushati, Chairman of Municipality Council of Shkodër 1992-1996 * Xhemal Bushati, politician, former member of the Assembly of Albania, anti- Zogist activist * Ditmir Bushati, politician and the former

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

* Ervin Bushati, Ambassador of Albania to the United States

Sources

* * *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