Mehmet Pashë Deralla ( tr, Kalkandelen'li Mehmed Paşa Deralla, 1843 - 1918) was an Ottoman

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the ...

n military officer and civil servant, and one of the delegates of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Ass ...

."History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science. Deralla served as Minister of War in the

Provisional Government of Albania The Provisional Government of Albania ( sq, Qeveria e Përkohshme e Shqipërisë) was the first government of Albania, created by the Assembly of Vlorë on 4 December 1912. It was a paternal government, led by Ismail Qemali, until his resignati ...

. He was a major figure of anti-Ottoman uprisings, and also opposed Serbian and Montenegrin encroachments.

Biography

Early life

Mehmet Deralla was born in 1843, the year of the Uprising of Dervish Cara, in Gradec,

Gostivar Gostivar ( mk, Гостивар , Albanian and Turkish: ''Gostivar''), is a city in North Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is one of the largest municipalities in the country with a population of 81,042, and the town also ...

. He was the son of noted Albanian patriot, Hasan Deralla. He went to maktab in Tetovo and completed secondary education in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; ...

and Manastir. Deralla did his tertiary education at the Military Academy of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. After graduating with top marks, Deralla served in the infantry regiment in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...

. After serving for several years, Deralla was promoted to the General Staff and was given the title of

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...

Ottoman duty

Deralla served as the general of the

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

and exercised high military functions in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

, later in Aleppo and than finally Selanik. After serving in Salonika, Deralla moved to Uskub where he commanded the Prizren Vilayet. Shortly after, Deralla ended his career as General in the Ottoman army.

The Albanian uprising

Deralla changed allegiance when using his influence, lifted protests in Kosovo and joined the Volunteer Army of the

League of Prizren The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...

. Mehmet Deralla was appointed adviser to Sulejman Vokshi, who was the Defence minister of the cabinet. The Prizren League had 16,000 armed members under its control, who launched a revolution against the Ottoman Empire after the debacle at the

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at ...

and the official dissolution of the League ordered by the Ottomans who feared the League would seek total independence from the empire. The Albanian rebels were able to kill Mehmed Ali Pasha, the Turkish emissary, in Yakova in August 1878. The Ottoman Empire sought to suppress the League and they dispatched an army led by Turkish commander Dervish Pasha, that by April 1881 had captured Prizren and crushed the resistance at

Ulcinj Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coa ...

. After escaping arrest by the Ottoman authority, Deralla went to contribute his services to the League of Peja, a political organization established in 1899 in the city of

Peja Peja (Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mounta ...

. It was led by Haxhi Zeka, a former member of the League of Prizren. However, like the League of Prizren, the League of Peja was stopped by Ottoman forces. During the crisis, Deralla was detained by government forces and was exiled to the deserts of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. Deralla returned to Kosovo due to receiving amnesty after the Young Turks uprising. Mehmet Pashë Dërralla

With the Ottoman empire deteriorating, the Ottomans offered Deralla a position again in the Ottoman army. However, Deralla refused stating that he already belongs to another cause. Deralla ran major uprisings in Kosovo from 1910 to 1912, where the battles that culminated in the summer of 1912, marked the taking of Skopje, the former Kosovo vilayet center. The focus of their movement in this period was decided by disregarding the hegemony of neighboring states Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece, which already invested their strategy, was to deny the existence of the Albanian nation. Deralla was one of the main protagonists of resistance attacks against Serbia and Montenegro, who aimed at conquering northern Albania. Under Deralla's command, the Albanian rebels, managed to push back Serb forces in the space between the

White Drin The White Drin or White Drim ( sq, Drini i Bardhë,/ ''Beli Drim'') is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. -long headstream of the Drin. Course Kosovo The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi- karst part of ...

and

Black Drin The Black Drin, or Black Drim ( sq, Drini i Zi, mk, , translit=Crn Drim) is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of Lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . After abo ...

Albanian Declaration of Independence

Deralla was one of eighty-three leaders meeting in Vlora in November 1912 to declare Albania an independent country and set up a provisional government. Deralla was a member of the Kosovo delegation. Isa Boletini suggested that Deralla serve as Minister of War in the Provisional Government of Albania in which Deralla accepted.

World War I and death

World War I interrupted all government activities in Albania, and the country was split into a number of regional governments. Political chaos engulfed Albania after the outbreak of World War I. Deralla was involved with the

Kachak Kachaks ( sq, kaçak, sr, качаци / ''kačaci'') is a term used for the Albanian bandits active in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, and later as a term for the militias of Albanian ...

guerrilla movement against Serbia. He was captured by Serbian forces in 1916 and was imprisoned for a year and a half in Belgrade and

Podgorica Podgorica (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Подгорица, ; Literal translation, lit. 'under the hill') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city was formerly known as Titograd ...

where he was poisoned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deralla, Mehmet Pashe 19th-century Albanian people 20th-century Albanian people People from Kosovo vilayet 1918 deaths 1843 births Albanian Pashas All-Albanian Congress delegates Albanian Sufis 19th-century Ottoman military personnel Albanian military personnel 20th-century Ottoman military personnel Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars