Mustafa Pasha Bushatli (, 1797 – May 27, 1860), called ''Ishkodrali'' ("from Scutari"), was a semi-independent

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 ...

Ottoman statesman, the last hereditary governor of the

Pashalik of Scutari The Pashalik of Scutari (1757–1831), also known as the Bushati Pashalik, was an Albanian pashalik within the Ottoman Empire that was ruled by the Bushati family. Its capital was Shkodër and ruled areas in modern-day Albania and large majorit ...

. In 1810 he succeeded

Ibrahim Bushati Ibrahim Bushati or Ibrahim Bushat Pasha (; died 1810) was a noble of the Bushati family in Ottoman controlled Albania near the city of Shkodër. Brother of Kara Mahmud Bushati, the Ottoman appointed governor of Shkodër, Albania. During his ru ...

and ruled Shkodër until 1831.

History

Mustafa was the son of the powerful Kara Mahmud Bushatli. He succeeded his uncle, Ibrahim Pasha in 1810 and received the rank of

Vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

in 1812 and continued to rule the Pashalik of Shkodra as an independent ruler. In 1820, the

sanjak of Berat The Sanjak of Avlona (, ; sometimes referred to as the Sanjak of Berat because of its county town) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire whose county town was Berat in Albania. It was established in 1466, after the construction of the El ...

was appropriated to him. Mustafa led a mercenary army in the early stages of the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

. In 1823 a campaign of 8,000 Albanian troops (according to Finlay),Finlay George, History of the Greek Revolution, volume II, page 6-9 in Western Greece was led by Mustafa Pasha and

Omer Vrioni Vizier Omer Pasha Vrioni (, ) was an Ottoman Albanian military commander and ruler, and a prominent figure in the Greek War of Independence. He succeeded Ali as Pasha of Yanina. Early life Omer Vrioni was a Muslim Tosk Albanian from the v ...

; On August 24, 1823,

Markos Botsaris Markos Botsaris (; 1790 – 21 August 1823) was a Souliot chieftain, general of the Greek revolutionary army and hero of the Greek War of Independence.Brigands with a Cause, Brigandage and Irredentism in Modern Greece 1821–1912, by John ...

and 350

Souliotes The Souliotes were an Greek Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christian Albanian tribes, Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of ...

attacked the army of Mustafa Pasha near Karpenisi, attempting to stop the Ottoman advance. The battle ended in Ottoman defeat, and Botsaris was killed in action. In 1824 the sanjaks of

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

and

Elbasan Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...

were appropriated to him, and he received the title of ''

serasker ''Serasker'', or ''seraskier'' (; ), is a title formerly used in the Ottoman Empire for a vizier who commanded an army. Following the suppression of the Janissaries in 1826, Sultan Mahmud II transferred the functions of the old Agha of the Ja ...

''. As his father, Mustafa aimed at greater independence, and when

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

Ottoman military reform efforts Ottoman military reforms began in the late 18th century. Formations Kapikulu Infantry = Janissary Corps = The Janissary Corps had long been the mainstay of the Ottoman infantry and remained so until its disbandment in 1826. However, e ...

threatened to deprive him of his hereditary rights and privileges, he became hostile to the sultan and maintained friendly relations with Serbian Prince

Miloš Obrenović Miloš Obrenović (; ; 18 March 1780 or 1783 – 26 September 1860) born Miloš Teodorović (; ), also known as Miloš the Great () was the Prince of Serbia twice, from 1815 to 1839, and from 1858 to 1860. He was an eminent figure of the Firs ...

, the discontented Bosniaks and

Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali (4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849) was the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Albanians, Albanian viceroy and governor who became the ''de facto'' ruler of History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty, Egypt from 1805 to 1848, widely consi ...

. Thus, he was passive in the early stage of the

Russo-Turkish War (1828–29) The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

, only in May 1829 he appeared with his Albanians on the Danube (Vidin, Rahovo), then continued to Sofia and Philippopolis, without taking active part in the fighting. Informed in 1831 that his rule had been termed, Mustafa Pasha gathered an Albanian Muslim alliance against the Ottomans and he invited the Serbs to fight in return for Nis. With the conclusion of peace, the Porte, in 1831, demanded that Mustafa hand over the districts of Dukakin, Debar, Elbasan, Ohrid and Trgovište to Grand Vizier

Reşid Mehmed Pasha Reşid Mehmed Pasha, also known as Kütahı (, 1780–1836), was an Ottoman statesman and general who reached the post of Grand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an important role in the Greek War of Independence.İsmail Hâmi ...

, and to implement certain reforms in Scutari. Mustafa resisted, and with the financial and moral support of Prince Miloš, he led an army against the Grand Vizier in mid-March 1831. He was joined by other pashas of northern Albania and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

who objected the reforms. The rebels had some success, including occupying Sofia, but they were routed at Skopje by the Grand Vizier's regular troops in the beginning of May 1831. Mustafa retreated via Skoplje and Prizren and fortified himself in Scutari. After a six-month long siege, he surrendered on 10 November 1831. On Metternich's petition, he was pardoned and taken to Constantinople. After 15 years, he was again a governor, in the Ankara Eyalet (from 1846). Next, he was appointed the governor of the

Herzegovina Eyalet The Eyalet of Herzegovina (, ) was an administrative division (''eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire from 1833 to 1851. Its last capital was Mostar. History In 1831, Bosnian kapudan Husein Gradaščević occupied Travnik, demanding autonomy and th ...

, and appeared on May 22, 1853. According to Serbian sources, he was fair, and if someone wronged, he could let it pass. During his office, the

hajduk A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

bands multiplied to the extent that he was afraid that he would be captured in the night in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

and killed. His last office was in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

where he died on May 27, 1860.

Annotations

He was often called by the demonym ''Işkodralı''. In modern historiography, he is known in English-language works as "Mustafa Pasha Bushatli". In Serbian, he is known as Mustafa-paša Bušatlija (Мустафа-паша Бушатлија).

Robert Elsie Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore. Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numero ...

calls him by the Albanian neologism "Mustafa Reshiti Pasha Bushatlliu".

References

19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Albanian people Ottoman governors of Scutari Ottoman generals Bushati family Ottoman military personnel of the Greek War of Independence Rebels from the Ottoman Empire People from Shkodër 1860 deaths 1797 births Albanian monarchs 19th-century governors of the Ottoman Empire {{Albania-noble-stub