Nezim Berati (ca. 1680–1760), alternatively known as ''Nezim Frakulla'' or ''Ibrahim Nezimi'', was the first major poet among the Bejtexhinj, popular poets in the

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 ...

tradition who wrote in Albanian but used

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

. He was born in the village of Frakull near

Fier Fier (; sq-definite, Fieri, Latin: ''Fierum'') is the seventh most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Fier County and Fier Municipality. It is situated on the bank of Gjanica River in the Myzeqe Plain between the Seman in ...

in modern-day western

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 ...

and lived part of his life in

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and ea ...

. Frakulla studied in Istanbul where he wrote his first poetry in Turkish, Persian and perhaps

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, including two

divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

s. About 1731, he returned to Berat where he is known to have been involved in literary rivalry with other poets of the period, notably with Imam Ali, mufti of Berat. Between 1731 and 1735 he composed a divan and various other poetry in Albanian, including an Albanian-Turkish mini-dictionary in verse form. Although we do not possess the whole of the original divan, we do have copies of ca. 110 poems from it. Some of his verse was put to music and survived the centuries orally. Nezim Frakulla asserts that he was the first person to compose a

in Albanian. Frakulla's divan includes verse ranging from panegyrics on local

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

s and military campaigns, to odes on friends and patrons, poems on separation from and longing for his friends and lovers, descriptions of nature in the springtime, religious verse and, in particular, love lyrics. The imagery of the latter

ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

, some of which are devoted to his nephew, is that of Arabic, Persian and Turkish poetry with many of the classical themes, metaphors and allusions.

External links

Nezim Frakulla's Divans in Albanian Aljamiado
translated by Robert Elsie
Official website
of Robert Elsie {{DEFAULTSORT:Frakulla, Nezim 1680 births 1760 deaths People from Berat Albanian-language poets 18th-century Albanian people Albanian Sufis 17th-century Albanian poets 18th-century Albanian poets Bejtexhinj

See also

External links