Marka Gjoni
Marka Gjoni Kapedan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kapedan of the Mirdita | |
| In office 22 March 1919 – 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Prenk Bib Doda |
| Succeeded by | Gjon Markagjoni |
| 1st President of Mirdita Republic | |
| In office 17 July 1921 – 20 November 1921 | |
| Preceded by | established |
| Succeeded by | abbolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1861 Orosh, Mirdita, Ottoman Empire (present-day Albania) |
| Died | 1925 |
| Resting place | Shpal, Mirdita |
Kapidan Marka Gjoni (1861–1925) was born in Orosh, Mirdita. He assumed leadership of Mirdita in 1883 after during the absence of Prenk Bib Doda, who was captured and exiled to Kostamun due to his participation in the Albanian League of Prizren.[1]
Biography[edit]
Kapidan of Mirdita[edit]
With the death of Prenk Bibe Doda, who had no male heirs, the Gjonmarkaj lineage passed on to Marka Gjoni. Marka Gjoni's initial attempt to claim the title of kapedan was fraught with difficulties because many of the leaders of Mirdita refused to recognise him. He was never a popular figure.[2]
Edith Durham reports that he displayed such cowardice in 1914 when he fled from the front and said he had come 'to fetch vaseline to clean the rifles' that he lost all chance of chieftainship.[2]
In 1921, with financial backing from Belgrade, Marka Gjoni rebelled against the new "Muslim" government of Albania and proclaimed Mirdita independent.[2] and declared absolute head of state of Mirdita.[3]
Mirdita Republic[edit]
This so-called Republic of Mirdita, called to life in Prizren on 17 July 1921, supported by Serbia and recognised by Greece.[2] Marka Gjoni received Yugoslav support, weapons, money, and was allocated Wrangel's White Russian army and Serbian Chetnik Organization at his service for the endeavour and the motive for independence he alleged was that the Albanian government or "Turks" were going to ban Catholicism.[4][3][2] Ironically, Yugoslavia was undergoing a large scale uprising of Catholic Croats.[5]
With the League of Nations intervention, cutting Yugoslavia's aid to the Republic of Mirdita, the patriots of the Tirana Government put down the Republic of Mirdita on the 20 November, 1921.
Exile and death[edit]
Marka Gjoni was forced to flee to Yugoslavia, though he later returned to Albania and was active in Mirdita for a few years until his death.
Legacy[edit]
Marka Gjoni has been described as a 'worthy successor to Essad Pasha'.[5] Many of the Mirdita leaders refused to acknowledge him and he lacked popularity among the tribe due to issues of cowardice shown during the First World War.
References[edit]
- ^ Besnik Pula (2013), "State building in the Albanian highlands", in Julian Go (ed.), Decentering Social Theory: 25 (Political Power and Social Theory), p. 47, ISBN 9781781907276
- ^ a b c d e Elsie, Robert (2015). The Tribes of Albania: History, Society and Culture. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9780857739322.
- ^ a b Austin, Robert Clegg (2012). Founding a Balkan State: Albania's Experiment with Democracy, 1920-1925. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442644359.
- ^ Tomes, Jason (2011). King Zog: Self-Made Monarch of Albania. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 9780752470870.
- ^ a b The Near East. Princeton University. 1921. ISBN 9780752470870.