1638 Ottoman expedition against Kelmendi

Military campaign in northern Albaniayes 1638 Ottoman expedition against Kelmendi February 1638 Kelmendi region of MalësiaOttoman Albania Ottoman victory Ottoman Empire 23px 23px Bosnia Eyalet Kelmendi rebels Beylerbey of Bosnia Knez Vuk DodaVojvode Hotaš 16,000 men Unknown The 1638 Ottoman expedition against Kelmendi was an Ottoman military campaign led by the Pasha of Bosnia in northern Albania against local tribes.The name Kelmendi is often used to denote both the entire Great Highlands and the highlanders.Shkurtaj 2013 24 The expedition was launched to punish the Kelmendi tribe and their associates for their raids and brigandage, after a committee of merchants and representative of the local population went to Istanbul to petition Ottoman Sultan Murad IV to intervene. Background According to Albanian bishop Frang Bardhi the Kelmendi tribe grew very rich by attacking and stealing merchandise from Christian merchants in Albania, Bosnia and Serbia, killing those who resisted them.Elsie 2015 31 In 1638, a committee of Christian merchants and local inhabitants of Novi Pazar and northern Kosovo, appealed to Sultan Murad IV for assistance against the Albanian Kelmendi tribe and their allied mountain clans, who were conducting raids and pillaging campaigns against trade routes throughout the region. Malcolm 2020 32 Winnifrith 2021 63 The Sultan, freed from the war with Persia after the capture of Baghdad,Lenormant 1866 129 ordered Vučo (or Doudgé Carr 1884 35Lenormant 1866 130 Gopčević 1881 520) Pasha, Beylerbey (governor) of Bosnia to gather troops and march against the Kelmendi.Frang Bardhi The Kelmendi, according to Bardhi, had 250 houses with a total population of 2,900. Mariano Bolizza (1614) considered the number of "mountaineer rebels" who were to be 5,380. It is likely that the number of armed men who fought against the Ottoman campaign in Kelmendi to have been also composed other tribes besides Kelmendi.Shkurtaj 2013 24 Campaign section October 2023 For the campaign the Pasha gathered a 15,000-strong army, composed of soldiers of various origins (Dalmatians, Croats, Serbs, Bulgarians, and Bosnians). After reaching Shkodër, the main city in northern Albania, the Pasha ordered the sanjabeys of Shkodra and Dukagjin to gather a thousand Albanians to join his own troops. The challenging terrain and heavy snowfall compelled the Ottomans to resort to pillaging and razing villages in search of supplies. Anticipating the Ottoman threat, local Kelmendi rebels concealed their families, cattle, and valuables in a grotto in the mountains. Frang Bardhi Outcome According to Ottoman historian Mustafa Naima (1655–1716), and to 19th-century French historians Ernest Lavisse and François Lenormant (using Ottoman and Western sources such as Austrian historian Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall) weakened by famine and lacking ammunition, the Kelmendi leaders Knez Vuk Doda and Vojvode Hotaš were caught and beheaded, their heads were sent to the Sultan in Constantinople. Surviving members of the tribe were mostly relocated to the mountains around Pristina, some were sent as far as Serres in Macedonia and to Slavonia.Lenormant 1866 131Lavisse Rambaud 1895 894 Austrian historian Spiridon Gopčević writes that starved to death, the main force of the Kelmendi surrendered after the death of their leaders Vuk Doda and Vojvode Hotaš, and that the majority of the tribe was relocated to Pristina. Gopčević 1881 520 According to Albanian bishop Frang Bardhi (1606–1643), and to some modern Albanian scholars (using Bardhi's report as source) the Ottoman force found itself encircled and attacked after the Kelmendi under the leadership of Vuk Doda had blockaded the roads. Tetaj 2017 85–87 Pulaha 1978 110 During the confrontation a thousand Ottoman soldiers were killed, leading to the Ottoman force retreat to Bosnia. Mekuli Press 2019 Mazzara 1722 10–17 Notes References Sources Books Carr W. Montenegro. Stanhope essay 1884 https://books.google.com/books?id=M3gIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA35 Elsie Robert The Tribes of Albania: History, Society and Culture 2015 I.B.Tauris 978-1-78453-401-1 https://books.google.com/books?id=-EzWCQAAQBAJ Gopčević S. Oberalbanien und seine Liga: ethnographisch-politisch-historisch Duncker & Humblot 1881 https://books.google.com/books?id=cy1BAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA520 de Lavisse E. https://books.google.com/books?id=VCkMAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA894 Histoire générale du IV siècle á nos jours: Les guerres de religion, 1559–1648 Rambaud A. A. Colin 1895 fr Lenormant François Turcs et Monténégrins Didier 1866 https://books.google.com/books?id=b25cAAAAcAAJ&q=1638&pg=PA402 129–131 fr Malcolm N. Rebels, Believers, Survivors: Studies in the History of the Albanians Oxford University Press 2020 978-0-19-885729-7 https://books.google.com/books?id=oevqDwAAQBAJ Mazzara B. Leggendario francescano, overo istorie de Santi, Beati, Venerabili ed altri Uomini illustri v. 9-10 1722 https://books.google.com/books?id=jrOUXpJ4fTAC it Pulaha S. Qëndresa e popullit shqiptar kundër sundimit osman nga shekulli XVI deri në fillim të shekullit XVIII: (dokumente osmane) Akad. e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Historisë 1978 https://books.google.com/books?id=oe1rtAEACAAJ sq 2023-10-06 Shkurtaj Gjovalin E folmja e Kelmendit [The idiom of Kelmendi] 2013 Artjon Shkurtaj 23 https://books.google.com/books?id=j5ESAgAAQBAJ 22 March 2020 Winnifrith T.J. Nobody's Kingdom: A History of Northern Albania Andrews UK Limited 2021 978-1-909930-96-4 https://books.google.com/books?id=WDQyEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT63 Journals Tetaj Luan KRYENGRITJET E KELMENDASEVE NË SHEKULLIN XVII Gjurmime Albanologjike - Seria e Shkencave Historike Instituti Albanologjik i Prishtinës 47 2017 0350-6258 85–87 https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=667928 2023-10-06 Websites Frang Bardhi: The Pasha of Bosnia attacks Kelmendi Robert Elsie http://www.albanianhistory.net/1638_Bardhi/ Frang Bardhi 2023-10-03 Kush ishte Nora e Kelmendit? Mekuli Press 2019-09-06 https://www.mekulipress.com/kush-ishte-nora-e-kelmendit/ Mekuli Press 2019 Category:1638 in the Ottoman Empire Category:Military history of Albania Category:Battles involving Albania Category:Wars involving the Ottoman Empire