Dervish Cara
| Dervish Cara | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Dervish Carë |
| Born | Early 19th century Palçishte, Kalkandelen, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | Late 19th century Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Nationality |
 Albanian
|
| Occupation | Revolutionary |
| Known for | Leader of the Albanian Revolt of 1843–1844. Also known as the Uprising of Dervish Cara |
| Movement | Albanian National Awakening |
| Opponent(s) | Ottoman Empire |
| Criminal charge | High treason against Sultan Abdülmecid I |
| Criminal penalty | Sentenced to death; later reduced to lifetime imprisonment |
Dervish Cara was an Albanian revolutionary leader known for his role in the Albanian Revolt of 1844, a revolt also known by his name as "The Uprising of Dervish Cara".
Dervish Cara was born in Palçishte, Kalkandelen (present-day Tetovo). He was a quiet villager and hails from the Carë clan from the Šar Mountains.
Tanzimât emerged from the minds of reformist sultans Mahmud II and his son, sultan Abdülmecid I. It aimed to modernize the Ottoman Empire by introducing European-inspired reforms. Most importantly, it involved a centralization and streamlining of the administration and military. This hurt the old-established feudal order among the Empire's Muslim communities, and especially the various local leaders who had exercised considerable regional authority and often enjoyed wide-ranging autonomy from the imperial government.
The Tanzimat reforms caused the uprising as the new reforms began the arresting and liquidation of the local Albanophone pashas, most notably that of Abdurrahman Pasha of Kalkandelen and his two brothers, Havzi Pasha of Uskub (present-day Skopje), who later died in prison, and Hussein Pasha of Kustendil (present-day Kyustendil).
Dervish Cara began his revolt when he and his rebel army seized Gostivar from Ottoman control in November and began directing his forces towards Kalkandelen. The fight for full occupation of Kalkandelen lasted three weeks, at the end of December to the beginning of January, 1844.
Kalkandelen became the center of the uprising, turning the Arabati Baba Teḱe into the headquarters of the insurgents and using the Baltepes fortress to defend the town. After being reinforced in Gostivar and Tetovo, Cara sent messengers to the pashas of Debre, Prizren, Priştine and Vranje, but at the same time preparing for attack against Uskub, where he knew that there were supporters of his movement. In February 1844, the rebels attacked and seized Uskub.
a Great Council was formed and led by Dervish Cara, which was the supreme body of the newly created administration in the liberated territories. In February 1844 the rebels liberated Kumanovo. After Kumonovo the rebels liberated Preshevo, Bujanovc, Vranje, Leskofça and other territories in North Kosovo. The rebellion was spread out in İpek, Yakova, Prizren and İşkodra, while in the spring of 1844 the territory of the rebellion was from Ohri and Manastır in the south, İşkodra in west, North Kosovo in North and Kumanovo in east. The rebels sent a letter to the Albanians of Sanjak of Yanina recalling them brothers and asking them not to fight for the Ottoman army.
...
Wikipedia