Sokol Baci Ivezaj
| Sokol Baci Ivezaj / Sokol Baci |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Born | 1828 Gruda, Sanjak of Scutari, Ottoman Empire (now Montenegro) |
| Died | 1920 Shkodër, Albania |
| Allegiance |
 Ottoman Empire (before 1870s–1877)Albanian League (1878-1884)  Principality of Montenegro(1884–1913)Northern Albanian (Malissor) tribes (1837-1920) |
| Years of service | 1870s–1913 |
| Rank |
Commander (bajraktar) Brigadier-general (Montenegro) |
| Commands held | Gruda clan Abdul Hamid's Albanian guard (before 1876) Scutari (1913–) |
| Battles/wars | Albanian Revolt of 1911 |
Sokol Baci (1828–1920) was the chief of the Gruda, a northern Albanian tribe in the vicinity of Podgorica (now Montenegro). Originally, he had served the Ottoman sultan in his personal guard, but switched sides after he was maltreated, and fought the Ottoman forces in the Sanjak of Scutari. After his clan was defeated and subjugated, he was exiled and sought refuge in Montenegro, even though he had earlier fought against them in the 1870s, and lived in Podgorica beginning in approximately 1884. Prince Nicholas I of Montenegro recognized his status and employed him. He was one of the leaders of the Albanian Revolt of 1911, alongside chiefs such as Ded Gjo Luli, Mehmet Shpëndi, Mirash Luca and Luigj Gurakuqi. In 1912, the entire tribes of Gruda and Hoti, along with major portions of the Kastrati, Shkreli, and Klimenti tribes, backed Montenegro during the Balkan Wars. In 1913, he was appointed commander of Scutari by King Nicholas I of Montenegro, where he lived until his death in 1920.
Sokol Baci Ivezaj was the son of Bac, hence his most commonly used name is (Sokol Baci), and he belonged to the Precaj family of the Ivezaj brotherhood in Gruda. The Ivezaj brotherhood claimed they were descendants of Iveza, a son of a certain Vuksan Gela (also spelled Vuksan Gelja), who allegedly came from Suma, below Shkodër.
As a youth, Sokol was taken by the Ottoman authorities to be trained and raised in Istanbul. Due to his intelligence and athletic abilities, Sokol was selected to attend the military academy at the University of Sorbonne in Paris, France. As a result of the many battles he fought for the Ottomans, he was eventually selected, along with five other young men of high standing, for the personal bodyguard of the Sultan. In 1877, during the Serbo-Turkish and Russo-Turkish Wars, while on leave at home, the order came for the disarming of the northern Albanian tribes. The Gruda refused to obey, and refusing to be a traitor to his people, he led his clan in battle against Ottoman forces. He managed to behead two high Ottoman officers, however, the clan was defeated, and he was forced to flee. On September 21, 1879, Sokol Baci, along with the other chiefs of the Hoti and Gruda, submitted a memorandum to the Great Powers requesting that their land not be ceded to Montenegro.
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