Gani Toptani
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Gani Bey Toptani | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait of Gani Toptani in his Kaymakam uniform while serving in Fesli Zuhaf as adjutant to Sultan Abdülhamid II | |
| Born | c.1859[a] |
| Died | 21 December 1898 |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Parent(s) | Ali Bey Toptani and Vasfije hanëm Alizoti |
| Relatives | Essad Pasha (brother), Nejre Toptani (sister) Sabushe Toptani (sister), Merushe Toptani (sister), Shefikat Hanëm Alizoti (aunt), Aqif Pasha Biçakçiu (first cousin), Ibrahim Biçakçiu (son of first cousin), Sadije Toptani (cousin), Zog I of Albania (cousin), Toptani family, Thopia family (possibly) |
| Family | Toptani |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Ottoman Empire |
| Branch | Fesli Zuhaf a.k.a. Albanian Imperial Guard Battalion |
| Service years | 1897–1898 |
| Rank | Kaymakam |
Gani bej Toptani[b] (c.1859[a] – 21 December 1898) was an Ottoman Albanian officer and adjutant of Sultan Abdülhamid II. After a short military career in Ioannina, he was exiled to Harpoot, but was soon called to Constantinople to serve under Sultan Abdülhamid II as his personal bodyguard. He was the elder brother of Essad Pasha Toptani, who would later ascend as a political and military figure, both in the Ottoman Empire and later in independent Albania. Gani Toptani was killed in 1898 in the Pera district of Constantinople after a conflict that would cause political tension. Three years later, his brother Essad would also carry out an assassination attempt as revenge against Cavid Bey, a member of the Imperial Council and also the son of Grand vizier Halil Rifat Pasha, who is thought to have ordered Gani's assassination.
Gani Toptani was born in c.1859 in the so-called Sarajet e Toptaneve in the town of Tirana, which at that time was the center of a kaza of the Sanjak of Durrës, which itself was a subdivision of the Vilayet of Shkodra. His parents were Ali Bey Toptani, a local leader and member of one of the most prominent and wealthiest landowning families in central Albania, the Toptani family, and Vasfije hanëm Toptani (née Alizoti), from an important family of beys of Gjirokastër.[1] Gani Toptani was the first son in a family of five children, three daughters and two sons. His sisters, Nejre, Sabushe, and Merushe; as was common at the time, would marry prominent figures with the same status enjoyed by the Toptanis.[2] His only brother, Essad Pasha Toptani ascended as a political and military figure in the Ottoman Empire. He later became a central figure in the Albanian political scene, becoming the 3rd Prime Minister of Albania.
Gani Toptani is often described by contemporary and modern authors as a "wicked", "unscrupulous", and "ruthless" man.[3] He had gained such a reputation during his early youth by causing trouble in the areas of Tirana and Krujë both to the population and to the local authorities. These actions were not left unheard nor unreported to the central authorities of the empire. Soon measures were taken to limit his troublemaking activity. And as it was common at that time, such individuals were transferred by order of the sultan himself away from their areas of influence to where such "skills" would serve the empire and the sultan's regime. A well-known policy that Abdülhamid II used whenever he needed to establish order and tranquility in certain provinces by offering people such as Gani Bey offices in civil administration or ranks and military decorations.[4] This would also be known as the Hamidian policy and it was undoubtedly through this policy that the two Toptani brothers would benefit, one by being appointed commander of the Gendarmerie in Ioannina and the other adjutant to the sultan himself.[5] Little is known about his military career but apparently, he participated in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 in which he would be mentioned as a participant in the burning of Christian villages on the outskirts of Ioannina.[6]
In Ioannina, his deeds would soon compel the foreign consuls to put pressure on the sultan for his punishment. His punishment would not take too long as Gani Toptani would soon be exiled to Damascus, and then to Harput in Anatolian Turkey.[7] However, the sentence did not seem to last long and he would be summoned to Constantinople to serve under the sultan.[8] He would be appointed to the Fesli Zuhaf, otherwise known as the Albanian Imperial Guard Battalion because it consisted solely of Gheg Albanians and Gani Bey made no exception.[9] While Maiyyet-i Seniyye Rifle Division, otherwise known as "Arnavut Tüfekçiler" (Albanian Riflemen) consisted mainly of Tosk Albanians.[10] Both wards would serve several security tasks, such as that of the personal guard of the sultan himself and his harem, to the royal Yıldız Palace, the parliament at Çırağan Palace, as well as the most important religious leaders. The battalion was commanded by another well-known Albanian, Mirliva Tahir Pasha from Krajë, Sanjak of Shkodra.[11] During this time it seems that Gani Bey had also won the sympathy of the sultan himself because he had been appointed as one of his few adjutants. He was so close to the sultan that he would be considered one of his most trusted men. Some even accused him of murder and other atrocities at the discretion of the sultan.[5] When the sultan with his imperial carriage moved through the city, Gani Bey would always be seen riding to the right guarding the ruler. Inside the Yıldız Palace, it always stood outside the door where the sultan was.[12]
It seemed that all this closeness to the sultan would not be left untapped to his benefit by Gani Toptani. He would use all this power to commit extortion, asking for bribes and demanding tributes, often embarrassing the sultan himself with his behavior.[13]
