Naim Frashëri | |
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| Born | (1846-05-25)25 May 1846 Frashër,Yanina Vilayet,Ottoman Empire (modernAlbania) |
| Died | 20 October 1900(1900-10-20) (aged 54) Kadıköy,Constantinople,Ottoman Empire (modern Istanbul,Turkey) |
| Occupation | EducatorHistorian JournalistPoetPoliticianrilindastranslator writer |
| Language | |
| Alma mater | Zosimaia School |
| Genre | Romanticism |
| Literary movement | Albanian Renaissance |
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Naim bey Frashëri,[1][2] more commonlyNaim Frashëri (/ˈnaɪmfrɑːʃərɪ/;pronounced[naˈimfɾaˈʃəˈɾi]; 25 May 1846 – 20 October 1900), was an Albanian historian, journalist, poet,rilindas and translator who was proclaimed as thenational poet of Albania. He is regarded as a pioneer of modernAlbanian literature and one of the most influentialAlbanian cultural icons of the 19th century.[3]
Frashëri's works explored themes such asfreedom, humanity, unity,tolerance and revolution. His twenty-two works consist of fifteen works written inAlbanian as well as four in Turkish, two in Greek and one in Persian. He is considered to be the most representative writer ofSufi poetry in Albanian, and having been under the influence of his uncleDalip Frashëri, he tried to mingleSufism withWestern philosophy in his poetical ideals.[4][5] He had an extraordinarily profound impact on Albanian literature and society during the 20th century, most notably onAsdreni,Gjergj Fishta andLasgush Poradeci, among many others.[6][7]
Ti Shqipëri, më jep nder, më jep emrin Shqipëtar ("You Albania, you give me honour, you give me the name Albanian"), a memorable line in his poemO malet e Shqipërisë, has been designated as thenational motto of Albania. It speaks to unity and freedom and it embodies in its words a sense of pride towards the country and people.
Naim Frashëri was born on 25 May 1846[8] into a wealthyAlbanian family of religious belief affiliated with theBektashitariqa of Islam, in the village ofFrashër in what was then part of theOttoman Empire and nowAlbania. He,Abdyl andSami were one of eight children of Halid Frashëri (1797–1859), a landowner and military commander and Emine (1814–1861).[9] Halid belonged to the Dakollari branch of the Frashëri family. They were descendants of Ajaz Bey fromGramsh who in 1650–60 was given the command of Frashër. Ajaz Bey's grandfather, Hamza Bey had lost his lands inTomorrica in 1570 when he rebelled and was exiled but the family's fortunes changed with the rise ofKöprülü Mehmed Pasha who intervened on their behalf and they were pardoned.[10] Emine came from the family ofIljaz Bej Mirahori from the region aroundKorçë that traced itsancestry back to the 15th century.[11]
Naim and his brothersAbdyl andSami were born and raised in the village ofFrashër at the southern slopes of theTomorr Mountains. He became acquainted with numerous cultures and languages such asArabic,Ancient andModern Greek, French, Italian,Ottoman Turkish andPersian.[12] He was one of the few men to whom the literary culture of theOccident andOrient was equally familiar and valuable.[11]
Upon the death of his father, he and his family settled toIoannina where he earned initial inspiration for his future poetries written in thelyric andromantic style. After he suffered a severe lung infection, due to his congenitaltuberculosis, inConstantinople, he joined his brother Abdyl in the fight for national freedom and consciousness of the Albanian people during theAlbanian Renaissance in which he later became the most distinguished representative of that period.[11]
His religion paved the way for many of his future accomplishments.
In theTekke of Frashër, he received lessons in all the common subjects of his time especially inlanguages such asArabic,Ottoman Turkish andPersian. As a member of a family which gave him a strongBektashi upbringing, he spent a part of his time in a Bektashi tekke. After the death of their parents, the family moved toIoannina in 1865. The eldest brother, Abdyl (b. 1839), became the family head at the age of 22 and started working as a merchant. That year Naim and Sami enrolled in theZosimaia secondary school.[13] The education there provided Naim with the basics of a classical education along Western lines.[9] Apart from languages he learned in the Zosiamaia (Ancient and Modern Greek, French and Italian), Naim took private lessons in Persian, Turkish and Arabic from two important local Bektashi.[14]
After he finished his studies in 1870, Frashëri worked for a few months at the press office in Istanbul (1870) but was forced to return to his home village because of tuberculosis. The climate of Frashër helped Naim and soon he started work in the Ottoman bureaucracy as a clerk in Berat and later in Saranda (1872–1877).[15][16] However, in 1876 Frashëri left the job and went toBaden, in modernAustria to cure his problems with rheumatism in a health resort.[11][14]
In 1879, along with his brother Sami and 25 other Albanians, Naim Frashëri founded and was a member of theSociety for the Publication of Albanian Writings in Istanbul that promoted Albanian language publications.[17][18] Ottoman authorities forbid writing in Albanian in 1885 which resulted in publications being published abroad and Frashëri used his initialsN.H.F. to bypass those restrictions for his works. Later on, Albanian schools were established in 1887 in Southeastern Albania.[19]
An Albanian magazine,Drita, appeared in 1884 under the editorship ofPetro Poga and laterPandeli Sotiri with Naim Frashëri being a behind-the-scenes editor as it was not allowed by Ottoman authorities to write in Albanian at that time.[20][21] Naim Frashëri and other Albanian writers like his brother Sami Frashëri would write using pseudonyms in Poga's publication.[20][21] Due to a lack of education material Naim Frashëri, his brother Sami and several other Albanians wrote textbooks in the Albanian language during the late 1880s for theAlbanian school in Korçë.[21] In a letter toFaik Konitza in 1887, Frashëri expressed sentiments regarding the precarious state of the Ottoman Empire that the best outcome for Albanians was a future annexation of all of Albania byAustria-Hungary.[22]
In 1900 Naim Frashëri died in Istanbul. During the 1950s the Turkish government allowed for his remains to be sent and reburied in Albania.[23]
"Oh mountains of Albania
and you, oh trees so lofty,
Broad plains with all your flowers,
day and night I contemplate you,
You highlands so exquisite,
and you streams and rivers sparkling,
Oh peaks and promontories,
and you slopes, cliffs, verdant forests,
Of the herds and flocks
I'll sing out which you hold
and which you nourish.
Oh you blessed, sacred places,
you inspire and delight me!
You, Albania, give me honor,
and you name me as Albanian,
And my heart you have replenished
both with ardour and desire.
Albania! Oh my mother!
Though in exile I am longing,
My heart has ne'er forgotten
all the love you've given to me ..."
With its literary stature and the broad range of both stylistic and thematic content, Frashëri significantly contributed to the development of the modernAlbanianliterary language. The importance of his works lies less in his creative expression than in thesocial andpolitical intention of his poetry and faith. His works were noted by the desire for the emergence of anindependent Albanian unity that overcomes denominational and territorial differences, and by an optimistic belief in civilization and the political,economic andcultural rise of theAlbanian people.
In his poemBagëti e Bujqësi, Frashëri idyllically describes the natural and cultural beauty of Albania and the modest life of its people where nothing infringes on mystical euphoria and all conflicts find reconciliation and fascination.[25]
Frashëri saw his liberalreligion as a profound source for Albanian libration, tolerance and national awareness among his religiously divided people.[26] He, therefore, composed histheologicalFletore e Bektashinjet which is now a piece of national importance.[27] It contains an introductory profession of his faith and ten spiritual poems granting a contemporary perspective into the beliefs of thesect.[27]
The prime representative ofRomanticism inAlbanian literature, Frashëri is considered by many to be the most distinguishedAlbanian poet of theAlbanian Renaissance whosepoetry continued to have a tremendous influence on the literature and society of theAlbanian people in the 20th century.[28][29] He is also widely regarded as thenational poet ofAlbania and is celebrated as such among the Albanian people inKosovo,Montenegro,North Macedonia and other Albanian-inhabited lands in theBalkans.
After his death, Frashëri became a great source of inspiration and a guiding light for the Albanian writers and intellectuals of the 20th century amongst themAsdreni,Gjergj Fishta,Mitrush Kuteli andLasgush Poradeci.[6][7] His great work such asBagëti e Bujqësi,Gjuha Jonë andFeja promoted national unity, consciousness, and tolerance in the breasts of his countrymen an enthusiasm for the culture and history of their ancestors.
Albanians of theBektashi faith were in particular influenced and motivated by his work.[30] Himself a Bektashi, he desired purity of theAlbanian language and had attempted in his lifetime to Albanianise hierarchical terms of the order in his workFletore e Bektashinjët which called for an Albanian Bektashism.[31] His poemBagëti e Bujqësi celebrated the natural beauty of Albania and the simple life of Albanian people while expressing gratitude that Albania had bestowed upon him "the name Albanian".[29] InIstori' e Skënderbeut, he celebrated his love for Albania by referring to the medieval battles between the Albanians andOttomans while highlightingSkenderbeg's Albanian origins and hissuccessful fight for liberation.[32][29] InGjuha Jonë, he called for fellow Albanians to honour their nation and write in Albanian while in another poemFeja, he pleaded with Albanians not make religious distinctions among themselves as they all were of oneorigin that speak Albanian.[29]
Numerous organizations,monuments, schools, and streets had been founded and dedicated to his memory throughout Albania, Kosovo as well as to a lesser extent in North Macedonia andRomania. His family's house, where he was born and raised, in Frashër ofGjirokastër County is today a museum and was declared a monument of important cultural heritage.[33] It houses numerous artefacts including handwritten manuscripts, portraits, clothing and the busts of him and his brothersAbdyl andSami.[34]
Frashëri's portrait is depicted on theobverses of the 500lekbanknote from 1992 to 1996 and since 1996 on the 200 lekë banknote.[35][36] On the reverse side of the bill is a picture of his family house in Frashër. The Albanian nation has established anorder of merit that bears his name which was awarded to, amongst others, the Albanian nun and missionaryMother Teresa.[37]
Hier lernte er Alt- und Neugriechisch, Französisch und Italienisch. Sein besonderes Interesse galt dem Bektaschitum, den Dichtern der persischen Klassik und dem Zeitalter der französischen Aufklärung. Mit dieser Erziehung verkörperte er den osmanischen Intellektuellen, der in beiden Kulturen, der morgenländischen und der abendländischen, gleichermaßen zu Hause war.
major source of inspiration and guiding lights for most Albanian poets and intellectuals
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