Unique information of its kind, from the tastes and refinements, sensitivities and hatreds of Ali Pasha, to his passions and culture, local and inherited oriental morals, erotic sensitivities, character, weaknesses, grandeur or limitations, stability or fluctuations, outbursts in war, and ambition in peace, his formation and ethnic subconscious, and even to the menu of the Pasha's lunch and dinner, etc. Desires, quarrels, conflicts but also alliances, political interests and European intrigues, names of unknown intellectuals, their writings, creations, newspaper articles, poems, political analyses, etc. (all these revealed for the first time).
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| The bust of Ali Pasha Tepelena in the city of Tepelena, March 12, 2021 |
Prof. Dr. Irakli Koçollari brings the first volume with documents about Ali Pasha Tepelena under the title "Correspondence and Manuscripts of Ali Pasha Tepelena". This publication brings archival documents, written 200 years ago by the Pasha, his administration, Albanians, and Greeks, coming to light for the first time after more than two centuries. This is only the first volume; after this, there will be four more volumes, which compile documents spanning from the 1780s to 1830. Koçollari notes that the original writings and manuscripts appear as "bundles of old papers, many of which are damaged, crumpled, with moisture stains.
A large part of the correspondence is missing. We have only 1/6; the rest is still unknown if it is lost forever or will come to light one day!" Considering it a unique treasure, he notes that it is a mine where invaluable historical values are found. "Their persistence moves us away from the deformed, inaccurate images we have had of Ali Pasha and many other historical figures. They debunk malicious dimensions of the Ottoman Empire's official propaganda, the political interests of certain centers, or urban legends that, unfortunately, often give historical figures the dimension and form of an angel according to their appetites or make them tyrants and barbarians freshly emerged from the hell of sins," says Koçollari.
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK
Document No. 241 The following document, No. 241, is detailed information with a political, diplomatic, military, and espionage character that the Metropolitan of Arta, Ignatius, conveys to Ali Pasha from Corfu, where he was sent on a mission by the Pasha of Janina himself, to meet the high Russian representatives of the Island of Corfu, which at that time was under their control along with the other Ionian Islands. According to archival sources, the memories of contemporaries, or authors who have studied the figure of the Pasha of Janina, very soon after taking power, Tepelena managed to bring the entire church authority within his Pashalik's borders under his control, and even further, to Constantinople. His authority and influence extended so far as to impact the appointments of religious hierarchs in the Metropolitans operating throughout the pashalik. Likewise, many clerics in the upper ranks of the Orthodox hierarchy served certain needs that Ali Pasha had both within and beyond his borders, for matters of an informational, political, diplomatic, military, or espionage nature. This information is a typical document that clearly proves Ali Pasha's complete authority over the Orthodox church and its hierarchs. In this specific case, through the hand of the Orthodox hierarch of the city of Arta, we see how the Pasha of Janina used Metropolitan Ignatius as both an interlocutor and a genuine informant for issues and problems he sought to resolve with the Russian side, which at that time had control over the Ionian Islands, as well as to observe and gather information of a political, military, espionage, etc. nature. The reporting of Metropolitan Ignatius is detailed, and in the data he provides, he appears to be entirely subordinate to Ali Pasha.
Documents: "Ali Pasha Tepelena Used Greek Orthodox Clerics as Spies"
Following or after this document, there are four additional documents, from No. 241 to No. 245, written by the Metropolitan of Arta, Ignatios, addressed to Ali Pasha. All five documents discuss the mission carried out by Metropolitan Ignatios during his meetings with the Russian hierarchy on the island of Corfu, specifically with the High Representative Gregorio Mocenigo, Consul Liberaqiu Benaqi, and General Anrep. More concretely, it is clarified that the purpose of this visit by the religious hierarch to Corfu was a mission planned by Ali Pasha, aiming through Metropolitan Ignatios to ease the strained relations between the two sides. This visit and meeting have left marks not only on the political developments of the time but also in the documentation that corresponds to this period, particularly in what is found in the Russian archives, which reflect this event in detail.
There is no doubt that with the publication of these documents, these events are now illuminated by the writings from the other side, that of Ali Pasha, which until now have been missing. The documents are particularly valuable as they are written by Ali Pasha's representative in these negotiations, the Metropolitan of Arta. Other information regarding this historically significant mission can also be found in the work of the Greek historian Spiro Aravantino, titled "History of Ali Pasha Tepelena," and in that of the Russian academician Grigori Ars titled "Albania and Epirus…". All five documents prepared by Ignatios should be taken together as they deal with almost the same subject and illuminate the same issues. In the first document, numbered 241 and written in Corfu on September 13, 1804, the Metropolitan of Arta, Ignatios, informs Ali Pasha that he has received the letters written by him on the 5th and 9th and has taken action to meet, on September 8, Mocenigo and Benaqi, a meeting attended by the newly appointed Russian Consul in Arta, Jorgji Flori (Flory), who has not yet taken up his office and function.
Requests
The Greek hierarch, Ignatios, presented Ali Pasha's requests to the high-ranking Russian officials on these issues:
1. The immediate removal of the Souliots from Parga, where they have settled and continue to stay. (The document thus provides valuable proof of the support the Russians gave the Souliots not only in their movements and rebellion against Ali Pasha but also after the fall of their resistance, as the Russians continued to shelter them in territories across and beyond Souli, on the Island of Corfu, which the Russians had controlled for more than a year - IK).
2. Prevention of the movement of thieves (klefts) between the continental territories and the Seven Ionian Islands.
3. Russian tolerance for the takeover of Butrint so that Vivari would be under Ali Pasha's control. Recall in this case that the fortress at the entrance to the Butrint Channel, an old Venetian garrison, was taken over by the Russians after the fall of Venice to Bonaparte, without giving Ali Pasha time and space to enter with his troops and capture this strategically important point. When the letter mentions the word Livar, it refers to the Vivari Channel and the fortress at its entrance, which at that time was a military garrison under Russian control. This military garrison fortress, still intact today at the entrance to the Butrint Channel, had significant strategic and military importance at the time, as it controlled all ship movements in the Corfu Channel and those wanting to enter Butrint Lake and the interior continental territories of the Pashalik of Janina. From the above requests, Ali Pasha received a positive response regarding the Souliots and the thieves (klefts), with the reservation that this issue would have practical difficulties for the island administrators, who would find it impossible to completely prevent their illegal movements. For the issue of Butrint, Mocenigo was categorically against it but seemed to change his mind later.
In the continuation of the information presented in this letter, Ignatios informs Ali Pasha about the possibility of the Souliots returning to other territories of the pashalik in the future, a rather complicated hypothesis for which Ignatios seeks precise and concrete instructions from Ali Pasha. In the letter, Ignatios also mentions an issue that Ali Pasha instructed him on but does not specify, suggesting it was a highly delicate and potentially compromising matter. For this reason, Ignatios informs Pasha that he did not mention this subject in the discussions, as it might have heavily impacted and moved the hierarch's character. Through this information, Ignatios informs Ali Pasha of the presence on the Island of Corfu (under the control of Russian military) of two Albanians from Chameria, who until then had appeared as Ali Pasha's opponents. They are the brother of Musta Pasha of Delvina and Musa Çapari, who had requested a meeting with Mocenigo, but he refused to meet them, while the other Russian consul, Benaqi, met them but advised them to reconcile with Ali Pasha. However, we judge that the Russian representatives were unlikely to be so interested in reconciling Ali Pasha's opponents with him.
A portion of the opponents of the Pasha of Janina had entered into conflicts with the Tepelena native, spurred on by the Russians themselves, making it paradoxical for these adversaries of Ali Pasha to be so amicable with their enemy. Concluding the information, Ignatios provides updates on international developments from his first meeting with General Anrep, whom he describes as coming from a military family and being "a favorite of the Court, very positive and amiable."