81-675: Bektashism ( Albanian : Urdhri Bektashi) is an Islamic Sufi mystic order that originated in 13th-century Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire . It is named after the saint Haji Bektash Veli . The Bektashian community is currently led by Baba Mondi , their eighth Bektashi Dedebaba and headquartered in Tirana , Albania . Collectively, adherents of Bektashism are called Bektashians or simply Bektashis. Originally one of many Sufi orders within Sunni Islam, by
162-522: A fruit brandy , is used as a sacramental element by in Bektashism, and Alevi Jem ceremonies, where it is not considered alcoholic and is referred to as "dem". Poetry plays an important role in the transmission of Bektashian spirituality. Several important Ottoman-era poets were Bektashis, and Yunus Emre , the most acclaimed poet of the Turkish language , is generally recognized as a subscriber to
243-609: A mosque although the facility has never functioned as such. Subsequently, the Bektashian Order of North Macedonia sued the government for failing to restore the tekke to the Bektashians, pursuant to a law passed in the early 1990s returning properties previously nationalized under the Yugoslav government. The law, however, deals with restitution to private citizens, rather than religious communities. The ICM claim to
324-678: A Latinis, Grecis et Sclauis ita quod in nullo se intelligunt cum aliis nationibus. (Namely, the above-mentioned Albanians have a language that is different from the languages of Latins, Greeks and Slavs, so that they do not understand each other at all.) The oldest attested document written in Albanian dates to 1462, while the first audio recording in the language was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in Vienna . However, as Fortson notes, Albanian written works existed before this point; they have simply been lost. The existence of written Albanian
405-905: A common branch in the current phylogenetic classification of the Indo-European language family. The first written mention of Albanian was in 1284 in a witness testimony from the Republic of Ragusa , while a letter written by Dominican Friar Gulielmus Adea in 1332 mentions the Albanians using the Latin alphabet in their writings. The oldest surviving attestation of modern Albanian is from 1462. The two main Albanian dialect groups (or varieties ), Gheg and Tosk , are primarily distinguished by phonological differences and are mutually intelligible in their standard varieties, with Gheg spoken to
486-573: A common period of prehistoric coexistence of several Indo-European dialects in the Balkans prior to 2000 BC. To this group would belong Albanian, Ancient Greek , Armenian , Phrygian , fragmentary attested languages such as Macedonian , Thracian , or Illyrian , and the relatively well-attested Messapic in Southern Italy. The common features of this group appear at the phonological, morphological, and lexical levels, presumably resulting from
567-472: A large amount (or the majority) of their sea environment lexicon. A similar phenomenon could be observed with agricultural terms. While the words for 'arable land', 'wheat', 'cereals', 'vineyard', 'yoke', 'harvesting', 'cattle breeding', etc. are native, the words for 'ploughing', 'farm' and 'farmer', agricultural practices, and some harvesting tools are foreign. This, again, points to intense contact with other languages and people, rather than providing evidence of
648-475: A number of isoglosses with Albanian. Other linguists linked the Albanian language with Latin , Greek and Armenian , while placing Germanic and Balto-Slavic in another branch of Indo-European. In current scholarship there is evidence that Albanian is closely related to Greek and Armenian, while the fact that it is a satem language is less significant. Armenian Greek Phrygian (extinct) Messapic (extinct) Gheg Tosk Messapic
729-547: A possible linguistic homeland (also known as a Urheimat ). The centre of Albanian settlement remained the Mat River. In 1079, the Albanians were recorded farther south in the valley of the Shkumbin River. The Shkumbin, a 181 km long river that lies near the old Via Egnatia , is approximately the boundary of the primary dialect division for Albanian, Tosk and Gheg . The characteristics of Tosk and Gheg in
810-818: A ritual meal ( muhabbet ) and yearly confession of sins to a baba ( magfirat-i zunub مغفرة الذنوب). Bektashis base their practices and rituals on their non-orthodox and mystical interpretation and understanding of the Quran and the prophetic practice ( Sunnah ). They have no written doctrine specific to them, thus rules and rituals may differ depending on under whose influence one has been taught. Bektashis generally revere Sufi mystics outside of their own order, such as ibn Arabi , al-Ghazali and Rumi , who are close in spirit to them despite many of being from more mainstream Islamic backgrounds. As with other Muslims, Bektashis do not consume pork and consider it haram ("prohibited") and in addition, also do not consider rabbit. Rakia ,
891-933: A strong sense of identity and are unique in that they speak an archaic dialect of Tosk Albanian called Arbëresh . In the United States and Canada, there are approximately 250,000 Albanian speakers. It is primarily spoken on the East Coast of the United States, in cities like New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit, as well as in parts of the states of New Jersey, Ohio, and Connecticut. In Argentina, there are nearly 40,000 Albanian speakers , mostly in Buenos Aires. Approximately 1.3 million people of Albanian ancestry live in Turkey , with more than 500,000 recognizing their ancestry, language and culture . There are other estimates, however, that place
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#1732773145587972-609: Is initiatic , and members must traverse various levels or ranks as they progress along the spiritual path to the Reality . The Turkish names are given below, followed by their Arabic and Albanian equivalents. Traditionally there were twelve of these hierarchical rankings, the most senior being the dedebaba (great-grandfather). In Albania , the World Headquarters of the Bektashi ( Albanian : Kryegjyshata ) divides
1053-667: Is also spoken by 450,000 Albanian immigrants in Greece, making it one of the commonly spoken languages in the country after Greek. Albanian is the third most common mother tongue among foreign residents in Italy . This is due to a substantial Albanian immigration to Italy. Italy has a historical Albanian minority of about 500,000, scattered across southern Italy, known as Arbëreshë . Approximately 1 million Albanians from Kosovo are dispersed throughout Germany , Switzerland and Austria . These are mainly immigrants from Kosovo who migrated during
1134-681: Is celebrated by Bektashis as Ali's birthday (see also Nevruz in Albania ). The Bektashian Order is a Sufi order and shares much in common with other Islamic mystical movements, such as the need for an experienced spiritual guide—called a baba in Bektashian parlance — as well as the doctrine of "the four gates that must be traversed": the " Sharia " ( religious law ) , " Tariqah " (the spiritual path) , " Marifa " (true knowledge) , " Haqiqa " (truth) . There are many other practices and ceremonies that share similarities with other faiths, such as
1215-767: Is considered the pīr-i thānī ('the Second Elder') by Bektashians. It was originally founded as a Sufi movement. The branch became widespread in the Ottoman Empire , their lodges scattered throughout Anatolia as well as in the Balkans . It became the official order of the Janissary corps, the elite infantry corp of the Ottoman Army . Therefore, they also became mainly associated with Anatolian and Balkan Muslims of Eastern Orthodox convert origin, mainly Albanians and northern Greeks (although most leading Bektashian babas were of southern Albanian origin). In 1826,
1296-608: Is considered the closest language to Albanian, grouped in a common branch titled Illyric in Hyllested & Joseph (2022). Hyllested & Joseph (2022) in agreement with recent bibliography identify Greco-Phrygian as the IE branch closest to the Albanian-Messapic one. These two branches form an areal grouping – which is often called "Balkan IE" – with Armenian. The hypothesis of the " Balkan Indo-European " continuum posits
1377-532: Is currently a widely and frequently used expression in the religious discourse of Turkey as an umbrella term for the two religious groups of Alevism and Bektashism. Bektashism originated in Anatolia as the followers of the 13th-century scholar Bektash , who himself studied under Central Asian mystic Ahmad Yasawi . The doctrines and rituals of the Bektashiyya were codified by the mystic Balim Sultan , who
1458-687: Is explicitly mentioned in a letter attested from 1332, and the first preserved books, including both those in Gheg and in Tosk, share orthographic features that indicate that some form of common literary language had developed. By the Late Middle Ages , during the period of Humanism and the European Renaissance , the term lingua epirotica ' Epirotan language ' was preferred in the intellectual, literary, and clerical circles of
1539-592: Is generally concentrated in the Americas , Europe and Oceania . Albanian is estimated to have as many as 7.5 million native speakers. Albanian and other Paleo-Balkan languages had their formative core in the Balkans after the Indo-European migrations in the region. Albanian in antiquity is often thought to have been an Illyrian language for obvious geographic and historical reasons, or otherwise an unmentioned Balkan Indo-European language that
1620-598: Is spoken in North-western Greece, while Arvanitika is spoken by the Arvanites in southern Greece. In addition, Arbëresh is spoken by the Arbëreshë people, descendants of 15th and 16th century migrants who settled in southeastern Italy, in small communities in the regions of Sicily and Calabria . These settlements originated from the (Arvanites) communities probably of Peloponnese known as Morea in
1701-486: Is spoken in the south, and Gheg spoken in the north. Standard Albanian is based on the Tosk dialect. The Shkumbin River is the rough dividing line between the two dialects. Gheg is divided into four sub-dialects: Northwest Gheg, Northeast Gheg, Central Gheg and Southern Gheg. It is primarily spoken in northern Albania, Kosovo , and throughout Montenegro and northwestern North Macedonia . One fairly divergent dialect
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#17327731455871782-576: Is the Upper Reka dialect , which is however classified as Central Gheg. There is also a diaspora dialect in Croatia , the Arbanasi dialect . Tosk is divided into five sub-dialects, including Northern Tosk (the most numerous in speakers), Labërisht , Cham , Arvanitika , and Arbëresh . Tosk is spoken in southern Albania, southwestern North Macedonia and northern and southern Greece. Cham Albanian
1863-399: Is the most probable. Although Albanian shares lexical isoglosses with Greek , Germanic , and to a lesser extent Balto-Slavic , the vocabulary of Albanian is quite distinct. In 1995, Taylor, Ringe , and Warnow used quantitative linguistic techniques that appeared to obtain an Albanian subgrouping with Germanic, a result which the authors had already reasonably downplayed. Indeed,
1944-633: Is the official language of Albania and Kosovo and a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro . Albanian is a recognised minority language in Croatia , Italy , Romania and in Serbia . Albanian is also spoken by a minority in Greece , specifically in the Thesprotia and Preveza regional units and in a few villages in Ioannina and Florina regional units in Greece. It
2025-570: The Abbas Ali Türbe on August 20–25. In addition to the Muslim daily five prayers, Bektashians have two specific prayers, one at dawn and one at dusk for the welfare of all humanity. Bektashism places much emphasis on the concept of Wahdat al-Wujud ( Arabic : وحدة الوجود , romanized : Unity of Being ) that was formulated by Ibn Arabi . Malakat is an important text of Bektashian written by Haji Bektash. Bektashis also follow
2106-582: The Albanoid branch , which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group . It is the native language of the Albanian people . Standard Albanian is the official language of Albania and Kosovo , and a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro , as well as a recognized minority language of Italy , Croatia , Romania and Serbia . It is also spoken in Greece and by the Albanian diaspora , which
2187-463: The Congress of Dibra decided that Albanian schools would finally be allowed. Albanian is an isolate within the Indo-European language family; no other language has been conclusively linked to its branch . The only other languages that are the sole surviving members of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and Greek. The Albanian language is part of the Indo-European language family and
2268-652: The Directorate of Religious Affairs and the community's headquarters relocated to Albania. Salih Nijazi was the last Dedebaba in Turkey and the first in Albania. The order became involved in Albanian politics, and some of its members, including Ismail Qemali , were major leaders of the Albanian National Awakening . Bektashis believe in the ismah of the Islamic prophets and messengers , and
2349-661: The Hurufis (in the early 15th century), the Qalandariyya stream of Sufism, figures like Ahmad Yasawi , Yunus Emre , Shah Ismail , Shaykh Haydar , Nesimi , Pir Sultan Abdal , Gül Baba , Sarı Saltık and to varying degrees more broadly the Shia belief system circulating in Anatolia during the 14th to 16th centuries. The mystical practices and rituals of the Bektashi order were systematized and structured by Balım Sultan in
2430-573: The Janissary of Muhammad Ali Pasha , an Albanian who became Wāli , and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan . In addition to the dynasty that he established, a large part of the former Egyptian and Sudanese aristocracy was of Albanian origin. In addition to the recent emigrants, there are older diasporic communities around the world. Albanian is also spoken by Albanian diaspora communities residing in Australia and New Zealand . The Albanian language has two distinct dialects, Tosk which
2511-808: The Korçë District , Kamnik in Kolonja , Kolsh in the Kukës District , Rashtan in Librazhd , and Nezir in the Mat District . As in other parts of Europe, these PreIE people joined the migratory Indo-European tribes that entered the Balkans and contributed to the formation of the historical Paleo-Balkan tribes. In terms of linguistics, the pre-Indo-European substrate language spoken in the southern Balkans probably influenced pre-Proto-Albanian ,
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2592-812: The League of Prizren and culminated with the Congress of Manastir held by Albanian intellectuals from 14 to 22 November 1908, in Manastir (present day Bitola ), which decided on which alphabet to use, and what the standardised spelling would be for standard Albanian. This is how the literary language remains. The alphabet is the Latin alphabet with the addition of the letters ⟨ ë ⟩ , ⟨ ç ⟩ , and ten digraphs : dh , th , xh , gj , nj , ng , ll , rr , zh and sh . According to Robert Elsie : The hundred years between 1750 and 1850 were an age of astounding orthographic diversity in Albania. In this period,
2673-479: The Vallahades . By the 18th century Bektashism began to gain a considerable hold over the population of southern Albania and northwestern Greece ( Epirus and western Greek Macedonia). Following the ban on Sufi orders in the Republic of Turkey , the Bektashian community's headquarters was moved from Hacıbektaş in central Anatolia, to Tirana, Albania. In Albania, the Bektashian community declared its separation from
2754-692: The 14th century, but they failed to cite specific words. The oldest surviving documents written in Albanian are the " formula e pagëzimit " (Baptismal formula), Un'te paghesont' pr'emenit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Spertit Senit . ("I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit ") recorded by Pal Engjelli, Bishop of Durrës in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and some New Testament verses from that period. The linguists Stefan Schumacher and Joachim Matzinger (University of Vienna) assert that
2835-630: The 16th century the order adopted some tenets of Twelver Shia Islam, including a veneration of Ali , the son-in-law of Prophet Muhammad , and the Twelve Imams , as well as a variety of syncretic beliefs. The Bektashis acquired political importance in the 15th century, when the order dominated the Janissary Corps . After the foundation of the Turkish Republic , Kemal Atatürk banned religious institutions that were not part of
2916-474: The 16th century. According to a 2005 estimate made by Reshat Bardhi , there are over seven million Bektashis worldwide, though more recent studies put the figure as high as 20 million. In Albania , they make up 9% of the Muslim population and 5% of the country's population. An additional 12.5 million Bektashis live in Turkey . Bektashis are mainly found throughout Anatolia , the Balkans and among Ottoman-era Greek Muslim communities. The term "Alevi–Bektashi"
2997-492: The 1925 exodus of the Bektashian order from Turkey to Albania: List of Bektashi Dedebabas following the 1925 exodus of the Bektashi Order from Turkey to Albania: Albanian language Albanian ( endonym : shqip [ʃcip] , gjuha shqipe [ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ] , or arbërisht [aɾbəˈɾiʃt] ) is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of
3078-531: The 1990s. In Switzerland , the Albanian language is the sixth most spoken language with 176,293 native speakers. Albanian became an official language in North Macedonia on 15 January 2019. There are large numbers of Albanian speakers in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Canada . Some of the first ethnic Albanians to arrive in the United States were the Arbëreshë. The Arbëreshë have
3159-505: The Albanian and Germanic branches share a relatively moderate number of lexical cognates. Many shared grammatical elements or features of these two branches do not corroborate the lexical isoglosses. Albanian also shares lexical linguistic affinity with Latin and Romance languages. Sharing linguistic features unique to the languages of the Balkans , Albanian also forms a part of the Balkan linguistic area or sprachbund . The place and
3240-560: The Albanian language was on 14 July 1284 in Ragusa in modern Croatia ( Dubrovnik ) when a crime witness named Matthew testified: "I heard a voice crying on the mountain in the Albanian language" ( Latin : Audivi unam vocem, clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca ). The Albanian language is also mentioned in the Descriptio Europae Orientalis dated in 1308: Habent enim Albani prefati linguam distinctam
3321-435: The Albanian language was put to writing in at least ten different alphabets – most certainly a record for European languages. ... the diverse forms in which this old Balkan language was recorded, from the earliest documents to the beginning of the twentieth century ... consist of adaptations of the Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Cyrillic alphabets and (what is even more interesting) a number of locally invented writing systems. Most of
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3402-682: The Bektashi, a conference during which members of the Bektashi Community make important decisions, has been held in Albania several times. Since 1945, it has been held exclusively in Tirana . The longest gap between two congresses lasted from 1950 to 1993, when congresses could not be held during Communist rule in Albania . A list of congresses is given below. This section lists the Dedebabas (Supreme Leaders) of Bektashism. List of Dedebabas (mostly based in Hacıbektaş , Anatolia), prior to
3483-538: The Bektashian order was banned throughout the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Mahmud II for having close ties with the Janissary corps. Many Bektashian dervishes were exiled, and some were executed. Their tekkes were destroyed and their revenues were confiscated. This decision was supported by the Sunni religious elite as well as the leaders of other, more orthodox, Sufi orders. Bektashis slowly regained freedom with
3564-554: The Bektashian order. Like many Sufis, the Bektashis were quite lax in observing daily Muslim laws, and women as well as men took part in ritual wine drinking and dancing during devotional ceremonies. The Bektashis in the Balkans adapted such Christian practices as the ritual sharing of bread and the confession of sins. Bektashi mystical writings made a rich contribution to Sufi poetry. A poem from Bektashi poet Balım Sultan (died c. 1517/1519): Like most other Sufi orders, Bektashism
3645-692: The Dedebaba. Despite the negative effect of the ban of lodges on Bektashian culture, most Bektashians in Turkey have been generally supportive of secularism to this day, since these reforms have relatively relaxed the religious intolerance that had historically been shown against them by the official Sunni establishment. In the Balkans the Bektashian order had a considerable impact on the Islamization of many areas, primarily Albania and Bulgaria , as well as parts of Macedonia , particularly among Ottoman-era Greek Muslims from western Greek Macedonia such as
3726-417: The Detroit suburb of Taylor and the tomb ( türbe ) of Baba Rexheb continues to draw pilgrims of all faiths. In 2002, a group of armed members of the Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia (ICM), a Sunni group that is the legally recognized organisation which claims to represent all Muslims in North Macedonia , invaded the Bektashian Order's Arabati Baba Teḱe in an attempt to reclaim this tekke as
3807-501: The Dikmen Baba Tekkesi, is in operation in the Turkish-speaking town of Kanatlarci , North Macedonia that also has stronger ties with Turkey's Bektashis. In Kosovo, the relatively small Bektashian community has a tekke in the town of Gjakovë and is under the leadership of Baba Mumin Lama and it recognizes the leadership of Tirana. In Bulgaria, the türbes of Kıdlemi Baba, Ak Yazılı Baba, Demir Baba and Otman Baba function as heterodox Islamic pilgrimage sites and before 1842 were
3888-450: The Fourteen Infallibles : Prophet Muhammad , his daughter Fatima , and the Twelve Imams . In contrast to many Twelver Shia, Bektashis respect all companions of Muhammad, including Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman , Talha and Mu'awiya , though consider Ali to be the most superior of all companions. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, the Bektashi order was later significantly influenced during its formative period by
3969-404: The Middle Ages. Among them the Arvanites call themselves Arbëror and sometime Arbëresh. The Arbëresh dialect is closely related to the Arvanites dialect with more Italian vocabulary absorbed during different periods of time. The Albanian language has been written using many alphabets since the earliest records from the 15th century. The history of Albanian language orthography is closely related to
4050-417: The Quran and Hadith. Bektashis follow the modern-day Bektashian Dedebabate, currently headed by Baba Mondi . Bektashis consider the dedebaba as their leader overseeing the entire branch. Bektashism is also heavily permeated with Shiite concepts, such as the marked reverence of Ali, the Twelve Imams, and the ritual commemoration of Ashura marking the Battle of Karbala . The old Persian holiday of Nowruz
4131-443: The Shkumbin river since the Post-Roman and Pre-Slavic period, straddling the Jireček Line . Centuries-old communities speaking Albanian dialects can be found scattered in Greece (the Arvanites and some communities in Epirus , Western Macedonia and Western Thrace ), Croatia (the Arbanasi ), Italy (the Arbëreshë ) as well as in Romania , Turkey and Ukraine . The Malsia e Madhe Gheg Albanian and two varieties of
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#17327731455874212-432: The Sunni community and they were perceived ever after as a distinct Islamic sect rather than a branch of Sunni Islam. Bektashism continued to flourish until the Second World War. After the communists took power in 1945, several babas and dervishes were executed and a gradual constriction of Bektashian influence began. Ultimately, in 1967 all tekkes were shut down when Enver Hoxha banned all religious practice. When this ban
4293-412: The Tosk dialect, Arvanitika in Greece and Arbëresh in southern Italy, have preserved archaic elements of the language. Ethnic Albanians constitute a large diaspora , with many having long assimilated in different cultures and communities. Consequently, Albanian-speakers do not correspond to the total ethnic Albanian population, as many ethnic Albanians may identify as Albanian but are unable to speak
4374-450: The ancestor idiom of Albanian. The extent of this linguistic impact cannot be determined with precision due to the uncertain position of Albanian among Paleo-Balkan languages and their scarce attestation. Some loanwords, however, have been proposed, such as shegë ' pomegranate ' or lëpjetë ' orach '; compare Pre-Greek λάπαθον , lápathon ' monk's rhubarb '. Balim Sultan Too Many Requests If you report this error to
4455-401: The centers of Bektashian tekkes . Bektashis continue to be active in Turkey and their semi-clandestine organizations can be found in Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir . There are currently two rival claimants to the dedebaba in Turkey: Mustafa Eke and Haydar Ercan. A large functioning Bektashian tekke was also established in the United States in 1954 by Baba Rexheb . This tekke is found in
4536-474: The coming of the Tanzimat era. After the foundation of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk shut down the lodges in 1925. Consequently, the Bektashian leadership moved to Albania and established their headquarters in the city of Tirana . Among the most famous followers of Bektashian in the 19th century Balkans were Ali Pasha and Naim Frashëri . After lodges in Turkey were shut down, the order's headquarters moved to Albania . On 20 March 1930, Salih Nijazi
4617-399: The contact between the various languages. The concept of this linguistic group is explained as a kind of language league of the Bronze Age (a specific areal-linguistics phenomenon), although it also consisted of languages that were related to each other. A common prestage posterior to PIE comprising Albanian, Greek, and Armenian, is considered as a possible scenario. In this light, due to
4698-418: The country into 6 different administrative districts (similar to Christian parishes and patriarchates ), each of which is called a gjyshata . During the 1930s, the six gjyshata of Albania set up by Sali Njazi were: National headquarters in other countries are located in: There is also a Bektashian office in Brussels , Belgium . The World Bektashi Congress , also called the National Congress of
4779-578: The cultural orientation and knowledge of certain foreign languages among Albanian writers. The earliest written Albanian records come from the Gheg area in makeshift spellings based on Italian or Greek. Originally, the Tosk dialect was written in the Greek alphabet and the Gheg dialect was written in the Latin script . Both dialects had also been written in the Ottoman Turkish version of the Arabic script , Cyrillic , and some local alphabets ( Elbasan , Vithkuqi , Todhri , Veso Bey, Jan Vellara and others, see original Albanian alphabets ). More specifically,
4860-411: The first literary records of Albanian date from the 16th century. The oldest known Albanian printed book, Meshari , or "missal", was written in 1555 by Gjon Buzuku , a Roman Catholic cleric. In 1635, Frang Bardhi wrote the first Latin–Albanian dictionary. The first Albanian school is believed to have been opened by Franciscans in 1638 in Pdhanë . One of the earliest Albanian dictionaries
4941-420: The head of the Bektashian order by a council of Albanian babas. Today sympathy for the order is generally widespread in Albania where approximately 20% of Muslims identify themselves as having some connection to Bektashism. There are also important Bektashian communities among the Albanian communities of North Macedonia and Kosovo , the most important being the Arabati Baba Teḱe in the city of Tetovo , which
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#17327731455875022-477: The language. Standard Albanian is a standardised form of spoken Albanian based on Tosk . The language is spoken by approximately 6 million people in the Balkans, primarily in Albania, Kosovo , North Macedonia , Serbia , Montenegro and Greece . However, due to old communities in Italy and the large Albanian diaspora , the worldwide total of speakers is much higher than in Southern Europe and numbers approximately 7.5 million. The Albanian language
5103-534: The larger number of possible shared innovations between Greek and Armenian, it appears reasonable to assume, at least tentatively, that Albanian was the first Balkan IE language to branch off. This split and the following ones were perhaps very close in time, allowing only a narrow time frame for shared innovations. Albanian represents one of the core languages of the Balkan Sprachbund . Glottolog and Ethnologue recognize four Albanian languages. They are classified as follows: The first attested written mention of
5184-465: The latter alphabets have now been forgotten and are unknown, even to the Albanians themselves. Albanian constitutes one of the eleven major branches of the Indo-European language family , within which it occupies an independent position. In 1854, Albanian was demonstrated to be an Indo-European language by the philologist Franz Bopp . Albanian was formerly compared by a few Indo-European linguists with Germanic and Balto-Slavic , all of which share
5265-400: The most superior of all companions. Bektashians follow the teachings of Haji Bektash, who preached about the Twelve Imams. Bektashis differ from other Muslims by also following the Fourteen Innocents, who either died in infancy or were martyred with Husayn. Abbas ibn Ali is also an important figure in Bektashism, and Bektashians visit Mount Tomorr to honor him during an annual pilgrimage to
5346-429: The names for fish and for agricultural activities (such as ploughing ) are borrowed from other languages. A deeper analysis of the vocabulary, however, shows that could be a consequence of a prolonged Latin domination of the coastal and plain areas of the country, rather than evidence of the original environment in which the Albanian language was formed. For example, the word for 'fish' is borrowed from Latin, but not
5427-401: The north and Tosk spoken to the south of the Shkumbin river . Their characteristics in the treatment of both native words and loanwords provide evidence that the split into the northern and the southern dialects occurred after Christianisation of the region (4th century AD), and most likely not later than the 6th century AD, hence possibly occupying roughly their present area divided by
5508-410: The number of people in Turkey with Albanian ancestry and or background upward to 5 million. However, the vast majority of this population is assimilated and no longer possesses fluency in the Albanian language, though a vibrant Albanian community maintains its distinct identity in Istanbul to this day. Egypt also lays claim to about 18,000 Albanians, mostly Tosk speakers. Many are descendants of
5589-412: The only surviving representative of its own branch , which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group . Although it is still uncertain which ancient mentioned language of the Balkans it continues, or where in the region its speakers lived. In general, there is insufficient evidence to connect Albanian with one of those languages, whether Illyrian , Thracian , or Dacian . Among these possibilities, Illyrian
5670-447: The tekke is based upon their contention to represent all Muslims in North Macedonia; and indeed, they are one of two Muslim organizations recognized by the government, both Sunni. The Bektashian community filed for recognition as a separate religious community with the Macedonian government in 1993, but the Macedonian government has refused to recognize them. On 21 September 2024, it was reported that Prime Minister Edi Rama of Albania
5751-478: The time that the Albanian language was formed are uncertain. The American linguist Eric Hamp has said that during an unknown chronological period a pre-Albanian population (termed as "Albanoid" by Hamp) inhabited areas stretching from Poland to the southwestern Balkans. Further analysis has suggested that it was in a mountainous region rather than on a plain or seacoast. The words for plants and animals characteristic of mountainous regions are entirely original, but
5832-564: The time, and used as a synonym for the Albanian language. Published in Rome in 1635, by the Albanian bishop and writer Frang Bardhi, the first dictionary of the Albanian language was titled Latin : Dictionarium latino-epiroticum ' Latin-Epirotan dictionary ' . During the five-century period of the Ottoman presence in Albania , the language was not officially recognised until 1909, when
5913-572: The treatment of the native words and loanwords from other languages are evidence that the dialectal split preceded the Slavic migrations to the Balkans , which means that in that period (the 5th to 6th centuries AD), Albanians were occupying nearly the same area around the Shkumbin river, which straddled the Jireček Line . References to the existence of Albanian as a distinct language survive from
5994-421: The word for 'gills' which is native. Indigenous are also the words for 'ship', 'raft', 'navigation', 'sea shelves' and a few names of fish kinds, but not the words for 'sail', 'row' and 'harbor'; objects pertaining to navigation itself and a large part of sea fauna. This rather shows that Proto-Albanians were pushed away from coastal areas in early times (probably after the Latin conquest of the region) and thus lost
6075-544: The writers from northern Albania and under the influence of the Catholic Church used Latin letters, those in southern Albania and under the influence of the Greek Orthodox church used Greek letters, while others throughout Albania and under the influence of Islam used Arabic letters. There were initial attempts to create an original Albanian alphabet during the 1750–1850 period. These attempts intensified after
6156-409: Was closely related to Illyrian and Messapic . The Indo-European subfamily that gave rise to Albanian is called Albanoid in reference to a specific ethnolinguistically pertinent and historically compact language group. Whether descendants or sisters of what was called ' Illyrian ' by classical sources, Albanian and Messapic , on the basis of shared features and innovations, are grouped together in
6237-599: Was elected as the Dedebaba of the Bektashian community in Albania. Prior to Nijazi, the Dedebaba was Haxhi Fejzullah in Turkey. Njazi established the Bektashi World Headquarters in Tirana . Its construction was finished in 1941 during the Italian occupation of Albania . Nijazi promoted Bektashian Islam by introducing major ceremonies at popular tekkes. After he was murdered, Ali Riza succeeded him as
6318-785: Was planning to create the Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order , a sovereign microstate for the Order within Albania's capital of Tirana . Rama said the aim of the new state would be to promote religious tolerance and a moderate version of Islam . Bektashis believe in God and follow all the prophets . Bektashis claim the heritage of Haji Bektash Veli, who was a descendant of Ali , Husayn ibn Ali , Ali al-Sajjad and other Imams. In contrast to many Twelver Shia, Bektashis respect all companions of Muhammad, including Abu Bakr , Umar , Uthman , Talha and Mu'awiya , though consider Ali to be
6399-452: Was rescinded in 1990 the Bektashism reestablished itself, although there were few left with any real knowledge of the spiritual path. Nevertheless, many "tekkes" (lodges) operate today in Albania. The most recent head of the order in Albania was Hajji Reshat Bardhi Dedebaba (1935–2011) and the main tekke has been reopened in Tirana. In June 2011 Baba Edmond Brahimaj was chosen as
6480-667: Was until recently under the guidance of Baba Tahir Emini (1941–2006). Following the death of Baba Tahir Emini, the dedelik of Tirana appointed Baba Edmond Brahimaj (known as Baba Mondi ), formerly head of the Turan Tekke of Korçë , to oversee the Harabati baba tekke . A splinter branch of the order has recently sprung up in the town of Kičevo which has ties to the Turkish Bektashian community under Haydar Ercan Dede rather than Tirana. A smaller Bektashian tekke ,
6561-681: Was written in 1693; it was the Italian manuscript Pratichae Schrivaneschae authored by the Montenegrin sea captain Julije Balović and includes a multilingual dictionary of hundreds of the most frequently used words in everyday life in Italian, Slavic, Greek, Albanian, and Turkish . Pre-Indo-European (PreIE) sites are found throughout the territory of Albania. Such PreIE sites existed in Maliq , Vashtëmi , Burimas , Barç , Dërsnik in
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