Essad Toptani was an Albanian politician who served as the third prime minister of Albania from 1914 to 1916.
14 Facts About Essad Toptani
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Essad Toptani previously established the Republic of Central Albania based in Durres.
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Essad Toptani was born in 1863 in Tirana, Ottoman Empire, the son of Ali Toptani and Vasfije Alizoti.
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Essad Toptani was a member of the Toptani family, a prominent landowning Albanian noble family who helped found the current city of Tirana.
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The sultan referred to him as a "wicked man", given that the extended Essad Toptani family had benefited from royal patronage in gaining privileges and key positions in the Ottoman government.
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Amidst the Albanian Revolt of 1912 Essad Toptani obliged himself to organize the uprising in Central Albania and Mirdita.
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Riza Pasha wanted to keep up the defense of the besieged city, and after his death Essad Toptani continued his resistance until April 1913.
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Essad Toptani turned the fortress of Shkoder over to Montenegro, only in April 1913 after a prolonged war and great heroism of Albanian and Turkish soldiers.
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Essad Toptani led a faction of his own in the Peasant Revolt against Prince Wilhem.
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On 19 May 1914, when Essad Toptani refused to lay down his weapons, armed forces under Dutch gendarmerie officer Johan Sluys surrounded and shelled his house in Durres, forcing him to surrender.
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Essad Toptani was arrested for conspiracy, though after consultations with Wilhelm, he was not court-martialled but sent to Bari in southern Italy and banned from returning to Albania.
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Essad Toptani's rule was not stable because of the First World War.
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Essad Toptani was buried in the Serbian Military section of the Thiais cemetery in Paris, after staying for a long time unburied in the mortuary.
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Essad Toptani is remembered among Albanians as one of the most negative historical figures and the symbol of treason.