View source for Veli Bey of Tepelena

{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    =
| name                = Veli Bey
| native_name         =
| parents             = Muhtar Bey
| honorific-suffix    =
| image               =
| imagesize           =
| smallimage          = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.-->
| alt                 =
| caption             =
| order               =
| office              = [[Mutasarrıf]] of [[Delvinë]]
| term_start          = 1762
| term_end            = ?
| birth_date          =
| birth_place         = [[Tepelena]], [[Sanjak of Delvina]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
| death_date          =
| death_place         = [[Tepelena]], [[Sanjak of Delvina]], [[Ottoman Empire]]
| restingplace        =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| birthname           =
| spouse              = Hamko Hanim, daughter of the Bey of [[Konitsa|Konica]]
| partner             = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| children            = {{hlist|[[Ali Pasha of Ioannina|Ali Pasha]]|Shainitza|Unnamed son}}
| residence           =
| signature           =
| signature_size      = <!--Military service-->
| nickname            =
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| relations           =
}}
'''Veli Bey''' was an [[Albanians|Albanian]] clan leader and local ruler in [[Tepelena]] during the 18th century. A leading member of the Meçohysaj clan, Veli was appointed as [[mutasarrıf]] of the [[Sanjak of Delvina]] after a power struggle with his cousins and brothers regarding the inheritance of his deceased father Muhtar Bey. He was also the father of [[Ali Pasha Tepelena]], the eventual ruler of the [[Pashalik of Yanina]].
==Early life==
Veli was the third son of Muhtar Bey, a notable Albanian brigand chieftain of the Meçohysaj clan from Tepelena who fought both for and against the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]]. Muhtar himself was the son of Mustafa Yussuf from the [[Gjirokastër]] region, a notable brigand, warrior and clan chieftain who eventually obtained the title of [[bey]] and possibly official recognition as the deputy governor of Tepelena.<ref name="Russell">{{cite book |last1=Russell |first1=Quentin |last2=Russell |first2=Eugenia |title=Ali Pasha, lion of Ioannina: the remarkable life of the Balkan Napoleon |date=2017 |publisher=Pen & Sword Military |location=South Yorkshire, England |isbn=9781473877207 |pages=117–122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQPMDwAAQBAJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Koçi |first=Dorian |date=2018-09-26 |title=Pse e rrënoi Ali Pashë Tepelena, Hormovën? |url=https://www.gazetatema.net/2018/09/26/pse-e-rrenoi-ali-pashe-tepelena-hormoven/ |language=Albanian |access-date=2022-10-05}}</ref> The family was of local [[Albanians|Albanian]] origin.{{sfn|Clayer|2014}}<ref name=Fleming60>Fleming (1999): p. 60.</ref><ref>Ahmet Uzun. [http://www.eie.gr/nhrf/institutes/inr/instr-studiorumbalk/tepelenlis.pdf ''Ο Αλή Πασάς ο Τεπελενλής και η περιουσία του.'']. [Ali Pasha from Tepeleni and his fortune] (Greek), p. 3: "Εξαιτίας της μοναδικότητας του ονόματος μιας οικογένειας που μετανάστευσε από την Ανατολία στη Ρούμελη και εγκαταστάθηκε στο Τεπελένι, υπάρχουν ισχυρισμοί που τον θέλουν Τούρκο. Εντούτοις οι ισχυρισμοί αυτοί είναι αβάσιμοι αφού στην πραγματικότητα είναι αποδεδειγμένο ότι καταγόταν από τη νότια Αλβανία." [Because of the uniqueness of the name of a family which emigrated from [[Anatolia]] to [[Rumelia]] and settled in [[Qendër Tepelenë]], there are claims that he was a [[Turkish people|Turk]]. However, these claims are unfounded since, in reality, it is proven that he came from southern [[Albania]].]</ref>
==Later life and death==
Veli's father, Muhtar Bey, would die fighting the [[Republic of Venice|Venetians]] at the [[Siege of Corfu (1716)|siege of Corfu in 1716]] on the side of the Ottomans. Becoming a [[Bey]] during this period was the recognition of the hereditary leadership of an individual within a tribe or clan and its fighters, and so upon Muhtar's death, some of his followers and titles went to his son, Veli.<ref name="Russell" /> Veli became involved in a rivalry with his cousin, Islam Bey, who was also a local ruler.{{sfn|Clayer|2014}} This rivalry was caused by a dispute between Veli and Islam in regards to the division of Muhtar's inheritance; in particular, it included a dispute on who was to exact feudal control over numerous wealthy and well-manned Albanian Christian villages.<ref name="Russell" />
Initially, the [[Sublime Porte]] officially recognised Islam Bey by appointing him [[mutasarrıf]] of the [[Sanjak of Delvina]] in 1752 and granting him the title of ''[[Pasha]] of the two tails''. Islam Bey was later dismissed after proving to be inefficient and unpopular, and in the summer of 1759, Veli murdered Islam after attacking and destroying his residence. Additionally, as the third son of Muhtar, Veli could only claim his inheritance in Tepelena by force, and so he attacked the town with his men and burned his brothers alive.<ref name="Russell" />
In 1762, Veli Bey was acknowledged by the Porte with the title of ''mir-i-miran'', or bey of beys, and was promoted as the Pasha of the two tails and ''mutasarrıf'' of [[Delvinë]], probably holding the [[Sanjak of Avlona]] as well.<ref name="Russell" />{{sfn|Clayer|2014}} Veli's actions earned him many enemies, and he was soon driven out of Tepelena, dying soon after. Veli was assassinated by rival chiefs when his son Ali (the future [[Ali Pasha of Ioannina|Ali Pasha of Tepelena]]) was between 10 and 15 years old, and Ali was subsequently brought up by his mother, Chamko (or Hanko/Hamko), who was the daughter of the Bey of [[Konitsa|Konica]]. Hamko would then take control of Veli's band in order to maintain her family's position, but their influence would soon diminish and the family would be expelled from Tepelena whilst Ali was still young.<ref>
{{cite book
|author  = H. T. Norris
|title   = Islam in the Balkans: Religion and Society Between Europe and the Arab World
|url     = https://books.google.com/books?id=kTcRDKnYf2cC&pg=PA231
|year    = 1993
|publisher = C. Hurst & Co. Publishers
|isbn    = 978-1-85065-167-3
|pages   = 231–
}}</ref>{{sfn|Clayer|2014}}<ref name="Russell" />
Veli Bey was succeeded by Kaplan Pasha of [[Gjirokastër]] as mutasarrıf of the [[Sanjak of Delvina]]. Kaplan's daughter, Emine, would soon be engaged to Veli's son [[Ali Pasha Tepelena|Ali Pasha]], and the pair would have two sons, [[Muhtar Pasha]] and [[Veli Pasha]]. Kaplan himself was beheaded by Ottoman authorities in [[Manastir]] in 1766 on charges of corruption, tax revenue theft and the murder of his rivals.<ref name="Russell" />
==Family==
Veli Bey was married to Hamko - the daughter of the Bey of [[Konitsa|Konica]] - and another woman. With these two wives, he fathered three children - two sons (Ali and an unnamed boy) and a daughter named Shainitza. Their exact relationships are obscure. Upon Veli's death, Hamko poisoned Ali's half-brother and the boy's mother to ensure Ali's inheritance.<ref name="Russell" />
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
* {{EI3 | last = Clayer | first = Nathalie | title = Ali Paşa Tepedelenli | year = 2014 | doi = 10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23950 }}
* Fleming, Katherine Elizabeth. [https://books.google.com/books?id=NX93wUlfYpEC ''The Muslim Bonaparte: diplomacy and orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece.''] Princeton University Press, 1999. {{ISBN|978-0-691-00194-4}}.
[[Category:People from Tepelenë]]
[[Category:Albanian Muslims]]
[[Category:18th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:18th-century Albanian people]]
[[Category:18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Ali Pasha of Ioannina]]