The League of Prizren (1878-1881): The Institutional Construction of the Modern Albanian Nation and the Historical Foundations of the Greater Albania Ideal

Authors : Rejhan Rahman

Pages : 129-154

Doi:10.53791/imgelem.1794462

View : 90 | Download : 619

Publication Date : 2025-12-28

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :According to the study, the League of Prizren (1878-1881) was not a temporary reaction but the first organized framework of Albanian nationalism. The partition of Albanian territories by the Treaty of Berlin compelled leaders to assemble in Prizren to defend their lands and articulate a collective identity. In light of Gellner’s modernization theory and Anderson’s “imagined communities,” the League is portrayed as having reached proto-statehood by collecting taxes, creating legal authority, and directing armed groups. The League functioned through a two-level system: the General Assembly in Prizren and provincial councils in Kosovo, Shkodra, Monastir, and Janina, supervised by Ymer Prizreni’s executive committee. These institutions managed education, law, finances, and order. Militarily, Abdullah Pasha Dreni and Ali Pasha Gusi resisted territorial concessions and defended Shkodra, initially in line with Ottoman policy, until the state intervened. In 1881, Dervish Pasha crushed the movement, dissolved its councils, and disbanded its militias. The article connects this organizational strength to the Rilindja Kombëtare (National Awakening), where education, publications, and linguistic reforms culminating in the 1908 Manastir Congress allowed Albanians to overcome religious divisions. The League’s four-vilayet program later influenced the League of Peja, the independence declaration of 1912, wartime projects for a “Greater Albania,” and Kosovo’s post-2008 debates. Though brief, the League established models of governance and political discourse, making it a pivotal Balkan case of early nation-building.
Keywords : Arnavut Milliyetçiliği, Prizren Ligi, Ulus İnşası, Hayali Cemaatler ve Modernleşme, Balkan Tarihi.

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