Albanians in Turkey (; ) are ethnic Albanian citizens and denizens of Turkey. They consist of Albanians who arrived during the Ottoman period beginning in the 16th century.
A 2008 report from the Turkish National Security Council (MGK) estimated that approximately 1.3 million people of Albanian ancestry live in Turkey, and more than 500,000 recognizing their ancestry, language and culture. There are other estimates however that place the number of people in Turkey with Albanian ancestry and background upward to 5 or 6 million.
History
The Ottoman period that followed in Albania after the end of Skanderbeg's resistance was characterized by a great change. Many Albanians gained prominent positions in the Ottoman government such as: Iljaz Hoxha, Hamza Kastrioti, Koca Davud Pasha, Zağanos Pasha, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (head of the Köprülü family of Grand Viziers), the Bushati family, Sulejman Pasha, Edhem Pasha, Nezim Frakulla, Haxhi Shekreti, Hasan Zyko Kamberi, Ali Pasha of Gucia, Muhammad Ali of Egypt and Ali Pasha of Tepelena who rose to become one of the most powerful Albanian Muslim rulers in western Rumelia. As such, there has been a considerable presence of Albanians in parts of the former Ottoman Empire in areas such as Anatolia due to the Ottoman administration and military.
Migration and formation of the Albanian diaspora in Turkey
First Phase: Labour and other migration (16th – early 20th centuries)
The Albanian diaspora in Turkey was formed during the Ottoman era and early years of the Turkish republic through migration for economic reasons and later sociopolitical circumstances of discrimination and violence experienced by Albanians in Balkan countries. One of the earliest concentrations of Albanians date to 1468 when Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror brought Albanians and installed them in the districts of Istanbul where they founded Arnavutköy, a place named after them meaning Albanian village. "Europäische Migranten sind verantwortlich für Ortsnamen wie Arnavutköy («Albanerdorf»)" "Some examples of prominent migrations such as migration of Albanians who were placed in Arnavutköy in 1468"
Albanian migration to Turkey occurred during three distinctive phases. The first was during the Ottoman era when Albanians served as Ottoman bureaucrats, seasonal employees or in the military drawn to Istanbul, the then capital and the nearby area of the Marmara region. These Albanian migrations to northwestern Anatolia mainly began from the 16th century onward.. Members of the Albanian community from this group have for the most part assimilated into Turkish society, with small numbers regarding themselves as Albanians.
Albanians also undertook labour migration alongside other Balkan peoples to Anatolia that resulted in seasonal or permanent settlement. At times these Albanians were unemployed in Istanbul and often lived in near each other causing concern for Ottoman authorities that a large group of unemployed people having potential to cause social upheaval. Due to the sociopolitical crisis of the 18th century, Ottoman elites developed views of low-class Albanians being prone to banditry and crime alongside other vices and those views being reflected in Turkish popular culture of the shadow puppet Karagöz plays.. Several Ottoman Sultans issued decrees forbidding Albanian migration to Istanbul resulting at times in Ottoman authorities breaking up clusters of Albanians in the city and deporting others back to their homeland, actions later undertaken in the Marmara region.. An Albanian community in Istanbul and to a lesser extent in İzmir played a significant role through the emerging Albanian intelligentsia of the late 19th and early 20th century in shaping and generating Albanian nationalist aspirations. For example, the group Bashkimi (Union) opened offices in Istanbul and throughout Anatolia and the Balkans in various urban centres promoting Albanian sociopolitical rights, the development of Albanian language education, publishing and literature..
There were also some people coming from a Balkan Albanian speaking or cultural space and often belonging to the urban elite (şehirli) in Kosovo and Macedonia that migrated to Anatolia did not always identify with a concept of Albanianess. Instead during the 19th and early 20th centuries they adopted an Ottoman Turkish outlook and came to refer to themselves as Turks or Ottoman Turkish-speaking citizens.. Due to the effects of socio-linguistic assimilation, promoters of Albanian nationalism became concerned about migration to Anatolia and degraded Albanians from the lower classes who undertook the journey.. It is unknown if or to what degree descendants in contemporary times from this group have fluency or knowledge of the Albanian language. The effects of Albanian migration has influenced Turkish culture such as toponyms named after Albanians, in cuisine the dish Arnavut ciğeri (Albanian liver) and character traits Arnavut inadı (Albanian stubbornness). "İlk defa Türkiye'ye Fatih Sultan Mehmet zamanında getirilen Arnavutlar, 1468 senesinde İstanbul’un Arnavutköy semtine yerleştirilmişlerdir. Arnavutköy, 1468 yılında Arnavut göçmenler tarafından oluşturulmuştur. Kültürümüzün temel taşlarından olan semtlere (Arnavutköy, Arnavutkaldırımı), yemeklerimize (Arnavut ciğeri), kişilik özelliklerine (Arnavut inadı) adını verdiğimiz Arnavutların, Anadolu’ya ilk göçleri, yaşadıkları Arnavutluk toprağının Osmanlı Devleti yönetimine geçmesiyle başlamıştır." "As with their political and administrative practices, the Ottomans managed to assimilate the best of the culinary traditions they encountered and merge them with their own cooking customs and practices in such a way as to bring about the enrichment of their own cuisine. In this fashion, Albanian liver (Arnavut cigeri)... were assimilated into the Ottoman Turkish cuisine"
Second Phase: Wars and forced population movements (1878–1944)
The second phase was during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Albanians mainly fled persecution and became refugees as the Ottoman Empire was disintegrating due to conflict. Albanians were expelled by the Serb army and fled from the Sanjak of Niş in 1878, settling in the Samsun region. The Balkan Wars (1912-1913) fought by Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria against the Ottoman Empire expanded the Albanian diaspora. Large numbers of Muslim refugees arrived in Istanbul and Anatolia overwhelming the abilities and resources of Ottoman authorities to provide food, shelter, personal registration and documentation.. Descendants from these Albanians form the largest portion of the Albanian community in Turkey.
Ottoman authorities aware of the demographics of Kosovo and Macedonia understood that a large portion of the unregistered refugees migrating toward Eastern Thrace and Anatolia were Albanian and many of them had congregated in urban centres like Karacabey, Edremit, Değirmendere, Karamürsel, Kirmasti and Bursa.. The capture of Debar by Serbia made many of its Albanian inhabitants flee to Istanbul. The new Young Turk (CUP) government of the Ottoman Empire sought to restructure the demographic situation during the First World War around the wider Marmara region.
At the onset of the war, Albanian migration to Anatolia continued toward districts (Istanbul, Edirne, Hüdavendigâr) and counties (Çatalca, Kale-i-Sultaniye, İzmit and Gelibolu) made forbidden by authorities to Albanians, due to large numbers already present and the geostrategic importance of the area. The Young Turk government viewed Albanians as prone to banditry and violence when congregated and sought to undermine threats to the state through dispersal.. The Young Turk government also was distrustful of Albanians after they had declared independence from the Ottoman Empire, especially Christian Albanians who were involved in that process and they were banned from coming into the country.. New destinations by the Ottoman government were intended for Albanian migrants toward Ankara, Konya with resettlement in Sivas, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Kayseri, Adana and other places while those measures were also applied to settled Albanians in the Marmara region with few exceptions..
Albanians were one of many Muslim peoples in the empire set for resettlement throughout Anatolia to generate conditions for linguistic and cultural assimilation with the aim of creating loyal Muslim Turkish speaking citizens.. Ottoman government officials applied the policy in some regions and avoided it in other places understanding the sociopolitical importance of Albanians in an area as some of the decision making authorities hailed from a Balkan Albanian linguistic or cultural space.. Some Albanian migrants resisted those government moves for resettlement..
After Albanian independence, the Albanian elite from Shkodër, Tirana and Kosovo had the option of working for the Republic of Albania while those Albanian elites from Greek and Serbian Macedonia had no home or government in need of them or familial, business or other Balkan networks to draw upon and moved to Anatolia.. The Albanian community consisting of a large number of refugees was geographically fragmented between 1914-1918 and were not much integrated into Ottoman paramilitary formations based on the Eastern Front, unlike other more established communities like the Circassians. Albanians were seen as possible recruits for those structures and some Albanians from the Ottoman elite who had previous affiliations to the CUP in the Balkans or joined later in Anatolia, worked to recruit Albanians..
At the end of the First World War, Albanians of the Bursa and Kirmasti regions in paramilitary formations had sided with the Turkish Nationalists.. Albanian armed groups fought against Laz and Georgian paramilitaries due to local interests and familial rivalries in the South Marmara region while Albanian paramilitaries attacked Christian villages and Ottoman officials had minimal to no control of the wider area.. Fighting also occurred between Albanian and Circassian paramilitaries of whom the latter sacked and plundered Albanian properties in the Marmara region.. Some Circassian paramilitaries focusing on provincial issues cooperated with incoming Greek military forces in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence and Albanian paramilitaries fought against them.. Albanian paramilitaries were also active in the Bafra region.. Little attention was placed by the older Istanbul Albanian diaspora toward the plight of Albanians recently arrived in Anatolia. Instead they were indifferent to the occupation of Ottoman Anatolian lands and mainly interested in Balkan Albanian affairs, in relation to Yugoslav encroachment of Albanian sovereignty in the early 1920s..