Ali Pasha or Ali Pasha of Tepelena (; 1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Ioannina, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia, which under his rule acquired a high degree of autonomy and even managed to stay de facto independent. The capital of the Pashalik was Ioannina, which along with Tepelena were Ali's headquarters. Conceiving his territory in increasingly independent terms, Ali Pasha's correspondence and foreign Western correspondence frequently refer to the territories under Ali's control as "Albania", which by Ali's definition included central and southern Albania, and parts of mainland Greece; in particular, most of the district of Epirus and the western parts of Thessaly and Macedonia. He managed to stretch his control over the sanjaks of Yanina, Delvina, Vlora and Berat, Elbasan, Ohrid and Monastir, Görice, and Tirhala. Ali was granted the Sanjak of Tirhala in 1787, and he delegated in 1788 its government to his second born Veli Pasha, who also became Pasha of the Morea Eyalet in 1807. Ali's eldest son Muhtar Pasha was granted the Sanjak of Karli-Eli and the Sanjak of Eğriboz in 1792, stretching for the first time Ali's control down to Livadia and the Gulf of Corinth, except Attica. Muhtar Pasha also became governor of the Sanjak of Ohrid in 1796–7 and of the Sanjak of Vlora and Berat in 1810.
Ali first appears in historical accounts as the leader of a band of Albanian brigands who became involved in many confrontations with Ottoman state officials in Albania and Epirus. He joined the administrative-military apparatus of the Ottoman Empire, holding various posts until 1788 when he was appointed pasha, ruler of the sanjak of Ioannina. His diplomatic and administrative skills, his interest in modernist ideas and concepts, his popular Muslim piety, his respect towards other religions, his suppression of banditry, his vengefulness and harshness in imposing law and order, and his looting practices towards persons and communities in order to increase his proceeds caused both the admiration and the criticism of his contemporaries, as well as an ongoing controversy among historians regarding his personality. As his influence grew, his involvement in Ottoman politics increased culminating in his active opposition to the ongoing Ottoman military reforms. After being declared a rebel in 1820, he was captured and killed in 1822 at the age of 81 or 82, after a successful military campaign against his forces. In Western literature, Ali Pasha became the personification of an "oriental despot".
Name
Ali Pasha was variously referred to as of Tepelena, of Ioannina/Janina/Yannina or the Lion of Yannina. His native name was , and he was referred to as or ; and in other local languages as ; or (Ali Pasha of Ioannina); and ().
Ancestry and early life
Ali Pasha was born into the Albanian Meçohysaj clan; they were Christian Albanians who embraced Islam, although the exact date in which this occurred is not certain. The family was attributed a legendary ancestry as descendants of a Mevlevi dervish named Nazif who migrated from Konya to Tepelene through Kütahya, and Ali himself would make similar claims to strangers and Ottoman Turks in order to claim legitimacy to landholdings. Nonetheless, this tradition is unfounded, as Ali's family was of local Albanian origin.
They had achieved some stature by the 17th century; Ali's great-grandfather, Mustafa Yussuf from the Gjirokastër region, was a notable brigand, warrior and clan chieftain who eventually obtained the title of bey and possibly official recognition as the deputy governor of Tepelena. Ali's grandfather, Muhtar Bey, was also a bandit chieftain who fought both for and against the Ottoman Turks. Muhtar had died during the 1716 siege of Corfu. Ali's father, Veli Bey, was a local ruler of Tepelena.
Ali himself was born in Beçisht, although some claim that he was born in the adjacent town of Tepelena. Ali's father, Veli Bey, was involved in a rivalry with his cousin, Islam Bey, who was also a local ruler. Islam Bey was appointed mutasarrıf of Delvinë in 1752, but Veli Bey managed to kill him and thereby succeed his cousin as mutasarrıf in 1762. Veli Bey was assassinated shortly after when Ali was ten, and Ali was brought up by his mother, Chamko (or Hanko/Hamko), who originally hailed from Konitsa.