Gani Toptani
Gani bej Toptani (c.1859 – 21 December 1898) was an Ottoman Albanian officer and adjutant of Sultan Abdülhamid II. After a short military career in Janina, he was exiled to Harpoot, but was soon called to Constantinople to serve under Sultan Abdülhamid II as his personal bodyguard. He was the elder brother of Essad Pasha Toptani, who would later ascend as a political and military figure, both in the Ottoman Empire and later in independent Albania. Gani Toptani was killed in 1898 in the Pera district of Constantinople after a conflict that would cause political tension. Three years later, his brother Essad would also carry out an assassination attempt as revenge against Cavid Bey, a member of the Imperial Council and also the son of Grand vizier Halil Rifat Pasha, who is thought to have ordered Gani's assassination.
Gani Bey Toptani | |
|---|---|
Portrait of Gani Toptani in his Kaymakam uniform while serving in Fesli Zuhaf as adjutant to Sultan Abdülhamid II | |
| Born | c.1859 Tirana, Sanjak of Durrës, Ottoman Empire (modern day Albania) |
| Died | 21 December 1898 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (modern day Istanbul, Turkey) |
| Cause of death | Assassination |
| Nationality | Albanian |
| Parent(s) | Ali Bey Toptani and Vasfije hanëm Alizoti |
| Relatives | Essad Pasha (brother), Nejre Toptani (sister) Sabushe Toptani (sister), Merushe Toptani (sister), Shefikat Hanëm Alizoti (aunt), Aqif Pasha Biçakçiu (first cousin), Ibrahim Biçakçiu] (son of first cousin), Sadije Toptani (cousin), Zog I of Albania (cousin), Toptani family, Thopia family (possibly) |
| Family | Toptani |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Ottoman Empire |
| Service/ | Fesli Zuhaf a.k.a. Albanian Imperial Guard Battalion |
| Years of service | 1897–1898 |
| Rank | Kaymakam |