Neoklit Kazazi, Ismail Bej Vlora and the Early 20th Century

By PILO ZYBA

Neoklit Kazazi was born into an Arvanite family on the island of Lesvos in Greece, 1849–1936.

He was a professor at the University of Athens. He was a professor of political economy from 1891 to 1894, and the creator of the Encyclopedia of Philosophy and Law, 1894–1910. He became a member of the Greek parliament in 1910 for the birthplace of Aristidh Kolja.

His books and writings hold diverse value. He was also the founder of the association

“Hellenism” in 1894. He worked as a state envoy for international relations. He fought for the unification of Greek territories (at that time, neither Thessaloniki nor Crete had been annexed to the Greek state). To advance this cause more effectively, he founded the association “For the Rights of Greece” in Paris in 1894.

Viewed from his perspective on international relations in the Balkans, he wrote and published several books. In them, he provided guidance, facts and historical data. For the sake of this article, I will mention only a few of them that are directly related to Albania.

- Greeks and Albanians in the Early 20th Century

- The Greek-Albanian Agreement

- The French Revolution, volumes 1-2-3-4-5-6-

Neoklit Kazazi

He was interested in good relations with Albania, without which he understood there could be no peace in the Balkans. To make this collaboration a reality both historically and practically, he worked with Ismail Bej Vlora, who had graduated from the “Zosimea” in Janinë and knew and wrote Greek very well. This collaboration brought closer two peoples who had spent centuries under Turkish captivity. In 1901, while walking the streets of Istanbul, his friends informed Ismail Vlora that the Sultan had issued a warrant for his arrest. He crossed over to Athens, where he also met with Kazazi. After their discussions, he left and went to Brussels. There he launched a newspaper titled “The Salvation of Albania,” in which he laid out his thoughts and ideas for the creation of the Albanian state and the interests of neighboring nations.

In the second issue, on the front page, Ismail Bej Vlora published the leading article “Following the Example of the Greeks.” In it, he expressed his views on the method and creation of the new Albanian state.

During this time, Ismail Vlora and Kazazi fostered a friendly climate (which was also influenced by his Arvanite descent).

In the wake of these meetings, expressions, viewpoints and further goals, on March 22, 1907, they managed to draft the treaty of agreement. Kazazi and Petala took part on the Greek side, and Ismail Bej Vlora on the Albanian side. That same day, it was entered into the protocol, signed by Boçari and Seroglu.

A book by Neoklit Kazazi... on Albanian-Greek relations

Before putting pen to paper to sign, Kazazi says, on February 18, 1907, Ismail Vlora and the Albanian Xhaferr met with N. Levidhi, the speaker of the Greek parliament, as well as with Prime Minister Jorgo Theotoku. Both parties informed them about the good relations between Greeks and Albanians.

The core of the agreement was ethnic and religious cooperation. But one of the main goals was protection against the designs of the Austro-Hungarians, Serbs and Italians. With these relations, Kazazi was creating the right climate for achieving Ismail Vlora’s goals: the creation of an independent Albanian state.