Đerzelez Alija

The name of the legendary character is spelled in Albanian: Gjergj Elez Alia, in Bosnian Đerzelez Alija, Đerđelez Alija or Djerdjelez Alija, in Hungarian: Gerz Ilyas, in Serbo-Croatian: Ђерзелез Алија, Đerzelez Alija, in Turkish: Gürz Ilyas.^[1]

The name Gürz is derived from the Turkish word gürzi (mace) and means warrior with the mace.^[2][3]

The name Gjergj is the Albanian rendering of George, which is pronounced by Bosniaks the same way as in Albanian, but spelled as Đerđ/Djerdj in Bosnian. The name Gjergjelez have been explained as a compound of Gjergj and Elez, the latter corresponding to the name of the prophet Iliaz (Elias). The tripartite-compound names such as the case of Gjergj Elez Alia are typically found in northern Albanian tribes as well as in some southern Albanian mountain peoples.^[4] The third part of the compound name, Ali, is an Ottoman Turkish name of Arabic origin, meaning "high, noble", which is used to highlight a peculiar trait of this legendary character.^[5]

It is believed that epic figure of Đerzelez Alija was inspired by Ali Bey Mihaloglu^[6][7] or Gürz Ilyas,^[8] an Ottoman military commander in 15th century and the first sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Smederevo. According to Ottoman census of 1485 he was in charge for nahiya of Dobrun near Višegrad as his timar (land grant).^[2] There is a turbe (mausoleum) in the village of Gerzovo (near Mrkonjić Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina) which according to legend is his burial place.^[9][10]

The first written record of the epic figure of Đerzelez (in the form of "Ali-beg") was a form of South Slavic bugarštica (long form epic and ballad poem), The Marriage of Vuk the Dragon-Despot, recorded by Đuro Matei at the end of 17th or beginning of 18th century.^[11] In songs recorded in the Erlangen Manuscript, Đerzelez is mentioned in the form of "Turk elder Balibeg".^[12]

The legendary character is believed to have been a popular Muslim epic hero of the Bosnian Krajina (frontier region) from the end of 15th century.^[13][14] The myth of Gjergj Elez Ali / Đerzelez Alija has its roots in the origins of common beliefs and a set of interests linked to the preservation of the lineage. This was accomplished by the Bosniaks through religion, and by the Albanians through language.^[15]

He is one of the well known legendary heroes and a symbol of brotherly loyalty to both the Bosniaks and Albanians.^[16][17][15]

According to Rašid Durić, Ottoman historian and chronicler Ibn Kemal (1468–1534) wrote about the popularity of Gürz Ilyas in folk songs in Bosnia.^[14] Đerzelez Alija was most popular in the Bosnian Krajina (Frontier) region, where he, as opposed to Albanian tradition, is mostly seen as a Muslim fighting against Christians. Many stories of him fighting Christians or mythological beings exist. The most prominent ones where he fights important Christian figures are "Gjerzelez Alija i Car od Stambola" (Gjerzelez Alija and the Tsar from Istanbul) where a duel between Đerzelez and John Hunyadi, known as "Sibinjanin Janko" in South Slavic epic poetry, occurs.^[18] There are instances of Đerzelez being portrayed as a dragon, the Dragon in South Slavic mythology is usually considered to be benevolent.^[19]

Some of the poems which include the name of Đerzelez in their titles are:^[20][21]

Đerzelez is one of the main characters of many other poems without his name in their title, like:^[23]

• Porča of Avala and Vuk the Fiery Dragon
• The Marriage of Vuk the Dragon-Despot

According to the legend, Đerzelez also has an epic horse (sometimes called Šarac, as the horse of Prince Marko) and he is a good friend of fairies who help him when he is in danger.^[24] Legend says that he was killed during his prayer (salat) because he did not want to interrupt it despite being aware that he would be killed.^[25] Another legend mentions Đerzelez and Prince Marko as being bloodbrothers, and Marko considering Đerzelez to be a fierce warrior equal to him.^[26] One of many similarities between the epic poetry of the Bosniaks and Serbs.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Song of Gjergj Elez Alia

In Albanian folklore, Gjergj Elez Alia is regarded as a great warrior and his legend is one of the most popular. A song of Gjergj Elez Alia was recorded by Bernardin Palaj and Donat Kurti in Nikaj (Tropojë District) and published in Tirana in 1937.^[27] The song is usually sung accompanied by the lahuta (gusle), or occasionally with çifteli, by the rapsod (performer of epic poetry).^[28] The song of Gjergj Elez Alia is part of the heroic non-historical cycle of Albanian epic poetry, the Kângë Kreshnikësh ("Songs of Heroes"), however it is not related to the epic cycle of the pair of heroic brothers Muji and Halili.^[29]

Gjergj Elez Alia had nine wounds on his body and lay suffering for nine years in his house and everybody had forgotten him. Only his sister took care of him night and day for nine years. Then news came that another enemy, Balozi i Zi (black knight) had come from the sea and was killing people and destroying villages every day.
One day Gjergj felt some drops of water on his face and thought that his house had become so old that the rain was coming in. His sister told him that it was not the rain, but her tears on his face. She told him that Balozi had requested her and sooner or later would come to get her. Gjergj then told her to take his horse and make it ready for war, as he was going to fight against the horrible Baloz. He met Baloz the next day and had the fight; Gjergj was victorious. He returned home to his sister and as they hugged with joy, both their hearts stopped beating and they died instantly together. They were then buried in the same grave and the place was never forgotten. Everyone that passed by stopped to remember his great actions.

Scenes of the legend of Gjergj Elez Ali, depicted on postage stamps of Albania (1990)

Gjergj Elez Ali lying wounded

Gjergj Elez Ali being helped onto horse by his sister

Gjergj Elez Ali fighting Bajloz

Gjergj Elez Ali on horseback over severed head of Bajloz

Ivo Andrić, the 1961 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, wrote Put Alije Đerzeleza (transl. The Journey of Alija Đerzelez), published in 1920, after two fragments (Djerzelez at the Inn and Djerzelez on the Road) were published in 1918 and 1919.^[30]

In Sarajevo, there is "The House of Alija Đerzelez," one of the oldest houses in the city, located on the Street of Alija Đerzelez. The Commission to Preserve National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared it a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005 due to its architectural significance as a residential complex.^[31] There are streets in several towns in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bihać, Gračanica, Zenica, etc.) named after him.

• Elsie, Robert (2004). Songs of the frontier warriors. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. ISBN 978-0-86516-412-3.
• Popović, Tanya (1988). Prince Marko: the hero of South Slavic epics. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2444-8. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
• Hadžijahić, Muhamed (1934), Narodne pjesme o Djerzelez Aliji [Folk songs about Djerzelez Alija] (in Croatian), Sarajevo: Št. O. Šehić, OCLC 444780203
• Pipa, Arshi (2017) [1982]. Aristea Kola, Lisandri Kola (ed.). "Rapsodë shqiptarë në serbokroatisht: cikli epik i kreshnikëve" (PDF). Kêns. Translated by Lisandri Kola: 25–79. ISSN 2521-7348.
• Prifti, Kristaq (2002). Instituti i Historisë (Akademia e Shkencave e RSH) (ed.). Historia e popullit shqiptar. Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime (in Albanian). Vol. 1. Botimet Toena. ISBN 9789992716229.

• Olesnički, Aleksije (1932), Tko je zapravo bio Djerzelez Alija? [Who was in fact Djerzelez Alija?] (in Croatian), Zagreb: Nadbiskupska tiskara, OCLC 493451253
• Simović, Živomir (1991), Ko je zapravo, bio Đerđelez Alija - junak narodnih pesama i vanredna ličnost muslimanske tradicije? [Who was actually Djerzelez Alija — the hero of national songs and exceptional person of Muslim tradition], Mostovi (in Serbian), vol. 23, pp. 81–87, OCLC 442745889