Founding of the League of Prizren

Background. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Treaty of San Stefano, which assigned Albanian-populated lands to Serbia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. This territorial loss triggered the emergence of the League as a response to the Great Eastern Crisis. Influential Albanians in Constantinople organized committees to direct resistance, seeking to return to the status quo before the war began.

Founding. On June 10, 1878, approximately eighty delegates, including Muslim religious leaders and clan chiefs from the Ottoman vilayets of Kosovo, Monastir, and Yanina, met in Prizren. The organization was officially established as the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation. The city served as a focal point for Albanian nationalism during this period.

Diplomatic Context. In July 1878, the League's board sent a memorandum to the Great Powers at the Congress of Berlin, demanding that all Albanians be united in a single autonomous Ottoman province. The Congress, which revised the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano, subsequently ordered a commission to trace borders between the Ottoman Empire and Montenegro.