King Zog of Albania : Europe's self-made Muslim king / Jason Hunter Tomes.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tomes, Jason.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Zog I, King of the Albanians, 1895-1961.

Nationalism--Albania.

Nationalism.

History.

Civilization.

Kings and rulers.

Albania.

Albania--Kings and rulers--Biography.

Albania--Civilization--20th century.

Albania--History--1912-1944--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

vii, 312 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 25 cm

Other Title:

King Zog of Albania : Europe's self-made Muslim monarch

Place of Publication:

Washington Square, N.Y. : New York University Press, 2004.

Summary:

Shortly before 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 1, 1928, Europe gained a new kingdom and its only Muslim king: 32 year old Zog I of the Albanians. Few foreign journalists were present in the Parliament House in Tirana to hear him swear his oath on the Koran and the Bible, yet the birth of the Kingdom of Albania -- a native monarchy, not an alien imposition -- did not go unnoticed abroad. The strangeness of his name saw to that. King Zog was a curiosity, and so he has remained: the most unusual European monarch of the twentieth century, a man entirely without royal connections who created his own kingdom. By contemporaries, he was variously labelled "the last ruler of romance," "an appalling gangster," "the modern Napoleon," "the finest patriot," and "frankly a cad." Even today his reputation is disputed, but Zog was undeniably one of the foremost figures in Albanian history. Though notorious for cutthroat political intrigue, he promised to bring order and progress to a land that had long known little of either. "It was I who made Albania," he claimed.

Zog's reign ended in 1939; Italian Fascists forced him into exile and post-war Stalinists kept him there despite his best efforts to return. In this first full biography, Jason Tomes explores the reality behind the man described in The Times as "the bizarre King Zog" and shows him to have been the product of a unique time and place. People who live in secure, stable countries are invited to set aside their assumptions about modern European monarchy and meet a king who fired back at assassins and paid his bills with gold bullion.

Contents:

The Kingdom of Albania vii

The House of Zogu viii

1 Prologue: An Audience 1

Ahmed Bey Zogolli 1895-1922

2 The Star of Mati 6

3 Young Ahmed 14

4 Prince Wilhelm's Loyal Subject 22

5 Powers and Puppets 27

6 Colonel Zogolli 31

7 Minister of the Interior 37

8 His First Coup 44

9 Surviving 49

Ahmed Zogu 1922-28

10 Zogu, PM 54

11 Down and Out 60

12 Fan Noli 66

13 'The Triumph of Legality' 71

14 Lira Imperialism 78

15 Avanti Italia! 83

16 The Breach with Belgrade 89

17 On the Steps of the Throne 95

King Zog 1928-39

18 His Majesty 100

19 King and Capital 105

20 Inside the Compound 112

21 Zog and the Zogists 120

22 The Inspectors-General 127

23 Royal Family 134

24 The Public Face of the Regime 145

25 A Fragile Stability 152

26 Slow Progress 158

27 Debtor and Creditor 165

28 Hard Times 171

29 Ill Winds 176

30 Young Men and Old Men 182

31 Seeking a Queen 188

32 Geraldine 196

33 A National Event 201

34 Borrowed Time 207

35 Into the Vortex 215

36 Holy Week 222

37 Good Friday 229

38 A Reckoning 233

Ex-King Zog 1939-61

39 Refugees 240

40 In London at War 247

41 A Lack of Recognition 252

42 Twelve Hundred Miles Away 260

43 At the Court of King Farouk 268

44 Anglo-American Intrigues 273

45 Riviera Recluse 280.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 298-303) and index.

ISBN:

0814782833

OCLC:

54906511