Sulejman Bargjini

Sulejman Pashë Ballgjini (also known as Sulejman Pasha) was a general of the Ottoman Empire. He was originally from Ballgjin, but he settled in the village of Mullet, Albania and probably served as a Janissary, he was given the title Pasha. He founded the city of Tirana, now the capital of Albania, in 1614. At the time he had built a mosque, a bakery and a hammam (Turkish sauna). Tirana soon became the center of Albanian art, culture and religion (especially with the Spread of Islam and the Bektashi Sufis, it became famous because of its strategic position at the heart of Albania. A statue of Sulejman Pasha stands in the square named after him in downtown Tirana. A small street in another part of Tirana also bears his name.