Iljaz bej Mirahori

Iljaz Bej Mirahori was an Ottoman Albanian military commander and governor, who served sultan Bayezid II. He founded the town of Korçë in Albania in the 15th century, participated in the Conquest of Constantinople and built the Monastery of St John the Studite there as a mosque.

Biography

Iljaz was born in Panarit, Korçë District and entered janissary service probably during the reign of Murad II. He had three sons: Muhammed, Inebey and Sefershah.
He was one of the most loyal subjects of the young emperor Mehmet II, and dedicated his life to the service of the Emperor against Skanderbeg and his forces. In the year 1453, Iljaz Hoxha's role in the Siege of Constantinople earned him the title Mirahor. Later he received the Mirahor Evel title. After the conquest, he became the sanjak-bey of Korçë. Under the command of Mehmet II he founded and developed Korçë as both a cultural center and garrison city. He constructed its first mosque, the Mirahori Mosque.
The Frashëri brothers Abdul, Naim and Sami were descendants of Ilyas Bey through their mother Emine who was from Korçë. Sami Frashëri in his publications wrote about his ancestor Ilyas Bey. Sami Frashëri writes in his Kamus al-Alam: His türbe was destroyed by the Greek invading forces on 7 December 1912.