Sadije Toptani

Sadije (also written Sadijé, Sadiya or Khadija) was a member of the Toptani family, Sadije was the daughter of Emim Bey Toptani (1843−1910) and his wife and distant cousin, Fitnete Toptani (1855−1899), both members by birth of the Toptani family. Also she was a cousin to Essad Pasha Toptani. She was the second wife of Xhemal Pasha Zogu after the death of his first wife, Zenja Malika Hanem.

After her son became king in 1928, she was raised to the title Nëna Mbretëreshë e Shqiptarëve, or Queen Mother of the Albanians, with the style of Her Majesty on September 1, 1928, a position she held until her death. She supervised the Royal Kitchen to ensure that her son could not be poisoned. She was the official protector of the Gruaja Shqiptare.

Sadije Toptani was a Bektashi Muslim.[1]

Sadije died in the Royal Compound in Durrës[2] and was buried in Tirana the next day. A royal mausoleum was constructed to house her remains. The building was destroyed by Albanian communist forces on 17 November 1944.

• Patrice Najbor, Histoire de l'Albanie et de sa maison royale (5 volumes), JePublie, Paris, 2008, (ISBN 978-2-9532382-0-4).
• Patrice Najbor, la dynastye des Zogu, Textes & Prétextes, Paris, 2002
• O.S. Pearson, Albania and King Zog, I.B. Tauris. 2005 (ISBN 1845110137).

• Maison royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue française
• Famille royale d'Albanie, site officiel en langue anglaise