Ibrahim Efendi, also known as Abrama Albanese (Albanian: Pal Effendi; English: Paul Anthony Effendi; Italian: Paolo Antonio Affendi or Ibraim Achemet Turco hora Abraham Albanese Christiano), was an Ottoman-Albanian official, cleric, professor, and physician, born around 1640–1641 in Albania and deceased around 1697–1699. He is known as the first Albanian appointed by the Venetian Senate to teach Turkish, Arabic, and Persian.

Before coming to Venice, Efendi worked in Constantinople as a scholar of the Council of Ulama. He was secretly baptized in Pera, Belgrade, around 1671 and fled to Venice in 1690, where he became known as Abramo Albanese.

In 1692, he was appointed professor of Oriental languages by the Venetian government, responsible for training the giovani di lingua (“young men of language”), the Republic’s interpreters and diplomatic agents.

In 1693, he became a Dominican friar under the name Paolo Antonio Affendi. He translated several books of the Bible into Arabic. Efendi taught for about a decade, and after his death in 1697 or 1699, Venice struggled to find a suitable replacement. The English version of his name is Paul Anthony Effendi.

References

1. Bellingeri, Giampiero. Turco-Veneta. Istanbul: Isis Press, 2003, p. 140.
   Mentions the “renegade Ibrahim Achemet Turco hora Abraham Albanese Christiano.”
2. Rota, Giorgio. Under Two Lions: On the Knowledge of Persia in the Republic of Venice (ca. 1450–1797). Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2009, pp. 43–55.
   Discusses Albanian–Ottoman scholars in Venetian service.
3. Nuovo dizionario storico, ovvero Biografia classica universale. Italian edition, 1835.
   Notes that “Ibrahim Effendi, a Muslim doctor, converted to the Catholic faith in 1671 and took the religious habit in Venice under the name Paolo Antonio Esfendi.”
4. Thomas, Joseph. The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology. New York: Cosimo Inc., 2010, p. 1238.
   Entry on Ibrahim Effendi / Paolo Antonio Affendi.
5. Gorton, John. A General Biographical Dictionary: Containing a Summary Account of the Lives of Eminent Persons of All Nations. London: Whittaker, Treacher & Co., 1830, p. 160.
   Notes Efendi’s scholarly activity in Constantinople.
6. Andrés, Giovanni. Don Juan Andres Reise durch verschiedene Städte Italiens in den Jahren 1785 und 1788. Leipzig: Industrie-Comptoir Verlag, 1792, p. 140.
   Describes Ibrahim Effendi’s baptism in Pera (1671) and later life in Venice.
7. Grenet, Mathieu. In Others’ Words: Foreigners, “Oriental Languages”, and Interpreters in Venice, Livorno, and Marseilles, c.1650–c.1830.
   Available on Academia.edu. Mentions his 1692 appointment as professor of Turkish, Persian, and Arabic in Venice.
8. L’oriente: Rivista trimestrale pubblicata a cura dei professori del R. Istituto orientale in Napoli. Naples: Tip. della R. Accademia dei Lincei, 1895.
   Records the Venetian Senate’s decision of May 3, 1692, appointing “Ibraim Turkish Achmet, then converted, and called Abraham Albanese” to teach Oriental languages.
9. London Encyclopædia, or Universal Dictionary of Science, Art, Literature, and Practical Mechanics. London: T. Tegg, 1845, p. 571.
   Mentions his translation of several books of the Bible into Arabic.
10. Lucchetta, Francesca. “Un progetto per una scuola di lingue orientali a Venezia nel Settecento.” Quaderni di Studi Arabi, vol. 1, 1983, pp. 1–28.
    Notes that after Efendi’s death, no one was able to replace him in Venice.
11. İstanbul Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırma Merkezi. Beşinci Milletlerarası Türkoloji Kongresi: Türk dili (Vol. 2). Istanbul University, 1987.
    Mentions “Father Abraham Albanese,” whose death was reported by 1705.