Marshal Mehmet Ali pasha (Karl dë Troa) was born in a French Huguenot family. After the death of his parents, he moved to Istanbul where he converted to Muslim religion and graduated from the military academy. He participated in many battles and received the rank of marshal. As a known expert, he represented Ottoman Empire in Saint Stefan negotiations and in the Berlin Congress.
He came in contact with Albanians already in 1857. In 1862 he attacked unsuccessfully Gjakova’s Malësia to crush the insurgency of Krasniqe and to arrest their leader Shaqir Curri. In 1871 he made a carnage against Shkodra’s insurgents.
On August 12, 1878, the Porte nominated him as a political commissioner for implementation of the decisions from Berlin Congress for giving away Albanian lands to Montenegro and Serbia, something that was being opposed by Albanian League in Prizren. From Prizren he arrived in Gjakova on August 31, in the house of Adullah Dreni on the way to Montenegro. After harsh discussions on September 1 and 2, with heads of the League in Gjakova, the fights started and lasted until September 6, 1878, when he was killed together with his accompanying soldiers and some of the hosts.
This is how one of the most distinguished statesman, military officer and diplomat of the Ottoman Empire ended his life. He also wrote poems in German, French, Greek, Persian, Arabic and Turkish. He was buried in front of the house of Abdullah Dreni together with 400 volunteers of the League.
In the detailed justification for protection of this monument it is stated that he was sheltered at the renegade feudalist Abdullah Dreni, that the first to besiege the house were the highlanders led by Mic Sokol, that the besiegers burnt the building, etc.