Ndoc Nikaj

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Ndoc Nikaj (15 June 1864 – 16 January 1951) was an Albanian Catholic priest, writer, and historian. He was the first Albanian to publish an original novel in Albanian, Shkodra e rrethueme (Shkoder under siege) in 1905. He was born in Shkodër and educated at the Albanian Pontifical Seminary, being ordained a priest in 1888. He was also known by the alias N.D.N Nagdo Monici.

With Preng Doçi, Nikaj helped found Lidhja e Mshehët (The Secret League), a movement seeking to end Ottoman rule and create an independent Albania. This group inspired the Albanian Revolt of 1910. He founded Shoqnia Bashkimi (Society for the Unity of the Albanian Language) and, in 1909, started his own printing press, Shtypshkronja Nikaj. He also launched two newspapers, Koha (1910) and Besa Shqyptare (1913); Besa Shqyptare lasted until 1921. The press printed the cultural magazine Hylli i Dritës.

Nikaj published two history books in 1902, History of Albania and History of Turkey, which promoted a Catholic Albanian identity and highlighted Skanderbeg and his battles with the Ottomans. His work was criticized by Austrian diplomat and historian Theodore Ippen for being inexact and biased.

In 1921 Nikaj was arrested for unknown reasons, and little is known about him until after World War II. He was arrested again by the communists in 1946 and died in Shkodër prison in 1951.

Nikaj’s writings covered education, religion, and literature, and many of his prose works are now rare.