On December 6, 1797, Naum Bredhi Veqilharxhi was born. In 1800, the Veqilharxhi family abandoned Vithkuq. Being with patriotic ties, Veqilharxhi’s father, Panajot Veqilharxhi, chose to settle on a one of the Romanian principalities (Tara Romaneasca) together with his family.

Since a young man, Naum Veqilharxhi, inspired by patriotic ideas, managed to become one of the leaders of the Albanian community in Romania. He became one of the ideologues of the Albanian National Renaissance and an activist of the Albanian school.

It took him 20 years to compile the special alphabet in his native language and to print “Evëtar” /Primer/, which paved the way for the compilation of later primers by Kostandin Kristoforidhi, Sami Frashëri, Parashqevi Qirjazi and Aleksandër Xhuvani.

With a writing system of 33 letters, Veqilharxhi’s alphabet adapted to the dialects, phonetics and grammar of the Albanian language, and also favored the spread of Albanian writing.

According to Naum Veqilharxhi, the Albanian language was not only to be treated as a cultural issue, but also on the political level. It is not by chance that the national cultural demands, among which a special place was occupied by the freedom of the Albanian language and school, since the time of his activity, which developed during the first half of the 19th century, and later became an inseparable part of political programs of the National Renaissance.

Naum Bredhi Veqilharxhi belongs to that constellation of great enlighteners of Albanian National Renaissance, who struggled for Albania in the conditions of the greatest darkness of the Ottoman rule.

/a.p./