Đerzelez Alija or Gjergj Elez Alia is a legendary character found in the epic poetry and literature of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gora, Kosovo and northern Albania. He is one of the well known legendary heroes and a symbol of brotherly loyalty to both the Bosniaks and Albanians. Name The name of the legendary character is spelled in , in or Djerdjelez Alija, in , in , in . The name Gürz is derived from the Turkish word gürzi (mace) and means warrior with the mace. The name Gjergj is the Albanian rendering of George, which is pronounced by Bosniaks the same way as in Albanian, but spelled as Đerđ/Djerdj in Bosnian. The name Gjergjelez have been explained as a compund of Gjergj and Elez, the latter corresponding to the name of the prophet Iliaz (Elias). The tripartite-compound names such as the case of Gjergj Elez Alia are typically found in northern Albanian tribes as well as in some southern Albanian mountain peoples. The third part of the compound name, Ali, is an Ottoman Turkish name of Arabic origin, meaning "high, noble", which is used to highlight a peculiar trait of this legendary charachter. Historical background It is believed that epic figure of Đerzelez Alija was inspired by Ali Bey Mihaloglu or Gürz Ilyas, an Ottoman military commander in 15th century and the first sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Smederevo. According to Ottoman census of 1485 he was in charge for nahiya of Dobrun near Višegrad as his timar (land grant). There is a turbe (mausoleum) in the village of Gerzovo (near Mrkonjić Grad, Bosnia and Herzegovina) which according to legend is his burial place. The first written record of the epic figure of Đerzelez (in the form of "Ali-beg") was a form of South Slavic bugarštica (long form epic and ballad poem), The Marriage of Vuk the Dragon-Despot, recorded by Đuro Matei at the end of 17th or beginning of 18th century. In songs recorded in the Erlangen Manuscript, Đerzelez is mentioned in the form of "Turk elder Balibeg". Đerzelez Alija was a popular Muslim epic hero of the Bosnian Krajina (frontier region) from the end of 15th century. He is one of the well known legendary heroes and a symbol of brotherly loyalty to both the Bosniaks and Albanians. In Bosnian tradition Ottoman historian and chronicler Ibn Kemal (1468–1534) wrote about his popularity in folk songs in Bosnia. Some