Gjon Muzaka (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
1510; it, Giovanni Musachi di Berat ) was an
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
n
nobleman
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...
from the
Muzaka family
The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...
, that has historically ruled in the
Myzeqe
The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; rup, Muzachia) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands.
Location
The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by ...
region,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
. In 1510 he wrote a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi'' (Short memoir on the descendants of our Myzeqe lineage). The work was published in
Karl Hopf's ''Chroniques gréco-romaines'', Paris 1873, pp. 270–340.
According to his memoirs, Gjon's father died before Ottomans captured
Berat
Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier.
Berat is located in ...
in 1417.
The memoir of Gjon Muzaka (1515)
His memoir is considered to be the oldest substantial text written by an
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
n. It was originally written in Latin and his name was listed as Giovanni Musachi.
In it he mentions several interesting things that were confirmed to have been accurate by
Noel Malcolm
Sir Noel Robert Malcolm, (born 26 December 1956) is an English political journalist, historian and academic. A King's Scholar at Eton College, Malcolm read history at Peterhouse, Cambridge, and received his doctorate in history from Trinity Col ...
.
Among other things he claims that, according to family history, the name "Musachi" is derived from a corrupted form of the name "Molossachi", ancient tribesmen of
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...
known as the
Molossians
The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On t ...
.
Name
His name is mentioned in sources in several different versions, like John, Giovanni
Ivan,
and Jovan.
References
16th-century Albanian people
Year of death unknown
Gjon
Gjon (definite form: ''Gjoni'') is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element.
As given name
Etymology and history
''Gjon'' as a given name is a form of the English name John. It is the name of the apostle Saint John in Al ...
Year of birth unknown
Albanian Christians
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania
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