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Andrea Thopia
Andrea Thopia or Andrew Thopia ( sq, Andrea Topia; died before March 1445) was a 15th century Albanian noble man whose domains included the territory of Scuria (between Durazzo and what would later become modern day Tirana). He was a member of the Thopia family and one of the founders of the League of Lezhë. Family Andrea Thopia was the nephew of Karl Thopia. He had two sons Karl Muzaka and Komnin. He was son of Nikete Topia died 1414/1415 1432—1436 rebellion After the Battle of Savra in 1385 the region of Albania became under strong Ottoman influence and gradually most of its territory was annexed to Ottoman Empire within separate administrative unit: the Sanjak of Albania. Andrea revolted against Ottoman rule in 1432 and defeated a small Ottoman military unit in the mountains of Central Albania. His victory inspired other chieftains in Albania, especially Gjergj Arianiti, to rebel against the Ottomans. League of Lezhë Together with his nephew ( Tanush Thopia) A ...
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Thopia Family
The Thopia family was one of the most powerful Albanian feudal families in the Late Middle Ages. It was initially part of the nobility of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. Early history The first attestation of the Thopia can be found in an Angevin document from 1274 proclaiming an agreement reached between a number of Albanian nobles and Charles I of Anjou. In the document, a certain ''Theopia mīles'' is recorded among the Albanian nobles in pact with the Angevins. The Thopia are next mentioned in 1329 when Tanusio Thopia was mentioned as one of the counts of Albania. In 1338, Tanusio was mentioned as Count of Matia (conte di Matia). According to Anamali & Prifti, Tanusio had a brother, Dominik, who was a high cleric and served as a counsel of Robert of Anjou.Anamali, Skënder and Prifti, Kristaq. Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime. Botimet Toena, 2002, p. 249 According to Karl Hopf, Tanusio's son or brother Andrea, as told by Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510), had fall ...
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Siege Of Shkodra
The fourth siege of Shkodra of 1478–79 was a confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the wikt:Venetian, Venetians together with the League of Lezhe and other Albanians at Shkodra (Scutari in Italian) and its Rozafa Castle during the Ottoman-Venetian War (1463-1479), First Ottoman-Venetian War (1463–1479). Ottoman historian Franz Babinger called the siege "one of the most remarkable episodes in the struggle between the West and the Crescent".Babinger, Franz. ''Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time''. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1978. A small force of approximately 1,600 Albanian and Italian men and a much smaller number of womenBuda, Aleks. "Hyrja" published in Barleti, Marin. ''Rrethimi i Shkodrës''. Tiranë: Instituti i Historisë, 1967. faced a massive Ottoman force containing artillery cast on site and an army reported (though widely disputed) to have been as many as 350,000 in number. The campaign was so important to Mehmed II "the Conqueror" that he came per ...
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Gojko Balšić
Gojko Balšić or Gojko Balsha ( sr, Гојко Балшић; sq, Gojko Balsha; fl. 1444) and his brothers George Strez and John were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the White Drin towards the Adriatic. The brothers were members of the house of Balšić, which earlier held the Lordship of Zeta. They participated in founding the League of Lezhë, an alliance led by their maternal uncle Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Gojko supported Skanderbeg until the latter's death in 1468, and then continued to fight against the Ottomans within Venetian forces. Family There are two views of his genealogy. According to Gjon Muzaka and Karl Hopf, Ivan (John, Gjon) and Gojko Strez Balšić were in fact children of Vlajka Kastrioti and Stefan Strez who was a son of Đurađ Balšić, an illegitimate child of Đurađ I Balšić. According to Fan Noli, Gojko had two brothers (George Strez and Ivan), both children of Jela Kastrioti and Pavle Balšić. Both views confirm that Gojko was Skand ...
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Ivan Strez Balšić
Ivan Strez Balšić ( sr-cyr, Јован Стрез Балшић) or Gjon Balsha ( sq, Gjon Balsha); fl. 1444–1469) and his brothers George Strez and Gojko Balšić were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the White Drin towards the Adriatic. The brothers were members of the Balšić family, which earlier held Zeta, but had now placed itself among the nobility in Albania. They participated in founding of the League of Lezhë, an alliance led by their maternal uncle Skanderbeg. Ivan and Gojko supported Skanderbeg until he died in 1468 and then continued to fight against Ottomans together with Venetian forces. After Skanderbeg's death Venice installed Ivan Strez Balšić as Skanderbeg's successor. Family According to Gjon Muzaka and Karl Hopf, Ivan Strez Balšić and his brother Gojko were children of Vlajka Kastrioti and Stefan Strez; who was an illegitimate child of Đurađ I Balšić. According to Fan Noli, Ivan had two brothers (George Strez and Gojko) who were a ...
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George Strez Balšić
George Strez Balšić ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Стрезов Балшић) or Gjergj Balsha ( sq, Gjergj Balsha) ( 1444–57) and his brothers Gojko and Ivan were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the White Drin towards the Adriatic. The brothers were members of the Balšić noble family, which had earlier held Zeta. They participated in founding of the League of Lezhë, an alliance led by their maternal uncle Skanderbeg. George later betrayed Skanderbeg, by selling a domain to the Ottomans, while his two brothers continued to support Skanderbeg until his death and then continued to fight for the Venetian forces. Family According to Fan S. Noli George and his brothers Ivan and Gojko were nephews of Skanderbeg from his sister Jelena who married Pavle Balšić. Genealogy of Kastrioti family written by Karl Hopf does not present the information about George Strez Balšić being a son of Skanderbeg's sister Jelena. League of Lezhë The three Balšić brothers joined the ...
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Pult
Pult or Pulat ( sq-definite, Pulti or Pulati), is a region in northern Albania. It is bordered by the Malësia Region to its north and by the Dukagjin Highlands to its east and its south. The region has traditionally been inhabited by the Plani, Kiri, Suma, Xhani, Drishti and Rrjolli tribes. The Pult region is situated on the Kir river and extends beyond Drisht to Prekal. Name The name has evolved with accordance with the evolution of the phonetic system of Albanian from the ancient name ''Pólatum''. History In 1332, two Albanian-inhabited towns were recorded in the Pult region; ''Polatum Maius'' ("Greater Pult") and ''Polatum Minus'' ("Lesser Pult"). The Dukagjini family ruled the region during the Middle Ages, and Pult was therefore part of the Principality of Dukagjini. At one point during the 16th–17th centuries, Pjetër Spani of the Spani family was the Lord of Pult. In the early 17th century, there was a catholic church dedicated to Saint Barbara Saint B ...
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Drisht
Drisht ( sq-definite, Drishti) is a village, former bishopric and Latin titular see with an Ancient and notable medieval history (Latin ''Drivastum,'' Italian ''Drivasto'') in Albania, 6 km from Mes Bridge (Albanian: ''Ura e Mesit''). It is located in the former municipality Postribë in the Shkodër County. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Shkodër. The ruined 13th Century Drisht Castle is on a hilltop 300m above sea level. The ruins of the castle itself contains the remains of 11 houses, and below the ruins of the castle, and above the modern village of Drisht are further archeological remains of late-Roman and medieval Drivastum. Name The name of the settlement was recorded in Latin as ''Drivastum''. Albanian ''Drisht'' derives from ''Drivastum'' through Albanian phonetic changes, however it has been noted that the accentual pattern found in ''Drísht'' < ''Drívastum'' presupposes an Adriatic "
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Pal Dukagjini
Pal Dukagjini ( it, Paolo Ducagini, 1411–1458) was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Dukagjini family. He and his kinsman Nicholas Dukagjini were initially subjects of Lekë Zaharia, a Venetian vassal who had possessions around Shkoder. Nicholas murdered Lekë, and the Dukagjini continued to rule over their villages under Venetian vassalage. Pal and Nicholas were part of the League of Lezhë, a military alliance that sought liberation of Albania from the Ottoman Empire, founded by the powerful Skanderbeg. In 1454, the Dukagjini accepted vassalage of Alfonso V of Aragon, as other chieftains had done three years earlier. Pal later abandoned Skanderbeg's army and deserted to the Ottomans. Life He was one of the founding members of the League of Lezhë, a military alliance of some Christian members of the Albanian nobility forged in Lezhë on 2 March 1444 by: * Lekë Zaharia (lord of Sati and Dagnum), and his vassals Pal and Nicholas Dukagjini * Peter Spani (lord of the ...
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Dagnum
Dagnum ( sq, Danjë or Dejë, sr, Danj, it, Dagno) was a town, bishopric and important medieval fortress located on the territory of present-day Albania, which has been under Serbian, Venetian and Ottoman control and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. It is close to the modern day town of Vau i Dejës. History In period 1081—1116 Dagnum belonged to the kingdom of Duklja. The Ragusan-Serbian peace treaty was signed in Danj on 25 March 1326, attended by '' vojvoda'' (Slavic count) Mladen and ''čelnik'' Đuraš Ilijić. Until 1395 Sati (whose castellan was Koja Zaharia) and Dagnum belonged to a fief of Kostadin Balšić and was part of the Lordship of Zeta under Đurađ II Balšić. In 1395 Balšić ceded Sati (with Dagnum) together with Scutari and Drivast to Venetian Republic (in order to create a buffer zone between remaining part of his Zeta and Ottoman Empire), but Zaharia refused to allow Venetians to take control over the Sati. He proclaimed himself the Lo ...
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Sati (castle)
Sati ( sr-cyr, Шати, lat, Satti, sq, Shati) was a medieval fortified town near Shkodër in contemporary Albania. Between 1395 and 1459, it passed through the control of the Venetian Republic, the Dukagjini family, the Ottoman Empire, and Skanderbeg, who razed it sometime after 1459. History Lordship of Zeta and Zaharia family Together with Scutari and the surrounding region, Sati was a part of the Lordship of Zeta until 1395. It belonged to the fief of Konstantin Balšić, who appointed Koja Zaharia as Sati's castellan. In 1395 Balša II ceded Sati, together with Scutari and Drivast, to the Venetian Republic in order to create a buffer zone between his lordship and the Ottoman Empire. Zaharia refused to allow Venetians to take control of Sati and proclaimed himself lord of Sati and Dagnum ''("dominus Sabatensis et Dagnensis")''. Venetians attempted without success to capture Sati by force in 1396, by which time Zaharia was supported by Ottoman Empire because he had become a ...
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Nicholas Dukagjini
Nicholas Dukagjini ( it, Nicolas Ducagin, sq, Nikollë Dukagjini) was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family. Biography Nicholas Dukagjini was the son of Gjergj (George) Dukagjini, who died before 1409 when Nicholas was mentioned for the first time as the landlord of two villages near Lezhë (Alessio) and the commander of a 140 men troop (40 cavalry and 100 infantry). Nicholas' name appears in documents of 1409. He participated in Albanian Revolt of 1432–1436 led by Gjergj Arianiti, during which he succeeded in regaining the territory held by his family before the Ottoman conquest of Albania. He even managed to capture Dagnum which he promptly granted to Venice. Unwilling to provoke the Ottomans, Venice returned Dagnum to Ottoman control in 1435. Nicholas Dukagjin was one of the founding members of League of Lezhë, a military alliance of some members of the Albanian nobility forged in Lezhë on 2 March 1444 by: * Lekë Zaharia (lord of Sati and Dagnum), and his v ...
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Albanian Literature
Albanian literature stretches back to the Middle Ages and comprises those literary texts and works written in Albanian. It may also refer to literature written by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and the Albanian diaspora particularly in Italy. Albanian occupies an independent branch within the Indo-European family and does not have any other closely related language. The origin of Albanian is not entirely known, but it may be a successor of the ancient Illyrian language. The Archbishop of Antivari Guillaume Adam wrote a report in 1332 in which he said that Albanians used Latin letters in their books although their language was quite different from the Latin language. The oldest surviving documents written in Albanian are the " Formula e pagëzimit" (Baptismal formula) recorded by Pal Engjëlli, Bishop of Durrës in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and some New Testament verses from that period. Medieval period 15th century The expansion of the Ottoman Empire pushed many ...
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