Voisava
Voisava was a noblewoman and wife of Gjon Kastrioti, an Albanian feudal lord from the House of Kastrioti. They had nine children together, one of whom was the Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg. Early life The wife of Gjon Kastrioti is mentioned for the first time by Albanian authors Marin Barleti and Gjon Muzaka about 70–80 years after her death as ''Voisava''. Both authors lived in the immediate generation after Skanderbeg's death and mention her origin as being in the ''Polog'' area. Barleti explicitly states that "Polog" stretched from the mountains of Mokra in Southern Albania, to Skopje. It has also been argued that another ''Polog'', closer to the town of Bitola in the plain of Pelagonia, may be the location of the Polog mentioned by Barleti. The only archival reference to her name is a notary act from the archives of the Republic of Ragusa dated July 10, 1439, which names Gjon Kastrioti's widow ''Jella''. Origin The issue of the ori ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gjergj Kastrioti
Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia. A member of the noble House of Kastrioti, Kastrioti family, Skanderbeg was sent as a hostage to the Ottoman court. He graduated from the Enderun School and entered the service of the Ottoman sultan Murad II () for the next twenty years. His rise through the ranks culminated in his appointment as of the Sanjak of Dibra in 1440. During the Battle of Nish (1443), Battle of Nish in 1443, he deserted the Ottomans and Liberation of Kruja (1443), became the ruler of Krujë and nearby areas extending from Petrelë to Modrič, Struga, Modrič. In March 1444, he established the League of Lezhë, with support from Albanian nobility, local noblemen, and unified the Albanian principalities. In ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Karl Thopia
Karl Thopia (; – January 1388) sometimes written as Charles Thopia, was an Albanian feudal prince and warlord who ruled Albanian domains from 1358 until the first Ottoman conquest of Albania in 1388. Thopia usually maintained good relations with the Roman Curia. Family The first mention of the Thopia is from 1329, when Tanusio Thopia was mentioned as one of the counts of Albania. In 1338, Tanusio was mentioned as Count of Mat (conte di Matia). According to Karl Hopf, Tanusio's son or brother Andrea I, as told by Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510), had fallen in love with an illegitimate daughter of King Robert of Naples when her ship, en route to the Principality of the Morea to be wed with the ''bailli'', had stopped at Durrës where they met. Andrea abducted and married her, and they had two sons, Karl and George. Karl was named after his great great grandfather Charles I of Anjou. King Robert, enraged, under the pretext of reconciliation had the couple invited to Naples wher ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gjon Kastrioti
Gjon Kastrioti was an Albanians, Albanian feudal lord from the House of Kastrioti and the father of Albanian leader Gjergj Kastrioti (better known as Skanderbeg). He governed the territory between the Cape of Rodon and Debar, Dibër and had at his disposal an army of 2,000 horsemen. Early life The Kastrioti family was from a region of northern Albania between Mat District, Mat, Dibër County, Dibër and Has (region), Has. Konstantin Kastrioti (died 1390), Konstantin Kastrioti Mazreku is attested in Giovanni Andrea Angelo Flavio Comneno's ''Genealogia diversarum principum familiarum''. Angelo mentions Kastrioti as ''Constantinus Castriotus, cognomento Meserechus, Aemathiae & Castoriae Princeps'' (Constantinus Castriotus, surnamed Meserechus, Prince of Aemathia and Castoria). Angelo used the cognomen ''Meserechus'' in reference to Skanderbeg, and this link to the same name is produced in other sources and reproduced in later ones like Du Cange's ''Historia Byzantina'' (1680). T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stanisha Kastrioti
Stanisha Kastrioti (; 1421–45) was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Kastrioti family, father of Hamza Kastrioti and older brother of Skanderbeg. His father Gjon Kastrioti was an Albanian lord who had possessions in the Mat region. His mother was Voisava, whose origin is disputed. It is unknown when Stanisha and his brothers were born, while his younger brother Skanderbeg is taken to have been born in 1405. He also had brothers Reposh and Kostandin, and five sisters, Mara, Jelena, Angelina, Vlajka and Mamica. His father became an Ottoman vassal at the end of the 14th century, and as such, paid tribute and provided military services (like in the Battle of Ankara in 1402). In 1409, one of the brothers, believed by Anamali and Frashëri to have been Stanisha, was sent to the Ottoman court as a hostage, to ensure loyalty of Gjon Kastrioti as an Ottoman vassal to the sultan., Gjon accepted the suzerainty of the Republic of Venice in 1413, but was again in Ottoman vassalage by ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Muzaka Family
The Muzaka family was an noble Albanian 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 mentions the Muzaka family (around 1090) is written by the Byzantine historian Anna Komnene. At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century members of the Muzaka family controlled a region between the rivers of Devoll and Vjosë. Some of them were loyal to the Byzantine Empire while some of them allied with Charles of Anjou who gave them (and some other members of Albanian nobility) impressive Byzantine-like titles (such as Sebastokrator) in order to subdue them more easily. In the 1340s, Stefan Dušan pressed further south into Albania, and by 1343-45 had taken central towns and territories in southern Albania, including domains of the Muzaka family. However, they would fall back under local control after his death in 1355. After the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reposh Kastrioti (monk)
Reposh Kastrioti was an Albanian nobleman and a monk at the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos. His father was Gjon Kastrioti, a nobleman who ruled over the Principality of Kastrioti and his mother was Voisava Kastrioti. Reposh’s brother, Skanderbeg is the national hero of Albania. Monastic life In the year of 1426 the Albanian Lord Gjon Kastrioti either donated the villages of Radostusha and Trebisht, or the rights to the tax revenues from these villages, as well as possibly donating the Church of Saint Mary, located in one of them, or its associated income to Hilandar Monastery. Between 1426 and 1431, Gjon Kastrioti and his sons, Reposh, Kostandin, and Gjergj with the exception of Stanisha, acquired four adelphates for 60 fiorints. They were granted the right to reside on monastic land and receive subsidies from monastic resources, including ownership of the Albanian Tower and additional properties within the monastery. An inscription at Hilandar, referencing Reposh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mara Kastrioti
Mara Kastrioti, also known as Marija Kastrioti Crnojević was a 15th century Albanian princess from the House of Kastrioti. She is known as the older sister of the Albanian hero Skanderbeg, and also as the wife of one ruler and the mother of another. She was married to Stefan Crnojević, who was the Lord of Zeta from 1451 until 1465. Stefan was succeeded by his son Ivan. Mara is buried in the Church of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God at Kom Monastery. Life Kastrioti was the daughter of the Albanian Feudal Lord Gjon Kastrioti and his wife Voisava Kastrioti, and their eldest child. Not much is known about her early life. In some documents she is referred to as Marija. Kastrioti, whose exact year of marriage remains unknown, became the wife of Stefan Crnojević, who was the Lord of Zeta. Kastrioti and Stefan had two or three sons, Ivan, Andrija, nicknamed as the ''brave Albanian'' and Božidar. The title 'Arvanit the Brave' may have been applied to Božidar rather than An ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mamica Kastrioti
Mamica Kastrioti was a 15th century Albanian princess from the House of Kastrioti. She is best known as the younger sister of the Albanian hero Skanderbeg. Life Mamica was the daughter of the Albanian Feudal Lord Gjon Kastrioti and his wife Voisava Kastrioti. Not much is known about her early life. She was described as an astute and able leader who excelled many male chieftains in battle. On January 26th, 1445 in Musachiana which was between Krujë and Durrës she married Karl Muzakë Thopia who hailed from the powerful Thopia family. This was controversial because Karl Muzakë Thopia was already married to Suina Muzaka before marrying Mamica, with whom he had two children. Mamica's brother, Skanderbeg, broke up Karl's marriage to Suina Muzaka against everyone's wishes, including those of the children, and forced him to marry his sister. This however wasn't the only notable event that took place on the wedding day. A dispute had occurred between the two princes Lekë Dukagjini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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House Of Kastrioti
The Kastrioti were an Albanian noble family, active in the 14th and 15th centuries as the rulers of the Principality of Kastrioti. At the beginning of the 15th century, the family controlled a territory in the Mat and Dibra regions. The most notable member was Gjergj Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg, regarded today as an Albanian hero for leading the resistance against Mehmed the Conqueror's efforts to expand the Ottoman Empire into Albania. After Skanderbeg's death and the fall of the Principality in 1468, the Kastrioti family gave their allegiance to the Kingdom of Naples and were given control over the Duchy of San Pietro in Galatina and the County of Soleto, now in the Province of Lecce, Italy. Ferrante (died 1561), son of Gjon Kastrioti II, Duke of Galatina and Count of Soleto, is the direct ancestor of all male members of the Kastrioti family today. Today, the family consists of two Italian branches, one in Lecce and the other in Naples. The descendants of the House ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gjergj Arianiti
Gjergj Arianiti (13??–1462) was an Albanian feudal lord who led several successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. He was the father of Donika, Skanderbeg's wife, as well as the uncle of Moisi Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was Skanderbeg's ally within the League of Lezhë before abandoning the alliance after the capture of Berat by the Ottomans in 1450. He later returned. Robert Elsie emphasizes that Arianiti was often Skanderbeg's rival. He allied with the Kingdom of Naples in 1446, left his alliance with Skanderbeg by 1449 and allied with Venice in 1456. However, his daughter married Skanderbeg and he remained officially part of the League of Lezhe, continuing to fight Ottomans successfully up to his death in 1462. Name His name is most commonly known in the Albanian form, ''Gjergj Arianiti''. In English, it is usually rendered as George Arianiti. In correspondence with Slavic chancelleries, his name appears in the Slavic form as "Golem Arianit Komnenovic" (Golemi Arenit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kastrioti
The Kastrioti were an Albanian noble family, active in the 14th and 15th centuries as the rulers of the Principality of Kastrioti. At the beginning of the 15th century, the family controlled a territory in the Mat and Dibra regions. The most notable member was Gjergj Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg, regarded today as an Albanian hero for leading the resistance against Mehmed the Conqueror's efforts to expand the Ottoman Empire into Albania. After Skanderbeg's death and the fall of the Principality in 1468, the Kastrioti family gave their allegiance to the Kingdom of Naples and were given control over the Duchy of San Pietro in Galatina and the County of Soleto, now in the Province of Lecce, Italy. Ferrante (died 1561), son of Gjon Kastrioti II, Duke of Galatina and Count of Soleto, is the direct ancestor of all male members of the Kastrioti family today. Today, the family consists of two Italian branches, one in Lecce and the other in Naples. The descendants of the House o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |