Irene Dushmani () was a

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

Albanian Princess of the

Dushmani family The Dushmani were an Albanians, Albanian noble family that ruled parts of Pult, a historical province within the territory of the eponymous Dushmani tribe, Dushmani tribe from the Dukagjin highlands in northern Albania, during 15th century rule u ...

that ruled over the north-western part of the country. Her father was Prince

Lekë Dushmani Lekë Dushmani was an Albanian nobleman and one of the founding members of League of Lezhë, formed on 2 March 1444. Life A member of the Dushmani family he ruled over the region of Zadrima, in modern Shkodër District. In Venetian documen ...

, the Lord of

Zadrima Zadrima is an ethnographic region situated in north-western Albania between the cities of Shkodra and Lezha, located left of the Lower Drin which eventually drains into the Adriatic Sea from near Lezha. Geography The Zadrima Plain includes v ...

and a participant of the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë (), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League (), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unif ...

. The Albanian princes

Lekë Dukagjini Lekë III Dukagjini (1410–1481), mostly known as Lekë Dukagjini, was a 15th-century member of the Albanian nobility, from the Dukagjini family. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the '' Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit'', a code of ...

and Lekë Zaharia Altisferi would enter a feud with one another over her hand in marriage among other quarrels.

Life

The two aforementioned Albanian princes, Lekë Dukagjini and Lekë Zaharia, were both in love with Irene. During Skanderbeg's absence at the wedding of Muzakë Topia and

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 Vois ...

, the two men exchanged looks and insults before duelling, and this ultimately culminated in a proper clash between the men of both sides. According to

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian Americans, Albanian-American writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, bishop, and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albania ...

, Dukagjini was wounded by a spear, and as many as 105 people were killed during the clash; this led to Lekë Dukagjini eventually murdering Lekë Zaharia, and Dukagjini would hold a grudge against Skanderbeg. In reality,

Nicholas Dukagjini Nicholas Dukagjini (, ) was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family. Biography Nicholas Dukagjini was the son of Gjergj Dukagjini, who died before 1409 when Nicholas was mentioned for the first time as the landlord of two villages near ...

was the one to kill Zaharia a few years later, over territorial dispute. As per

Marin Barleti Marin Barleti (, ; – ) was a historian, humanist and Catholic priest from Shkodër. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504 eyewitness account of the 1478 siege of Shkodra. Barleti is better known for his second work ...

, Irene preferred Lekë Zaharia and might have possibly been betrothed to him, but this decision was not accepted lightly by Lekë Dukagjini. However, Irene was not the only reason for the feud between the two Albanian princes, as other issues, such as the ownership of

Dagnum Dagnum (, , ) was a town, bishopric and important medieval fortress located on the territory of present-day Albania, which has been under Albanian, Serbian, Venetian and Ottoman control and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. It is close to t ...

, were also existent between their respective families.

References

Dushmani family 15th-century Albanian people 15th-century Albanian women Albanian princesses Place of birth missing Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{Albania-bio-stub

Life

See also

References