The Jonima () were a noble Albanian family that held a territory around

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously i ...

(northern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

), as vassals of

Arbanon Arbanon ( Old Albanian: in Old Gheg, in Old Tosk; ) was a medieval principality in present-day Albania, ruled by the native Progoni family, and the first Albanian state to emerge in recorded history. The principality was established in 1190 ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, active in the 13th to 15th centuries. The Jonima, like most Albanian noble families, were part of a ''fis'' or clan. It is also said that they had close ties to the Kastrioti family.

Name and toponomy

The name appears in multiple forms in historical sources, such as Gonoma, Guonimi, Gjonëmi, Ghionoma, Giolma, Gionima, Gonome, Jonema, Jonoma etc. The term occurs widely in toponymy, albeit in considerably deformed versions, such as ''Quku i Gjormit'' of Xhani, ''Gjormi'' of

Rrjolli The Rrjolli is a historical Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region in Malësia of north Albania. The tribal region is centred along the banks of the Rrjoll river that stems from Mount Bishkaz and empties into Lake Shkodër. The Rrjolli tribe is not a ...

, ''Brija e Gjormit'' of

Gruemirë Gruemirë is a former municipality in the Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Malësi e Madhe Malësi e Madhe () is a municipality in Shkodër County, in northw ...

, ''Gjormi'' of Grizha to the north of

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

, ''Gjormi'' in

Elbasan Elbasan ( , ; sq-definite, Elbasani, ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in centr ...

and ''Kodra e Gjormakvet'' in Dajçi 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 ...

. The form ''Gjonëmi'' can be found in Lurja and

Luma Luma or LUMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * LUMA Projection Arts Festival, an annual event in Binghamton, NY, US * Unified Theory (band), formerly called Luma * Luma (Mario), a fictional species from the video game ''Super Mario Galaxy'' ...

, and ''Gjunumi'' is found near Dukat nearby

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

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 ...

mentions ''Sylva Jonimorum'' in Kurbini, and

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote the Muzaka chronicles (a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi''. The work ...

in 1510 mentions ''Guonyms'' in Kurbini; ''Gionami'', ''Gionemi'' or ''Gionimi'' are also recorded in 1640 and 1671, also in Kurbini. These have been identified with the modern ''Gjolmi'' of Kurbini. The village of ''Gjonimi'' (modern-day Gjonëm) appears in the Ottoman ''

defter A ''defter'' was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Etymology The term is derived from Greek , literally 'processed animal skin, leather, fur', meaning a book, having pages of goat parchment used along with papyrus ...

'' of 1467 as a '' hass-ı mir-liva'' and '' derbendci'' settlement in the

vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...

of Akçahisar with six households, represented by: ''Ozgyr Primiqyri'', ''Dhuka Lugras'', ''Pal Gjonima'', ''Gjergj Gjonima'', ''Peter Koka'', and ''Gjergj Gjonima''.

History

As a personal name, Jonima already appears in 1204-1209 among the inscriptions of Demetrio d'Albano. The first member of the family itself was mentioned in sources dating to the early 13th century as a vassal of

Dhimitër Progoni Demetrio Progoni () was an Albanian leader who ruled as '' Prince of the Albanians'' from 1208 to 1216 the Principality of Arbanon, the first Albanian state. He was the successor and brother of Gjin Progoni and their father, Progon of Kruja. Fo ...

in the

Principality of Arbër Arbanon ( Old Albanian: in Old Gheg, in Old Tosk; ) was a medieval principality in present-day Albania, ruled by the native Progoni family, and the first Albanian state to emerge in recorded history. The principality was established in 1190 ...

. At the end of the 13th century, two powerful branches of a family with the surname Jonima are mentioned in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

and Shkodra. In 1274, a ''Savasto Yonima'' appears among the Albanian leaders of the parts of Durrës held by

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Another member of the family,

Vladislav Jonima Vladislav Jonima ( 1303–19) was an Albanian nobleman that initially served Serbian King Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321), holding areas of the Kingdom of Serbia in the region of Doclea and northern Albania. He was last mentioned in 1319, as a pa ...

, is mentioned in sources in 1306, with the title of ''

župan Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrat ...

'', while in service of

Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as List of Serbian saints, Saint King, was the List of Serbian monarchs, King of Kingdom o ...

. A catholic, he was acknowledged by the Pope as a ruler of a territory around

in 1319. Vladislav Jonima had the title of ''Count of Dioclea and of the seaside Albania''. After the Ottoman victory in the

Battle of Savra The Battle of Savra (; ; ; "Battle on the Saurian field") or the Battle of the Vjosë was fought on 18 September 1385 between Ottoman Empire, Ottoman and much smaller Zeta under the Balsha, Zetan forces, at the Savra field near Lushnjë (in moder ...

in 1385, the territory of Albania went out of the control of Balšić family. At the end of 14th century Jonima family reappears in sources when

Dhimitër Jonima Dhimitër Jonima (? – 1409) was an Albanian nobleman from the Jonima family. He initially resisted the Ottomans - namely at the Battle of Kosovo - before becoming their vassal, and he eventually switched to become a vassal of Venice. He was ...

was lord of a territory between

Mat A mat is a hard or soft floor covering that generally is placed on a floor or other flat surface. Mats serve a range of purposes including: * serving to clean items passed over it, such as a doormat, which removes dirt from the soles of shoe ...

and

. The

Dukagjini family The House of Dukagjini is an Albanian noble family which ruled over an area of Northern Albania and Western Kosovo known as the Principality of Dukagjini in the 14th and 15th centuries. They may have been descendants of the earlier Progoni f ...

and the Jonima family competed for the territory on the both sides of the river Drin, and the

Kastrioti family The Kastrioti were an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, 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 Di ...

soon challenged the rule of the Dukagjini family over the territory between Mati and Drin. In 1402, as part of the Albanian nobility that served as Ottoman vassals, Dhimitër Jonima fought alongside

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

's forces at the

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora () was fought on 28 July 1402, at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I and the emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to ...

. The Jonima family was linked to the

Zaharia family The Zaharia family, also known as the Zakarija, Zakaria or Zaccaria was an Albanian noble family, most prominent during the 14th and 15th century. History Nicholas Zakarija The Zaharia family is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. ...

and 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 ...

. At the beginning of the 15th century Shufada (an important former marketplace on the Adriatic sea, near Lezhë) was a possession of the Jonima family before in 1428 it came under the control of

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 a ...

. After Stefan Jonima, a former outlaw, asked the

Venetian Senate The Senate (), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, ), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or less likely shortly before that date. ...

to grant him his former possessions, he was awarded with control of the ''Kurtes'' village in 1445. A ''Zorzi'' and ''Piero'', who were recorded in 1542, were stratiots stemming from the Jonima family. In 1569, a ''Joannes Dionami'' figure was part of ecclesiastical clergy of Lezha.

Members

* Savasto Jonima *

* Stefan Jonima * Zorzi Jonima * Piero Jonima * Vito Jonima * Stefano Jonima Names of other notable members of this family include: Vikt, John, Bitri, Marin, Florio, Fior, and Guido.

References

External links

Fior Jonima: A Ravaged Land, 1470
- Response of Fior Jonima to the Venetian tax authorities who had inquired of him as to why so little revenue had been arriving from Albania. *

Gjoni (Gjonaj) 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 ...

Origin from

{{Royal houses of Albania Jonima family 13th-century Albanian people