Pal Dukagjini (, 1411–1458) was an

Albanian nobleman The Albanian nobility was an elite hereditary ruling class in Albania, parts of the western Balkans and later in parts of the Ottoman world. The Albanian nobility was composed of landowners of vast areas, often in allegiance to states like the By ...

, a member of 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 ...

. He and his kinsman

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 ...

were initially subjects of

Lekë Zaharia Lekë Zaharia Altisferi (died 1447) was an Albanian nobleman from the Zaharia family. He was the only son of his father Koja Zaharia and mother Bosa Dukagjini, and he had a sister named Bolia, who named her son Koja after her father. League of ...

, 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 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 ...

, a military alliance that sought liberation of Albania from the Ottoman Empire, founded by the powerful

Skanderbeg 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, ...

. In 1454, the Dukagjini accepted vassalage of

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (Alfons el Magnànim in Catalan language, Catalan) (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfons V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfons I) from 1442 until his ...

, 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

, a military alliance of some Christian members of the

Albanian nobility The Albanian nobility was an elite hereditary ruling class in Albania, parts of the western Balkans and later in parts of the Ottoman world. The Albanian nobility was composed of landowners of vast areas, often in allegiance to states like the B ...

forged in Lezhë on 2 March 1444 by: *

(lord of

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

and

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 ...

), and his vassals Pal and

* Peter Spani (lord of the mountains behind Drivasto) *

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 ...

(lord of

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 ...

) * George Strez,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

Gojko Balšić Gojko Balšić or 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 Lo ...

(lords of Misia) *

Andrea Thopia Andrea II Thopia (; died before March 1445) was a 15th century Albanian nobleman 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 ...

with nis nephew

Tanush Tanush is the Albanian language, Albanian variant of the Greek given name Athanasius (disambiguation), Athanasius, loaned from Latin. Where the fricative /θ/ becomes the stop /t/, this shows that the name passed through Latin before entering Albani ...

* George Araniti *

Theodor Corona Musachi Theodor Corona Musachi () or Teodor III Korona Muzaka, was an Albanian nobleman who led the 1437–38 revolt against the Ottomans and was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë in 1444. Life Theodor Corona Musachi was а prominent member ...

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (; 1426–1465) was the Zeta under the Crnojevići, Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, whic ...

( lord of Upper Zeta) with his three sons

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

, Andrija and Božidar Pal Dukagjin and Nikola Dukagjin were vassals of

until

Nikola 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 ...

killed him in 1444. Venice accepted their control over the properties they ruled when they were vassals of Lekë Zaharia (which included villages Buba, Salita, Gurichuchi, Baschina) because they agreed to be Venetian vassals after Zaharia's death.

first signed the

Treaty of Gaeta The Treaty of Gaeta was a political treaty signed in Gaeta on March 26, 1451, between Alfonso V for the Kingdom of Naples and Stefan, Bishop of Krujë, and Nikollë de Berguçi, ambassadors of Skanderbeg. In the treaty Skanderbeg recognized hi ...

with

in 1451 and then he signed similar treaties with Pal Dukagjini and other chieftains from Albania including: George Araniti, Ghin Musachi, George Strez Balšić, Peter Spani, Thopia Musachi, Peter of Himara, Simon Zenebishi and Carlo Toco. Pal was in Venice between November 1451 and February 1452, when 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. ...

accepted his request not to serve Venice in

Ulcinj Ulcinj () is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 11,488. As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast, it was founded in 5th ...

anymore but in

Alessio Alessio is an Italian male name, Italian form of Alexius. Individuals with the given name Alessio *Alessio Ascalesi (1872–1952), Italian cardinal * Alessio Bandieri (born 1974), Italian footballer * Alessio Boni (born 1966), Italian actor * A ...

because it was closer to his estates. The Senate ordered the lord of Ulcinj to pay for the previous services of Pal Dukagjin, and ordered the lord of Alessio to accept Pal's future services. On 21 October 1454, Alphonso V of

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 ...

informed Skanderbeg that Pal Dukagjini had sent his envoys and declared his loyalty and vassalage to the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

, which assigned 300 ducats of annual provisions to him. Together with many other Albanian noblemen (like

Moisi Arianit Golemi Moisi Arianiti, also known as Moisi Golemi and Moisi of Dibra (), was an Albanian nobleman and a commander of the League of Lezhë. From late 1443 until early 1444 he captured all Ottoman holdings in the area of Dibër region. For a brief period ...

, Nicholas Dukagjini and

Hamza Kastrioti Hamza Kastrioti () was a 15th-century Albanian nobleman and the nephew of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Probably born in Ottoman territory, after the death of his father Stanisha he was raised by Skanderbeg, who took him in his military expediti ...

) he abandoned Skanderbeg's forces and deserted to the Ottomans. In 1457

Pope Callixtus III Pope Callixtus III (, , ; 31 December 1378 – 6 August 1458), born Alonso de Borja (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 April 1455 to his death, in August 1458. Borgia spent his early career as a professor ...

criticized the bishop of

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was ...

for the unjustified

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

of Pal Dukagjini and his subjects. Pal Dukagjini left four sons:

, Lekë, Progon and Gjergj, of whom Nicholas and Lekë were politically notable. Pal was married to a daughter of

Komnen Arianiti Komnen Arianiti ( 1392–1407) was an Albanian nobleman of the Arianiti family, who held an area in central Albania around Durrës. His son Gjergj became a prominent leader of the Albanian-Ottoman wars. Life The Albanian Academy treats him ...

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dukagjini, Pal 1411 births 1458 deaths 15th-century Albanian people 15th-century Venetian people

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

Albanian Roman Catholics Albanian monarchs