Skanderbeg
, reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father = Gjon Kastrioti , mother = Voisava Kastrioti , birth_name = Gjergj ( see Name) , birth_date = 1405 , birth_place = Principality of Kastrioti , death_date = 17 January 1468 (aged 62) , death_place = Alessio, Republic of Venice , place of burial = Church of Saint Nicholas, Lezhë , religion = Islam Catholicism , occupation = Lord of the Principality of Kastrioti, , signature = Dorëshkrimi i Skënderbeut.svg Gjergj Kastrioti ( la, Georgius Castriota; it, Giorgio Castriota; 1405 – 17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg ( sq, Skënderbeu or ''Skënderbej'', from ota, اسکندر بگ, İskender Bey; it, Scanderbeg), was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion ag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Skanderbeg's Rebellion
Skanderbeg's rebellion was an almost 25-year long anti-Ottoman rebellion led by the renegade Ottoman sanjakbey Skanderbeg in the territory which belonged to the Ottoman sanjaks of Sanjak of Albania, Albania, Sanjak of Dibra, Dibra and Sanjak of Ohrid, Ohrid (modern-day Albania and North Macedonia). The rebellion was the result of initial Christian victories in the Crusade of Varna in 1443. After Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Nish (1443), Battle of Niš, Skanderbeg, then sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Debar, mistakenly believed that Christians would succeed in pushing the Ottomans out of Europe. Like many other regional Ottoman officials, he deserted the Ottoman army to raise rebellion in his sanjak of Dibra and the surrounding region. Initially, his plan was successful and soon large parts of the Sanjak of Dibra and north-east parts of the Sanjak of Albania were captured by the rebels who also fought against regular Ottoman forces in the Sanjak of Ohrid. The rebellion of Skanderbeg ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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League Of Lezhë
The League of Lezhë ( sq, Lidhja e Lezhës), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League ( sq, Lidhja Arbërore), 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 as the first unified independent Albanian country in the Medieval age, with Skanderbeg as leader of the regional Albanian chieftains and nobles united against the Ottoman Empire. Skanderbeg was proclaimed "Chief of the League of the Albanian people" while Skanderbeg always signed himself as "''Dominus'' ''Albaniae"'' ( Albanian: ''Zot i Arbërisë'', English: ''Lord of Albania''). At the assembly of Lezha, members from the families: Kastrioti, Arianiti, Zaharia, Muzaka, Spani, Thopia and members of the Balsha and Crnojević which were linked matrilineally or via marriage to the Kastrioti were present. The members contributed to the League with men and money, while maintaining control of the internal affairs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. Tirana is its capital and largest city, followed by Durrës, Vlorë, and Shkodër. Albania displays varied climatic, geological, hydrological, and morphological conditions, defined in an area of . It possesses significant diversity with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps as well as the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains to the hot and sunny coasts of the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea along the Mediterranean Sea. Albania has been inhabited by different civilisations over time, such as the Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, and Ot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Voisava Kastrioti
Voisava ( at least 1402–05) was the wife of Gjon Kastrioti, a member of the Albanian nobility with whom she had nine children, one of whom is Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg. She is mentioned in passing in two sources from the start of the 16th century. The first source, comes from the testament of Gjon Muzaka (Giovanni Musachi). In his genealogy he writes: Dominicus alias Moncinus enuit 1. Agnese Andre Angeli mater, & 2. Voisava Ivani uxorem. Uxor is Latin for "wife, spouse" and Dominicus alias Moncinus is Voisava's father according to the document. The second source, a biography on her son, mentions her as the daughter of a "Triballian nobleman", which is interpreted as her being Serbian, modern scholars pointing to the Branković dynasty. This interpretation is highly debatable since there is no mention of her name in the Brankovic family tree. The other view is that Voisava Kastrioti was a member of the Muzaka Noble family. Family Voisa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Principality Of Kastrioti
Principality of Kastrioti ( sq, Principata e Kastriotit) was one of the Albanian principalities during the Late Middle Ages. It was formed by Pal Kastrioti who ruled it until 1407, after which his son, Gjon Kastrioti ruled until his death in 1437 and then ruled by the national hero of Albania, Skanderbeg. Formation Gjon Kastrioti originally had only two small villages. In a short time, John Kastrioti managed to expand its lands so as to become the undisputed lord of Central Albania. He married Voisava Tripalda who bore 5 daughters, Mara, Jela, Angjelina, Vlajka, and Mamica, and 4 sons, Reposh, Stanisha, Kostandin and Gjergj Kastrioti (who would come to be known as Skanderbeg). Gjon Kastrioti was among those who opposedJames Emerson Tennent, 1845, ''The History of Modern Greece, from Its Conquest by the Romans B.C.146, to the Present Time'' the early incursion of Ottoman Bayezid I, however his resistance was ineffectual. The Sultan, having accepted his submissions, obliged him to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gjon Kastrioti
Gjon Kastrioti (1375/80 – 4 May 1437), was a member of the Albanian nobility, from the House of Kastrioti, and the father of future Albanian leader Gjergj Kastrioti (better known as Skanderbeg). He governed the territory between the Cape of Rodon and 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, Dibër and Has. 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). These links highlight that the Kastrioti used Mazr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lezhë
Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian construction and are dated to the late 4th century BC. Lezhë was one of the main centres of the Illyrian kingdom. During the conflicts with Macedon, it was captured by Philip V becoming the Macedonian outlet to the Adriatic Sea. The city was later recovered by the Illyrians. It was subjected to Rome after the Roman-Illyrian wars and the fall of Gentius' realm. Lezhë was the site of the League of Lezhë where Skanderbeg united the Albanian lords in the fight against the Ottoman Empire. Name The city is mentioned in ancient sources as ''Lissós'' (Ancient Greek: Λισσός) and ''Lissus'' (Latin: ''Lissus'', ''Lissum''). It is also attested in numismatic material. The ''ethnicon'' ΛΙΣΣΙΤΑΝ /LISSITAN/ is found on coin inscriptions ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was inhabited by the ancient Illyrian tribe of the Albani. In 1190 Krujë became the capital of the first Albanian state in the middle ages, the Principality of Arbër. Later it was the capital of the Kingdom of Albania, while in the early 15th century Krujë was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, but then recaptured in 1443 by Skanderbeg, leader of the League of Lezhë, who successfully defended it against three Ottoman sieges until his death in 1468. The Ottomans took control of the town after the fourth siege in 1478, and incorporated it in their territories. A 1906 local revolt against the Ottoman Empire was followed by the 1912 Declaration of Independence of Albania. In the mid-1910s Krujë was one of the battlefields of the conf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 Byzantine Empire, various Serbian states, the Republic of Venice, the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Naples in addition to the Albanian principalities. They often used Byzantine, Latin or Slavic titles, such as sebastokrator, despot, dux, conte and zupan. Byzantine Empire The Muzaka family was loyal to the Byzantine Empire. For their loyalty to Byzantium, the head of the family Andrea II Muzaka gained the title of Despot in 1335, while other Muzakas continued to pursue careers in Byzantine administration in Constantinople. Principality of Arbanon The first Albanian state in the Middle Ages it was ruled by the Progoni family and extended from the Drin river to the southern boundary of the Ohrid lake. Its rulers were known in Ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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House Of Kastrioti
The House of Kastrioti ( sq, Dera e Kastriotëve) was 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 Napl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 himself a vassal of the Kingdom of Naples, and in return he would have the Kingdom's protection from the Ottoman Empire. Alfonso V believed that he would be able to resurrect the politics of his Angevine predecessors and to use Albania as a foothold to further expand his realm into the Balkans. Terms of the Treaty The treaty was requested by Skanderbeg in order to ensure protection from the Ottoman Empire. Although the party on the treaty was Alfonso V himself, the treaty was signed by his main notary, Arnaldo Fonolleda. The ambassadors of Skanderbeg were respectively two bishops: Stefan was an orthodox bishop and de Berguçi was a Catholic Dominican bishop. According to the treaty, if the Albanians were to need the Kingdom of Naples's hel ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Donika Kastrioti
Andronika Arianiti, also known as Donika Kastrioti, (born 1428 – died 1506) was an Albanian noblewoman and the spouse of Albanian leader Skanderbeg (born Gjergj Kastrioti). She was the daughter of Gjergj Arianiti, an earlier leader in the ongoing revolt against the Ottomans. Life Donika was born in Kaninë, in 1428. Her father, Gjergj Arianiti was a member of the Arianiti family whose domain stretched across the Shkumbin valley and the old Via Egnatia road and reached to the east today's Bitola. Her mother, Maria Muzaka was a member of the Muzaka family whose domain was the Myzeqe region. A month after the Treaty of Gaeta, on 21 April 1451, Skanderbeg married Donika, and thus strengthened the ties with the Arianiti family, in the Eastern Orthodox Ardenica Monastery, in Lushnje, present-day southwestern Albania. Later her sister Angelina married Serbian ruler Stefan Branković. She is venerated as a saint in the Serbian Orthodox Church. After the Ottoman conquest of A ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |