The

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

nobility was an

elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...

hereditary ruling class in

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 ...

, parts of the western

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

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 The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, various Serbian states, the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as 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 ...

in addition to the

Albanian principalities The term Albanian principalities refers to a number of principalities created in the Middle Ages in Albania and the surrounding regions in the western Balkans that were ruled by Albanian nobility. The 12th century marked the first Albanian princip ...

. They often used Byzantine, Latin or Slavic titles, such as

sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...

, despot,

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

conte Conte may refer to: * Conte (literature), a literary genre * Conte (surname) * Conté, a drawing medium * Conte, Jura, town in France * Conté royal family, a fictional family in Tamora Pierce's Tortallan world * Conte, the title of Count in Italy ...

and zupan.

Byzantine Empire

The

Muzaka family The Muzaka were an Albanian noble 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 mention Muzaka ...

was loyal to the

. 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 Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of E ...

. Its rulers were known in Catholic sources with the titles of judices, while in Byzantine ones the titles mentioned are those of the grand

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

and the

panhypersebastos The title of ( gr, πανυπερσέβαστος, , venerable above all) was a Byzantine court title created by Alexios I Komnenos () using the imperial root (the Greek translation of ). It was always conferred to members of aristocratic families ...

Kingdom of Serbia

When

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

was captured by the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

Milutin Milutin ( sr, Милутин) is a Serbian masculine given name of Slavic origin. The name may refer to: *Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia (1253–1321), king of Serbia *Milutin Bojić (1892–1917), poet *Milutin Ivković (1906–1943), football ...

was titled the King of Albania while his rule was occasionally recognized by Albanian noblemen around Durrës. Many Albanian noblemen were included in the feudal hierarchy of the Kingdom of Serbia and had titles and privileges of župans, voivodas or

kaznac Kaznac ( sr-cyr, казнац) was a court title of the state employee in medieval Bosnia and Serbia who was in charge for the treasury in the territory under his jurisdiction — ''kaznačina'' (казначина). The name of the title is derive ...

Serbian Empire

Albanian nobility was included into hierarchy of the feudal system of

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...

without any discrimination and participated in the work of the highest government institutions, where Albanian

archons ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

had the same rights as the

Serbian nobility Serbian nobility ( sr, српска властела / srpska vlastela, српско властелинство / srpsko vlastelinstvo or српско племство / srpsko plemstvo) refers to the historical privileged order or class (aristocrac ...

had.

Serbian emperor Between 1345 and 1371, the Serbian monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy ...

wanted to gain the support of the Albanian nobility so he confirmed the privileges Kruje had been granted by the

Ottoman Empire

A decisive point of the relation of Albanian nobility with Ottoman Empire was the

Battle of Savra The Battle of Savra ( sq, Beteja e Savrës, sr, Bitka na Saurskom polju, tr, Savra Muharebesi; "Battle on the Saurian field") or the Battle of the Vjosë was fought on 18 September 1385 between Ottoman and much smaller Zetan forces, at the Sa ...

in 1385. After the Battle of Savra Albanian nobility became vassals of the Ottoman Empire. Albanian nobility did not fight against Ottomans with united and compact forces like Serbian and Bulgarian aristocracy, but with small independent local rulers. Therefore, the Ottomans, who have been since claimed to be "brutal and cruel" to the Serbian and Bulgarian nobility, might have been conciliatory with the Albanian nobility. When Albania became part of the

, it was divided into

sanjaks Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг ('' okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province") ...

with numerous

timars A timar was a land grant by the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted a ...

. Many members of the Albanian nobility held high rank positions within Ottoman the hierarchy, like

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 ...

and

Ballaban Badera Ballaban Badera (also known as Ballaban Pasha or Ballaban Badheri) was an Albanian Ottoman military officer from Albania. A conscript of the Devshirme system, he became a Pasha. Ballaban Badera was said to be the first climbing the walls of Const ...

who were Ottoman sanjakbeys. Some members of the Albanian nobility were Ottoman

timariots Timariot (or ''tımar'' holder; ''tımarlı'' in Turkish language, Turkish) was the name given to a Sipahi cavalryman in the Ottoman army. In return for service, each timariot received a parcel of revenue called a timar, a fief, which were usuall ...

. Through the implementation of the timar system the Albanian nobility was absorbed into the Ottoman military class within not more than two generations. They adopted the

Ottoman titles This is a list of titles and appellations used in the Ottoman Empire. In place of surnames, Muslims in the Empire carried titles such as "Sultan", "Pasha", "Hoca", "Bey", "Mrs.#Non-English equivalents, Hanım", "Efendi", etc. These titles either d ...

aga Aga or AGA may refer to: Business * Architectural Glass and Aluminum (AGA), a glazing contractor, established in 1970 * AGA (automobile), ''Autogen Gasaccumulator AG'', 1920s German car company *AGA AB, ''Aktiebolaget Svenska Gasaccumulator'', a ...

bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

. However, there was also a significant amount of resistance to Ottoman rule from Albanian nobility, as evidenced by the

Albanian revolt of 1432–1436 Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: ** Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language ** Albanian culture ** Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the coun ...

and

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 Albania, Dibra and Ohrid (modern-day Albania and North Macedonia). ...

Venetian Republic

During the period of crisis for the Ottoman Empire after the

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 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 ...

in 1402 several Ottoman vassals from Albania including Gjon Kastrioti, Niketas Thopia and Nicola Zaccaria, recognized Venetian suzerainty. Numerous members of Albanian noble families were Venetian pronoiers. Many Albanian noblemen fought against Skanderbeg within Venetian forces during

Albanian–Venetian War The Albanian–Venetian War of 1447–48 was waged between Venetian and Ottoman forces against the Albanians under George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. The war was the result of a dispute between the Republic and the Dukagjini family over the possessio ...

Kingdom of Naples

In 1451, many Albanian noblemen became vassals of the

. The first was Skanderbeg who 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 h ...

on March 26, 1451 and after him many other Albanian noblemen like George Araniti, Ghin Musachi, George Stresi Balsha, Peter Spani,

Pal Dukagjini Pal Dukagjini ( it, Paolo Ducagini, 1411–1458) was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Dukagjini family. He and his kinsman Nicholas Dukagjini were initially subjects of Lekë Zaharia, a Venetian vassal who had possessions around Shkoder ...

, Thopia Musachi, Peter of Himara, Simon Zanebisha and Carlo Toco signed similar treaties. Skanderbeg had to fulfill his vassal obligations to send his forces to Italy to support

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinando Trastámara d'Aragona, of the Naples branch, universally known as Ferrante and also called by his contemporaries Don Ferrando and Don Ferrante (2 June 1424, in Valencia – 25 January 1494, in Kingdom of Naples, Naples), was the only so ...

in his struggle against the Angevin Dynasty. In return, the Kingdom of Naples provided financial and military support to its vassals in Albania and maintained a permanent garrison in Kruje.

Religion and language

The

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

of the Albanian nobility depended on the religion of their lords, or the power that could threaten their political existence. Until the end of 14th century the Albanian nobility were

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

(Orthodox or Catholic). After the

in 1385 most of the local Albanian nobility became vassals of the Ottoman Empire and began converting to Islam. In the end of 17th century the Albanian nobility was majority

islamized Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...

. The official language of correspondence in the Medieval principalities in Albania controlled by local nobility were

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

or Slavic.

Restoration

An attempt to restore the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...

in 1997 was rejected by about two-thirds of those voting in a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

. Former noble families and their descendants are still a part of society in Albania, but they no longer retain any specific privileges.

Noble families

This is a list of

noble families, which also includes families that are of Albanian descent. *

Albani family The Albani were an aristocratic Roman family from the 16th to the 19th century. They were of Albanian origin and moved from northern Albania to Italy in the late 15th century. The Albani produced many high ranking figures of the Catholic Church, ...

Alltuni family The Alltuni were a wealthy and powerful Albanian feudal family at a time when the present day territory of Albania was under Ottoman rule. For almost two centuries they ruled over the entire region of Kavajë and large parts of the Myzeqe plains. ...

Arianiti family The House of Arianiti were an Albanian noble family that ruled large areas in Albania and neighbouring areas from the 11th to the 16th century. Their domain stretched across the Shkumbin valley and the old Via Egnatia road and reached east to t ...

* Arvanitaki family * Balshaj family * Begolli family *

Blinishti family The Blinishti (incorrectly, ''Bleusi'', ''Bleuisti'', ''Bletisti'', ''Blevisci'') were a medieval Albanian feudal family that held lands in modern northern Albania between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. They governed a territory spannin ...

* Bua/ Shpata family *

Bushati family The Bushati family ( sq, Bushatllinjtë) was a prominent Ottoman Albanian family that ruled the Pashalik of Scutari from 1757 to 1831. Origins They are descendants of the medieval Bushati tribe, a pastoralist tribe (''fis'') in northern Albani ...

* Bruni family *

Bruti family Bruti family (Italian: Brutus) was an Albanian medieval family which began with Marco Bruti born in 1285 who was the '' signore'' of Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and ...

* Drakos family *

Dukagjini family The Dukagjini are an Albanian feudal noble family who 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 relatives or descendants of the earlier ...

Dushmani family The Dushmani or Dusmani were an Albanian family that ruled parts of Pilot, a historical province within the territory of the eponymous Dushmani tribe from the Dukagjin highlands in northern Albania, during 15th century rule under the Republic of ...

Durazzo family The Durazzo Family is a noble Italian family of Albanian origin who came from the city of Durrës in Albania. The Durazzo family assisted the Republic of Genoa on the development of many cities. Durazzo Family gave nine "Doge" to the city of Geno ...

* Engjëlli family *

Frashëri family Frashëri is an Albanian surname. People * Dalip Frashëri, 19th-century poet * Shahin Frashëri, 19th-century poet * Abdyl Frashëri, founder and head of the League of Prizren in 1878-1881. * Naim Frashëri, member of the Albanian Society who h ...

Gropa family The Gropa family was an Albanian noble family which ruled the region between Pogradec, Ohrid and Debar in the period 12th — 14th century.Vlora 19565. Gropa: "The sphere of influence of the Gropas was no doubt concentrated in the region between ...

Gjini family Gjini family (Croat: Ginni) ( Italian: Gini, Ghini) was an Albanian medieval family who lived in Venetian Albania in the 16th and 17th century who played a major role in social and military history in the eastern Adriatic coast. The noble Mark Gjini ...

Gjika family The Ghica family ( ro, Ghica; sq, Gjika; el, Γκίκας, ''Gikas'') was a noble family active in Wallachia, Moldavia and in the Kingdom of Romania, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Ghica family produced many voivodes of Wallachia and M ...

* Humoja family *

Jonima family The Jonima family ( sq, Gjonima) was an Albanian noble family that held a territory around Lezhë (northern Albania), as a vassal of Arbër, Serbia and Ottoman Empire, active in the 13th to 15th centuries. The Jonima, like most Albanian noble f ...

Losha family Losha may refer to: * ''Losha'', a 2012 album by Andrea * LoSHA (List of Sexual Harassers in Academia), compiled in 2017 by Dalit law student, Raya Sarkar * Losha, a medieval Albanian clan whose most prominent member was Peter Losha Pjetër Losha ...

* Crutta family *

Kastrioti family 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 th ...

* Qypryli (Köprülü) family *

Kyrias family Kyrias family ( sq, Familja Qiriazi) were a prominent Albanian family from Manastir (today's North Macedonia). They were educators, translators, publishers, and public figures of the Albanian National Awakening period. They are remembered for th ...

Kryeziu family The Kryeziu family was notably powerful and influential in Gjakova and other parts of Dukagjin during the 19th and 20th century. They were part of the Ottoman cast. Biography Riza Bey Kryeziu was active during the Albanian Revolt of 1912; one ...

* Mjeda family *

Mataranga family The Matranga ( sq, Matrënga) was an Albanian noble family during 13th and 15th centuries. Members of this family include local rulers, Byzantine officials and writers. After the occupation of Albania by the Ottoman Empire, part of the family em ...

* Muhammad Ali dynasty *

Niutta family The Niutta family was an old and influential Italian noble family of Albanian origin, holding the titles of Duke and Marquis of Marescotti. History The family emigrated from Albania in the 14th century together with other noble families as th ...

* Pamalioti family * Progoni family *

Spani family The Spani (alternatively, Span) were a northern Albanian noble family. They emerged in the 14th century as an important family in the fortified town of Drivasto (Drisht) and owned large estates in the wider area of Shkodra. In the late 15th centu ...

Soutzos family The House of Drakos Family, Drakos-Soutzos or Soutsos ( el, Σούτσου, ro, Suțu or ) is a Greeks, Greek Phanariotes, Phanariote family originally from Chios, which grew into prominence and power in Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) duri ...

Skuraj family The Skura (also, ''Skuraj'', ''Skurraj'', ''Skurra'', ''Scura'', ''Sgouros'', ''Ozgur'', ''Uzgur'') were a medieval Albanian feudal family centred around the historical and ethnographic region of Benda in the highlands north-east of modern Tira ...

* Taushani family * Topia family *

Toptani family The Toptani family was the leading Albanian noble family in central Ottoman Albania at the beginning of the 20th century. The Toptani family belonged to a small number of noble families appointed by the Ottomans who used local chieftains to contr ...

* Vorpsi family *

Vrioni family The Vrioni family ( Ottoman Turkish: ''Viryon Zâdeler'') is one of the great Albanian aristocratic families and one of the biggest landowners of Albania, otherwise known as "Konaqe" or "Oxhaqe", among which the most important are: Vrioni of Berat ...

Zaharia family The Zaharia family was an Albanian noble family of the 14th and 15th centuries. History Nicholas Zakarija The Zaharia family is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. A certain Nicholas Zakarija is first mentioned in 1385 as a Balši ...

Zenebishi family The Zenevisi or Zenebishi ( 1304–1460) were a medieval Albanian noble family. They governed territories in Epirus, and were centered in Gjirokastër. John Zenevisi was one of the most notable members of this family. Between 1373 and 1414 he co ...

* Zogu family

References

* * {{Nobility by nation