Dhimitër Jonima (? – 1409) was an Albanian nobleman from the

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 ...

. Together with other Albanian noblemen he is mentioned as a participant of the

Battle of Kosovo The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan ...

in 1389. He suffered another defeat from 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) ...

shortly after the Ottoman forces captured

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

in 1393. Then he acted as a mediator between them and Marco Barbadigo, the husband of

Helena Thopia Helena Thopia ( 1388–1403) was an Albanian princess of the Thopia family who held the Krujë region as sovereign lady for two terms; 1388-1392 and 1394–1403. Life Princess Helena Thopia was the eldest daughter of Karl Thopia and Voisava Bal ...

who was at that period in possession 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 only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Kruj ...

castle. In 1402, as an Ottoman vassal, together with other Albanian noblemen, he fought alongside

Bayezid I Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...

's forces in 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 ...

. After the Ottoman defeat, he accepted the suzerainty of the

Venetian Republic 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, ...

as a vassal of

Koja Zaharia Koja Zaharia or Koja Zakaria ( it, Coia Zaccaria) (? – before 1442) was an Albanian nobleman and a member of the Zaharia family. Name In Ragusan documents he is referred to as Kojčin or Gojčin. Because of that, many scholars like Nicolae ...

. He is last mentioned in the sources in 1409 and is supposed to have died the same year. After his death, Gjon Kastrioti took possession of the Jonima dominions, which became a part of the

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 14 ...

. Other members of the Jonima family are mentioned in Shkodër region later, however they never reached the fame of Dhimitër Jonima. Even long after his death, in 1431, upon the defeat of Gjon Kastrioti by Ottoman forces, the lands taken from him and once belonging to Jonima family, were registered by Ottomans as the

vilayet A vilayet ( ota, , "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 init ...

of Dhimitër Jonima.Deuxième Conférence des études albanologiques: à l'occasion du 5e centenaire de la mort de Georges Kastriote-Skanderbeg, Tirana, Volume 1 Deuxième Conférence des études albanologiques: à l'occasion du 5e centenaire de la mort de Georges Kastriote-Skanderbeg, Tirana, Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës. Instituti i Historisë e Gjuhësisë Authors Geōrgios Kastriōtēs (called Scanderbeg, Prince of Epirus), Scanderbeg, Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës. Instituti i Historisë e Gjuhësisë Publisher Université d'état de Tirana, Institut d'histoire et de linguistique, 1969 p.54

Annotations

His name has been spelled "Demetrius Jonima", "Dimitri Jonima", "Dmitar Gonoma", and in sq, Dhimitër Jonima.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonima, Dhimiter Dhimiter 14th-century Albanian people 15th-century Albanian people 1409 deaths 15th-century Venetian people Albanian Roman Catholics Year of birth unknown 14th-century Venetian people