Andronika Arianiti, also known as Donika Kastrioti, (born 1428 – died 1506) was an

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 ...

noblewoman and the spouse of Albanian leader

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 ...

(born Gjergj Kastrioti). She was the daughter of

Gjergj Arianiti Gjergj Arianiti (1383–1462) was an Albanian feudal lord who led several successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. He was the father of Donika, Skanderbeg's wife, as well as the grand-uncle of Moisi Arianit Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was ...

, an earlier leader in the ongoing revolt against the Ottomans.

Life

Dasma e Skenderbeut — Skanderbeg's wedding

Donika was born in

Kaninë Kaninë is a settlement in the Vlorë County, southwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Vlorë. It is home to the Kaninë Castle. Name The name of the fortified settlement of Kanina was attested f ...

, in 1428. Her father,

was a member of the Arianiti family whose domain stretched across the Shkumbin valley and the old

Via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . of ...

road and reached to the east today's

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...

. 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,

married Donika, and thus strengthened the ties with the Arianiti family, in the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

Ardenica Monastery The Monastery of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Ardenica ( sq, Manastiri Lindja e Hyjlindëses Mari,; or simply Ardenica Monastery ( sq, Manastiri i Ardenices) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery, located 18 kilometers south of Lushnjë, Albania, a ...

, 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 The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

. After the Ottoman conquest of Albania, the Kastriotis were given peerage in 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 ...

. They obtained a feudal domain, the Duchy of

San Pietro in Galatina Galatina ( el, label=Griko, Ας Πέτρο, As Pètro; scn, label= Salentino, San Pietru), known before the unification of Italy as San Pietro in Galatina, is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Lecce in Apulia, southern Italy. It is situa ...

and the County of Soleto ( Province of Lecce, Italy). Gjon Kastrioti II, Donika's and Skanderbeg's only child, married Irene Branković Palaiologina, the daughter of

Lazar Branković Lazar Branković ( sr-cyr, Лазар Бранковић; c. 1421 – 20 February 1458) was a Serbian despot, prince of Rascia from 1456 to 1458. He was the third son of Đurađ Branković and his wife Eirene Kantakouzene. He was succeeded by his ...

Despot of Serbia The Serbian Despotate ( sr, / ) was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is generally considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and ...

. Donika had a close friendship with the second wife of King Ferdinand I of Naples, Joanna of Aragon who is also the sister of Ferdinand of Aragon. After the beginning of the Italian War of 1494–1498, Donika was forced to leave Naples and arrived in Valencia around 1501 along with her grandchild, Alonso Kastrioti. They found refuge in the royal palace.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kastrioti, Donika 15th-century Albanian people 15th-century women Donika Albanian Christians Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania 1428 births Year of death missing People from Vlorë D