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 families, were part of a ''fis'' or clan. It is also said that they had close ties to the Kastrioti tribe.

Name and toponomy

The name appears in multiple forms in historical sources, such as Gonoma, Guonimi, Gjonëmi, Ghionoma, Giolma, Gionima, Gonome, Jonema, Jonoma etc. The term occurs widely in toponymy, albeit in considerably deformed versions, such as ''Quku i Gjormit'' of Xhani, ''Gjormi'' of

Rrjolli The Rrjolli is a historical Albanian tribe (''fis'') and region in Malësia of north Albania. The tribal region is centred along the banks of the Rrjoll river that stems from Mount Bishkaz and empties into Lake Shkodër. The Rrjolli tribe is not a ...

, ''Brija e Gjormit'' of

Gruemirë Gruemirë is a former municipality in the Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Malësi e Madhe. The population at the 2011 census was 8,890. Name It is named afte ...

, ''Gjormi'' of Grizha to the north of

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 ...

, ''Gjormi'' in Elbasan and ''Kodra e Gjormakvet'' in Dajçi of Zadrima. The form ''Gjonëmi'' can be found in Lurja and Luma, and ''Gjunumi'' is found near Dukat nearby Vlorë. Marin Barleti mentions ''Sylva Jonimorum'' in Kurbini, and

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka ( fl. 1510; it, Giovanni Musachi di Berat ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi'' (Sho ...

in 1510 mentions ''Guonyms'' in Kurbini; ''Gionami'', ''Gionemi'' or ''Gionimi'' are also recorded in 1640 and 1671, also in Kurbini. These have been identified with the modern ''Gjolmi'' of Kurbini. The village of ''Gjonimi'' (modern-day Gjonëm) appears in the Ottoman ''

defter A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Description The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...

'' of 1467 as a '' hass-ı mir-liva'' and '' derbendci'' settlement in the vilayet of Akçahisar with six households, represented by: ''Ozgyr Primiqyri'', ''Dhuka Lugras'', ''Pal Gjonima'', ''Gjergj Gjonima'', ''Peter Koka'', and ''Gjergj Gjonima''.

History

As a personal name, Jonima already appears in 1204-1209 among the inscriptions of Demetrio d'Albano. The first member of the family itself was mentioned in sources dating to the early 13th century as a vassal of Dhimitër Progoni in the

Principality of Arbër Arbanon ( sq, Arbër or , el, Ἄρβανον, ''Árvanon''; la, Arbanum) was a principality ruled by the native Progoni family, and the first Albanian state to emerge in recorded history. The principality was established in 1190 by the native ...

. At the end of the 13th century, two powerful branches of a family with the surname Jonima are mentioned in Durrës and Shkodra. In 1274, a ''Savasto Yonima'' appears among the Albanian leaders of the parts of Durrës held by Naples. Another member of the family,

Vladislav Jonima Vladislav Jonima ( 1303–19) was an Albanian nobleman that initially served Serbian King Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321), holding areas of the Kingdom of Serbia in the region of Doclea and northern Albania. He was last mentioned in 1319, as a par ...

, is mentioned in sources in 1306, with the title of '' župan'', while in service of Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia. A catholic, he was acknowledged by the Pope as a ruler of a territory around Lezhë in 1319. Vladislav Jonima had the title of ''Count of Dioclea and of the seaside Albania''. After the Ottoman victory in the Battle of Savra in 1385, the territory of Albania went out of the control of Balšić family. At the end of 14th century Jonima family reappears in sources when

Dhimitër Jonima Dhimitër Jonima (? – 1409) was an Albanian nobleman from the Jonima family. Together with other Albanian noblemen he is mentioned as a participant of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. He suffered another defeat from the Ottoman Empire shortly ...

was lord of a territory between Mat and Lezhë. The

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 ...

and the Jonima family competed for the territory on the both sides of the river Drin, and the Kastrioti family soon challenged the rule of the Dukagjini family over the territory between Mati and Drin. In 1402, as part of the Albanian nobility that served as Ottoman vassals, Dhimitër Jonima fought alongside Bayezid I's forces at the Battle of Ankara. The Jonima family was linked to the Zaharia family and the Dushmani family. At the beginning of the 15th century Šufadaj (an important former marketplace on the Adriatic sea, near Lezhë) was a possession of the Jonima family before in 1428 it came under the control of

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 ...

. After Stefan Jonima, a former outlaw, asked the Venetian Senate to grant him his former possessions, he was awarded with control of the ''Kurtes'' village in 1445. A ''Zorzi'' and ''Piero'', who were recorded in 1542, were stratiots stemming from the Jonima family. In 1569, a ''Joannes Dionami'' figure was part of ecclesiastical clergy of Lezha.

Members

* Savasto Jonima *

* Stefan Jonima * Zorzi Jonima * Piero Jonima * Vito Jonima * Stefano Jonima Names of other notable members of this family include: Vikt, John, Bitri, Marin, Florio, Fior, and Guido.

References

External links

Fior Jonima: A Ravaged Land, 1470
- Response of Fior Jonima to the Venetian tax authorities who had inquired of him as to why so little revenue had been arriving from Albania. *

Gjoni (Gjonaj) Gjon (definite form: ''Gjoni'') is an Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element. As given name Etymology and history ''Gjon'' as a given name is a form of the English name John. It is the name of the apostle Saint John in ...

Origin from Lezhë {{Albanian noble families Jonima family 13th-century Albanian people 14th-century Albanian people 15th-century Albanian people