The Jonima family ( sq, Gjonima) was an Albanian noble family that held a territory around

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 const ...

(northern

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 ...

), as a vassal of Arbër,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

and

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) ...

, 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 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 ...

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 Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central Al ...

and ''Kodra e Gjormakvet'' in Dajçi of

Zadrima Zadrima is an ethnographic region situated in north-western Albania between the cities of Shkodra and Lezha, located left of the Lower Drin which eventually drains into the Adriatic Sea from near Lezha. Geography The Zadrima Plain includes vi ...

. The form ''Gjonëmi'' can be found in Lurja and

Luma Luma or LUMA may refer to: Arts * La Trobe University Museum of Art, Melbourne, Australia * LUMA Projection Arts Festival, an annual event featuring building-scale projection mapping and light installations in Binghamton, NY * LUMA Foundation, ...

, and ''Gjunumi'' is found near Dukat nearby

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothi ...

Marin Barleti Marin Barleti ( la, Marinus Barletius, it, Marino Barlezio; – ) was a historian and Catholic priest from Shkodër who was a humanist. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504 eyewitness account of the 1478 siege of ...

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 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 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 Demetrio Progoni ( sq, Dhimitër Progoni) was an Albanian leader who ruled as '' Prince of the Albanians'' from 1208 to 1216 the Principality of Arbanon, the first Albanian state. He was the successor and brother of Gjin Progoni and their father, ...

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 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 ...

and Shkodra. In 1274, a ''Savasto Yonima'' appears among the Albanian leaders of the parts of Durrës held by

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. 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 p ...

, is mentioned in sources in 1306, with the title of ''

župan Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrative unit župa (or zhupa, županija). ...

'', while in service of

Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia Stefan Uroš II Milutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Урош II Милутин, Stefan Uroš II Milutin; 1253 – 29 October 1321), known as Stefan Milutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Милутин, Stefan Milutin), was the King of Serbia between 1282&nd ...

. A catholic, he was acknowledged by the Pope as a ruler of a territory around

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 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, 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

. 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 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 ...

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 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 at 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 ...

. The Jonima family was linked to the

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 ...

and the

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 ...

. 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 The Senate ( vec, Senato), formally the ''Consiglio dei Pregadi'' or ''Rogati'' (, la, Consilium Rogatorum), was the main deliberative and legislative body of the Republic of Venice. Establishment The Venetian Senate was founded in 1229, or le ...

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

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