Moisi Golemi, also known as Moisi of Dibra ( sq, Moisiu i Dibrës), was an Albanian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

and a commander of the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë ( sq, Lidhja e Lezhës), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League ( sq, Lidhja Arbërore), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The Leag ...

. In 1443–44 he captured all Ottoman holdings in the area of Dibër region. For a brief period in the 1450s he joined the Ottomans, but soon abandoned them and returned to the League. He died in 1464, when he was executed publicly in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

after being captured by the Ottoman army. In Albanian folk tradition, Golemi became a popular hero mostly through the ''Song of Moisi Golemi'' (''Kënga e Moisi Golemit'').

Family

Born in the vicinity of modern

Dibra Dibra is an Albanian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Abdurrahman Dibra (1885–1961), Albanian politician * Arenc Dibra (born 1990), Albanian footballer * Dino Dibra (1975–2000), Australian suspected murderer * Fuad Dibra (18 ...

he was the only son of Muzakë Arianiti, son of

Komnen Arianiti Komnen Arianiti ( 1392–1407) was an Albanian nobleman of the Arianiti family, who held an area in central Albania around Durrës. His son Gjergj became a prominent leader of the Ottoman-Albanian wars. Life The Albanian Academy treats him a ...

and brother 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 ...

. In 1445 he was married to Zanfina Muzaka after her divorce with Muzakë Thopia, who was married to

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 ...

's sister Maria. They had two sons and four daughters, two of which died at an early age. His firstborn son Çezar Arianiti (Cesare Comnino Arianiti) had one daughter named Giovanna Comminata, who lived in Naples and was married to patrician Paulo Brancaccio. His second son Aranit Arianiti was married to

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'' (Shor ...

's sister and had only one daughter Helena who was married to a Venetian commander. One of this daughters, Despina was married to Stanisha II Kastrioti, son of Stanisha I Kastrioti and nephew of

, while his other daughter Helena was first married to Nikollë IV Dukagjini, son of

Lekë Dukagjini Lekë III Dukagjini (1410–1481), mostly known as Lekë Dukagjini, was a 15th-century member of the Albanian nobility, from the Dukagjini family. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the ''Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit'', a code of ...

. After his death she was married to Sinan bey Muzaka.

League of Lezhë

When

came in Albania, Moisi quickly allied with him and became commander of the border guard. Golemi was first distinguished in the battle of Torvioll in 1444. Later he oversaw the capture of the crucial castle of Svetigrad in modern-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. After the debacle of the Siege of Berat, and growing envious of the fame Skanderbeg had accumulated over the years, he betrayed his commander in chief and went over to the Ottomans. However, Albanian border troops did not follow him. Instead the command of border troops was passed to Nikolle and Dhimiter Berisha. One year later he returned at the head of a fifteen thousand men-strong army, but was promptly defeated by Skanderbeg. He retreated first to Macedonia and then to Constantinople, where he was left ignored by the Ottoman authorities. Soon thereafter, he went back to Skanderbeg, who pardoned and reinstated him. He got back the position of a commander of the Albanian border troops. Moisi devoted the rest of his life to the Albanian struggle, but in 1464 he fell prisoner to

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 ...

, an Albanian-born Ottoman sanjakbey of the

Sanjak of Ohrid The Sanjak of Ohri ( tr, Ohri Sancağı, sq, Sanxhaku i Ohrit, bg, Охридски санджак, mk, Охридски санџак) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire established in 1395. Part of it was located on the territory of ...

at the Battle of Vaikal. Dispatched hastily to Constantinople along with other Albanian princes and captains, he was skinned alive publicly, in

Domain

Muzakë Arianiti's domains extended in areas of Mokër and

Çermenikë Çermenikë or Çermenika is an upland northeast of Elbasan, in central Albania. In the Middle Ages, as ''Tzernikon'' or ''Tzernikos'' it was an episcopal see of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, as a suffragan see of the Archbishopric of Dyr ...

. Gjon Muzaka mentions

Librazhd Librazhd ( sq-definite, Librazhdi) is a town and a municipality in Elbasan County, eastern Albania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Hotolisht, Librazhd, Lunik, Orenjë, Po ...

, Qukës, Dorëz, and Gur among others as parts of his personal demesne. Apart from the areas inherited by his father Golemi was acknowledged as lord of Dibra by Skanderbeg as he led the expedition against the Ottomans in that region. Golemi's son Aranit is mentioned in contemporary sources as the lord of a barony in Çermenikë.

Legacy

In Albanian folk tradition, Golemi became a popular hero mostly through the ''Song of Moisi Golemi'' (Kënga e Moisi Golemit), an epic of the

Arbëreshë Arbën/Arbër, from which derived Arbënesh/Arbëresh originally meant all Albanians, until the 18th century. Today it is used for different groups of Albanian origin, including: * Arbër (given name), an Albanian masculine given name * Arbëresh ...

in southern Italy.

Annotations

*His given name is equivalent to ''

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

''. Janus-Jacobus Boissard called him ''Moises Dibriota'' (1596).

References

;Notes ;Sources * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golemi, Moisi Arianit 1460s deaths Albanian people executed abroad 15th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Arianiti family 15th-century Albanian people Medieval Albanian nobility People executed by flaying Year of birth unknown Albanians in North Macedonia Albanian military personnel Albanian Christians Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania