The Principality of Dukagjini ( sq, Principata e Dukagjinit) refers to the domains (''zotërimet'') of the

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 ...

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 ...

in northern Albania and wester part of the modern-day territory of Kosovo in the 14th century and 15th century. At their maximum extent, the domains of the Dukagjini extended from Upper Zadrima in the northwest to the Plain of Dukagjini in western Kosovo. The political center of the Dukagjini family was Lezhë until 1393 when it was surrendered to Venice in order to not fall under the Ottomans. The Ottoman

sanjak of Dukagjin Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian language, Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησι� ...

was named after the rule of the family in the areas that formed it. The Dukagjini family appears for the first time in historical record in 1281, when their progenitor Gjin Tanushi took the title of ''

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...

''. They may have been descendants of the earlier

Progoni The Progoni were an Albanian noble family which established the first Albanian state to be recorded in history, the Principality of Arbanon.: "By 1190, Byzantium's power had so receded that the archon Progon succeeded in establishing the first Al ...

family which roughly claimed the same territory as they. The Dukagjini formed their independent domains when they rebelled against the Balšić noble family. This event must have happened by 1387, because that year the brothers Pal and Lekë Dukagjini signed a trade agreement with the

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

and allowed free passage to the republic's merchants through their territories. It was later ruled by Pal's descendants, Tanush Dukagjini, and Pal Dukagjini II. In June 1393, the two Dukagjini brothers ceded it to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, which it kept until 1478 - despite later attempts by the family to retake the city. The difficult to access mountainous hinterland in the east remained under the control of the Dukagjini. In 1398,

Little Tanush Tanush Dukagjin ( 1423–33), known as Little Tanush, was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Dukagjini family, the son of Pal Dukagjini (died 1393). He had four brothers: Progon (d. 1394), Pal II (d. 1402), Andrea (d. 1416), and Gjon Dukagji ...

(son of Pal I), surrendered to the Ottomans, but in 1402, after their defeat at Ankara and the capture of

Sultan 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 List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman ...

, he freed himself from them. The main representatives of the Dukagjini in the 15th century were Pal II with his sons Lekë III. and Nikollë II. Dukagjini († 1454).

Pal Dukagjini Pal Dukagjini ( it, Paolo Ducagini, 1411–1458) was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Dukagjini family. He and his kinsman Nicholas Dukagjini were initially subjects of Lekë Zaharia, a Venetian vassal who had possessions around Shkoder. ...

and his son Nikollë participated in Skanderbeg's assembly of Lezha on March 2, 1444, as vassals of Lekë Zaharia, the lord of Sati and Danja. Lekë III. apologized for not being able to attend the meeting. After the death of Pal II (1446) Lekë took over the Dukagjini and Nikollë took part in the Albanian-Venetian War (1447–1448).

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Bibliography

* * * * * {{Medieval Albanian Principalities Albanian principalities Medieval Albanian nobility Former countries in the Balkans Former monarchies