Triadan Gritti was a 15th-century Venetian nobleman who was the Venetian

captain general Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

and commander-in-chief of Scutari.

Diplomatic and military career

In 1451 Gritti served as the Venetian ambassador to the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. When the news of Ottoman preparations for the siege of Scutari reached Venice in early 1474, Triadan Gritti, who was 84 years old then, was appointed as the Venetian

instead of

Pietro Mocenigo Pietro Mocenigo (1406–1476) was doge of Venice from 1474 to 1476. He was one of the greatest Venetian admirals and revived the fortunes of the Venetian navy, which had fallen very low after the defeat at the Battle of Negroponte in 1470. In 1 ...

. Gritti commanded the Venetian fleet of six galleys that sailed early in May 1474 to protect the coasts of Albania, Veneta, and especially the mouths of the Bojana River. By summer Gritti's forces were joined by the fleet commanded by Mocenigo, who left Cyprus after first installing Caterina Cornaro as queen of the island. Gritti and Mocenigo were later co-commanders of the Venetian relief forces sent to Scutari. Ottoman forces attempted to blockade the Venetian fleet in the Bojana by clogging the mouth of the river with tree trunks, just as the Serbian voivode Mazarek did during the

Second Scutari War The Second Scutari War ( sr-cyr, Други скадарски рат) was an armed conflict in 1419–1426 between Zeta (1419–1421) and then the Serbian Despotate (1421–1423) on the one side and the Venetian Republic on the other, over Scuta ...

. Gritti returned down the river with his fleet and destroyed the Ottoman forces on 15 June 1474. In Scutari, Gritti and Mocenigo ordered

Leonardo Boldu Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard. People Notable people with the name include: * Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), Italian Renaissance scientist, ...

to find

Ivan Crnojević Ivan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Црнојевић, italics=no, lit=Ivan the Black) was the lord of Zeta and Serbian leader from 1465 to 1490. Having formed an alliance with the Republic of Venice, he led the Serb resistance against the expandi ...

and urge him to mobilize as many of his men as possible to help the Venetians during the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

. Boldu was also ordered to transport Crnojević's cavalry and infantry over

Lake Scutari Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

. After the discovery of the treason committed by Andreas Humoj, a member of

Humoj family The Humoj or Omoj was an Albanian noble family that served as pronoiars of the Republic of Venice in the region of Balec and Drisht (modern day Albania) in the 15th century. Family history When Balec came under control of the Republic of ...

, during the Siege of Scutari, Gritti sentenced him to death and had him executed by a man from

Tuzi Tuzi ( cnr, Tuzi/Тузи, ; sq, Tuz or ''Tuzi'') is a small town in Montenegro and the seat of Tuzi Municipality, Montenegro. It is located along a main road between the city of Podgorica and the Albanian border crossing, just a few kilometers n ...

. In spite of his efforts, however, Gritti was not able to deliver to Scutari all the goods that his fleet carried because many of his ships were trapped in the shallow waters of the Bojana near Sveti Srđ.

Death

Gritti and Bembo died of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

in 1474 in

Kotor Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...

. They both contracted it during the siege of Scutari when they participated in several skirmishes with Ottoman forces near the mouth of the Bojana River.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gritti, Triadan Triadan 15th-century Venetian people 1390 births 1474 deaths