Nicholas Dukagjini ( it, Nicolas Ducagin, sq, Nikollë Dukagjini) was a 15th-century member of the

Dukagjini family The Dukagjini are an Albanians, Albanian feudal noble family who ruled over an area of Northern Albania and Metohija, Western Kosovo known as the Principality of Dukagjini in the 14th and 15th centuries. They may have been relatives or descenda ...

Biography

Nicholas Dukagjini was the son of Gjergj (George) Dukagjini, who died before 1409 when Nicholas was mentioned for the first time as the landlord of two villages near

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 cons ...

(Alessio) and the commander of a 140 men troop (40 cavalry and 100 infantry). Nicholas' name appears in documents of 1409. He participated in Albanian Revolt of 1432–1436 led by

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 ...

, during which he succeeded in regaining the territory held by his family before the Ottoman conquest of Albania. He even managed to capture

Dagnum Dagnum ( sq, Danjë or Dejë, sr, Danj, it, Dagno) was a town, bishopric and important medieval fortress located on the territory of present-day Albania, which has been under Serbian, Venetian and Ottoman control and remains a Latin Catholic t ...

which he promptly granted 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 ...

. Unwilling to provoke the Ottomans, Venice returned Dagnum to Ottoman control in 1435. Nicholas Dukagjin was one of the founding members of

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 ...

, a military alliance of some members of the

Albanian nobility The Albanian nobility was an elite hereditary ruling class in Albania, parts of the western Balkans and later in parts of the Ottoman world. The Albanian nobility was composed of landowners of vast areas, often in allegiance to states like the By ...

forged in Lezhë on 2 March 1444 by: *

Lekë Zaharia Lekë Zaharia (? – 1444), was an Albanian nobleman from Zaharia family. He was the only son of his father Koja Zaharia and mother Bosa who also had one daughter, Bolja, who named her son Koja after her father. League of Lezhë In 1444 h ...

(lord of

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

and

), and his vassals

Pal Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

and Nicholas Dukagjini * Peter Spani (lord of the mountains behind Drivasto) *

Lekë Dushmani Lekë Dushmani was an Albanian nobleman and one of the founding members of League of Lezhë, formed on 2 March 1444. Life A member of the Dushmani family he ruled over the region of Zadrima, in modern Shkodër District. In Venetian documents ...

(lord of

Pult Pult or Pulat ( sq-definite, Pulti or Pulati), is a region in northern Albania. It is bordered by the Malësia Region to its north and by the Dukagjin Highlands to its east and its south. The region has traditionally been inhabited by the Plani ...

) * George Strez,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

Gojko Balšić Gojko Balšić or Gojko Balsha ( sr, Гојко Балшић; sq, Gojko Balsha; fl. 1444) and his brothers George Strez and John were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the White Drin towards the Adriatic. The brothers were members of the ...

(lords of Misia) *

Andrea Thopia Andrea Thopia or Andrew Thopia ( sq, Andrea Topia; died before March 1445) was a 15th century Albanian noble man whose domains included the territory of Scuria (between Durazzo and what would later become modern day Tirana). He was a member of t ...

with nis nephew

Tanush Tanush is the Albanian variant of the Greek given name Athanasius, loaned from Latin. Where the fricative /θ/ becomes the stop /t/, this shows that the name passed through Latin before entering Albanian; the Greek-derived equivalent is the name an ...

Theodor Corona Musachi Theodor Musachi ( sq, Theodhor Koronë Muzaka) or Teodor III Muzaka, was an Albanian nobleman who led the 1437–38 revolt against the Ottomans and was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë in 1444. Family Theodor Musachi was а member ...

* Stefan Crnojević ( lord of Upper Zeta) with his three sons

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

, Andrija and Božidar When Nicholas Dukagjini killed

in 1444 the Venetian Republic took over control of Zaharia's former realm. Nicholas Dukagjini continued his struggle against the new authorities and managed to capture

and several villages without a fight. He later concluded peace with Venice and in 1446 he is recorded in Venetian archives as the "former enemy" (''tunc hostis noster''). On October 4, 1448, the

Albanian–Venetian War The Albanian–Venetian War of 1447–48 was waged between Venetian and Ottoman forces against the Albanians under George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. The war was the result of a dispute between the Republic and the Dukagjini family over the possessi ...

was ended when

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 ...

and Nicholas Dukagjini signed a peace treaty with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

, represented by the governor of Shkodra, Paulo Loredano and a special envoy, Andrea Venerio. According to this agreement, signed at Skanderbeg's military camp, adjacent to

Alessio Alessio is a mostly Italian male name, Italian form of Alexius. Individuals with the given name Alessio * Alessio Ascalesi (1872–1952), Italian cardinal *Alessio Boni (born 1966), Italian actor * Alessio Cerci (born 1987), Italian footballer ...

, Venice would keep its possessions in Albania, including

under certain conditions: The Republic had to pay to Skanderbeg an yearly sum of 1,400 ducats, some members of

the League ''The League'' is an American sitcom that aired on FX and later FXX from October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015, for a total of seven seasons. The series, set in Chicago, Illinois, is a semi-improvised comedy show about a fantasy football leagu ...

would benefit certain trade privileges etc. Together with many other Albanian noblemen (such as

Moisi Arianit Golemi Moisi Golemi, also known as Moisi of Dibra ( sq, Moisiu i Dibrës), was an Albanian nobleman and a commander of the League of Lezhë. In 1443–44 he captured all Ottoman holdings in the area of Dibër region. For a brief period in the 1450s h ...

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

Hamza Kastrioti Hamza Kastrioti ( la, Ameses Castriota) or Bernardo Kastrioti (after his conversion to Christianity), was a 15th-century Albanian nobleman and the nephew of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Probably born in Ottoman territory, after the death of his ...

) he abandoned Skanderbeg's forces and deserted to the Ottomans. Ottomans allowed him to govern 25 villages in

Debar Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has ...

and 7 villages in Fandi. Nicholas died before 1454.

Descendants

Nicholas Dukagjini had two sons, Draga and Gjergj, none of whom could lead a political life, because they were both killed in 1462. Draga Dukagjini was killed from ambush by Lekë Dukagjini who first captured many Draga's villages. Only a descendant remained, Gjergj's infant son, Nicholas, who eventually entered the service of the

Venetian Republic The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

. He remained in Venetian service until 1478 when Ottoman Empire captured Krujë, Kruje in (June), Drivast (September) and

shortly thereafter. Nicholas Dukagjini, together with Lekë Dukagjini fled to Italy. In 1481 he returned to Albania and joined anti-Ottoman armed movement led by Gjon Kastrioti II.

In literature

Girolamo de Rada, an Italian people, Italian writer of Italian literature, Italo-Albanian literature, dedicated his 1839 work ''Albanian Historical Songs of Serafina Thopia, Wife of Prince Nicholas Dukagjini'' ( it, Canti storici albanesi di Serafina Thopia, moglie del principe Nicola Ducagino) to unfulfilled love of Serafina Thopia and Bosdare Stresa (an Albanian Romeo and Juliet). Serafina sacrificed her love to Bosdare and married Nicholas Dukagjini to help uniting southern and northern Albania to fight against the Ottomans.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dukagjini, Nicholas Dukagjini family, Nicholas 15th-century Albanian people Albanian Roman Catholics Medieval Albanian nobility