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

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 ...

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 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 ...

in the northwest to the Plain of Dukagjini in western Kosovo. The political center of the Dukagjini family was

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 ...

until 1393 when it was surrendered to Venice in order to not fall under the Ottomans. The Ottoman sanjak of Dukagjin 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''. 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 ...

family which roughly claimed the same territory as they. The Dukagjini formed their independent domains when they rebelled against the

Balšić noble family The House of Balšić ( sr-Cyrl, Балшић), or the Balsha ( sq, Balshaj) was a noble family that ruled " Zeta and the coastlands" (southern Montenegro and northern Albania), from 1362 to 1421, during and after the fall of the Serbian Empire. ...

. 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 The Republic of Ragusa ( dlm, Republica de Ragusa; la, Respublica Ragusina; it, Repubblica di Ragusa; hr, Dubrovačka Republika; vec, Repùblega de Raguxa) was an aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' ...

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

References

Bibliography

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