Gojko Balšić or Gojko Balsha (; ; fl. 1444) and his brothers George Strez and

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 * Second E ...

were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the

White Drin The White Drin or White Drim (; , ) is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. long headstream of the Drin. Course Kosovo The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of Kosovo, in an arc-shaped -long ...

towards the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. The brothers were members of the house of Balšić, which earlier held the

Lordship of Zeta This is a list of princes of Zeta. Background After Constantin Bodin (Peter III), Constantin Bodin's death, fighting among his potential successors weakened the state of Duklja and the region succumbed to Rascia's reign between 1183 and 1186. ...

. They participated in founding the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë (), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League (), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unif ...

, an alliance led by their maternal uncle Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Gojko supported Skanderbeg until the latter's death in 1468, and then continued to fight against the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

within Venetian forces.

Family

There are two views of his genealogy. According to

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote the Muzaka chronicles (a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi''. The work ...

and Karl Hopf, Ivan (John, Gjon) and Gojko Strez Balšić were in fact children of Vlajka Kastrioti and Stefan Strez who was a son of Đurađ Balšić, an illegitimate child of Đurađ I Balšić. According to

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian Americans, Albanian-American writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, bishop, and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albania ...

, Gojko had two brothers (George Strez and Ivan), both children of Jela Kastrioti and Pavle Balšić. Both views confirm that Gojko was Skanderbeg's

nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

.Spandouginos-Nicol, p. 96: "Iella, who married Paul Balša" Gojko married Comita Arianiti, a daughter of

Gjergj Arianiti Gjergj Arianiti (13??–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 uncle of Moisi Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was Skanderbeg's ...

. According to

, they had two sons and one daughter, Maria. The sons died in Hungary. John Musachi (1515),
Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty
'' Muzaka stated that Maria married the Count of Muro and had two daughters, Beatrice and Isabel. Beatrice, married Prince Ferdinand

Orsini Orsini is a surname of Italian origin, originally derived from Latin ''ursinus'' ("bearlike") and originating as an epithet or sobriquet describing the name-bearer's purported strength. Notable people with the surname include the following: * Aaro ...

, Duke of Gravina while Isabel, married Lord Louis of Gesualdo, Count of Conza.

Biography

Gojko and his brothers were lords of Misia, a coastal area from the

towards the

. The three Balšić brothers joined the

, an alliance formed by their maternal uncle Skanderbeg, after meeting in the St. Nicholas Church in

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously i ...

on March 2, 1444. The members included Lekë Zaharia, Peter Spani, Lekë Dushmani, Andrea Thopia,

, Theodor Musachi,

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (; 1426–1465) was the Zeta under the Crnojevići, Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, whic ...

, and their subjects. Skanderbeg was elected its leader, and commander in chief of its armed forces numbering a total of 8,000 warriors. Gojko's brother George cancelled his support to Skanderbeg after a while, while Gojko and John supported Skanderbeg until his death in 1468. After Skanderbeg's death Gojko and John Balšić together with Leke, Progon and Nicholas Dukagjini, continued to fight for

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Annotations

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{Members of the League of Lezhë Gojko 15th-century lords in Europe