Lekë Zaharia Altisferi (died 1447) was an
Albanian nobleman from the
Zaharia family
The Zaharia family, also known as the Zakarija, Zakaria or Zaccaria was an Albanian noble family, most prominent during the 14th and 15th century.
History Nicholas Zakarija
The Zaharia family is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. ...
. He was the only son of his father
Koja Zaharia
Koja Zaharia or Koja Zakaria () (? – before 1442) was an Albanian nobleman and a member of the Zaharia family.
Name
In Ragusan documents he is referred to as Kojčin or Gojčin. Because of that, many scholars like Nicolae Iorga, Ludwig Th ...
and mother Bosa Dukagjini, and he had a sister named Bolia, who named her son Koja after her father.
League of Lezhë
In 1444 he was one of the founders of 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 ...
, which included some other members of the Albanian nobility. The League's known members included:
# Lekë Zaharia (lord of
Sati and
Dagnum
Dagnum (, , ) was a town, bishopric and important medieval fortress located on the territory of present-day Albania, which has been under Albanian, Serbian, Venetian and Ottoman control and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. It is close to t ...
) and his vassals
Pal Dukagjin and
Nikolla Dukagjini
#
Pjetër Spani
#
Lekë Dushmani
#
Gjergj Stres Balsha with
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 ...
and
Gojko Balsha
#
Andrea Thopia with his nephew
Tanush Thopia
#
Gjergj Arianiti Thopia Comneni
#
Theodor Korona Muzaka
#
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 ...
with his sons
Lekë's murder
According to contemporary chronicler
Marin Barleti
Marin Barleti (, ; – ) was a historian, humanist and Catholic priest from Shkodër. He is considered the first Albanian historian because of his 1504 eyewitness account of the 1478 siege of Shkodra. Barleti is better known for his second work ...
, in 1445 during a marriage ceremony for
Skanderbeg
Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...
's sister
Mamica Kastrioti, Zaharia had a dispute with
Lekë Dukagjini
Lekë III Dukagjini (1410–1481), mostly known as Lekë Dukagjini, was a 15th-century member of the Albanian nobility, from the Dukagjini family. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the '' Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit'', a code of ...
. At the center of this dispute was a woman named
Irene Dushmani, heir to the
Dushmani family. She seemed to prefer Zaharia, while this was not accepted by Dukagjini. A skirmish happened and Dukagjini remained wounded, saved only by the intervention of
Vrana Konti. Two years later, in 1447, Lekë Zaharia was killed in an ambush and Dukagjini was accused of the murder.
Original Venetian documents show that the murder occurred in 1444. According to the Venetian chronicler
Stefano Magno, it was
Nicholas Dukagjin, Zaharia's vassal, who killed Lekë Zaharia in the battle, not Lekë as stated by Barleti. Magno also stated that, before he died, Lekë Zaharia expressed his wish that his properties should be handed over to the Venetian Republic.
Aftermath
Having left no heirs, the
fortress of Dagnum was claimed from Skanderbeg in the name of the League of Lezhë, of which Lekë Zaharia was a participant. However, his mother surrendered the castle to the
Venice Republic. This event triggered 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 pos ...
, which lasted two years. In the end the castle of Dagnum remained in Venetian hands toward an annual tribute to Skanderbeg.
[Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, 1405-1468 Volume 4 of (Vepra të plota) / Fan S(tylian) Noli, Fan Stylian Noli Author Fan Stylian Noli Publisher Naim Frashëri, 1967 p. 90-92]
Family tree
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaharia, Leke
Leke
15th-century Albanian people
Albanian Roman Catholics
Year of birth missing
Assassinated Albanian people
1447 deaths
People assassinated in the 15th century
Albanian monarchs