Peter Spani (; 1430–1457) was an Albanian nobleman and Venetian pronoetes in the first half of the 15th century. His family's domains included territories around

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

(Scutari),

Drisht Drisht ( sq-definite, Drishti) is a village, former bishopric and Latin titular see ( Roman Catholic Diocese of Drivasto) with an Ancient and notable medieval history (Latin ''Drivastum,'' Italian ''Drivasto'') in Albania, 6 km from Mesi Bri ...

(Drivasto) and western

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

.. He ruled over

Shala Shala (Šala) was a Mesopotamian goddess of weather and grain and the wife of the weather god Adad. It is assumed that she originated in northern Mesopotamia and that her name might have Hurrian origin. She was worshiped especially in Karka ...

, Shosh, Nikaj-Mërtur (

Lekbibaj Lekbibaj is a village and a former municipality Tropojë northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Tropojë Tropojë (; sq-definite, Tropoja) is a municipality in Kukës County, northeas ...

) and

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 ...

; the whole region under 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 ...

took his name, Petrişpan-ili (literally, 'dominions of Pjetër Shpani'). Between 1444 and 1455, Peter was a member 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 ...

and after his death, the League took his territories.

Family

The Spani family appears for the first time in

, c. 1322. They were involved in

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

in the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and gradually became a major landowning family. Peter Spani appears in 1401 in archival documents as one of the pro-Venetian notables in the medieval city of Drivasto. The Spani seem to have been involved in a dispute with the

Jonima family The Jonima () were a Albanian nobility, noble Albanian family that held a territory around Lezhë (northern Albania), as vassals of Principality of Arbanon, Arbanon, Serbia in the Middle Ages, Serbia and Ottoman Empire, active in the 13th to 15th ...

who during the time the Balšić family controlled it acquired lands which previously belonged to the Spani. Nevertheless, when Peter Spani petitioned Venice , which in the meantime had taken control of Drisht, to regrant him lands which - according to him - had been usurped by Stefan Jonima, the Venetian administration refused to get involved. The feud between Spani and Jonima continue for many years. In 1415, Spani provided evidence that Stefan Jonima had collaborated with "enemies of Venice" in the region and the Venetian Senate decided finally to returns the lands which Spani requested back to him. Peter's father, Marin, is first mentioned in 1409 as already deceased. And since Peter did not have any sons, he emphasized that his successor would be his nephew Marin, a son of his brother Brajko. Peter's other brother, Stefan, was appointed by the Venetians as the lord of village Podgora in 1406.

League of Lezhë

In March 1444, Peter Spani attended a meeting of several noblemen from Albania held 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 ...

when they allied themselves into a

. The League of Lezhë was founded by:. *

Lekë Zaharia Lekë Zaharia Altisferi (died 1447) was an Albanian nobleman from the Zaharia family. He was the only son of his father Koja Zaharia and mother Bosa Dukagjini, and he had a sister named Bolia, who named her son Koja after her father. League of ...

(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

Nicholas Dukagjini Nicholas Dukagjini (, ) was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family. Biography Nicholas Dukagjini was the son of Gjergj Dukagjini, who died before 1409 when Nicholas was mentioned for the first time as the landlord of two villages near ...

*Peter Spani (lord of the mountains behind Drivasto) * Lekë Dushmani (lord of

) * George Strez Balšić with John and Gojko Balšić *Andrea Thopia with his nephew Tanush Thopia *

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 ...

Theodor Corona Musachi Theodor Corona Musachi () or Teodor III Korona 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. Life Theodor Corona Musachi was а prominent member ...

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 In 1451 after

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. I ...

signed the

Treaty of Gaeta The Treaty of Gaeta was a political treaty signed in Gaeta on March 26, 1451, between Alfonso V for the Kingdom of Naples and Stefan, Bishop of Krujë, and Nikollë de Berguçi, ambassadors of Skanderbeg. In the treaty Skanderbeg recognized hi ...

with

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, ...

, he signed similar treaties with Peter Spani and other chieftains from Albania:

, Ghin Musachi, George Strez Balšić, Pal III Dukagjini, Thopia Musachi, Peter of Himara,

Simon Zenebishi Simon Zenebishi () was an Albanian aristocrat and vassal of the Kingdom of Naples, who held the castle of Strovilo (Castrovilari), near Butrint, and was a member of the Zenebishi family of southern Albania. He probably dwelled in Corfu, and was l ...

and

Carlo II Tocco Carlo II Tocco (died 1448) was the ruler of Epirus from 1429 until his death. Life Carlo II was the son of Leonardo II Tocco, the younger brother and co-ruler of Carlo I Tocco, count of Cephalonia and Zante, duke of Leukas, and ruler of Epirus. ...

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 ...

's ''Brief chronicle on the descendants of our Musachi dynasty'' (1515) mentions that he survived the war and lived to an advanced age. In the early Ottoman-era subdivisions of Albania, the region formerly ruled by Pjetër Spani was known in Ottoman Turkish as ''Petrishpani'' or ''Ishpani''.. From 1430 to 1456, the Spani are also often mentioned in the archives of the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Family

League of Lezhë

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Further reading