Gjergj Arianiti

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Gjergj Arianiti (* 1383 , † 1462 in Durrës or Shkodra ) was an Albanian nobleman and one of the leaders of the resistance of the Albanians against the Ottoman Empire . He was the father of Donika Kastrioti and Angelina of Serbia , father-in-law of Skanderbeg and great-uncle of Moisi Arianit Golemi . Arianiti was briefly one of the allies in Skanderbeg's League of Lezha .

Surname

Gjergj Arianiti , also called George Aryaniti in English , was full name Gjergj Arianiti Thopia Komneni . He called himself Komninovic in a letter to the King of Naples . In Slavic languages ​​there are also forms such as Golem Arianit Komnenovic and Golemi Arenit Cominovich . In a document from 1452 he is mentioned as Golemi Arenit Comninovich de Albania . The Slavic word golem means "big". The form Haryanites can also be found in a French document from the reign of the French King Charles VII.

Life

Arianiti was born in 1383 as the eldest of three sons of the Albanian aristocrat Komnen Arianiti . He married the noblewoman Maria Muzaka and was given a domain that stretched from Mallakastra to Vlora . His rule even extended north of Debar . The center was between Librazhd and Elbasan . His rule was the first line of defense against many of the Ottoman campaigns and one of the centers of the League of Lezhë.

In 1423 his territory fell under Ottoman suzerainty and Arianiti likely lived hostage in the sultan's palace to ensure the loyalty of his tribesmen. He did not return to Albania until 1427.

Uprising 1432–1436

The Ottoman conquest of Albania brought the Ottoman legal, political and economic system into the country and threatened to destroy the feudal system and end the autonomy of the Albanians. These developments took a lot of power from Arianiti as he became a vassal of the Sultan. These drastic changes led to revolts against the Ottomans, also led by Arianiti.

In the spring of 1432, after the end of the first phase of the Ottoman reforms, an uprising broke out that spread across large parts of Albania. The first revolts began in central Albania when Andrew II Thopia rebelled against Ottoman rule and defeated a small Ottoman unit in the mountains of central Albania. His victory inspired other princes to revolt, especially Arianiti. At first he was concerned, but saw an opportunity to save the reigns his father had left him. When they heard of the uprisings, many political enemies of Arianiti, who fought as Sipahi for the Ottomans, returned to Albania from the Sultan's Palace in Edirne. When they reached Albania, Arianiti immediately banished them. He thus sat at the head of an armed uprising started by the peasants. Durrës, the Tirana region and Nikolla Dukagjini in the north joined them.

The Sublime Porte responded to the uprisings by sending an army under experienced commanders to Albania. Dagno fell in northern Albania and the Thopia noble family, who cooperated with the Ottomans , regained their rule. After a strong counterattack from Arianiti, the Ottomans were soon defeated. This victory intensified the uprising in southern Albania, especially in Kurvelesh . The Ottoman Sultan Murad II then made his way to Albania and decided on a field camp in Macedonia , from where he sent a force of 10,000 men under the command of Ali Bey to Albania. Ali Bey's army passed through the narrow valleys of the Shkumbin in the winter of 1432/33 . In the vicinity of Buzurshekut (Bërzeshtës) the Albanians attacked the Ottoman army and drove the Ottoman forces to flight. This victory further strengthened the Albanian cause and gave a boost to the resistance.

Arianiti also destroyed a second army sent by Ali Bey, leaving hundreds dead in the valleys from Kuç to Borsh . The failure of the second Ottoman campaign became known throughout Europe. The leaders of Europe, including Pope Eugene IV , Alfonso V of Aragón , the Roman-German Emperor Sigismund , the rulers of the republics of Venice and Ragusa , promised help to the Albanians. In his third battle (1434) Arianiti wanted to retake Vlora and Kanina . During the Ottoman campaigns of 1435/36, however, Ali Bey together with Turahan Bey brought about a partial submission of the Albanians. Arianiti fled to the area of ​​Skrapari and Tomorica, where he continued his guerrilla war against the Turks. Murad II was forced to tacitly grant him the area between Shkumbi and Vijosa as his dominion.

Alliance with Skanderbeg: 1443–1444

In August 1443, Arianiti rebelled against the Ottomans, probably at the urging of Pope Eugene IV or through the news of the defeat of Hadım Şehabeddin Pasha . In autumn 1443 / winter 1444 he led his army deep into Macedonia. At the same time, the Ottomans were defeated in the Battle of Niš (1443). The Albanian prince Skanderbeg left the Ottoman army and started another uprising. Skanderbeg eventually allied with other nobles from Albania and Zeta in the League of Lezha . In 1444 Skanderbeg was able to defeat the Ottomans on the Torvioll plain (between today's places Librazhd and Pogradec ). In the following two years the Albanian-Zetian coalition won victories over the Ottomans.

Another uprising: 1449-1451

In early 1449, Skanderbeg and Arianiti asked the Venetians for protection from the Ottomans. However, the Republic of Venice took a neutral approach so as not to jeopardize peace with the Ottomans, and declined the request. In 1449 Gjergj Arianiti left the alliance with Skanderbeg.

When Kruja was besieged by the Ottomans in 1450, 67-year-old Gjergj Arianiti went back into battle. Arianiti was one of the commanders during the brief siege of Durrës and the siege of Dagno. He also supported the reconquest of Svetigrad with 4,000 men, in which his brother was killed.

In 1451, after Alfonso V of Aragón signed the Treaty of Gaeta with Skanderbeg, he signed similar treaties with Gjergj Arianiti and other Albanian princes: Gjin II. Muzaka , Gjergj Balšić , Pjetër Spani , Pal III. Dukagjini , Pjetër of Himara , Simon Zenevisi and Carlo II. Tocco .

Victory of the Ottoman Empire: 1460–1462

Arianiti gathered his armed forces between 1460 and 1462 in the castle of Sopot , next to Kanina one of the two capitals of his empire. Mehmet II ordered his troops to invade Albania to attack a group of Arianiti forces. He then surrounded Arianiti by moving through the Shushica Valley . But the tactic failed, Arianitis troops were able to break away and put the Ottomans to flight. To celebrate this victory, the army was relocated to Galigat after the Ottomans completely left Albania. However, when they heard of the transfer, they traveled back to Albania at night. The Ottoman commander took advantage of Arianiti's absence by launching a major attack on Sopot Castle with his main army. The Ottomans took the castle and in revenge for the defeats they had suffered the entire population was killed.

family

After the death of his first wife Maria Muzaka, Arianiti married the Italian aristocrat Pietrina Francone. With this he had ten children, three of whom were boys. He had eight daughters with his first wife.

  • The eldest daughter, Andronika (usually Donika for short), who came from her marriage to Maria Muzaka, was married to Skanderbeg Kastrioti. The couple had a few children, but only two reached adulthood, including Gjon Kastrioti II.
  • The daughter Voisava married Prince Ivan Crnojević of Zeta, with whom she had two sons: Đurađ Crnojević and Skanderbeg Crnojević .
  • The first son, Prince Gjergj, married and had two sons and three daughters.
  • The second son, called Prince Skanderbeg , became a Turk and ruled his brother's territory, which the Sultan had granted him for his change to Islam.
  • The daughter Chiranna married Prince Nikolla Dukagjini . She gave birth to two sons.
  • The daughter Helena was married to Prince Gjergj Dukagjini. All the children became Turks. Sandschakbey became a son.
  • The daughter Despina married Prince Tanush Dukagjini. They had a son and a daughter.
  • The daughter Angelina married Stefan Branković , the son of the despot Đurađ . The couple had two sons and a daughter, including Đorđe Branković , the despot of Serbia.
  • The daughter Komita (also Komnina) married Gojko Balšić , the prince of Misia. They had two sons and a daughter.
  • The daughter Katherina married Nicholas Boccali . The couple had two sons and two daughters.

literature

  • Franz Babinger : The end of the Arianites . (= Meeting reports of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences), Munich 1960.
  • Franz Babinger: Arianiti Comneno, Skanderbeg's father-in-law . In: Studia Albanica , No. 1 (1964), Tirana, pp. 139-147

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b John Van Antwerp Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest . University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor 1994, ISBN 0-472-08260-4 , p. 535
  2. ↑ a b Fan Noli : George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1468) . International Universities Press, 1947, also dissertation (University of Boston, 1945; digitized ) p. 10
  3. ↑ Oliver Jens Schmitt: Skanderbeg et les sultans . In: Turcica , No. 43 (2011), p. 71
  4. ↑ a b Studia Albanica . University of Tirana , Tirana 1964, p. 143
  5. ^ Constantin Marinescu: La politique orientale d'Alfonse V d'Aragón, roi de Naples (1416-1458) . Institut d'Estudis Catalans, 1994, p. 176 ( online at Google Books )
  6. ↑ Edward Stankiewicz: The accentual patterns of the Slavic Languages . Stanford University Press, 1993, ISBN 978-0-8047-2029-8 , pp. 129ff.
  7. ↑ Dhimitër Shuteriqi: Aranitët: Historia - Gjenealogjia - Zotërimet . Botimet Toena, 2011, ISBN 978-99943-1-729-5 , p. 97
  8. ^ A b John Jefferson: The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444 . BRILL, 2012, ISBN 90-04-21904-8 , p. 366
  9. ^ Martijn Theodoor Houtsma: First encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936 . Volume VIII, EJ Brill, 1993, p. 466
  10. ↑ Peter Bartl: Arianiti, Gjergj In: Mathias Bernath, Felix von Schroeder (Hrsg.): Biographical Lexicon for the History of Southeast Europe . Volume 1, Munich 1974, p. 94 ( online edition )
  11. ↑ Zarij M. Bešić: Istorija Črne Gore . Volume 2, part 2, Redakcija za istoriju Črne Gore, Titograd 1970, p. 219
  12. ^ A b Robert Elsie: A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History . IBTauris, 2012, ISBN 978-1-78076-431-3 , p. 17
  13. ^ Noli (1947), p. 49
  14. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Robert Elsie: 1515. John Musachi: Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty. In: Texts and Documents of Albanian History. Retrieved April 22, 2020 .
  15. ↑ Arheografski prilozi . Narodna biblioteka Srbije, Arheografsko odeljenje, 1997, p. 136
  16. ↑ Đoko M. Slijepčević: Srpsko-arbanaški odnosi kroz vekove sa posebnim osvrtom na novije vreme . D. Slijepčević 1983, p. 40
personal data
SURNAME Arianiti, Gjergj
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Arianiti, Georg; Aryaniti, George; Arianiti Thopia Komneni, Gjergj
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Albanian prince and resistance fighter against the Ottoman Empire
DATE OF BIRTH 1383
DATE OF DEATH 1462
Place of death Durrës or Shkodra