Nikollë II. Dukagjini

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Nikollë II ( German  Nikolaus ; * around 1410; † after 1479) was a member of the  Dukagjini clan , a contemporary of  Skanderbeg and a co-founder of the League of Lezha .

Life

Nikollë was the son of  Pal II. Dukagjini  († 1446) and the brother of  Lekë III. Dukagjini , Progon III. and Gjergj IV. The main representatives of the Dukagjini tribe in the 15th century were Pal II. with his sons Lekë III. and Nikollë II.

Map of military activities during the Albanian uprising of 1432–1436

Between 1432 and 1436 an Albanian revolt against the Ottomans spread in Albania from Vlora to Shkodra . The rebels ( Gjergj Arianiti , Andrea Thopia , Thopia Zenevisi , Nikollë II. Dukagjini) defeated three major Ottoman offensives between 1433 and 1436 . Nikollë II. Dukagjini, Ottoman governor of Skopje , took advantage of the uprising to recapture the territories of the pre-Ottoman principality of Dukagjini in northern Albania and besieged and conquered Dagnum in 1435. Afterwards, Nikollë II tried to ally himself with Venice by offering to the Venetians to accept their suzerainty and give them control of Dagnum. Venice, however, refused to participate in his plan and the revolt. What Nikollë II did not know is that Hasan Bey, the Ottoman governor of Dagnum, had asked for Venetian help after his defeat. Since Venice did not want to provoke the hostility of the Ottomans, the captain of Shkodra was instructed, Hasan Bey, to help retake Dagnum. However, Venice broke off all relations with Nikollë II. The forces of Ottoman Military Commander Turahan Bey eventually suppressed the uprising and marched through Albania, perpetrating widespread massacres of civilians.

League of Lezha, painting in the Skanderbeg Museum in Kruja

On March 2, 1444, Pal II. Dukagjini and his son Nikollë II. Participated as vassals of Lekë Zaharia , lord of Sati and Dagnum , in Skanderbeg's meeting of Lezha .

In 1445 Nikollë II, Pronoiar of Lekë Zaharia, son of Koja Zaharia († before 1442), avenged his brother Lekë III. and killed Leke Zaharia.

Venetian Albania , 1448

Nikollë took with his brother Lekë III. participated in the Albanian-Venetian War (1447–1448). The war ended with the Peace Treaty of Lezha on October 4, 1448 between the captain of Shkodra , Paolo Loredano, the governor of Albania and representatives of the Signoria of Venice, Andrea Veniero, and Skanderbeg and Nikollë II. Dukagjini in his own name and in the of the other gentlemen of Albania. Venice then paid Skanderbeg and his male heirs 1,400 ducats a year. In return, Dagnum and all the surrounding areas went to Venice. ( Venetian Albania ) In 1446 the Dukagjini appear in Venetian archives as "former enemies" (tunc hostis noster) .

1452 was Scanderbeg with Pal III. and Nikollë II in feud. The curia , which was sure of the allegiance of the Dukagjini, ordered Pal Engjëlli , Bishop of Durrës , to initiate a reconciliation between the parties on July 20, 1452, but this did not come about until 1463.

On February 14, 1458, a peace treaty was signed in Shkodra between the representatives of Venice and the brothers Lekë III, Nikollë II, Gjergj IV and their cousin Draga († 1462; son of Nikollë I). Venice forgave the Dukagjini all past crimes and received them as friends. The Dukagjini brothers handed over the Rogamenia (a small plain around the village of Rrogam) with all its buildings and the Dagnum area to the captain of Shkodra, Benedetto Soranzo .

After Skanderbeg's death

After Skanderbeg's death on January 17, 1468, Lekë Dukagjini became one of the main characters in the war against the Ottomans. The Ottomans occupied almost all of Albania, plundered as far as Shkodra, Lezha and Durrës and abducted over 8,000 people in a few weeks. " In all of Albania we only see Turks, " read a dispatch at the same time . In addition, the old tribal chiefs feuded among themselves. The brothers Nikollë II and Lekë III. chased away their brother Progan IV, who only got his inheritance back through Venice's intervention.

In 1470, Venice's ally Nikollë II defeated his brother Lekë III, who was on the side of the Ottomans.

When the last strongholds fell to the Ottomans in 1478 ( Kruja ) and 1479 (Shkodra), Nikollë II and his brother Lekë III. Refuge in Italy .

Return to Albania

After the death of Sultan Mehmed II on May 3, 1481, unrest broke out in the Ottoman Empire , which prevented the dispatch of new troops for the Ottomans besieged in Otranto . Gjon II. Kastrioti was considered a bearer of hope for the Albanians who did not want to come to terms with the Ottoman rule. As the son of the great Skanderbeg, he was supposed to lead the uprising against the occupiers. Together with Gjon and his troops, his cousin Konstantin (Costantino) Muzaka and the brothers Nikollë II and Lekë III sailed . Dukagjini to Albania on four Neapolitan galleys . Gjon went ashore south of Durrës, while Constantine sailed further south to Himara. The Ragusans reported to Naples in early June 1481 that Nikollë II had returned to Albania; on June 15 they could do the same from Lekë III. to report. The number of fighters increased rapidly by insurgents. Nikollë and Lekë Dukagjini traveled to northern Albania, where they led the uprising in the highlands of Lezha and Shkodra. The forces of Nikollë and Lekë attacked the city of Shkodra, forcing Hadım Süleyman Pasha to send more auxiliary troops to the region. Constantine carried out military actions in the coastal region of Himara, while Albanian infantry of about 7000 men gathered around Gjon Kastrioti to prevent Vlora from reaching the Ottoman garrison in Otranto again. Gjon defeated an Ottoman army from 2000 to 3000 man conquered Himara on 31 August 1481 and later the castle Sopot in Borsh and took Hadim Süleyman Pasha prisoner, who as victory trophy was sent to Naples and finally a ransom of 20,000 ducats was released . Their temporary success had an external impact on the liberation of Otranto on September 10, 1481 by Neapolitan troops. For four years Gjon was able to stay in the area between Kruja in the north and Vlora in the south. In 1484 he finally returned to Italy. The sources are silent about the dukagjini.

literature

  • Various authors: I Conti albanesi Ducagini a Capodistria: Castellani di San Servolo (The Albanian Counts Ducagini in Capodistria: Castellans of San Servolo) . Heset Ahmeti, Koper 2015 (Italian, online version ).
  • Skënder Anamali, Kristaq Prifti, Instituti i Historisë (Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë): Historia e Popullit Shqiptar (The History of the Albanian People) . tape 1 . Botimet Toena, Tirana 2002, p. 264 (Albanian).
  • Giammaria Biemmi: Istoria di Giorgio Castrioto detto Scander-Begh . Giammaria Rizzardi, Brescia 1756 (Italian).
  • Ivan Božić: Nemirno pomorje XV veka (The troubled seafaring of the 15th century) . Srpska književna zadruga, Belgrade 1979, p. 365 (Slovenian).
  • Johann Samuelersch , Johann Gottfried Gruber : General encyclopedia of the sciences and arts . First Section AG. Hermann Brockhaus, Leipzig 1868 ( online version in the Google book search).
  • John Van Antwerp Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century . University of Michigan Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0-472-10079-8 (English, online preview in Google Book Search).
  • Edwin E. Jacques: The Albanians: an ethnic history from Prehistoric Times to the Present . McFarland & Co, Jefferson, North Carolina 1995, ISBN 0-89950-932-0 (English).
  • Hasan Kaleshi: Dukagjini . In: Biographical Lexicon on the History of Southeast Europe . tape 1 . Munich 1974, p. 444-446 ( ios-regensburg.de ).
  • Tim Lezi: Scanderbeg, General of the Eagles . Xlibris Corporation, 2011, ISBN 978-1-4628-6276-4 (English, online preview in Google Book Search).
  • Paolo Petta: Despoti d'Epiro e principi di Macedonia. Esuli albanesi nell'Italia del Rinascimento . Argo, Lecce 2000, ISBN 88-8234-028-7 (Italian).
  • Riccardo Predelli: I libri commemoriali della Repubblica di Venezia: Regestri, Volume V . University Press, Cambridge 2012, ISBN 978-1-108-04323-6 (Italian, online preview in Google Book Search).
  • Lucia Gualdo Rosa, Isabella Nuovo, Domenico Defilippis: Gli umanisti e la guerra otrantina: testi dei secoli XV e XVI (The Humanists and the Otranto War: Texts from the 15th and 16th centuries) . Edizioni Dedalo, Bari 1982, ISBN 978-88-220-6005-1 (Italian, online preview in Google Book Search).
  • Fan Stylian Noli: George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1468) . Dissertation. Boston University, 1945 (English).
  • Oliver Jens Schmitt: Skanderbeg, The new Alexander in the Balkans . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7917-2229-0 .
  • Christian Zindel, Andreas Lippert, Bashkim Lahi, Machiel Kiel: Albania: An Archeology and Art Guide from the Stone Age to the 19th Century . Böhlau Verlag GmbH, Vienna 2018, p. 509 ( online preview in Google Book Search).

Remarks

  1. ↑ In January 1445 all Albanian tribal skins were invited to the wedding of Skanderbeg's youngest sister, Mamica with Karl Muzaka Thopia. Also present was the only daughter, Irene, from Lekë Dushmani , Lord of Zadrima . During carouse that followed the ceremony, began Lekë Dukagjini and Lekë Zaharia, son of Koja Zaharia († before 1442), both of which had their eye on Irene Dushmani a dispute. Vrana Konti and Vladan Gjurica (Vladan Yuritza), Quartermaster General Skanderbeg, tried to separate the two, but were wounded, the former on the arm and the latter on the head. (cf. Fan Stylian Noli, p. 124) The dispute ended in a battle that seemed to be in favor of the Dukagjini clan when Lekë Zaharia stormed his rival and incapacitated him with a mighty blow. (cf. Fan Stylian Noli, P. 125) Zaharia's men celebrated the victory of their leader with loud cheers, which the Dukagjini did not welcome. Angry at the sight of their dejected chief, they drew their swords from their scabbards and immediately challenged the men of Zaharias. The battle left 105 dead and 200 wounded. Both Lekë Dukagjini and Lekë Zaharia came alive from that battle. Zaharia managed to achieve his goal. Irene was his and the morally humiliated Lekë Dukagjini declared the blood revenge on Zaharia . (Cf. Tim Lezi, p. 36) Lekë Zaharia was killed in 1445 by his pronoiar Nikollë II. Dukagjini, brother of Lekë. (cf. Van Antwerp Fine, p. 557) Since Lekë Zaharia left no heirs, the fortress of Dagnum was claimed by Skanderbeg on behalf of the League of Lezha. However, Zaharia's mother Boša ​​gave the castle to the Republic of Venice. These events sparked the Albanian-Venetian War (1447–1448).
  2. ↑ The Albanian-Venetian War of 1447–1448 was waged between the Venetian and Ottoman forces against the Albanians under Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë, p. 310
  2. ↑ I Conti albanesi Ducagini a Koper, S. 21
  3. ^ Van Antwerp Fine, p. 535
  4. ↑ Giammaria Biemmi, p. 61
  5. ^ Van Antwerp Fine, p. 557
  6. ↑ Albania: An Archeology and Art Guide, p. 509
  7. ↑ a b c Edwin E. Jacques, p. 176
  8. ↑ Riccardo Predelli, p. 16
  9. ^ Fan Stylian Noli, p. 127
  10. ↑ Ivan Božić, p. 365
  11. ↑ a b General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts, p. 125
  12. ↑ Paolo Petta, p. 205
  13. ↑ Skanderbeg - The New Alexander, p. 141
  14. ↑ General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts, p. 157.
  15. ↑ Paolo Petta, p. 218
  16. ↑ a b c Gli umanisti e la guerra otrantina, p. 97
  17. ↑ I Conti albanesi Ducagini a Koper, S. 24
  18. ↑ a b c Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë 2002, p. 473
  19. ↑ Hasan Kaleshi
  20. ↑ a b c Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipërisë 2002, p. 474
  21. ↑ Historia e Skënderbeut, p. 120
personal data
SURNAME Dukagjini, Nikollë II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nicholas II
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Albanian prince
DATE OF BIRTH 15th century
DATE OF DEATH 15th century