Vrana Konti

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Vrana Konti

Vrana Konti ( Italian Vrana Conte , also Brana Conte, conte d 'Urana ; * around 1389, † 1458 ) was considered one of the closest employees, advisers and one of the best commanders of Georg Kastriota , known as Skanderbeg. He received the title of " Conte " from the Spanish King of Naples , Alfons I , which, according to Fan Stilian Noli, was nothing more than an Italian translation of the courtesy title of a tribal chief, which he shared with every mountain man of rank. From 1444 until his death, Vrana served Skanderbeg faithfully and was involved in the most important battles against the Ottomans at his side . On January 29, 1445, Vrana was a guest at the wedding of Skanderbeg's youngest sister Mamica (also Mamitza, Mamizza) with Karl Muzaka Thopia . Vrana, who had participated in several campaigns in the army of the Aragonese king of Naples, Alfonso I, probably introduced Skanderbeg into Naples.

The League of Lezha in the Skanderbeg Museum in Kruja

Life

origin

Vrana's true identity has not been established and there is no reliable information about his last name. After the Serb Stefan Zanović, "Vranakonta" belonged to the Ćudu family clan, which in turn was related to the Zanovići. Some sources call him "Simon Altisfieri" (Italian: Altafoglia), a relative of Skanderbeg. Fan Stilian Noli calls him "Vrana Altisferi". The Albanian historian Marin Barleti mentions "Vranacontem [...] / from Epirus / from the noble family / a pleasant man / through the merit of his parents and his manhood [...]" Vrana was the progenitor of the Counts of Copertino and Galatone , the dukes of Ferrandina and the Marquis of Atripalda .

Military history

prehistory

Murad II as an archer, Ottoman miniature from 1584

Georg Kastriota, the son of the Albanian prince Gjon Kastrioti I , was circumcised as a child as a hostage contrary to the promise of Sultan Murad II at the Ottoman court in Adrianople , brought up in Islam and a capable warrior ( Janissaries ). Georg, who got to know the Ottoman military techniques, excelled in a series of battles in Anatolia , so that the Sultan entrusted him with the implementation of a small but difficult campaign in which he distinguished himself in particular and was given the honorary military title " Bey ". received, which translates as "the great", "Magno" means and which corresponds to a "sergeant".

Principality of Kastrioti in its maximum extension

When Georg's father Gjon died on May 2, 1437, Murad II assigned the principality to the renegade Albanian Hasàn Bey Versdesa by edict . With this act, the Sultan broke the pact once concluded with Gjon that one of his sons should inherit his inheritance after his death. After the death of Georg's older brothers Reposh and Konstandin in 1438 he was sent to his native Albania by the Sultan as Bey and Wali (provincial governor) of Misia, Skuria and Jonima (main town Kruja ) for his services .

When the Hungarians defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Niš in November 1443 , Skanderbeg decided to form the Ottoman army, for which he had fought up to that point, with the 300 most noble Albanian knights under his command, including his nephew Hamza Kastrioti (lat. : Ameses Castriota; son of his brother Reposh), left to campaign for the cause of Albanian independence and headed for Albania. Once there, he forged the sultan's edict and received from Hasàn Bey Versdesa, Pasha in office, the surrender of the fortress of Kruja and the paternal principality without a fight .

After Hamza and his uncle Georg converted to Catholicism , the latter was crowned Prince of Albania on September 28, 1443 in the Cathedral of Kruja.

League of Lezha under Skanderbeg (1444–1479)
The main roads through Albania and the most common Ottoman invasion routes.

Skanderbeg took command of the opposition to the Ottomans and looked for allies who would allow him to concentrate his military resources against the invaders. He turned to the Republic of Venice , which still had some control over the eastern Adriatic , and to the Kingdom of Naples , conquered by Alfonso I of Aragon in 1442 .

On March 1, 1444, Albanian and Montenegrin aristocrats gathered at the initiative of the "Ottoman fighter" Skanderbeg in the St. Nicholas Church in Alessio ( Lezha ), which was then part of Venice . A military-political anti-Ottoman alliance emerged, the " League of Principalities of Albania " (Lidhja e Principatave të Arbërisë). Georg Kastriota was unanimously elected Commander in Chief of the League. The league included the areas of Kosovo , Metohija , Novi Pazar , Dibër , Ohrid , Kanina and Arta . Meanwhile, Murad II, angry at the betrayal of his protégé, sent an army of 25,000 men led by Ali Pasha against Albania.

The Battle of Torvioll (June 29, 1444)

Skanderbeg, who had only 15,000 men, hurried towards the advancing enemy to Unter-Dibre, where he planned a battle in the Torvioll plain (between the present-day places Librazhd and Pogradec ). According to the tactics of the Stratiotes , the enemy should be lured with a sham attack to the intended place, where some of the soldiers should hide and, if the close combat would be fervent, they should attack from all sides. Accordingly, he divided his small army into three troops, which should then go into action one after the other without loss of communication. The first division of 300 horsemen was headed by Mosè Thopia, whose vanguard was sent to the Upper Dibra, the route the Ottomans would use. He was instructed to plunder the area, to skirmish on the first encounter , and then to withdraw and lure the Ottomans into the area chosen for battle. The second unit with 5000 riders and 7000 infantrymen under the command of Skanderbeg and his nephews Hamza (son of his brother Reposh) and Angelus Musaki (son of his sister Angelina) were to wait at the entrance to the clearing. The third troop, a reserve unit of infantrymen, led by Marino Span and the knights from the military expert Vrana (2700 soldiers in total), who were hidden in the highlands of the Mokra (Albanian Mokër) were to decide the battle at the end.

Before leaving, Skanderbeg addressed his men in a lively speech, exhorting them to imitate his courage and trust him as the Ottomans did when he was their commander. After giving orders for their payment and after the worship service had been celebrated, he went to the Unter-Dibre, where he camped about 80 miles from Kruja around sunset. The Ottomans were defeated on June 29, 1444 in the Battle of Torvioll .

First siege of Kruja (1450)

Sultan Murad II offered him a large amount of money and a high post in the Ottoman government, but he refused. In Albanian culture he is mostly seen as an intelligent and wise man who advised Skanderbeg.

The historian Halil İnalcık assumes that the Ottoman Grand Vizier Zaganos Pasha, who was important during the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, could be the son of Vrana Konti.

progeny

Mausoleum of Angela Branai (Granai) Castriota in the Chiesa Santa Sofia in Gravina in Puglia
Gravestone of Giovanni Branai (Granai) Castriota (* 1689), castellan of Barletta
Vrana Konti ⚭ ?
|
|→ Branai oder Brana (italienisiert Bernardo), ab 4. Februar 1497 1. Graf von Copertino und Galatone,  ab 4. April 1505 1. Herzog von Ferrandina ⚭ Maria Zardari (italienisiert Sagdara; Cousine von Skanderbegs Mutter), Tochter von Paul Zardari und Theodora Muzaka
|     |
|     |→ Giovanni († 2. August 1514 Mesagne), ab August 1508 2. Graf von Copertino und Galatone mit Urkunde des Königs von Neapel aus dem Jahr 1494;seit 1505 2. Herzog von Ferrandina ⚭ 1. Giovanna Gaetani dell’Aquila d’Aragona († nach 1541), Tochter von Onorato, 1. Herzog von Traetta und von Lucrezia d’Aragona ⚭ N.N.
|     |        |
|     |        |→ Maria († 1560), seit 1516 Gräfin von Copertino und Herzogin von Ferrandina, verkauft 1559 das Lehnsgut von Atripalda ⚭ Antonio Branai Castriota, ihr Cousin, Sohn von Alfonso
|     |        |
|     |        |→ Angela († 1518) ⚭ Don Ferdinando Orsini († 6. Dezember 1549), 5. Herzog von Gravina in Puglia
|     |        |
|     |        |→ Pirro (* 1498 in Galatone, natürlicher Sohn), 1. Baron von Parabita, Tricase, Sopersano, Bosco, Belvedere, Giurdignano und Torricella, ab 25. Februar 1533 Gouverneur von Terra di Bari und Terra d'Otranto und ab 1535 Baron von Parabita, wanderte 1530 mit den Kreuzrittern nach Malta aus ⚭ Lucia de Bruti, Tochter von Barnaba und Giovanna Capellichio
|     |             |
|     |             |→ Giovanni Fabio († 21. April 1561), 2. Baron von Parabita, Tricase, Sopersano, Bosco, Belvedere, Giurdignano und Torricella ⚭ Alfonsa Branai Castriota, seine Cousine, Tochter von Costantino  und Helena Cuzkeri (siehe weiter unten)
|     |             |    |
|     |             |    |→ Camilla ⚭ Giovanni Annibale Kastrioti, natürlicher Sohn von Ferdinando und N.N.
|     |             |    |
|     |             |    |→ Giorgio († 22. August 1642; Sohn von Eleonora Macedonio) ⚭ Claudia Capece Piscicelli
|     |             |         |
|     |             |         |→ Carlo (* 1586, † 16. August 1657) ⚭ Anna Maria Carafa (* 20. Februar 1628), Tochter von Antonio und Beatrice Pignatelli
|     |             |              |
|     |             |              |→ Francesco (* 29. September 1648, † 3. August 1706) ⚭ Anna Maria Maremonti, Tochter von Antonio und Laura (Branai (Granai) Castriota)       |                   |
|     |             |                   |→ Giovanni (* 1689, † 1762 in Lecce; beerdigt in der Ex-Kapelle im Schloss von Barletta), 1750–1762 Kastellan von Barletta
|     |             |
|     |             |→ Alfonso
|     |             |
|     |             |→ Gaspare (Mönch)
|     |             |
|     |             |→ Vittoria
|     |             |
|     |             |→ Livia
|     |             |
|     |             |→ Ippolita
|     |             |
|     |             |→ Antonia
|     |
|     |→ Alfonso († 1544), königlicher Berater des Königs von Neapel, Kapitän eines Kontingents von Stratioten, ab 23. September 1512 Graf von Atripalda, ab 1513 1. Marchese von Atripalda und Gouverneur der Provinzen Terra di Bari und Terra d'Otranto ⚭ 1518 Camilla Gonzaga, venezianische Patrizierin, Tochter von Gianfrancesco, Herr von Sabbioneta, venezianische Patrizier und Antonia del Balzo der Herzöge von Andria
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Antonio († 1549, ermordet nach einem Fest in Venedig), 3. Herzog von Ferrandina, 3. Graf von Copertino und 1544 Marchese von Atripalda  (durch Heirat erhaltene Titel) ⚭ Maria Castriota, seine Cousine, Tochter von Giovanni (siehe oben)
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Giovanni († vor 1544) ⚭ Giovanna Branai Castriota, seine Cousine, Tochter von Ferdinando (siehe weiter unten)
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Isabella ⚭ Francesco Acquaviva d'Aragona, 3° Herzog von Nardò, Sohn von Giambernardino und Gaetani dell’Acquila d’Aragona
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Camilla ⚭ 1557 Ferdinando Caracciolo, 4. Herzog von Martina Franca, Marchese von Castellaneta, Sohn von Petraccone und Beatrice Manriquez
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Isabella († vor 1563) ⚭  Francesco Acquaviva d’Aragona († 1559)
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Costantino (natürlicher Sohn mit Giulia de Gaeta; * 1516 in Neapel, † nach 1574), Ritter des Johanniterordens (1561), drei uneheliche Kinder mit Helena Cuzkeri, Tochter von Raimondo e Agnese
|     |         |
|     |         |→ Alfonsa (* vor 1561)
|     |         |
|     |         |→ Giovanna (* vor 1561)
|     |         |
|     |         |→ Isabella (* vor 1561)
|     |
|     |→ Ferdinando (Ferrante; † 24. Februar 1525 in der Schlacht bei Pavia), Marchese von Città Sant’Angelo und Graf von Spoltore ⚭ Camilla di Capua, Tochter von Giulio Cesare, 3. Graf von Palena und von Ippolita di Gennaro, der Herren von Nicotera
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Giovanna ⚭ 1. Giovanni (Sohn von Alfonso), 2. Alfonso Carafa, Sohn von Ferdinando II. und Anna Clarice Carafa, Tochter von Antonio und Ippolita Gonzaga
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Ippolita († im Kloster della Sapienza als „suor Elena“) ⚭ Clemente de Lannoy, Sohn von Charles und Françoise de Montbel
|     |
|     |→ Isabella († 1545 im Schloss von Mignano) ⚭ 1518 Guido Fieramosca  (* 1479, † 28. September 1531), 2. Graf von Mignano Monte Lungo.
|     |    |
|     |    |→ Maria (* 15. Oktober 1510, † vor 1566)
|     |→ Giovanna († nach 1518)
|     |
|     |→ Camilla  (23.600 Dukaten Mitgift) ⚭ 1557 Ferdinando Giambattista Caracciolo (* Buccino 1530 † 13. April 1583), 4. Herzog von Martina,  4. Graf von Buccino, 4. Marchese von Castellaneta
|
|→ Giovanni († 1480 im Otranto-Feldzug)
|
|→ Stanisha ⚭ Despina, Tochter von Moisé von Dibra und Zanfina Muzaka, Tochter von Gjin II. Muzaka e Chiranna (Enkelin (oder Nichte) von Matarango von Gora)

literature

  • Fan Stilian Noli : George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1468) . International Universities Press, New York 1947 (English, archive.org ).
  • Oliver Jens Schmitt: Skanderbeg. The new Alexander in the Balkans . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-7917-2229-0 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Vrana was aged 60 in 1449.
  2. ↑ According to other sources in 1442.
  3. ↑ According to Barleti, they died of food poisoning. Please refer
  4. ↑ Hamza took the name of his great-grandfather Branilo (prešavši u hrišćanstvo Hamza će uzeti ime Branilo, po svom čukundedi) ... Dialogos, Volume 5, Edizioni 17-20. 1996, p. 123 (Bosnian).
  5. ↑ Other sources name 16,000 men.
  6. ↑ His descendants took the name Branai (later Granai) Castriota.
  7. ↑ in addition to Copertino, Veglie , and Leverano belonged to them
  8. ↑ The gravestone inscription reads:

    "HIC AB ORIENTE DESCENDENS
    SCANDERBECH EX PRINCIPIBUS
    BRUNTUNII MARCHIONIBUSQ. [UE] CASTILIONIS
    IN LYCIEN
    PERPETUO SOPORE DORMIT
    VIRTUTE PRAEDITUS CHARITATE ORNATUS
    MORIBUSQ. HONESTUS
    REGŸ CASTRI FIDELISSIMAE CIVITATIS BARULI PRAESES
    ET GUBERNATOR MILITARIS
    AETATIS SUAE ANNORUM SEPTUAGINTA TRIUM
    IOANNES CASTRIOTA SEPULTUS IACET
    ANNO D.NI [DOMINI] MDCCLXII. [1762]
    Here sleeps in eternal sleep, coming from the east, [a] descendant of Skanderbeg [s] [sic!] [From the family] of the princes of Bruntunium [sic! Marchesi di Botrugno ] and the Marquis [sic! Barons] of Castiglione [d'Otranto] in the Lecce area. Distinguished in bravery, adorned with mercy and honorable in his manners, the royal castle in the most loyal city of Barletta Board member and military governor, at the age of 73, Johannes Castriota is buried here. In the year of the Lord 1762. "

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Giammaria Biemmi: Istoria di Giorgio Castrioto ditto Scander-Begh . Brescia 1756, p. 153 (Italian, online version in Google Book Search).
  2. ↑ a b c Fan Stilian Noli, p. 140
  3. ^ Fan Stilian Noli, p. 155
  4. ^ Fan Noli, p. 124
  5. ↑ Stefan Zanović: pakao ili nebo . Pobjeda, 1979, p. 38 (Serbian).
  6. ↑ estudis romànics . tape 2; 4 . Institut d'Estudis Catalans, 1954, p. 186 (French).
  7. ^ Margherita Sarrocchi: Scander both: The Heroic Deeds of George Scanderbeg, King of Epirus . University Press, Chicago 2006, pp. 65 ( online preview in Google Book search).
  8. ↑ Marinus Barletius, Johann Pinicianus: Scanderbeg: Warhaffte actual and brief description of all well-known knightly battles and deeds . Franckfurt am Meyn 1577, p. 52 ( online version in Google Book Search).
  9. ↑ Johann Georg von Hahn : Journey through the areas of the Drin un Wardar . In: Memoranda of the Imperial Academy of Sciences . Second division. tape 16 . Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing House, Vienna 1869, p. 121 ( online version in Google Book Search).
  10. ↑ Jean-Jacques Boissard , Theodor de Bry : Life vnd Contrafeiten of the Turkish vn [d] Persian Sultans . Franckfurt 1596, p. 74 ( online version in Google Book Search).
  11. ↑ Danila Fiorella AR: insediamenti albanesi nella Daunia tardo medievale . Centro Grafico Srl, Foggia 1999, p. 4 (Italian).
  12. ↑ M. Emanuela Palmisano: Progetto Scuola-Museo: Argonauti - Mare e migranti . Regione Siciliana, 2010, Il mare e la diaspora degli albanesi di Sicilia by Anna Ceffalia and Isidoro Passanante, p. 50 (Italian).
  13. ↑ Peter Giefer: Kosovo: on the way in the heart of the Balkans . Trescher Verlag, 2010, ISBN 3-89794-141-4 , Skanderbeg or Gjergi Kastrioti, p. 27 .
  14. ↑ Jean-Jacques Boissard, p. 88 f.
  15. ↑ Dissertation by Irvin Faniko: L'evoluzione storico-giuridico della Carta Fondamentale Albanese . Photocopy Canon sh.pk, Tirana 2013, p. 34 (Italian, uniroma1.it [PDF; accessed on September 2, 2018]).
  16. ↑ Irvin Faniko, p. 35
  17. ↑ a b Francesco Tajani: Le istorie albanesi . Fratelli Jovane, Salerno 1556, p. 60 (Italian, archive.org ).
  18. ^ A b Clement Clarke Moore: George Castriot, surnamed Scanderbeg, king of Albania . D. Appleton & Co., New York 1850, p. 46 (English, archive.org ).
  19. ^ Edwin E. Jacques: The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present . McFarland & Co., Jefferson, NC 1995, ISBN 0-89950-932-0 , pp. 180 (English, online preview in Google Book Search).
  20. ↑ a b Risto Ivanovski: Georg Castriota - so-called Skanderbeg, the Macedonian . Bitola 2018, p. 16 ( brigien.com [PDF]).
  21. ↑ Francesco Tajani, p. 61
  22. ↑ Giammaria Biemmi: Istoria di Giorgio Castrioto ditto Scander-Begh . Giammaria Rizzardi, Brecia 1756, p. 42 (Italian, online preview in Google Book Search).
  23. ^ Fan Noli: George Castrioti Scanderbeg (1405-1468) . International Universities Press, New York, 1947
  24. ^ A b c d e Noel Malcolm: Agents of Empire: Knights, Corsairs, Jesuits and Spies in the Sixteenth Century Mediterranean world . University Press, Oxford 2015, ISBN 978-0-19-026278-5 , pp. 88 (English, online preview in Google Book Search).
  25. ↑ a b c Papas Francesco Chetta-Schirò: I Castriota Principi D'Albania nell'Ordine Sovrano Militare di Malta . Valletta, Malta 1929, p. 38 (Italian).
  26. ^ Johann Georg von Hahn, 1869. p. 125
  27. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Enciclopedia genealogica del Mediterraneo: Castriota e Branai (Granai) Castriota. Genmarenostrum.com, accessed January 13, 2019 (Italian).
  28. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Castriota. Retrieved January 12, 2019 .
  29. ↑ a b Memoranda of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Volume 16, p. 116
  30. ↑ a b c d Giovanni Agostino Caccia: Satire, e Capitoli piacevoli (1549) . Lampi di stampa, 2013, ISBN 978-88-488-1554-3 , p. 200 (Italian, online version in Google Book Search).
  31. ↑ Genealogia della dinastia Orsini. Retrieved January 13, 2019 (Italian).
  32. ↑ Fernando Verdesca: Guida di Copertino: itinerari storico-artistici, il centro storico, il territorio . Congedo, 1996, p. 143 (Italian).
  33. ↑ Rassegna Pugliese, Trani 10 marzo 1888. (PDF) Emeroteca.provincia.brindisi.it, p. 61 (13) , accessed on April 3, 2017 (Italian).
  34. ↑ Vincenzo Tuputi: Barletta nel '500. (PDF) p. 10 (12) , accessed on April 3, 2017 (Italian).
  35. ↑ Erasmo Ricca: La Nobiltà del Regno delle due Sicilie . tape 1 . Agostino de Pasquale, Naples 1859, p. 64 (Italian, online version in Google Book Search).
  36. ↑ Noel Malcolm, p. 77
  37. ↑ La nobiltà del Regno delle Due Sicilie, p. 63
  38. ↑ JM Floristán: Sociedad, economía y religious en las comunidades griega y albanesa de Nápoles y Sicilia: nuevos documentos inéditos . In: Erytheia, Revista de Estudios Bizantinos y Neogriegos . tape 37 , 2013, p. 133 (Spanish).
  39. ↑ La Nobiltà del Regno delle due Sicilie, p. 65
  40. ^ I Caracciolo di Martina. Retrieved January 16, 2019 (Italian).
  41. ^ Francesco Acquaviva d'Aragona. Retrieved January 24, 2019 (Italian).
  42. ↑ Papas Francesco Chetta-Schirò, p. 55
  43. ↑ Cuzkeri, Barons of Frigenuini, and Later Barony Creations, and Descendants. Retrieved January 17, 2019 .
  44. ↑ Biagio Aldimari: Historia Genealogica della famiglia Carafa . tape 2 . Naples 1691 (Italian, online version in Google book search).
  45. ↑ a b Isabella, figlia di Branai Conte. (PDF) Retrieved January 11, 2019 (Italian).
  46. ^ Archivio storico per le province Napoletane . tape 3 . Naples 1876, p. 490 (Italian, full text in Google Book Search).
  47. ^ Enciclopedia genealogica del Mediterraneo: I Caracciolo di Martina. Genmarenostrum.com, accessed January 13, 2019 (Italian).
  48. ^ A b Paolo Petta: Despoti d'Epiro e principi di Macedonia. Esuli albanesi nell'Italia del Rinascimento . Argo, Lecce 2000, ISBN 88-8234-028-7 , pp. 64 (Italian).
personal data
SURNAME Vrana Konti
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cont Uranium Altisferi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Albanian, friend, adviser and commander of Skanderbegs
DATE OF BIRTH around 1389
DATE OF DEATH 1458