Gjon Kastrioti
Gjon Kastrioti (English: John Castriota[a]; d. 4 May 1437[1]) was an Albanian nobleman, member of the Kastrioti family, and the father of Scanderbeg.
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[edit] Life
Kastrioti's family had its origin in Has region and ruled over Northern Albania from the Kruja region up to Prizren, Tetovo and Gostivar.[citation needed] His father was Pal Kastrioti.
On February 25, 1420 Gjon Kastriot wrote a letter on the Serbian language to merchants from Dubrovnik. Based on the order of despot of Serbia, when they traveled from Dubrovnik to Prizren they had to use the route trough Shkodër in Albania Veneta and the Kastriot's land instead of the previous route trough the land under control of the small feudal lords and highlander tribes of Montenegro.[2] With that letter Gjon informed merchants from Dubrovnik that they were granted safe conduct when passing the land under his control, on their way to Prizren.[3]
Defeated by Murad II in 1421 he was forced to vasality and from time to time one or more of his sons were sent as a hostages to Ottoman court. This way Kastrioti, blackmailed through his sons would be faithful to the Empire. Gjon Kastrioti was made a citizen of Venice in 1413, along with his inheritors.[4] In 1426 he donated the right to the proceeds from taxes collected from the two villages (Rostuša and Trebište in Macedonia) and from the church of Saint Mary, which was in one of them, to the Serbian Orthodox Monastery of Hilandar in Mount Athos where his son Reposh retired and died in 25 July 1431: in his honor the Saint George tower of Monastery of Hilandar was known as the Albanian tower (Serbian: Arbanaški pirg).[5][6][7]
In 1430, Gjon Kastrioti led an unsuccessful uprising against the Ottoman Empire in the city of Krujë in what is now Albania. He was defeated again by the Ottoman forces of Isak-Beg.
After his death in 1437[1] his son George was appointed as commander of Kruja in 1438.
[edit] Personal
[edit] Family
He married Vojsava Tripalda[8] from Lower Polog (present day Tetovo,[citation needed] Macedonia) and had nine children with her: four sons and five daughters. The sons' names were Stanisha, Reposh, Kostandin, and George (Skanderbeg). The oldest daughter of Gjon Kastrioti, Maria Kastrioti, also called Mamica, married Muzakë Topia. Gjon Kastrioti was also the name of the grandson through George Kastrioti.
[edit] Religion
His religion was directly influenced by the international balance of political powers. When he was an ally of Venice, in period 1407—1410, he was Roman Catholic. After he allied himself with Stefan Lazarević, despot of Serbian Despotate in period 1419—1426, he converted to Orthodoxy, and in 1431 he was converted to Islam because of he was a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.[9]
[edit] Notes
- ^ In the documentary acts of the time, Scanderbeg's father is variously called Iohannes, Janus, Iouan, Ioannis, Yuan, Ivan, Yuvan, etc.[10] Gjon Muzaka – or Giovanni Musachi, who by the way knew him and his family well – in his Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi, written in Italian, calls him Giovanni. Giovanni is also used by Demetrio Franco. Barleti, who wrote in Latin, calls him Iohannes. In the few acts of his own chancellery, his name results Ivan or Ivanъ. It is possible that these acts were written by Ninac Vukosalić.[11][12] Besides the acts in Slavonic, Ivan is used by some Byzantine chroniclers, like Laonicus Chalcocondyles[13] and many works written by the contemporary scholars. Also, interesting is a testimony from Franciscus Blancus, who lived and wrote two centuries after Gjon Kastrioti's time: In his Apology, he writes about two "heroes" of his own time from the Kastrati family, one Muslim called Isuf bey, and the other Gjon "i.e. in Latin Iohannis Kastrati".[14] This same author, knowing the difference Gjon/Iohannis, specifically calls Skanderbeg's father by his Latin name.
[edit] References
- ^ a b History of the Albanian people 2002 edition from the Academy of Sciences of Albania Tome I, p. 335
- ^ Jireček, Konstantin (1952) (in Serbian). Politička istorija Srba (Political history of Serbs). Belgrade: Naučna Knjiga. p. 335. http://www.scribd.com/doc/57712194/1952-%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0-%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B0-%D0%94%D0%BE-1537-%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD-%D0%88%D0%B8%D1%80%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BA. Retrieved 25 July 2011. "Забрани деспот дубровчанима да иду тим путем, и нагна их да путују кроз млетачку скадарску област и кроз земљу Ивана Кастриота... Види српско писмо Ивана Кастриота од 25. фебруара 1420 за дубровачке трговце кроз његову земљу за Призрен (Despot forbid to Dubrovnik merchants to use that way, and ordered them to travel trough Venetian area in Scutari and trough land of Ivan Kastriot.... See serbian letter to merchants from Dubrovnik traveling trough his land to Prizren, written by Ivan Kastriot on February 25, 1420."
- ^ (in German) Archiv für slavische Philologie 21 Weidmann 1899 p. 95 "1420, 25. Februar. Geleitsbrief des Herrn Ivan (Kastriota) und seiner Sühne filr die Kaufleute von Ragusa auf dem Wege durch sein Land von Sufadaja (bei Alessio) nach Prizren, nebst Bestimmungen Uber die Zölle."
- ^ Melchior Vogüé (marquis de), Charles Henri Auguste Schefer, Revue de l'Orient latin, Culture et Civilisation, 1964, volume 4, p. 528
- ^ Frashëri, Kristo (1962), George Kastrioti-Scanderbeg: the national hero of the Albanians (1405–1468), s.n., pp. 86–92, OCLC 1339175
- ^ Anamali, Skënder (2002) (in Albanian), Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime, I, Botimet Toena, p. 342, OCLC 52411919
- ^ Slijepčević, Đoko M. (1983) (in Serbian). Srpsko-arbanaški odnosi kroz vekove sa posebnim osvrtom na novije vreme. Himelstir. p. 45. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZFRpAAAAMAAJ&q=%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B8+%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B3&dq=%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%88%D0%BA%D0%B8+%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B3&hl=en&ei=MZsVToOOAYih-QaghKUJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ. Retrieved 7 July 2011. "Заједно са синовима Константином, Репошем и Ђурђем приложио је Иван Кастриот манастиру Хиландару село Радосуше са црквом св. Богородице и село Требиште....Због тога је и пирг св. Ђорђа прозван »арбанашки пирг». Репош је умро у манастиру Хиландару 25. јула 1431. године и ту је сахрањен. (Together with his sons Konstantin, Repoš and Đurađ, Ivan Kastriot donated village Radosuše with church of saint Mary and village Trebište to the monastery Hilandar... Therefore the tower of Saint George was named "Albanian tower". Repoš died in Hilandar on July 25, 1431 and he was buried there."
- ^ Jov. Radonić: or. cit., str. 1—2.
- ^ Egro, Dritan (2010) Oliver Jens Schmitt ed. Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa 4 Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Wien p. 20 ISBN 978-3-631-60295-9 http://books.google.com/books?id=aCdYHU9PtiIC&pg=PA20&dq=gjon+kastrioti+serbian&hl=en&ei=6sQvTvLnJIjsOZeK8X4&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=kastrioti&f=false "Gjon Kastrioti...was a Roman Catholic from 1407-1410,...he converted to Orthodoxy from 1419-1426, accepting the alliance of Stephen Lazarevic of Serbia"
- ^ Thalloczy & Jireček, Zwei Urkunden, 146.
- ^ Korablev, Actes, II, 561, 562
- ^ Petković, Arbanaški Pirg, 196-197
- ^ Historiarum Libri Decem, II, 23-25, 119, 123, 192, etc.
- ^ Blancus, Georgius Castriotus, 73: "Gion (id est Iohannis Latine) Castrati nuncupatus
