Jonima family

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Jonima
Gjonima
Noble family
Tribe
Stema e Jonimajve.png
Coat of Arms of the Jonima Family [1]
Country Medieval Albania
Current regionNorthern and Central Albania (Shkodër, Lezhë, Mat, Dagnum, Shufada)
Founded13th century
Titles Sebastos
Župan
Comes
Lord
Members
Connected families Zaharia

The Jonima (Albanian : Gjonima) were a noble Albanian family and fis [2] active between the 13th and 15th centuries CE in northern and central Albania. First attested to in the early 13th century as vassals of the Principality of Arbanon, members of the family later appear as signatories to Angevin and Ragusan agreements and as officials in the service of the Kingdom of Serbia. By the late 14th century, the Jonima had established themselves around Dagnum and the Mat valley, controlling parts of the trade route between Lezhë and Prizren as well as the important coastal port of Shufada.

Contents

Under Dhimitër Jonima, the family participated in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 as part of Prince Lazar’s Christian coalition against the Ottomans. In the 1390s they accepted Ottoman vassalage but also negotiated intermittently with Venice. After the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, Dhimitër and other Albanian lords switched allegiance to Venice, and he remained a Venetian vassal and ally until his death in 1409.

The family’s territories were later absorbed by the Kastrioti family but survived as a regional designation under Ottoman rule. The vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima, recorded in the defters of 1467 and 1583 (later renamed Pjetër Jonima), stretched along the Mat river from Lezhë to Rubik. Other members of the family are attested to in Venetian and Ottoman records well into the 16th century, though never again achieving the prominence of their predecessors.

Name and toponomy

The name of the family appears in multiple forms in historical sources, such as Gonoma, Guonimi, Gjonëmi, Ghionoma, Giolma, Gionima, Gonome, Jonema, Jonoma etc. The term occurs widely in toponymy, albeit in considerably deformed versions, such as Quku i Gjormit of Xhani, Gjormi of Rrjolli, Brija e Gjormit of Gruemirë, Gjormi of Grizha to the north of Shkodër, Gjormi in Elbasan and Kodra e Gjormakvet in Dajçi of Zadrima. The form Gjonëmi can be found in Lurja and Luma, and Gjunumi is found near Dukat, which itself is nearby Vlorë. Marin Barleti mentions Sylva Jonimorum in Kurbini, and Gjon Muzaka in 1510 mentions Guonyms in Kurbini; Gionami, Gionemi or Gionimi are also recorded in 1640 and 1671, also in Kurbini. These have been identified with the modern Gjolmi of Kurbini. [3]

Taking into consideration Albanian onomastics and historical documents, Arben Ndreca proposes a modern Albanian meaning of "Gjon i Madh" (John the Great). [4]

History

13th-14th centuries

The Jonima first appear in historical sources at the beginning of the 13th century as vassals of Dhimitër Progoni, Panhypersebastos and Archon (ruler) of the Principality of Arbër, [5] [6] as attested to by an agreement between Progoni and the Ragusans. In this agreement, in which one of the signatories was a noble by the name of Jonima, [3] Ragusan traders were exempted from tolls and guaranteed free movement and security within Progoni's lands. [6] At the end of the 13th century, two powerful families - or branches of the same family - bearing the Jonima surname were attested to in the regions of Durrës and Shkodër. One member of the Jonima family held the title of Sebastos and had signed an agreement in 1274 with Charles I of Anjou, the King of Sicily, alongside several other Albanian nobles. [3] [5]

Another member of the family, Vladislav Jonima, is mentioned in 1306 in the service of Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia with the title of župan . [7] Vladislav Jonima later held the title of Count of Dioclea and of coastal Albania. [8] [3] Around 1318, the Kingdom of Serbia, then under Stefan Milutin, launched a new offensive on the Kingdom of Albania, resulting in the formation of an anti-Serb coalition under papal coordination, in which the Albanians played an important role. In the spring of 1319, several Albanian nobles - including the Jonima family — informed Pope John XXII through Andreas, the Bishop of Krujë, that they were ready resist the Serbian king. They also promised to abandon the Orthodox rite and embrace Catholicism, thereby separating themselves ecclesiastically from the Serbs. As a result of this organized resistance, the Serbs were prevented from establishing long-standing control over Durrës and its region, where the Angevins continued to exercise an increasingly weakened sovereignty. [9]

After the death of Balsha II at the Battle of Savra in 1385, the Balsha family began to lose their Albanian territories south of Zeta. The Jonima, who were centred at Dagnum in the 1380's, asserted their independence from the Balsha and ruled over their estates between Durrës and the Drin. [10] They became embroiled in a conflict over the territory along both sides of the river Drin with the Dukagjini family, who had also seceded from the Balsha. [11]

The Domains of the Jonima Family under Dhimiter Jonima Family Domains ca. 1394.png
The Domains of the Jonima Family under Dhimitër

Around this time, Dhimitër Jonima was the lord of the lands that encompassed part of the trade route from Lezhë to Prizren, holding possessions between Lezhë and Rrëshen. [12] [13] Together with a number of fellow Albanian feudal lords and noblemen, he participated at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 [14] as one of the main leaders of the Albanian forces that fought in Lazar's Christian coalition against the Ottomans. [15] [16] [17] Ottoman chronicles surrounding the battle considered Jonima to be one of the most important allies of the coalition. [13] [18] After the Battle of Kosovo, the Jonima attempted to assert themselves in the territory between the Drin and Mati rivers. [11] In 1394, historical records indicate that Dhimitër Jonima was independently ruling over territory between Lezhë and Rrëshen that bordered the lands of Koja Zaharia to the north. Dhimitër controlled the coastal trade port of Shufada at the mouth of the Mati river and an additional two castles, maintaining an army of 200 cavalrymen and more than 400 infantrymen. Aware of the influence of the Dukagjini family in the local region, Dhimitër established positive diplomatic relations with them. [5] [9]

After obtaining the holdings of Shkodër, Drisht and Shirgj from George II Balsha in 1393, the Ottomans had begun strengthening their influence among the local Albanian lords, eventually winning over Dhimitër Jonima, who would arrange a meeting between the Ottomans and Marco Barbarigo, the ruler of Krujë. [11] [19] In return for aiding the Ottomans in their conquest of Shkodër, Dhimitër was granted control over the lands along the trade route between the coast and Prizren which had previously been under the control of the Dukagjini family. [5] [20] By eventually accepting Ottoman vassalage, the Jonimas were able to hold onto their strategic domains between Shkodër and Durrës. [12] Around this time the Jonimas participated in Ottoman raids on Venetian holdings in Durrës and its surroundings in which they captured many prisoners, and this prompted the Venetians to place a bounty of 300 ducats on Dhimitër's head. Nonetheless, the Venetians acted cautiously towards the Jonimas so as to not jeopardize their relations with the Ottomans. [21] On 28 September 1394, a meeting between Ottoman and Venetian officials was held in Durrës regarding the release of Venetian captives captured by the Jonimas and the Ottomans. [19]

In July 1399, the Venetian castellan of Lezhë informed the Republic of Dhimitër's desire to place himself under Venetian vassalage, stating that he was ready to provide information on the actions of the Ottomans. In return, Dhimitër asked to become a Venetian citizen and for the right to take refuge in the lands of the Republic, if the need arose. The Venetians agreed on 21 July of that year, although the agreement did not fully materialise. [22] [23] In December 1399, the Ragusans sent a letter to the Ottoman governor of the Sanjak of Üsküp, Pasha Yiğit Bey, complaining of an attack on Ragusan traders carried out by the Jonimas. [24]

15th-16th centuries

Under Dhimitër, the Jonimas became vassals of Koja Zaharia, the lord of Shati, who had allowed the Ottomans passage through his lands to attack the Venetians in Shkodër and Drisht. The Venetians entered into negotiations with Zaharia and his new vassal, who were willing to abandon their alliance with the Ottomans and come to an agreement with the Republic. The Venetians agreed to provide aid in the form of troops and in the construction of defensive measures in the lands of the two noble families, and on 7 October 1400, Venetian officials in Shkodër promised to grant 500 ducats annually to Zaharia and 300 ducats annually to Dhimitër, plus lodging for each of their families. A few days later, on 12 October, the Venetians learned that the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I was mustering his military forces against Timur, and that he had summoned Zaharia to join him as his vassal. As such, the alliance proposal was refused. [22]

In 1402, the Jonimas - lead by Dhimitër - participated in the Battle of Ankara alongside many Albanian lords as vassals of Bayezid. Bayezid was defeated, and many Albanian lords and nobles - including the Jonimas - abandoned the Ottomans and entered into Venetian vassalage. [22] [11] The submission of the Jonimas and the Zaharias to the Venetians was facilitated by the Bishop of Sapë, who had interceded on their behalf. The two families had every reason to act quickly, for as soon as the Ottomans withdrew from the region, the Balsha family had once again became an immediate threat. [8] In the subsequent conflict between the Ottoman vassal Balša III and the Venetians, the Jonimas and Zaharias continued to support the Venetians. [11] On 5 May 1403, a pact made between Dhimitër Jonima and Venetian officials in Shkodër was confirmed, according to which Dhimitër would receive a supply of 200 Hyperpyron annually, along with cloth for two mantles and a suit of armour. [22]

After submitting a number of requests to the Venetians on 9 August 1407, Dhimitër was acknowledged as captain over both his own men and the Venetian soldiers in Venetian Albania on the condition that the troops retain their proper commander. The Republic nominally recognized Dhimitër as the commander of its entire army while leaving real authority to the Venetian captains, so the appointment seemed to be more honorary than substantive. However, the honorary position given to him by the Venetians was no longer mentioned in an act dated to 27 August 1409, which provides details of an alliance concluded with the Jonimas. In exchange for an annual pension of 100 ducats, Dhimitër was to place at Venice’s disposal 200 cavalry and 400 infantry. [22] Dhimitër is mentioned for a final time in historical records as the lord of Shufada in 1409, [9] the year in which he must've died, [5] [20] ruling as an ally of the Venetians. [11] The Jonimas did not hold onto the trade route between Lezhë and Prizren for long, as it soon passed into the hands of the Kastrioti family following Dhimitër's death, along with the Diocese of Arbanum that was situated within their territories. [11] [20] The coastal town of Shufada itself would come under the control of Gjon Kastrioti soon after, [11] certainly by 1428, [25] and Kastrioti continued to cooperate with those members of the Jonima family who remained in the area of Lezhë, since most of the Jonima family lived in the region of Shkodër by this time. [9]

In 1410, the Venetians granted confiscated land to a father and son named Vito and Stefan Jonima. [8] Various members of the Jonima family continued to appear in the region of Shkodra between 1416-1417, [3] such as an individual by the name of Flor Jonima who lived in the city of Shkodra itself in 1417. In that same year, a man by the name of Gjon - the son of the aforementioned Stefan Jonima - received several vineyards in Koplik that had been taken from a rebel by the name of Nikola Hoti. [8] Two individuals by the name of Vito and Stefan Jonima were mentioned by historical sources yet again in 1447 and 1468 respectively. [3] A former rebel by the name of Stefan Jonima petitioned the Venetian Senate to grant him his former possessions, and in 1445, he obtained the village of Kurtes. [26] A Zorzi and Piero, who were recorded in 1542, were stratiots stemming from the Jonima family. In 1569, a Joannes Dionami figure was part of the ecclesiastical clergy of Lezha. [3] Domenik Jonima, a local leader from the Mati region, attended an assembly of Albanian leaders and Venetians at the monastery of Saint Mary in Mat on 7 November 1594. The purpose of the assembly was to discuss and plan the liberation of Albania from Ottoman control, but this Albanian liberation movement was eventually thwarted by the Venetians by the end of 1595. [27]

Upon the defeat of Gjon Kastrioti by Ottoman forces in 1431, the lands taken from him that had once belonged to the Jonima family were registered by the Ottomans as the vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima. [9] [28] The vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima appears for the first time in Ottoman sources during the 1430's, and the Ottoman defter (cadastral register) of 1467 recorded 22 villages in the vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima, which was one of the regions that made up the Diocese of Arbanum. Those villages were Vishtuli, Solomoni, Kapruli, Bërzana, Gajpi (Gajushi), Bukati, Kurjasuti, Fiku, Matarisi, Skandani, Napëzi, Dushku, Dolaka, Skopëdhi (Shkopeti), Lurzi, Kolashi, Koshtanija, Lindiza, Zojmeni Zejmeniç, Shukalza, Shillazi and Pëdhana (Pllana). In the Ottoman defter of 1583, the former vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima was registered as the nahiyah of Pjetër Jonima. This nahiyah had a total of 25 villages and abandoned settlements - Gajeti, Lopesi, Zyjmi (Zejmeni), Pezhana, Fiku, Tërkeshi, Shtepani, Darda, Mantija, Kashtina, Brzana, Kukula, Shalësi, Kondani, Korvesuti, Mërqina, Lezha, Matresi, Sulimoni, Sheja, Skopeti, Kaprula, Lufa, Murtkina and Ishulli. As indicated by the village names recorded in the defters of 1467 and 1583, the territory of Dhimitër (Pjetër) Jonima stretched along the northern bank of the Mat river, from Lezha to Rubik. Its inclusion in the kaza of Krujë demonstrates its close historical ties with the southern area of Kurbin. [20]

The village of Gjonimi (modern-day Gjonëm, Kurbin) appears in the Ottoman defter of 1467 as a hass-ı mir-liva and derbendci settlement in the vilayet of Akçahisar with six households, represented by: Ozgyr Primiqyri , Dhuka Lugras, Pal Gjonima, Gjergj Gjonima, Peter Koka, and Gjergj Gjonima. [29] In 1583, the village is recorded as part of the nahiyah of Kurbini. [20]

Members

References

  1. ↑ Heraldika Shqiptare, Gjin Varfi, 2000, ISBN   978-9992731857 http://www.abebooks.com/9789992731857/Heraldika-Shqiptare-Varfi-Gjin-9992731850/plp
  2. ↑ Edition de l'Académie bulgare des sciences (2007). Etudes balkaniques. Balkan Peninsula. p. 117.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Valentini, Giuseppe (1956). Il Diritto delle Comunità - Nella Tradizione Giuridica Albanese. Florence: Vallecchi Editore. p. 277.
  4. ↑ Ndreca, Arben. "Jonima, Muji, Menkshi, Rranëzi. Si t'i interpretojmë disa emra arbërish të Mesjetës dhe më vonë! (Pjesa II)" (PDF). Shejzat.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Muhadri, Bedri (2019). "KOSOVA NË KUADËR TË PRINCIPATËS DUKAGJINI HISTORIA DHE GJENEALOGJIA E DUKAGJINËVE". Gjurmime Albanologjike - Seria e shkencave historike (in Albanian) (49): 103–116. ISSN   0350-6258.
  6. 1 2 Malaj, Edmond (2022). "MARRËVESHJE DHE ÇËSHTJE TË TJERA NDËRMJET RAGUZËS DHE FISNIKËVE ARBËRORË". Studime Historike (in Albanian) (2): 7–9. doi:10.61773/gqmjbp23. ISSN   3005-8481.
  7. ↑ Blagojević, Miloš (2001). Državna uprava u srpskim srednjovekovnim zemljama (in Serbian). Belgrade: Službeni list SRJ. p. 210. Retrieved 8 July 2012. Када је краљ Милутин издао повељу манастиру Богородице Ратачке, међу присутнима је било и црквених и световних достојанственика. Од световних лица помињу се: казнац Мирослав, челник Бранко и жупан Владислав (Јонима)
  8. 1 2 3 4 Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2001), Das venezianische Albanien (1392-1479), München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH München, p. 87, ISBN   3-486-56569--9, Vladislav Jonima, als Zupan, später als „Graf von Dioclea und Küstenalbanien"
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Anamali, Skënder (2002). Historia e Popullit Shqiptar, Volume I. Tirana: Botimet Toena. pp. 235, 266, 289, 323, 397. ISBN   9789992716229.
  10. ↑ Ćirković, Sima; Božić, Ivan; Bogdanović, Dimitrije; Đurić, Vojislav (1970). Istorija Crne Gore - Knjiga 2, T. 2. Titograd (Podgorica). pp. 50, 59, 78, 92, 100.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fine, John V. A. (1994). The late medieval Balkans: a critical survey from the late twelfth century to the Ottoman conquest (2. print ed.). Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press. pp. 391, 415, 419, 422, 510, 512, 514. ISBN   978-0-472-08260-5.
  12. 1 2 Buxhovi, Jusuf (2013). Kosova: The Ottoman Empire (English Translation ed.). Jalifat Publishing. pp. 28, 33. ISBN   9780976714064.
  13. 1 2 Petritsch, Wolfgang; Kaser, Karl; Pichler, Robert (1999). Kosovo - Kosova: Mythen, Daten, Fakten (2. Aufl ed.). Klagenfurt: Wieser. pp. 32–33. ISBN   9783851293043. ... geantwortet haben und sich mit einer Armee von 6.000 Mann nach Kosova aufgemacht haben soll. An der Schlacht auf dem Amselfeld nahmen auch andere mäch- tige albanische Fürsten teil : Demeter Jonima , dessen Reich sich über die Zone von Lezhe und Rreshen erstreckte und den die osmanischen chronisten Demeter, den Sohn von Jund, nannten und den sie als einen der wichtigsten allierten der koalition...
  14. ↑ Myftiu, Genc (2000). Albania: a Patrimony of European Values Guide of Albanian History and Culture Heritage. SEDA. p. 14. Two years later Gjergj Balsha II , Teodor Muzaka and Dhimitër Jonima fought in the battle of Kosovo...
  15. ↑ History of the Balkans: from Mohammed the Conqueror to Stalin East European monographs Author Georges Castellan Translated by Nicholas Bradley Publisher East European Monographs, 1992 ISBN   0-88033-222-0, ISBN   978-0-88033-222-4 p. 54
  16. ↑ Veremes, Thanos; Kophos, Euangelos (1998). Kosovo: avoiding another Balkan war. Athens: Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign policy. p. 418. ISBN   9789607061409. ... is a historical fact that they were on the Serbian side against the Ottoman Empire in that cataclysmic battle of 1389 ( under Albanian counts Balsha and Jonima)
  17. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2004). Historical dictionary of Kosova. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 156. ISBN   978-0-8108-5309-6. ... Vlach contingents of Voyvode Mircea, the troops of Lazar's son-in-law Vuk Brankovic and Albanian forces under George Balsha and Demeter Jonima.
  18. ↑ Iseni, Bashkim (2008). La question nationale en Europe du sud-est: genèse, émergence et développement de l'identité nationale albanaise au Kosovo et en Macédoine. Bern: Peter Lang. p. 84. ISBN   978-3039113200. Selon elle, sur les sept chefs de guerre de cette coalition, deux étaient albanais, Gjergj Balsha II et Dhimiter Jonima. Auraient aussi participé à cette bataille d'autres féodaux albanais, notamment Gjon Muzaka et Teodor Muzaka II. La participation albanaise aurait atteint un quart de la totalité des troupes de la coalition.
  19. 1 2 Malaj, Edmond (6 January 2025). "Kërcënimi turk dhe dorëzimi i Shkodrës te venedikasit në vitin 1396 nga Gjergj II Strazimir Balsha". Studime Historike (2): 15. doi:10.61773/yz01n937.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 Biçoku, Kasem (2007). "PESHKOPATA E ARBNIT DHE KASTRIOTËT". Studime Historike (3–4): 7–34. doi:10.61773/7eyxrj78 (inactive 14 September 2025). ISSN   3005-8481.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2025 (link)
  21. ↑ Dalipi, Qerim (2013). "Depërtimet dhe pushtimet osmane dhe jetësimi i politikës venedikase në Arbëri (1392-1396)". Kosova (in Albanian) (37–38): 157–175. ISSN   3006-4031.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 Berisha, Gjon (2021). "Funksionimi dhe imazhi i ushtrisë venedikase në Arbëri në fund të shek.XIV- fillimi i shek.XV". Kosova (in Albanian) (46): 45–64. ISSN   3006-4031.
  23. ↑ Konferenca e dytë e Studimeve Albanologjike. Tirana: Konferenca e dytë e Studimeve Albanologjike. 1969. p. 125.
  24. ↑ Ivanović, Miloš (1 January 2017). Cyrillic Correspondence between the Commune of Ragusa and Ottomans from 1396 to 1458 (35 ed.). Belgrade: The Institute of History. pp. 47, 49.
  25. ↑ Detelić, Mirjana (2007), Dušan T. Bataković (ed.), Epski gradovi, leksikon [Epic cities, a lexicon] (in Serbian), Belgrade: Balkanološki institut SANU, p. 253, ISBN   9788671790406, OCLC   298613010, U blizini Lješa postojalo je trgovište Šufadaj ili Sufade čiji položaj danas nije moguće tačno utvrditi. Taj strateški važan trg blizu mora (budući daje bio dostupan brodovima) Venecija nije kontrolisala, iako je držala zemljišni pojas od Skadra do Lješa, uz Dračsa okolinom. Šufadaj je početkom XV v. bio u vlasti porodice Jonima, a 1428. u vlasti Jovana Kastriota[ permanent dead link ]
  26. ↑ Božić, Ivan (1979), Nemirno pomorje XV veka (in Serbian), Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, p. 291, OCLC   5845972, Тада је Стефан Јонима, некадашњи одметник, тражио од Сената стара права и успео да добије 1445. једино село које је остало слободно — Куртес.
  27. ↑ Tetaj, Luan (1 March 2018). "Interegional Assembly of Mat 1594". Human and Social Studies. 7 (1): 13–25. doi:10.2478/hssr-2018-0002.
  28. ↑ Deuxième Conférence des études albanologiques: à l'occasion du 5e centenaire de la mort de Georges Kastriote-Skanderbeg, Tirana, Volume 1 Deuxième Conférence des études albanologiques: à l'occasion du 5e centenaire de la mort de Georges Kastriote-Skanderbeg, Tirana, Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës. Instituti i Historisë e Gjuhësisë Authors Geōrgios Kastriōtēs (called Scanderbeg, Prince of Epirus), Scanderbeg, Universiteti Shtetëror i Tiranës. Instituti i Historisë e Gjuhësisë Publisher Université d'état de Tirana, Institut d'histoire et de linguistique, 1969 p.54
  29. ↑ Caka, Eduart (2019). Defteri i hollësishëm për zonat e dibrës i vitit 1467. Tiranë: Akademia e studimeve albanologjike instituti historisë. p. 27.
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