Nicholas Pal Dukagini ( Alb. Nikollë Pal Dukagjini ) - Albanian feudal lord of the Dukagini family. Member of the liberation struggle of the Albanian people against Ottoman aggression.
| Nicholas Pal Ducagini | |
|---|---|
| Alb. Nikollë Pal Dukagjini | |
| Birth | Principality of Ducagini |
| Death | after 1481 |
| Kind | Ducagini |
| Father | Pal Ducagini |
| Spouse | Hiranna Arianiti |
| Children | Ducagini Run |
Biography
Nicholas was the eldest son of the Albanian prince Pal Dkadzhini (1411–458), one of the founders of the Lezha League . He had three younger brothers: Leka, Progon and George.
Nicholas Pal Dukagini was married to Hiranna Arianiti, the third daughter of George Arianiti (1383-1462) and Maria Muzaki. The couple had the only son of Progon.
After the death of Skanderbeg in 1468, Nikolai Dukagini and his brothers Leka and Progon were allies of the Republic of Venice in the struggle against the Ottoman Turks.
After the first siege of Shkoder in August 1474, the Turkish army, retreating, ravaged and burned the surrounding Albanian cities and villages, killing and captivating the local population. Among the burned was the castle of Dagno, despite the strong resistance that the garrison led by the brothers Nicholas and Lek Ducagini had rendered to the Turks. In July 1478, the Ottoman Turks captured Kruia , then Drivast and Lying fell. Many Albanian soldiers participated in the defense of Shkoder during the second siege of the city by the Turks (1478-1479). Among them were Theodore and Budomir Ducagini, the cousins of Nicholas, who died in battle.
On January 25, 1479, the Republic of Venice signed the Treaty of Constantinople with the Ottoman Empire, under the terms of which the Shkodra fortress passed into the hands of the Turks. On April 25, 1479, the Turks entered Shkodra , provoking the massive emigration of the local population, mainly to Venice. Several Albanian nobles fled to Italy, among them were Nikolai and Leka Ducagini.
On May 3, 1481, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II (1451-1481) died. A civil war broke out in the empire between his sons Bayazid and Jem . The Albanian princes in exile decided to take advantage of this in order to return to their homeland and regain their former principalities. In the early summer of 1481, Nicholas and Leka Dukagini arrived in Albania. The rector of Ragusa wrote to King of Naples Ferdinand I and informed him on June 2, 1481 that Prince Vlatko had returned to Bosnia , and Nikolai Dukagini had arrived in Albania to begin the fight against the Ottoman Turks.
Gyon II Castrioti , the only son of Skanderbeg , also returned to Albania; he arrived in four Neapolitan galleys with his cousin Konstantin Muzaki. He landed south of Durazzo , and Constantine sailed further south into the region of Himara . At the same time, Nikolai and Leka Dukagini went to Upper Albania, in the highlands of Lezh and Shkoder , to lead an uprising in the north. The Dukagini brothers attacked the city of Shkodra , forcing Hareem Suleiman Pasha, the Rulelia Beylerbey, to send additional military forces to Albania. Konstantin Muzaki acted in the coastal zone in Himare , and Gyon Kastrioti gathered under his command about 7 thousand soldiers. Gyon Kastrioti defeated the Turkish army, which lost from 2 to 30 thousand people killed. On August 31, 1481, rebels took Himaru , and later Sopot Castle fell, was taken prisoner by Khadim Suleiman Pasha . The Ottoman leader was sent to Naples as a trophy, but was later released from captivity for a ransom of 20,000 ducats .
The actions of Albanian rebels led by Nicholas and Lek Dukagini in the Northern Highlands, Gyon Kastrioti and Konstantin Muzaki in Central and Southern Albania prevented new Ottoman troops from landing in Italy. On September 10, 1481, Italians repulsed the Otranto port city they had seized back from the Turks.
Run Ducagini, son of Nicholas, returned from Italy to Albania in 1501 and took part in the anti-Ottoman uprising that broke out in Northern Albania. In the end, he signed a peace treaty with the Turks. The Ottoman sultan Bayazid II granted him the title of pasha and transferred to him the possession of part of the possessions of the Dukagini family as a timar .
Sources
- Treptow, Kurt W. (1992), From Zalmoxis to Jan Palach: studies in East European history, East European Monographs, ISBN 978-0-88033-225-5 , retrieved April 30, 2012
- Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5
- Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2001), Das venezianische Albanien (1392-1479) (in German), München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH München, ISBN 3-486-56569-9
- Noli, Fan (1962), Historia e Skënderbeut (in Albanian), Tirana, Albania: N.Sh. botimeve "Naim Frashëri".