Leka III Dukagjini
Leka III Dukagjini (Albanian: Lekë III Dukagjini; 1410–1481), better known as Leka Dukagjin, was a mysterious member of the Dukagjini family about whom little is known and is believed to have been an Albanian nobleman from the 15th century. [1] A contemporary of Djurdj Kastriot, he is known for the Canon of Leka Dukagjin, a law that was introduced among the tribes of northern Albania.
Biography
His name Leka is an abbreviated version of the name Aleksandar. [2] Leka Dukagjin's birthplace is the village of Oros near Mirdita. Until 1444, it was pronija Koja Zaharija. [3] He took over the land from his father, Prince Pavle Dukagjin, in 1446, who appears to have died of apoplexy. [4]
Dukagjin fought under the command of Djurdj Kastriot against the Ottomans during the last two years of the struggle. In times of peace, they fought against each other, as the loyalty of the Albanian nobility changed over time. Leka Dukagjin killed Leka Zacharias, the prince of Denmark, in a siege. They were in conflict over disagreements over which of the two should marry Irena Dushman. Irena was the only child of Leka Dušamna, the prince of Zadar. In 1445, Albanian princes were invited to the wedding of Đurđe Kastriot's youngest sister, Mamica, who married Muzak Topi. Irena came to the wedding and hostilities broke out. [5] Dukagjin asked Irena to marry him, but Zacharias, drunk, saw this and attacked Dukagjin. Some princes tried to prevent a fight, but only more people got involved, which led to several deaths until peace was established. [6] [7] Neither of the two participants suffered a physical injury, but Dukagjin was morally humiliated after the event. Two years later, in 1447, in an act of revenge, Dukagjin killed Zacharias in an ambush.
Zacharias' death left his principality without an heir, which led his mother to hand over the fortification to Venetian Albania, the property of the Venetian Republic. [8] [9] [10] When Djuradj tried, but without success, to take Danj in 1447, the Albanian-Venetian war began (1447-1448). In March 1451, Leka Dukagjin and Bozidar Dusman planned an attack on Drivast, which was under Venetian control. [11] Their conspiracy was discovered and Božidar was forced to flee into exile. [12] Djuradj's forces captured the fortress of Chateau from the Ottomans in 1459, and Djuradj ceded it to the Venetian Republic to secure good-natured relations with Signoria before sending his forces to Italy to help King Ferdinand regain and retain his kingdom after the death of King Alfonso V of Aragon. [13] [14] Before the Venetians took control of Shatija, Djuradj also occupied the surrounding area, expelling Leka Dukagjin and his forces, because he opposed Djuradj and destroyed Shati before the Venetian takeover. [15]
Dukagjin continued to fight with limited success with the Ottomans, fighting as the leader of the Albanian resistance after Djuradj's death, until 1479. His forces sometimes fought alongside the Venetians, with the Pope’s blessing.
Heritage
Leka Dukagjin's canon is a code in which Leka codified the usual laws in the Albanian mountains. [16] Although researchers of the history and customs of Albania usually cite Getch's text of the Canon as the only existing version as indisputable and written by Leka Dukagjin, this is actually incorrect. The text of the Canon, often disputed and with many different interpretations that actually developed from the 15th century, was named only after Dukagjin. [17] Although Djurdj was identified as a "dragon prince" who dared against any enemy, the chronicles portray Leka as an "angel prince" who ensured the continuity of the Albanian identity with dignity and wisdom.
The set of laws was active in practice for a long time, but it was not collected and codified until Stefan Gečov did so at the end of the 19th century. [18] [19] The most infamous laws of the Canon are those that regulate blood revenge. Blood feuds began again in northern Albania (and have since spread to other parts of Albania, even to emigrants) after the fall of communism in the early 1990s, as it was banned during the Enver Hoxha regime.
References
This article "Leka III Dukagjini" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Leka III Dukagjini. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
