18 Facts About Gjon Kastrioti

Gjon Kastrioti was an Albanian feudal lord from the House of Kastrioti and the father of Albanian leader Gjergj Kastrioti.

Gjon Kastrioti governed the territory between the Cape of Rodon and Diber and had at his disposal an army of 2,000 horsemen.

The Kastrioti family was from a region of northern Albania between Mat, Diber and Has.

Konstantin Gjon Kastrioti Mazreku is attested in Giovanni Andrea Angelo Flavio Comneno's Genealogia diversarum principum familiarum.

Gjon Kastrioti appears in two historical sources, Gjon Muzaka's Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi and Angelo's Genealogia diversarum principum familiarum, which was later largely reproduced by Du Cange.

Gjon Kastrioti rose as a feudal ruler in Albania at a time when its internal politics were being increasingly dominated by the Republic of Venice, which controlled many of its trade centers, and the Ottoman Empire, which in one form or another had begun to vassalize many of the small, independent lordships.

Gjon Kastrioti provided safe passage to merchants in the interior of the country and had no claims to Venetian-held territory.

Gjon Kastrioti accepted the suzerainty and was made a citizen of Venice in 1413, along with his heirs.

Gjon Kastrioti maintained good relations with Venice after becoming an Ottoman vassal between 1415 and 1417 and was not likely to endanger those relations by seizing the Cape from Venice.

From time to time, one or more of Gjon Kastrioti's sons were sent as hostages to the Ottoman court.

In 1428, Gjon Kastrioti had to seek forgiveness from the Venetian Senate because of Skanderbeg's participation in Ottoman military campaigns against the Christians.

Since he refused to cooperate with the Ottomans, Gjon Kastrioti begged the Venetians to provide him with a safe conduct if the Ottomans attacked him.

Gjon Kastrioti positioned Ottoman garrisons in two of Gjon's castles and destroyed the rest of them.

Isak-Beg allowed Gjon Kastrioti to govern a very small part of the territory because the Ottomans held Gjon Kastrioti responsible only for disobedience, not for treason.

Gjon Kastrioti joined an unsuccessful uprising against the Ottoman Empire led by Gjergj Arianiti between 1432 and 1436 and was again defeated by the Ottoman forces under Isak-Beg.

The territory previously controlled by Gjon Kastrioti was annexed by the Ottomans and listed in their registers as land of Yuvan-ili.

Gjon Kastrioti tried to avoid the monopoly of the Venetian Republic and built his own salt evaporation ponds.

Gjon Kastrioti's religion was directly influenced by the international balance of political powers.