Lekë Zaharia

Lekë Zaharia Altisferi (died 1444) was an Albanian nobleman from the Zaharia family. He was the only son of his father Koja Zaharia and mother Bosa, who also had one daughter, Bolja, who named her son Koja after her father.[1][2]

Lekë Zaharia
Lord of Sati and Dagnum
Reign?—1444
HereditaryBosa (or Boša)
Full name
Lekë Zaharia Altisferi
Died1444
Noble familyZaharia family
FatherKoja Zaharia
MotherBosa

League of Lezhë

In 1444 he was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë,[3] which included some other members of the Albanian nobility. The League's known members included:

  1. Lekë Zaharia (lord of Sati and Dagnum) and his vassals Pal Dukagjin and Nikolla Dukagjini
  2. Pjetër Spani
  3. Lekë Dushmani
  4. Gjergj Stres Balsha with John and Gojko Balsha
  5. Andrea Thopia with his nephew Tanush Thopia
  6. Gjergj Arianiti Thopia Comneni
  7. Theodor Korona Muzaka
  8. Stefan Crnojević with his sons

Lekë's murder

According to contemporary chronicler Marin Barleti, in 1445 during a marriage ceremony for Skanderbeg's sister Mamica Kastrioti, Zaharia had a dispute with Lekë Dukagjini. At the center of this dispute was a woman named Irene Dushmani, heir to the Dushmani family. She seemed to prefer Zaharia, while this was not accepted by Dukagjini. A skirmish happened and Dukagjini remained wounded, saved only by the intervention of Vrana Konti. Two years later, in 1447, Lekë Zaharia was killed in an ambush and Dukagjini was accused of the murder.

Original Venetian documents show that the murder occurred in 1444.[4] According to the Venetian chronicler Stefano Magno, it was Nicholas Dukagjin, Zaharia's vassal, who killed Lekë Zaharia in the battle, not Lekë as stated by Barleti.[5] Magno also stated that, before he died, Lekë Zaharia expressed his wish that his properties should be handed over to the Venetian Republic.[6]

Aftermath

Having left no heirs, the fortress of Dagnum was claimed from Skanderbeg in the name of the League of Lezhë, of which Lekë Zaharia was a participant. However, his mother surrendered the castle to the Venice Republic. This event triggered the Albanian–Venetian War, which lasted two years. In the end the castle of Dagnum remained in Venetian hands toward an annual tribute to Skanderbeg.[7]

Family tree
Koja ZahariaBoža
Balša III
Petar Pavlović or Petar Vojsalić		BoljaLeke ZahariaDaughter (unknown name)Đurašević
Kojadaughter1daughter2

References
  1. Ostrogorsky, George (1951), Pronija : prilog istoriji feudalizma u Vizantiji i u juznoslovenskim zemljama (in Serbo-Croatian), Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, p. 172, OCLC 162891544, retrieved 20 January 2012, ...које је био посадио Која Захарија, па чак и сама његова удовица Боса. Још је занимљивије да се удовица Боса,...
  2. Božić, Ivan (1979), Nemirno pomorje XV veka (in Serbian), Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, p. 364, OCLC 5845972, Члановима породице Леке Закарије — мајци Боши, сестри Бољи и његовом сестрићу Који... pp. 364: "Никола Дукађин убио је Леку Закарију. Према млетачком хроничару Стефану Мању убио га је "у битки" као његов вазал. Мада Барлеције погрешно наводи да је убиство извршио Лека Дукађин"
  3. Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, 1405-1468 Volume 4 of (Vepra të plota) / Fan S(tylian) Noli, Fan Stylian Noli Author Fan Stylian Noli Publisher Naim Frashëri, 1967 p. 84
  4. Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2001), Das venezianische Albanien (1392-1479), München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH München, p. 300, ISBN 3-486-56569--9, In ein Aktenstück von Januar 1445 inseriert ist eine Urkunde des Skutariner Grafen Francesco Querini vom 18. Septembar 1443, in der Lekas witwe Bozha, seiner Tochter Bolja und derren sohnchen Koja einge Dorfer aus Lekas baština und eine pension...
  5. Božić, Ivan (1979), Nemirno pomorje XV veka (in Serbian), Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, p. 364, OCLC 5845972, Никола Дукађин убио је Леку Закарију. Према млетачком хроничару Стефану Мању убио га је "у битки" као његов вазал. Мада Барлеције погрешно наводи да је убиство извршио Лека Дукађин
  6. Božić, Ivan (1979), Nemirno pomorje XV veka (in Serbian), Beograd: Srpska književna zadruga, p. 364, OCLC 5845972, Према причању Стефана Мања, и сам Лека Захарија је, пре но што ће умрети, изразио жељу да се његови поседи предају Млечанима.
  7. Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, 1405-1468 Volume 4 of (Vepra të plota) / Fan S(tylian) Noli, Fan Stylian Noli Author Fan Stylian Noli Publisher Naim Frashëri, 1967 p. 90-92
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