Dhimitër Gjoni

Dhimitër Jonima (died 1409), also known as Demetrius, Demeter, Dimitri, Dimitrije or Dmitar Gonoma was an Albanian nobleman and feudal lord from the Jonima family who controlled territories along the trade route between Lezhë and Prizren, including the coastal port of Shufada at the mouth of the Mati river. Jonima is recorded as one of the leaders of the Albanian forces that fought in Prince Lazar's coalition against the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.

In the years that followed, he alternated between Ottoman and Venetian vassalage, using these shifting allegiances to preserve his domains. He is last mentioned in 1409, the year in which he likely died. After his death, the Jonima family declined in power, with many of their former lands passing to the Kastrioti family; Ottoman cadastral records of the 15th and 16th centuries still referred to the region he once ruled over as the vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima.

Independent rule and Ottoman vassalage

The Jonima family, who were centred at Danjë in the 1380's, had asserted their independence from the Balsha and became embroiled in a conflict with the Dukagjini family over the territory along both sides of the Drin. 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. as one of the main leaders of the Albanian forces that fought in Lazar's Christian coalition against the Ottomans. Ottoman chronicles surrounding the battle considered Jonima to be one of the most important allies of the coalition.

After the Battle of Kosovo, the Jonima attempted to assert themselves in the territory between the Drin and Mati rivers. Koja Zaharia to the north. He controlled the coastal trade port of Shufada at the mouth of the river Mat 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, Jonima established positive diplomatic relations with them. 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. By eventually accepting Ottoman vassalage, Jonima was able to hold onto his strategic domains between Shkodër and Durrës. On 28 September 1394, a meeting between Ottoman and Venetian officials was held in Durrës regarding the release of Venetian captives captured by Jonima and the Ottomans.

Venetian vassalage In July 1399, the castellan of Lezhë informed Venice of Jonima's desire to place himself under Venetian vassalage, stating that he was initially loyal to the Venetians before rebelling and attaching himself to the Ottomans for a month. However, he wished to return to the Venetians, and he was ready to provide information on the actions of the Turks. In return, he 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 that year. 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 Jonima. They also wrote to the Ottoman commander Sarhan, who was some sort of special emissary of Bayezid I to the Ragusans, and Feriz, the kephale of Zvečan, on the same day regarding the same matter.

The agreement between Jonima and the Venetians did not fully materialise, however, as a year later, the Venetians entered into negotiations with Koja Zaharia - the lord of Dagnum and Shati - and Jonima. By this time, Jonima had become a vassal of his close relative Koja Zaharia,