Nikollë Zaharia

Nikollë Zaharia, also known as Nikola Zakarija or Nikola Sakat (fl. 1364–1388), was a 14th-century Albanian nobleman of the Zaharia family who served as the castellan of Budva under the Balsha family. He was a prominent figure in the political affairs of the southern Adriatic, holding Ragusan and Venetian citizenship, and at times acting as an ally or adversary in their conflicts with each other as well as Kotor and King Tvrtko I of Bosnia. Following the death of Balsha II in 1385, Zaharia sought independence from Zeta together with his brothers. He is last mentioned in 1388, after which his son Koja Zaharia emerged as the autonomous lord of Dagnum and Shati. Through his daughter’s marriage to Komnen Arianiti, Nikollë became the maternal grandfather of several leading figures of the Arianiti family, including Gjergj Arianiti.

Name Nikollë Zaharia's name appears in sources under multiple variations. In Albanian, he is usually referred to as Nikollë Zaharia, and in Serbo-Croatian as Nikola Zakarija or Nikola Sakat. Venetian documents render his name as Nicholao Sachat/Sacchat. Nikollë's epithet - Sakat - is derived from the village of Sakat near Dagnum in the greater Pult region, which may be his family's place of origin. There are two theories regarding the location of this village; the first is that the village sat above Dagnum as part of the Zaharia family's possessions, whilst the second is that the village was located in Upper Pult, according to Serbian charters written in the first half of the 14th century. Komnen Arianiti married Nikollë's daughter, and they had three sons - Gjergj, Muzakë (the father of Moisi Golemi), and Vladan (Skanderbeg's brother-in-law) - and a daughter, who married Pal Dukagjini. The Sagat (Sakati) were a Ragusan noble family of Albanian origin from the region of Pult. A member of this family was documented in Ragusa on 29 July 1379 as a Ragusan subject, and the family is considered to have been connected to the Zaharia and the Balsha families.