Gjon Muzaka

Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; Italian: Giovanni Musachi di Berat) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania.^[2] In 1510 he wrote a Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi (Short memoir on the descendants of our Myzeqe lineage). The work was published in Karl Hopf's Chroniques gréco-romaines, Paris 1873, pp. 270–340.^[3]

Gjon Muzaka
Prince of Musacchia
The Muzaka's coat of arms in Francavilla Fontana
Full name	Gjon Muzaka
Born	c. 15th century Principality of Muzaka
Died	1515 or later
Buried	Church of Francavilla, Otranto
Noble family	Muzaka family
Spouse(s)	Maria Dukagjini
Issue	Theodor Muzaka Helena Muzaka Andriano Muzaka Costantino Muzaka Porfida Muzaka
Father	Gjin II Muzaka
Mother	Chiranna Mataranga[1]

According to his memoirs, Gjon's father died before Ottomans captured Berat in 1417.

The memoir of Gjon Muzaka (1515)

His memoir is considered to be the oldest substantial text written by an Albanian. It was originally written in Latin and his name was listed as Giovanni Musachi.^[4] In it he mentions several interesting things that were confirmed to have been accurate by Noel Malcolm.^[5] Among other things he claims that, according to family history, the name "Musachi" is derived from a corrupted form of the name "Molossachi", ancient tribesmen of Epirus known as the Molossians.^[4]

Attached to the chronicle is a document from John’s son, Constantine Muzaka, dated 1535. In this document, he mentions that his father “was interred in the large church of Francavilla in the region of Otranto, in a marble grave where masses are held three times a week. The grave bears an inscription that reads: Almighty Jesus, this is the grave of John Musachi, son of Gjin the Despot, Lord of Epirus and Myzeqe, who hailed from the city of Byzantium and carried the double-headed eagle as his symbol. A wreath was dedicated to him in the year of our Lord 1510.” This inscription is the reason the chronicle is conventionally dated to 1510. However, a reference to the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 indicates that John Musachi must have died after 1515.^[6]

Name

His name is mentioned in sources in several different versions, like John, Giovanni^[7] Ivan,^[8] and Jovan.^[9]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Gjon Muzaka

16. Andrea II Muzaka 8. Gjin I Muzaka 17. Euphemia Mataranga 4. Andrea III Muzaka 18. Materango Arianiti Comnenus 9. Zanfina Arianiti Comminata 2. Gjin II Muzaka 10. John Zenevisi Sebastocrator of Epirus 5. Anna Zenevisi 22. Gjin Bua Shpata 11. Lady of Bua Spata 23. Helena Preljubović (daughter of Gregory Preljub) 1. Gjon Muzaka 12. Paul Mataranga, Sebastokrator of Ohrid 6. Son or nephew of Paul Mataranga 3. Chiranna Mataranga 7. Maria Zardari

References

1. Karl Hopf (1873). Chroniques Gréco-Romaines. Weidmann. p. 282.
2. Braudel, Fernand (1995). The Mediterranean and the mediterranean world in the age of Philip II, Volume 2. p. 664. ISBN 0-520-20330-5.
3. "John Musachi: Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty".
4. Elsie, Robert (2003). "1515 | John Musachi: Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty". www.albanianhistory.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
5. Noel Malcolm (1998). Kosovo: A Short History. HarperPerennial. p. 62. ISBN 0-06-097775-2.
6. Elsie, Robert (2003). Early Albania A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. Harrassowitz. p. 34. ISBN 978-3-4470-4783-8. ...Appendixed to the chronicle, though not included here, is a text by John's son, Constantine Musachi, dated 1535, in which the latter states that his father "was buried in the large church of Francavilla in the country of Otranto in a marble grave where mass is conducted three times a week. On it is an inscription reading: Almighty Jesus, this is the grave of John Musachi, the son of Gjin the Despot, Lord of Epirus and of Myzeqe, who stemmed from the city of Byzantium and bore the double headed eagle as his emblem. To him was dedicated this wreath in the year of our lord 1510." For this reason, the following chronicle is traditionally dated 1510. A reference in the text to the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 proves, however, that John Musachi cannot have died before 1515...
7. Robert Elsie (2010). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 315. ISBN 978-0-8108-6188-6. John Musachi (Ital. Giovanni Musachi)
8. The complaints of Macedonia: memoranda, petitions, resolutions, minutes, letters and documents, addressed to the League of Nations, 1919-1939. International Documentation on Macedonia. 1979. p. 17. Ivan Musachi
9. Spiridion Gopčević (1889). Makedonien und Alt-Serbien (in German). L. W. Seidel. p. 305. Jovan Musaki