Early history The "Zenevias", probably the Zenebishi, are mentioned in 1304 as one of the families that were granted privileges by the
Angevin Philip I, Prince of Taranto. According to
Robert Elsie, the family originated from the
Zagoria region between
Gjirokastër and
Përmet, in modern-day
southern Albania. In 1381 and 1384, the Catholic lords of Arta asked the Ottoman troops for protection against the invading Albanian Zenebishi clan from
Gjirokastër; the Ottomans routed the raiders and restored order in Epirus.
Gjon Zenebishi is one of the most notable members of this family. In 1399, during the battle of Mesopotamos, the Zenebishi defeated the army of
Esau de' Buondelmonti. The Zenebishi captured the archontes of Ioannina and took Esau de' Buondelmonti hostage. This victory would mark the heyday of the Zenebishi clan, which would last until 1418. During this time, the Zenebishi clan annexed Saiata and Dryïnoupolis and made Gjirokastër the capital of their territory. During the
Ottoman Interregnum (1402–13), Zenebishi lost territory to the
Republic of Venice; most of the mainland territories across from the Venetian possession of
Corfu were taken.
Ottoman period Members of this family (as well as of the
Arianiti and
Muzaka clans) that initially resisted Ottoman expansion converted to Islam, while some of them rose to high positions within the Ottoman military and feudal hierarchy. The Ottomans besieged and took control of
Gjirokaster, the capital of the Zenebishi lands, in 1418, and
Gjon Zenebishi was killed in 1418 or 1419 by the Ottomans. The territory that the Zenebishi controlled before their submission to the Ottomans was registered in an Ottoman
defter (tax register) of 1431 as "the lands of Zenebishi" (). In 1454–55, Simon Zenebishi was recognized by
Alphonso V as a vassal of the
Kingdom of Naples. Gjon's son, known after his conversion to Islam as Hasan Bey, was a
subaşi in
Tetovo in 1455. The other son of Gjon, whose Muslim name was Hamza Zenebishi, was an Ottoman military commander who defeated the forces of the
Despots of the Morea besieging
Patras in 1459. In 1460, following the Ottoman conquest of the Morea, he became a
sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Mezistre. == Members ==