13th-14th centuries The Jonima first appear in historical sources at the beginning of the 13th century as vassals of
Dhimitër Progoni,
Panhypersebastos and
Archon (ruler) of the
Principality of Arbër, as attested to by an agreement between Progoni and the
Ragusans. In this agreement, in which one of the signatories was a noble by the name of Jonima, Vladislav Jonima later held the title of
Count of Dioclea and of coastal Albania. After the death of
Balsha II at the
Battle of Savra in 1385, the
Balsha family began to lose their Albanian territories south of
Zeta. The Jonima, who were centred at
Dagnum in the 1380's, asserted their independence from the Balsha and ruled over their estates between Durrës and the
Drin. They became embroiled in a conflict over the territory along both sides of the river Drin with the
Dukagjini family, who had also seceded from the Balsha. Around this time,
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. In return for aiding the Ottomans in their conquest of Shkodër, Dhimitër was granted control over the lands along the trade route between the coast and Prizren which had previously been under the control of the Dukagjini family. By eventually accepting Ottoman vassalage, the Jonimas were able to hold onto their 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 the Jonimas and the Ottomans. 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 the Jonimas.
15th-16th centuries Under Dhimitër, the Jonimas became vassals of
Koja Zaharia, the lord of
Shati, who had allowed the Ottomans passage through his lands to attack the Venetians in Shkodër and Drisht. The Venetians entered into negotiations with Zaharia and his new vassal, who were willing to abandon their alliance with the Ottomans and come to an agreement with the Republic. The Venetians agreed to provide aid in the form of troops and in the construction of defensive measures in the lands of the two noble families, and on 7 October 1400, Venetian officials in Shkodër promised to grant 500 ducats annually to Zaharia and 300 ducats annually to Dhimitër, plus lodging for each of their families. A few days later, on 12 October, the Venetians learned that the Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid I was mustering his military forces against
Timur, and that he had summoned Zaharia to join him as his vassal. As such, the alliance proposal was refused. and Kastrioti continued to cooperate with those members of the Jonima family who remained in the area of
Lezhë, since most of the Jonima family lived in the region of Shkodër by this time. A
Zorzi and
Piero, who were recorded in 1542, were
stratiots stemming from the Jonima family. In 1569, a
Joannes Dionami figure was part of the ecclesiastical clergy of
Lezha. Upon the defeat of Gjon Kastrioti by Ottoman forces in 1431, the lands taken from him that had once belonged to the Jonima family were registered by the Ottomans as the
vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima. The
vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima appears for the first time in Ottoman sources during the 1430's, and the Ottoman
defter (cadastral register) of 1467 recorded 22 villages in the
vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima, which was one of the regions that made up the
Diocese of Arbanum. Those villages were
Vishtuli,
Solomoni,
Kapruli,
Bërzana,
Gajpi (Gajushi),
Bukati,
Kurjasuti,
Fiku,
Matarisi,
Skandani,
Napëzi,
Dushku,
Dolaka,
Skopëdhi (Shkopeti),
Lurzi,
Kolashi,
Koshtanija,
Lindiza,
Zojmeni Zejmeniç,
Shukalza,
Shillazi and
Pëdhana (Pllana). In the Ottoman defter of 1583, the former
vilayet of Dhimitër Jonima was registered as the
nahiyah of Pjetër Jonima. This nahiyah had a total of 25 villages and abandoned settlements -
Gajeti,
Lopesi,
Zyjmi (Zejmeni),
Pezhana,
Fiku,
Tërkeshi,
Shtepani,
Darda,
Mantija,
Kashtina,
Brzana,
Kukula,
Shalësi,
Kondani,
Korvesuti,
Mërqina,
Lezha,
Matresi,
Sulimoni,
Sheja,
Skopeti,
Kaprula,
Lufa,
Murtkina and
Ishulli. As indicated by the village names recorded in the defters of 1467 and 1583, the territory of
Dhimitër (Pjetër) Jonima stretched along the northern bank of the Mat river, from Lezha to
Rubik. Its inclusion in the
kaza of
Krujë demonstrates its close historical ties with the southern area of
Kurbin. In 1583, the village is recorded as part of the
nahiyah of Kurbini. ==Members==