Gjon Kastrioti II (ca. 1454 - 1514) was the son of Skanderbeg, the Albanian national hero, and of Donika Kastrioti, daughter of Gjergj Arianit Komneni. While in his teens he was forced to leave the country after the death of his father in 1468. He is known also for his role in the Albanian uprising of 1481, when after reaching the Albanian coast from Italy, he tried to liberate his country from the Ottoman rule.[1] Unsuccessful, he retired in Italy in 1484.[1]
He married Irene Palaiologina, daughter of despot Lazar Branković of Serbia and great-granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. The Castriota Scanderbeg living in Italy today represent the only descendants of Manuel II Palaiologos.[2]