Moneta family

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Moneta family
Current region Scutari, Principality of Zeta, Serbian Despotate and Venetian Republic (modern day Albania)
Notable members Rajko, Jelena, Nicholas, Jacob
Connected families Mrnjavčević

The Moneta family was a 15th-century noble family of Zeta, Serbian Despotate and Venetian Republic in the region of Scutari (modern day Albania). They first served Zeta's Lord Balša III and Serbian Despot Stefan before they became pronoiars of the Venetian Republic in 1423. The most notable members of the Moneta family include Rajko Moneta, his wife Jelena and their three sons. First Rajko and then his sons participated in numerous military conflicts including the Second Scutari War, the Albanian–Venetian War (1447–1448) and the Ottoman sieges of Scutari, first in 1474 and then 1478/1479. After Scutari was captured by the Ottomans in 1479 Nicholas, one of the sons who became voivode of Scutari, went to Venice to join his wife and their five children who took refuge in Venice in 1478 before the last Ottoman siege of Scutari started.

Zeta and Serbian Despotate

Rajko Moneta was a nobleman in service of Balša III. He was married to Jelena, a daughter of Jelisanta, a granddaughter of Olivera Mrnjavčević and a great-granddaughter of King Vukašin Mrnjavčević.[1] Rajko controlled four big villages and large areas of land.[2] Balsha III took many Venetian prisoners when he captured Drivast at the end of August 1419 and exchanged them for his three noble men captured by Venice, one of them being Rajko Moneta.[3] After death of Balsha III Rajko Moneta served Despot Stefan, but decided to leave him in 1423, during the Second Scutari War.[4]

Venetian pronoier

As Venetian pronoier Rajko Moneta controlled four salt ponds in Grbalj valley near Kotor.[5] After the Second Scutari War Venice did not allow anybody to sell salt from Grbalj anywhere else except at Kotor market, not even to loyal Venetian vassal Nicholas Moneta.[6]

Olivera Mrnjavčević, a great-grandmother of Rajko's wife Jelena, built the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary in Lorenc (unknown place which did not belong to Scutari region) sometime before 1371.[1][7] The property of the church was later increased with the gifts of Balša III. Based on the jus patronatus this church was inherited by the descendants of Olivera, Jelena and her sons Jacob and Nicholas.[8] Nicholas and Jacob Moneta complained to Venetian Senate because the governor of Scutari gave two churches which belonged to Olivera's legacy to two abbots of his choice.[9]

In 1443 the Venetians gave tax benefits to Rajko Moneta to stimulate settling of the village of St. Vraza (Serbian: Свети Врачи).[10][11]

Members of the Moneta family (three sons of Rajko Moneta) participated in the Albanian–Venetian War (1447–1448) as Venetian pronoiers struggling against Skanderbeg.[12]

Between 1456 and August 1457 a small war was waged between two branches of the Dukagjini family. Between Ottoman supported Lekë and Pal Dukagjini on one side and Draga Dukagjini, son of Nicholas Dukagjini, supported by Venice.[13] In this war Moneta family, together with Skanderbeg and Humoj family served Venetian forces.[14]

Nicholas Moneta was a wealthy Venetian patrician and voivode of Scutari[15] who fought against the Ottomans during the Siege of Krujë (1466–1467) (joined by Skanderbeg and some members of the Dukagjini family).[16] Nicholas Moneta and two other Orthodox Christians were authorized by the Senate to be procurators of Serbian churches on Skadar lake.[17] Jacob Moneta (Serbian: Јаков Монета) borrowed supplies and money to Venetian governors. Once he borrowed some money to Zuan Contarini to pay the salary to the Venetian mercenaries in Krujë.[7]

Ottoman sieges of Scutari

Jacob and Nicholas fought against the Ottomans during two sieges of Scutari, one in 1474 and another in 1478—1479.[7] Marin Barleti in his work about the siege of Shkodra describes Jacob Moneta as Venetian officer who fought against the Ottomans.[18] During the Siege of Shkodra (1478—1479) Nicholas was a commander of cavalry.[19] In January 1478, before the siege has started, his wife and their five children went to Venice together with wives and children of many other noblemen from Scutari, including the wife of Koja Humoj and their daughter.[20] The Venetian Senate helped Nicholas' wife with initial donation of 15 ducats and monthly payments of 5 ducats, which was the biggest donation granted to some refugee family from Shkodër.[8] After the Ottomans captured Scutari Nicholas joined his family in Venice. The descendants of Rajko Moneta who took refuge in Venice lived in poverty.[21]

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Istorijski zapisi: organ Istoriskog instituta i Društva istoričara SR Crne Gore. Istorijski institut u Titogradu. 2000. p. 49. Retrieved 29 January 2013. "Иза Оливере остала је кћерка Јелисанта, која је имала унуку Јелену, уда- ту за Рајка Монету, властелина Балше III. После смрти господара Рајко је ступио у млетачку службу и добио проније" 
  2. ↑ Bešić 1970, p. 94
    Били су то велики Балшин властелин Рајко Монета, који је био ожењен праунуком краља Вукашина Јеленом и имао четири велика села и пространа земљишта)
  3. ↑ Bešić 1970, p. 123
  4. ↑ Bešić 1970, p. 144
    Деспота је напустио и његов истакнути властелин Рајко Монета)
  5. ↑ Bešić 1970, p. 146
    Од 143 сона поља которска је општина располагала еамо са 32, док су остала припадала Балши (34), зетском митрополиту (24), Луштичанима (27), Ђурашевићима (10), Богдану Сикису (8),Николи Зауловићу (2), Кивићу (2) и Рајку Монети (4). Овајпосљедњи постао је, додуше, млетачки поданик, али није имаоникакве везе с которском општином )
  6. ↑ Bešić 1970, p. 166
    Она, међутим, ни свом оданомподанику Николи Монети није дозволила да со с грбаљских солана носи било гдје друго осим у Котор.)
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Прилози за књижевност, језик, историју и фолклор. Државна штампарија Краљевине Срба, Хрвата и Словенаца. 1976. p. 49. Retrieved 29 January 2013. "„из крал>евине свога оца", па ]е сво]им новцем и користеЬи се миразом, уз дозволу мужа БурЬа, подигла цркву св. Ма- ри]е у селу Лоренцу (данас нще познато где се село налазило; нще припадало скадароком подруч]у)." 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklor. Drzhavna štamparija Kralevine srba, khrbata i slovent︠s︡a. 1975. p. 27. Retrieved 29 January 2013. 
  9. ↑ Miloš Antonović (2003). Town and District in Littoral of Zeta and Northern Albania in XIVth and XVth Century. Istorijski institut. p. 55. ISBN 978-86-7743-031-3. Retrieved 1 February 2013. "Н>ихови синови, Jаков и Никола морали су да се жале Сенату, jep jе кнез Скадра дао ту цркву еамом.." 
  10. ↑ Oliver Jens Schmitt (2001). Das venezianische Albanien: (1392-1479). Oldenbourg Verlag. pp. 559–. ISBN 978-3-486-56569-0. Retrieved 29 January 2013. "desto weniger Zugeständnisse machte die Signoria selbst ihren Parteigängern in der Siedlungsfrage: Rajko Moneta erhielt 1433 keine Steuerfreiheit für Neusiedler in seinem Dorf S. Vraza.293" 
  11. ↑ Ivan Božić (1979). Nemirno pomorje XV veka. Srpska književna zadruga. p. 327. Retrieved 29 January 2013. "Рајко Монета добио је 1443. године олакшице за насељавање Светих Врача, села које је 1417. имало 13 кућа" 
  12. ↑ Univerzitet u Beogradu. Filozofski fakultet (1964). Zbornik Filozofskog fakulteta, Volume 8 (in Serbian). Belgrade: Naučno delo. p. 419. Retrieved 28 January 2012. "Многи домаћи људи учествовали су у борбама на Млетачкој страни. ...три сина Рајка Монете.." 
  13. ↑ Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2001) Das venezianische Albanien (1392-1479) München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH München p. 311 ISBN 3-486-56569--9 "Der nach 1456 ausbrechende Kampf um Dagno wurde auch als Familienzwist der Dukagjin ausgetragen, in dem sich Anhänger der Osmanen, Paul und Leka, und Venedigs, Nikolas Sohn Draga, gegenüberstanden." 
  14. ↑ Schmitt, Oliver Jens (2001) Das venezianische Albanien (1392-1479) München: R. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH München p. 311 ISBN 3-486-56569--9 "Daneben bot der Krieg Skanderbeg die Gelegenheit, seine Führungsstellung in den Bergen der Dukagjin zu erneuern und gleichzeitig Venedig einen Dienst zu erweisen. Der Kleinkrieg wurde mit grosser Heftigkeit geführt, wobei sich bekannte Parteigänger der Republik wie die Moneta und Humoj besonders auszeichneten." 
  15. ↑ Wolfgang Gesemann (1971). Serta Slavica in memoriam Aloisii Schmaus. Tofenik. p. 738. Retrieved 30 January 2013. 
  16. ↑ Schmitt 2009, p. 399
  17. ↑ Bešić 1970, p. 170
    Познато је да је Сенат потврдио Николу Монету и још двојицу својих православних поданика за прокураторе српских цркава наСкадарском језеру, уз ограничење да без сагласности скадарскогкнеза ништа не смију предузимати.)
  18. ↑ Marin Barleti (ed. David Hosaflook) (2012). The Siege of Shkodra: Albania's Courageous Stand Against Ottoman Conquest, 1478. Onufri. pp. 134–. ISBN 978-99956-87-77-9. Retrieved 29 January 2013. 
  19. ↑ Babinger 1992, p. 364
  20. ↑ Lucia Nadin Bassani (2008). Migrazioni e integrazione: il caso degli Albanesi a Venezia (1479-1552). Bulzoni. p. 22. ISBN 978-88-7870-340-7. Retrieved 30 January 2013. "Nel gennaio 1478 arrivavano a Venezia: la moglie di Nicolò Moneta, voivoda (ossia capo, governatore) di Scutari con i suoi cinque figli; la moglie di Choie Moi (Humoj) con la figlia;" 
  21. ↑ Dragoslav Srejović; Slavko Gavrilović; Sima M. Ćirković (1982). Istorija srpskog naroda: knj. Od najstarijih vremena do Maričke bitke (1371). Srpska književna zadruga. p. 200. Retrieved 29 January 2013. 

References

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