Gjon II Kastrioti | |
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Duke of San Pietro in Galatina | |
Prince of Kastrioti | |
Reign | 1468–1468 1481–1484 |
Predecessor | Gjergj Kastrioti |
Other titles | Count of Soleto Signore of Monte Sant'Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo Signore of Gagliano del Capo and Oria Lord of Kruja |
Born | 1456 |
Died | 2 August 1514 |
Noble family | Kastrioti |
Spouse | Jerina Branković |
Issue | Costantino Castriota Ferdinand Castriota Giorgio Castriota Maria Castriota Alfonso Castriota |
Father | Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg |
Mother | Donika Kastrioti (née Arianiti) |
Gjon II Kastrioti (Italian: Ioanne Castrioto,[1] Giovanni Castrioto;[2]1456–2 August 1514), was an Albanian prince and the son of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg, the Albanian national hero, and of Donika Kastrioti, daughter of the powerful Albanian prince, Gjergj Arianiti. He was for a short time Lord of Kruja after his father's death, then Duke of San Pietro in Galatina (1485), Count of Soleto, Signore of Monte Sant'Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1495, Ferdinand I of Naples gave him the title of the Signore of Gagliano del Capo and Oria. 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 Uprisings of 1481, when, after reaching the Albanian coast from Italy, settling in Himara, he led a rebellion against the Ottomans.[3] In June 1481, he supported forces of Ivan Crnojević to successfully recapture Zeta from the Ottomans.[4] He was unable to re-establish the Kastrioti Principality and liberate Albania from the Ottomans, and he retired in Italy after three years of war in 1484.[3]