Gjon Kastrioti II

Who was Gjon Kastrioti II?

Gjon Kastrioti II was the son of Skanderbeg, the Albanian national hero, and of Donika Kastrioti, daughter of Gjergj Arianit Komneni. He was for a short time Lord of Kruja after his father death, Duke of San Pietro in Galatina, Count of Soleto, Signore of Monte Sant'Angelo and San Giovanni Rotondo. In 1495 Ferdinand I of Naples gave 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 uprising of 1481, when after reaching the Albanian coast from Italy, he tried to struggle against the Ottomans. Unsuccessful, he retired in Italy in 1484. In June 1481 he supported forces of Ivan Crnojević to recapture Zeta from Ottomans.

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.