| Moneta family | |
|---|---|
| Noble family | |
 Coat of arms of the Moneta, as depicted in the compendium "Insignia Veneta, Mantuana, Bononiensia, Anconitana, Urbinatia, Perugiensia - BSB Cod.icon. 274" from the mid-16th century. | |
| Country | Montenegro,Albania |
| Current region | Scutari,Principality of Zeta,Serbian Despotate andVenetian Republic (modern dayAlbania) |
| Members | Rajko, Jelena, Nicholas, Jacob |
| Connected families | Mrnjavčević |
TheMoneta family was a 15th-century noble family ofZeta,Serbian Despotate andVenetian Republic in the region ofScutari (modern dayAlbania). They first served Zeta's LordBalša III and Serbian despotStefan Lazarević before they becamepronoiars of theVenetian Republic in 1423. Their religion wasEastern Orthodox and they ruled the land between riversBojana andDrin.[1] 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 theSecond Scutari War, theAlbanian–Venetian War (1447–1448) and the Ottoman sieges of Scutari, firstin 1474 and then1478/1479. After Scutari was captured by the Ottomans in 1479 Nicholas, one of the sons who becamevoivode 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.
Rajko Moneta was a nobleman in service ofBalša III. He was married to Jelena, a daughter of Jelisanta, a granddaughter of Olivera Mrnjavčević and a great-granddaughter of KingVukašin Mrnjavčević.[2] Rajko controlled four big villages and large areas of land.[3] Balsha III took many Venetian prisoners when he capturedDrivast at the end of August 1419 and exchanged them for his three noble men captured by Venice, one of them being Rajko Moneta.[4] After death of Balsha III Rajko Moneta served despotStefan Lazarević, but decided to leave him in 1423, during theSecond Scutari War.[5]
As Venetian pronoier Rajko Moneta controlled foursalt ponds in Grbalj valley nearKotor.[6] After theSecond 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.[7]
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.[8][9] The property of the church was later increased with the gifts ofBalša III. Based on thejus patronatus this church was inherited by the descendants of Olivera, Jelena and her sons Jacob and Nicholas.[10] Nicholas and Jacob Moneta complained to Venetian Senate because the governor of Scutari gave two churches which belonged to Olivera's legacy to twoabbots of his choice.[11]
In 1443 the Venetians gave tax benefits to Rajko Moneta to stimulate settling of the village of St. Vraza (Serbian:Свети Врачи).[12][13]
Members of the Moneta family (three sons of Rajko Moneta) participated in theAlbanian–Venetian War (1447–1448) as Venetian pronoiers struggling againstSkanderbeg.[14]
Between 1456 and August 1457 a small war was waged between two branches of theDukagjini family. Between Ottoman supportedLekë andPal Dukagjini on one side and Draga Dukagjini, son ofNicholas Dukagjini, supported byVenice.[15] In this war Moneta family, together with Skanderbeg andHumoj family served Venetian forces.[16]
Nicholas Moneta was a wealthy Venetian patrician andvoivode of Scutari[17] who fought against the Ottomans during theSiege of Krujë (1466–1467) (joined bySkanderbeg and some members of theDukagjini family).[18] Nicholas Moneta and two other Orthodox Christians were authorized by the Senate to be procurators of Serbian churches onSkadar lake.[19] 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 inKrujë.[20]
Jacob and Nicholas fought against the Ottomans during two sieges of Scutari, one in 1474 and another in 1478–1479.[21]Marin Barleti in his work about the siege of Shkodra describes Jacob Moneta as Venetian officer who fought against the Ottomans.[22] During theSiege of Shkodra (1478—1479) Nicholas was a commander of cavalry.[23] 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 ofKoja Humoj and their daughter.[24] 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.[25] After the Ottomans captured Scutari Nicholas joined his family in Venice. The descendants of Rajko Moneta who took refuge in Venice lived in poverty.[26]
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
Били су то велики Балшин властелин Рајко Монета, који је био ожењен праунуком краља Вукашина Јеленом и имао четири велика села и пространа земљишта)
Деспота је напустио и његов истакнути властелин Рајко Монета)
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 )
Она, међутим, ни свом оданомподанику Николи Монети није дозволила да со с грбаљских солана носи било гдје друго осим у Котор.)
Наиме, Оливера, кћерка краља Вукашина, подигла је цркву свете Марије у селу Лоренцу (место је остало непозна- то) и обдарила је поседима који су касније увећани поклонима Балше III. Иза Оливере остала је кћерка
„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).
Н>ихови синови, Jаков и Никола морали су да се жале Сенату, jep је кнез Скадра дао ту цркву еамом..
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
Рајко Монета добио је 1443. године олакшице за насељавање Светих Врача, села које је 1417. имало 13 кућа
Многи домаћи људи учествовали су у борбама на Млетачкој страни. ...три сина Рајка Монете..
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.
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.
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.)
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;