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Gjon Muzaka

Albanian noble

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ5566040
Source-derived summary

Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; Italian: Giovanni Musachi di Berat) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote the Muzaka chronicles (a Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi. The work was published in Karl Hopf's Chroniques gréco-romaines, Paris 1873, pp. 270–340.

According to his memoirs, Gjon's father died before Ottomans captured Berat in 1417.

The memoir of Gjon Muzaka (1515)

His memoir is considered to be the oldest substantial text written by an Albanian. It was originally written in Latin and his name was listed as Giovanni Musachi. In it he mentions several interesting things that were confirmed to have been accurate by Noel Malcolm. Among other things he claims that, according to family history, the name "Musachi" is derived from a corrupted form of the name "Molossachi", ancient tribesmen of Epirus known as the Molossians.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Gjon Muzaka” is albanian noble. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Gjon, Muzaka and Albanian, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1510, 1873, 1417, 1515—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1510-01-01, 1450—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. For this dossier, Gjon, Muzaka and Albanian is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “albanian noble” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5566040. VIAF identifies the subject as 65783782. The Library of Congress control number is n98042134. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1510, 1873, 1417 and 1515.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

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  • Search vocabulary
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Gjon Muzaka”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Gjon Muzaka primary sources, Gjon Muzaka archive and Gjon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Gjon Muzaka”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Gjon Muzaka” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.