# Koja Zaharia

Koja Zaharia or Koja Zakaria (Italian: Coia Zaccaria) (? – before 1442) was an Albanian nobleman and a member of the Zaharia family.

## Name

In Ragusan documents he is referred to as Kojčin or Gojčin. Because of that, many scholars like Nicolae Iorga, Ludwig Thalloczy and Konstantin Jireček have mistakenly believed he was actually Gojčin Crnojević.
His name is rendered by Robert Elsie as Koja Zacharia or Koja Zakarija.

## Family

Koja married Bosa (also known as Boxia) Dukagjini, the daughter of Leka Dukagjini. The couple had three children:
* Lekë Zaharia, was possibly bethrothed to Irene Dushmani. He was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë. He died in 1447 where his mother Bosa inherited his lands.
* Boglia Zaharia, became the second wife of Balsha III, following his divorce from his first wife, Mara Thopia. Their marriage took place in early 1412 or late 1413, and the couple had two children, Teodora Balsha and a son
* A daughter (name unknown), married to Đurađ Đurašević Crnojević and had four children.
There is some debate regarding the marriage of his daughter, Boglia Zaharia. One account suggests she was married to Petar Vojsalić, while another claims her husband was Petar I Pavlović. Koja died sometime before 1442 and his widow, Bosa, passed away in Shkodër on September 19, 1448, during a tragic fire that took the lives of around 500 people.

## Allegiances
### Lordship of Zeta

Until 1395 Koja Zaharia was castellan of Sati, which belonged to a fief of Konstantin Balšić and was part of the Lordship of Zeta under Đurađ II Balšić. In 1395 Balšić ceded Sati (with Dagnum) together with Scutari and Drivast to the Venetian Republic (in order to create a buffer zone between his Zeta and the Ottoman Empire), but Zaharia refused to allow the Venetians to take control over Sati.

### Ottoman Empire

When Koja captured the castle of Dagnum in 1396 he proclaimed himself the Lord of Sati and Dagnum ("dominus Sabatensis et Dagnensis") and from there he ruled the territory around it as an Ottoman vassal. In October 1400 Koja proposed to the Venetians to simulate a battle in which he and his cousin Dhimitër Jonima would pretend to lose their possessions to the Venetians, in exchange for provision of 500 ducats annually. The Venetians did not promptly respond and Koja returned to the sultan. In 1402, together with other Albanian noblemen, he fought alongside Bayezid I forces, in the Battle of Ankara.

### Venetian Republic and Serbian Despotate

In 1403, a year after the Ottomans were defeated in the Battle of Ankara, Koja together with his vassal Dhimitër Jonima accepted Venetian suzerainty. During the First Scutari War between Zeta and Venetian Republic, he supported Venetian forces.
Around 1412, Koja's daughter Boglia Zaharia married Balša III and in return Balša III allowed him to administer Budva. At that time Koja's other daughter was already married to a member of Đuraševići who held the most distinguished position in Balša's court. To bring Koja even closer, Balša appointed him as castellan of Budva. After the death of Balša III (28 April 1421), Koja's daughter Boglia together with her two daughters returned to her family in Dagnum. Koja Zaharia supported Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević until he was defeated by Venice in December 1422. Although Venetian admiral Francesco Bembo offered money to Gjon Kastrioti, Dukagjins and to Koja Zaharija in April 1423 to join the Venetian forces against the Serbian Despotate (offering 200 ducats to Koja Zaharia), they refused. In one period Serbian despot Stefan Lazarević intended to financially destroy Koja Zaharia and ordered Ragusan traders to avoid paying taxes to Koja and to travel to Serbia via Lezhë not through Koja's Dagnum.

### Ottoman Empire

When Ishak Bey captured Dagnum from Koja Zaharia in 1430 it was attached to the territory controlled by Ali Beg, while Koja was either imprisoned or expelled. After the Albanian Revolt of 1432–1436 was crushed the sultan entrusted Koja's son Lekë Zaharia with a position of Dagnum's governor.

## Family tree

* Koja Zaharia, Lord of Sati and Dagnum, married Bosa Dukagjini
** Lekë Zaharia, Lord of Sati and Dagnum, married Irene Dushmani
** Boglia Zaharia, Lady of Zeta, married Balsha III
*** Teodora Balsha, married Petar Vojsalić who was a Duke of Bosnia
**** Dorothea Vojsalić
*** Unknown Son, was born in 1415 but died shortly thereafter in infancy
** Unknown Daughter, Lady of Paštrovići, married Đurađ Đurašević
*** Đurašin Đurašević
*** Gojčin Crnojević, Lord of Zeta, unknown spouse
**** Aleksandar Crnojević
*** Stefan Crnojević, Lord of Zeta, married Mara Kastrioti
**** Ivan Crnojević, Lord of Zeta, married Goisava Arianiti then Mara Vukčić Kosača
**** Andrija Crnojević
**** Božidar Crnojević
*** Unknown Son