The Spani was a northern Albanian noble family and clan. The center of the family was Drivast, which it ruled holding the titles of Duke and Count. In the late 15th century, a large part of it settled in Venetian territories, primarily Venice itself and Dalmatia. Members of this family lived in a wider region ranging from northern Albania and Montenegro to western Kosovo.
History
The Spani family was of Greek origin. The surname Span or Spani probably derives from the Greek word spanos. In Croatia and Serbia, the surname is transliterated as Spanić and Spanović. Serbian historians including J. Erdeljanović and Petar Šobajić linked the surname with the descendants of the RomanizedIllyrian population of Montenegro, although that is considered unlikely as the name is neither related to a particular population nor are all its bearers related. As a family with noble status, the Spanis first appear in 1304–1305 as part of the nobility of the AngevinKingdom of Albania. The territories the family ruled varied from time to time, but Drivast seems to have been their center. In the 1380s, the Balšići had taken over Spani territory, along with much of the rest of northern Albania, all the way to Mirdita and Alessio. After Alfonso V signed the Treaty of Gaeta with the Albanian leader Skanderbeg in 1451, he signed similar treaties with other chieftains from Albania: Gjergj Arianiti, Gjin Musachia, George Strez Balšić, Peter Spani, Paul Dukagjini, Thopia Musachi, Peter of Himara, Simon Zenevisi and Carlo Tocco who were all, like Skanderbeg, recognized as vassals of the Kingdom of Naples. In the early subdivisions of Albania during the Ottoman era, the region ruled by Pjetër Spani was known in Ottoman Turkish as Petrishpani or I-shpani. Of the branches that migrated to Venetian territories, the one in Venice became extinct by the late 16th century, while the Dalmatian branch mainly found in Korčula was elevated into the ranks of local nobility. In 1455, during the Ottoman conquest of Novo Brdo, Alessio Spani was the last Serbian despot's voivode in the town.
Members
A branch of the family claimed descent from several imperial Byzantine families. In Gjon Muzaka's 1510 work Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi, Alessio Span is mentioned as a descendant of Emperor Theodosius, although it is unclear to whom it refers as there were three Byzantine emperors named Theodosius.
Marin and his descendants
At the beginning of the 15th century, most notable members of Span family were Marin and his son Peter. Peter's father Marin is mentioned in 1409 as already dead. In 1415, Peter did not have any sons so he decided that he will be inherited by his nephew Marin, a son of his brother Brajko, and ceded several fortresses to him. When the Venetians recaptured Drivast in 1442, Peter Span lost all of his possessions. Peter's brother, Stefan, was appointed by Venetians as the lord of village Podgora in 1406. After Podgora was given to Hoti, Venetians compensated this lost to Stefan and gave him two small villages. When Balša III died in 1421, Stefan joined Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević who recognized his rule over three villages in Drivast. Marin Span was commander of Skanderbeg's forces which lost fortress Baleč to Venetian forces in 1448 during Skanderbeg's war against Venice. Marin and his soldiers retreated toward Dagnum after being informed by his relative Peter Span about the large Venetian forces heading toward Baleč.
