Moisi Golemi

Moisi Arianit Golemi, (also, Moisi Arianit Golem Komneni or simply Moisiu i Dibres), the Albanian feudal lord of Dibra, and grandnephew of Gjergj Arianit Komneni.

When Skanderbeg came in Albania, Moisi quickly allied with him and became commander of the border guard. In that capacity he oversaw the capture of the crucial castle of Svetigrad in modern day Macedonia. He was a dashing cavalry commander, always charging at the most dangerous point, often changing the course of the battle to Albanian benefit.

After the debacle of the Siege of Berat, and growing envious of the fame Scanderbeg had accumulated over the years, he betrayed his commander in chief and went over to the Ottomans.

One year later he returned at the head of a fifteen thousand men-strong army, but was promptly defeated by Scanderbeg. He retreated first to Macedonia and then to Istanbul, where he was left ignored by the Ottoman authorities. Soon thereafter, he went back to Scanderbeg, who pardoned and reinstated him.

Moisi devoted the rest of his life to the Albanian struggle, but in 1464 he fell prisoner to Ballaban Badera, an Albanian-born Ottoman general at the Battle of Vaikal. Dispatched hastily to Istanbul along with other Albanian princes and captains, he was skinned alive publicly in Constantinople in what became known as the Massacre of Constantinople.

His memory was captured in literature in Kenga e Moisi Golemit (the Song of Moisi Golemi) amongst the Albanian-Italian community in Southern Italy known as Arbëreshë.

Popular culture

• Moisi appears in the expansion pack of the game Legendary Warriors, where he is called Moist instead. He is portrayed as an inspiring commander who is aristocratic but trusted well by his men. His change of sides is portrayed as a vast plot by Skanderbeg and him to undermine Ottoman morale. He is also portrayed as a man of immense honour, who never shows any weakness. He wields a strange "razor disc".