From Progoni to Dukagjini
The first known native family to have led a part of Albania is the Progoni family. In historical research the Dukagjini and Progoni families are considered to be related through direct patrilineal descent via Progon Progoni, nephew of Dhimitër Progoni.
Progon, archon of Krujë (Croia) is known to have ruled in central Albania in 1190-1198. He was a castle lord who was connected to the kin groups (fis) of his region. These kin groups were the social base of legitimacy for aristocratic families which developed in Albania. These families stemmed from the fis, relied on their support to expand their territory and were involved in complex marriage-alliance networks with other families and respective fis.
After his death and the ten-year rule of his son Gjin (Gin) who died in 1208, his other son Dhimitër (Demetrius) took control of Kruja. This figure is the first Albanian leader who styled himself as the prince of the Albanians (princeps Arbanorum) and as the prince of a defined territory (princeps Albaniae) centered around both sides of the Shkumbin river in central Albania (Arbanum). Dhimitër claimed that he was the Prince of the Albanians between Durrës, Ohrid, Shkodra and Prizren. His domain ended between 1213 and 1216, the year he must have died. A contemporary inscription in the Catholic church of Ndërfandë (Gëziq), Mirdita shows that he had provided the funds for its construction. The inscription functions as his political testament (e[x] t[estamento] Dimitri). He planned for the evolution of Ndërfandë from the center of an abbacy to a Catholic diocese in Albania within his territory. In this manner, he planned to create an independent Catholic Albanian diocese away from Venetian influence. In his testament, his nephew protosevastos Progon (Progono Sevastoproto) is recognized as his heir. In the inscription of Ndërfandë, the common people (nationi) have a highly visible role as it is to them that the church is dedicated. The ones responsible for the execution of the will were the judices (judges), regional notables of high status.
Family tree connection between Progoni-Dukagjini (by medievalist Injac Zamputi)
The Progoni-Dukagjini ancestry connection is based on several key similarities which the two families share between themselves, but with no other family.
⦁ The core region of both the Progoni and Dukagjini families is Mirdita. In folk legends of Mirdita, the relation of the Dukagjini with the region is evidently an ancient one. No other families in medieval Albania are linked to Mirdita except for the Dukagjini and the Progoni.
⦁ The time gap between the Progoni and the Dukagjini is about 70 years. Progon Progoni, nephew of Dhimitër was in his youth 70 years before the appearance of Duka Gjin Tanushi. This would make Progon, the father or grandfather of Tanush and (great-)grandfather of Gjin. In this case, Gjin seems to have inherited his name from Gjin Progoni, father of Progon Progoni. It is telling that the only family in medieval Albania, which used the personal name Progon to such a large extent is the Dukagjini family.
⦁ The church of Ndërfandë in the 15th century was for a brief time a matter of dispute between the Dukagjini and the Kastrioti. The two strongly allied families in the Albanian-Ottoman wars consulted the official archives of the Roman Catholic Church and agreed that Ndërfandë was part of the ancestral land led by the Dukagjini. This could only be if the church recognized the ancestral connection between Progoni and Dukagjini.
⦁ The coat of arms and house banner of the Dukagjini is the same as that of Dhimitër Progoni. Above the 1216 inscription stands the coat of arms of Progoni, a white one-headed eagle just as one of the main coat of arms of the Dukagjini, a white one-headed eagle on an azure background.