Republic of Ragusa in the context of "Medieval Bosnia"

The history of Italy in the Middle Ages can be roughly defined as the time between the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance. Late antiquity in Italy lingered on into the 7th century under the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty, the Byzantine Papacy until the mid 8th century. The "Middle Ages" proper begin as the Byzantine Empire was weakening under the pressure of the Muslim conquests, and most of the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell under Lombard rule in 751. From this period, former states that were part of the Exarchate and were not conquered by the Lombard Kingdom, such as the Duchy of Naples, became de facto independent states, having less and less interference from the Eastern Roman Empire.

Lombard rule ended with the invasion of Charlemagne in 773, who established the Kingdom of Italy and the Papal States in large parts of Northern and Central Italy. This set the precedent for the main political conflict in Italy over the following centuries, between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, culminating with conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV and the latter's "Walk to Canossa" in 1077.

The maritime republics (Italian: repubbliche marinare), also called merchant republics (Italian: repubbliche mercantili), were Italian thalassocratic port cities which, starting from the Middle Ages, enjoyed political autonomy and economic prosperity brought about by their maritime activities. The term, coined during the 19th century, generally refers to four Italian cities, whose coats of arms have been shown since 1947 on the flags of the Italian Navy and the Italian Merchant Navy: Amalfi, Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. In addition to the four best known cities, Ancona, Gaeta, Noli, and, in Dalmatia, Ragusa, are also considered maritime republics; in certain historical periods, they had no secondary importance compared to some of the better known cities.

Uniformly scattered across the Italian peninsula, the maritime republics were important not only for the history of navigation and commerce: in addition to precious goods otherwise unobtainable in Europe, new artistic ideas and news concerning distant countries also spread. From the 10th century, they built fleets of ships both for their own protection and to support extensive trade networks across the Mediterranean, giving them an essential role in reestablishing contacts between Europe, Asia, and Africa, which had been interrupted during the early Middle Ages. They also had an essential role in the Crusades and produced renowned explorers and navigators such as Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus.

Demetrio Progoni (Albanian: Dhimitër Progoni) was an Albanian leader who ruled as Prince of the Albanians from 1208 to 1216 the Principality of Arbanon, the first Albanian quasi state. He was the successor and brother of Gjin Progoni and their father, Progon of Kruja. Following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in the Fourth Crusade, he managed to further secure the independence of Arbanon and extended its influence to its maximum height. Throughout much his rule he was in struggle against the Republic of Venice, Zeta of Đorđe Nemanjić and later the Despotate of Epiros and inversely, maintained good relations with their rivals, the Republic of Ragusa, and at first Stefan Nemanjić of Raška, whose daughter Komnena he married. The Gëziq inscription found in the Catholic church of Ndërfandë (modern Gëziq) shows that by the end of his life he was a Catholic. In Latin documents, of the time, he is often styled as princeps Arbanorum (prince of the Albanians) and in Byzantine documents as megas archon and later as Panhypersebastos. Under increasing pressure from the Despotate of Epiros, his death around 1216 marks the end of Arbanon as a state and the beginning of a period of autonomy until its final ruler Golem of Kruja joined the Nicaean Empire. The annexation sparked the Rebellion of Arbanon in 1257. He didn't have any sons to continue his dynasty, but his wealth and a part of his domain in Mirdita passed after Demetrio's death to his underage nephew, Progon (son of Gjin), whom he named protosevastos. The Dukagjini family which appeared in historical record 70 years later in the same region may have been relatives or direct descendants of the Progoni.

In historical record, Dhimitër Progoni is the first ruler to call himself Prince of the Albanians and the first to identify his domain as Principatum Albaniae (Principality of Albania/Arbanon). Many later feudal rulers of Albania would lay claim to the same title and present their rule as the continuation of this state. The first to do so was Charles I of Anjou who sought to legitimise the Kingdom of Albania as a descendant state of the Principality of Arbanon about 60 years later, in 1272.

The Republic of Ancona was a medieval commune and maritime republic on the Adriatic coast of modern-day Italy, notable for its economic development and maritime trade, particularly with the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Mediterranean, although somewhat confined by Venetian supremacy on the sea. It enjoyed excellent relations with the Kingdom of Hungary, was an ally of the Republic of Ragusa, and maintained good relations with the Ottoman Empire. All these relationships enabled it to serve as central Italy's gateway to the Orient.

Included in the Papal States since 774, Ancona came under the influence of the Holy Roman Empire around 1000, but gradually gained independence to become fully independent with the coming of the communes in the 11th century, under the high jurisdiction of the papal state. Its motto was Ancon dorica civitas fidei ('Dorian Ancona, city of faith'), referencing the Greek foundation of the city.

A maritime nation is any nation that borders the sea and is dependent on its use for the majority of the following state activities: commerce and transport, war, to define a territorial boundary, or for any maritime activity (activities using the sea to convey or produce an end result).

Historically, the term has been used to refer to a thalassocracy such as Carthage and Phoenicia but during the medieval period increasingly became associated with the Maritime Republics of Venice, Pisa, Genoa, Amalfi, Gaeta, Ancona and Ragusa.

The counties of Croatia (Croatian: hrvatske županije) are the first-level administrative subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia. Since they were re-established in 1992, Croatia has been divided into 20 counties and the capital city of Zagreb, which has the authority and legal status of both a county and a city (separate from the surrounding Zagreb County). As of 2015, the counties are subdivided into 128 cities and 428 (mostly rural) municipalities. The divisions have changed over time since the medieval Croatian state. They reflected territorial losses and expansions; changes in the political status of Dalmatia, Dubrovnik and Istria; and political circumstances, including the personal union and subsequent development of relations between the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and the Kingdom of Hungary.

The Principality of Dukagjini (Albanian: Principata e Dukagjinit) refers to the domains (zotërimet) of the Albanian Dukagjini family in northern Albania and western part of the modern-day territory of Kosovo in the 14th century and 15th century. At their maximum extent, the domains of the Dukagjini extended from Upper Zadrima in the northwest to the Plain of Dukagjini in western Kosovo. The political center of the Dukagjini family was Lezhë until 1393 when it was surrendered to Venice in order to not fall under the Ottomans. The Ottoman sanjak of Dukagjin was named after the rule of the family in the areas that formed it.

The Dukagjini family appears for the first time in historical record in 1281, when their progenitor Gjin Tanushi took the title of dux. They may have been descendants of the earlier Progoni family which roughly claimed the same territory as they.The Dukagjini formed their independent domains when they rebelled against the Balšić noble family. This event must have happened by 1387, because that year the brothers Pal and Lekë Dukagjini signed a trade agreement with the Republic of Ragusa and allowed free passage to the republic's merchants through their territories. It was later ruled by Pal's descendants, Tanush Dukagjini, and Pal Dukagjini II. In June 1393, the two Dukagjini brothers ceded it to Venice, which it kept until 1478 - despite later attempts by the family to retake the city. The difficult to access mountainous hinterland in the east remained under the control of the Dukagjini. In 1398, Little Tanush (son of Pal I), surrendered to the Ottomans, but in 1402, after their defeat at Ankara and the capture of Sultan Bayezid I, he freed himself from them.