Koja Zaharia

Koja Zaharia (also rendered as Zacharia, Zakarija; in Italian sources Coia Zaccaria; in Ragusan documents Kojčin or Gojčin) was a late 14th and early 15th-century Albanian nobleman, and the lord of Danjë and Shati. A member of the Zaharia family, he was the son of Nikollë Zaharia and initially served the Balsha rulers of Zeta. He continuously shifted his allegiance between the Ottomans, the Venetians, and the Serbian Despotate, seeking to preserve his family’s holdings in northern Albania.

Often styled in Venetian and Ragusan sources as Koja Albanensis (“Koja the Albanian”), he played a prominent role in the struggles over Shkodër and Lezhë, balancing ties with neighbouring lords such as the Jonima and the Dukagjini. He remained a significant figure in the region until the Ottoman conquest of Danjë in 1430, although his lands would soon be inherited by his son, Lekë.