Svobodna Dnevnik

[Hadash]

El Correo Internacional

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Last Arberian King murdered in Goldecia
By: Milena Brovina
Published: Fein 5, 1582


Kreshnik II, the last Arberian King.

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Kreshnik II, the Last King of Arberë -today Kyrzbekistan, has died at 65. He was murdered in Cair Para, Goldecia, by an unknown gunman.

Kreshnik was a member of the Mirditë Dinasty, which ruled Arberia -also known as Arberë and, between 1498 and 1555 as Qenderi Commonwealth- from the 12th century until 1568, when the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan was proclaimed, ending a 9-year long civil war.

Kreshnik's reign was highly controversial. He came to the throne after the death of his father, late Gazhmend IV, who had reigned for more than 39 years, in late 1541.

During the early 1550s, the Near East monarchy was affected by a number of scandals and social unrest. In 1554, the Arberian Armed Forces intervened in Principality of Murë, then an autonomous territory on northwestern Arberë, in order to crush violent riots. A year later, the Royal Decrees of 1555 were passed, which was considered for many as a covert coup d'etat. As consequence, the Qenderi Commonwealth was abolished, the authority of the Kingdom of Arberë imposed in all the country, and the semi-federal constitution was disbanded, which in practice restored the absolute powers of the monarch. A year later, the Social Democratic Party, main opposition party for more than a decade, was banned. In late 1558, social unrest in the eastern provinces led to Akhadic insurgents taking over several towns. Martial law was declared, and a few weeks later a civil war started.

In 1568, as a political revolution spread around many Arberian cities, Kreshnik II was forced to abdicate in favour of his sister Princess Mimoza, although she was never crowned as monarch. Then, Kreshnik II fled to exile, along most of the members of the royal family. After a short residence in the Angirisian Empire, he moved to Mestra and later to New Galasia. After the Near East country entered in turmoil, he was offered assylum in Goldecia, where he had lived for the last three years.

It is not the first time that tragedy has hit the Arberial royal family in recent years. In 1579, Kreshnik's brother Prince Gazhmend was murdered in a terrorist attack which killed as well Viceroy Arcturus Neretus, the heir to the New Galasian throne. The only two direct remaining alive members of the Mirditë Dinastry are Prince Mimoza, 39, and his younger sister, Princess Gezimë.

The news of Kreshnik II murder were received coldly in Kyrzbekistan. The Kyrzbekistani government had demanded the extradition of the Arberian monarch for years, but without much success.

The Goldecian authorities have declared that they have started an investigation. So far, they do not rule out any hypothesis.

Kreshnik II had stated in recent years that he wished to be buried in the ancient crypt of the Dodbiba Palace, in the city of Lebrazhd, southern Kyrzbekistan, where Kreshnik lived during his childhood. However, this seem unlikely, as after 1568 the palace was turned into a government building, and since 1578 became the official residence of the Governor of Kombash-Kenlyukya.