The House of Kaboga (Kabuà ¾iàin Croatian, Caboga in Italian) were a patrician family from the city of Dubrovnik and its Republic of Ragusa. Their numbers, economic power and social and political status marked them as wealthy, influential and noble. Originating in the eighth century, they are one of the oldest and best-known families in Dubrovnik. Many of its members were rector (knez) of the republic, and the Austrian Empire recognized its members in 1818 and 1833 as counts.
The Kaboga family first appears during the late 13th century. Dà ¾ore Dià ¡iÃÂ, who died before 1282, appears to be the patriarch although he is not specifically mentioned in sources. Dà ¾ore Dià ¡iÃÂ's wife Draga and their sons, Mihajlo (Miho), the cleric Dà ¾ivo, Marin and Vlaho, are frequently mentioned in records of the Dubrovnik chancellery for 1281 and 1282; Draga is described as "Uxor quondam Georgii de Disica", and her sons primarily as "filii qu. Dà ¾ore Dià ¡iÃÂ". Mihajlo, Dà ¾ivo and Marin have the name "Kaboga", and Mihajlo is described as the son of Dà ¾ore Kaboga.
Vlaho is mentioned in the Dubrovnik chancellery books later, after the name of Kaboga replaced Dià ¡iÃÂ. In 1297, he is called Vlaho Dà ¾ore Kaboga. Tomasina filia qu Dà ¾ore Dià ¡iÃÂ, who married Palma Bisti Getaldiàin 1283, appears again in 1325 in the will of Dà ¾ono Kaboga; the Kaboga and Dià ¡iàfamilies of 1281 and 1282 are seemingly identical, with Miho Dà ¾ore Kaboga (1280âÂÂ1286) apparently the oldest brother. In 1281, he received a portion of his father's estate. Marin, Dà ¾ivo and Vlaho continued to live with their mother, and Marin cared for the family's business affairs. Miho described his brother Dà ¾ivo as his procurator.
Three branches of the Kaboga family are descended from Miho, Marin and Vlaho, with all three cited in the second half of the 15th century. Marin's descendants, including his son Jure (1310âÂÂ1368) and his grandson Nikola Jurov Kaboga (1348âÂÂ1373), were involved in public life. Vlaho (1282âÂÂ1333) had two sons, Dà ¾ivo (1330âÂÂ1340) and Mihael (1332âÂÂ1366); he, Jure, Niko and Mià ¡e were members of the VijeÃÂe Umoljenih. Nikola carried out diplomatic assignments; he visited the King of Hungary in 1360 and 1363, and participated in peace talks in Kotor in 1362. Before his death in 1373 he was a judge and four-term rector, and was influential during Dubrovnik's break with Venice.
Vlaho and his descendants were primarily grain traders; in 1292 he appears as a witness in Ancona, and in 1313 in Durrës. In 1329 oats were taken from him in Ulcinj and the following year, he and his son Dà ¾ivo accepted a quantity of wheat from a Florentine company. Three months later, he received a credit of 450 perperas from the Florentines. His sons continued in the grain trade; Dà ¾ivo and M. Cerva were sent to Constantinople in 1330 to purchase wheat. In September 1335, Dà ¾ivo sold 670 stara jeÃÂma from the harvest to a merchant from Bar. At the end of October, he agreed to supply Dubrovnik with at least 500 stara of wheat by January or February. On January 28, 1336, Dà ¾ivo delivered 673 stara of wheat. He was apparently not wealthy at first, investing small sums.
In 1335, Dà ¾ivo and Orsat Cerva worked with Dà ¾ono Giorgi, receiving half the profits and risking 20 percent each of the potential loss. Dà ¾ivo Bona's brother, Petar (1318âÂÂ1346), also bought wheat in 1326, 1339, 1340 and 1345.
Miho's third brother, Vlaho Kaboga (1322âÂÂ1366), was sent by the government in June 1361 to Apulia to purchase wheat for his own use ("pro usu domus tue"); he was obligated to remain until March 1362. While he was there, the government sent him several purchase orders. In 1382, after his death, there was a quantity of salt in his basement.
During the military operations of the 1380s, Mihail's son Marin (1363âÂÂ1409) supplied hardtack to the galleys and apparently dealt in oil, cheese and tallow candles (lojanica). In 1394, Marin lived in Venice; his second marriage was to Margarita Nikole Kaboga (1383âÂÂ1423), daughter of his second cousin (drugi bratiÃÂ, grandfather of Dà ¾ore Marinov Kaboga). She and Marin had a son, Danijel. Beginning in 1397, Marin was chosen as rector several times. Mihael (Miho) Marin Kaboga (1397âÂÂ1428) was Marin's son from his first marriage.
In 1350 Jure Kaboga received oil valued at 322 perpera from Romaldus de Bari, and in 1356 his son Nikola (1348âÂÂ1373) delivered Albanian wheat to Dà ¾ore JaÃÂe Giorgi. Several times he had to sue his debtors for large payments. Nikola Jure Kaboga was married for a second time to Dechussa, daughter of the Venetian Andrea Dulfina. Her mother, Rade, was a citizen of Dubrovnik; through her, she was related to the MenÃÂe, Giorgi and Gundula families. Rade may have been the daughter of Dà ¾ono Damjan Gondola and Deje Medozi Drago from Kotor; if so, she had been married to Dà ¾ono Sorgo. Many of Mihael's descendants died young. Dà ¾ono Dà ¾ivo Kaboga (1341âÂÂ1363) and his wife, dealers in cloth and leather, died in 1363 during a plague and left a young son, Dà ¾ivo Dà ¾ono Kaboga.
Records of two sons of Dà ¾ivo Dà ¾ono Kaboga, Nikola and Luka (1396âÂÂ1437), survive; Luka was born outside of marriage, and the brothers worked together. Their accounting records are the oldest documents of their time preserved in Dubrovnik.