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Stefan Nemanjić, known as Stefan the First-Crowned, was the Grand Prince of Serbia from 1196 and the King of Serbia from 1217 until his death in 1228. He was the first Serbian king by Nemanjić dynasty; due to his transformation of the Serbian Grand Principality into the Kingdom of Serbia and the assistance he provided his brother Saint Sava in establishing the Serbian Orthodox Church.
When the Roman Empire divided into east and west in 395, the territories of modern Albania became a part of the Byzantine Empire. At the end of the 12th century, the Principality of Arbanon was formed which lasted until mid 13th century, after its dissolution it was followed with the creation of the Albanian Kingdom after an alliance between the Albanian noblemen and Angevin dynasty. After a war against the Byzantine empire led the kingdom occasionally decrease in size until the Angevins eventually lost their rule in Albania and led the territory ruled by several different Albanian chieftains until the mid 14th century which for a short period of time were conquered by the short-lived empire of Serbia. After its fall in 1355 several chieftains regained their rule and significantly expanded until the arrival of the Ottomans after the Battle of Savra.
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Progon was the first Albanian ruler known by name, an archon of the Kruja Fortress and its surroundings, known as the Principality of Arbanon. He ruled between 1190 and 1198. Progon was succeeded by his two sons, Gjin, and Dimitri.
Demetrio Progoni was an Albanian leader who ruled as Prince of the Albanians from 1208 to 1216 the Principality of Arbanon, the first Albanian 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 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 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, 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.
Gregorios Kamonas was the Greek-Albanian Lord or Prince of Krujë (Arbanon) in ca. 1215. Demetrios Chomatenos (1216–1236) mentioned him as having the title of sebastos, given to him by the emperor Alexios III Angelos after 1205, during his stay in the Despotate of Epirus at the court of his nephew Michael I Komnenos Doukas. He first married the daughter of Gjin Progoni, then married Serbian princess Komnena Nemanjić, the daughter of King Stefan Nemanjić and widow of Dimitri Progoni, thus inheriting the rule of Arbanon. He strengthened ties with Serbia and secured Arbanon through an Orthodox alliance. He had a daughter together with Komnena, who married Golem of Kruja the later lord of Kruje.
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Pjetër Losha was an Albanian clan leader in medieval Epirus. He belonged to the Losha fis and was the leader of a combined force of his own clan and the fis of Mazaraki and Malakasi. In 1360, he became Despot of Arta, Rogoi and the area of Amphilochia. He died in 1374 and was succeeded by his close ally, Gjin Bua Shpata. The Chronicle of the Tocco is an important primary source for his life and the Albanians in medieval Epirus in general.
The term Albanian Principalities refers to a number of principalities created in the Middle Ages in Albania and the surrounding regions in the western Balkans that were ruled by Albanian nobility. The 12th century marked the first Albanian principality, the Principality of Arbanon. It was later, however, in the 2nd half of the 14th century that these principalities became stronger, especially with the fall of the Serbian Empire after 1355. Some of these principalities were notably united in 1444 under the military alliance called League of Lezhë up to 1480 which defeated the Ottoman Empire in more than 28 battles. They covered modern day Albania,western and central Kosovo, Epirus, areas up to Corinth, western North Macedonia, southern Montenegro. The leaders of these principalities were some of the most noted Balkan figures in the 14th and 15th centuries such as Gjin Bua Shpata, Andrea II Muzaka, Gjon Zenebishi, Karl Topia, Andrea Gropa, Balsha family, Gjergj Arianiti, Gjon Kastrioti, Skanderbeg, Dukagjini family and Lek Dukagjini.
Arbanon was a medieval principality in present-day Albania, ruled by the native Progoni family, and the first Albanian state to emerge in recorded history. The principality was established in 1190 by the Albanian archon Progon in the region surrounding Kruja, to the east and northeast of Venetian territories. Progon was succeeded by his sons Gjin and then Demetrius (Dhimitër), who managed to retain a considerable degree of autonomy from the Byzantine Empire. In 1204, Arbanon attained full, though temporary, political independence, taking advantage of the weakening of Constantinople following its pillage during the Fourth Crusade. However, Arbanon lost its large autonomy ca. 1216, when the ruler of Epirus, Michael I Komnenos Doukas, started an invasion northward into Albania and Macedonia, taking Kruja and ending the independence of the principality. From this year, after the death of Demetrius, the last ruler of the Progoni family, Arbanon was successively controlled by the Despotate of Epirus, then by the Bulgarian Empire and, from 1235, by the Empire of Nicaea.
The Dukagjini are an Albanian noble family which ruled over an area of Northern Albania and Western Kosovo known as the Principality of Dukagjini in the 14th and 15th centuries. They may have been descendants of the earlier Progoni family, who founded the first Albanian state in recorded history, the Principality of Arbanon. The city of Lezhë was their most important holding.
Komnena Nemanjić was the Princess consort of Dhimitër Progoni, the Albanian Prince of Albania of Arbanon, and later Grigor Kamona, the Archon of Scampis. She was the daughter of Serbian King Stephen II Nemanjić.
The Malakasi were a historical Albanian tribe in medieval Epirus, Thessaly and later southern Greece. Their name is a reference to their area of origin, Dangëllia in southern Albania, centered around the village of Malakas, on the Western slope of mount Radomir. They appear in historical records as one of the Albanian tribes which raided and invaded Thessaly after 1318 and throughout the 14th century were active in the struggles of the Albanian Despotate of Arta against the Despotate of Epirus.
The Albanian-Epirote War of 1381–84 was waged between the Despotate of Arta, led by Gjin Bua Shpata and the Despotate of Epirus, led by Thomas II Preljubović. During the War, Thomas would be given the nickname "Albanian-slayer", due to the cruelty he displayed towards Albanian prisoners.
Gjin Tanushi was a 13th-century Albanian nobleman who held lands in Ndërfandë, corresponding to the region of Mirdita in north-central Albania. He was also the progenitor of the Dukagjini family which ruled over an area of northern Albania and western Kosovo during the medieval period, their most important holding being that of Lezhë.
References
Citations
- ↑ Eqrem Çabej (1987). Studime etimologjike në fushë të shqipes. Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Gjuhësisë dhe i Letërsisë.
- 1 2 3 Ducellier 1999 , p. 786: "Even if it is hard to identify the outlook of Prince Gjin, the son of Progon, who died in 1208, it is clear that his successor, Dhimitër, saw Venice as the main enemy..."
- ↑ Nicol 1957, p. 17.
Sources
- Ducellier, Alain (1999). "24(b) – Eastern Europe: Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria". In Abulafia, David (ed.). The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 5, c.1198 – c.1300. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 779–795. ISBN 978-0-52-136289-4.
- Nicol, Donald McGillivray (1957). The Despotate of Epiros. Oxford: Blackwell & Mott, Limited.