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The Mazreku, or alternatively, the Mazaraki, Mazarech and Masarachi, were a historical Albanian tribe in medieval Epirus and Thessaly. 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.
Toponyms connected to the Mazaraki are spread widely across Albanian-inhabited lands; the Mazaraki of Epirus are the namesake of two toponyms (both called Mazaraki) near Ioannina and near Paramythia. Additionally, the toponym Mazaraki exists elsewhere in Epirus, in the eparchy of Patras, whilst the toponym Mazarakia is present in the eparchy of Margariti; there is also a Mazarakati in Cephalonia and Mazarakianika in Attica-Boeotia. [1]
John VI Kantakouzenos's History, which was written in the second half of the 14th century, mentions that the "Albanian tribes of Mazaraki, Bua, Malakasi were named so after the names of their leaders." Albanian clans traditionally bore the name of their first leader or progenitor, but after intermarriage between different leading families, the identification of the clans became intricate. [2]
During the second half of the 14th century, the Mazaraki tribe, alongside the fellow Albanian Malakasi tribe, were led by Pjetër Losha, an Albanian nobleman of Epirus. Losha led the Albanian force against Nikephoros II Orsini at the Battle of Achelous in 1359, which won him the rule of Arta; he founded his domain, the Despotate of Arta, around the city of Arta with the help of the Mazaraki and Malakasi clans. [3]
The Mazaraki regularly supported local Albanian leaders in their struggles against the Despotate of Epirus. In 1366, Thomas Preljubović succeeded Simeon Uroš as the ruler of Epirus. His rule marked a renewal of hostilities in the region, as from 1367 to 1370, Ioannina, the capital of Preljubović, came under constant siege by the Mazaraki and Malakasi clans under Pjetër Losha. These tribes would besiege Ioannina a second time in 1374–1375. [4] [5] [6] A truce was signed when Pjetër's son Gjin was betrothed to Thomas's daughter Irina. [5] [7] She died in the 1375 plague that affected the region and hostilities began yet again. [4]
Thomas Preljubović attempted to pacify the Albanians of Epirus; however, under Gjin Bua Shpata, the Albanians - particularly the Mazaraki of the Kalamas Valley - held firm against him. [8] In 1399, the Despot of Ioannina, Esau de' Buondelmonti, gathered an army from the districts of Zagoi, Mt. Papinges, Malakasi and Mazaraki, and marched on Gjirokastër with his tribal Albanian allies. He was defeated and captured by Albanian nobleman Gjon Zenebishi, and ransomed for 10,000 gold pieces on the intervention of the Venetian governor of Corfu. [9]
A Giorgio Masarachi is listed among the Albanians of Palazzo Adriano in Sicily, while a further nine stradiots in Italy with the surname Masarachi are documented from 1541 to 1569, and are thought to have probably hailed from the Mazaraki of Epirus. Two Mazaraki families exist in Cephalonia and Kythno of modern Greece. [1]
The settlement of Mazërreku/Mazaraki in Epirus was the main settlement of the core group of the Mazreku tribe since its early days, and it appeared in the early Ottoman era as the seat of a kaza. In the beginning of the 16th century, the core of Margariti was founded via the military services of the Mazreku tribe, who guarded the fortress there. The conversion to Islam of the guard of Margariti must have occurred before 1571. Margariti was the administrative centre of the nahiye of Mazaraki, which was renamed to the nahiye of Margariti in 1551. The original name of the nahiye refers to the Mazreku clan who lived in the region. [10]
Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë and the Acroceraunian Mountains in the north to the Ambracian Gulf and the ruined Roman city of Nicopolis in the south. It is currently divided between the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece and the counties of Gjirokastër and Vlorë in southern Albania. The largest city in Epirus is Ioannina, seat of the Greek region of Epirus, with Gjirokastër the largest city in the Albanian part of Epirus.
Chameria is a term used today mostly by Albanians to refer to parts of the coastal region of Epirus in southern Albania and Greece, traditionally associated with the Albanian ethnic subgroup of the Chams. For a brief period (1909-1912), three kazas were combined by the Ottomans into an administrative district called Çamlak sancak. Apart from geographic and ethnographic usages, in contemporary times within Albania the toponym has also acquired irredentist connotations. During the interwar period, the toponym was in common use and the official name of the area above the Acheron river in all Greek state documents. Today it is obsolete in Greek, surviving in some old folk songs. Most of what is called Chameria is divided between parts of the Greek regional units of Thesprotia, Preveza, and Ioannina ; and the municipality of Konispol at the southernmost extremity of Albania. As the wider Greek toponyms Epirus has existed since antiquity and the narrower Thesprotia also reflects an ancient name, and given the negative sentiments towards Albanian irredentism, the term is not used by the locals on the Greek side of the border.
Arta is a city in northwestern Greece and capital of the regional unit of Arta, which is part of Epirus region. The city was known in ancient times as Ambracia. Arta is known for the medieval bridge over the Arachthos River. Arta is also known for its ancient sites from the era of Pyrrhus of Epirus and its well-preserved 13th-century castle. Arta's Byzantine history is reflected in its many Byzantine churches; perhaps the best known is the Panagia Paregoretissa, built about 1290 by Despot Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas.
Thomas Preljubović was ruler of the Despotate of Epirus in Ioannina from 1366 to his death on December 23, 1384. He also held the title of Albanian-slayer after torturing Albanian prisoners in order to terrify his enemies.
Esau de' Buondelmonti was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of Despot.
Margariti is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Igoumenitsa, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 149.223 km2. Population 2,491 (2011).
Malakasi is a village and a former municipality in the Trikala regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Meteora, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 157.534 km2. Population 1,000 (2011). The seat of the municipality was in Panagia.
Gjin Bua Shpata was an Albanian ruler in Western Greece with the title of Despot. Together with Pjetër Losha, he led raids into Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia in 1358. He was recognized as Despot by the titular Eastern Roman Emperor in the early 1360s and ruled Aetolia (1360s–?), Angelokastron (?–1399), Naupactus (1378–1399), and Arta (1370s–1399). He was born some time in the first half of the 14th century in Epirus, as his father was a ruler in the region.
The Despotate of Arta was a despotate established by Albanian rulers during the 14th century, after the defeat of the local Despot of Epirus, Nikephoros II Orsini, by Albanian tribesmen in the Battle of Achelous in 1359 and ceased to exist in 1416, when it passed to Carlo I Tocco.
The Bua were a medieval Albanian tribe. The name is first attested in 14th-century historical documents as one of the Albanian tribes living in the Despotate of Epirus. Later on, the Bua settled southwards in the Peloponnese, and a part of them found refuge in Italy in the Arbëreshë migrations that followed the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. A branch of the tribe regiments was ennobled in the Holy Roman Empire after its service in the Stratioti, a Balkan mercenary unit. Mërkur Bua, its most prominent member, was Count of Aquino and Roccasecca.
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.
After the weakening of the Byzantine Empire and the Bulgarian Empire in the middle and late 13th century, the northern territory of modern-day Albania became part of Serbia. Firstly, as part of Serbian Grand Principality and later as part of Serbian Empire. Serb control in southern Albania is unclear. Some suggest they acquired towns, but others believe they only obtained submission, possibly nominal, from Albanian tribes. Central and southern Albanian towns were not conquered until 1343–45. Between 1272 and 1368, some areas of the modern-day state were also ruled by the Angevins as the Kingdom of Albania. In the late 14th century, Albanian Principalities were created throughout Albania.
Rogoi is a Byzantine castle in Nea Kerasounta near Preveza, in western Greece. It is located on the site of the ancient city of Bouchetion (Βουχέτιον), which was abandoned in the late 1st century BC. Re-occupied in the 9th century, it became a bishopric and was refortified, playing an important role in the region's history in the 14th and early 15th centuries. It was abandoned again after the Ottoman conquest in 1449.
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.
Simon Zenebishi was an Albanian aristocrat and vassal of the Kingdom of Naples, who held the castle of Strovilo (Castrovilari), near Butrint, and was a member of the Zenebishi family of southern Albania. He probably dwelled in Corfu, and was later subject to the sovereignty of Alfonso of Naples.
The Spata were a noble Albanian family active in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, initially as Venetian vassals and later as Ottoman vassals. The family's progenitors were the brothers Gjin Bua Shpata and Skurra Bua Shpata. Shpata means "sword" in Albanian.
The Albanian-Epirote War of 1367–70 was waged between the Despotate of Arta, led by Pjeter Losha and the Despotate of Epirus, led by Thomas II Preljubović.
The Albanian-Epirote War of 1374–75 was waged between the Despotate of Arta, led by Gjin Bua Shpata and the Despotate of Epirus, led by Thomas II Preljubović.
The Albanian-Epirote War of 1381–84 was waged between Albanian raiders and Despotate of Epirus, ruled and led by Thomas II Preljubović.
For the Albanian tribes of the Mazarakaioi and the Malakasioi, led by Peter Losha the despot of Arta,