Lordship of Berat | |||||||||
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1279–1417, 1444-1450 | |||||||||
Coat of arms of the Muzaka Family | |||||||||
Status | Principality, Despotate | ||||||||
Capital | Berat | ||||||||
Common languages | Albanian | ||||||||
Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy | ||||||||
Prince/Despot | |||||||||
• 1279-1319 | Andrea I | ||||||||
• 1319–1331 | Teodor I | ||||||||
• 1331–1372 | Andrea II | ||||||||
• 1372–1389 | Teodor II | ||||||||
• 1389-1450 | Teodor III | ||||||||
Historical era | Medieval | ||||||||
• Establishment | 1279 | ||||||||
• First Ottoman capture | 1417 | ||||||||
• Revolt | 1432–1436 | ||||||||
1444 | |||||||||
• Second Ottoman capture | 1450 | ||||||||
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The Principality of Muzaka (Albanian: Principata e Muzakajve) [1] was an independent realm ruled by the Albanian Muzaka family with its capital at Berat, covering territories in Central and Southern Albania, Western Macedonia and Northern Greece. One of the first rulers was Andrea I Muzaka whose reign was recognized by the Byzantine Emperor. During the Battle of Savra, the Ottomans captured Berat from Balša II, together with Kruja and Ulcinj. They soon retreated from all of those towns keeping only Castoria under their permanent control. [2] Some sources explain that Ottomans probably remained in Berat with intention to use it as foothold to capture Valona. [3] By 1396 Muzaka family took over control of Berat. [4] In 1417 the territories of the Principality, including Vlorë and Berat, became a part of the Ottoman Empire. [5]
It's uncertain when the Muzaka family started to rule over Berat, however one of the first notable rulers known so far is Andrea I Muzaka who ruled over the region of Myzeqe. Principality of Berat separates into two periods of time, between the period of 1279 to 1343, and 1355 to 1417. Andrea I Muzaka established a de facto independent rule over Berat, he was also formally recognized by the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos as he held the high Byzantine court title of sebastokrator. Some notable regions that were part of the Principality of Berat during this period are: Devoll, Berat, Skrapar, Tomorica, Selanica, Myzeqe, Korçe etc. [6] [ verification needed ].
The Principality of Berat reached the peak of its power during the rule of Andrea II Muzaka who, according to the chronicle of Gjon Muzaka, defeated King Vukasin and was awarded with the title of Despot by the Emperor of Constantinople, the second highest title just below to that of Emperor. Andrea II expanded his territory to the maximum extent it would reach: from the Adriatic Sea between the Vjosa river and Devoll to the east, including Korça. In 1343 the Principality of Berat was conquered by the new Serbian Empire, but was recreated after that empire's fall in 1355. In an alliance with the Đurađ I Balšić, and the great lord of Ohrid Andrea Gropa, in 1372 Andrea Muzaka managed to also conquer Kostur from Prince Marko [7] After the death of Andrea, the rule was passed to his son Teodor II Muzaka who in 1389 is said to have taken place in the Battle of Kosovo which had a great impact to the principality like to all other Albanian principalities of that time. Berat was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1417, but the Muzaka family would briefly regain their control in central Albania in 1444 after their alliance with Skanderbeg in the League of Lezhë, however after 6 years their territory would eventually be incorporated into the Ottoman Empire which would end the centuries-reign of the Muzaka noble family in Berat.
Picture | TitleName | Reign | Notes |
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Sebastokrator and Marshal of Albania Andrea I Muzaka | 1279–1319 | Received the title Sebastokrator by the Byzantine Emperor and his reign was de facto independent until 1319. | |
Protosebastus Teodor I Muzaka | 1319–1331 | Son of Andrea I Muzaka | |
Despot of Albania Andrea II Muzaka | 1331–1372 | Andrea II, much like his father, fulfilled the role of the Angevins' titular marshal in Albania. Apart from being acknowledged as despotus Regni Albaniae (the despot of the Kingdom of Albania) and Marshal of Albania by the Angevins, he also held several other titles, including sebastokrator. | |
Prince of Berat Teodor II Muzaka | 1372–1389 | Son of Andrea II. Participated in the Battle of Kosovo. Teodor II was in territorial dispute over Kostur with Prince Marko and because this dispute he was commemorated in Serbian epic poetry as Musa Kesedžija. | |
Lord of Berat Andrea III Muzaka | 1389–1396 | ||
Lord of Berat Teodor III Muzaka | 1396–1450 | He was an Albanian nobleman who led the 1437–38 revolt against the Ottomans and was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë in 1444. | |
Berat is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is 71 kilometres north of Gjirokastër, 70 kilometres west of Korçë, 70 kilometres south of Tirana, and 33 kilometres east of Fier.
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.
Balša Balšić or Balša II was the Lord of Lower Zeta from 1378 to 1385. He was a member of the Balšić noble family, which ruled Zeta from ca. 1362 to 1421.
The Myzeqe is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands.
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.
The Principality of Albania was an Albanian principality ruled by the Albanian dynasty of Thopia. One of the first notable rulers was Tanusio Thopia, who was Count of Mat since 1328. The principality changed hands between the Thopia dynasty and the Balsha dynasty, twice before 1392, when Durrës was annexed by the Republic of Venice.
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.
Gjon Muzaka was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote a Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi. The work was published in Karl Hopf's Chroniques gréco-romaines, Paris 1873, pp. 270–340.
The Principality of Valona and Kanina, also known as the Despotate of Valona and Kanina or simply the Principality of Valona (1346–1417) was a medieval principality in Albania, roughly encompassing the territories of the modern counties of Vlorë (Valona), Fier, and Berat. Initially a vassal of the Serbian Empire, it became an independent lordship after 1355, although de facto under Venetian influence, and remained as such until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1417.
The Muzaka were a noble Albanian family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mentions the Muzaka family is written by the Byzantine historian Anna Komnene. At the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century members of the Muzaka family controlled a region between the rivers of Devoll and Vjosë. Some of them were loyal to the Byzantine Empire while some of them allied with Charles of Anjou who gave them impressive Byzantine-like titles in order to subdue them more easily. During a short period, Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan occupied Albania including domains of Muzaka family but after Dušan's death they regained their former possessions. After the Battle of Savra in 1385 the territory of Albania came under the Ottoman Empire; they served the Ottomans until 1444 when Theodor Corona Musachi joined Skanderbeg's rebellion. When the Ottomans suppressed Skanderbeg's rebellion and captured the territory of Venetian Albania in the 15th century many members of the Muzaka family retreated to Italy. Those who stayed in Ottoman Albania lost their feudal rights, some converted to Islam and achieved high ranks in the Ottoman military and administrative hierarchy.
Teodor II Muzaka (1337-1389) was member of the Muzaka family, Albanian nobles who ruled the Principality of Muzaka. He died fighting during the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 on the side of the anti-Ottoman coalition led by Lazar of Serbia.
Teodor I Muzaka was an Albanian nobleman that ruled the Lordship of Berat between 1319 and 1331. According to John Musachi, he had the nickname "këshetesi", meaning the one with braided hair. He had a brother Count Mentula Muzaka of Clissura or today called Kelcyra.
Kutmichevitsa was an administrative region of the Bulgarian Empire during 9th-11th cent., corresponding roughly with the northwestern part of the modern region of Macedonia and the southern part of Albania, broadly taken to be the area included in the triangle Saloniki-Skopje-Vlora. It had an important impact on the formation, endorsement and development of the Old Church Slavonic and culture. The Debar–Velich diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was created in Kutmichevitsa whose first bishop between 886 and 893 was Clement of Ohrid, appointed by Knyaz Boris I.
The Thopia were one of the most powerful Albanian feudal families in the Late Middle Ages, part of the nobility of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania.
The Mataranga were an Albanian noble family during the 13th and 15th centuries. Members of this family included local rulers, Byzantine officials and writers. After the occupation of Albania by the Ottoman Empire, part of the family emigrated to Italy and settled in the Arbëresh villages of Piana degli Albanesi and Santa Cristina Gela in Southern Italy, where they have continued to maintain the Arbëresh language.
Alessio Spani or Lekë Shpani (1442-1495) was an Albanian nobleman. A member of the Spani family, which ruled Drivast, in the mid-15th century he settled in Venice and served as a diplomat of the republic in the Ottoman Empire.
Theodor Musachi or Teodor III Muzaka, was an Albanian nobleman who led the 1437–38 revolt against the Ottomans and was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë in 1444.
Andrea I Muzaka was an Albanian prince of the Muzaka family and the ruler of the Principality of Muzaka.
Andrea II Muzaka (1318-1372) was an Albanian nobleman of the Muzaka family and the ruler of the Principality of Muzaka in the 14th century. He inherited the principality from his father, Teodor I Muzaka, who died around 1331. Andrea II is known for having expanded the Principality of Muzaka to its greatest extent, from the southern Adriatic coastline of Albania in the west to Kastoria in the east by the time of his death in 1372.
Domenico (Moncino) Musachi or Muzaka is the father of Vojsava Kastrioti, according to the genealogy provided in Gjon Muzaka's "Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi". Nothing more is known about him, except he was the brother of Gjin Maria Musachi. Domenico had another daughter, Agnese, the mother of Andrea Angeli. Judging by the name Domenico, he must have been baptized into Catholicism. That the Angeli family were relatives of Kastrioti-Skanderbeg, is attested in historical records:
...in 1396. By this time the family of Musachi had gained control of Berat.
In 1417, Berat became part of the Ottoman Empire when this strong city succumbed to a surprise attack.