| Voisava Thopia Voisava Topia | |
|---|---|
| Lady of Lezhë | |
 | |
| Lady of Lezhë | |
| Tenure | 13??-???? |
| Born | 14th Century Principality of Albania |
| Spouse | Lord Isaac Cursachio Progon Dukagjini |
| House | Thopia |
| Father | Karl Thopia |
| Mother | Voisava Balsha |
Voisava Thopia (Albanian : Voisava Topia) was an Albanian princess and the daughter of Karl Thopia and Voisava Balsha.
Not much is known about the early life of Voisava Thopia. Her first marriage was to Lord Isaac Cursachio who was a patrician of Durrës. [1] In 1392 her brother Gjergj Thopia was forced to surrender Durrës to the Republic of Venice and in the same year, he died without issue. [2] [3] [4] The rest of his holdings went to their older sister Helena Thopia who got the bulk and herself who got a small piece. [5] It is not known what happened to her first husband Lord Isaac Cursachio, but she was remarried to Progon Dukagjini who was the Lord of Lezhë. [6] [7]
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.
The League of Lezhë, also commonly referred to as the Albanian League, was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unified independent Albanian country in the Medieval age, with Skanderbeg as leader of the regional Albanian chieftains and nobles united against the Ottoman Empire. Skanderbeg was proclaimed "Chief of the League of the Albanian People," while Skanderbeg always signed himself as "DominusAlbaniae".
The Regnum Albaniæ was established by Charles of Anjou in the Albanian territories he conquered from the Byzantine Empire in 1271, with the help of the local Albanian nobility. The Kingdom of Albania was declared in late February 1272. The kingdom extended from the region of Durazzo south along the coast to Butrint. A major attempt to advance further in direction of Constantinople failed at the Siege of Berat (1280–1281). A Byzantine counteroffensive soon ensued, which drove the Angevins out of the interior by 1281. The Sicilian Vespers further weakened the position of Charles, and the Kingdom was soon reduced by the Byzantines to a small area around Durazzo. The Angevins held out here, however, until 1368, when the city was captured by Karl Thopia. In 1392, Karl Thopia's son surrendered the city to the Republic of Venice.
Robert IV of Artois, son of John of Artois, Count of Eu and Isabeau of Melun, was Count of Eu from April to July 1387 and Duke of Durazzo from 1376 to 1383.
Karl Thopia was an Albanian feudal prince and warlord who ruled Albanian domains from 1358 until the first Ottoman conquest of Albania in 1388. Thopia usually maintained good relations with the Roman Curia.
Louis of Évreux was the youngest son of Philip III of Navarre and Joan II of Navarre. He inherited the county of Beaumont-le-Roger from his father (1343) and became Duke of Durazzo in right of his second wife, Joanna, in 1366.
Gjergj Thopia ; fl. 1388 – d. 1392) was Prince of Albania and the Lord of Durrës from 1388 to 1392. He was the son of Karl Topia and Voisava Balsha. Gjergj married Teodora, the daughter of sevastokrator Branko Mladenović. During their reign, they were documented as possessing a crown decorated with pearls and precious stones and a golden crown, and four pairs of pearl earrings.
Konstantin Balšić or Kostandin Balsha, was a lord of the Balšić family, who ruled over lands in northern Albania.
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. The first notable ruler was Tanusio Thopia, who became Count of Mat in 1328. The principality would reach its zenith during the rule of Karl Thopia, who emerged in 1359 after the Battle of Achelous, conquering the cities of Durrës and Krujë and consolidating his rule of central Albania between the rivers of Mat and Shkumbin. The principality would last up until 1415, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.
Joanna of Durazzo was the eldest daughter and eldest surviving child of Charles, Duke of Durazzo, and his wife, Maria of Calabria. She succeeded as duchess on the death of her father in 1348 when she was only a child of four years old. Joanna was a member of the House of Anjou-Durazzo.
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.
Niketa Thopia was the Lord of Krujë between 1392—1394 and 1403–1415. He was a member of the Albanian Thopia family and an illegitimate son of Karl Thopia, the Prince of Albania.
Helena Thopia was an Albanian princess of the Thopia family who held the Krujë region as sovereign lady for two terms; 1388-1392 and 1394–1403.
Durrës Castle is the fortified old city of Durrës, Albania. It is enclosed by city walls built in the late 5th century, and repaired and reinforced in the Middle Ages and early modern periods.
Marco Barbarigo was a Venetian nobleman, who married Helena Thopia and thus inherited the rule of Croia (Krujë), which he initially held under Venetian and later, after quarrelling with Venetian noblemen, Ottoman suzerainty, until in late 1394 when he was defeated by Venetian subject Niketa Thopia and forced into exile at the court of Đurađ II Balšić. He was appointed the Venetian governor of Cattaro (Kotor) in ca. 1422.
The Duchy of Durazzo was a short-lived overseas colony of the Republic of Venice, encompassing the port city of Durazzo and its environs. It was established in 1205, following the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, and lasted until it was reclaimed by the Byzantine Despotate of Epirus in 1213.
The Durrës Expedition was an invasion of the Principality of Albania—led by Karl Thopia—by the Navarrese Company, under the command of Louis of Évreux. Louis hired the Navarrese Company to support him in reclaiming his newly acquired rights over the city of Durrës and overall the Kingdom of Albania, inherited through his marriage to Joanna, Duchess of Durazzo. While details of the expedition are scarce, Louis succeeded in occupying Durrës and ousting Thopia in 1376. However, he died shortly thereafter, rendering his contract with the Navarrese Company void. The mercenaries relocated to Morea under new leadership, leaving Durrës a contested city until another invasion by Thopia in 1383, which led to the final disestablishment of the Kingdom of Albania.
Teodora Branković,, was a Serbian noblewoman and Princess of Albania and Lady of Durrës by marriage to Gjergj Thopia. Her father was Sevastokrator Branko Mladenović, founder of the Branković dynasty.
The Albanian-Anjou Conflict was a conflict between the Principality of Albania and The Anjou and their French allies, Mainly over the city of Durres. After Karl Thopia's initial Capture of Durres in 1367 the Angevins tried multiple times to re-gain the city with some attempts being successful. In 1383 Karl Thopia invaded and captured Durres for the last time which led to the End of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania.
...younger sister Vojsava, who was married to a patrician of Durazzo known as Lord [Kyr] Isaac...
His son, George Thopia, was obliged to return Durres to the Venetians in 1392
At the end of 1389, Carlo Thopia died and Durrës passed to his equally sickly son Giorgio, who died in 1392.
...Later that year George Thopia died without issue. The bulk of his holdings, for he surrendered only Durazzo and environs to Venice, went to his sister Helena. (A small piece was left to his younger sister Vojsava, who was married to a patrician of Durazzo known as Lord [Kyr] Isaac. That couple continued to reside in Durazzo under the Venetians.)...
...Progon, had married Voyasclava, George Thopia's sister...