Principality of Albania (1368-1392)

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Principality of Albania
1368 - 1392
navigation
coat of arms Kingdom of Albania ↔ Principality of Kastrioti coat of arms
Capital Durazzo (Durrës)
Form of government principality
religion Catholic
Head of state Prince
Karl Thopia (1368–1382)
Balša II. (1382–1385)
Karl Thopia (1385–1388)
Georg Thopia (1388–1392)
Historic era middle Ages
Founding of the state 1368
resolution 1392
map
Kingdom of Albania in 1368 AD.png
The Kingdom of Albania before Karl Thopia conquered Durazzo

The Principality of Albania ( Albanian Principata e Arbërisë) (1368-1392) was an Albanian principality that was founded by Karl Thopia after the destruction of the Kingdom of Albania . The principality alternated between the Thopia dynasty and the Balšić dynasty until 1392 , when Durazzo (Durrës) was annexed by the Republic of Venice .

history

prehistory

Coat of arms of the Dukes of Durazzo

After the death of Philip I , Prince of Taranto , Albania , Achaia and Latin titular emperor of Constantinople from the older house of Anjou , John of Anjou , Prince of Achaia , refused to recognize his underage nephew Robert of Taranto as the new ruler of Achaia in 1332 . To avoid a prolonged conflict with him, he renounced the Principality of Achaia in favor of Roberts along with a loan of 5,000 ounces of gold. In return he received the important commercial and strategic port city of Durazzo (Durrës). From then on, Johann Duke of Durazzo (1333–1336) called himself . As the "Duchy of Durazzo" it was to exist until 1368 with interruptions. The agreement was confirmed by the Pope in January 1333 and by Robert of Anjou , King of Naples , on March 14, 1338.

Successors to the Duchy of Durazzo were Karl (1336-1348) and Johanna (1348-1368).

By 1343 the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV. Dušan had conquered almost all of Albania. Durazzo was the only Albanian city that had escaped conquest thanks to the defense of the duchy by Tanusio Thopia on behalf of the Anjou.

A son of his, Andrea , who fell in love with Fiametta, a daughter of Robert of Anjou, and married her against the will of the king, was killed together with his wife on the occasion of the king. The marriage resulted in two sons, Georg and Karl , who grew up in the fortress of Kruja and swore to avenge their parents and, since they had Angevin blood in their veins, to assert their Angevin rights.

From 1350 Durazzo offered himself to the Republic of Venice . It was the first time that an Albanian city wanted to enter into an alliance with Venice. However, Venice had no interest in it at the time, as it was still owned by Dalmatia . In addition, the Venetians did not want to get involved in a fight with the rightful owners, the Anjou, and did not want to do any rudeness to the Serbian emperor Stefan Uroš IV. Dušan. They refused.

The principality under Karl Thopia

In 1361 Durazzo, ruled by a captain on behalf of Johanna von Durazzo , was besieged by Karl Thopia. Johanna lived mainly in Naples and did not care about her duchy.
The republics of Venice and Ragusa , which had merchant colonies in the city, and Georg Balšić, son of Balša I , were also involved in the dispute. A plague decimated besiegers and besieged. The Angevin captain finally had to surrender in 1363 and Karl Topia became lord of Durazzo. Many Albanian partisans of the Queen of Naples, Johanna I, fled to the Kingdom of Naples, where they settled as Arbëresh , in order to escape the reprisals of the new master .

Thopia had previously referred to herself as Princeps Albaniae . In Venetian documents he is mentioned for the first time with this title on May 12, 1372.
In 1366 he was granted Venetian citizenship. Nevertheless, the relationship with the Republic of Venice was marked by numerous tensions, which were due in particular to piracy from Durazzo. Venice itself gave Thopia to understand that he could not allow the predatory enterprises to which the inhabitants of Durazzo apparently wanted to devote themselves.

In the meantime, from 1366 onwards , Louis of Navarre , through his marriage to Johanna von Anjou, Duchess of Durazzo, himself bore the title of Duke of Durazzo, which he tried to recapture after the city fell into the hands of the Albanian Prince Karl Thopia in 1363. But when he went ashore, he died and his mercenary troops began to wage war on their own against the Albanians and Karl Thopia. Thopia turned to his brother-in-law Georg Balšić, and Durazzo was easily freed by the mercenaries.

A little later the two allies began to quarrel, but Durazzo initially remained in Thopia's hands (1376). In 1383 the Balšić appeared in front of Durazzo and Balša II surprisingly came into possession of the town with its important port.

The principality under Balša II.

Coat of arms of the Balšići

Balša II had fought several wars against his rival and brother-in-law Karl Thopia until he was able to wrest Durazzo from him in 1385 (in other sources: 1383), which was the climax of the Balšić . Balša adorned herself with the title Dux Dyrrachii . It seemed as if he could soar to the sole ruler of a principality that stretched from Montenegro to Himara in the south of what is now Albania.
But Topia turned to the Ottomans in order to regain possession of the city with their help. In fact, the Grand Vizier Khair ed-dīn Pasha came to Albania and two years later, in the Battle of Savra in the Myzeqe on the Vjosa , Balša and his 11,000 warriors were decisively defeated; Balša was killed in the process. His head would be put in a sack and sent to the Sultan as a proclamation of victory.

Karl Thopia reigned

In this way Topia got his Durazzo property back. It turned out that it was a big mistake to ask the Ottomans for help, because now their goal was to take the important position of Durazzo himself. He turned to the only power that could help him and by which he was always well respected: the Republic of Venice.
On August 17, 1386, the Republic and the Albanian prince concluded a formal alliance, which was notarized by Nicolò Foscari . Karl undertook to take part in all wars in the republic or to pay aid and deliver grain. He also promised the Venetian merchants protection in his land. In return, the republic provided him with a galley for a fee, allowed him to recruit mercenaries in their areas and instructed the captain of their Adriatic fleet to protect Thopia's coasts against the Ottomans. These undertook several heavy attacks on Durazzo since 1386, so that Topias Boten offered Venice the city of Durazzo on May 14, 1387 and asked the Republic to fix a price. The Senate, aware of the difficult situation in Durazzo, gently persuaded the messengers to expound the last will of their master. So it was learned that Thopia, in case of powerlessness to withstand the Ottomans, was ready to give up Durazzo, provided that he could live " honorably " in an area of ​​the republic, in Candia or in Negroponte . He was answered that as a dear friend for himself and for the honor of all Christianity, he had the duty to defend the city of Durazzo with all his might. Only in the case of the greatest danger should he cede his property and his fortresses into the hands of the captain in the Gulf. In return, he would get a guarantee on his life and property. Venice acted with caution, both to assure itself of the sincerity of Thopia and to avoid consequences with the Ottomans through an occupation.

In January 1388, the Venetian consul Antonio Pietropiccoli living in Durazzo informed that the city had been attacked by the Ottomans. Thopia withstood the attack but died in late January of the same year. He was followed by his son Georg (Albanian: Gjergj) in the rule.

The principality under Georg Thopia

In 1388 Georg was only able to take over a small part of his father's principality, because a large part had already fallen into the hands of the Ottomans during his lifetime. Little more was left than the port city of Durazzo and its immediate vicinity. Nevertheless, he said he was not in the desperate situation and surrendered to Venice.

To prevent the Turkish occupation of the port city, Georg Thopia, like his father, leaned closely to the Republic of Venice. On March 19, 1388, the sopracomito (commandant of a galley) Nicolò Soranzo was instructed to go with his galley to Durazzo, to see the situation there, to hear Thopia's will, to offer him soldiers for a fee or at the expense of the government and to ask him what the republic could do. The Venetian Senate agreed to support Georg with grain deliveries and troops (the latter, however, not in too large a number). At the same time it was signaled to him that the republic would also take over full rule in Durazzo if George so wished. Venice was already determined to inherit its inheritance without further ado in the event of his death, so that the important base would not fall into the hands of the Ottomans.

Transfer to the Republic of Venice

Venetian colonies and bases

When the Ottomans undertook a new attack on Durazzo in October 1388, envoy of George appeared in Venice and stayed there until the end of February 1389; they were encouraged, and the Venetian captain of the Gulf fleet delivered new troops to the prince for garrison. Unfortunately for Georg Thopias, the northern Albanian noble family of the Dukagjin allied themselves with the Ottomans, and Konstantin Balšić , who was married to Georg's daughter Helena, turned to Sultan Bayezid I so that he could grant him rule over Durazzo as a fief.

On April 13, 1391 Pope Boniface IX declared. Georg's dismissal because he stuck to the antipope. In this situation the Venetians decided to act and took control of the port city on May 2, 1391, without, however, formally removing Georg Thopia. In the fortress, the troops were placed under the command of the castellan Paolo da Canale, and the nobleman Marino Cocco (1391-1393) was placed at the side of the prince as a rescue gate and took over the business of government for him. Since Georg's health deteriorated every day, the Venetian captain of the Saraceno Dandolo Gulf fleet was given a power of attorney on March 8, 1392 to take over the town and the castle "peacefully". As soon as Dandolo appeared before Thopia, he ceded the castle to Venice and hoisted the protective banner of the republic. In addition to the castle church, the city and its income were to remain with him for life and only come to Venice after his death.

Flag of the Republic of Venice

The contract of occupation was ratified on August 18, 1392 by Doge Antonio Venier . He vowed Georg protection and mediation towards his neighbors, but at the same time exhorted him to keep peace with the latter and to rule as a good, mild and just prince. George was supported with money and a new St. Mark's banner was sent to him. Furthermore, the Albanians who lived in the Ottoman land were allowed free access to the city of Durazzo. Dandolo was instructed to deliver sugar and jams to Georg so that the sick prince could refresh himself .

In October 1392 the Venetian consul Antonio de Pieripizzoli announced that George had died and that the six most respected citizens of the city had declared themselves to be Venice. Michele Contarini and Pietro Quirini were appointed Provveditors to take over the administration of the city from the hands of the restaurateur and the castellan. On February 20, 1393, Francesco Giorgio was appointed Bailò and captain of Durazzo for two years (1393-1395). Cocco handed over the city to him.

Durazzo remained under Venetian rule until 1501 when the Ottomans took the city by surprise. On May 20, 1503, Sultan Bayezid II made peace with Venice, which the Doge confirmed on October 6. Two thirds of the population converted to Islam .

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frashëri, Kristo .: Historia e qytetërimit Shqiptar: nga kohët e lashta deri në fund të Luftës së Dytë Botërore . Akademia e shkencave e shqipërisë, 2008, ISBN 978-99956-10-13-5 .
  2. ^ GF Hertzberg: History of the Byzantines and the Ottoman Empire: until the end of the sixteenth century . G. Grote, Berlin 1883, p. 470 ( digitized version ).
  3. ^ The Old French Chronicle of Morea: An Account of Frankish Greece after the . 2016, ISBN 978-1-4724-7387-5 , pp. 356 ( online version in Google Book Search). ( 1333 - John of Gravina gives his nephew Robert, prince of Taranto (under his mother Catherin), the principality of Achaia (Morea) in exchange for other Territory. )
  4. ^ Giovanni Schiro: Rapporti tra l'Epiro e il Regno Delle Due Sicilie memorie del dott. Giovanni . Tipografia del Giorn. Letterario, Palermo 1834, p. 356 (Italian, online version in Google Book Search).
  5. ↑ Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer: History of the Morea Peninsula during the Middle Ages, Second Part . Gott'haschen bookstore, Stuttgart, Tübingen 1836, p. 207 ( online version in Google Book Search).
  6. ^ Jean Longnon, Peter W. Topping: Documents sur le regime des terres dans la Principauté de Morée au XIVe siècle . La Haye, Paris 1969, p. 7–8 (French).
  7. ^ Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza: Dictionnaire Historique et Généalogique des Grandes Familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople, 2nd edition . Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza, Paris 1999, p. 477 (French).
  8. ↑ Konrad Clewing, Holm Sundhaussen: Lexicon for the History of Southeast Europe , 2nd edition, Böhlau Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-205-78667-2 , p. 54.
  9. ↑ Patrick Van Kerrebrouck: Les Capétiens 987-1328 . Patrick Van Kerrebrouck, 2000, ISBN 2-9501509-4-2 , pp. 286 (French).
  10. ↑ Rivista di etnografia, Volume 25 . 1971, p. 6 (Italian).
  11. ↑ a b Revista bimestrale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti . Ateneo Veneto, Venice 1908, p. 7 (Italian).
  12. ^ Arturo Galanti: L'Albania: notizie geografiche, ethnografiche e storiche . Societa editrice Dante Alighieri, Rome 1901, p. 121 (Italian). , accessed November 8, 2016
  13. ↑ a b c L'Albania: notizie geografiche, ethnografiche e storiche, p. 122
  14. ↑ La storia degli Arbëreshe , official website of the municipality of Vaccarizzo Albanese , accessed on November 9, 2016.
  15. ↑ a b c Peter Bartl: Albania - from the Middle Ages to the present . Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 1995, ISBN 3-7917-1451-1 , p. 33 f .
  16. ↑ Revista bimestrale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, p. 13.
  17. ↑ L'Albania: notizie geografiche, ethnografiche e storiche, p. 123 ff.
  18. ↑ a b c d e Revista bimestrale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, p. 17.
  19. ↑ Balšić in: Treccani , Enciclopedia Italiana online, accessed on November 8, 2016
  20. ↑ a b L'Albania: notizie geografiche, ethnografiche e storiche, p. 124
  21. ↑ Revista bimestrale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, p. 19
  22. ↑ Revista bimestrale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, p. 20.
  23. ↑ Revista bimestrale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, p. 20.
  24. ↑ Revista bimestrale di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, p. 21.
  25. ^ A b Johann Samuelansch, Johann Gottfried Gruber: General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts , First Section . Hermann Brockhaus, Leipzig 1868, p. 92 .
  26. ^ John Van Antwerp Fine: The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest . University of Michigan Press, 1994, ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5 , pp. 356 (English, online version in Google Book Search).
  27. ↑ a b c d e f g General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts, p. 93
  28. ^ L'Albania: notizie geografiche, ethnografiche e storiche, p. 126
  29. ^ Saraceno Dandolo in: Treccani , Enciclopedia Italiana online, accessed on November 8, 2016
  30. ^ GF Hertzberg: History of the Byzantines and the Ottoman Empire: until the end of the 16th century . G. Grote, Berlin 1883, p. 665 ( digitized version ).
  31. ^ Nicolae Jorga: History of the Ottoman Empire: Second volume: until 1538 . Friedrich Andreas Perthes, Gotha 1909, p. 299 ( digitized version ).
  32. ^ Consociazione Turistica Italiana: Guida italiana -Albania . Unione tipografica, Milan 1940, p. 144 ( online version in Google Book Search).