Art despotate ( Alb. Despotati i Artës ), despotate of Arta and Rogoi [2] , Albanian despotate [2] - despotate in Epirus , which existed in 1358 - 1416 and was ruled by Albanian tribal leaders. Its center was the city of Arta . In the clerical work and worship of the despotate, the Greek language was used [1] . The state survived its dawn under Gin Bois Spat in 1374-1381, when the whole south of Epirus was part of the state and the despot was able to conduct successful raids against the rulers of northern Epirus, whose state was actually the city of Ioannina with its environs.
| Despotate | |||
| Art despot | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alb. Despotati i Artës | |||
| |||
 | |||
←   →1358 - 1416 | |||
| Capital | Arta | ||
| Languages) | Greek [1] , Albanian , Italian, etc. | ||
| Religion | Orthodoxy | ||
| Form of government | Despotism | ||
| Continuity | |||
| ← Epirus Kingdom | |||
| The Empire of Epirus → | |||
During the Albanian rule, the Byzantine state structure established before them, which, in turn, was adopted by the Epirus despot , did not undergo any noticeable changes and the despots of Arta, in general, continued to use the Greek system of government [3] .
Content
History
Founding of the Art Despotate
In the spring of 1359, the Albanians , led by Peter Loshi and Gin Bois Spat, defeated the despot Epirus Nicephorus II Orsini near the Aheloos River. Nicephorus himself was killed. Thanks to this, they were able to create two new states in the southern part of Epirus: the Art Despotate and the despotate Angelokastron and Lepanto [4] .
Upon learning of the defeat of Nicephorus II, the former Epirus ruler, the titular king of the Serbs and Greeks Simeon Sinisa Nemanich arrived in the region and seized power in Epirus and Thessaly, making the Thessalian city of Trikala its capital [5] . Soon, in gratitude to the Albanians for their help, Simeon Nemanich granted the rulers of both states the title of despot . Simeon secured the fortress of Artu and Rogoy for Peter Losh, and the Angelakostron and Lepanto [2] for Gin Bois Spat.
Epirus Fight
Peter Losha acted as a vassal of the ruler of Epirus Simeon Nemanich only formally. Moreover, the inhabitants of northern Epirus with the capital Ioannina were worried about the rule of the Albanians in the south and were afraid of being captured by them. The population of Ioannina sent Simeon a petition in which they asked for their protection from the Albanians. Nemanich readily responded to requests and appointed the governor of Ioannina with the suburbs of his son-in-law, despot Thomas Prelyubovich [6] . The reign of Thomas began with hostilities against the Art despot, which lasted from 1367–1370 [7] .
Every year, Albanians of the art despot Peter Loshi attacked and besieged Ioannina. As a result of these events, in 1370, Prelyubovich managed to make peace with Losha, who was sealed by a dynastic marriage. The Albanians were satisfied with the world, and the Yaninsky despot was saved from their attacks for several years [8] .
But in 1374, the ruler of Arta, Peter Losha , died of the plague that gripped Arta. Power in the state for a short time passed to his son Gin Loshe. However, soon his state was united under the authority of a relative of Loshi, despot Angelokastron and Lepanto Gin Bois Spati, who added his possessions to Arte [9] [10] [4] [8] .
Since Gin Shpat was not bound by any agreements with the Yaninsky despot, the relationship between Arta and Ioannina again escalated. In 1375, Gin Bois Spat attacked the capital of Northern Epirus and besieged it, plundered the surroundings. But the Albanians also failed to take the city. At the same time, Thomas managed to buy the world for a while. He promised Gin Bois Spate to marry Helen, the sister of Thomas Prelubovich. Nevertheless, episodic and often brutal wars continued between Ioannina and the Albanians. So, on September 14, 1377, an Albanian leader named Gin Frates, who was at the head of the attacked the city. He was defeated by Thomas, and all prisoners were sold into slavery [8] .
In February 1379, a new Albanian attack on Ioannina occurred. This time they were helped by a traitor in the city. All the time, the Albanians attacked only the land side of Ioannina. At the direction of the traitor, they attacked unexpectedly under cover of night in boats from the lake, where Ioannina was not protected. Two hundred Malakasians climbed a cliff and occupied the northern part of the city with its tower. The rest waited on the island in the lake and joined the squad later. For three days, the Albanians tried to take control of the rest of the city. However, the inhabitants of Ioannina were able to repulse them and inflict a crushing defeat on the Albanian. The Yaninsky despot Thomas threw some Albanians to prison for ransom, others were sold into slavery. Those who were caught on a lake island were also sold. Bulgarians and Vlachs fighting the Albanians were cut off their noses [11] .
In May of that year, the despot Gin Bua Shpata decided to make a new raid. He appeared in the vicinity of Ioannina, planning to devastate the vineyards and fields. However, Thomas managed to repel the raid, showing an even more cruel character to the Albanians. Prelyubovich hung up and chopped limbs to prisoners. In this regard, Gin Shpat was forced to leave the Yaninsky despot [12] .
More successful were military operations against the Italian rulers of Kefallinia and Zakynthos counts Tokko, who controlled the lands in Akarnania and Aetolia. Of the three cities that once belonged to them in Akarnania and Aetolia, only Vonitsa remained in Italian hands. The regent Maddalena Boudelhelmonti, who ruled on behalf of her young sons Carlo I and Leonardo II Tokko, entrusted the protection of Vonica to the Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes. In April 1378, the Grand Master of the Order, Jean Fernandez de Heredia, arrived in the region and decided to attack the Albanian despot and capture Arta. However, as a result of an ambush set up by Shpata, he failed and was captured. For a lot of money, the Albanians sold Erendia to the Ottoman Turks [13] . After this success, Gin Shpata arranged the marriage of his daughter Ayren at the Achaean baron Morease Marchesano [14] . Soon the ruler of Epirus, Thomas Prelubovich , proposed an alliance to the Art Despotate, but he did not last long either.
So, in 1381, Thomas, taking advantage of the help of the Ottoman Turks, again went to war on the Art Despotate, having won many fortresses in the region and for his ruthlessness he received the nickname "Slayer of Albanians." It is not known how the new conflict would end, but in 1384 Prelyubovich was killed by his own guards. Taking advantage of this, Gin Shpata again attacked Ioannina in 1385, but could not cope with the protection of the Ottoman Turks, whom the new ruler of Epirus Esau de Buondelmonti called for help. In the summer of 1389, when the Turkish troops were concentrated in Serbia, the despot of Arta again raided the surroundings of Ioannina, but also achieved nothing and concluded a truce with the despot Epirus Esau de Buondelmonti .
The political crisis and the fall of the state
After the death of Gin Bois, Shpati in 1399, the despotate fell into decay, the struggle for power between his relatives began. Sguros Bois Špat , who came to power in 1400, was overthrown the same year by the adventurer Wonko , who, in turn, was overthrown by Murik Shpata . The internecine war undermined the unity of the state, so in the south ousted from the throne of Arta Sguros Bois Spat became the despot of Angelokastron and Lepanto in 1401 [15] [10] [16] .
After the death of Sguros in 1403, his son Paul Bois Spat became the new ruler of Angelokastron and Lepanto under the protectorate of the Ottoman Empire . Meanwhile, raids of the Ottoman Turks on Artu herself began, which were hired by the despot Epirus Esau de Buondelmonti . In 1406, Paul ceded the Turks Angelokastron, but in 1408 the Count of Kefalonia and Zakynthos Carlo I Tokko managed to capture the city and expel the Ottomans [9] [10] [17] .
After the death of Buondelmonti in 1411, the throne of Epirus was offered to his nephew Carlo I Tokko . In the new war of Epirus and Arta, Murik Spat managed to defeat Carlo in 1412 and besiege Ioannina, but failed to take the capital of Epirus. Moreover, in 1415, Murik died in battle and Carlo I launched an invasion of Arta. The new despot of Arta, Yakup Bois Spat, managed to defend the city. Carlo went to Ioannina, but soon after that he was able to ambush Yakup, in which the despot was captured and executed [15] . Using this victory on October 4, 1416, the Art Despot was captured by the despot Epirus Carlo I Tokko [9] [10] [16] .
Rulers of the Art Despotate
Losh Dynasty
| Name in Russian | Name in Albanian | Years of rule | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Losha | Pjetër losha | 1359–1374 | Founder of state |
| Gin I Losha | Gjin losha | 1374 | The son of Peter, he briefly ruled Arta before unification with the state of Gin Shpat. [15] |
Spar Dynasty
| Name in Russian | Name in Albanian | Years of rule | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guin II Bois Spat | Gjin bua shpata | 1374-1399 | In 1358–1374 he was a despot of Angelokastron and Lepanto , after the death of his relative, Peter Loshi soon received the throne of Arta and annexed his possessions to it. |
| Sguros Bois Spat [18] | Skurra Bua Shpata | 1400 | |
| Wonko [19] | Wonder | 1400-1401 | Out-of-ruler, usurper |
| Murik Bois Spat | Muriq bua shpata | 1401-1415 | |
| Yakup Bois Spar | Jakup bua shpata | 1415 1415-1416 | For a short time, as a result of the uprising, he was deposed by his half-brother Charles Marchesano. October 4, 1416 Art despot was conquered by Charles I Tokko . |
| Charles Marchesano | Charles marchesano | 1415 | Yakup’s stepbrother, Bois Spati, ascended the throne as a result of the uprising of the Albanian magnates. [10] |
See also
- Epirus Despotate
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Imagining Frontiers, Contesting Identities - Google Books
- ↑ 1 2 3 Nicol, 2010 , p. 141.
- ↑ Imagining frontiers, contesting identities . Steven G. Ellis, Luďa Klusáková. Edizioni Plus, 2007. ISBN 978-88-8492-466-7 , p. 138-139.
- ↑ 1 2 Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 1991 , p. 53.
- ↑ Nicol, 2010 , p. 139.
- ↑ Nicol, 2010 , p. 143.
- ↑ Nicol, 2010 , p. 145.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Nicol, 2010 , p. 146.
- ↑ 1 2 3 History of Albanian People . - Albanian Academy of Science. - ISBN 99927-1-623-1 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 John VA Fine Jr. The Late Medieval Balkans. - Ann Arbor, 1987.
- ↑ Nicol, 2010 , pp. 146-147.
- ↑ Nicol, 2010 , p. 147.
- ↑ Nicol, 2010 , pp. 147-148.
- ↑ Nicol, 2010 , p. 148.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Nicol Donald MacGillivray "The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages"
- ↑ 1 2 Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 1991 , p. 191.
- ↑ Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, 1991 .
- ↑ Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest (link not available) . // John Van Antwerp Fine. - University of Michigan Press, 1994. - ISBN 0-472-08260-4 . (unavailable link from 26-10-2015 [1401 days])
- ↑ Milan Šufflay “Srbi i Arbanasi (1925)”
Literature
- History of Albanian People. - Albanian Academy of Science. - ISBN 99927-1-623-1 .
- Albanians, Arta // Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium . - New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. - S. 52-53, 191-192. - ISBN 0195046528 .
- Ivo Banac. The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics . - Cornell University Press, 1988 .-- ISBN 0-8014-9493-1 .
- Traian Stoianovich. Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe . - ME Sharpe, 1 September 1994. - ISBN 978-0-7656-3851-9 .
- Fine, John Van Antwerp. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest . - Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994 .-- ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5 .
- Nicol, Donald MacGillivray. The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages . - Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010 .-- ISBN 978-0-521-13089-9 .
- Milan Šufflay, Srbi i Arbanasi (1925)