The Walloon despotate ( Bulgarian. Valonskoto despotism ), The despotate of Valona and Kanin, or the Principality of Walloon ( Serb. Valonska Knezhevina ) is a medieval state entity that existed in the XIV-XV centuries approximately on the territory of the modern Albanian regions of Vlore , Fier and Berat .
| Historical state | |
| Walloon despotate | |
|---|---|
| bulg. Valonskoto tyranny Serb. Valonska Knezhevina | |
 The Balkans in the year 1400. Walloon despotate painted blue | |
←  ←   →1346 - 1417 | |
| Capital | Valona |
| Languages) | Greek , Albanian , Serbian , Bulgarian |
| Religion | Orthodoxy |
| Form of government | Monarchy |
History
At the beginning of the XIV century, the city of Valona belonged to Byzantium . In the 1340s, taking advantage of the civil war in Byzantium , the Serbian ruler Stefan Uros IV Dushan seized this region and appointed his brother-in-law (brother of his wife Elena [1] ) Ivan Asen , brother of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Alexander , to govern it, giving him the title of “ despot ” [1] [2] .
To strengthen his control over the territory, Ivan began to position himself as the successor to the Epirus despots . Around 1350, he married Anna Paleolog , the widow of the Epirus despot John II Orsini [3] [1] , introduced Byzantine robes at the court, and signed documents with his name in Greek. After the death of Stefan Uros Dushan in 1355, Ivan Komnin Asen began to act as an independent ruler [4] .
Ivan supposedly died of the plague in 1363 [5] [6] [7] , and after him Alexander Komnin Asen, Ivan’s son from his first marriage , ruled until 1372 . In 1372, Ivan's daughter, Ksenia [8] , married Balsha II from the Balshich dynasty [9] , and brought him as a dowry to Valon, Kanin, Berat and Himaru ; however, many residents of Valona fled to the island of Sazani and asked for protection from Venice . Balsha II fought for power over the Albanian principality with Karl Topi , who turned for help to the Ottoman Turks. In 1385, Balsha II died at the Battle of Savre , and his widow got back the territory that was her dowry (only having lost Berat ) and ruled it together with her daughter Rugina.
To get help against the Turks, the widow of Balshe proposed in 1386 to transfer Venice to Valon, but the Venetians refused, since the city was defenseless from land. After the victory of the Ottomans in the battle of Kosovo, the situation for the small Balkan rulers became even more dangerous, and the widow again and again turned to Venice for help (again and again receiving refusals). After her death in 1396, the princedom was ruled by her daughter Rugina, who in 1391 married Mrksha Zharkovich. Mrksha and Rugina also constantly turned to Venice for help in the face of the growing Ottoman threat, and were also constantly refused. After the death of Mrksha in 1415, Rugina remained at the head of the principality alone, and in 1417 it was captured by the Ottomans.
Walloon despots
- 1346–1363 - Ivan Komnin Asen
- 1363–1372 - Alexander Komnin Asen
- 1372–1385 - Balsa
- 1385–1396 - Ksenia Komnina
- 1396-1414 - Rudzhina Zharkovich
- 1414-1417 - Mrksha Zharkovich
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Bozhilov, 1985 , p. 179.
- ↑ Soulis, 1984 , p. 136.
- ↑ Andreev, Lazarov, Pavlov, 1999 , p. 184.
- ↑ Fine, 1994 , p. 357.
- ↑ Fine, 1994 , p. 347.
- ↑ Soulis, 1984 , p. 137.
- ↑ Bozhilov, 1985 .
- ↑ 1 2 Bozhilov, 1985 , p. 236.
- ↑ Fine, 1994 , p. 372.
Literature
- Andreyev, Yordan Kirov; Lazarov, Ivan; Pavlov, Flames of Christ. Coy e in Srednevekovna Bulgaria . - Publishing house "Peter Beron", 1999. - 416 p.
- Bozhilov, Ivan Angels. Surname on Asenevtsi: 1186-1460: Genealogy and prosopography . - Sofia: BAN, 1985 .-- 504 p.
- Fine, John Van Antwerp. The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest . - University of Michigan Press, 1994 .-- 683 p. - ISBN 0472082604 , 9780472082605.
- Soulis, George Christos. The Serbs and Byzantium during the reign of Tsar Stephen Dušan (1331-1355) and his successors . - Dumbarton Oaks Library and Collection, 1984. - 353 p. - ISBN 0884021378 , 9780884021377.