The Muzaka family was an noble Albanian family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe ( southern Albania ) 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 The earliest historical document that mentions the Muzaka family (around 1090) is written by the Byzantine historian Anna Komnene .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 (and some other members of Albanian nobility ) impressive Byzantine-like titles (such as Sebastokrator ) in order to subdue them more easily. In the 1340s, Stefan Dušan pressed further south into Albania, and by 1343-45 had taken central towns and territories in southern Albania, including domains of the Muzaka family. However, they would fall back under local control after his death in 1355. 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.
32-529: Notable members of the family include Andrea II Muzaka , Gjon Muzaka , Theodor Corona Musachi and Andrea I Muzaka , among others. The last notable member of Muzaka family who found refugee in Italy died in Naples in 1600. The Muzaka were one of the most important families of Albanian origin. The family came from the lower Opar region ( Lekas ). In the area of the village of Lavdar and nearby hamlets are many of
64-567: A battle near Ialomița River . He had a son named Jusuf Celebi who is recorded as a timariot in Kalkandelen (Tetovo) in 1455. In 1444 Theodor Corona Musachi joined Skanderbeg's rebellion. In 1455 Skanderbeg tried to recapture the city but failed. After his death many members of noble families from Albania who were before opposed to the Ottomans, like Arianiti , Zenebishi and Muzaka family, converted to Islam and achieved high ranks in
96-523: A descendent of the house of Muzaka,.... He was the sandjak bey of Vlora and was appointed derbenci aga (keeper of the mountain passes).... Among the bandits he caught around 1775 was his grandson Ali Pasha Tepelena. Andrea II Muzaka Andrea II Muzaka (c. 1318-1372) was an Albanian nobleman of the Muzaka family and the ruler of the Principality of Muzaka in the 14th century. He inherited
128-568: The Albanian Revolt of 1432–36 . There are claims that Jakub's father Theodor Corona Musachi participated in the revolt while some sources emphasize that no contemporary documents support such claims. Jakub Bey Muzaka was on the position of the sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Albania until September 1442 when he was one of 16 Ottoman sanjakbeys under command of Sihàb ed-Dîn Pasa who were all killed by Christian forces commanded by Janos Hunyadi in
160-635: The Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos for his victories against the Serbians. Andrea II Muzaka came from the wealthy Albanian Muzaka noble family of southern Albania . His grandfather, Andrea I Muzaka , established de facto independent territorial rule around 1280 in the Myzeqe region west of Berat , which was later named after the family. Andrea I was succeeded by Teodor known as "Këshetisi". Teodor's son, Andrea II, would become
192-658: The Kingdom of Serbia under Stefan Dušan captured Angevin-controlled Durrës . Although the Angevins managed to recapture Durrës, Dušan continued his expansion, and during the years of 1337–1345 he had captured Kanina and Valona . Andrea II Muzaka waged war against the Serbian forces around 1340. In an alliance with the Gropa family , he would have several successful campaigns against Dušan, but his domains were soon invaded by
224-636: The Pelister mountain, specifically the Dobrida spring. Vukašin gathered an army and marched towards Muzaka's territory, prompting Andrea to gather an army of his own and confront the king at Pelister in 1369. The battle at Pelister ended with the victory of Andrea II, and, according to chronicler Gjon Muzaka , Vukašin himself was taken prisoner. As a result of this battle, the Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos presented Andrea II with
256-721: The Muzaka family fled from the Ottoman conquest of Albania. During 1341–1347, the Byzantine Empire was engaged in a civil war, and the Serbians capitalised on this situation by invading much of the Byzantine holdings within the southern Balkans. Andrea II led the resistance against the Serbs and formed various alliances with other Albanian noble families, as well as maintaining ties with his traditional Angevin allies. In 1336,
288-557: The Serbian king, along with the other Albanian principalities. In 1345, all Albanian lands were under Serbian rule except for Durrës, which was under Angevin control. In 1350, Andrea II seized Berat from the Serbians, which forced John Komnenos Asen , the local lord appointed by Stefan Dušan to govern the region, to move his seat to Kanina. It is uncertain whether the Serb troops were able to capture any towns or exert control over these areas of southern Albania, despite their incursions into
320-536: The ancestral burial grounds of the family. Gjon Muzaka claimed that the family received its name from the Myzeqë region, named after its population, the Molossians , through the corruption of the name Molossi (into Molosachi and finally Musachi). The coat of arms of Muzaka family was a two-headed eagle . The earliest mention of the Muzaka family, as a loyal commander of Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118) circa 1090,
352-515: The country's Adriatic Sea between the Vjosa and Devoll rivers eastwards. In practice this continued to be dominated by the historic Albanian noble families who paid little heed to Muzaka's authority. A 1336 agreement between the Angevins and Andrea II allowed members of the Muzaka family to travel freely to and from Durrës , and the friendly ties between the two noble families remained up until
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#1732772136131384-409: The death of Alexander Komnenos Asen (c. 1371) who possessed Vlorë and Kanina, Muzaka came to an agreement with Balsha II. Under the agreement, Balsha II would support Muzaka against enemies like Marko, while Muzaka would recognize Balsha's claims to Kanina and Vlorë. It's unclear whether Muzaka had previously managed to conquer them and then gave them to Balsha as part of the agreement or whether Balsha
416-447: The death of Andrew II Muzaka in 1372 his descendants inherited control over his former domains. Theodor II Muzaka inherited control over Muzaqeya and Berat while Kastoria was inherited by his son Gjin (1337—1389). According to chronicle of Gjon Muzaka (repeated in some historical works) Comita Muzaka , one of the daughters of Andrea II Muzaka , married Balša II . Other authors confirm that Balša II married in 1372 and gained control over
448-417: The imperial emblem, and granted him the title of "despot of Epirus". In this occasion, Andrea II Muzaka adopted as his new coat of arms, the double-headed eagle under a star as a replacement for the traditional coat of arms of the Muzaka, which was a water spring that erupted from the ground and split in two. During the same period, Andrea II must have controlled part of the hinterland of Vlorë , while after
480-471: The influence of Venice Bayezid I launched a campaign in 1394 and restored Ottoman control over most of Albania. In period 1415—17 Ottoman Empire annexed Vlorë and Berat and ended the rule of Muzaka family, though some of its members converted to Islam and became Ottoman officials, like Yakup Bey Muzaka son of Theodor Corona Musachi , who was sanjakbey of the Ottoman Sanjak of Albania during
512-456: The middle of the 18th century a sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Avlona was Ahmet Pasha Kurt from the Muzaka family who was later appointed to the position of derbendci aga (guardian of the mountain passes) which he held until the sultan appointed Ahmet's grandson, Ali Pasha Tepelena , instead of him. Source KURT, AHMET PASHA ( -1787) Historical figure and Pasha of Berat. Ahmet Kurt Pasha,
544-487: The military and administrative hierarchy in Ottoman Albania . Although they were often left to rule lands they inherited from their ancestors, the new Ottoman regime obliged them to abandon part of their territories and their feudal rights. According to some sources the last member of Muzaka family died in Naples in 1600. Still, there are other notable people recorded as members of the Muzaka family after 1600. In
576-519: The most prominent ruler of the Muzaka noble family in the medieval era. Like his father, Andrea II served the Angevins as the titular marshal of Albania. He held various other titles such as sebastokrator , and was recognized as despotus Regni Albaniae (despot of the Kingdom of Albania) and Marshal of Albania by the Angevins. His father, Teodor, was recognized as prothosevastor . At the beginning of his rule he exercised nominal control over much of
608-471: The next decade, he led resistance against the Serbian invasions of Albania , and after the fall of the Serbian Empire , he regained his former territories and began to expand again. During his wars against the Serbian successor states, Andrea II succeeded in defeating both Vukašin of Serbia and his son, Prince Marko , solidifying his family's principality. He was recognized as Despot of Epirus by
640-549: The period of 1280—1319; Andrea II ruled, with some interruptions, in the period between 1319 and 1372. In 1319 three members of the Muzaka family even tried to get help from the Pope. For their loyalty to Byzantium, the head of the family Andrea II Muzaka gained the title of Despot in 1335, while other Muzakas continued to pursue careers in the Byzantine government in Constantinople. As soon as Andrea II Muzaka had obtained
672-546: 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. He was recognized Despot of the Kingdom of Albania and as Marshal of Albania by the Angevin Kingdom of Albania in 1336-37. In
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#1732772136131704-534: The principality. In the late 1360's, Andrea II was engaged in a conflict over the southwestern provinces of Macedonia (including Kastoria ) against Vukašin Mrnjavčević , the King of Serbia. Both rulers had claims to inherit these regions after the death of Simeon Uroš ; Vukašin had claimed it as the co-ruler of Stefan Uroš V , whereas Andrea II claimed it on the grounds that the border between Albania and Bulgaria lied at
736-411: The region. Although some historians attribute the acquisition of several towns to this period, others suggest that the Serbs only obtained submission, which may have been nominal, from different Albanian tribes. After the death of Stefan Dušan in 1355 and the collapse of the short-lived Serbian Empire, Andrea II regained control over parts of south-eastern modern-day Albania and significantly expanded
768-556: The subsequent wars significantly weakened his power and hindered his ability to raise new armies. At its greatest extent, just before Andrea II's death, his expansion of the principality covered the regions of Myzeqe , Berat , Tomorricë , Skrapar , Këlcyrë , Përmet , Opar , Devoll , Kolonjë and Kastoria . Andrea II would die in 1372 and his lands were divided by his three sons: Teodor II , Gjin I and Stoya . Andrea II married Lady Euphemia Matranga ( Albanian : Efimia Matrënga ) also called: Eythvmia, Etinia or Onorata; who
800-632: The territory south of Durazzo, including Valona and Kanine, as dowry . The same chronicle mentions Theodor II Muzaka as one of participants of the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, together with Prince Marko . The Muzaka family was in conflict with Prince Marko before his death in 1396 which is probably why Theodor Corona Musachi is commemorated in south Slavic and Serbian epic poetry as Korun Aramija , Marko's enemy. A Greek Orthodox church ( Church of St Athanasius of Mouzaki ) located in Kastoria , Greece
832-577: The title of despot, he endorsed an anti-Byzantine revolt (1335-1341) in his domains, and also formed an alliance with the Anjou from Naples on 30 December 1336, whereas he was recognized as a vassal of Robert, Prince of Taranto . As proof of his fidelity to the Capetian House of Anjou , Andrea II Muzaka had to leave one of his sons as hostage in Durazzo . Muzaka nobility waged against Serbian forces
864-485: Was around 1340 when forces of Andrew II Muzaka defeated the Serbian army at the Pelister mountain. After the death of Stefan Dušan in 1355 and collapse of the Serbian Empire , the Muzaka family of Berat regained control over parts of the south-eastern modern-day Albania and also over northern Greece with Kastoria that Andrew II Musachi captured from Prince Marko after the Battle of Marica in 1371. After
896-658: Was built in 1383–84 by Teodor II Muzaka and dedicated to St. Athanasius . Teodor II Muzaka died in 1389 against the Ottomans in the battle of Kosovo . After the Battle of Savra in 1385 the region of Myzeqe and most of Albanian nobility , came under control of the Ottoman Empire . The first signs of the rivalry between Venice and Ottomans in Albania appeared first in 1387 and after the death of Gjergj Thopia in 1391, when many Albanian noblemen including Andrea III Muzaka came under strong influence of Venice. To break out
928-540: Was captured by the forces of Charles of Anjou , but under the pressure of local Albanian nobles he was later released. The Muzaka family continued to remain loyal to the Byzantine Empire and resisted the expansion of the Serbian Kingdom . 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 . Andrea I ruled in
960-579: Was in the work of Byzantine historian Anna Komnene . One of the first notable members of the family was Andrea I Muzaki who was, like some other members of the Albanian nobility , given impressive Byzantine-like title like sebastokrator by Charles of Anjou in order to subdue them more easily. In 1279, Gjon I Muzaka, who remained loyal to the Byzantines and resisted the Angevin conquest of Albania,
992-483: Was planning to conquer them himself and the agreement simply reaffirmed his rights. In 1371, Andrea II Muzaka came to another agreement with Andrea Gropa , his son-in-law, and waged war against Prince Marko , capturing Kastoria (which passed to Muzaka) and Ohrid , which passed to Gropa. Having lost heavy manpower at the Battle of Marica , Prince Marko was not able to resist the expansions of these neighbouring states. The loss of territory that Marko suffered during
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1024-627: Was the daughter of Paul Matranga , the Albanian Lord of Gora. They got married most likely around 1328, in the Church of Saint Anthony in Durrës. The couple had five children: Despot Andrea II and his wife Despotess Euphemia were both buried in the town of Durrës , within the Church of Saint Anthony, to the right side of the main altar, in a beautiful grave made of marble and containing
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