Andrea Gropa
Encyclopedia
Andrea Gropa was a 14th-century Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

 nobleman, who ruled the region and the city of Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...

. His domains included the region of Ohrid after the death of Stephen Uroš V of Serbia and in medieval Slavic chronicles he is mentioned as the Grand Župan
Zupan
Żupan was a long garment, always lined, worn by almost all males of the noble social class in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, typical male attire from the beginning of the 16th to half of the 18th century, still surviving as a part of the Polishnational dress.- Derivation :The name żupan has...

 or the Hospodar
Hospodar
Hospodar or gospodar is a term of Slavonic origin, meaning "lord" or "master".The rulers of Wallachia and Moldavia were styled hospodars in Slavic writings from the 15th century to 1866. Hospodar was used in addition to the title voivod...

 of Ohrid. During his rule Gropa also minted coins.
According to the Muzaka Chronicles his family's domains included the areas of north of Ohrid Lake. He was a vassal to King of Serbia Vukašin Mrnjavčević
Vukašin Mrnjavcevic
Vukašin Mrnjavčević was a Serbian ruler in modern-day central and northwestern Macedonia, who ruled from 1365 to 1371. According to 17th-century Ragusan historian Mavro Orbin, his father was a minor noble named Mrnjava from Zachlumia, whose sons Vukašin and Uglješa were born in Livno in western...

 (r. 1365–†1371), himself subordinate to Emperor Stephen Uroš V of Serbia (r. 1355–†1371). After the death of King Vukašin and his brother at the Battle of Maritsa against the Turks in 1371, and the death of the Emperor, there was a crisis in the successation of the throne. Vukašin's son Kinglet (Prince) Marko could not unite the lords, and only retained nominal rule over the area, from his base in Prilep
Prilep
Prilep is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 citizens. Prilep is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.-Name:...

. Gropa married Kirana, and allied himself with her father Andrea Muzaka and the Balšićs against Marko. Kostur and Debar
Debar
Debar is a city in the western part of the Republic of Macedonia, near the border with Albania, on the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality.-Geography:...

, and became semi-independent from Marko, seen in the recognition by Ostoja Rajaković, a Lord in the Ochrid region and kinsman to Prince Marko
Prince Marko
Marko Mrnjavčević was de jure the Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while de facto he ruled only over a territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep...

.

In a Greek inscription dated 1378, he is mentioned as megas zupanos (Great Župan). His minted coins are all inscripted in the Old Slavic language (Old Serbian), where he is mentioned as Župan and Gospodar of Ochrid (Lord of Ochrid). He became a ktitor
Ktitor
A ktetor or ktitor is someone who provides the funds for construction or reconstruction of an Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icons, frescos, and other works of art. A Catholic equivalent of the term is a donator. The female form is ktetorissa or ktitorissa ....

for the Church of Saint Clement in Ochrid in 1379.

After his death his lands were again under Marko's rule.
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