Principality of Gjirokastër
Encyclopedia
The Principality of Gjirokastër (1386–1418) was an Albanian principality
Albanian Principalities
The term Albanian Principalities refers to a number of principalities created in the Middle Ages in Albania and Epirus that were ruled by Albanian noblemen...

 created by Gjon Zenebishi
Gjon Zenebishi
Gjon Zenebishi was an Albanian noblemen and Prince of Gjirokastër.-Rise in power:In 1380, Gjon Zenebishi was appointed Sebastocrator or prefect of Vagenetia near Delvinë. He was also ruler of Pyrgo and Sayada. He submitted to the Turks after the initial invasion and gave them his son as a hostage...

 in 1386, encompassing the area around Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...

 (modern southern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

). It was conquered by the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 in 1414, but Zenebishi was able to rally the local population and recover his realm before being finally defeated by the Ottomans in 1418.

Creation

In 1380, Gjon Zenebishi was appointed sebastocrator and prefect of Vagenetia near Delvinë
Delvinë
Delvinë is a small town in Vlorë County in southern Albania, 16 km northeast of Saranda. Delvinë is the seat of the Delvinë District. Delvinë has lost over a third of its citizens since 1990, having a population of 4,200 .The city is built on a mountain slope...

. He was also ruler of Pyrgo and Sayada. He submitted to the Turks after a first invasion and gave them his son as a hostage to be sent to Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...

 to the court of the Sultan. This son converted to Islam and became known as Hamza Bey, a military leader. Shortly after his submission however, Gjon revolted and seized the fortress of Gjirokastër, encouraged no doubt by the attack on Janina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

 by the Albanians of Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...

. In 1386 he officially assumed the title of Prince of Gjirokastër, a post which he held until the abolition of his principality.

Rivalry with the Despotate of Epirus

Gjon Zenebishi was married with Irene, the daughter of Gjin Bua Shpata
Gjin Bua Shpata
Gjin Bua Shpata , also known as John Bua Spata, was an Albanian ruler of the Despotate of Arta. He was part of the noble Shpata family...

, Despot of Arta
Despotate of Arta
The Despotate of Arta was a despotate established by Albanian rulers during the 14th century, when Albanian tribes moved into Epirus and founded two short-lived principalities there...

. Thus he became the son-in-law of Shpata and the brother-in-law of the wife of Esau de' Buondelmonti
Esau de' Buondelmonti
Esau de' Buondelmonti, ruler of Epirus in Ioannina from 1385 to his death in 1411.Esau was the son of the Florentine nobleman Manente Buondelmonti and Lapa Acciaiuoli, sister of Niccolò Acciaiuoli of Corinth and the grandson of the great Χρηστόφορxοςστασία XXIV...

, Despot of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...

.

In April 1399 Esau, supported by some Albanian clans, marched against Gjon Zenebishi. Esau's army was routed and he himself captured, to be released in July 1400 after the Florentines
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, who benefited from his rule, paid a large ransom.

In 1412, Zenebishi allied with the Despot of Arta
Despotate of Arta
The Despotate of Arta was a despotate established by Albanian rulers during the 14th century, when Albanian tribes moved into Epirus and founded two short-lived principalities there...

, Maurice Shpata, and defeated the army of Carlo I Tocco
Carlo I Tocco
Carlo I Tocco was the ruler of Epirus from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429.-Life:Carlo I was the son of Count Leonardo I Tocco of Cephalonia and Leukas by Maddalena de' Buondelmonti, sister of Esau de' Buondelmonti of Epirus...

, who had some months earlier taken possession of Janina, with the aid of its Greek inhabitants. Despite their victory, the allies failed to recover the city.

Turkish invasion and conquest

In 1414, Zenebishi was defeated by the Turks. He fled to the Venetian-held island of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...

, but was called back two years later by an uprising of the mountain tribes. With the support of Venice, he recovered Gjirokastër, but died in Corfu in 1418. In the same year the Turks, after a prolonged siege, took Gjirokastër. Gjon's son, Depa Zenebishi, fled to Corfu. He landed again on the mainland and laid siege to Gjirokastër in 1434, but was killed in battle with a reinforcing Ottoman army in 1435.

Sources

  • History of Albanian People. Albanian Academy of Science. ISBN 9992716231
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