First notices

One member of Thopia family is mentioned around 1270s with the title of miles. At that time they were holding a territory between Mat and Shkumbin and had close ties with Angevins and the Papal States

Papal States

The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...

. They promised to convert from Orthodox

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...

 to Catholic faith and therefore their domains were confirmed also by the Pope. As such they were vassals of Charles of Anjou. Their domains were also confirmed by the Angevins in 1338. At that period a person named Tanush Thopia

Tanush Thopia

Tanush Thopia was an Albanian nobleman of the 15th century and one of the closest collaborators of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg.Thopia descended from the Thopia family. He was a commander of the infantry of the League of Lezhe, and his garrison became famous for their resistance during the Second...

 is mentioned as the head of the family, while his brother Dominik was a high cleric and served as a counsel

Counsel

A counsel or a counselor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters.-U.K. and Ireland:The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers...

 of Robert of Anjou..

A "serenissimo principe domino Rahpilho Thopia" and his son Georgio is mentioned in a latin inscription dated 1381 and found in the Monastery of St. John Vladimir, near Elbassan. In the same Monastery the following inscription in Greek was found:


"ετουτα τα σιμαδηα αυθεντου μεγα... ... Καρλα θοπηα",

i.e. "These signs of a great lord ... Carla (sic) Thopea" .

Ties with Anjou family

According to Gjon Muzaka

Gjon Muzaka

Gjon Muzaka wan an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote a Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi . The work was published in Karl Hopf's Chroniques gréco-romaines, Paris 1873,...

 genealogy, Andrea Thopia son of Tanush, kidnapped Helena of Anjou, the illegitimate daughter of Robert of Anjou, which was on the way of marrying the Prince of Morea

Principality of Achaea

The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica...

 according to her father's wish. But a storm forced her to disembark in Durrës

Durrës

Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...

 and during her permanence there she felt in love with Andrea. At first Robert didn't react while later on he invited them on his court on Naples where he killed them both. From this marriage the unfortunate couple had two sons, Karl Thopia

Karl Thopia

Karl Topia was one of the powerful feudal princes and warlord, who between them ruled Albania from the middle of the 14th century until the Ottoman conquest. To the Roman Curia, Karl maintained usually good relations, therefore that could do...

 and Gjergj Thopia.

Princedom of Albania

Under Karl Thopia the Thopia family reached its zenith. After the death of Stephen Dushan he could managed to capture much of the central Albania. In 1362 his forces attacked the city of Durrës, then in Angevin hands. Although he couldn't capture the city, he forced them to pay an annual tribute to his family. In 1368 Karl managed to capture the city of Durrës. Around 1370 Karl attacked the dominions of Muzaka family

Muzaka family

The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family, first mentioned in 1190 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena. The family created the Muzaka Principality.-History of the Muzaka:...

 and managed to capture from them the territory between Shkumbin and Seman

Seman

The Seman is a river in western Albania. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Osum and Devoll, a few km northwest of Kuçovë. It flows west through Fier-Shegan and Mbrostar . It flows into the Adriatic Sea near Topojë....

. Now the territory of Thopia extended from Mat river to Seman

Seman

The Seman is a river in western Albania. It is formed at the confluence of the rivers Osum and Devoll, a few km northwest of Kuçovë. It flows west through Fier-Shegan and Mbrostar . It flows into the Adriatic Sea near Topojë....

, reaching its maximum extension.

This aggressive behavior brought created a complicated situation and many enemies to the princedom. In 1376 Louis of Évreux, Duke of Durazzo who had gained the rights on the Albanian Kingdom from his second wife, attacked and conquered the city. However in 1383, Karl Topia took control of the city again.

Muzaka family allied with Balša II

Balša II

Balša II Balšić was a 14th-century nobleman, the Lord of Zeta from 1378 to 1385. He managed to expand his borders towards the south; defeating the Albanian Duke Karl Thopia....

 against Thopia. In the beginning of 1385, the city of Durrës was captured by Balša II in a surprise attack. Karl called for Ottoman help and Balša's forces were defeated in the Battle of Savra

Battle of Savra

The Battle of the Saurian Field was fought on 18 September 1385 between Ottoman and much smaller Serbian forces. The Ottomans were victorious and most of the local Serbian and Albanian lords became vassals....

. Topia recaptured the city of Durrës the same year and held it until his death in 1388. Afterwards, the city of Durrës was inherited by his son Gjergj, Lord of Durrës

Gjergj, Lord of Durrës

Gjergj Thopia was the Lord of Dyrrhachium from 1387 to 1392. He was the son of Karlo Thopia and Vojisava Balšić. Gjergj married Teodora Branković of the Serbian Branković family....

. In 1392 Gjergj surrendered the city of Durrës and his domains to the Venice.

The end of princedom

After the death of Karl, his dominion was divided between his daughter Helena Thopia

Helena Thopia

Helena Thopia was an Albanian princess from Thopia family. She was married to Marco Barbarigo, a Venetian nobleman. After the death of her father, Karl Topia, in 1388, she inherited the castle of Krujë and the surrounding region...

 and his son Gjergj Thopia. Gjergj kept the city of Durrës and his surroundings which he later surrendered to Venice Republic, while Helen Thopia kept the city of Krujë

Krujë

Krujë is a town in north central Albania and the capital of the municipality and the Krujë District. It has a population of about 15,900. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km from the capital of Albania, Tirana....

 and its surroundings. She was married to Marco Barbadigo a Venetian noble. The count Niketa Thopia

Niketa Thopia

Niketa Thopia was an Albanian lord member of Thopia family. After the death of Karl Topia, he ruled in the region south of Durrës. In 1403, Niketa Thopia managed to capture the city of Krujë from his cousin, Helena Thopia, thus gaining another part of the territory previously held by the Thopia...

, a cousin of Gjergj, ruled in the region south of Durrës. In 1403, Niketa Thopia managed to capture the city of Krujë from his cousin Helena, thus gaining another part of the territory previously held by Thopia. He had good relations with Venice which was interested in having some buffer zone between them and advancing Ottoman army. However in 1412, Niketa Thopia suffered a heavy defeat from the forces of Teodor II Muzaka

Teodor II Muzaka

Theodore Musachi or Teodor II Muzaka was an Albanian Despot that ruled the Principality of Berat 1389-1417. He fought in the battle of Kosovo in 1389 where he died together with his 4000 men.-References:...

. He himself felt prisoner and with the intervention of Ragusan Republic he was released, but only after giving some territories around Shkumbin river to Muzaka family. Upon his death in 1415, the castle of Krujë felt to the Ottomans.

Later representatives

Later well known representatives include Tanush Thopia

Tanush Thopia

Tanush Thopia was an Albanian nobleman of the 15th century and one of the closest collaborators of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg.Thopia descended from the Thopia family. He was a commander of the infantry of the League of Lezhe, and his garrison became famous for their resistance during the Second...

 a famous commander of Skanderbeg

Skanderbeg

George Kastrioti Skanderbeg or Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu , widely known as Skanderbeg , was a 15th-century Albanian lord. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440...

 army and the commander of Krujë garrison during Second Siege of Krujë

Second Siege of Krujë

The Second Siege of Krujë by the Ottoman Empire took place in 1466 at Krujë in Albania and lasted until 1467. Ottoman forces were initially led by sultan Mehmed II and later by Ballaban...

.