Helena Thopia
| Helena Thopia | |
|---|---|
| Lady of Krujë | |
 | |
| Lady of Krujë (First reign) | |
| Reign | 1388 - 1392 (First reign) |
| Predecessor | Karl Thopia |
| Successor | Niketa Thopia |
| Lady of Krujë (Second reign, with Konstantin Balsha, Ottoman vassal) | |
| Reign | 1394 - 1402 |
| Predecessor | Niketa Thopia |
| Successor | Herself |
| Lady of Krujë (Third reign, Ottoman vassal) | |
| Reign | 1402 - 1403 |
| Predecessor | Herself |
| Successor | Niketa Thopia |
| Born | c. 1370s Principality of Albania |
| Spouses | |
| Issue | Stefan Maramonte |
| House | Thopia family |
| Father | Karl Thopia |
| Mother | Voisava Balsha |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Helena Thopia (fl. 1388–1403) was an Albanian princess of the Thopia family who held the Krujë region as sovereign lady for two terms; 1388-1392 and 1394–1403.
Life
[edit]Princess Helena Thopia was the eldest daughter of Karl Thopia and Voisava Balsha.[1][2] Her first marriage was to Marco Barbarigo, a Venetian nobleman, around the 1380s. After the death of her father, in 1388, she inherited the castle of Krujë and the surrounding region. In 1392 as a result of the hostilities between her husband and the Venetian forces, her half-brother, Niketa Thopia, a Venice loyal, attacked the city of Krujë and forced them to find refuge among the Balsha family.
After her brother Gjergj Thopia died in 1392 she gained the bulk of the rest of his holdings. A smaller portion was also left to their younger sister, Voisava Thopia.[3][4][5][6]
In 1394, Konstantin Balšić, who was appointed by the Ottomans to govern Krujë, married her. Konstantin ruled as an Ottoman vassal and was killed in 1402. In 1403 Niketa Thopia captured the castle from Helena.[7] After Konstantin's death Helena and their son Stefan first went to Venice and then lived with her sister Maria, Baroness of Botrugno.
Issue
[edit]She married Marco Barbarigo, and then Konstantin Balšić in 1394. She had a son with Konstantin, Stefan Maramonte.
Family tree
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Hopf, Karl (1873). Chroniques Gréco-Romaines inédites ou peu connues. Weidmann. p. 532.
...Elena , dame de Croja - Giorgio 1381 ,- Voisava...
- ^ Rudolf Künker, Fritz (2008). The De Wit Collection of Medieval Coins Künker Auktion 137 - The De Wit Collection of Medieval Coins, 1000 Years of European Coinage, Part III: England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Balkan, the Middle East, Crusader States, Jetons und Weights. Numismatischer Verlag Künker. p. 284.
...Karl Thopia was wedded to Vojsava, a daughter of Balsa I...
- ^ John V. A. Fine. The Late Medieval Balkans A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press. p. 418. ISBN 978-0-4720-8260-5.
...Later that year George Thopia died without issue. The bulk of his holdings, for he surrendered only Durazzo and environs to Venice, went to his sister Helena. (A small piece was left to his younger sister Vojsava, who was married to a patrician of Durazzo known as Lord [Kyr] Isaac. That couple continued to reside in Durazzo under the Venetians.)...
- ^ E. Jacques, Edwin (2009). The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present - Volume 1. McFarland & Company. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-7864-4238-6.
...The remainder of his principality was divided among the daughters of Karl and other relatives, who fought with both Venice and the Turks until Kruja fell to the latter in 1425...
- ^ E. Jacques, Edwin (2009). The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to the Present - Volume 1. McFarland & Company. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-7864-4238-6.
...Upon the death of Karl Topia (1388) his sickly son Gjergj headed the principality. Being an ineffective ruler anyway, he yielded to Venetian pressure and left Durrës to Venice just before he died in 1392...
- ^ Elsie, Robert (2003). Early Albania A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. Harrassowitz. p. 52. ISBN 978-3-4470-4783-8.
...This George pledged Durrës to the Venetians...
- ^ Anamali, Skënder and Prifti, Kristaq. Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime. Botimet Toena, 2002, ISBN 99927-1-622-3 pp. 251-252