Andrea II Thopia (; died before March 1445) was a 15th century

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

nobleman whose domains included the territory of Scuria (between Durazzo and what would later become modern day

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

). He was a member of the

Thopia family The Thopia were one of the most powerful Albanian feudal families in the Late Middle Ages, part of the nobility of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. Early history The first attestation of the Thopia can be found in an Angevin document from 1274 ...

and one of the founders of the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë (), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League (), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unif ...

Family

Andrea Thopia was the great nephew of

Karl Thopia Karl Thopia (; – January 1388) sometimes written as Charles Thopia, was an Albanian feudal prince and warlord who ruled Albanian domains from 1358 until the first Ottoman conquest of Albania in 1388. Thopia usually maintained good relatio ...

. He had two sons, Karl Muzaka and Komnin (possibly Serafina Thopia).

1432—1436 rebellion

After the

Battle of Savra The Battle of Savra (; ; ; "Battle on the Saurian field") or the Battle of the Vjosë was fought on 18 September 1385 between Ottoman Empire, Ottoman and much smaller Zeta under the Balsha, Zetan forces, at the Savra field near Lushnjë (in moder ...

in 1385 the region of Albania came under strong Ottoman influence and gradually most of its territory was annexed to the Ottoman Empire within a separate administrative unit: the

Sanjak of Albania The Sanjak of Albania (, or ; or ) was a second-level administrative unit of the Ottoman Empire between 1415 and 1444. Its mandate included territories of modern central and southern Albania between Krujë to the Kalamas River in northwester ...

. Andrea revolted against Ottoman rule in 1432 and defeated a small Ottoman military unit in the mountains of Central Albania. His victory inspired other chieftains in Albania, especially

Gjergj Arianiti Gjergj Arianiti (13??–1462) was an Albanian feudal lord who led several successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. He was the father of Donika, Skanderbeg's wife, as well as the uncle of Moisi Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was Skanderbeg's ...

, to rebel against the Ottomans.

League of Lezhë

Together with his nephew ( Tanush Thopia) Andrea participated in founding of the

(1444 military alliance led by

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

). The members included

Lekë Zaharia Lekë Zaharia Altisferi (died 1447) was an Albanian nobleman from the Zaharia family. He was the only son of his father Koja Zaharia and mother Bosa Dukagjini, and he had a sister named Bolia, who named her son Koja after her father. League of ...

, Pjetër Spani, Lekë Dushmani, Andrea Thopia,

, Theodor Muzaka,

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (; 1426–1465) was the Zeta under the Crnojevići, Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, whic ...

, and their subjects. His title was Lord of Scuria (near Durazzo). According to

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote the Muzaka chronicles (a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi''. The work ...

, Andrea Thopia was among the members of this league who outlived the fall of Scutari into Ottoman hands in 1479.

In literature

Girolamo de Rada Girolamo de Rada ( Arbërisht: ''Jeronim de Rada''; 29 November 181428 February 1903) was an Arbëreshë folklorist, journalist, lawyer, playwright, poet, rilindas and writer. He is regarded as one of the most influential Albanian writers of ...

, an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

writer of Italo-

Albanian literature Albanian literature stretches back to the Middle Ages and comprises those literary texts and works written in Albanian language, Albanian. It may also refer to literature written by Albanians in Albania, Kosovo and the Albanian diaspora particul ...

, dedicated his 1839 work ''Albanian Historical Songs of Serafina Thopia, Wife of Prince Nicholas Dukagjini'' () to unfulfilled love of Serafina Thopia and Bosdare Stresa (an Albanian Romeo and Juliet). Serafina, who was daughter of Andrea Thopia in this song, sacrificed her love to Bosdare and married

Nicholas Dukagjini Nicholas Dukagjini (, ) was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family. Biography Nicholas Dukagjini was the son of Gjergj Dukagjini, who died before 1409 when Nicholas was mentioned for the first time as the landlord of two villages near ...

to help uniting southern and northern Albania to fight against the Ottomans.

Annotations

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thopia, Andrea 15th-century Albanian people

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

Medieval Albanian nobility Albanian Roman Catholics