Andrea I Thopia () died in 1342 in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
was an Albanian nobleman. In 1338 he inherited the
county of Mat from his predecessor
Tanusio Thopia.
Andrea had become the son-in-law of the
Neapolitan King Robert of Anjou without his consent. It would end up costing him his life. Robert sent his biological daughter
Hélène of Anjou, whom he had promised to be a wife to a potentate in
Morea
Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...
, via
Durrës
Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...
to Greece. In the Albanian port city she met Andreas Thopia, they fell in love and got married. The marriage resulted in two sons,
Karl Thopia and Gjergj Thopia. However, King Robert did not accept the violation of his will to rule. He invited the couple to Naples on the pretext of wanting to reconcile with them and had them executed there.
The sons who remained in
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
survived, and so Prince Karl Thopia was later able to rightly invoke his family ties to a royal house, even though he pursued a policy directed against Anjou throughout his life, because he was not able forgive the one who killed his parents.
See also
*
Thopia family
*
Principality of Albania (medieval)
*
Saint Gjon Vladimir's Church
References
{{Reflist
14th-century Albanian people
Thopia family
13th-century births
1342 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Albanian monarchs
Year of death uncertain