The Spata family ( sq, Shpata, gr, Σπάτα, Σπάτας) was an
Albanian noble family active in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, initially as
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
vassals and later as
Ottoman
Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to:
Governments and dynasties
* Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924
* Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
vassals. The family's progenitors were the brothers
John Spata
Gjin Bua Shpata (sometimes anglicized as ''John Spata'') ( 1358 – 29 October 1399) was an Albanian ruler in Western Greece with the title of Despot. Together with Peter Losha, he led raids into Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia in 1358. He was ...
and
Sgouros Spata Sgouros Spata ( sq, Skurra Bua Shpata; 1399–1403) was the Despotate of Arta, Lord of Arta briefly in 1400, and the Lord of Angelokastron from 1401 until his death in 1403, during warfare in a civil war.
Life
Shortly before John Spata died o ...
. Shpata means "sword" in
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 countr ...
.
[
In the first half of the 14th century, mercenaries, raiders and migrants known in ]Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
as ''Άλβανοί'' (''Albanoi'' or "Albanians") flooded into Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
(specifically raiding Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
in 1325 and 1334). In 1358, Albanians overran the regions of Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
, Acarnania
Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) 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 ...
and Aetolia
Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania.
Geography
The Achelous River separates Aetolia ...
and established two principalities under their leaders, John Spata
Gjin Bua Shpata (sometimes anglicized as ''John Spata'') ( 1358 – 29 October 1399) was an Albanian ruler in Western Greece with the title of Despot. Together with Peter Losha, he led raids into Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia in 1358. He was ...
and Peter Losha
Pjetër Losha was an Albanian clan leader in medieval Epirus. He belonged to the Losha ''fis'' (clan or tribe) and was the leader of a combined force of his own clan and the ''fis'' of Mazaraki and Malakasi. In 1360, he became Despot of Arta, R ...
.[.] Naupactus
Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos.
It is named for Naupaktos (, Latini ...
(Lepanto) was later taken in 1378.[ The Spata family frequently collaborated with the Ottomans and saw them as protectors.][.]
*John Spata
Gjin Bua Shpata (sometimes anglicized as ''John Spata'') ( 1358 – 29 October 1399) was an Albanian ruler in Western Greece with the title of Despot. Together with Peter Losha, he led raids into Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia in 1358. He was ...
, recognized as a ruler in Epirus and Aetolia by Simeon Uroš
Simeon Uroš ( sr-cyr, Симеон Урош, gr, Συμεών Ούρεσης; 1326–1370), nicknamed Siniša (Синиша), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III a ...
in 1359–1360.
**Eirene Spata Eirene may refer to:
* Eirene (artist), 1st-century Greek artist
* Eirene (daughter of Poseidon), in Greek mythology
* Eirene (genus), ''Eirene'' (genus), a genus of hydrozoans in the family Eirenidae
* Eirene (goddess), the Greek personification o ...
who married Esau de' Buondelmonti
Esau de' Buondelmonti ( gr, Ησαύ Μπουοντελμόντ) was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area (central Epirus) from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of Despot.
Life
Esau was the son of the Florentine ...
, the Despot of Ioannina
Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the ...
, in 1396.[
**An unnamed daughter who married ]John Zenevisi
John Zenevisi or Gjon Zenebishi ( sq, Gjon Zenebishi or ''Gjin Zenebishi''; died 1418) was an Albanian magnate that held the estates in Epirus, such as Argyrokastro (Gjirokastër) and Vagenetia.
Name
Zenevisi can be found with different spellin ...
.
**Unclear
***Maurice Spata }); ) was the ruler of Arta from late 1399/early 1400 until his death in 1414 or 1415. Maurice's reign was dominated by his wars with Carlo I Tocco. Maurice was able to defend his capital of Arta, but despite some victories failed to prevent the f ...
( 1399–1414)
***Yaqub Spata
Yaqub Spata or Shpata ( sq, Jakob Bua Shpata) was the last Lord of Arta, ruling from 1414/15 until 1416, with a brief interval when he was evicted by the local population. His rule ended after his capture and execution by Carlo I Tocco, wh ...
( 1414–1416)
*Sgouros Spata Sgouros Spata ( sq, Skurra Bua Shpata; 1399–1403) was the Despotate of Arta, Lord of Arta briefly in 1400, and the Lord of Angelokastron from 1401 until his death in 1403, during warfare in a civil war.
Life
Shortly before John Spata died o ...
( 1399–d. 1403)
**Paul Spata
The Spata family ( sq, Shpata, gr, Σπάτα, Σπάτας) was an Albanian nobility, Albanian noble family active in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, initially as Venetian Empire, Venetian vassals and later as Ottoman Empire, Ottoman vassals ...
, Ottoman vassal
The Spata family was not kin (blood relatives) with the later Bua family
The Bua (also Boua) were a medieval Albanian tribe. The name is first attested in 14th-century historical documents as one of the Albanian tribes living in the Despotate of Epirus. Later on, the Bua settled southwards in the Peloponnese, and ...
.[.]
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Albanian noble families