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Bua (tribe)
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 The name is first attested in 14th-century historical documents as one of the Albanian tribes living in the Despotate of Epirus.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 a part of them found refuge in Italy in the Arbëreshë migrations that followed the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. A branch of the tribe regiments was ennobled in the Holy Roman Empire after its service in the Stratioti, a Balkan mercenary unit. Mercurio Bua (1478 –c. 1542), its most prominent member, was Count of Aquino and Roccasecca. Name ''Bua'' appears in historical record as both a given name and as a surname. It is often accompanied by the surname ''Spata''. John VI Kantakouzenos's ''History'' written in second half of the 14th century is the first primary source about the Bua tribe. Kantakouzenos writes that the "Albanian tribes of Mazaraki, Bua, Malakasi were named so after the names of their leaders." Albanian clans traditiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meksi Family
The Meksi were a noble Albanian family. Members of this family are found in Albania, Italy and Greece (especially Spetses), whose members distinguished themselves in shipping and politics.Γαλλέτας Ηλίας, Μπουζουμπάρδη Μαρίκα, ''Σπέτσες, Ιστορία - Λαογραφία'', Ένωση Σπετσιωτών, 2004, τόμος Α΄, σελ. 312 - 315 History The Meksi family appeared around the 10th century and is believed to be the first branch of the Bua tribe. According to Milan Šufflay, the region between Cape Rodon, Kruja and Lezha was inhabited by the Messi, Meksi, Mexi family. The most distant origin must have been the village of Mesi located in the area between the rivers Shkumbin and Drin, near Shkodër. The name of the Meksi clan may originate from the function, office or position of its head, who in this particular case must have been a doctor, while the suffix "si" indicates ownership of the country. In this way, it turns out th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bojana (river)
The Bojana ( cnr, Бојана), also known as the Buna ( sq, Bunë), is a river in Albania and Montenegro which flows into the Adriatic Sea. An outflow of Lake Skadar, measured from the source of the lake's longest tributary, the Morača, the Morača-Lake Skadar-Bojana system is long. Etymology The modern Albanian name of the river delivers from Illyrian ''Barbanna'' ''and'' follows Albanian phonetic sound rules. Course The river in Albania The river used to be longer, but due to a rise in the level of Lake Shkodër, the uppermost part of the river is now under the lake's surface. The river initially flows east, but after only few kilometers reaches the city of Shkodër and turns to the south. On the southern outskirts of the city, the river receives its most important tributary, the Great Drin, the greater part of which became its tributary after changing course during a flood in 1858 and now brings more water (352 m³/s) than the Buna itself (320 m³/s). After fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 it forms the western part of the regional units of Greece, regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital and principal city in ancient times was Stratos, Greece, Stratos. The north side of Acarnania of the Corinthian Gulf was considered part of the region of Epirus. Acarnania's foundation in Greek mythology was traditionally ascribed to Acarnan, son of Alcmaeon (mythology), Alcmaeon. History Pre-Peloponnesian War The name of Acarnania appears to have been unknown in the earliest times. Homer (8th century BC) only calls the country opposite Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and Cephalonia, under the general name of "Epeirus" (῎ηπειρος), or the mainland, although he frequently mentions the Aetolians. The country is said to have been origi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 units of Greece, regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on the north it had boundaries with Epirus and Thessaly; on the east with the Ozolian Locrians; and on the south the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf defined the limits of Aetolia. In classical times Aetolia comprised two parts: "Old Aetolia" ( el, Παλιά Αιτωλία, Paliá Aitolía) in the west, from the Achelous to the Evinos, Evenus and Calydon; and "New Aetolia" ( el, Νέα Αιτωλία, Néa Aitolía) or "Acquired Aetolia" ( el, Αἰτωλία Ἐπίκτητος, Aitolía Epíktitos) in the east, from the Evenus and Calydon to the Ozolian Locrians. The country has a level and fruitful coastal region, but an unproductive and mountainous interior. The mountains contained m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Despotate Of Arta
The Despotate of Arta ( sq, Despotati i Artës; el, Δεσποτάτο της Άρτας) was a despotate established by Albanian rulers during the 14th century, after the defeat of the local Despot of Epirus, Nikephoros II Orsini, by Albanian tribesmen in the Battle of Achelous in 1359 and ceased to exist in 1416, when it passed to Carlo I Tocco.''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', p. 191''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', p. 53 History Creation In the late spring of 1359, Nikephoros II Orsini, the last despot of Epirus of the Orsini dynasty, fought against the Albanians near river Acheloos, Aetolia. The Albanians won the battle and managed to create two new states in the southern territories of the Despotate of Epirus. Because a number of Albanian lords actively supported the successful Serbian campaign in Thessaly and Epirus, the Serbian Tsar granted them specific regions and offered them the Byzantine title of despotes in order to secure their loyalty. By the late 1360 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spata Family
The Spata family ( sq, Shpata, gr, Σπάτα, Σπάτας) was an Albanian noble family active in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, initially as Venetian vassals and later as Ottoman vassals. The family's progenitors were the brothers John Spata and Sgouros Spata. Shpata means "sword" in Albanian. In the first half of the 14th century, mercenaries, raiders and migrants known in Greek as ''Άλβανοί'' (''Albanoi'' or "Albanians") flooded into Greece (specifically raiding Thessaly in 1325 and 1334). In 1358, Albanians overran the regions of Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia and established two principalities under their leaders, John Spata and Peter Losha.. Naupactus (Lepanto) was later taken in 1378. The Spata family frequently collaborated with the Ottomans and saw them as protectors. Although German historian Karl Hopf provided a genealogy of the Spata family, it is deemed by modern scholarship as "altogether inaccurate".. *John Spata, recognized as a ruler in Epirus an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gjin Bua Shpata
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 Despot by the titular Eastern Roman Emperor in the early 1360s and ruled Aetolia (1360s–?), Angelokastron (?–1399), Naupactus (1378–1399), and Arta (1370s–1399). Name The word ''spata'', in Albanian ''shpatë'', pl. ''shpata'', 'sword'. According to Orel (1998), the word was borrowed from Latin ''spāta''. Hammond thus believes that he was called "John the Sword". Spatha being a type of Roman sword. Life Karl Hopf's genealogy of the Shpata family is "altogether inaccurate"; according to it, his father was Pietro, the lord of Angelokastron and Delvina (1354) during the reign of Serbian emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). It is known that Shpata had a brother, Sgouros Spata. In 1358, some Albanian commanders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Bison
The European bison (''Bison bonasus'') or the European wood bison, also known as the wisent ( or ), the zubr (), or sometimes colloquially as the European buffalo, is a European species of bison. It is one of two extant species of bison, alongside the American bison. The European bison is the heaviest wild land animal in Europe, and individuals in the past may have been even larger than their modern-day descendants. During late antiquity and the Middle Ages, bison became extinct in much of Europe and Asia, surviving into the 20th century only in northern-central Europe and the northern Caucasus Mountains. During the early years of the 20th century, bison were hunted to extinction in the wild. The species — now numbering several thousand and returned to the wild by captive breeding programmes — is no longer in immediate danger of extinction, but remains absent from most of its historical range. It is not to be confused with the aurochs (''Bos primigenius''), the extinct anc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albanian Language
Albanian ( endonym: or ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is spoken by the Albanians in the Balkans and by the Albanian diaspora, which is generally concentrated in the Americas, Europe and Oceania. With about 7.5 million speakers, it comprises an independent branch within the Indo-European languages and is not closely related to any other modern Indo-European language. Albanian was first attested in the 15th century and it is a descendant of one of the Paleo-Balkan languages of antiquity. For historical and geographical reasons,: "It is often thought (for obvious geographic reasons) that Albanian descends from ancient Illyrian (see above), but this cannot be ascertained as we know next to nothing about Illyrian itself." the prevailing opinion among modern historians and linguists is that the Albanian language is a descendant of a southern Illyrian dialect spoken in much the same region in classical times. Alternativ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apheresis (linguistics)
In phonetics and phonology, apheresis (; en-GB, aphaeresis) is the loss of a word-initial vowel producing a new form called aphetism (e.g. ''American'' > '' 'Merican''). In a broader sense, it can refer to the loss of any initial sound (including consonants) from a word or, in a less technical sense, to the loss of one or more sounds from the beginning of a word. Etymology Apheresis comes from Greek ἀφαίρεσις ''aphairesis'', "taking away" from ἀφαιρέω ''aphaireo'' from ἀπό ''apo'', "away" and αἱρέω ''haireo'', "to take". Aphetism () comes from Greek ἄφεσις ''aphesis'', "letting go" from ἀφίημι ''aphiemi'' from ἀπό ''apo'', "away" and ἵημι ''híemi'', "send forth". Historical sound change In historical phonetics and phonology, the term "apheresis" is often limited to the loss of an unstressed vowel. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives that particular kind of apheresis the name aphesis (; from Greek ἄφεσις). Loss of u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Definiteness
In linguistics, definiteness is a semantic feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between referents or senses that are identifiable in a given context (definite noun phrases) and those which are not (indefinite noun phrases). The prototypical definite noun phrase picks out a unique, familiar, specific referent such as ''the sun'' or ''Australia'', as opposed to indefinite examples like ''an idea'' or ''some fish''. There is considerable variation in the expression of definiteness across languages, and some languages such as Japanese do not generally mark it so that the same expression could be definite in some contexts and indefinite in others. In other languages, such as English, it is usually marked by the selection of determiner (e.g., ''the'' vs ''a''). In still other languages, such as Danish, definiteness is marked morphologically. Definiteness as a grammatical category There are times when a grammatically marked definite NP is not in fact identifiable. For example, ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chronicle Of The Tocco
The ''Chronicle of the Tocco'' ( el, Χρονικό των Τόκκων) is a chronicle in fifteen-syllable blank verse written in medieval Greek. It covers the period of 1375-1425 and focuses on the ascent of the Tocco family, and especially Carlo I Tocco, Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, to the rule over the Despotate of Epirus, as well as Carlo's conquest of territories in the Morea. The anonymous author described events that occurred during his own lifetime and must have been present at some of them. He possibly belonged to the court of Carlo I Tocco and came from Ioannina. From the text we can deduce that he was not particularly educated since he was using the vernacular Greek language. The author describes the Toccos as fair governors who care for the rights of their people. It is remarkable that he does not mention the Latin descent of the noble family. He appears to cultivate a sense of early Greek nationalism and of xenophobia towards the Albanian tribes. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
