Andrea I Muzaka, Ndrea Muzaka (also Andrew Musachi died 1319) was an Albanian prince of the

Muzaka family The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...

and the ruler of the Principality of Berat.

Life

Andrea Muzaka came from the

Muzaka The Muzaka were an Albanian noble family that ruled over the region of Myzeqe (southern Albania) in the Late Middle Ages. The Muzaka are also referred to by some authors as a tribe or a clan. The earliest historical document that mention Muzaka ...

noble family, who were wealthy in southern Albania. In 1279, his relative Gjon Muzaka, as an ally of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, fought the expansionist efforts of

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, who in 1272 founded the ''

Regnum Albaniae The Kingdom of Albania (, lat, Regnum Albaniae) was established by Charles I of Naples, Charles of Anjou in the Albanian territories he conquered from the Byzantine Empire in 1271, with the help of the local Albanian nobility. The Kingdom of Alb ...

'' ("Kingdom of Albania") in 1272 around the important port city of

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

(Dyrrhachion). Andrea Muzaka de facto became vassal of Charles, who awarded him the title "Marshal of Albania" After the Anjou were largely expelled from Albania (1281) by a coalition of Byzantines and local Albanian forces, Andrea Muzaka established a de facto independent territorial rule, which later included the

Myzeqe The Myzeqe (; sq-definite, Myzeqeja; rup, Muzachia) is a plain in the Western Lowlands of Albania. The Myzeqe is the largest and widest plain, measured by area, in the Lowlands. Location The Myzeqe plain is a large alluvial plain traversed by t ...

area west of

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in th ...

between the Devoll and the

Vjosa The Vjosa (; indefinite form: ) or Aoös ( el, Αώος) is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania. Its total length is about , of which the first are in Greece, and the remaining in Albania. Its drainage basin is and its ave ...

. Since he had the high Byzantine court title of

Sebastokrator ''Sebastokrator'' ( grc-byz, Σεβαστοκράτωρ, Sevastokrátor, August Ruler, ; bg, севастократор, sevastokrator; sh, sebastokrator), was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers wh ...

, he was apparently formally recognized by Emperor Andronikos II as governor of Central Albania. In alliance with the Byzantines, Muzaka also withstood the Serbs who, under King Stefan Uroš II Milutin, attacked Albania from the north. From 1335, his grandson Andrea II significantly expanded the rule of the family in Central Albania

Descendants

Andrea I. had two sons:

Teodor I Muzaka Theodore Musachi or Teodor I Muzaka was an Albanian nobleman that ruled the Lordship of Berat between 1319 and 1331. According to John Musachi, he had the nickname “këshetesi”, meaning the one with braided hair. He had a brother Count ...

, Protosebastos lived in the late 13th / early 14th century, (called long hair) Mentulo or Matarango, Count of Clissania

References

1319 deaths 13th-century Albanian people {{DEFAULTSORT:Muzaka, Andrea