Andrea Vrana ( fl. 1261) was an

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 appointed by

Manfred of Sicily Manfred ( scn, Manfredi di Sicilia; 123226 February 1266) was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Manfred became regent over th ...

as captain of Durazzo (Durrës). The Vrana family was based in the castle of

Xibër Xibër is a former municipality in the Dibër County, northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Klos. The population at the 2011 census was 2,660. Demographic history Xibër (''Çipur'') is r ...

village, today in the

Mat District Mat District () was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 61,906 in 2001, and an area of . It was named after the river Mat, which flows through ...

Life

Andrea Vrana hailed from the well-known local Vrana noble family. The family was based in

village, today in the

. The

Byzantine–Norman wars Wars between the Normans and the Byzantine Empire were fought from 1040 until 1185, when the last Norman invasion of the Byzantine Empire was defeated. At the end of the conflict, neither the Normans nor the Byzantines could boast much power, as ...

and the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in the 11–12th centuries gave Albanian powerful families an increased political importance. Both Byzantines and Normans made efforts to gain support from them, offering political posts. Amid this,

chose to trust the leadership of the imposed military government in Durazzo to Andrea Vrana. He was appointed ''capitano'' (captain) of the city. Before that, a relative of him served in 1185 as an official of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

in the Mat region. After the death of Manfred in the

Battle of Benevento The Battle of Benevento was a major medieval battle fought on 26 February 1266, near Benevento in present-day Southern Italy, between the forces of Charles I of Anjou and those of King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred's defeat and death resulted in Ch ...

, Vrana refused to give the territories under his jurisdiction to the

Despotate of Epirus The Despotate of Epirus ( gkm, Δεσποτᾶτον τῆς Ἠπείρου) was one of the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claim ...

and

Charles I of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the Capetian House of Anjou, second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and County of Fo ...

. The case of Andrea Vrana shows that Manfred was successful in making alliances with local leaders, some of whom helped against Manfred's adversaries in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The first mention of Andrea Vrana is dated in 1261–1266 as "''capt Arban Cmibri, Andrea Vrana''" in an inscription at a church in Rubik, northwestern Albania. Although Vrana set it on fire, parts of the church survived.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vrana, Andrea 13th-century Albanian people Medieval Albanian nobility Military history of the Kingdom of Sicily History of Durrës Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from Klos (municipality)