Golem 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
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...
who ruled the
Principality of Arbanon
Arbanon ( sq, Arbër or , el, Ἄρβανον, ''Árvanon''; la, Arbanum) was a principality ruled by the native Progoni family, and the first Albanians, Albanian State (polity), state to emerge in recorded history. The principality was establi ...
, in its phase of semi-independency. He was the last ruler of Arbanon before its final annexation in the
reemerging Byzantine Empire. His holdings included
Krujë
Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana.
Kruj ...
and probably
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
.
Rule
He rose to rule Arbanon through marriage with the daughter of
sebastos
( grc-gre, σεβαστός, sebastós, venerable one, Augustus, ; plural , ) was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of . The female form of the title was (). It was revived as an honorific in the 11th-ce ...
Gregorios Kamonas
Gregorios Kamonas ( 1215) was a Greek-Albanian Lord or Prince of Krujë ( Arbanon) in ca. 1215. Demetrios Chomatenos (1216–1236) mentioned him as having the title of ''sebastos'', given to him by the emperor Alexios III Angelos after 1205, dur ...
and
Komnena Nemanjić
Komnena Nemanjić ( sr-cyr, Комнена Немањић; fl. 1208–1215) was the Duchess consort of Dimitri Progoni, the albanian '' megas archon'' of Kruja, and later Gregory Kamonas, the ''archon'' of Elbasan. She was the daughter of Serbi ...
and then succeeded him to rule Arbanon. The ascension of Golem is regarded as a reversion to the native rule of Albania.
[: "But he was overruled by Demetrios Chomatianos M. In due course the daughter of Kamonas married a local magnate called Golem (or Goulamos), and Kroia and Arbanon reverted to native rule. Golem was connected not only with the Serbian royal family but also by marriage with John Batatzes of Nicaea; and it was through this latter connexion that he was tempted into joining the winning side in Macedonia in 1252, when the armies..."] Komnena was the daughter of
Stefan the First-Crowned
Stefan Nemanja II ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Немања II, ), or Stephen the First-Crowned ( sr, / , ; – 24 September 1228), was the Grand Prince of Serbia from 1196 and the King of Serbia from 1217 until his death in 1228. He was the first ...
and grand-daughter of
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos ( gkm, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, Alexios Komnēnos Angelos; 1211), Latinized as Alexius III Angelus, was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to 17/18 July 1203. He reigned under the name Alexios Komnen ...
, the last Byzantine Emperor before the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
.
This particular aspect of her origin would become important in later political developments as she was the niece of
Irene Laskarina
Irene Laskarina (died 1240) ( el, Εἰρήνη Λασκαρίνα, ''Eirēnē Laskarina'') was an Empress of Nicaea. She was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea and Anna Angelina. Her maternal grandparents were Emperor Alexios ...
, Empress of Nicaea and thus related to the Nicaean Emperor
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known ...
.
The exact date of Golem's rise to power is unknown. In his time, Arbanon had moved from independence under
Dhimitër Progoni
Demetrio Progoni ( sq, Dhimitër Progoni) was an Albanian leader who ruled as '' Prince of the Albanians'' from 1208 to 1216 the Principality of Arbanon, the first Albanian state. He was the successor and brother of Gjin Progoni and their father, ...
to semi-independence under the high suzerainty of
Theodore Komnenos Doukas
Theodore Komnenos Doukas ( el, Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Δούκας, ''Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas'', latinisation of names, Latinized as Theodore Comnenus Ducas, died 1253) was ruler of Despotate of Epirus, Epirus and Thessaly#Late M ...
of 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 ...
until 1230 when
Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II ( bg, Иван Асен II, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I one of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empir ...
expanded westwards. When he died in 1240, the Despotate of Epirus under the Komneno-Doukai exerted again its influence in central Albania. This was the era of the rise of the
Nicaean Empire
The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley, C. M. Woodhouse ...
which sought to take hold of all post-Byzantine states and reform the Byzantine Empire. In this context, the struggle between
Michael II Komnenos Doukas
Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas ( el, Μιχαήλ Β΄ Κομνηνός Δούκας, ''Mikhaēl II Komnēnos Doukas''), often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was from 1230 until his death in 1266/68 the rule ...
and
John III Doukas Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known ...
developed. In 1246, the two expanded in the region of Macedonia and the new border between them in the area between Albania and western Macedonia. Golem was in control of Ohrid at the time. He, Theodore Petraliphas and others who were allies of Michael Doukas negotiated with Vatatzes and changed sides.
[ "In 1252, Prince Golem of Arbanon submitted to the empire of Nicaea, but this did not last, since, in 1257/58, the Albanians rebelled again and rejoined the party of Michael II, ruler of Epirus."][: "They had barely crossed the frontiers of Albania when Golem, the chieftain of Kroia and Elbassan, who had been helping Michael's army in the region of Kastoria, surrendered himself and his soldiers to Vatatzes.] Golem was probably in control of
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
and Petraliphas of
Kastoria
Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Gree ...
.
Both men were in the region of Kastoria with their armies in order to support Michael against Vatatzes but instead of preparing to fight against him, they reached an agreement with Vatatzes who had also camped in western Macedonia. The exact details of the agreement are not known but contemporary historian George Pachymeres writes that Golem (''Goulielmos'') was "honored with Roman dignities" by the Nicaean Emperor.
Golem is last mentioned in the historical records among other 'notables' of Arbanon, in a meeting with
George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople.
Life
In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the ...
in
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 ...
that occurred in the winter of 1256–1257. Akropolites subsequently annexed the statelet and installed a Byzantine civil, military and fiscal administration.
In historiography
Golem of Kruja is mentioned in two contemporary accounts. As ''Goulamos'' in that of
George Akropolites George Akropolites ( Latinized as Acropolites or Acropolita; el, , ''Georgios Akropolites''; 1217 or 1220 – 1282) was a Byzantine Greek historian and statesman born at Constantinople.
Life
In his sixteenth year he was sent by his father, the ...
and as ''Goulielmos'' in that of
George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres ( el, Γεώργιος Παχυμέρης, Geórgios Pachyméris; 1242 – 1310) was a Byzantine Greek historian, philosopher, music theorist and miscellaneous writer.
Biography
Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, wher ...
.
Thus, his name could either be a variant of
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, which had entered Albanian as ''Gulielm'' or ''Golem'', which had entered Albanian either via Latin ''Gulielmus'' or south Slavic/Bulgarian and signified one's high status. In Albanian historiography, those scholars who have favored the second hypothesis have proposed a possible connection to the
Arianiti family
The House of Arianiti were an Albanian noble family that ruled large areas in Albania and neighbouring areas from the 11th to the 16th century. Their domain stretched across the Shkumbin valley and the old Via Egnatia road and reached east to t ...
, some members of which also used ''Golem'' in their names (
Moisi Golemi
Moisi Golemi, also known as Moisi of Dibra ( sq, Moisiu i Dibrës), was an Albanian nobleman and a commander of the League of Lezhë. In 1443–44 he captured all Ottoman holdings in the area of Dibër region. For a brief period in the 1450s h ...
).
Notes
*According to Donald M. Nicol, Golem was the "chieftain of Krujë and Elbasan".
[: "29. For "Goulamos" or Golem, Prince of Kroia and Elbasan c.1254, see Karl Hopf, ''Chroniques gréco-romanes inedites ou peu connues'' (Berlin, 1873), p. 535 (table XI. 13) and Donald M. Nicol, The Despotate of Epiros (Oxford, 1957), pp. 152–53, 161–162, 237 (table III). Golem married the daughter of Gregorios Kamonas, Prince of Kroia c.1215 by his second wife, a daughter of Stefan II Prvovencani, King of Serbia and his first wife Eudokia Angelina."] Other modern sources also call him "Prince of Krujë and Elbasan",
[ "Prince of Arbanon", or "]Territorial lord
A territorial lord (german: Landesherr) was a ruler in the period beginning with the Early Middle Ages who, stemming from his status as being immediate (''unmittelbar''), held a form of authority over a territory known as '' Landeshoheit''. This ...
of Albanon".[: "Im Jahre 1253 wird als Landesherr von "Albanon' ein gewisser Golem, Goulâmos genannt, dessen Frau, Georgios..."]
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Golem Of Kruja
13th-century rulers in Europe
13th-century Albanian people
Albanian princes
Medieval Albanian nobility
People of the Empire of Nicaea
People of the Despotate of Epirus
Eastern Orthodox Christians from Albania