Wolf-Dietrich-Klebeband Städtebilder G 154 III

Borsh Castle ( sq, Kalaja e Borshit) also known as Sopot Castle ( sq, Kalaja e Sopotit) from the hill it is located, is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

near the village

Borsh Borsh is a maritime village, in the Albanian Riviera, in the former Lukovë municipality, Vlorë County, Albania, At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Himarë. The village is inhabited by Albanians,Kallivretaki ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, near the coast of the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

. Inside the castle is the 17th-century

Hajji Bendo Mosque The Hajji Bendo Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Haxhi Bendos) or Haji Bedo Mosque () is an Ottoman-era mosque built before the 17th century inside the Borsh Castle of Himara, Albania. It is on the Sopot hill. The dome, which used to be of red tiles, is n ...

from Ottoman times. Soppoto - Coronelli Vincenzo - 1688

History

The castle dates to Antiquity, and its fortifications follow the trace of an

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

, with four subsequent phases of reconstruction, ranging from the early

Byzantine 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 ...

period to the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The name "Sopot" is of Slavic origin. In medieval Greek documents, the castle is named ''Sopoton'' or ''Sopotos'', from which its name in other languages derives; its harbour is mentioned in Greek

portolans Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian ''portulano'', meaning "related to ports or harbors", and whi ...

with the name ''Gazopolis''. Borshi Castle entrance

The site is first mentioned in the early 13th century, when archbishop

Demetrios Chomatenos Demetrios Chomatenos or Chomatianos ( el, Δημήτριος Χωματηνός/Χωματιανός, 13th century), Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236, was a Byzantine priest and judge. His comprehensive legal education allowed ...

wrote of the "

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

ship of ''Sopotos''" ( gr, ἀρχοντία Σοπωτοῡ, ''archontia Sopotou''), part of the region of

Vagenetia Vagenetia or Vagenitia ( gr, Βαγενετία, Βαγενιτία) was a medieval region on the coast of Epirus, roughly corresponding to modern Thesprotia. The region likely derived its name from the Slavic tribe of the Baiounitai. It is first at ...

. In 1258, the Despot of Epirus

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 ...

gave the castle along with Buthrotum and the island of

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

as dowry for his daughter

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

Manfred, King 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 the ...

. It came back under Epirote control soon thereafter, before being once again ceded by Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas to

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 ...

in 1279. The area returned again to Epirote hands in the subsequent decades, but in the Epirote rebellion against Palaiologan Byzantine rule in 1338–39, it remained loyal to Emperor

Andronikos III Palaiologos , image = Andronikos_III_Palaiologos.jpg , caption = 14th-century miniature. Stuttgart, Württembergische Landesbibliothek. , succession = Byzantine emperor , reign = 24 May 1328 – 15 June 1341 , coronation = ...

. Following the Ottoman conquest, a cadaster from 1431 lists ''Sopot'' with 60 households, and as capital of a ''

nahiye A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

''. In 1456, troops of King

Alfonso V of Aragon Alfonso the Magnanimous (139627 June 1458) was King of Aragon and King of Sicily (as Alfonso V) and the ruler of the Crown of Aragon from 1416 and King of Naples (as Alfonso I) from 1442 until his death. He was involved with struggles to the t ...

were operating in the area of ''Sobato'' against the Ottomans. In 1470 it was under

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 ...

control, under the jurisdiction of the governor of Corfu; at the end of the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479, the Ottomans laid claim to it and apparently received it. In 1481 Albanians led by Gjon Kastrioti II

invaded An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

Southern Albania Southern Albania ( sq, Shqipëria jugore) is one of the three NUTS-2 Regions of Albania. This ethnographical territory is sometimes referred to as ''Toskeria'' ( sq, Toskëria). It consists of five counties: Berat, Fier, Gjirokastër, Korçë ...

from Italy and captured the castle, but retreated in 1484. In 1488 the local Albanian population rebelled against Ottoman rule. The walls of the castle, which follow the ancient fortifications, survive. In the interior, the medieval fortress was divided through a wall in two. Triangular towers were added later, probably during the middle Byzantine period. In the interior of the castle stand ruins of various buildings and

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

References

Sources

* * {{Castles in Albania Ruined castles in Albania Buildings and structures in Himara Byzantine forts

History

See also

References

Sources