Tanusio Thopia or Tanush Thopia ( sq, Tanush Topia 1329–38) was an Albanian

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

that served Princes of Taranto

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) (1 ...

and

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

, and Dukes of Durazzo

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

. He had domains in Matia.

Background

Under Philip I, the Kingdom of Albania was restricted to roughly the modern

Durrës District Durrës District () was one of the was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 182,988 in 2001, and an area of . The district seat was the city of Durrës. Its ter ...

. Upon the death of Philip I in 1332, there were various claims on his domains within the Angevin family. The rights of the Duchy of Durazzo (Durrës) and the Kingdom of Albania together were given to

John of Gravina John of Gravina (1294 – 5 April 1336), also known as John of Anjou, was Count of Gravina 1315–1336, Prince of Achaea 1318–1332, Duke of Durazzo 1332–1336 and ruler of the Kingdom of Albania (although he never used a royal title). He was ...

with a sum of 5,000 pounds of gold. After his death in 1336, his dominions in Albania passed to his son Charles, Duke of Durazzo. During this period there were different Albanian noble families who began consolidating their power and domains. One of them was the

Thopia family The Thopia family was one of the most powerful Albanian feudal families in the Late Middle Ages. It was initially part of the nobility of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. Early history The first attestation of the Thopia can be found in an Ang ...

whose domains were in central Albania. The Serbs were pressing hard in their direction and the Albanian nobles found a natural ally in the Angevins. Alliance with Albanian leaders was also crucial to the safety of the Kingdom of Albania, especially during the 1320s and 1330s. Most prominent among these leaders were the Thopias, ruling in an area between the rivers Mat and Shkumbin, and the Muzaka family in the territory between the rivers Shkumbin and

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foo ...

. They saw the Angevins as protectors of their domains and made alliances. During 1336–1337 Charles had various successes against Serb forces in central Albania.

History

He was mentioned in 1329 as one of the counts of Albania. In an act of

Robert, King of Naples Robert of Anjou ( it, Roberto d'Angiò), known as Robert the Wise ( it, Roberto il Saggio; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of ...

, dated 15 April 1338, Tanusio was mentioned as Count of Matia (conte di Matia). This reconfirmed Thopia's relations to the Angevins from the time of Philip I. By 1343, Serbian King

Stefan Dušan Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...

had conquered almost all of Albania, except for Durazzo which had been defended under the command of Tanusio.

Issue

According to Karl Hopf, Tanusio's son or brother Andrea, as told by

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; it, Giovanni Musachi di Berat ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi'' (Shor ...

(fl. 1510), had fallen in love with the daughter of Robert of Naples when her ship, en route to the

Principality of the Morea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

to be wed with the ''

bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...

'', had stopped at Durazzo where they met. Andrea abducted and married her, and they had two sons, Karl and George. King Robert, enraged, under the pretext of reconciliation had the couple invited to Naples where he had them executed. Karl Thopia later became the Prince of Albania.

References

Sources

* * * {{cite book , title=The Despotate of Epiros 1267–1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages , first=Donald MacGillivray , last=Nicol , authorlink=Donald Nicol , publisher=Cambridge University Press , year=2010 , isbn=978-0-521-13089-9 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XIj0FfKto9AC Thopia family Medieval Albanian nobility Medieval Albanian generals 14th-century deaths Year of death unknown 14th-century Albanian people