Jevdokija Balšić ( sr-Cyr, Јевдокија Балшић; ), died after 1428), was a
Zetan aristocrat and regent. She was the wife of
Esau de' Buondelmonti,
despot of
Ioannina
Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...
. She was regent of Ioannina during the minority of her son in 1411.
Life
Jevdokija
Balšić was the daughter of
Đurađ I Balšić,
lord of Zeta, and Theodora Dejanović from noble house of
Dejanović, daughter
Dejan,
despot of
Kumanovo
Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...
. She is a half-sister of
Mrkša Žarković
Mrkša Žarković ( sr-cyr, Мркша Жарковић) was a Serbian nobleman who ruled parts of today's southern Albania from 1396 to 1414.
Early life and marriage
Mrkša was the son of Žarko, who was mentioned in 1356–1357 as ruling over ...
and cousin of
Ruđina Balšić, princess of Valona. Around 1402,
Esau de' Buondelmonti, despot of
Ioannina
Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...
, got divorce of his second wife Irene Spata and he married with Jevdokija.
[Höfische Kultur in Südosteuropa: Bericht der Kolloquien der Südosteuropa-Kommission 1988 bis 1990, Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen. Südosteuropa-Kommission. Kolloquium, Reinhard Lauer, Hans Georg Majer, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994, p. 98]
In 1411, they had a son,
Giorgio. In that year, Esau died and was succeeded by Giorgio. Jevdokija tried to take the control of Ioannina in the name of her son. However, she was unpopular among the nobility of Ioannina. When she wanted to get married with a Serbian noble, she was deposed by the nobility of Ioannina; they gave the city to
Carlo I Tocco,
Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos
The County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos existed from 1185 to 1479 as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The title and the right to rule the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos was originally given to Margaritus of Brindisi for his ser ...
and Esau’s nephew.
After she was expelled, Jevdokija went to the court of the Albanian
John Zenevisi
John Zenevisi or Gjon Zenebishi ( or ''Gjin Zenebishi''; died 1418) was an Albanian magnate that held the estates in Epirus, such as Gjirokastër and Vagenetia.
Name
Zenevisi can be found with different spellings in historical documents. His n ...
, prince of
Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...
. Then, she traveled to
Ragusa Ragusa may refer to:
Places Croatia
* Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik
* the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa
* Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...
, where she lived with Giorgio until her dead after 1428.
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jevdokija Balsic
Balšić noble family
Albanian princesses
15th-century women regents
15th-century regents