John of Gravina (1294 – 5 April 1336), also known as John of Anjou, was Count of Gravina 1315–1336,

Prince of Achaea The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states Frankokratia, founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). The principality witnessed various overlords during its more than tw ...

1318–1332, Duke of Durazzo 1332–1336 and ruler of the Kingdom of Albania (although he never used a royal title). He was the youngest son of King

Charles II of Naples Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (; ; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine (1285–1290); he also was King of Albania ( ...

and

Mary of Hungary Mary, also known as Maria of Anjou (, , ; 137117 May 1395), queen regnant, reigned as Queen of Hungary and List of dukes and kings of Croatia, Croatia between 1382 and 1385, and from 1386 until her death. She was the daughter of Louis I of Hun ...

. He was a younger brother of (among others)

Charles Martel of Anjou Charles Martel (; 8 September 1271 – 12 August 1295) of the Capetian dynasty was the eldest son of king Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary, the daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary. __NOTOC__ The 18-year-old Charles Martel was set up by ...

Saint Louis of Toulouse Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297), also known as Louis of Anjou, was a Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou and a Catholic bishop. Life Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, whe ...

Robert of Naples Robert of Anjou (), known as Robert the Wise (; 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 Italian politics of his time. He was the thir ...

and Philip I of Taranto. On 3 September 1313 he was named Captain-General of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. In 1315, he succeeded his brother Peter, Count of Gravina after the latter was killed at the Battle of Montecatini. The death of Louis of Burgundy in 1316 widowed

Matilda of Hainaut Matilda of Hainaut (French language, French: ''Mathilde de Hainaut''; November 1293 – 1331), also known as Maud and Mahaut, was Prince of Achaea, Princess of Achaea from 1316 to 1321. She was the only child of Isabella of Villehardouin and Flor ...

, Princess of Achaea. Her suzerain, John's brother Philip I of Taranto, had her brought by force to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in 1318 to marry John, a design intended to bring the Principality of Achaea into the Angevin inheritance. The marriage, celebrated in March 1318, failed of its objective: Matilda refused to surrender her rights to Achaea to her husband and ultimately contracted a secret marriage with Hugh de La Palice. This violated the marriage contract of her mother Isabelle, which had pledged that Isabelle and all her female heirs should not marry without permission of their suzerain. On these grounds, Philip stripped her of Achaea and bestowed it upon John: the marriage was annulled for non-consummation, and Matilda was imprisoned in the

Castel dell'Ovo Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman Republic, Roman poet Virgil, who had a ...

. On 14 November 1321, John took a second wife, Agnes of Périgord, daughter of Helie VII, Count of Périgord and Brunissende de Foix. They had four sons: * Charles, Duke of Durazzo (1323–1348). Married Maria of Calabria *

Louis of Durazzo Louis of Durazzo (1324 – 22 July 1362) was Count of Gravina and Morrone (disambiguation), Morrone. He was the son of John of Durazzo and Agnes of Périgord. In 1337, he was named Vicar- and Captain-General of the Kingdom of Albania (medieval) ...

(1324–1362), Count of Gravina * Robert of Durazzo (1326–1356) * Stephen of Durazzo (1328-1380) In a tardy reaction to the Byzantine advances in the central Morea, in 1325 John launched a military expedition, financed by the Acciaiuoli, to Achaea. While he re-established his authority in Cefaphonia and Zante, he was unable to recapture Skorta from the control of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. In 1332, Philip of Taranto died and was succeeded by his son

Robert of Taranto Robert II of Taranto (1319 or early winter 1326 – 10 September 1364), of the Capetian House of Anjou, Angevin family, Principality of Taranto, Prince of Taranto (1331–1346), Kingdom of Albania (medieval), King of Albania (1331–1332), ...

, who became the new suzerain of Achaea. Not wishing to swear fealty to his nephew, John arranged to surrender Achaea to him in exchange for Robert's rights to the Kingdom of Albania and a loan of 5,000 ounces of gold raised upon Niccolo Acciaiuoli, and thenceforth adopted the style of "Duke of Durazzo".

References

Sources

* * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:John, Duke of Durazzo Durazzo, John, Duke of Durazzo, John, Duke of House of Anjou-Durazzo Princes of Achaea Dukes of Durazzo Counts of Gravina Counts palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos Burials at the Basilica of San Domenico, Naples Sons of kings Albanian monarchs