Teodor II Muzaka
PredecessorAndrea II Muzaka
SuccessorTeodor III Muzaka
Bornc. 1337
Died15 June 1389 (Aged 51 or 52)
Kosovo field, District of Branković
(present-day Kosovo)
Wars and battlesBattle of Kosovo  †
Noble familyMuzaka family
Father Andrea II, Despot of Epirus[1]
MotherEuphemia Matranga

Teodor II Muzaka was member of the Muzaka family, Albanian nobles who ruled the Principality of Muzaka.[2] He died fighting during the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 on the side of the anti-Ottoman coalition led by Lazar of Serbia.[3][4]

Life

Church of St. Athanasius of Mouzaki in Kastoria built by Teodor II Muzaka and his brother Stoya

Theodor Muzaka came from the noble Muzaka family, who were wealthy in central Albania. In 1372 Theodor succeeded his late father in the Principality of Muzaka.[5][6] The capital of the principality, Berat, fell to the Serbs in 1345 together with Valona by the Serbian army leader Kersak. In 1346, John Komnenos Asen, brother-in-law of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Uroš IV Dušan, was appointed governor in Berat. Berat did not to come under the control of the Muzaka family again until 1396.[7]

Between 1383 and 1384, Theodor II, together with his brother Stoya and the monk Dionysius, had a Greek Orthodox church (Church of St. Athanasius of Mouzaki) built in Kastoria, which was dedicated to Athanasius the Great.

Succession

After the death of Theodor II, the rule in the Principality of Muzaka passed over to his nephew Theodor III Muzaka. This could only happen because his only son Nicola must have been dead at the time or was held captive by his aunt Comita Muzaka.[8]

Notes and References

References:

  1. ^ Tase, Pirro (2010). Të huajt për Shqipërinë dhe shqiptarët (in Albanian). Outskirts Press, Inc. p. 102. ISBN 9780557332533.
  2. ^ "1515 | John Musachi: Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty". Albanianhistory.net. Archived from the original on 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2012-02-13.
  3. ^ "1515 | John Musachi: Brief Chronicle on the Descendants of our Musachi Dynasty". Albanianhistory.net. Archived from the original on 2010-09-10. Retrieved 2012-02-13. Lazar (6), the Despot of Serbia, and King Marko of Bulgaria and Theodore Musachi, the second-born of our family, and the other Lords of Albania united and set off for battle, which the Christians lost (7).
  4. ^ Muhadri, Bedrı (2021-03-29). "The Battle of Kosovo 1389 and the Albanians". Tarih Ve Gelecek Dergisi. 7 (1): 436–452. doi:10.21551/jhf.898751. S2CID 233651440. The famous Arbër prince, Teodor Muzaka II, was killed in this battle, as well as many other Arbër comrades.
  5. ^ Carl Hermann Friedrich Johann Hopf, S. 282
  6. ^ Konstantin Jireček (1911), Geschichte der Serben (in German), vol. 1, Gotha: F.A. Perthes, p. 385
  7. ^ John Van Antwerp Fine (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans:A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest (in German), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor MI, p. 391, ISBN 0-472-08260-4
  8. ^ Ludwig von Thallóczy (1916), Illyrisch-Albanische Forschungen (in German), vol. 1, München: Duncker & Humblot, p. 170


Sources

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