The Gropa were a noble Albanian family which ruled the region between Pogradec, Ohrid and Debar from the 12th until the 14th century.[2] In the 13th century members of the Gropa family were thought to be Catholics, but in the 14th century they reconverted to Orthodoxy because of the political relations with the Archbishopric of Ohrid.[3]
| Gropa | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms of the Gropa as depicted in the 1680 catalogue "La Universita delle Insegne Ligustiche Delineate da Gio Andrea Musso" (p.13) | |
| Country |
|
| Founded | before 1242[2] |
| Final ruler | Zacharia Gropa |
| Titles | Gospodar (lord) |
| Estate(s) | (eastern Albania and western Macedonia);
The region between Pogradec, Ohrid and Debar:[when?]
|
| Dissolution | 1467 (emigration to Italy)[2] |
History
editAt the beginning of the 13th century, Pal Gropa, an Albanian nobleman, held the Byzantine title of Sevast.[4] As part of the Kingdom of Albania, Pal Gropa was given extended privileges by Charles I of Naples on May 18, 1273: "nobili viro sevasto Paulo Gropa »casalia Radicis maioris et Radicis minons, пeс non Cobocheste, Zuadigorica, Sirclani et Craye, Zessizan sitam in valle de Ebu".[5][6]
A member of Gropa family, Andrea Gropa, ruled the region and the city of Ohrid as an ally of the King of Serbia, Vukašin Mrnjavčević, until his death in 1371. He then became involved in a rivalry with Vukašin's son, Prince Marko. Ruling as an independent ruler since the time of Vukašin, he became de jure independent from Prince Marko in 1371 and was referred to as Župan and Gospodar of Ohrid (Lord of Ochrid). He joined the Albanian ruler and noble Andrea II Muzaka, and managed to take Kostur, Prilep and the entire Dibër region from Marko by that year. During Andrea's reign, the Gropa family forged their own coins.[4] The Gropa family were believed to have taken part in the Balkan coalition of the Battle of Kosovo against the Ottomans.[7]
Zacharia Gropa is mentioned by Athanase Gegaj as one of the military commanders of Skanderbeg's forces.[8] The Gropa family's descendants were located in Sicily at the end of the 15th century, and would later be found all over southern Italy [4] and in Zakynthos in Greece.[9]
Members
edit- Pal Gropa (fl. 1273), vassal to Charles I of Naples in Kingdom of Albania
- Andrea Gropa (fl. 1377–1385), vassal to Serbian King Vukašin and Marko, later Ottoman Empire
- Zacharia Gropa (fl. 1457), associate of Moisi Dibra.[2]
- Aidin Gropa, Lord of Vrezhda sometime during the 14th century.[10]
References
edit- ^ Srejović;Gavrilović;Ćirković 1982, p. 24: "Андрија Гропа, пре маричке битке несумњиво вазал Мрњавчевића"
- ^ a b c d Vlora 1956, 5. Gropa Archived 2012-01-27 at the Wayback Machine: "The sphere of influence of the Gropas was no doubt concentrated in the region between Pogradec, Ohrid and Dibra. They seem to have ruled in that area for more than 3 centuries"
- ^ Bulgarian historical review 2003, p. 177
- ^ a b c Dervishi, Nebi (2005). Etnokultura e Fushëgropës së Ohrit. Tetovo: Çabej. p. 72. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ Šufflay 1925, p. 126
- ^ Lala & Jaritz 2008, p. 20
- ^ Ζώης, Nebi (2005). Etnokultura e Fushëgropës së Ohrit. Tetovo: Çabej. p. 73. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
- ^ Gegaj, Athanase (1937). L'Albanie et l'Invasion turque au XVe siècle (in French). Universite de Louvain. p. 117. ISBN 9780598935991. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
l'intention d'y livrer une bataille décisive (i); mais Scanderbeg se retira plus loin, dans les montagnes ... un autre contingent fut confié à Moïs Dibra et le troisième à plusieurs chefs, dont Pietro Emanueli et Zaccaria Gropa.
- ^ Ζώης, Λεωνίδας Χ (1898). Λεξικόν φιλολογικόν και ιστορικόν Ζακύνθου (PDF). Zakynthos: Ο Φώσκολος. p. 202. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Dervishi, Nebi (2005). Etnokultura e Fushëgropës së Ohrit. Tetovo: Çabej. p. 73.
Sources
edit- Šufflay, Milan; Jelčić, Dubravko (2000) [1925]. Izabrani politički spisi. Matica hrvatska.
- Šufflay, Milan (1925). Srbi i Arbanasi: (njihova simbioza u srednjem vijeku). Seminar za arbanasku filologiju.
- Dragoslav Srejović; Slavko Gavrilović; Sima M. Ćirković (1982). Istorija srpskog naroda: knj. Od najstarijih vremena do Maričke bitke (1371). Srpska književna zadruga.
- Vlora, Ekrem bey (1956). "Beiträge zur Geschichte der Türkenherrschaft in Albanien: eine historische Skizze". Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- United Center for Research; Training in History (2003). Bulgarian historical review, Volume 31, Issues 1-4. Pub. House of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- Lala, Etleva; Jaritz, Gerhard (2008). "Regnum Albaniae and the Papal Curia" (PDF). Central European University. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
- Ζώης, Λεωνίδας Χ. (2008). "Λεξικόν φιλολογικόν και ιστορικόν Ζακύνθου". Φώσκολος. Retrieved 13 January 2022.