Gjin Bua Shpata

Gjin Bua Shpata
Despot of Arta
BornFirst half of the 14th century
Epirus
Died29 October 1399 (1399-10-30)
SpouseIrene Preljubović
IssueIrene Shpata & Unnamed Daughter
HouseShpata family
ReligionEastern Orthodoxy
Despotate of Arta, c. 1390

Gjin Bua Shpata (sometimes anglicized as John Spata) (fl. 1358 – 29 October 1399) was an Albanian ruler in Western Greece with the title of Despot. Together with Pjetër Losha, he led raids into Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia in 1358. He was recognized as Despot by the titular Eastern Roman Emperor in the early 1360s and ruled Aetolia (1360s–?), Angelokastron (?–1399), Naupactus (1378–1399), and Arta (1370s–1399). He was born sometime in the first half of the 14th century in Epirus, as his father was a ruler in the region.