Knights Hospitaller invasion of Despotate of Arta

The Knights Hospitaller invasion of the Despotate of Arta was a military campaign conducted by the Knights Hospitaller, led by Grand Master Juan Fernández de Heredia. The campaign targeted the Despotate of Arta, ruled by Gjin Bua Shpata. The invasion was sanctioned by Pope Gregory XI.

Knights Hospitaller invasion of Despotate of Arta
Date27 March – 23 August 1378
Location
Despotate of Arta, (Modern-day Epirus and Western Greece)
Result Albanian victory[2][3][4]
Belligerents
Coat of arms of Despotate of Arta Despotate of Arta Knights Hospitaller
Coat_of_arms_of_the_Principality_of_Achaea Principality of Achaea[1]
Supported by:
Flag_of_the_Papal_States_(pre_1808) Papal States
Commanders and leaders
Coat of arms of Despotate of Arta Gjin Bua Shpata Juan Fernández de Heredia (POW)
Richard Overton †
Niccolò Strozzi †[5]
Ruggiero Sansone †
Berardo Aquaviva †
Strength
Coat of arms of Despotate of Arta unknown
unknown
    • 800 Knights (reinforcements after capturing Vonitsa)
  1. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1999). Hospitallers: The History of the Order of St. John. Hambledon Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-85285-196-5.
  2. ^ Μαλτέζου, Χρύσα Α; Schreiner, Peter (2002). Βυζάντιο, Βενετία και ο ελληνοφραγκικός κόσμος (13ος-15ος αιώνας): πρακτικά του διεθνούς συνεδρίου που οργανώθηκε με την ευκαιρία της εκατονταετηρίδας απο τη γέννηση του Raymond-Joseph Loenertz o.p., Βενετία, 1-2 Δεκεμβρίου 2000 (in French). Hellēniko Institouto Vyzantinōn kai Metavyzantinōn Spoudōn Venetias. p. 50. ISBN 978-960-7743-22-0. the Hospitaller expedition was decisively defeated by local Albanian forces in 1378.
  3. ^ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1999). Hospitallers: The History of the Order of St. John. Hambledon Press. ISBN 978-1-85285-196-5.
  4. ^ Gallagher, Philip F. (1988). Christians, Jews, and Other Worlds: Patterns of Conflict and Accommodation : the Avery Lectures in History. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0-8191-6894-8.
  5. ^ Revue Mabillon (in French). Abbaye Saint-Martin. 1992. p. 125. ISBN 978-2-503-50321-9.