Lordship of Berat Principata e Muzakajve (Albanian) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1279–1343, 1355-1417, 1444–1450 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms of the Muzaka Family
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 Lands of the Muzaka and Arianiti families in the 14th century | |||||||||
| Status | Principality, Despotate | ||||||||
| Capital | Berat | ||||||||
| Common languages | Albanian | ||||||||
| Religion | Eastern Orthodoxy | ||||||||
| Prince/Despot | |||||||||
• 1279-1319 | Andrea I | ||||||||
• 1319–1331 | Teodor I | ||||||||
• 1331–1372 | Andrea II | ||||||||
• 1372–1389 | Teodor II | ||||||||
• 1389-1450 | Teodor III | ||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval | ||||||||
• Establishment | 1279 | ||||||||
• First Ottoman capture | 1417 | ||||||||
• Revolt | 1432–1436 | ||||||||
| 1444 | |||||||||
• Second Ottoman capture | 1450 | ||||||||
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The Principality of Muzaka (Albanian: Principata e Muzakajve)[1] (also known as the Lordship of Berat) was an independent realm ruled by the Albanian Muzaka family with its capital at Berat, covering territories in Central and Southern Albania, Western Macedonia and Northern Greece. One of the first rulers was Andrea I Muzaka whose reign was recognized by the Byzantine Emperor. During the Battle of Savra, the Ottomans captured Berat from Balša II, together with Kruja and Ulcinj. They soon retreated from all of those towns keeping only Castoria under their permanent control.[2] Some sources explain that Ottomans probably remained in Berat with intention to use it as foothold to capture Valona.[3] By 1396 Muzaka family took over control of Berat.[4] In 1417 the territories of the Principality, including Vlorë and Berat, became a part of the Ottoman Empire.[5]
- ^ Historia e popullit shqiptar. 2002. ISBN 9789992716229.
- ^ Pitcher, Donald Edgar (1968). An Historical Geography of the Ottoman Empire: From Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century. Brill Archive. p. 45. GGKEY:4CFA3RCNXRP.
- ^ Gibbons, Herbert Adam (2013). The Foundation of the Ottoman Empire: A History of the Osmanlis Up To the Death of Bayezid I 1300-1403. Routledge. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-135-02982-1.
- ^ Fine, John V. A. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press. p. 391. ISBN 0-472-08260-4.
...in 1396. By this time the family of Musachi had gained control of Berat.
- ^ Kiel, Machiel (1990). Ottoman architecture in Albania, 1385-1912. Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture. p. 48. ISBN 978-92-9063-330-3.
In 1417, Berat became part of the Ottoman Empire when this strong city succumbed to a surprise attack.