Niketa Thopia

Niketa Thopia
Lord of Krujë
Reign	1392—1394, 1403—1415
Spouse	A daughter of Komnen Arianiti
Issue Mara
Detail Titles and styles "Count from the Kingdom of Arberia" "Ruler of the whole land of Arber"
Noble family	Thopia family
Father	Karl Topia
Died	1415

Niketa Thopia (Albanian: Niketa Topia, Latin: Nicetas Thopia,^[1] fl. 1388 – d. 1415) was the Lord of Krujë between 1392—1394 and 1403—1415. He was a member of the Thopia family and the son of Karl Topia, the Prince of Albania (r. 1368–1388).

Life

Niketa was the son of Karl Topia. His mother is unknown. Upon Karl Topia's death (1388), Marco Barbarigo inherited Krujë through his marriage with Helena, Niketa's older sister; Niketa's older brother Gjergj succeeded as Lord of Durazzo. Niketa held a territory south of Durazzo.

After the death of Bayezid (1402), many Albanian lords recognised Venetian suzerainty, such as Niketa, John Kastrioti and Koja Zaharija.^[2] The Venetians were interested in having some buffer zone between them and the advancing Ottoman army. In 1403, Niketa Thopia managed to capture the city of Krujë from his sister, Helena Thopia, thus gaining another part of the territory previously held by the Thopia family.^[3]

His daughter Mara married Balša III in 1407 and had a daughter Jelena, named after her grandmother Jelena Balšić.^[4] Balša III and Niketa entered an alliance in order to drive out the Venetians.^[5] Niketa then started to be a mediator between Balša and Venetians during the First Scutari War.^[6] At the end of 1411, Niketa Thopia suffered a heavy defeat from the forces of Teodor II Muzaka during one skirmish. He himself was held prisoner and with the intervention of the Ragusan Republic was released, but only after conceding some territories around the Shkumbin river to the Muzaka family. Upon his death in 1415, the castle of Krujë fell into Ottomans' hands.^[3]

He married the daughter of Komnen Arianiti.^[7]

See also

Ancestors of Niketa Thopia

8. Tanusio Topia                       4. Andrea Topia                             2. Karl Topia                                   20. Charles II of Naples               10. Robert, King of Naples                       21. Mary of Hungary               5. Illegitimate daughter                             11. Unknown mistress                       1. Niketa                                         3. Uncertain

Notes

1. Nicolae Iorga (1908). Geschichte des Osmanischen reiches. F. A. Perthes aktiengsellschaft. p. 331. comes Nicetas
2. Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb (1967). The Encyclopaedia of Islam. Brill. p. 654.
3. Anamali, Skënder and Prifti, Kristaq. Historia e popullit shqiptar në katër vëllime. Botimet Toena, 2002, ISBN 99927-1-622-3 p.251-252
4. Spremić 2004, pp. 73–108

   У јеку сукоба, Балша III. се 1407. оженио Маром, кћерком арбанашког господара Никете Топије. Брзо је добио кћер, којој је, по мајци, дао име Јелена.

5. Aleks Buda (1984). Problems of the formation of the Albanian people, their language and culture. 8 Nëntori. p. 317.
6. Fine 1994, p. 512
7. Shuteriqi, Dhimitër (2012). Zana Prela, ed. Aranitët: Historia- Gjenealogjia-Zotërimet. Toena. p. 97. ISBN 978-99943-1-729-5.

Sources

• Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5
• Spremić, Momčilo (2004), Ćulibrk, Jovan, ed., Crkvene prilike u Zeti u doba Nikona Jerusalimca (in Serbian), Cetinje, Belgrade: Svetigora, Publikum, pp. 73–108