Despotate of Arta
| Despotate of Arta | ||||||||||
| Despotati i Artës | ||||||||||
| Despotate | ||||||||||
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 Map of the Despotate of Arta
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| Capital | Arta | |||||||||
| Languages | Albanian, alongside other languages. | |||||||||
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox Church | |||||||||
| Government | Despotate | |||||||||
| Despot/Lord | ||||||||||
| • | 1358–1374 | Peter Losha | ||||||||
| • | 1374–1399 | Gjin Bua Spata | ||||||||
| • | 1400–1401 | Sguro Bua Spata | ||||||||
| • | 1401–1415 | Maurice Spata | ||||||||
| • | 1415–1416 | Yaqub Spata | ||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval | |||||||||
| • | Established | April 1358 | ||||||||
| • | Unified with Angelokastron and Lepanto | 1374 | ||||||||
| • | Disestablished | 4 October 1416 | ||||||||
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Coat of arms
The Despotate of Arta was a despotate established by Albanian rulers during the 14th century, when Albanian tribes moved into Epirus and founded two short-lived principalities there. The Despotate of Arta was created after the defeat of the local Despot Nikephoros II Orsini by the Albania tribesmen in the Battle of Achelous in 1359 and ceased to exist in 1416, when it passed to .
In the late spring of 1359, Nikephoros II Orsini, the last despot of Epirus of the Orsini dynasty, fought against the Albanians near river Acheloos, Aetolia. The Albanians won the battle and managed to create two new states in the southern territories of the Despotate of Epirus. Because a number of Albanian lords actively supported the successful Serbian campaign in Thessaly and Epirus, the Serbian Tsar granted them specific regions and offered them the Byzantine title of despotes in order to secure their loyalty.
The two Albanian lead states were: the first with its capital in Arta was under the Albanian nobleman Peter Losha, and the second, centered in Angelokastron, was ruled by Gjin Bua Spata. After the death of Peter Losha in 1374, the Albanian despotates of Arta and Angelocastron were united under the rule of Gjin Bua Spata.
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Wikipedia