Maurice Spata
| Maurice Spata | |
|---|---|
| Lord of Arta | |
| Reign | 1399 — 1414 or 1415 |
| Predecessor | Sgouros Spata |
| Inherited by his brother | Yaqub Spata |
| Born | 14th century |
| Died | 1414 or 1415 |
| Noble family | Spata family |
| Spouse | Nerata |
| Issue | |
Muriki or Maurice Spata (Albanian: Muriq Shpata, Greek: Μουρίκης Σπάτας; fl. 1399–1414) was the ruler of Arta from late 1399/early 1400 until his death in 1414 or 1415. Maurice's reign was dominated by his wars with . Maurice was able to defend his capital of Arta, but despite some victories failed to prevent the fall of Ioannina to Tocco. As a result, his brother Yaqub Spata who succeeded him was defeated in October 1416, ending the Despotate of Arta.
Maurice was a scion of the Albanian Spata family. He was a grandson of Gjin Bua Spata, the first Albanian ruler of Arta. He had one brother, Yaqub Spata, and two half-siblings from his mother's second marriage, Charles Marchesano and Maddalena. Shortly before Gjin died on 29 October 1399, he appointed his brother, Sgouros Spata, ruler of Naupactus, as his successor as Lord of Arta. A few days after Sgouros took over Arta, however, the town was captured by the adventurer Vonko. While Sgouros fled to Angelokastron, a short time after, possibly as early as December 1399, Maurice managed to evict Vonko from Arta and took over the governance of the city himself.
In 1402–03, Maurice came to Sgouros' aid when the latter was besieged at Angelokastron by the forces of . The attack, under Carlo's general Galasso Peccatore, was repulsed, but Sgouros died soon after, leaving his possessions to his son Paul Spata. In his campaigns against the Spatas, Tocco was supported by a rival Albanian clan to the Spatas, the Bua brothers Maurice and Dimo. In 1406, Carlo and the Bua brothers joined forces to raid and devastate Acarnania and the vicinity of Arta, but the city itself, stoutly defended by Maurice Spata, held out. At Angelokastron, however, Paul Spata, who lacked his father's ability, felt threatened by the Tocco advance and in 1406 called in Ottoman assistance. The Ottoman army, under Yusuf Beg, was defeated, however, and the Turks departed after coming to terms with the Tocchi. As Maurice refused to come to his cousin's aid, Paul ceded Angelokastron to the Ottomans (only for Carlo Tocco to capture it within less than a year) and retired to Naupactus, which he sold to Venice in 1407–08.
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