Thopia familyThe House of Thopia was one of the most powerful Albanian feudal families in the Late Middle Ages. It was initially part of the nobility of the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. The first attestation of the Thopia can be found in an Angevin document from 1274 proclaiming an agreement reached between a number of Albanian nobles and Charles I of Anjou. In the document, a certain Theopia mīles is recorded among the Albanian nobles in pact with the Angevins. The Thopia are next mentioned in 1329 when Tanusio Thopia was mentioned as one of the counts of Albania.
Double-headed eagleThe double-headed eagle is an iconographic symbol originating in the Bronze Age. A heraldic charge, it is used with the concept of an empire. Most modern uses of the emblem are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, originally a dynastic emblem of the Palaiologoi. It was adopted during the Late Medieval to Early Modern period in the Holy Roman Empire, Albania and in Orthodox principalities (Serbia and Russia), representing an augmentation of the (single-headed) eagle or Aquila associated with the Roman Empire.
SkanderbegGjergj Kastrioti (1405 - 17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Serbia. A member of the noble Kastrioti family, he was sent as a hostage to the Ottoman court. He graduated from the Enderun School and entered the service of the Ottoman sultan Murad II (1421-1444) for the next twenty years.
HimarëHimarë (Himara; Χιμάρα, Chimara or Χειμάρρα, Cheimarra) is a municipality and region in Vlorë County, southern Albania. The municipality has a total area of and consists of the administrative units of Himarë, Horë-Vranisht and Lukovë. It lies between the Ceraunian Mountains and the Albanian Ionian Sea Coast and is part of the Albanian Riviera. The traditionally perceived borders of the Himarë region gradually shrank during the Ottoman period, being reduced to the town of Himarë and the villages of the coastline (Bregdet in Albanian), generally including only Palase, Dhermi, Pilur, Kudhes, Vuno, Ilias and Qeparo.
VlorëVlorë (ˈvlɔːrə , ˈvlɔɾə; Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foothills of the Ceraunian Mountains along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Coasts. It experiences a Mediterranean climate, which is affected by the Ceraunian Mountains and the proximity to the Mediterranean Sea.
Serbian EmpireThe Serbian Empire (Српско царство / Srpsko carstvo, sr̩̂pskoː tsâːrstʋo) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state. During Dušan's rule, Serbia was the most powerful state in Southeast Europe and one of the most powerful European states. It was an Eastern Orthodox multi-ethnic and multi-lingual empire that stretched from the Danube in the north to the Gulf of Corinth in the south, with its capital in Skopje.
AlbaniansThe Albanians (ælˈbɛɪniənz; Shqiptarët ʃcipˈtaɾət) are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as in Croatia, Greece, Italy and Turkey. They also constitute a large diaspora with several communities established across Europe, the Americas and Oceania. Albanians have Paleo-Balkanic origins.
AlbaniaAlbania (ælˈbeɪniə,_ɔːl- ; Shqipëri or Shqipëria), officially the Republic of Albania (Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. The country is located in the Balkans on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. Spanning an area of , it displays a varied range of climatic, geological, hydrological and morphological conditions.