Noble family Muzaka family Died 1449, Berat, Albania Name Theodor Musachi | Occupation feudal lord Father Andrew Molosachi Parents Andrew Molosachi | |
Theodor Corona Musachi (Albanian: Theodhor Koronë Muzaka) or Teodor III Muzaka, was an Albanian nobleman who led the 1437–38 revolt against the Ottomans and was one of the founders of the League of Lezhë in 1444.
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Family
Theodor Corona Musachi was а member of the Muzaka family whose domains extended till Kastoria (in modern-day Greece) at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century. According to Gjon Muzaka (not completely reliable primary source) parents of Theodor Corona Musachi had three sons (Gjin, Theodor and Stoya) and two daughters (Comita and Kyranna).
Muzaka explained that Theodor inherited control over Berat from his father Andrea Muzaka III. It is unknown when Muzaka family began to control Berat. Father of Theodor Corona Musachi, Andrea Muzaka III, is mentioned in 1389 and in 1393 not as lord of Berat, but as an honorable citizen. Muzaka family was in conflict with Prince Marko. Before 1396 (the year of Marko's death) Corona Musachi was probably a young man who participated in this conflict, which explains why he is commemorated in Serbian and south Slavic epic poetry as Korun, Marko's enemy.
At the end of 1411, Niketa Thopia suffered a heavy defeat from the forces of Theodor Corona Musachi during one skirmish. This event was recorded in a Venetian source composed on 29 February 1412. He himself was held prisoner and with the intervention of the Ragusan Republic was released in 1413, but only after conceding some territories around the Shkumbin river to the Muzaka family.
In 1417 Berat was captured by the Ottoman Empire.
Revolt
In 1437—38, while sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Albania was Theodor's son Yakup Bey, Theodor Korona Muzaka revolted in the region of Berat. This revolt was, like previous Albanian Revolt of 1432–36, suppressed by the Ottomans. There are claims that information about Muzaka's 1437—38 revolt is not supported by contemporary sources. Jakub Bey was recorded to be on the position of the sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Albania in 1442.
League of Lezhë
The League of Lezhë was founded by: