Ancient States & Regions
The Forgotten Medieval Town of Balleza

The Forgotten Medieval Town of Balleza

Balleza (Ballezio) was a medieval Albanian town located near Rrjoll town under Maranaj peak. Rrjoll creek and Gura e Pishkazit creek flow near the site. The only ruins left are rare traces of surrounding walls and a church. Balleza was likely the origin of the famous Albanian noble family of the Balshas. Indeed, the founder of the medieval principality of Balsha, Balsha I, may have been chief of that town before ruling a larger domain.

Ruins of ancient Illyrian:Roman city of Dioclea in current Duklja near Podgorica retrieved from Денис Елпаев' upload on Google Maps.
Ruins of ancient Illyrian:Roman city of Dioclea in current Duklja near Podgorica retrieved from Денис Елпаев’ upload on Google Maps.

A short but compelling history of Balleza

The settlement of Balleza appears for the first time in medieval sources as a castle in 1062. However, its genesis may go back further in time. According to the historian Milan Šufflay, the event that triggered the formation of Balleza was the destructive earthquake of 518 that hit and destroyed the Roman colony of Dioclea in Illyria. By the VII century, surrounding populations plundered the remains of Dioclea (current Duklja near Podgorica) and, with those, formed other communities elsewhere. It marked the rise of regional medieval towns of Suacium (Shasi), Drivastum (Drishti), Danium (Danja – Vau i Dejës), and Balleza. 

The place so-called “church of Balleza” where the ruins of Balleza are visible.
The place so-called “church of Balleza” where the ruins of Balleza are visible.

Balleza appears again in the documents of the years 1067, 1200, and 1347. In the Venetian documents of 1416-1417, the location is labeled as Villa Clamanda Riola, likely referring to the castle. According to this Venetian source, Villa Clamanda Riola had only 11 houses (with some inhabitants possibly being monks). However, by 1450, the population had increased to 350 farmers. We believe it became a prosperous town amid a network connecting it with Shkodra, Drivastum, and Danium.

A base of Albanian resistance

Gergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu (1405-1468) reconstructed the castle of Balleza and used it as a base against the Ottomans. That castle likely served such a purpose in the Great Battle of Kir on 17 January 1468, led by the other Albanian and anti-Ottoman warlord, Lekë Dukagjini. The Balleza base kept its military function in the later decades, maybe serving as a treasury and a gunpowder production base. After conquering Albania, the Ottomans destroyed the castle of Balleza. Its community dissolved almost entirely (with only 4-5 families remaining at the village’s lowest point). 

The so-called Kisha e Ballëzës site pinned on a physical map corresponing to the medieval town of Balleza from Google Maps Satellite View.
The so-called Kisha e Ballëzës site pinned on a physical map corresponing to the medieval town of Balleza from Google Maps Satellite View.

Nowadays deserted site

After the Ottoman destruction, Balleza was abandoned, never to be inhabited. Most of the inhabitants fled to the Venetian-controlled coast. They established the Baks-Rrjoll coastal settlement, a testimony of their origin in the toponymy. Recent discoveries in the Balleza site have revealed traces of gunpowder, a clue to the militant nature of the medieval fortress. 

Map of Gulf of Drin, city of Shkodër, and the surroundings - Map by Giovanni Francesco Camocio in circa 1574.
Map of Gulf of Drin, city of Shkodër, and the surroundings – Map by Giovanni Francesco Camocio in circa 1574.

* This article was based on a piece by Ndue Bacaj published at Gazeta Dielli.

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