Tharypas was king of the Molossians in Epirus from at least 429 B.C.E. to 385 B.C.E. He was the son of king Admetus (whom he succeeded; the same one who sheltered Themistocles), and Phthia I. The reign of Tharypas marks a long period of alliance between Epirus and Athens, with the additional purpose of checking the rising power of Macedon. […]
Alexander I the Molossian or Molossus was born in about 370 B.C.E. and was king of the Molossians and Epirus circa 350-331. He was the son of Neoptolemus I (r. 370-360) and brother of Olympias of Epirus and Troas. Alexander was a member of the royal house of the Aeacidae. Youth In 360, Arybbas, uncle of Alexander, assumed sole kingship […]
Arybbas was king of the Molossians and Epirus circa 360-350 B.C.E. He was the son of Alcetas I (r. 389-388; 385-370) and brother of Neoptolemus I (r. 370-360). Arybbas was a Molossian (the largest tribe in Epirus) and a member of the royal house of the Aeacidae. He likely co-ruled Epirus or specific regions of it during the reign of […]
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 II Balsha (r. 1379-1385), was the youngest son of Balsha I (the attested founder of the Albanian principality of Balsha). He succeeded his brother Gjergj I Balsha (George I Balsha, r. 1372-1379) as the ruler of the principality. His other brother, Strazimir I Balsha, had also ruled the principality in 1362-1372. Balsha II called himself “prince of Arbëria”, “faithful […]
Ptolemy, commonly known as Ptolemy I of Epirus, was the son of Pyrrhus I of Epirus (r. 302-296; 297-272 B.C.E.) and Antigone. His father was the famous Pyrrhus, who fought the Romans and Carthaginians. As for his mother, she was the daughter of Berenice and a Macedonian nobleman named Philip; Berenice later married Ptolemy I Soter (r. 305-282 B.C.E.), the […]
Gjergj I Balsha (George I Balsha; r. 1372-1379) was the most important of the three heirs of Balsha I. In his stamps, attested in Ragusan documents of 1373 and 1379, Gjergj Balsha writes his name (in Cyrillic letters) as Gjorga I Balshe. The name appears in the same manner on coins of that same era. Gjergj Balsha succeeded his brother-turned-monk […]
Strazimir I Balsha (r. 1362-1372) was the son and immediate successor of Balsha I (the attested founder of the Albanian Balsha principality). He ruled over the Balsha principality for one expansionist decade. His two other brothers, Gjergj I (George I Balsha) and Balsha II Balsha assisted him in governance, forming a medieval tetrarchy. In his early years, the territories ruled […]
Balsha I (thrived and ruled circa 1331-1362) was the earliest attested noble of the notable medieval Balsha family. He was the founder of the Balsha principality, an independent state with territories corresponding to current Montenegro and northern Albania. At times, Balsha state stretched into the southern tip of Bosnia and Croatia, across south Albania and Kosova. Life in the region […]
Lorik Cana remains one of the most accomplished players to wear Albania’s national jersey. Coming from Prishtinë in Kosovo, Cana was one of the first Albanians from Kosova to star for the Albanian national team. He was a member of a family noted in sports. His father, Agim Cana, had been a notable football player. Cana’s Early Career At a […]