Voisava Arianiti

Voisava Arianiti
Vojsava Arianiti
Princess Consort of Zeta
Coat of arms of the Arianiti family
Princess Consort of Zeta
Tenure1465 – 1469
PredecessorMara Kastrioti
SuccessorYela Thopia
Bornc. 1429
Diedbefore July 1469
SpouseIvan Crnojević
IssueĐurađ Crnojević
Stefan II Crnojević
Skender Bey Crnojević
DynastyArianiti
FatherGjergj Arianiti
MotherMaria Muzaka
ReligionEastern Orthodoxy

Voisava Arianiti (Albanian: Vojsava Arianiti) also known as Voisava Arianiti Comneno, Donna Voisava, Lady Voisava, Goisava or Gojisava was a 15th century Albanian princess from the House of Arianiti. She became Princess Consort of Zeta after her marriage with Ivan Crnojević who was the Lord of Zeta from 1465 until 1490.

Life and marriage

Voisava Arianiti, born around 1429, was the second-born daughter Gjergj Arianiti, an Albanian prince and military leader, and his wife Maria Muzaka.[1][2][3][4] She belonged to the noble House of Arianiti, a powerful family in 15th-century Albania.[3] Not much is known about her early life.

Voisava was the sister-in-law of Skanderbeg, the famed Albanian leader and military commander, through her elder sister Donika's marriage to him.[2][5][3]

Voisava married Ivan Crnojević, son of Stefan Crnojević, who became Lord of Zeta in 1465 following his father’s death.[6][3][2][4] During his rule, Ivan established his main residence in the fortress town of Žabljak, which served as the political and administrative center of Zeta.[1] As his wife, Voisava would have lived there and likely taken part in the social and courtly life of the region. Early in his leadership, Ivan faced conflict with the city of Kotor, supported by the Republic of Venice. Despite this, he secured backing from local communities such as Grbalj and Paštrovići, and peace was reached after several skirmishes in 1466.[1] At the same time, the expanding Ottoman Empire was weakening neighboring rulers, including the Kosača family.[1] Following the death of Stefan Vukčić Kosača in 1466, Ivan forged peaceful ties with his successor, Vlatko Kosača, which brought relative stability to Zeta during Voisava’s lifetime.[1]

Death

Voisava Arianiti died sometime before July 1469.[1] After her death, Ivan Crnojević married Mara, sister of Vlatko Kosača, strengthening political ties between the two families.[1] In the early 1470s, facing increasing Ottoman pressure, both Ivan and Vlatko accepted Ottoman suzerainty.[1]

Family

Voisava Arianiti married Ivan Crnojević. The couple had three children:[7][8][2][4]

Family tree

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Fine 1994, p. 599.
  2. ^ a b c d Elsie 2003, p. 43.
  3. ^ a b c d Sainty 2018, p. 495.
  4. ^ a b c Hopf 1873, p. 534-535.
  5. ^ Fine 1994, p. 556.
  6. ^ Fine 1994, p. 561 & 599.
  7. ^ Sainty 2018, p. 495 & 498.
  8. ^ Fine 1994, p. 599 & 603.

Bibliography

  • Elsie, Robert (2003). Early Albania: A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3-4470-4783-8.
  • Fine, John V. A. (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-4720-8260-5.
  • Hopf, Karl (1873). Chroniques greco-romanes inedites ou peu connues [Unpublished or little-known Greco-Roman chronicles] (in French). Weidmann.
  • Sainty, Guy Stair (2018). The Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Angeli, Farnese and Bourbon families which governed it. Boletín Oficial del Estado. ISBN 978-8-4340-2506-6.
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