Tanush Thopia

Not to be confused with Tanusio Thopia.

Tanush Thopia
1596 engraving by Johann Theodor de Bry of Tanush Thopia
Died	1467 Krujë, League of Lezhë (modern Albania)
Nationality	Albanian
Noble family	Thopia family
Occupation	Military commander

Tanush Thopia or Tanusio Thopia (Albanian: Tanush Topia, Latin: Tanusas Thopius; d. 1467) was an Albanian nobleman and one of the closest collaborators of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg.

Life

Modern bust of Tanush found in the Castle of Krujë

Tanush Thopia descended from the Thopia family that converted from Orthodox Christianity to Catholicism.[1]

In 1444, together with his uncle Andrea Thopia, he participated in the founding of the League of Lezhë, the military alliance led by Skanderbeg.[2] He was a commander of the infantry of the League of Lezhë, and his garrison became famous for their resistance during the Second Siege of Krujë. After that siege he is no longer mentioned in historical sources, and some suppose that he might have been killed in the end of that battle or died soon afterwards. He was a skillful commander and his loyalty to Skanderbeg was undeterred and that was the reason why he was appointed in that delicate position.[3]

The name Tanush is an Albanian exonym for Athanassius.[4]

See also

• Thopia family
• Principality of Albania (medieval)
• Saint Gjon Vladimir's Church

References

1. Kristaq Prifti (1993). The Truth on Kosova. Encyclopaedia Publishing House. p. 52. Retrieved 5 January 2014. Together with them, there was a religious personage like Tanush Topia from a family which passed easily from Orthodoxy to Catholicism and, then, the dubious experience of Patarinism.
2. Noli, Fan Stylian, George Castroiti Scanderbeg (1405–1468), International Universities Press, 1947

   "p.36: Andrea Thopia of Scuria between Tirana and Durazzo with his nephew, Tanush Thopia"

3. Noli, Fan Stylian, George Castroiti Scanderbeg (1405–1468), International Universities Press, 1947
4. Elsie, Robert. "The Christian Saints of Albania". Balkanistica. 13. American Association for South Slavic Studies: 46.