principality · Balkans and Hungary

Principality of Valona

1346 CE – 1417 CE (approx.) · capital Vlorë

Albanian coastal lordship around Vlorë and Kanina, founded by a governor of the Serbian Empire and lost to the Ottomans in 1417.

Origins

Stefan Dušan of the Serbian Empire took Valona (Vlorë) and Kanina from Byzantium around 1345. His brother-in-law John Komnenos Asen governed them, and after Dušan's death in 1355 ruled as an independent despot.

Rule and society

Its rulers held the port of Valona, the fortress of Kanina and nearby lands, trading with Venice and Ragusa and taxing traffic across the Strait of Otranto. After John's son Alexander, the city passed to Balša II of Zeta under the Balšići around 1372, and then through his widow Komita to her son-in-law Merksha Žarković and, after his death in 1414, to his widow Ruđina.

Decline and legacy

Ruđina had ruled only briefly when the Ottomans captured Valona and Kanina in 1417. Valona became an Ottoman port and centre of the Sanjak of Avlonya.

Lineage

Serbian Empire 1346 CE – 1371 CEPrincipality of Valona

Connections (1)

More states of Balkans and Hungary →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Valona. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-valona
MLA
“Principality of Valona.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-valona. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Valona.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-valona.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Valona’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-valona (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻