page_title: John Spata
section_title: Life
hierarchical_section_title: John Spata / Life
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Serbian Empire in 1360 with territories of local rulers. Српски / srpski: Мапа Српског царства 1360. године са територијама локалних владара.
context_page_description: John Spata was an Albanian ruler in western Greece with the title of Despot. Together with Peter Losha, he led raids into Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia in 1358. He was recognized as Despot by titular Serbian Emperor Simeon Uroš in the early 1360s and ruled Aetolia, Angelokastron, Naupactus, and Arta.
context_section_description: Karl Hopf's genealogy of the Spata family is "altogether inaccurate"; according to it, his father was Pietro, the lord of Angelokastron and Delvina (1354) during the reign of Serbian emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). It is known that Spata had a brother, Sgouros Spata.
  In 1358, Albanians overran Epirus, Acarnania and Aetolia, and subsequently established two principalities under their leaders, John Spata and Peter Losha.
  Nikephoros II Orsini launched a campaign against the invading Albanians, and also faced with the threat of Radoslav Hlapen to the north, he negotiated with Simeon Uroš, presumably to prevent Simeon's Albanian allies from supporting the Albanians in Epirus. The negotiations were thwarted by Nikephoros' death fighting the Albanians at Acheloos (1359).
  In 1360, Simeon Uroš, the titular Serbian Emperor, in an attempt to avoid conflict with the Albanians and as an acknowledgment of their military strenth decided to the leave the areas of Arta and Aetolia to Shpata and Losha.
  The Despot of Ioannina, Thomas Preljubović, had betrothed his daughter to Losha's son in 1370, satisfying the Albanians and ending the conflict between them. In 1374, however, Peter Losha died of the plague in Arta, after which John Spata took the city. At this time he was not bound by agreement to Thomas, and so he laid siege to Ioannina and ravaged the countryside. Thomas brought peace when he betrothed his sister Helena to John Spata the following year. Attacks on Ioannina continued, however, by the Malakasioi, who were defeated twice by Thomas in 1377 and 1379.
  In 1376 or 1377, Spata conquered Nafpaktos; by this time he controlled Arta and much of southern Epirus and Acarnania. The Achaean Knights Hospitallers of Juan Fernández de Heredia began their invasion of Epirus, moving onto John Spata, capturing Nafpaktos, and then Vonitsa in Acarnania (April 1378). However, Spata managed to capture Heredia, ending their campaign; he was again master of Nafpaktos by 1380. In May 1379, John Spata again devastated the countryside of Ioannina.
  In 1380, Thomas made an offensive with the help of Turks reaching up to the upper Kalamas River, where however, the Albanians, in particular the tribe of Mazaraki held their defensive position.
  In 1385 Thomas Preljubović was killed by some of his bodyguards. John attacked Ioannina, but was unsuccessful in cracking the defense set up by Esau de' Buondelmonti. The two made peace, but soon returned to conflict. In 1386, Esau gained Ottoman military help. The Ottomans were, after the Battle of Kosovo (1389), unable to assist Esau, thus, the Albanians seized the opportunity and raided the environs of Ioannina in the summer. The Malakasioi then raided into the territory, after which they concluded alliance with Spata. Esau then allied himself with the caesar of Thessaly (either Alexios Angelos or Manuel), who defeated the Albanians, presumably Spata and the Malakasioi, later that year.
  In January 1396, Esau married John Spata's only daughter, Irene. The marriage was part of a deal which the archons of Ioannina enforced on Esau in order to make peace with the Albanians.
  Spata died on 29 October 1399, under the continuous pressure of Preljubović and Tocco, whose son would become the next despot of Epirus.
caption: Map of the Serbian Empire with magnate provinces in c. 1360.
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