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Theodora (5)
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Person
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She died after October 1402. The sources refer to her as domina, gospogja. She was the daughter of Dejanь (Dragaš) and Theodora-Jevdokija. Her siblings were Ioannes Dragases (Jovan Dragaš) and Konstantinos Dragases (Konstantin Dragaš). Her first husband was Žarko, the nobleman, who ruled over Zeta (Sarcus, baro domini regis Raxie, qui dominator in partibus Çente et Lodrini et illius Maritime) and threatened the town and market of Saint Sergius on the left bank of the river Bojana (A za Žarka, što vi jestь uzelь ně znalo carьstvo mi ni mi ste kazali da pošlěte mi dobre ljudi da pozovu Žarka prědь carьstvo mi da vi ga da carьstvo mi, da vi plati vse samosedmo. I tamo smь poslalь vlasteličikja carьstva mi Vlьkšu u Sveti Srьgь da stoi i da vi čuva i bljude ōd vsake zabave i ōt Žarka ōd vsega i š nimь da ste pozvali Žarka prědь carьstvo mi). From the marriage with Žarko she had the son Mrkša Žarković (Merchxa Xarchouich, Μύρξας, Μῆρξος, Μίρτζας, Μέρξας) and probably a daughter, who was married (offere brigantinum nostrum armatum Merchxe expensis nostris communis pro mittendo sororem suam ad maritum). The later historian from Dubrovnik Mauro Orbini narrates the story about the battle between Lazar Hrebeljanović and Nikola Altomanović in 1372, in which also Žarko, who was fighting on the side of Lazar, lost his life. Her second husband was Đurađ I Balšić. She bore him a son (Konstantin) and three daughters (Goislava, who became the wife of the nobleman from Hum Radić Sanković, Jevdokija [Εὐδοκία] who married the Despot of Epiros Esaù de Buondelmonti and Jelena Balšić). Orbini, who was well informed about her first marriage with Žarko and also the second marriage with Đurađ I Balšić, describes her as wise and beautiful (Teodora, che fù moglie di Zarco Meressich, & sorella di Dragas, & Constantino, figliuoli di Deano, donna saggia, e bella). On the 15th February 1379 she was already a widow (Balša i gospogja Thōdora, žjena brata mōga). In 1395 she was probably in Dagno near Skadar (Skutari), where she resided at the court of her son Konstantin and often took the place of Konstantin in the correspondence with the Ragusan Republic. Theodora dwelt two months in Ragusa with her son Mrkša and his wife, where they received the honorary citizenship. She then returned back to Valona on 2nd October 1397 on a Ragusan ship with the gift of 100 perpers from the Ragusans (Merxcha et domina Theodora, similiter domina uxor dicti Merchxe et domina...eius socrus). After her son Konstantin was executed in 1402, she was sent with Jelena, the widow of Konstantin, to Venice, where they lived in conditions of extreme poverty.
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