Golem of Kruja

Who is Golem of Kruja?

Golem was an Albanian lord and vassal of Krujë and Elbasan in circa 1254. He married the daughter of sebastos Gregorios Kamonas and Komnena Nemanjić and was thus entitled the rule of his father-in-law. He was the last prince of the Principality of Arbër.

During the conflicts between Michael II Komnenos Doukas of Epirus and Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea, Golem and Theodore Petraliphas, who were initially Michael's allies, defected to John III in 1252. He is last mentioned in the sources among other local leaders, in a meeting with George Akropolites in Durrës in 1256.