Information about John, Duke of Durazzo

John of Gravina (1294 – 5 April 1336), Count of Gravina 1315–1336, Duke of Durazzo 1332–1336 and ruler of the Kingdom of Albania (although he never used a royal title), was a younger son of Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary.

He was a younger brother of (among others) Charles Martel of Anjou, Saint Louis of Toulouse, Robert of Naples and Philip I of Taranto.

On 3 September 1313 he was named Captain-General of Calabria. In 1315, he succeeded his brother Peter, Count of Gravina after the latter was killed at the Battle of Montecatini.

He made a military expedition, financed by the Acciaiuoli, in 1325 to claim Achaea, by now much diminished from its original extent. While he re-established his authority in Kefalonia and Zante, he was unable to recapture Skorta from the control of the Byzantine Empire.

In 1332, Philip of Taranto died and was succeeded by his son Robert of Taranto, who became the new suzerain of Achaea. Not wishing to swear fealty to his nephew, John arranged to surrender Achaea to him in exchange for Robert's rights to the Kingdom of Albania and a loan of 5,000 ounces of gold raised upon Niccolo Acciaiuoli, and thenceforth adopted the style of "Duke of Durazzo".