Balša ( sr-Cyr, Балша) or Balsha ( sq, Balsha) 1362) was a provincial lord of the

Zeta Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...

in ca. 1362. He is the eponymous founder of the

Balšić noble family The House of Balšić ( sr-Cyrl, Балшић), or the Balsha ( sq, Balshaj) was a noble family that ruled " Zeta and the coastlands" (southern Montenegro and northern Albania), from 1362 to 1421, during and after the fall of the Serbian Empire. ...

Life

He was a nobleman and military commander during the rule of Emperor

Dušan the Mighty Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic given name primarily used in countries of Yugoslavia; and among Slovaks and Czechs. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular nam ...

(r. 1331–1355) but managed to expand his power after the death of Dušan (20 December 1355) and gained control of the island of

Mljet Mljet (; la, Melita, it, Meleda) is the southernmost and easternmost of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea be ...

. He began by taking lands previously held by Lord Žarko, in Lower Zeta (south of

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

, and is then recognized as a "provincial lord" in charters of Emperor

Uroš the Weak __NOTOC__ Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Урош) is a South Slavic given or last name primarily spread amongst Serbs, and Slovenians (mostly of Serbian descent). This noun has been interpreted as "lords", because it usually appears in conjunction with ''velmõ ...

(r. 1355–1371). In 1362 his sons defeated and killed ''Head of Upper Zeta''

Đuraš Ilijić Đuraš Ilijić ( sr-cyrl, Ђураш Илијић, 1326–62) was a nobleman who served the Serbian monarchs Stefan Dečanski (r. 1321–1331), Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355) and Uroš V (r. 1355–1371), from 1326 until his death in 1362. He ha ...

and expanded further into

Upper Zeta Upper Zeta ( sr, Горња Зета / ''Gornja Zeta'') is a historical region in modern Montenegro, situated roughly between the Morača and Zeta rivers in east-west direction, and between massif of Lovćen and Skadar Lake and Durmitor massif in ...

. He is believed to have died by this time. He had three sons,

Đurađ Đurađ ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ, ; ) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from the Greek '' Georgios''. It is also transliterated as Djuradj. It is, along with the variant ''Đorđe'', the equivalent of the English ''George''. It was widespr ...

, Stracimir and

Balša II Balša Balšić ( sr-cyr, Балша Балшић); or Balsha II ( sq, Balsha II) died September 18, 1385), known in historiography as Balša II, was the Lord of Lower Zeta from 1378 to 1385. He managed to expand his borders towards the south; def ...

, two of whom ruled the

Principality of Zeta The Principality of Zeta ( sr, Кнежевина Зета, Kneževina Zeta) is a historiographical name for a late medieval principality located in the southern parts of modern Montenegro and northern parts of modern Albania, around the Lake of ...

: Đurađ I and Balša II.

References

Sources

* * *D. Živković, ''Istorija Crnogorskog Naroda'', 1989, Cetinje People of the Serbian Empire Medieval Montenegro League of Lezhë Principality of Zeta {{Europe-royal-stub