Konstantin Balšić ( sr-cyr, Константин Балшић) or Konstantin Balsha ( sq, Konstantin Balsha) ( 1378–died 1402), was a lord of the Balšić family, who ruled over lands in northern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Life

Konstantin was the son of

Đurađ I Balšić Đurađ I Balšić ( sr-cyr, Ђурађ I Балшић), or Gjergj Balsha I ( sq, Gjergj Balsha I) was the Lord of Zeta between 1362 and 13 January 1378. He was the eldest of the three sons of Balša I, and belonged to the Balšić family. Lif ...

, the Lord of Zeta (r. 1362–1378) and his wife, Teodora Dejanović (the daughter of ''despot''

Dejan Dejan (Cyrillic: Дејан) is a Serbian masculine given name, derived from the Slavic verb ''dejati'', meaning "to act, to do". The name and the derived surname Dejanović are common among South Slavs. The name is first recorded in 1325 (1333 ...

). After his father's death in 1378, he inherited a small parcel of land between the rivers of Bojana and Drin. To expand links in the western Balkans, he married his sister Eudokia to the Florentine Despot of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

Esau de' Buondelmonti Esau de' Buondelmonti ( gr, Ησαύ Μπουοντελμόντ) was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area (central Epirus) from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of Despot. Life Esau was the son of the Florentine ...

. In late 1394, Konstantin was installed as governor of

Krujë Krujë ( sq-definite, Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is only 20 km north from the capital of Albania, Tirana. Kruj ...

by the Ottomans and married

Marco Barbarigo Marco Barbarigo (c. 1413 – August 14, 1486) was the 73rd Doge of Venice from 1485 until 1486. His nomination took place on a new staircase in the courtyard of the Doge's Palace, on an axis with the Campanile of St. Mark and the Porta della Cart ...

's first wife, the Albanian princess

Helena Thopia Helena Thopia ( 1388–1403) was an Albanian princess of the Thopia family who held the Krujë region as sovereign lady for two terms; 1388-1392 and 1394–1403. Life Princess Helena Thopia was the eldest daughter of Karl Thopia and Voisava Bal ...

, daughter of Karlo Thopia. Helena was Konstantin's first cousin as Helena's mother Vojislava and Konstantin's father Đurađ were brother and sister. Helena's maternal grandfather and Konstantin's paternal grandfather was

Balša I Balša ( sr-Cyr, Балша) or Balsha ( sq, Balsha) 1362) was a provincial lord of the Zeta in ca. 1362. He is the eponymous founder of the Balšić noble family. Life He was a nobleman and military commander during the rule of Emperor Dušan t ...

. He was sent to become the Balšićs head as an Ottoman protégé and apparently failed, losing his stronghold,

Dagnum Dagnum ( sq, Danjë or Dejë, sr, Danj, it, Dagno) was a town, bishopric and important medieval fortress located on the territory of present-day Albania, which has been under Serbian, Venetian and Ottoman control and remains a Latin Catholic t ...

, to his cousin,

Đurađ II 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 widespre ...

, in 1395. Konstantin was very faithful to

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Bayezid I Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...

. On 17 May 1395 he fought in the

Battle of Rovine The Battle of Rovine took place on 17 May 1395. The Wallachian army led by Voivod Mircea the Elder opposed the Ottoman invasion personally led by Sultan Bayezid I the Thunderbolt. The Turkish force heavily outnumbered the Wallachian troops. ...

and witnessed the deaths of some Serb noblemen but managed to survive himself. Of those who died included his cousin

Konstantin Dejanović Konstantin (Kostadin) Dejanović ( sr-Cyrl, Константин (Костадин) Дејановић; 1365–95) or Konstantin Dragaš was a Serbian magnate that ruled a large province in eastern Macedonia under Ottoman suzerainty, during ...

, after whom he was named, and King

Marko Mrnjavčević Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep. He ...

. In a Venetian document dating 8 August 1401, he is mentioned as "Konstantin, lord of Serbia, in the territory around our territory of Durachi (Durrës)" (Constantini domini Servie, teritorii, quod est circa teritorium nostrum Durachii). In 1402, he was executed in Durazzo for unknown reasons, but it is generally believed that his absence at the

Battle of Ankara The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 July 1402 at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and the Emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to the ...

had something to do with this. After Konstantin's death his wife Helena and their son Stefan first went to Venetians and then lived with her sister Maria. Since Maria was married to Filip Maramonte, the Venetians and Ragusans often referred to Stefan Balšić as "

Stefan Maramonte Stefan Balšić ( sr-cyr, Стефан Балшић; fl. 1419-40), known as Stefan Maramonte, was a Zetan nobleman. He was the son of Konstantin Balšić and Helena Thopia. After Konstantin's death (1402), Helena entered the Republic of Venice and ...

In 1920 Yugoslav historian

Milan Šufflay Milan Šufflay (8 November 1879 – 19 February 1931) was a Croatian historian and politician. He was one of the founders of Albanology and the author of the first Croatian science fiction novel. As a Croatian nationalist, he was persecuted in th ...

published, under pseudonym Alba Limi, a historical novel about Konstantin Balšić.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balsic, Konstantin

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' (Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. ...

Year of birth unknown 1402 deaths Ottoman vassalage History of Durrës Krujë

Life

See also

References