George Strez Balšić ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Стрезов Балшић) or Gjergj Balsha ( sq, Gjergj Balsha) ( 1444–57) and his brothers Gojko and

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic languages, Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John (given name), John) from Hebrew language, Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. T ...

were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the

White Drin The White Drin or White Drim ( sq, Drini i Bardhë,/ ''Beli Drim'') is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. -long headstream of the Drin. Course Kosovo The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of ...

towards the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

. The brothers were members 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. ...

, which had earlier held

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 ...

. They participated in founding of the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë ( sq, Lidhja e Lezhës), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League ( sq, Lidhja Arbërore), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The Leag ...

, an alliance led by their maternal uncle

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

. George later betrayed Skanderbeg, by selling a domain to the Ottomans, while his two brothers continued to support Skanderbeg until his death and then continued to fight for the Venetian forces.

Family

According to

Fan S. Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox ...

George and his brothers

and Gojko were nephews of

from his sister Jelena who married Pavle Balšić. Genealogy of Kastrioti family written by

Karl Hopf Karl Hopf may refer to: * Karl Hopf (historian) Karl Hopf (Hamm, Westphalia, February 19, 1832 – Wiesbaden, August 23, 1873) or Carl Hermann Friedrich Johann Hopf was a historian and an expert in Medieval Greece, both Byzantine and Frankish. ...

does not present the information about George Strez Balšić being a son of Skanderbeg's sister Jelena.

League of Lezhë

The three Balšić brothers joined the

, an alliance formed by their maternal uncle Skanderbeg, after meeting in the St. Nicholas Church in

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian const ...

on March 2, 1444. The members included

Lekë Zaharia Lekë Zaharia (? – 1444), was an Albanian nobleman from Zaharia family. He was the only son of his father Koja Zaharia and mother Bosa who also had one daughter, Bolja, who named her son Koja after her father. League of Lezhë In 1444 h ...

, Peter Spani,

Lekë Dushmani Lekë Dushmani was an Albanian nobleman and one of the founding members of League of Lezhë, formed on 2 March 1444. Life A member of the Dushmani family he ruled over the region of Zadrima, in modern Shkodër District. In Venetian documents he ...

, Andrea Thopia,

Gjergj Arianiti Gjergj Arianiti (1383–1462) was an Albanian feudal lord who led several successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. He was the father of Donika, Skanderbeg's wife, as well as the grand-uncle of Moisi Arianit Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was ...

, Theodor Musachi,

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-cyr, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (Стефаница; 1426–1465) was the Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, which at that t ...

, and their subjects. Skanderbeg was elected its leader, and commander in chief of its armed forces numbering a total of 8,000 warriors. In 1451 after

Alfonso Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

signed the

Treaty of Gaeta The Treaty of Gaeta was a political treaty signed in Gaeta on March 26, 1451, between Alfonso V for the Kingdom of Naples and Stefan, Bishop of Krujë, and Nikollë de Berguçi, ambassadors of Skanderbeg. In the treaty Skanderbeg recognized h ...

with

, he signed similar treaties with George Strez Balšić and other chieftains from Albania:

, Gjin Muzaka, Peter Spani,

Pal Dukagjini Pal Dukagjini ( it, Paolo Ducagini, 1411–1458) was an Albanian nobleman, a member of the Dukagjini family. He and his kinsman Nicholas Dukagjini were initially subjects of Lekë Zaharia, a Venetian vassal who had possessions around Shkoder ...

, Thopia Muzaka, Peter of Himara,

Simon Zenevisi Simon Zenebishi () was an Albanian aristocrat and vassal of the Kingdom of Naples, who held the castle of Strovilo (Castrovilari), near Butrint, and was a member of the Zenevisi family of southern Albania. He probably dwelled in Corfu, and was l ...

and Carlo II Tocco. According to Albanian historians Kristo Frashëri and

Fan Noli Theofan Stilian Noli, known as Fan Noli (6 January 1882 – 13 March 1965), was an Albanian writer, scholar, diplomat, politician, historian, orator, Archbishop, Metropolitan and founder of the Albanian Orthodox Church and the Albanian Orthodox ...

, Strez Balšić betrayed Skanderbeg by selling the fortress he controlled (Modritza) to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in spring 1457., Skanderbeg was betrayed by another of his nephews,

Hamza Kastrioti Hamza Kastrioti ( la, Ameses Castriota) or Bernardo Kastrioti (after his conversion to Christianity), was a 15th-century Albanian nobleman and the nephew of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg. Probably born in Ottoman territory, after the death of his ...

, who deserted to the Ottomans.

Issue

Karl Krumbacher believed that the first daughter of

Maurice Spata }); ) was the ruler of Arta from late 1399/early 1400 until his death in 1414 or 1415. Maurice's reign was dominated by his wars with Carlo I Tocco. Maurice was able to defend his capital of Arta, but despite some victories failed to prevent the fa ...

married ''Giorgio'', a son of "George Balšić and Eudokia".

Annotations

). His family name also appears in versions such as Stres, Stresi, Stresio, Strez, Strezov or Sturz. .

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balsic, George Strez George Strez 15th-century rulers in Europe