Stracimir Balšić ( sr-Cyrl, Страцимир Балшић or Strazimir Balsha ( sq, Strazimir Balsha); fl. 1360 – 15 January 1373) was a

Lord 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 ...

, alongside his two brothers

Đurađ I 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 ...

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 ...

, in ca. 1362–1372. The Balšić family took over Zeta, by 1362, during the

fall of the Serbian Empire The fall of the Serbian Empire was a decades-long process in the late 14th century. Following the death of childless Emperor Stefan Uroš V in 1371, the Empire was left without an heir and the magnates, '' velikaši'', obtained the rule of its pr ...

. Stracimir took monastic vows and died in 1373. He left three sons, one of whom later became the Lord of Zeta (

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 ...

Life

Stracimir was the eldest son of Balša I (his two brothers were Balša II and Đurađ I), a petty nobleman who held only one village during the rule of

Serbian Emperor Between 1345 and 1371, the Serbian monarch was self-titled emperor (tsar). The full title was initially Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks, later Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks and Bulgarians in Serbian and '' basileus'' and '' autokrator'' of S ...

Stephen Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331–1355).Fajfrić 2000, ch. 44, "Oblasni gospodari" Some years after the death of the Emperor, Balša I and his sons managed to expand their local power, beginning by taking lands previously held by

Lord Žarko Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...

(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 ...

, Lower Zeta). In 1361, during a conflict between the

Republic of Ragusa hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

and

Vojislav Vojinović Vojislav Vojinović ( sr, Војислав Војиновић, d. 1363) was a 14th-century Medieval Serbia, Serbian nobleman, and one of the leading members of Serbian noble House of Vojinović. He held prominent offices during the reigns of Serb ...

, they supported Ragusa. For this, they became Ragusan citizens in May or 3 July 1361. In 1362, the three brothers killed ''čelnik''

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 had ...

, and expanded further into Upper Zeta. Their father died the same year. The brothers succeeded their father ruling Zeta together, though Đurađ I was the major figure. They were called ''"oblastni gospodari"'' ("provincial lords") in charters of Emperor Uroš V the Weak (r. 1355–1371). In 1368, after Đurađ I's attack on

Kotor Kotor (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Котор, ), historically known as Cattaro (from Italian: ), is a coastal town in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Bay of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative c ...

, the Serbian court deemed him a rebel. The brothers converted from

Serbian Orthodoxy The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous ( ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in 1368–1369, in order to further their coastal ambitions. Stracimir married firstly Irene Duklina, and secondly Milica Mrnjavčević, the daughter of ''Serbian King''

Vukašin Mrnjavčević Vukašin (Cyrillic script: Вукашин) is an old Slavic name of Serbian origin. It is composed from two words: Vuk (wolf) and sin (son), so it means sin vuka (son of wolf). In some places in Croatia and Bosnia it can be found as a surname. ...

. He had three sons with Milica: *

(1385–1403), married Jelena Lazarević *Gojko (died before 1372) *Ivaniš (died before 1372) Stracimir became a monk and was tonsured before his death on 15 January 1373, and the power was now shared by Đurađ I, Balša II, and Stracimir's son Đurađ II, who each held an individual appanage.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balsic, Stracimir Stracimir Converts to Roman Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Serbian Orthodox Christians 14th-century births 1373 deaths