Ivan Strez Balšić ( sr-cyr, Јован Стрез Балшић; ) or John Balsha

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1444–1469) and his brothers George Strez and Gojko Balšić were the lords of Misia, a coastal area from the

White Drin The White Drin or White 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 Kosovo, in an arc-shaped -long ...

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 Se ...

. The brothers were members of the Balšić family, which earlier held Zeta, but had now placed itself among the nobility in Albania. They participated in founding of the

League of Lezhë The League of Lezhë (), also commonly referred to as the Albanian League (), was a military and diplomatic alliance of the Albanian aristocracy, created in the city of Lezhë on 2 March 1444. The League of Lezhë is considered the first unif ...

, an alliance led by their maternal uncle

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

. Ivan and Gojko supported Skanderbeg until he died in 1468 and then continued to fight against

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

together with Venetian forces. After Skanderbeg's death Venice installed Ivan Strez Balšić as Skanderbeg's successor.

Family

According to

Gjon Muzaka Gjon Muzaka (fl. 1510; ) was an Albanian nobleman from the Muzaka family, that has historically ruled in the Myzeqe region, Albania. In 1510 he wrote the Muzaka chronicles (a ''Breve memoria de li discendenti de nostra casa Musachi''. The work ...

and Karl Hopf, Ivan Strez Balšić and his brother Gojko were children of Vlajka Kastrioti and Stefan Strez; who was an illegitimate child of

Đurađ I Balšić Đurađ I Balšić ( sr-cyr, Ђурађ I Балшић; ) 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. Life Đurađ was the eldest son of Balša, ...

. According to

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

, Ivan had two brothers (George Strez and Gojko) who were all children of Jela

Kastrioti The Kastrioti were an Albanian noble family, active in the 14th and 15th centuries as the rulers of the Principality of Kastrioti. At the beginning of the 15th century, the family controlled a territory in the Mat and Dibra regions. The most not ...

and Pavle Balšić. Both views confirm that Gojko was Skanderbeg's

nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

.Spandouginos-Nicol, p. 96: "Iella, who married Paul Balša"

Life

The three Balšić brothers joined the

, an Albanian alliance formed by their maternal uncle

Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanian feudal lord and military commander who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Ser ...

, after meeting in

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously i ...

on March 2, 1444. The members included

Lekë Zaharia Lekë Zaharia Altisferi (died 1447) was an Albanian nobleman from the Zaharia family. He was the only son of his father Koja Zaharia and mother Bosa Dukagjini, and he had a sister named Bolia, who named her son Koja after her father. League of ...

, Pjetër 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 documen ...

, Andrea Thopia,

Gjergj Arianiti Gjergj Arianiti (13??–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 uncle of Moisi Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was Skanderbeg's ...

, Theodor Muzaka,

Stefan Crnojević Stefan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (; 1426–1465) was the Zeta under the Crnojevići, Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a knyaz he was one of many governors in Upper Zeta, whic ...

, and their subjects. Skanderbeg was elected its leader, and commander in chief of its armed forces numbering a total of 8,000 warriors. Ivan was the commander of a unit of 500 cavalry sent by Skanderbeg to support

Ferdinand I of Naples Ferdinand I (2 June 1424 – 25 January 1494), also known as Ferrante, was king of Naples from 1458 to 1494. The only son, albeit illegitimate, of Alfonso the Magnanimous, he was one of the most influential and feared monarchs in Europe at the ...

, whose rulership was threatened by the Angevin Dynasty, before Skanderbeg himself led a military expedition to Italy. Ivan Strez Balšić was perceived by Venice as Skanderbeg's successor. After Skanderbeg's death Ivan and his brother Gojko Balšić, together with Leke, Progon and

Nicholas Dukagjini Nicholas Dukagjini (, ) was a 15th-century member of the Dukagjini family. Biography Nicholas Dukagjini was the son of Gjergj Dukagjini, who died before 1409 when Nicholas was mentioned for the first time as the landlord of two villages near ...

, continued to fight for Venice. In 1469 Ivan requested from the Venetian Senate to return him his confiscated property consisting of Castle Petrela, woivodate of "Terra nuova" of Kruje (unknown position), territory between Kruje and Durrës and villages in the region of Bushnesh (today part of the

Kodër-Thumanë Kodër-Thumanë is a village and a former municipality in the Durrës County, western Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Ad ...

municipality). Venice largely conceded to the wishes of Ivan Balšić and installed him as Skanderbeg's successor.

Death

The Venetian chronicler

Stefano Magno Stefano Magno (around 1499 – 14 October 1572) was a Venetian chronicler. Biography According to Kenneth Setton, Stefano Magno was born around 1499 (his father's name was Andrea) and died on 14 October 1572. According to Marios Philippides he ...

recorded details about Ivan's death. Ivan insisted that Venetian grain supplies to the Ottoman besieged

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 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana. Krujë was ...

could only be transported through his territory after a yearly licence was paid to him. The Venetian governor of Scutari, Leonardo Boldù, realised that Ivan's requests could have serious consequences. He gathered forces consisting of Venetian militia from Scutari, commanded by their voivoda and joined with the forces of many noble families from

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

who were loyal to Venice. Ivan Balšić prepared an ambush in the house where he met with Venetians but they managed to kill Ivan in the ensuing fight and threw his head out of the house in front of his stunned followers.

Annotations

References

Sources

* * * * * {{Members of the League of Lezhë Ivan Strez 15th-century lords in Europe 15th-century Venetian people Skanderbeg