Stefan Crnojević
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Stefan Crnojević ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Црнојевић), known as Stefanica (; 1426–1465) was the Lord of Zeta between 1451 and 1465. Until 1441, as a
knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...
he was one of many governors in
Upper Zeta Upper Zeta ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Горња Зета, Gornja Zeta, separator=" / ") 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 ...
, which at that time was a province of the
Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate () was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravi ...
. He then aligned himself with the Bosnian duke, Stefan Vukčić Kosača, and remained his vassal until 1444 when he accepted Venetian suzerainty. In Venetian–held
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 2 March 1444, Stefan and his sons forged an alliance with several noblemen from Albania, led by
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, ...
, known as 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 ...
. In 1448 he returned under suzerainty of Serbian Despot
Đurađ Branković Đurađ Vuković Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Вуковић Бранковић, ; 1377 – 24 December 1456) served as the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456, making him one of the final rulers of medieval Serbia. In 1429, Branković was form ...
. In 1451, Stefan took over the leadership of the Crnojević family and became the ruler of a large part of Zeta, hence the title Gospodar Zetski ().


Early life and family

Stefan was born as the third son of
Đurađ Đurašević Crnojević 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 ...
, and his mother was the daughter of
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
nobleman
Koja Zaharia Koja Zaharia or Koja Zakaria () (? – before 1442) was an Albanian nobleman and a member of the Zaharia family. Name In Ragusan documents he is referred to as Kojčin or Gojčin. Because of that, many scholars like Nicolae Iorga, Ludwig Th ...
of the
Zaharia family The Zaharia family, also known as the Zakarija, Zakaria or Zaccaria was an Albanian noble family, most prominent during the 14th and 15th century. History Nicholas Zakarija The Zaharia family is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. ...
. Stefan had three brothers: Đurašin Đurašević, Gojčin Crnojević and a brother with an unknown name and historical role. The earliest documents which mentions him is from 1426. Stefan was nicknamed "Stefanica". Stefan had three sons,
Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...
, Andrija and Božidar, who in other sources is mentioned as his brother. Historians from
Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...
always mentioned the lands of Balšić and Crnojević family as Zeta and considered it as part of Serbia to distinguish it from other areas.


Reign


Vassalage

At adulthood, Stefan became one of the many noblemen who governed parts of Zeta within the
Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate () was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravi ...
, but did not agree with the other Crnojević members and pursued his goals on his own, outside the mainstream of the family. With the temporary Ottoman capture of the
Serbian Despotate The Serbian Despotate () was a medieval Serbian state in the first half of the 15th century. Although the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 is mistakenly considered the end of medieval Serbia, the Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire and Moravi ...
's main continental territories in 1441, Despot
Đurađ Branković Đurađ Vuković Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Ђурађ Вуковић Бранковић, ; 1377 – 24 December 1456) served as the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456, making him one of the final rulers of medieval Serbia. In 1429, Branković was form ...
came from Ragusa to Zeta to organize resistance and restore his control over the occupied parts. His attempt failed and resulted with the blinding of the despot's two captured sons in retaliation. With his departure back to Hungary, Stefan aligned himself with the Bosnian duke, Stefan Vukčić Kosača. At the end of September 1441 Kosača captured the territory of upper Zeta on the left bank of Morača. Stefan Crnojević, who represented the whole Crnojević family, joined him in this campaign and was awarded by Kosača with control over five villages. He kept two of them (Goričane and Kruse) under his control and gave the other three to his brothers. Stefan married the
Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
princess Mara Kastrioti, the oldest daughter of the Lord of Mat
Gjon Kastrioti Gjon Kastrioti was an Albanians, Albanian feudal lord from the House of Kastrioti and the father of Albanian leader Gjergj Kastrioti (better known as Skanderbeg). He governed the territory between the Cape of Rodon and Debar, Dibër and had a ...
. This family link became really important when in November 1443 Gjon's son and Mara's brother, Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg rebelled in Albania against his Ottoman sovereign. According to Vasilije Petrović-Njegoš Stefan sent soldiers under the command of Božidar to help Skanderbeg in his fight against Ottomans, but
Lekë Dukagjini Lekë III Dukagjini (1410–1481), mostly known as Lekë Dukagjini, was a 15th-century member of the Albanian nobility, from the Dukagjini family. A contemporary of Skanderbeg, Dukagjini is known for the '' Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit'', a code of ...
and members of
Zaharia family The Zaharia family, also known as the Zakarija, Zakaria or Zaccaria was an Albanian noble family, most prominent during the 14th and 15th century. History Nicholas Zakarija The Zaharia family is mentioned for the first time in the 14th century. ...
ambushed and killed them. In 1444 Stefan Crnojević found strong new protectors in the Venetian Republic. In Venetian-held
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 2 March 1444 Stefan and his sons forged an alliance (
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 ...
) with several noblemen from Albania, including
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, ...
. With the restoration of the Serbian Despotate after the Crusade, Stefan gave his loyalty to Despot Đurađ Branković in 1448. Together with Branković and Skanderbeg he attacked Venetian held Bar and Ulcinj. Venetians were reluctant to fight against Serbian Despotate and had intention to estrange Branković and Skanderbeg. In July 1448 Jakov Dolfin, the governor of Bar, was victorious in the battle against Altoman's forces whose part was commanded by Stefan.


Lord of Zeta

After the disappearance of Stefan's brother Gojčin Crnojević from political life in 1451, Stefan took over the leadership of the house of Crnojević and became the ruler of a large part of Zeta. Stefan was never good with his brothers and always led politics on his own. To strengthen his position, he decided to immediately seek foreign protection. In 1452 he allied himself with Venice and recognized its authority over the region and was subsequently entitled ''Duke of Upper Zeta''. The reasons of the alliance are related to his anticipation of the downfall of the Serbian Despot. Venetan ''doge''
Francesco Foscari Francesco Foscari (19 June 1373 – 1 November 1457) was the 65th Doge of the Republic of Venice from 1423 to 1457. His reign, the longest of all Doges in Venetian history, lasted 34 years, 6 months and 8 days, and coincided with the inception ...
wrote a letter to Stefan in 1455 asking him to return to
Budva Budva (Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Будва, or ) is a town in the Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It had 27,445 inhabitants as of 2023, and is the centre of Budva Municipality. The coastal area around Budva, called the Budv ...
its territory he captured. In 1455 the Ottomans invaded Serbia and conquered all of its territories south of the Western Morava river, completely cutting Zeta off from the core of the Despotate. Therefore, Duke Stefan Crnojević along with representatives from all 51 municipalities from Upper Zeta signed an agreement the same year with the Venetians in Vranjina, by which Upper Zeta accepted Venetian rule. Venice came to rule only the cities, while all internal affairs were left to duke Stefan. The Republic of Venice also bound itself not to mettle with the ecclesiastical authority
Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the populat ...
Metropolitan of Zeta in any way.
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
slowly became the name of Stefan's Zetan realm. He reigned peacefully without the intervention of Venice and the Ottomans until his death in late 1464 or the beginning of 1465, when his son
Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...
succeeded him.


Family tree


References


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crnojevic, Stefan I 1426 births 1465 deaths 15th-century Serbian nobility Stefan Venetian period in the history of Montenegro 15th-century soldiers