Đurađ I Balšić
| Đurađ Balšić | |
|---|---|
| Lord of Zeta | |
Seal of the Balšić brothers, January 17, 1368
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| Predecessor | Balša I |
| Successor | Balša II |
| Spouse(s) | Olivera Mrnjavčević Teodora Dejanović Dragaš |
| Issue | |
| Father | Balša I |
| Died | 13 January 1378 Skadar, Lordship of Zeta (now Shkodër, Albania) |
| Religion | born Serbian Orthodox Roman Catholic (conversion) |
Đurađ Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђурађ Балшић), also known as Đurađ I (Ђурађ 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.
Đurađ was the eldest son of Balša, a petty nobleman that held one village during the rule of Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355) and was said to be "kin to Nemanja". The family started taking Lower Zeta sometime following the death of Dušan in 1355. In 1362 the brothers murdered Đuraš Ilijić who had held Upper Zeta, and were then recognized as oblastni gospodari (provincial lords) of Zeta in charters of Stefan Uroš V (r. 1355–1371).
In 1363, Đurađ declared war against the Thopias, an Albanian noble family which controlled northern Albania. The Matarangos, an Albanian noble family which controlled southern Albania, were allied with the Balšićs as a result of a quarrel with the Thopias in the south. In the spring of 1364, Karlo Thopia took Đurađ captive due to a skirmish, ending Zetan involvement in the war. Đurađ was held captive until 1366 when Republic of Ragusa mediated peace and procured his release. In 1367, Đurađ is mentioned as the "baron of maritime Serbia".
In January 1368, a Ragusan document reported that the three Balšić brothers: Stracimir, Đurađ and Balša II, were preparing for a campaign against Karlo Thopia. They were camped on the Mati River, of which Karlo's lands lay south of. The fighting was apparently small-scale as two months later, Karlo had no difficulty capturing Dyrrhachium from the Angevins.
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