Balša I
| Balšić Балшићи |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country |
 Serbian Empire (1355–71) Republic of Venice Serbian Despotate (1405–21) |
| Estates |
(southern Montenegro, northern Albania)
|
| Titles |
gospodar (lord) autokrator (self-ruler) |
| Founded | before 1355, by Balša I |
| Final ruler | Balša III (1403–1421) |
| Dissolution | 1421 (possessions passed to Despot Stephen) |
(southern Montenegro, northern Albania)
The Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Балшић, pl. Балшићи/Balšići; Latin: Balsich ; Albanian: Balsha) 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. Balša, the founder, was a petty nobleman who held only one village during the rule of Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355), and only after the death of the emperor, his three sons gained power in Lower Zeta after acquiring the lands of gospodin Žarko (fl. 1336-1360) under unclear circumstances, and they then expanded into Upper Zeta by murdering voivode and čelnik Đuraš Ilijić (r. 1326-1362†). Nevertheless, they were acknowledged as oblastni gospodari of Zeta in edicts of Emperor Uroš the Weak (r. 1355-1371). The family is known to have seized control through trickery, such as against the Dukagjini family, and many people were deported or murdered. After the death of Uroš (1371), the family feuded with the Mrnjavčevići, who controlled Macedonia. In 1421, Balša III, on his death, passed the rule of Zeta to his uncle, Despot Stephen "the Tall"' Lazarević.
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