Ivan Crnojević was a ruler who safeguarded Montenegro’s independence and founded Cetinje as its spiritual and political center.
His leadership marked the transition from medieval rule to a resilient Montenegrin identity that endured for centuries.
by David Popović
expert in foreign and diplomatic affairs
Even today, in modern-day Montenegro, when someone says “Ivan the Lord“, everyone knows you’re referring to Ivan Crnojević, the most significant figure in the history of medieval Zeta and present-day Montenegro.
The medieval population of Zeta was a mixture of Illyrians, the indigenous people of the Balkans, Vlachs, Celts, and Slavs. In the 15 th century, in this small state threatened by conquerors from all sides, Ivan Crnojević was born, most likely in the year 1442. Ivan’s father, Stefan – also known as Stefanica I Crnojević— was the founder of the Crnojević dynasty and the first independent ruler of Zeta from this dynasty. According to historians, he was of non-Slavic, that is, Illyrian origin. During his reign, Zeta relied heavily on support from the Venetians, in whose city-state Stefan was known as “the magnificent.” Ivan’s mother, Maria – Mara, was the sister of the Albanian ruler Skanderbeg, from the Kastrioti family. Ivan took power in Zeta in 1465, after the death of his father. The new ruler sought to preserve the state’s security and freedom from external attacks by establishing new relations with powerful neighbours. After a conflict with the Venetians over Kotor (during which a bounty of 10,000 ducats was placed on his head), Ivan, with the mediation of his uncle, Gjergj Kastrioti (Skanderbeg), strengthened ties with Venice – remaining in a vassal relationship. In 1471, he agreed to pay an annual tribute (harač) to the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II the Conqueror—the most powerful ruler in Ottoman history. However, this payment ceased in 1474 after Ivan aided in the defense of Shkodra against the Ottomans. In 1469, through his marriage to Mara Vukčić Kosača, daughter of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian nobleman Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, Ivan secured protection against potential threats from that region. And on the domestic front, Ivan does everything to preserve the integrity and strengthen his rule in the country that his father left him as an inheritance. He continues to build the state, constructs Obod – the town of Rijeka (there, in Obod, later in 1493, Ivan’s son Đurađ will found the first printing house among the South Slavs and the first state printing house in the world) and fortifies his capital, Žabljak on Lake Skadar. However, after persistent efforts, the Turks conquer Skadar in 1478, then Žabljak and Zeta, forcing Ivan to take refuge in Italy, from where he returns in 1481 and immediately resumes the fight for the liberation of Zeta. For his new capital, he chooses Cetinje, a settlement in a hard-to-access karst field beneath Lovćen, which until then was mostly inhabited by Vlachs. There, in 1482, Ivan builds his court and erects a monastery (dedicated to the Mother of God) which also becomes the seat of the Zeta Metropolis, while Old Montenegro, which Ivan Crnojević rules completely autonomously, is settled by the majority of the Zeta people, the modern Montenegrins.
Ivan Crnojević, lord of Zeta and Montenegro, died in 1490. He was buried in his Cetinje.
Historians note about Ivan Crnojević’s rule: “He began his political career as a determined ruler, a statesman who wished to continue the work started by his father and create a military-political organization capable of offering maximum resistance to the conqueror and securing his place under the sun.“ 1
Spiridon Gopčević wrote in 1877: “What Marko Kraljević is to the Serbs, Hunyadi to the Hungarians, Kastrioti to the Albanians, Stephen the Great to the Romanians, and Alexander Nevsky to the Russians, that is Ivan Crnojević to the Montenegrins…“ 2
Much has been written about Ivan Crnojević, but about the ruler who personifies an entire people, not enough (and this text is only a hint). Montenegrins still preserve the memory of their lord through numerous toponyms (over 80), folk songs (such as “At Ivan the Lord’s”), legends, oral tradition, and storytelling. The Montenegrin Orthodox Church celebrates Ivan Crnojević on July 4 th as Saint Ivan the Righteous.
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1
Dragoje Živković: Vrijeme Ivana Crnojevića (The Era of Ivan Crnojević)
2
Crna Gora i Crnogorci, CID, Podgorica, 2008. (Montenegro and Montenegrins, CID, Podgorica, 2008)