Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić
The Balšić family is the second Montenegrin medieval dynasty that ruled the former Zeta from 1360 to 1421. During the reign of the Nemanjić dynasty, the Balšić family was one of the most powerful. After Emperor Dušan died, they became regional lords whose complete authority in Zeta would be recognised by Dušan’s son Uroš. During their reign, the Balšić dynasty expanded the territories of the former state of Zeta using military and diplomatic means. In the political principle of the Balšić dynasty, we fi nd a parallel with the words of Charlemagne, “Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria, nube! (Let others wage war: thou, happy Austria, marry!)”, since the dynasty concluded many marriages during its reign and thus managed to maintain signifi cant relations with neighbouring countries after Dušan’s empire collapsed.
Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić is the heir of Balša II, and his mother was Milica Mrnjavčević. Đurađ II came to the throne in 1385 and ruled Zeta during the Turkish invasion of the Balkans. At the beginning of his reign, he tried to strengthen his position in Zeta by obtaining the neighbouring rulers’ support; therefore, he married the daughter of the Serbian prince Lazar Hrebeljanović yet in 1386 and thus entered into family ties with Vuk Branković. His newly built connections became useless after the Turkish invasion of the Balkans in 1388, and the Bosnian king Tvrtko, his then-biggest enemy, became harmless. Afraid of the Turkish invasion, all the Balkan rulers waited for some joint agreement; even King Tvrtko sent envoys to Đurađ to make peace. This peace arrangement suited Đurađ to strengthen his weakened power in the country. Still, he did not conclude this arrangement with Tvrtko, Lazar and Vuk Branković to go to Kosovo, knowing there would not be much left of his land and it would be divided between the more potent regional lords in Zeta. Instead of an agreement, Đurađ made peace with the Turks and participated in the second Turkish attack on Bosnia together with Dubrovnik’s citizens. On 5 September 1388, the people of Dubrovnik elected the Lord of Zeta as their citizen as a sign of gratitude for his standing up before the Turks. Negotiations between the Bosnian king and Đurađ II (in November 1388 and March 1389) led to a relaxing of the strained relationship twice. Still, Zeta did not change its attitude towards the Turks, which was formalised by the peace of 1386. In the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Đurađ did not participate, hoping to remain a Turkish protégé. His expectations were not met, and immediately after the battle in Kosovo, the Turks asked Đurađ to hand over almost half of his territory. As Đurađ II ceased to be a protégé of the Turkish sultan Bayazit I, he looked for allies on the other side. He led negotiations with Roman Pope Boniface IX, promised him his country if he was left without an heir, accepted the Catholic religion and received permission to fi ght against the “pagans” and all Turkish allies under the Roman Church fl ag in April 1391. Not wanting to give up those territories, Đurađ started negotiations with the Skopje sanjak Pasha Yigit Bey. He was put in custody and blackmailed to be released from custody only when he handed over the requested areas. At the end of 1392, Đurađ handed over Skadar, Drivast and Sveti Srđ to the sultan and accepted the condition of paying an annual tribute. It was only in 1395 that he managed to completely free himself from Turkish vassalage by using the Hungarian-Turkish confl ict. He surrendered Skadar, Drivastum, St. Sergius and Dagno, handing them over to the Republic of Venice to secure them from the Turks in exchange for 1000 ducats paid to him for those places. By ceding those areas, Đurađ knew that the cities would be protected. It was imperative to him – ceding Skadar and Drivastum to the Republic of Venice, he could use it to get political privileges. The contract was concluded in 1396 when the Republic of Venice offi cially accepted Đurađ’s offer. According to the contract, the cities were ceded “in perpetuity” with the right to dispose of all city revenues freely. Đurađ undertook that neither he nor his heirs would claim them. In return, his heirs and he received Venetian nobility, the right of refuge on Venetian territory, a thousand ducats of annual commission and a promise that none of the nobles would threaten the Zeta state using its territory. This political situation enabled Đurađ to deal with Radič Crnojević, his most dangerous enemy then. The same year, Đurađ met with the Hungarian king Sigismund during his return from the battle of Nicopolis. The king appointed him the prince of Hvar and Korčula, where he would nominate his vicars (emissaries). His rule over those areas lasted until 1402.
The alliance of Đurađ II Balšić with Venice did not last long. Soon, he came into confl ict with the Republic over its economic policies in the areas it was given. By lowering customs duties and taxes in Skadar and Drivastum, the Republic threatened the monopoly trade led by the Balšićs and, consequently, the revenues of the Zeta state. This occurrence prompted Zeta’s ruler to work against the Republic of Venice’s interests. Three years after the signing of the contract, there Đurađ instigated an uprising in Skadar, starting the enmity between Balšić and Venice. Đurađ turned to the Turks for help, knowing that they were also enemies of Venice. The Republic did not like such a foreign policy move. Thus, at the beginning of 1401, it decided to cancel his compensation of one thousand ducats, even though the Turks could not threaten the Republic then (the Turks were then engaged in the Asia Minor war). Aware that the Republic of Venice was extremely dangerous for the small allies, Đurađ reluctantly accepted to compensate for the damage caused by his subjects to the salt warehouses in Skadar and promised safety to the Venetian trade. In return, the Republic renewed the payment of his annual commission. After regulating relations with Venice, Đurađ II did not live long. He died only two years later.
After Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić’s death, a mere 17 years old, Balša III came to the throne. He did not rule Zeta for long, and his mother, Jelena Balšić, made diplomatic decisions and surrendered Zeta to his uncle Stefan Lazarević after his death.
We may conclude that there was no organised diplomacy in the Zeta state during the Balšićs and that all diplomatic activities were concentrated on the Zeta ruler’s decisions. This was a very characteristic historical period in which the Balšićs were not only battling for Zeta’s survival, power and management but also for preserving the state’s territory, which in different historical stages during the Đurađ II Balšić’s reign was expanded or lost in times of war and blackmail by great powers, primarily Turkey and Venice.
The period of Đurađ’s rule was also characterised by his willingness to change his religion to save the state. Undoubtedly, he is a great ruler with exceptional negotiation skills to resist great powers and the ability to save the Zeta state until the end of his life. This can be seen from his outstanding agreements with Venice and signifi cant tactical negotiations with Turkey, a great power ruling the Balkans then. Moreover, the period of his rule was marked by his skills to raise the people in the occupied territories (Skadar and other places he lost in the negotiations) up and organise an uprising against the Republic of Venice with the people of Dubrovnik.
Indeed, in that period, it is interesting that entering into marriages with great rulers from the State of Zeta’s neighbourhood guaranteed its stability and the most remarkable diplomatic action. However, this was a poor assessment, as the marriages of rulers and princesses were insuffi cient to ensure the State of Zeta’s stability and peace in those areas.