Balša I

Balša I
Балша I
Balsha I
Lord of Zeta
Coat of Arms of the Balšić family
Lord of Zeta
Reign1356–1362
SuccessorĐurađ I Balšić
Died1362 (1363)
IssueĐurađ I Balšić
Stracimir Balšić
Balša II
Voisava Balšić
HouseBalšić

Balša (Serbian Cyrillic: Балша; Albanian: Balsha) or Balsha was a provincial lord of the Zeta in ca. 1362. He is the eponymous founder of the Balšić noble family.

Life

He was a nobleman and military commander during the rule of Serbian Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331–1355) but managed to expand his power after the death of Dušan (20 December 1355) and gained control of the island of Mljet. He began by taking lands previously held by Lord Žarko, in Lower Zeta (south of Lake Skadar, and is then recognized as a "provincial lord" in charters of Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš V (r. 1355–1371). In 1362 his sons defeated and killed Head of Upper Zeta Đuraš Ilijić and expanded further into Upper Zeta. He is believed to have died by this time.

He had three sons, Đurađ, Stracimir and Balša II, two of whom ruled the Principality of Zeta: Đurađ I and Balša II. He had a daughter Voisava Balšić who married Karl Thopia.

References

  1. ↑ Catholicism, Culture, Conversion: The History of the Jesuits in Albania (1841-1946). Pontifical Oriental Institute (original from the University of California). 2006. p. 46.
  2. ↑ Bartl, Peter (2001) [1995], Albanci : od srednjeg veka do danas (in Serbian), translated by Ljubinka Milenković, Belgrade: Clio, p. 31, ISBN 978-86-7102-017-6, OCLC 51036121, retrieved 1 February 2012, Род Балшића (Балша) био је српског порекла. Балша I... био је заповедник у војсци Сте-фана Душана и од 1357. године као српски намесник службоваоје на острву Мљет.
  3. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2003). Early Albania A Reader of Historical Texts, 11th-17th Centuries. Harrassowitz. p. 52. ISBN 978-3-4470-4783-8. ...The aforementioned sons fled back to their country. Later on, the said Lord Charles married Lady Voisava, the daughter of Lord Balsha...
  4. ↑ Rudolf Künker, Fritz (2008). The De Wit Collection of Medieval Coins Künker Auktion 137 - The De Wit Collection of Medieval Coins, 1000 Years of European Coinage, Part III: England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Balkan, the Middle East, Crusader States, Jetons und Weights. Numismatischer Verlag Künker. p. 284. ...Karl Thopia was wedded to Vojsava, a daughter of Balsa I...

Sources