Bal?a II Balsha II
Lord of Lower Zeta
Early 15th century banner of the Bal?i? noble family depicting the founder of the dynasty, Bal?a I and his sons: đurađ I, Bal?a II and Stracimir [ citation needed ]
Reign	1378 ? 18 September 1385
Predecessor	đurađ I Bal?i?
Successor	đurađ II Bal?i?
Died	( 1385-09-18 ) 18 September 1385 Saurian field, near Lushnje
Spouse	Komnena Asen
Issue	Ruđina
Family	Bal?i?
Father	Bal?a I
Religion	Serbian Orthodox Church (until 1369) (from 1369) Roman Catholicism

Bal?a Bal?i? ( Serbian Cyrillic : Балша Балши? ; died September 18, 1385) or Bal?a II ( Albanian : Balsha II ) ^[1] was the Lord of Lower Zeta from 1378 to 1385. He was a member of the Bal?i? noble family , which ruled Zeta (with Scutari ) from ca. 1362 to 1421.

Early life [ edit ]

Bal?a II was the youngest of three sons of Bal?a I . According to Mavro Orbini , Bal?a , the progenitor of the Bal?i? family, was a petty nobleman who held only one village in the area of Lake Skadar during the rule of Emperor Du?an the Mighty (r. 1331 to 1355). Only after the death of the emperor, during the subsequent weak rule of Emperor Uro? V , Bal?a together with his friends and his three sons ( Stracimir , đurađ and Bal?a II) gained power in Lower Zeta, ^[2] which had previously been the lands of gospodin ?arko (fl. 1336 to 1360). Bal?a's people then turned for Upper Zeta, which was held by đura? Iliji? and his relatives; the Bal?i? brothers murdered đura?, and had some of his relatives imprisoned. ^[2] Bal?a died the same year. ^[2] Orbini further described the personalities of the brothers, claiming that Bal?a II was "good-natured and an accomplished horseman, but not of great mind". ^[2] The Bal?i?i managed to elevate themselves from petty nobility to provincial lords, ^[3] becoming powerful after 1362, and it seems that they had an active part in the conflict between Emperor Uro? V and Simeon Uro? in Skadar, helping Uro? V. ^[2]

In the summer of 1364, the Bal?i? brothers were defeated in a skirmish by Karl Thopia and đurađ I, brother of Bal?a II, was captured by Karl and was kept prisoner until 1366, when Dubrovnik mediated peace and procured his release. ^[4] In January 1368, a Ragusan document reported that the three Bal?i? brothers: Stracimir, đurađ I and Bal?a II, were preparing for a campaign against Karl Thopia. They were camped on the Mati River , of which Karl's lands lay south of. The fighting was apparently small-scale as two months later, Karl had no difficulty capturing Dyrrhachium from the Angevins . ^[5] In 1372, Bal?a II married Komnina, the daughter of Alexander Komnenos Asen , Despot of Berat and Valona . ^[A] As a dowry, Bal?a gained the cities of Valona , Berat and Kanina (in modern-day southern Albania), located in Asen's province. ^[6]

Reign [ edit ]

On January 13, 1378, he came to power in Zeta after the death of his older brother, đurađ I . His power was felt only in the region around Scutari and in the eastern part of Zeta's coast. The most prominent feudal lords who did not recognize Bal?a's rule were their sworn enemies, the đura?evi?-Crnojevi? family , who were allies of the Republic of Venice .

In 1385, Bal?a II started the war for the conquest of Durazzo , taking it following four attempts. In 1385, the defeated ruler Karl Topia appealed to Murat I for assistance, and the Ottoman Army led by Hajruddin Pasha routed the Bal?i?i at the Battle of Savra , on the Saurian field, near Lushnje . The Ottomans chopped Bal?a's head off and sent it as an exclusive gift to Hajreddin Pasha. This marks the end of the rule of his family over Durazzo.

Aftermath [ edit ]

Bal?a's widow, Komnina, and their daughter Ruđina , later took control of Bal?a's territory in southern Albania to protect it from Ottoman invaders . Komnina seemed to be the Duchy of Valona's main ruler, until her death in 1396. In the meantime, the Muzaka family had gained control of Berat. In 1391, however, Ruđina married Mrk?a ?arkovi? . ?arkovi? succeeded the duchy, calling himself Lord of Valona . He reigned over the city until his death in 1414. Ruđina took over her late husband's position and ruled Valona until 1417, when it, as well as its citadel in Kanina, was seized by the Turks. ^[7] Ruđina fled Albania and sought asylum in Zeta. Her nephew, Bal?a III , then-ruler of Zeta, granted her asylum and entrusted her with governorship of the coastal town of Budva . ^[8]

Titles [ edit ]

His title was gospodin (lord), while after taking over Durazzo, he had the right to add the title of duke . ^[9]

Note [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

Sources [ edit ]

• Fajfri?, ?eljko (2000) [1998], Sveta loza Stefana Nemanje (in Serbian), Belgrade: "Tehnologije, izdavastvo, agencija Janus", "Rastko".
• Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest , Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press , ISBN   978-0-472-08260-5
• Sedlar, Jean W. (1994). East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000?1500 . Vol. III. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN   0-295-97290-4 .

External links [ edit ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bal?a II .

• "Charter of Bal?a II from Ratac monastery near Bar, 1379" . lehre.hki.uni-koeln.de. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03 . Retrieved 2013-11-25 .
• "Charter of Bal?a II found in Tuzi near Podgorica, 1385" . lehre.hki.uni-koeln.de. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03 . Retrieved 2013-11-25 .