Đurađ II

Infobox Person
name = Đurađ Stracimirović


image_size =
caption =
birth_name = Đurađ
birth_date =
birth_place =
death_date = April 1403
death_place = Ulcinj
death_cause = injuries
resting_place = Church of Saint Catherine
resting_place_coordinates =
nationality = Serbian
title = Lord
predecessor = Balša II
successor = Balša III
religion = Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic
spouse = Jelena Lazarević
children = Balša
parents = Stracimir Balšić
Milica Mrnjavčević (d. Jerina)

Đurađ II Stracimirović (.

He reigned from 1386 up to 1389 in the still officially undissolved Serbian Empire in the form of a family alliance, then up to 1395 as an Ottoman vassal. He ruled until his death in 1403, when he was inherited by his only son, Balša III. He contributed greatly to secularization of Zeta and its modernization as a true tiny Medieval realm.

Reign

In 1372 Djuradj succeeded his father Stracimir as the fief lord of Upper Zeta of the Balsic domain. Djuradj issued together with his uncles Djuradj and Balsa Balsic an edict in the Republic of Ragusa on 30 November 1373. The edict confirmed the laws of Tsar Stephen and gave privileges to Ragusian traders, including imposed taxes to the Adriatic City. It also included a unique part, recognizing the sovereignty of the Serbian Empire though for years without an Emperor and strong central authority, a note that if anyone would became the new sovereign Emperor of the Serbs and the Serbian nobility and lands, all the points transferred from the three Balsics to him. Djuradj I's Logotet Vitko was the witness, as well as Dragaš Kosačić [Nemirno doba srpskog srednjeg veka, Vlastela srpskih oblasnih gospodara. Marko Šuica, Belgrade, 2000.] . The collectivity of the family of the Balsics marked this unique feudal system applied to their domain.

In Balsa II succeeded Djuradj, what happened precisely is not known but from ca 1380 to Balša's death in 1385, young Đurađ was held captive by the reigning uncle [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/MONTENEGRO.htm#_Toc156305674 Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, Montenegro, Balšići] ] , possibly in order to eliminate possible pretenders. Balsa governed Djuradj's lands himself during this period.

Establishment

On 18 September 1385, Đurađ's uncle Balša II was killed by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Savra. Following the temporary rule of Balša's widow Komnina, daughter of Despot Ivan Komnenos Asen, together with her daughter Ruđina, Đurađ son of Stracimir, inherited the parts of Zeta and northern Albania, including the cities of Skadar, Drivast and Lješ, as per the Balšićs' traditional rule of seniority, as "self-holder to the Zeta and Coast land". Đurađ was the governor of Ulcinj, which henceforth became the Balsics' home town. The remainder of the Balsic possessions, in southern Albania, passed in 1391 from Ruđina to her spouse Mrkša Žarković, son of Emperor Dušan's nobleman Žarko. The Protovestijar Philip Bareli, the Venetian trader that handled Balsa's financing, who was succeeded by Djuradj, is also mentioned.

Đurađ had succeeded leadership in the heats of disarray. The brothers Lekë and Pal Dukagjini broke off their allegiance to Đurađ, taking Lješ and the Drim area. Finally the Jonin family seceded with their own lands between Drač and the Drim, causing Djuradj to lose his very last possessions in Albania. Before even consolidating rule, Karlo Thopia conquered Drač and assigned it to his son George, Nikola Sakat, the Kastelan of Budva, and his brother Andrija seceded the city after 1386 and Vuk Branković took Peć and Prizren. Djuradj asked Dukagjin for an advice, and according to it, he had the Sakat brothers imprisoned and blinded. In the Zeta plains themselves under Lovćen, Đurađ had constant conflicts with the opposing ruler of Upper Zeta, Radič Crnojević, whose family has just come to prominence. The area of Onogost seceded to the Venetian side. It is thus that for a short time Đurađ's demesne was diminishing into a small strip of land between Lake Skadar and the Adriatic Sea with his Ulcinj as the only city. Upon proclaiming himself the sole head of the Balsic family, he issued an official edict on 28 January 1386 in the City of Skadar, calling his reign's strength upon "..the prayers and martyrs of my holy forefathers Symeon, the Nemanya, the first Serbian Myhrr-flowing, and Sava the Saint" of his kin [Monumenta Serbica, Franz von Miklosich] . In it he also stated that the laws of the Serbian lords, his predecessors Stracimir, Đurađ and Balša, and in specific of Emperor Dušan, shall remain and be valid for his reign. It was a standard remark of the ruler's calling upon divine right and inspired by the heritage of the Serbian Medieval state, now in feudal disarray [History of Montenegro, Second Book, From the end of XII to the end of XV Century, Volume Two, Montenegro in the Age of Regional Lords. Redaction for the History of Montenegro (Dr Dimitrije Vujovic, Risto Dragicevic, Nikola Djakonovic, Milinko Djurovic, Dr Mirceta Djurovic, Dr Pavle Mijovic, Dr Djoko Pejovic, Dr Vlado Strugar), Titograd (Podgorica), 1970] . Mladen Ilić, Logotet Butko and Duke Nikola were witnesses in the edict [Nemirno doba srpskog srednjeg veka, Vlastela srpskih oblasnih gospodara. Marko Šuica, Belgrade, 2000.] .

Serbian Alliance

From the start of his reign, Đurađ faced the potential threat from the powerful expansionist Ottoman Empire. To strengthen political links, he married Jelena (b. 1368), daughter of the Serbian Moravian lord Lazar Hrebeljanović, after recognizing Lazar as his sovereign in 1386. The folklore has recorded that Djuradj was at war with Prince Lazar for three times before a peaceful union was achieved, although there is no historical confirmation. Prince Lazar aimed at maintaining the heritage of the dispersing Serbian Empire. Đurađ, Lazar, and Lord Vuk Branković of Kosovo formed a family alliance to govern the renewed Serbian realm, presided over by Lazar. The three also shared the annual tax paid to Serbian lords by the Republic of Ragusa. Each member retained some autonomy, however, as can be seen through Đurađ's styling of himself as "I, Balsic in Christ the Lord, Djuradj, pious and autocratic lord of the lands of Zeta and the coast." Edicts for the realm were issued commonly by all three lords, extending Serbia to some form of a level of a Triarchy, or even Diarchy, considering Vuk's considerably subordinate status to Lazar [History of the Serbian People, Group of Authors (Sima Ćirković,....)] .

Đurađ also maintained diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire. Djuradj owes his position and everlasting presence on the scene to his political cunningness. He succeeded the traditional rivalry between his family and Bosnian-Serbian King Stefan Tvrtko I Kotromanić, whose Serbian crown the Balšićs did not recognize, most probably because of their own claims to the Serbian throne¹. On his diplomatic initiative, the Ottomans invaded Bosnia in 1386. During a second attack, Đurađ even sent his own troops to support the Ottoman Beylerbey of Rumelia Lala Şâhin Paşa at the Battle of Bileća on 27 August 1388, where he suffered a defeat to the hands of Bosnian Duke Vlatko Vuković Kosača. This led to the suspicion that Đurađ was an Ottoman vassal. The Dubrovnik Republic was weary of this Ottoman expansion, so they wanted to negotiate with Djuradj some military protection. On 23 August 1388 Djuradj sent his envoy Žanin Bareli, Filip's son. [ Nemirno doba srpskog srednjeg veka, Vlastela srpskih oblasnih gospodara. Marko Šuica, Belgrade, 2000.] .

Legends record Djurdje running with his forces to join the Serbian allied forces at the 1389 Battle of Kosovo and returning after he heard the news about the fall; however this is very improbable if his links to the Ottomans in that period are accounted for. The Epic telling records "Baos" coming late on the 3rd day to the Kosovo field after the battle and how he was furious at the alleged traitor "Duke Vukan Branković". Also the wrong daughter of "Emperor Lazar" was remembered as married to Djurdadj, Despina². Some historians who support the thesis of his involvement in the battle identify him with the Serbian hero Banović Strahinja, while others suspect he was depicted in the heroic Miloš Kobilić, who allegedly killed Turkish Emperor Murad I, as the two share deep similarities [ [http://home.earthlink.net/~markdlew/SerbEpic/gloss.htm Serbian Epic Poetry] Glossary] . In any case, after the Battle of Kosovo, the Serbian Alliance crumbled and the last remains of the Serbian Empire dispersed, leaving Đurađ completely on his own.

Zeta On Its Own

In 1390 Vuk Brankovic sent envoys to Zeta and offered 500 liters of silver to Philip Bareli to hand over last Djuradj's bastion, the City of Ulcinj. Fearing the occasion, Djuradj had him immediately imprisoned together with his children [Istorija Crne Gore, Ivan Božić] .

During his rule, Đurađ, like his predecessors, tried to find an effective modus vivendi for extending his rule over the City of Kotor. As the richest and most economically developed city on the southern Adriatic coast close to Zeta, it fueled the rivalry between King Tvrtko and Đurađ. For these reasons no friendship between the two was created, even after peaceful relations were concluded in early 1389 on mediation of the Republic of Ragusa. When Tvrtko died in the beginning of March 1391, the opportunity arose for Đurađ and he subsequently seized Kotor.

From the start of Djuradj's reign he had to face with the outlaw of his cousin Konstantin, administrator of the lands in the rivers of Bojana and Drim, who didn't accept his supremacy in the Balšićs' lands. It is believed that Filip Bareli had connections with Constantine, so he was convicted for committing the highest felony, a "crime against Djuradj's authority" and all of his plentiful property was confiscated by Djuradj. Konstantin went into Ottoman service and since 1390 under protection of Sultan Bayezid I actively works to seize power as the Head Balšić. As a result, Đurađ came into fierce opposition to the Ottomans in 1391, converted to Catholicism, and promised his lands in heritage to Pope Boniface IX in the case of no heir apparent. Clearly siding with the Christian coalition under the legal Papal States in conflict with the Avignonese Antipope Clement VII, Đurađ took the side of Louis II of Anjou in his war against Ladislas of Naples. But the broader plans for organizing a crusade against Turks have remained but a dream.

Đurađ received a border with the Ottoman Empire as they took the lands of Vuk Branković in 1392. For opposition to Turkish influence in the region, the Sultan sent an army to invade his lands in May of '92. At the same time in the heat of fighting his competitors Radic Crnojevic and Konstantin Balšić, Đurađ was forced to negotiate with the Ottomans for peace terms. He negotiated with Skopje Sanjakbey Lala Şâhin but the talks were fruitless as the Ottoman demanded half of all his territories around Zeta, including his seat of Ulcinj. In addition to that, in late 1392 the bey tricked him and threw him into prison. His wife Jelena Hrebeljanovic was making moves to free him, with the help of the Venetian Republic, but they all reached a moot end. One of the main reasons for that was that his opponent Radič Crnojević expanded his reign vastly and became a Venetian vassal in November '92. The possibility of this was Djuradj's reluctance to release Philip Bareli, a Venetian citizen, despite many pleas from the Republic. In the heat of struggle amongst feudal lords in Zeta, Philip managed in 1392 to flee from his prison to Durrës, coming into John Thopia's service. On the other side King Stefan Dabiša dispatched Bosnian Duke Sandalj Hranić from the Hum to takeover Djuradj's lands and further agitate Radic Crnojevic.

Having no other choice, Đurađ handed over to bey Şâhin the cities of Skadar and Drivast and the Forum of Saint Serge on the Bojana River to the Turks, as well as agreed to pay annual taxes in exchange for his release. Ottoman squadrons occupied the locations in early 1393. The same year he tried to claim his old Lješ which was just handed over by the Dukagjinis to the Venetians, but Radic's support of Venetian control proved crucial. Seeing the necessity of Venetian support, he managed to get accepted into its citizenry in May 1395. Đurađ did not rest for long, and already in October '95 he broke the deal while the Ottomans were at war against the Hungarians and Wallachians, restored Skadar and Saint Serge and even defeated his rival Konstantin by seizing his stronghold of Danj, with Venetian assistance. To keep his cities safe, Đurađ relied upon the rivalry between Turkey and Venice. He handed over the cities into Venetian administration. When Ottoman advances obviously came to a halt, the Venetians decided to negotiate the deal. In April 1396 a contract was signed. Đurađ handed over Skadar, the Skadar Lake with all its islands and Saint Serge to Venetian administration, as well as agreed to channel the income from tolls in Danj, in exchange for 1,000 ducats every year. He also promised to give the cities support in case of a Turkish attack and was accepted into Venetian nobility. The whole act was typical for weak lords facing the mighty Ottoman Empire in the coastline of the western Balkans. Đurađ remained to rule directly just a small territory west of the Bojana river with Bar and Ulcinj as the only cities.

In 1396 Koja Zakarija from the Sakat family came to power in northern Albania centered in Danj, independently from Djuradj.

Zeta's rebirth

At the end of April 1396, Radič and his brother Dobrivoje Crnojević had made a significant move against Đurađ. They took the Grbalj and laid siege to Kotor. Đurađ became disliked by the Orthodox Serb commonfolk, so the excessively Orthodox religious Crnojevićs' takeover was looked upon nicely by the people, resulting in Paštrović's cross to Radič's side. In May '96 they moved to battle Đurađ himself, however Đurađ completely defeated the Crnojevićs and killed Radič, managing to get a hold over a part of the Crnojević domain. Soon a new enemy arose at the west; Bosnian nobleman Sandalj Hranić Kosača seized large parts of land quickly and conquered Budva and Kotor, made a deal with the Pastrovics, also managing to win Venetian protection, who proclaimed him the legitimate ruler of Budva and Zeta itself. In Upper Zeta the Đurašević subgroup of the Crnojevics came to prominence, though they made an agreement and joined Djuradj, seeing a common enemy in Duke Sandalj. They aided him in the wars against Sandalj, taking the first fronts by retaking all the lands from Budva to Spič as well as the Churchland of Saint Miholj in the Bay of Kotor, the Serbian Orthodox religious center in Zeta. In December '96, the Hungarian King Sigismund lost the Battle of Nicopolis. During his return across the sea, he stayed in Đurađ's lands. To honor Đurađ for his fights against the Ottomans, Sigismund decorated Đurađ with the title "Lord of Albania", also making him Prince of his Dalmatian islands of Hvar and Kоrčula.

The Most Serene Republic of Venice led an economic policy that soon introduced Venetian monetary domination in the region, fully replacing that of the Balšićs', and ever since Spring 1396 clearly showed pretensions to take the remaining lands of Đurađ. The Venetian monopoly introduced by lowering customs and other taxes in Skadar and Drivast greatly diminished the Balšićs' income so the relations between the two deteriorated. It is so that in 1399 when in the Venetian-administered Balšić lands the oppressed peasants raised a rebellion, all the guilt was attributed to Đurađ. As a result, in early 1401 Venice ceased paying the annual thousand ducat tribute for the lands. Another reason claimed were the frequent robberies by suspects from Đurađ's domain of Venetian storehouses of salt in the region, a crucial resource in that time. This caused Djuradj to renew links with the Ottoman Turks again, but wars in Asia Minor have made them impossible to intervene, which finally forced Djuradj to succumb to Venetian demands. As per the new deal, he paid for all the damage done by the robbers and agreed to give free passage and special privileges to Venetian traders, while Venice continued to pay the tribute for the cities. These acts introduced Venetian presence in the region, which would henceforth remain as an important local political factor. In 1402 his long-term Balšić rival Konstantin was killed by Venetian agents in Dyrrhachium under unknown circumstances.

Returning from the Battle of Angora, Đurađ's brother-in-law, the newly-crowned Despot Stefan Lazarević, stayed at his court in the late Summer of 1402. Đurađ prepared him and organized an army to battle his rival Đurađ Branković in Ottoman service at the Battle of Tripolje near Gračanica on 21 June 1402, Kosovo to help his cousin with all means possible, ending in full victory. In April of 1403, Đurađ II Stracimirović died of the injuries suffered in the battle. He was buried in the Church of Saint Catherine in his hometown of Ulcinj, where he still remains. Seventeen-year-old Balša, Đurađ II's only child, inherited his lands. He ruled with his mother as Chief adviser until she remarried in 1411, to Bosnian Duke Sandalj Hranić from Herzegovina. She gave a significant impact to Zetan foreign policy, tying it strongly with the newly created Serbian Despotate as a former important part of the Empire [sr icon [http://www.rastko.org.yu/bogoslovlje/nikon/simposion/mspremic-zeta_c.html Ecclesiastic Occasions in Zeta during the Age of Nikanor Jerusalem's, Momčilo Spremić] ] .

Miscellaneous

Đurađ continued using the currency of his predecessors, coins forged with the wolf, chest, and shield symbols of the Balšićs, [sr icon [http://www.ekonomija.cg.yu/files/1171481271.ppt Appearance and development of currency] [http://www.ekonomija.cg.yu/ Economic Faculty] , Podgorica] Dinars, used in the lands of the Serbian Empire, though he didn't mint many new coins, similar to his predecessor, due to continuous weakening of the Balsics' economic power. One of the two versions featured heads of wolves and the Balšićs' coat of arms, each with a surrounding inscription: "M.D. GORGI STRACIMIR" on one side, and "S.STEFAN SCUTARI" on the other. The other version had the character "M" next to the coat of arms and the presentations of Balšićs' patron Saint Lawrence along with an inscription below him "S LAVRENCIUS M" [ [http://www.montenegrina.net/pages/pages1/istorija/cg_od_20vij_do_1_svj_rata/perper_crnogorski_novac.htm Perper, the Montenegrin Currency] by Pavle V. Novaković] .

Đurađ founded for the Serbian Orthodox Church a Church of Saint George and its Monastery of Beski (Brezovica) on the island of Gorica in Lake Skadar, near Starčevo [sr icon [http://www.heritage.cg.yu/spomenici/skadarsko.htm Monasteries of the Balsics on the Skadar Lake] ] . After his death, his wife Jelena Balsic expanded it with her own mausoleum, where she was buried in 1443. The monastery became a significant cultural and spiritual center of the Serbian Church, actively working in scribing [sr icon [http://www.visit-montenegro.cg.yu/kultura/mskadarsko.htm Monasteries on Lake Skadar] ] and nourishing the Nemanjić heritage [ [http://www.rastko.org.yu/bogoslovlje/nikon/simposion/mspremic-zeta_c.html Ecclesiastic Occasions in Zeta during the Age of Nikanor Jerusalem's, Momčilo Spremić] ] . Djuradj's wife Jelena Balsic Stracimirovic became a deeply religious and talented poet, writing the opus of then's Old Serb-Slavic language [Anthology of Serbian Poetry, Miodrag Pavlović] .

Notes

¹ it seems that in the very early stages the Balšićs have become family-connected to the Nemanjićs, but there is no further information; the most probably explanation is because Zeta was the cradle of the major Serbian dynasties, Nemanjić and Vojislavljević [Ethnic Identity of Doclea and Zeta, Aleksandar Raković]
² according to the legend she was planned to be married to Miloš Obilić, thus Djuradj's possible depiction in Obilic might've caused this mixup; in reality she was sent to Ottoman Emperor's harem and married Sultan Bayezid I

References

External links

* [http://www.montenegrina.net/pages/pages1/istorija/balsici/balsici_andrijasevic_rastoder.htm HISTORICAL LEXICON - BALŠIĆI, Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić] sr icon
* Adžić, Novak. [http://montenegrina.net/pages/pages1/istorija/balsici/balsici_novak_adzic.htm BALŠIĆS - ĐURAĐ II BALŠIĆ AS ARCHITECT OF A SOVEREIGN STATE OF ZETA, FROM 1385 TO 1403] article for [http://montenegrina.net/ Montenegrina] sr icon

Further reading

* Rastoder, Šerbo, Andrijašević, Živko, Papović, Dragutin, Folić, Zvezdan, Šabotić, Sait, Drobnjak, Slobodan, Selhanović, Jadranka, Drinčić, Željko and Prekić, Adnan (2006). "Istorijski leksikon Crne Gore", Balšići, Đurađ II Stracimirović Balšić entry, Daily Press - VIJESTI, 2006, ISBN 86-7706-165-7
* Veselinović, Andrija & Ljušić, Radoš (2001). СРПСКЕ ДИНАСТИЈЕ, СРЕДЊОВЕКОВНЕ ДИНАСТИЈЕ (Andrija Veselinović), БАЛШИЋИ, Platoneum.
* "Intervju" - ДИНАСТИЈЕ и владари јужнословенских народа, Балшићи. Special Edition 12, 16 June 1989.