Đurađ II Balšić (; )Bulgarian historical review 2003, p. 167 or George II Balsha 1385 – April 1403), was the Lord of Zeta from 1385 to 1403, as a member of the Balšić noble family. He was the son of Stracimir Balšić, and succeeded his paternal uncle Balša II in ruling Zeta. 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 succeeded by his only son, Balša III. According to some historians, Serbian epic poetry identifies Đurađ II with Strahinja Banović.Analysis of the Poem 'Banovic Strahinja'
Background and early life His father was Stracimir, one of the three Balšić brothers who came to rule Zeta in the 1360s. His mother was Princess Milica Mrnjavčević (Jerina), the daughter of Serbian King and co-ruler of Uroš V, Vukašin Mrnjavčević.
Accession
On 18 September 1385, Đurađ's uncle Balša II was killed at the Battle of Savra, while fighting the Ottomans. Following the temporary rule under Balša II's widow Comita and daughter Ruđina, Đurađ II inherited parts of Zeta and northern Albania, including the cities of Scutari, Drivast and Lezhë, as per the Balšićs' traditional rule of seniority, as "self-holder to the Zeta and Coast land". Đurađ II had his seat at Ulcinj, which also became the family seat. The remainder of the Balšić possessions, in southern Albania, passed in 1396 from Ruđina to her spouse Mrkša Žarković, the son of Žarko, Emperor Dušan's nobleman. The protovestijar Philip Bareli, the Venetian trader that handled Balša's financing, who was succeeded by Đurađ, is also mentioned as holding estates.
According to Mavro Orbini, when Đurađ II started his rule, "the tribes of Upper Zeta and the Crnojević did not want to recognize him, answering that they were under the Bosnian King Tvrtko".
Đurađ had succeeded leadership in the heats of disarray. Pal Dukagjini broke off allegiance to Đurađ, taking Lezhë and the Drin area. Finally the Jonima family seceded with their own lands between Durrës and the Drin, causing Đurađ to lose his very last possessions in Albania. Before even consolidating rule, Karlo Thopia conquered Durrës and assigned it to his son George, Nikola Sakat, the castellan of Budva, and his brother Andrija seceded the city after 1386 and Vuk Branković took Peć and Prizren. Đurađ asked Dukagjini 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 had just come to prominence. The area of Onogošt (Nikšić) seceded to the Venetians. In a short time, Đurađ's demesne had diminished into a small strip of land between Lake Skadar and the Adriatic Sea. Upon proclaiming himself the sole head of the Balšić family, he issued an official edict on 28 January 1386 in Scutari, 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. 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 vojvoda 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 Lazarević (b. 1368), daughter of the Serbian Moravian lord Lazar Hrebeljanović, after recognizing Lazar as his sovereign in 1386. The folklore has recorded that Đurađ 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, Balšić in Christ the Lord, Đurađ, 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.
Đurađ also maintained diplomatic relations with the Ottoman Empire. Đurađ 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 Tvrtko I Kotromanić, whose Serbian crown the Balšićs did not recognize, most probably because of their own claims to the Serbian throne. 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 Ragusan Republic was weary of this Ottoman expansion, so they wanted to negotiate with Đurađ some military protection. On 23 August 1388 Đurađ sent his envoy Žanin Bareli, Filip's son.
Legends record Đurađ 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 "Baoš" 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", Olivera Despina, was remembered as married to Đurađ. Most historians and scholars identify him as the Serbian Epic hero Banović Strahinja, due to the close similarities in name and characteristics. 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 Branković sent envoys to Zeta and offered 500 liters of silver to Philip Bareli to hand over last Đurađ's bastion, the City of Ulcinj. Fearing the occasion, Đurađ 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 Đurađ's reign he had to face with the outlaw of his cousin Konstantin, administrator of the lands in the rivers of Bojana and Drin, who didn't accept his supremacy in the Balšićs' lands. It is believed that Filip Bareli had connections with Konstantin, so he was convicted for committing the highest felony, a "crime against Đurađ's authority" and all of his plentiful property was confiscated by Đurađ. Konstantin went into Ottoman service and since 1390 under protection of Sultan Bayezid I actively worked to seize power as the Head Balšić. As a result, Đurađ came into fierce opposition to the Ottomans in 1391, converted to Catholicism from Serbian Orthodoxy, 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 Ladislaus 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 1392. At the same time in the heat of fighting his competitors Radič Crnojević and Konstantin Balšić, Đurađ was forced to negotiate with the Ottomans for peace terms. In order to protect his wife Jelena from the Ottoman danger Đurađ decided to send her to Dubrovnik in June 1392. He negotiated with Pasha Yiğit Bey, sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Skopje, 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 managed to capture Đurađ in a battle and released him only after the ransom was paid. When Đurađ was in captivity Radič Crnojević captured his lands around Kotor and proclaimed himself Lord of Zeta and Budva. His wife Jelena Lazarević 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 1392. The possibility of this was Đurađ'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 Stjepan Dabiša dispatched Bosnian Duke Sandalj Hranić from the Hum to take over Đurađ's lands and further agitate Radič Crnojević.