Đurađ Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђурађ Балшић), also known as Đurađ I (Ђурађ I), spelled also as Djuradj, was the Lord of Zeta between 1362 and 13 January 1378. He was the eldest of the three sons of Balša I, and belonged to the Balšić family.
Đurađ was the eldest son of Balša, a petty nobleman that held one village during the rule of Emperor Stefan Dušan and was said to be "kin to Nemanja". The family started taking Lower Zeta sometime following the death of Dušan in 1355. In 1362 the brothers murdered Đuraš Ilijić who had held Upper Zeta, and were then recognized as oblastni gospodari (provincial lords) of Zeta in charters of Stefan Uroš V.
Đurađ I died on 13 January 1378 in Skadar (however, recent studies suggest that Đurađ died in 1379 rather than in 1378). The rule of Zeta was passed down to his younger brother, Balša II. Đurađ's death caused a stir between Zeta's neighbours. Bosnian Ban Tvrtko I annexed Đurađ's territories bordering Dubrovnik in 1377, along with the remainder of Đurađ's coastal lands between the Bay of Kotor and the land previously annexed in 1377 at the time of his death. |