# Konstantin Balšić

Konstantin Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Константин Балшић; Albanian: Kostandin Balsha) (fl. 1378–died 1402), was a lord of the Balsha family, who ruled over lands in northern Albania.

## Life

Konstantin was the son of Đurađ I Balšić, the Lord of Zeta and his wife, Teodora Dejanović.
Following the death of his father, Konstantin's mother Teodora remained active in managing a significant portion of their territory situated between the Drin and Bojana rivers. She continued to reside there with her son, maintaining control over these lands until her death.
Konstantin was excluded from participating in the government of Zeta, first by his uncle Balša II and then by his cousin Đurađ II Balšić. Seeking his rightful inheritance, supported by his mother, Konstantin broke away from his ruling cousin in 1390 or more likely 1391. He visited the court of Bayezid I, where he became an Ottoman vassal. Konstantin did not limit himself to a single alliance; he also built strong relations with Vuk Brankovic, a longstanding rival of the Balšići in Zeta. His maternal family connections were significant—his mother’s niece Helena Dragaš married the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos in 1392, and his half-brother Mrkša Žarković, the son of his mother’s previous marriage to Žarko of Zeta, maintained close ties with Konstantin. Konstantin played a key role for Mrkša, arranging through his cousin the Byzantine empress for the Patriarch of Constantinople to legitimize Mrkša’s controversial marriage to Ruđina Balšić, which had violated church canons due to their close kinship.
To expand links in the western Balkans, he married his sister Jevdokija Balšić to the Florentine Despot of Ioannina Esau de' Buondelmonti.
In late 1394, Konstantin was installed as governor of Krujë by the Ottomans and married Marco Barbarigo's first wife, the Albanian princess Helena Thopia who held the hereditary rights to Krujë. Helena was Konstantin's first cousin as Helena's mother Voisava Balsha and Konstantin's father Đurađ I Balšić were brother and sister. Helena's maternal grandfather and Konstantin's paternal grandfather was Balša I.
Konstantin's mother, Teodora Dejanović who was now a nun, joined him in Krujë, taking an active role at court.
Konstantin gained control of the town of Danjë, which included its lucrative customs post. He was sent to become the Balsha's head as an Ottoman protégé and apparently failed, losing his stronghold, Danjë, to his cousin, Đurađ II Balšić, in 1395. Konstantin was very faithful to Sultan Bayezid I. On 17 May 1395 he fought in the Battle of Rovine.The Venetians, displeased by the shift in control, attempted to negotiate with Konstantin to regain Kroja, but he refused.
In a Venetian document dating 8 August 1401, he is mentioned as "Konstantin, lord of Serbia, in the territory around our territory of Durachi (Durrës)" (Constantini domini Servie, teritorii, quod est circa teritorium nostrum Durachii).
In 1402, while many Albanian vassals of the Ottomans went to support Bayezid I against Timur at the Battle of Ankara, Konstantin Balsha remained in Albania. He soon launched an attack against Venice’s Durrës, which ultimately failed, leading to his capture. The Venetians then tried him and executed him. After Konstantin's death his wife Helena and their son Stefan Maramonte first went to Venetians and then lived with her sister Maria Thopia. Since Maria was married to Filip Maramonte, the Venetians and Ragusans often referred to Stefan Balsha as "Stefan Maramonte".
In 1920 Yugoslav historian Milan Šufflay published, under pseudonym Alba Limi, a historical novel about Kostandin Balsha.

## Family

Konstantin Balšić married Helena Thopia who was the daughter of Karl Thopia, Prince of Albania. The couple had one child:
* Stefan Balšić, was a Zetan nobleman who served as a close associate and vassal to Balša III, but later sought Ottoman support for his rule over Zeta.