In 1381 and 1384, the Catholic lords of Arta asked the Ottoman troops for protection against the invading Albanian clan of the Zenevisi; the Ottomans routed the raiders and restored order in Epirus. Zenevisi submitted to the Ottomans after their victory against Balša II in the Battle of Savra in 1385, and gave them his son as a hostage to be sent to Edirne to the court of the sultan (this son became known as Hamza, an Ottoman official). Shortly after his submission, Zenevisi revolted and seized the fortress of Gjirokastër, encouraged no doubt by the attack on Ioannina by the Albanians of Acarnania. In 1386 he titled himself with the Byzantine title of "sevastokrator".