Upper Zeta (Serbian: Горња Зета / Gornja Zeta) is a historical region in modern Montenegro, situated roughly between the Morača and Zeta rivers in east-west direction, and between massif of Lovćen and Skadar Lake and Durmitor massif in south-north direction, encompassing the Zeta Plain and plain surrounding modern-day capital of Montenegro, Podgorica. During the Middle Ages, the province of Upper Zeta was part of the Serbian state under the Nemanjić dynasty, existing alongside Lower Zeta. It was then held by the Balšić and Crnojević noble families until the Ottoman conquest (1496). In the early modern period, the term was used for an area in the northern half of the "Old Montenegro" region, though its borders fluctuated.
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Upper Zeta in the context of Crnojević noble family
The House of Crnojević (Serbian Cyrillic: Црнојевић, pl. Crnojevići / Црнојевићи) was a medieval Serbian noble family that held Zeta, or parts of it; a region north of Lake Skadar corresponding to southern Montenegro and northern Albania, from 1326 to 1362 CE, then 1403 until 1515.
Its progenitor Đuraš Ilijić was the head of Upper Zeta in the Medieval Kingdom of Serbia and Empire (r. 1326–1362†), under Stefan Dečanski, Dušan the Mighty and Stefan Uroš V. Đuraš was killed in 1362 by the Balšić family, the holders of Lower Zeta (since 1360); Zeta was in the hands of the Balšići under nominal Imperial rule until 1421, when Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević was given the province by Balša III (1403–1421). The family fought its rivals following the murder of Đuraš, and the Crnojevićs controlled Budva from 1392 until 1396, when Radič Crnojević was murdered by the Balšićs. They are mentioned again in 1403, as vassals of the Republic of Venice, taking power in their hereditary lands.
Upper Zeta in the context of Đuraš Ilijić
Đuraš Ilijić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђураш Илијић, fl. 1326–62) was a Serbian commander and nobleman who served the Serbian monarchs Stefan Dečanski (r. 1321–1331), Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355) and Uroš V (r. 1355–1371), from 1326 until his death in 1362. He had the title of čelnik ("head"), and governed Upper Zeta. He is an ancestor of the Crnojević noble family (a branch of the Đurašević).