Zeta under the Balšići in the context of "Montenegro"

The House of Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Балшићи; Albanian: Balsha, Balshaj), or Balsha, were a noble family that ruled "Zeta and the coastlands" (current-day southern Montenegro and northern Albania), from 1362 to 1421, during and after the fall of the Serbian Empire. Balša, the founder, was a petty nobleman who held only one village during the rule of Emperor Dušan the Mighty (r. 1331–1355), and only after the death of the emperor, his three sons gained power in Lower Zeta after acquiring the lands of gospodin Žarko (fl. 1336–1360) under unclear circumstances, and they then expanded into Upper Zeta by murdering voivode and čelnik Đuraš Ilijić (r. 1326–1362†). Nevertheless, they were acknowledged as oblastni gospodari of Zeta in edicts of Emperor Uroš the Weak (r. 1355–1371). After the death of Uroš (1371), the family feuded with the Mrnjavčevići, who controlled Macedonia.

When the last lord of the main branch of the family, Balša III died in 1421 without an heir, his possessions were passed on to his uncle, Despot Stefan the Tall. Later that year, the Republic of Venice took advantage of Balša's death and seized the towns of Bar and Ulcinj, and some of his other territories were seized by the Ottomans and Bosnians.

Stefan Lazarević (Serbian Cyrillic: Стефан Лазаревић; c. 1377 – 19 July 1427), also known as Stefan the Tall (Serbian: Стефан Високи, romanized: Stefan Visoki), was a Serbian ruler as prince (1389–1402) and despot (1402–1427). He was also a diplomat, legislator, ktetor, patron of the arts, poet and one of the founding members of the Order of the Dragon. The son of Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, he was regarded as one of the finest knights and military leaders of his time. After the death of his father at the Battle of Kosovo, he became ruler of Moravian Serbia and ruled with his mother Milica (a Nemanjić), until he reached adulthood in 1393. Stefan led troops in several battles as an Ottoman vassal, until asserting independence after receiving the title of despot from the Byzantines in 1402.

Becoming a Hungarian ally in 1403–04, he received large possessions, including the important Belgrade and Golubac Fortress. He also held the superior rank in the chivalric Order of the Dragon. During his reign, there was a long conflict with his nephew Đurađ Branković, which ended in 1412. Lazarević also inherited Zeta, and waged war against Venice. Since he was childless, he designated his nephew Đurađ as heir in 1426, a year before his death.

Balša Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Балша Балшић; Albanian: Balsha II; died 18 September 1385) or Balša II was the Lord of Lower Zeta from 1378 to 1385.He was a member of the Balšić noble family, which ruled Zeta (with Scutari) from c. 1362 to 1421.

Đurađ II Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Ђурађ II Балшић; Albanian: Gjergj II Balsha) or George II Balsha fl. 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.

Jelena Lazarević (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Лазаревић; 1365/1366 – 1443), also known, by marriages, as Jelena Balšić or Jelena Hranić or Jelena Kosača, was a medieval Serbian princess, daughter of Prince Lazar of Serbia and Princess Milica Nemanjić. She had a very strong personality and significantly influenced the way her husbands, first Đurađ II Balšić and second Sandalj Hranić Kosača, and her son Balša III governed their realms. Jelena encouraged them to resist Venetian encroachment on territory belonging to Zeta, the medieval state ruled by Đurađ II and, upon his death, by Balša III. She is also known as a writer in epistolary literature, particularly her correspondence with Nikon of Jerusalem, a monk in the Gorica Monastery on Lake Skadar (Montenegro). Her three epistles are part of the Gorički zbornik, a medieval manuscript collection.