Jelena Balšić
Jelena Balsha
Grand Duchess of Bosnia
Born1407
Died1453
Noble familyBalšić
Spouse
(m. 1424)
Issue
FatherBalša III
MotherMara Thopia

Jelena Balšić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јелена Балшић, Albanian: Jelena Balsha; 1407 – 1453) was a member of the Balšić noble family who married the Bosnian nobleman Stjepan Vukčić Kosača. She was the daughter of Balša III and Mara Thopia.

Life

Jelena was born in 1407 as the daughter of Balša III of Zeta and Mara Thopia. She was named after her grandmother Jelena.[1] Jelena's lineage is traced back to the Balšić and Thopia noble families. In 1424, at the age of 17, Jelena married Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, a significant political figure of the time. The union between Jelena and Stjepan Vukčić played a crucial role in shaping the political landscape of the region. Jelena was not only a wife and mother but also a central figure in the complex power dynamics of the time. Through her marriage to Stjepan Vukčić, she became the mother of several notable children, each leaving a mark on the history of the Balkans.[2] Jelena died in 1453.[3]

Issue

Family tree

References

  1. ^ Spremić 2004, pp. 73–108

    У јеку сукоба, Балша III. се 1407. оженио Маром, кћерком арбанашког господара Никете Топије. Брзо је добио кћер, којој је, по мајци, дао име Јелена.
    In the midst of the conflict, in 1407, Balša III married Mara, the daughter of the lord of Arbaná, Niketa Topija. He soon had a daughter, whom he named Jelena after her mother

  2. ^ Ćirković 1964, p. 388.
  3. ^ Vrankić 2017, pp. 10–16.
  4. ^ Regan 2010, p. 15.
  5. ^ Nakaš 2011, p. 135.

Sources