s--Stefan Nemanja (1143) and
Stefan Dusan (1336-1356)--both ascended to the head of the
confederation from the principality of the Zeta. The latter raised the
Serb kingdom to its zenith, and formed an ephemeral empire which bears
many a resemblance to that of Napoleon. Montenegro had all this time
been steadily growing, and on the accession of Dusan to Servia, the
district of the Zeta fell to the Balsic, who proved themselves to be a
strong and competent race of rulers. They increased their territories
to such an extent that, at the time of the battle of Kossovo, they
could boast to ruling over all the land from Ragusa to the mouth of
the Drin, including the present West Montenegro and Southern
Hercegovina, with Skodra as the capital. After the overthrow of the
great Servian Empire on the field of Kossovo, Montenegro became
entirely independent of outside suzerainty, and from the year 1389 to
the present day, is the only Balkan state which has successfully
defied the invasions of the Turk. The Balsic engaged themselves in
several fruitless wars with Venice, by which they lost Skodra, so
that, when their line died out and the succession fell to Stefan
Crnoievic (the name Crnoievic, Black Prince, is supposed by some to be
the origin of the name Crnagora or Black Mountain), a new capital must
perforce be built, at the northern end of the lake, called Zabljak.
Stefan Crnoievic allied himself with Skenderbeg, the King of Albania,
and within twelve years is said to have fought over fifty battles
with the Turks who, in their impotent rage, poured army after army
into the land, but entirely failed to break the courage of this brave
little people. His people gave him the title of Voivoda of the Zeta,
but the limits of his principality seem to have been very undefined.
The position of his son Ivan was, however, of greater danger, for in
1444 the kingdom of Hungary had fallen before the Turk, and they
captured Constantinople nine years later; after this Servia, Bosnia,
Albania (on the death of Skenderbeg), and Hercegovina were overrun in
quick succession. In 1484 Ivan found himself obliged to burn his
capital of Zabljak, and retire into the more inaccessible mountain
fastnesses of the Katunska, the district round Cetinje. Cetinje itself
was chosen by Ivan as his new centre, and though hardly pressed, he
inflicted many severe defeats upon the Turks. Arrived in his new
capital, he called his braves together, and told them that if the