Ратна флота Балшића
Balšićs’ War Fleet

Summary/Abstract: Although the Balšićs (1360–1421) ruled a part of the Adriatic coast, their power farther from the mainland was almost not felt. Like other nobles and rulers whose areas and states had access to the southeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, the Balšićs, despite numerous attempts, did not manage to become a maritime force even in regional terms. Venice almost fully controlled the territory of the southeastern Adriatic. Its power in this area was not jeopardised even by the Treaty of Zadar (1358) and the Peace of Turin (1381), according to which it was forced to withdraw from the territory from Kvarner to Durazzo. Venice considered the Adriatic Sea its possession and as of the 12th century it began to call it Golfo de Venezia or Mare Venetorum. It endeavoured by all means to prevent the rulers of little maritime states and areas from jeopardising its monopoly and dominance on the sea. In the territories it considered the sphere of its military, political and trade interests, it prevented the attempts of local lords, regardless of whether they were its allies and friends or not, to have strong maritime forces and shift their activities to a greater extent to the sea. Venice treated the Balšićs in the same way. The Balšićs were aware of the importance of having armed ships as not having them posed a great obstacle to their conquering plans, but was also a deficiency in terms of the security of their estates. Historical sources provide only sporadic data about the Balšićs’ attempts to possess armed ships, i.e. create a war fleet. Based on individual data, we can conclude that they did not have heavily armed ships – those were mostly light war ships or ships which they armed and thus changed their purpose. We are therefore not able to gain a real picture about the strength and composition of the Balšićs’ fleet. It is, however, possible to conclude that in some periods their war fleet represented a significant force as it is only thus possible to explain the attacks at Cattaro in around 1366 and Scutari in 1410.

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