Đurađ I Balšić (), or Gjergj Balsha I () was the Lord of Zeta between 1362 and 13 January 1378. He was the eldest of the three sons of Balša I, and belonged to the Balšić family. Life Đurađ was the eldest son of Balša, a petty nobleman that held one village during the rule of Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–1355) and was said to be "kin to Nemanja". The family started taking Lower Zeta sometime following the death of Dušan in 1355. In 1362 the brothers murdered Đuraš Ilijić who had held Upper Zeta, and were then recognized as (provincial lords) of Zeta in charters of Stefan Uroš V (r. 1355–1371). In 1363, Đurađ declared war against the Thopias, an Albanian noble family which controlled northern Albania. The Matarangos, an Albanian noble family which controlled southern Albania, were allied with the Balšićs as a result of a quarrel with the Thopias in the south. In the spring of 1364, Karlo Thopia took Đurađ captive due to a skirmish, ending Zetan involvement in the war. Đurađ was held captive until 1366 when Republic of Ragusa mediated peace and procured his release. In 1367, Đurađ is mentioned as the "baron of maritime Serbia". In January 1368, a Ragusan document reported that the three Balšić brothers: Stracimir, Đurađ and Balša II, were preparing for a campaign against Karlo Thopia. They were camped on the Mati River, of which Karlo's lands lay south of. The fighting was apparently small-scale as two months later, Karlo had no difficulty capturing Dyrrhachium from the Angevins. In order to secure their rule, the Balšić brothers (especially Đurađ and Balša II) were already in 1369 ready to convert from Orthodoxy to Catholicism. According to Fine (1994), the brothers converted in order to further their coastal ambitions in 1368 or early 1369. They formally converted in 1369. Hoping to acquire suzerainty over the town, Đurađ had waged war against Kotor in 1368. Kotor, as a result of warfare, was suffering economic decline. Accepting Zetan rule wasn't going to aid Kotor economically either. Kotor resisted Đurađ's assault after seeing the town of Bar paying an annual tribute of 2,000 ducats to Đurađ, previously paying 100 perpers under Serbian Imperial rule, expecting the same fate for Kotor. Kotor sought aid from Nikola Altomanović, but after his major defeat in Kosovo, he could provide little assistance. Kotor sought aid from the weak